A documentation of my journey & interests: science, fitness, & wellness
Author: drkarimoran
PhD in Mechanical engineering, enjoying running, functional training, & integrating technology to improve life. I take a systems level approach to life & wellness.
Days 3& 4 prompts are to choose a positive habit you would like to have, and choose a bad habit you would like to lose. I’ll put these two together.
One thing that I would like to implement is daily stretching. How am I going to do this? Well, I can make time by eliminating a bad habit- sitting on the couch watching TV. After dinner, I (probably like most americans) sit on my ass and watch way too much TV. As an introvert, especially when it is dark and damp outside, it is all too easy to just go home, eat dinner, and avoid quality conversation with my husband by becoming a zombie in front of the LED picture box (I almost put CRT, but what is this 2006?). It is one of those habits I am embarrassed by, so I don’t talk much about it. When I was so busy and gone all the time, a few precious hours to reboot were very nice to have. Now, however, it is a bad habit that I would like to limit.
By implementing Operation get up and stretch, I’m sure this will help with my goals of being a fastie, running long distance, and NOT BEING HURT. Somehow, I never do this though. This is different from a goal, its more of making small changes to be a better person. It is one of the steps that I will take to help my chances of successfully meeting my actual goals.
All in all, these are two things that I would like to change. It doesn’t mean I won’t watch TV, but I can carve out some time to hit reset for my body by not vegging out on the couch.
“Day 2: Continuing to work within that idea of constraints, try to write a 6-word memoir of your life so far. This idea is rumored to have originated from Papa Hemingway. The benefit is that with only six words, you really have to filter your life to what you deem most important. It may take you many iterations, but you’ll end up with something that speaks largely to who you are, if not in toto, then at least in this moment in time.”
Somehow a post from the Art of Manliness showed up in my twitter feed. I believe that the Art of Manliness is a blog about some cool shit (such as, the ultimate pushup guide), they assume the majority of people interested in their topics are men. I don’t mind. I follow many websites/blogs/sports where the assumed audience is women-only. Its fine.
I digress. This tweet led me to an entry on the topic of journaling. It provides 31 journal topics meant to be a ‘roadmap’ to help one develop the healthy habit of journaling. When I started this blog, I failed at following Blog-U. But new year, new attention span for Kari. I hope to develop a healthy writing habit and am using you all as my audience.
Why am I doing a 31 day challenge? Several reasons. I want to develop a consistent writing habit. I want to have a space to clear my mind, so when I sit down to write at work (or here) there aren’t 500 million competing ideas all vying for my attention. These are the two biggest reasons I want to write, and you can see are very closely related. In fact, I dare to assert that the ladder is merely more of a why for the former. Practicing writing is practicing communication. I often struggle with this. I have so much going on in my head, I think through a (fake) conversation in my head, and forget that I haven’t actually had that conversation with the other person and wonder why they don’t already know the information I’ve been thinking about telling them. Its silly, I know.
Writing & communicating, like the rest of my life, needs to be simple. If I had to desginate a theme to the direction I am attempting to move my life towards, it would be simplicity. I am trying to organize my appartment, stop my addiction to stuff, be measured and calculated in my actions. I want the things that are in my life and take up my time reflect what I actually care about. So what do I care about? I can go through a list of people that I care about, but what it boils down to is, I care about people. There are different levels: first my personal relationships, the safety of my fellow Americans, the safety of innocent people across the globe. I want to live simply, simply live to create a better space for those around me near and far. By the way, If you follow me at all you know that, yes, I do indeed include my dog when I speak generally about ‘people.’
So, why am I journaling a 31 day art of manliness challenge? As an exercise for me to be a better person for the world.
Do you see what happened there? I started writing this and thought it was a lame, dry “here’s what I’m going to be writing about this month” that I would inevitably not follow through with (because life), and ended with a humanitarian devotion to selflessly make myself better. I think this journaling thing is working!
Aside, my Believe training journal was delivered yesterday. Unfortunately its somewhere in the front house. I can’t wait to start journaling for my #womanup2016
Professional Goal: Be Principle Investigator on a project
Its good to have measureable goals that you can communicate in less than 140 characters, but I want to dig a little deeper into what each one means to me. 2015 was a year of change. Our family moved across the country, back home to California. This is where I feel in my element. Life is easier, and more importantly, happier. We are all set up for success, with a lifestyle that is easy to relax and be happy while we do it.
