March, Pt 1!

Sooo much has happened since I took the bar exam the last 2 days of February!! I figured that instead of my usual long text updates I'll do this one via pictures so YAY!Anyone who knws me knows my love of taking pictures to capture all those precious moments in life...or you knw me as that annoying person who takes pictures of everything and random candids :)

soooo here's what I've been up to since my life resumed after the bar exam:

1- I went to visit my bff Adrienne in DC for a wkend of fun manisha. it was a fabulous wkend but too short!I was so exhausted & still on my waking up early sched so I literally was up for 23 hrs straight on that Saturday!bananas right?!I went through being drunk after bottomless mimosas to hungover to refreshed for dinner to being exhausted drunk after dinner haha BANANASWKEND. Hopefully I can go visit again soon, after resting for a week and preparing my liver beforehand too haha! so much fun!

BFF and I after a morning of bottomless mimosas 

We went walking around DC after bottomless mimosas. it was so much fun!!!! I love the Capitol. I love DC.

The Supreme Court. J walking in front of this place it was j so empowering. Maybe its the career I'm in, who knws!

Me in front of the Supreme Ct

The FBI field office where AW works!!!!

the frontside of the AW's work building!

church where AW's grandparents were married!conveniently across the street frm AW's work building!

BFF&I before dinner!yay bffs! 

2- After returning frm DC, I had 5 days to get ready for my first 10K race! I had trained not super intensely in January &Feb while I was studying for the bar exam but I didn't run at all the last wk of February when I was in Raleigh/went to DC so I was naturally anxious.  I trained hard the wk b/w DC and the 10K and ended up running 25+ miles in the wk before the race (not my smartest life decision).  The race went well up until nearly finishing mile 5 b/c I got a horrible debilitating cramp in my right calf.  I have NEVER experienced such pain in my life before it was terrible.  I made it to the second water stop and kept running through the pain and once I got to mile 6 it started cramping again! This time was worse than before I almost literally fell to the ground.  I was saved by this super nice woman who gave me some electrolyte gummies (I forgot mine at my parents house) and helped massage my calf.  She walked w me to the last water stop too.  She was running the half marathon (I was doing the 10K) in preparation for her 50miler race in a few wks and she too was upset w not knowing it was a trail race b/c she had so much at stake.  OHYEAH BTW, the stupid Danville Parks &Rec never advertised it was a trail race nor did they include the course map on anything or the website and I (like the majority of runners of the 5K, 10K, &HM) learned it was a trail race at the starting line.  For someone who doesn't run, most runners train on paved ground/sidewalks/treadmills.  A trail race is j that, small paths w rocks and roots jutting out of the ground, trees all around, leaves and puddles w NO mile markers. Most runners don't train on that kind of terrain and if ppl sign up for such races, they usually train for that kind of terrain.  SOOOOO, needless to say I was ridiculously angry abt it being a trail race, but I got over it, maintained my pace by running 3-4 mins for every 30 sec-1min walk break BUT my main issue w this out of control race was that it was FAR LONGER than the advertised 10K, it was abt 7.5 miles based on my gps. I WAS PISSED. for the past wk my calf has been healing but its been so hard to walk I was limping this entire last wk....

me before the race!literally 1.5hrs before the race b/c it was so poorly organized I had to get my bib b/w 830-930 and the race didn't start until after 1030. BANANAS.

3- BEACH VACAY! My mom wanted me to go on a stress-free relaxing trip after taking the bar exam b/c she knew how stressed I was and how things went last time around soooo we went to Myrtle Beach frm last Monday to this past Friday.  It was glorious.  I got a major tan (w some awkward tanlines) and went outlet shopping and ate some delicious food that I rarely let myself eat (pasta, pizza, muffins/waffles at bfast) and SLEPT. it was pretty amazing.  

mommy and I the first night before we went to dinner

sister and I before going to dinner. found the most amazing mom&pop italian restaurant. it was so delicious my mouth is watering j thinking abt it..... I had the gnocchi w creamy tomato sauce w bruschetta appetizer

mommy sister and i after we drove to Surfside Beach

I was creeping on mommy & sister when we were laying out by the pool :)

Mommy & I in our traditional beach trip picture :)

this makes me giggle b/c of my love of abbrievs. it was in the elevator in our hotel hahha

mommy sister and I after lunch one day 

sunrise one morning. I'm pretty early to rise these days... it was pretty beautiful, even for myrtle beach!

