A newborn runner and her dates
How does one celebrate the conclusion of a dull week of studying?
By buying a new pair of running shoes!
I <3 my new Nike’s
And I guess the shoes (and the title) are big hint as to the announcement I’m about to make…
I’m going to be a runner!
I never actually thought of myself as a runner, but lately I’ve been so full of energy that I really wanted to take up some kind of sport and I thought this would be perfect: you don’t need an instructor, you don’t need equipment and I can bring my shoes with me everywhere when I travel so I can always run!
If the people in my school (ESPECIALLY my Phys. Ed. teacher’s) knew, they’d roll over from laughter. Tina and sport? No, not really. But I’ve been experiencing a rush of energy lately and I need a new outlet. Who knows, I may be quite decent at it, with a little practice 
So, this morning was my first run EVER! And I made this training schedule online, so it devised some kind of plan for me. It’s really handy, cause I had no idea whatsoever how to start… But the gist of it is: I have to train 3 times a week and by march next year I’ll be able to run 5 kilometres (about 3.1miles).
Thing is, this morning’s run went uhm, differently than expected…
The plan was to do intervals; 6 x 30 seconds running with 2 minutes of walking in between. And I kind of did that, though it was more like 6 x 30 seconds sprinting with 30 to 60 seconds walking and before I got to the actual (self)designated “interval location” I jogged there and I jogged on the way back. I worked it out and came up with these results:
This morning I did 6km in total in 40 minutes (this is including intervals and max 3 minutes walking). I don’t know if it was okay with the plan to jog, but I felt like it and I didn’t get tired, so I’m just going to see how things roll…
But blogging runners, be forewarned, I will be spamming you (and your blog) with many questions. Why? Because I’m a noob and I’m inquisitive 
The rest of the day brought along some pleasant surprises… such as this megascore!
I get a sugar rush from just looking at this…
Do you know how many dates are in that box?
5 GLORIOUS KILOGRAMS!!!
Do you know for how much I bought that?
5 EUROS AND FRIGGIN’ 50 CENTS!!!
That means 5kg (=10lbs) for 5.50 euros (= 8 dollars)
SCORE!!!!
I buy Medjool dates for about 1 euro per 100kg… so basically I got 50 euros worth of dates for ONE TENTH OF THE PRICE!!!
I was practically jumping up in down in the store.
JOY!!!
With this many dates, I was bound to (ab)use them…
So I started experimenting with them, in pursuit of the perfect larabar-clone (Jee, that one larabar got me hooked!)
And basically this is more or less what happened…
Bananas and dates in the food processor
A funny looking mess in the oven…
Yeah, as you can imagine, things didn’t quite work out. The consistency was all wrong. So I added some leftover almond pulp and processed it again and now I made tiny little bars that are sleeping in the freezer. Tomorrow they shall face the wrath of my bar-obsessed taste buds!
On the plus side:
The contents of the food processor were yummy…
Can’t go wrong with a banana/date-blend, right?
And my excess of dates also lead to one or two of these babies…
Some very big bugs on a log
Remember ants on a log?
Meet HUGEASS MUTANT BUGS ON A LOG!
Basically “Ants on a log²”
I’ve been a bad blogger lately – sticking to Google Reader *shame* and minimal commenting but study comes first… so I had to do it. Forgive me?
But to make up for it I can tell you that the (near) future will bring you:
- MANY COMMENTS
(I need to read more blogs! IMO) - Some how-to’s on things I’ve learnt
- Updates on what I’ve changed around on my blog
- My new plan of action for blogging
- And of course… Recipes!
A preview of what’s coming up…
And now for a few questions (this is probably going to be a standard thing from now on.. you are all just so wise, I’d love to hear your thoughts! 
)
I’ve been having issues with wordpress lately: Does anyone else have trouble with HTML-widgets in their textbox?
I’ve been trying to add a widget but it keeps deleting the last part (</script>) every time I save 
Someone else asked this a while ago on their blog and now I’ve been wondering too: Do you get e-mails when I reply to your comments?
To the runners in bloggyworld:
What are your tips for people starting to run?
Is jogging the same as running?
Do I have to run to my max capability (sprinting)?
What kind of earphones do you have? Because my goddamn earphones kept falling out of my ears… which is annoying!
And to leave you with a cliff-hanger…
I will be making a big announcement on my next post…
Sending all of you love from the Low Lands…
Tina
A blog about the healthy, simple and delicious raw vegan food in the busy life of a would-be globetrotter. 