Run 1/2 Marathon in less than 1:45:00 – Pretty self explanatory, SMART goal for running. I have signed up for the San Diego Craft Classic in July. Plenty of time to train, plenty of time to try again. This goal has been eluding me since 2012. I know I can do it. I am going to do it this year.
Stay injury free – This sounds easy, but while chasing my running goal it has a lot of small implications. I have to keep up with my PT exercises; I have to consistently do boring prevention strength training for core, hips, hammies, and glutes; I have to consistently stretch and do mobility (this is where I have consistently fell short in the past); I need to fuel and hydrate properly; I need to sleep enough.
Be PI on a project – This is ambitious. I am just starting a new job. I am not ready for this year’s internal funding competition. I can either take over as technical lead on an ongoing project or pitch to outside funding sources. Given that I have 6 months of projects before I can start my own work, it is a reach. But if I have this goal in my head, I can work towards it and be much closer than I have been to do this. This is the scary one, the one that will really force me to step out of my comfort zone.
In addition to these goals, I have auxillary intentions of how I would like to shape my life and my being.
Spend time with my family
Be open to makeing friendship and put in effort necessary
Try new things (I want to skate in parks, ride a motorcycle, stand up paddleboard, surf, become a dog trainer, volunteer at an animal shelter)
Two thousand fifteen. Three hundred and sixty five revolutions to orbit around the sun one more time. I started this post as a reflection of everything that happend this past year. What I had gone through, how hard it was. 2015 was full of trials, growth, and accomplishments. That alone deserves a moment of reflection. It was a year of regrowth for us after 2014 left us lonely, broken and missing some pieces. After all of that, we knew that we wanted to leave the East Coast, not sure how or where but this wasn’t the place for us. The year turned out to be a journey full of self-discovery, physically, personally, and professionally.
Throughout the year I had interviews with 5 different places. The first was a phone interview. I prepared based on what the recruiter had informed me. After a few out of my control events, I had extremely high anxiety. The discussion went horribly! I was completely caught off guard by the nature of the call and knew instantaneously that I wouldn’t be on the short list for an onsite interview. The whole time I just wanted the call to end. This was a pretty bad blow to my confidence and took some time to emotionally recover from.
Throughout the year I investigated different opportunities from industry to academia. Nothing quite as bad as my first experience, but definitely a bumpy road. The thing is, if you are trying to move across the country, an interview can be a big investment: money up front, time off of work, and red-eye flights to get home for work or to have time with my family. Throughout all of this, I already had a job that I was good at. Putting yourself through this sort of abuse (anxiety up to the event, being able to professionally handle malevolent interviewers, and learning that rejection isn’t a reflection of personal worth) when you are comfortable- not happy, comfortable- is a very tiring process. I ended the journey with the best interview experience one could hope for. I dug out my defense slides and cleaned them up for a diverse crowd. After a couple of practice rounds, I fell right back into the groove, comfortably discussing my work and energetically presenting. The rest of the day I saw labs full of interesting work and having good conversations with my future supervisors. I knew that I wanted to be there and that I would have the support to develop my career. I am happy to be there now and looking forward to using my skills and background on various projects in the coming months.
#dressedindreams
Physically I didn’t have any tangible goals. I wanted to regain strength and feel like myself again. I fought against shin splints throughout the year, which got the best of me after over extending myself running the Ragnar Relay. I ended up even going to the doctor, who allowed me to run my goal race (Nike Women’s 1/2) but informed me that the new pain was shin splints and recommended physical therapy. I ran my goal race after taking a couple weeks off, other than 1 or 2 shake out runs, and missed my goal by a couple minutes (my chip time was 1:48, goal was <1:45). Despite not having an A race, I had a great weekend with two of my favorite sisters in sport. After the race we toured San Francsico by food and drink. It was fantastic!
#SistersInSport #sisterhood
After the race I started PT, which felt nice but wasn’t the best. We did discover that my right, medial gastroecnimeus wasn’t firing properly and I have a huge knot so I got bi-weekly lower leg massage and a plan to test my bone strength by running once or twice a week and increasing my mileage each run. I am up to 4 miles and don’t yet have any bone pain, so I’m hopeful I can make it to 5 miles before the end of the year and be cleared to begin a normal base training regimen.