ME!YAY! I love going to the beach but laying by the pool is fun too

last morning after an early morning walk on the beach 

OK well, thats all I have for now. I will do a part 2 after the rest of this month...... lets all have a collective prayer circle for good results/life news in the beginning of april....!

xoxoManisha

H-O-K-I-E-S, HOKIES!!!!!

We j beat clemson in the first round of the acc tournament.  YAYAYAYAYAYAY

(frm thekeyplay.com)

OK hokies you did this. yayayay. nowwww we need to kill duke tom and play another full 40 mins. YOU CAN DO THIS. GOOOO HOKIESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

ok thats all. time to get in a run then pack. going to danvegas tom for my 10k on sat, then beach 12-16!!!! so much to pack i think im going crazy!!

Running on Empty

So this is a little srs for a post than I normally do but I came across this article in my latest issue of Runner's World Magazine and thought I'd put it out in the open. When I was reading it, I really identified with the stories and found so many things in common with how I lived my during my 3L yr of law school..

Running on Empty

What the article basically talks about is how runners who are aiming to reach a new PR or training for a race have this perception that a lower weight will automatically lead to a new PR or just running faster..  Basically, the man in the first story identified that in the end he made a PR after gaining a few lbs rather than when he basically starved himself thinking that weighing less will ultimately make him run faster.  I identified with this so much because in the fall of 2010 I started training for my first half marathon. I wasn't terribly overweight but just a little heavy (regardless I had already lost nearly 60lbs inthe previous yr).  I (along w some other influences) just had in my mind that I needed to lose more weight so I can run faster the next February in my race and have an amazing time in my first half.  I would religiously count calories (I used to keep a packet of notecards in my kitchen &start my daily calorie count w my coffee/breakfast) and rewarded myself if I had less than 1000 calories that day (not adding the runs I did everyday in order to lose weight).. this probably went on for 4/5 mos before it all came to head and I was completely worn out.  WELL, long story short (you can read some posts from spring 2011 if you want the whole story) I got terribly sick, weak, and out of sorts for nearly 4 months.  I went to so many doctors, had so many blood tests, went to the hospital even for xrays, etc.  It was a pretty scary time in life and it really diminished my mental state for the foreseeable future..I ended up doing my half marathon even though I was so sick.. I failed miserably in making my goal time by nearly 30+ mins.

When I was reading this article, I think it rang true to me in the end especially because it really does speak the truth.  The number on the scale and the number of calories is not the only factor in running fast or making a PR.  The main thing is to be strong and healthy.  This is so true and I realized it last fall when I ran my second half marathon.  I was nearly 20lbs heavier (so not a super great weight) BUT I was a lot healthier than I was the previous half marathon.  I even beat my previous half PR by 16 mins.  So yeah, it really is true that 'running on empty' is not a good idea/unhealthy for runners.

I hope people who read this article had their eyes opened like me because it really can get dangerous for runners.  I have been working for almost a year now to get back to a healthy place in life and not let the calorie counting take over my life again..It's so easy to get close to/cross the line from being healthy and barely eating anything in the name of running. It is a struggle and like everyone I have my good days and bad days when my mind thinks nothing but abt the calories ive consumed but its a work in progress.

Right now, I feel like I am in one of the best places in life, I literally havent been this happy in a longgggg time (well over a year) and even though Im not at the weight I would call ideal, I am happy and am taking a whole new approach to this weight loss while staying healthy in my habits.

xoxoManisha

Upcoming Races

So excited for these upcoming events!

Greenlegs & Hamstrings 10K (Danville, VA)- 03/10/12
Shamrock 5K (Danville, VA)- 03/17/12
Bridge to Bridge 5K (Danville, VA)- 04/07/12
Run for the Dream Half Marathon (Williamsburg, VA)- 05/20/12