That’s such a good deal for the dates. I bought about 12oz of medjouls at the farmer’s market the other day for $7. That’s like .50 cents per date. But they were so fresh and drippy. mmmm…
I don’t really consider myself a runner, but I have done some running in my life. I used to do crew, so we had to run at practice. We would sprint up steep hills and walk down, do 6 mile road runs at 5am in March in New England (brrr), warm up jogging, and more long uphill runs. There were also a few long runs midday in Indiana in July (sweatiest I’ve even been apart from bikram yoga). So when I stopped rowing I knew that I could always fall back on running as a work out, which I do from time to time. I guess I don’t really have any great advice. I’m a pretty bare bones runner, I don’t bring my ipod or a watch, I just start running, vary the pace as I feel compelled and return home when I feel satisfied, usually between 30 minutes and an hour later. I guess the best advice is to just get out there, try different length runs and paces and once you discover what you’re capable of, you’ll be better able to balance challenging yourself without overtiring yourself.
As far as the email, if I click the box that says notify me of follow up comments via email, then I would get an email.
Wish I could say I would join you in your running ambition — but the truth of the matter is, I get winded walking out to get the mail
best of luck to you though honey – cant wait to hear about all your adventures of the pavement!
p.s. just got your comment – oh my god.. hilar! do you like fish dicks?! it also does such a great job portraying Kanye
happy day to you lovepot! xo
Yay for becoming a runner!!! As you probably know, I’m pretty obsessed with running
For people just starting out, I would say take it easy! Don’t “overtrain” because that just leads to injuries and those are no fun at all.. Try running for a minute, then walk a minute, run a minute, etc.. and just gradually increase the running time and decrease the walking time..
For me, jogging isn’t the same as running..I see jogging as a more leisurely stroll through the park, able to carry a conversation, and pretty low intensity.. I feel like running is more effort, a faster pace, etc.. but that’s just my opinion! I think there’s a huge debate going on about it in the running world so there’s definitely no right answer
And I haven’t run to my max capacity in.. almost forever!! I’m a distance runner so our races are all about pacing ourselves!! For practices, we do workouts at different paces (ie, 6:30/mile, etc) so I pretty much never sprint all out… if you want to try and become a faster sprinter though, then those might be necessary.. but if you want to eventually run a 5k, I would say its all about pacing!
Sorry this comment was so all over the place.. I’m really tired
I hope it helped a little bit at least!
i absolutely love running! i love the runner’s high, the fresh air you breath in and the amazing pride that i carry when i can run. but right now i am not practicing any running. as much as i love this sport my bowels don’t. so i listened to my body and just do yoga now. i hope that i will be able to pick it up again some time in the future when i feel better.
if you ever have any questions regarding your running you can always email me for help. in terms of how far to run, where, when and what gear to get. i’d love to help you out
xoxo
Yay running!! I love how you just woke up one day and decided to take it up – you won’t regret it! As for the jog/sprint thing, I think the number one mistake new runners make is going TOO FAST. Start your intervals off slow, and if you’re feeling good, get faster as you go. You don’t want to burn yourself out in that first interval. If you feel like sprinting, maybe do one speed run a week where you just go at it
Dates!!! I want to dive head first into that box
nice story….
Good luck with the running! So exciting
Mmm bananas and dates sound so good! Like a larabar!
<3 jess
xoxo
Hi, Tina, saw your comment on Freelee’s site and checked out your blog, great stuff! Running is awesome once you get in the zone. I’m going to make that spinach and orange salad that you made soon. I just started a blog documenting the last couple of weeks of a 30 day raw challenge that I’m doing with some people in Adelaide feel free to check it out =)..http://30dayrawfoodchallenge.ning.com/profiles/blogs/raw-challenge-food-diary-sure
Oooh I can’t wait to hear about this big announcement
Nope, I do not get emails when you reply to my comment. I don’t know why they don’t do that?
A lot of people suggest Couch-to-5k (Google it
) for beginners. Jogging is not considered the same as running. It’s usually thought as of more of a leisurely, slow-paced activity while running is fast, although some people consider it the same thing.
It’s usually helpful to sprint or do intervals in order to improve your speed.
I like Sony’s fonotopia or vmoda sports headphones (both are just plain earbuds but fit snugly).
Good luck with the studies, girlie!!!
ah the great larabar re-invention, an event that happens every day around the world :p i’m pretty sure most of us have, at one point or another, tried to re-create a larabar for ourselves haha. but just a bit of advice–they generally don’t get cooked in the oven. the stickiness from the dates should hold ‘em together… i’m glad you liked the bar i sent you though!!
good luck with the running! i really hope you get into it like you want to. i’m sure you will though. i can tell you’re very determined and if you want something bad enough, you’ll always get it, trust me
xox big hugs
Woo big announcement…can’t wait
Dates are so good, I call them Mother Nature’s candies!
I love the new twist on the ant on a log, but now since it’s dates maybe it should be called cockrell on a log xD
Have a nice weekend
Vanilla