The biggest, but unexpected event of the year was when we adopted our fur baby, Badger. He is pretty great. I had no idea what was missing from my life, or that having someone that you care for would be so rewarding. Within a few months Badger no longer had skin issues or soft stool. Over the months following, he kept gaining weight, he’s my little tank! Honestly, I was worried about the cost and the time that a dog requires, but it is the best investment anyone can make. The return in love, motivation, confidence, and happiness is more than I could have imagined. He is the best thing that we have ever had. I love my doggy Badger!
My main squeeze B!
It is good practice to take time to reflect what you have accomplished. I am proud of my growth and performance in 2015. It was a hard road, but I have emerged a stronger and wiser than I entered. I am grateful to the friends and support I have had along the way. I am proud of my family, my new home, and the direction my career is going. I stand here, a strong woman, ready to see what the future has in store for me.
Adopting Badger has been one of the most rewarding decisions I have ever made. In addition to his low maintenance and endless love, I have learned quite a bit about life from this young man. Below is a short list of my observations.
1. Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Badger typically demonstrates this when we are on a run this hot summer and come across a puddle. No matter how often we stop for drinks out of my camel back, if he finds a puddle, he’s going swimming! Applied to human life, this behavior may be as simple as using the restroom I walk past before going into a meeting, but may also be as big as speaking up when a life-changing opportunity arises, such as at a networking event. If you want to cool down, go for a swim. People will mostly be supportive, if not merely entertained by your unconventional behavior.
Thank goodness for this Athens puddle in the middle of a hot summer run!
2. It’s okay to say, “No.” I don’t have a good image for this one, but Badger constantly reminds me that its okay to say, “no,” or, “no, thank you.” Here are some examples.
We are on a run, and come to a stop light. He sits like a good boy, so I try to give him a treat. He sniffs, but is not interested, so moves his head. Its okay, you don’t have to eat treats, especially in the middle of a workout.
I’m cooking dinner, and he is patiently laying down next to the kitchen. I think it is awesome that he will eat (raw) veggies, so I often experiment to see what he will eat. He won’t eat raw spinach. He’ll sniff, lick, and drop it on the floor. Which I take to mean, “No thank you, Mommy.”
Another running example. I’ll ask, “Are you thirsty?” He responds by turning his head and getting ready for, “Okay. Let’s Go!” meaning, “No thank you. I just drank out of that puddle that presented itself to me. Now I can’t drink anymore until I do my business.”
This is a major lesson that I (and many others) need to learn. Badger exhibits confidence in knowing himself and knowing what he wants or needs. To that end, he is confident enough to refuse my offerings. This is an extremely important lesson. One should knowing yourself, your ability, and your bandwidth to successfully complete something before accepting more work, setting training goals, or more extracurricular responsibility. Not knowing how to say no will throw life off balance. At work, we call it, “exercising your ‘no’ muscle.” Just like your body needs physical exercise, your mind needs mental and behavior exercises to operate the way you want it to. Remember to say, “no” when you don’t want to do something. If you really don’t like something, speak up! Its even okay to vehemently say no.
3. Be patient, but persistent. Patience and persistence will pay off. If things aren’t going your way don’t try to force them. Make your presence and desires known, but don’t be pushy about it. Stay calm. Eventually things will turn your way. I know, I cave every day and eventually give Badger a piece of food from the kitchen or my plate. He will wait an hour (eternity to doggies) patiently watching and waiting. As long as he listens and responds appropriately, he will get what he wants.
Badger’s in the background, patiently hoping for some bacon wrapped, guacamole filled BBQ’d chicken
4. Be grateful, everyday. Like most Americans, I tend to spend my mornings worrying about all the tasks I have to complete that day. What needs to be done at work? How am I going to fit my training into this week’s schedule? You know the drill. Badger, on the other hand, wakes up every morning, get this, happy. He is so excited to see me & Ian, that he has a soft bed, that he has the chance to go outside to run, that he has a tasty meal waiting for him when he returns. He loves us and shows us his gratitude with excitement and affection, every day! This might be the most important lesson Badger has taught me. To love life, because I have everything I need. I love my family and the life we have together. This is all you need to be grateful. Everyday is an opportunity to love life again.
All 60#s of pibble love, snuggling on top of mama!
5. Enjoy the journey, the destination is not so important. Every morning Badger & I go out for an adventure. Sometimes we just go around in our neighborhood, sometimes we hop in the car and go a little farther. No matter what, he is stoked to go. It doesn’t matter if we repeat a normal loop, go to the park to sniff around, go off into the trails. Every day is an adventure, we always eventually end up at home; he’s excited for the experience and the time we spend together. Love what you do, live your life. You won’t end up anywhere unless you take a journey, so make the best of the excursion you’re on.
Courageously go onward! Enjoy the journey, whether you know where you’re going or not!
Its been 1 month since my first training check in! This training month has been interesting. I’ve been traveling 3 out of the last 4 weeks, which makes scheduling my runs and workouts seem like a jigsaw puzzle to say the least. As a result, I’ve been pretty lenient on my strength and cross training.
Badger and I got to run in the hot, hot heat & humidity of Georgia on vacation:
Did I mention it was really, really HOT! I just had to let Badger jump in the fountain to cool off. By “had to” I mean, I couldn’t really stop him from jumping in! My sneaky little boy.
Our last days in Georgia were spent with friends in Athens. Badger was a big hit there, not just for his general awesomeness, but for his resemblance of the university mascot.
More importantly, I was able to spend time with this beauty, she lives on the other side of the globe and I miss her soooo much!
After a week of vacation, it was time to go back to work. My first week back, we were out at Stanford University, so I had a few great runs in the beautiful CA sun, with some HILLS! Yes!
Last week, I went to San Diego. It was a VERY short trip and I had a lot of work to do. I managed to get a short morning run in before hurrying off to meetings. I didn’t get to snap a photo on my run, but I had some time before my flight home, so I went to the bluffs to watch the sunset. Even now, looking at the sunset pics almost brings me to tears. I miss the ocean (the one that the sun sets into).
Each week, I’ve surpassed my goal mileage anywhere from 2 – 10 miles. Some of my cross training days were converted to easy run days for convenience. I’m cutting back on extra runs and putting cycling back in this week. My shins have been sore again this week, so I’m letting them take a little extra time. Although my mileage is up, I haven’t been happy with my speed. I wanted to run a 1/2 marathon this year under 1:45:00. I don’t think Nike Women’s is going to be that race. I haven’t had many hills to train on. The only thing going for me is that I will probably be faster in the ideal running conditions (50s-60s deg F, as opposed to 90sF and high humidity) and high adrenaline. So, I’ve decided just to push myself to my limit and be happy with my performance. I will try to find another race in November or December to go for my goal time. …Perhaps I should really make time for my strength and cross training!
Check in time! I’ve been training for the Nike Women’s 1/2 marathon for 5 weeks now! I can’t believe how time flies!
I’ve been building my mileage, finding parks that double as 1/4 or 1/2 mile markers, all with my buddy Badger. Overall, he’s a good running partner, although sometimes he loses motivation. I thought that we were hitting his maximum mileage, but today he was still pulling the leash when I tried to start walking after 9 miles (on our 8 mile endurance run)!
Lesson learned: trails keeps Badger motivated!
I’ve been keeping up with my scheduled runs, but have been a little relaxed on my strength training workouts. I typically put them off until the weekend (+surrounding days). I need to find some balance (errrr, motivation) to get them in. I’ve substituted my ‘recovery run’ days as prescribed by the NWM app, with riding my bike to work. Initially, I thought this would be good to get in cardio without stressing my shins. Well, the extra cross training has been great because my shins don’t even hurt anymore!
In a nutshell, every week has 2 cycling days, 2 quality run (i.e. hills-if I can find them-, interval, tempo, or fartlek), and one long run day. I should also add 2-3 strength days as double days. This allows me to get in my rest days (2/week 🙂 and prepare my body for multiple workouts in a day, which it will need to do for Ragnar.
I am slower than my goal time, which sucks. I am think that I should be faster and should be stronger. I know this is not the case. The reality is I would like to be faster, but there I took some serious time off. I will be faster when I get there. Its hot. Its humid. I’m worried about my dog. I often try new routes, which often ends with me being lost. Except for the absence of hills here in DC, I think my race will be much better- a planned/obvious route, and cooler weather. I am most grateful because my body feels strong.
In my post about community, I revealed that I will be running the Ragnar Relay DC to support Girls on the Run DC. Well, its official now! I’m running with 11 new friends to support this amazing non-profit. I first heard of GOTR through the DC Rollergirls. I volunteered with DCRG to cheer and monitor a 5k run by the organization. I’ve been looking for a way to be involved but unfortunately my work and travel schedule do not allow me to participate at the times and consistency that they need. I saw on their website that there is an adult running team, SoleMates, who support of GOTR through charity runs, and happen to be looking for Ragnar participants. I have wanted to do a relay like this for years! I want to run Hood to Coast, I tried to join a Ragnar trail team, all of these have not worked out for me. I have no idea what to expect, so I did not want to captain, but most of my friends are in the same boat. So, I signed up for SoleMates.
GOTR DC serves all eight wards in the district, which is very important! Approximately 1800 girls participate, from elementary school running clubs to middle school track clubs. In addition to learning about running, being active, and enjoying a healthy lifestyle, GOTR teaches about leadership, approaching life and decision making with intention, to stand up for oneself and others, to nurture physical, emotional and spiritual health, and more. It is a system level approach to life that builds confidence in the girls.
Contributions made in support of SoleMates are incredibly important to the organization. All of the donations that I help raise, will go directly to the girls. 70% of the participants require some sort of financial assistance. Wards 7 & 8 have approximately 40-50% children living in poverty- ref here. Donations made through my page will allow girls that live in poverty to learn confidence and how to effectively use their voice to advocate for themselves and their peers. Please consider donating through my page: Viva la run!
I will be documenting my training, progress, team events and the likes with tag #vivalarun
I have a few philosophies that I apply across my life. I’ve listed them below, with a brief explanation as to how they apply to running.
Work smarter, not harder. There’s no use expending more energy than you need to to accomplish a task; when running, faster is better right? I’m a busy woman and I don’t want to spend more time necessary. This doesn’t mean slack off or half ass. I have allotted time to run, I’m going to make the most of it. For my running, I want to find the most efficient way to move. I’ve explored different ideas here: long, heel-stoking strides, pose, chi, yeah. I’ve come to the conclusion that a mid/forefoot strike, with my feet beneath me works best for me. My form is a mix between Budd Coates’ description fromRunning on Air, and The Science of Running by Steve Magness. I use the queues to ‘put my foot down now,’ to keep from overstriding. I use my GPS watch for recording my runs, but don’t have the heart rate monitor so I can tune into how I feel and associate that with a pace. Running by breath helps me prevent/overcome side stitches and know how hard I should be pushing in my workouts. Conclusion: work hard when its time to work, tune into your body, move efficiently to get there faster.
Remember to breath. When I forget about breathing, I typically forget about form. Recipe for disaster. Your breath is the key to how fast and hard you should be going for your workout. Although I have decided the training plans aren’t for me, I highly recommend Running on Air. Running in odd breaths will help asymmetry from forming or injury. For most of my runs, I run 5 strides per breath- 3 strides for inhale, 2 for exhale. Fast intervals, I break it down to a two stride inhale, 1 stride exhale. In addition to helping prevent injury, this links your breath to your movement. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you know that there is a benefit to this. It turns your run into a moving meditation. Studies have shown that brining mindfulness to exercise result in more positive hormones, and better satisfaction performing exercise. Remember to breath. You can’t run without your breath, and you might actually like running a little bit more.
See things from a different perspective. I used to hate out and back runs. I would do anything to create a loop so that I wouldn’t have to see the same scenery. When I travel for work, I often run. It is the only time that I have to myself, and the only time that I can explore whatever city I am staying in. My hatred of out and back runs changed on my recent trip to Alaska. I ran out and back on a coastal pedestrian trail. IT WAS GORGEOUS! Looking at the city backlit instead of front, city vs trees. Since then, I have appreciated the differences between the out and the back. A great way to remember that every path has its own perspective. What you see, is not what someone else may see. Either way, enjoy the view.
Find your balance. Literally. Engage your core, be able to balance on your forefoot, be able to balance on one foot. The strength and stability from your lower leg muscles will save you from injury! Your balance is not possible without engaging your core. WORK YOUR CORE! You’ll feel and look stronger and better.
Kari Moran 