It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. No, really, it was merely a busy Thursday. I’ve just always wanted to write that as an introduction to something.

But today really wasn’t any mere Thursday at all. This Thursday just so happened to mark my last run with the Godiva crew before I move home. This Thursday was bittersweet.

I was looking forward to a nice, easy, conversation filled run with a few friends but quickly found that plan amiss. My week-long multilevel model training included a happy hour get together at 5:00 p.m. today, and I had planned to stay for a short while before leaving to meet up for our weekly jaunt – “flat” night, a.k.a. four miles out and back on the American Tobacco Trail at 6:00 p.m.

I knew I’d be cutting it close but thought I could pull both off.

At 5:33 p.m., I had excused myself from the par-tay and was off. What you’re about to read is NOT exemplary behavior. Déjà vu much? I wish I could tell you that I’m not always this hot a mess. Well, I could, but it would be a lie. *Sigh.*

I stopped at Walgreens to get some cash from the ATM, walked back to my car in a nearby garage, changed into my running attire in the driver’s seat – yes, that happened – paid my parking fee, proceeded to head toward I-40 – tying my hair back and putting on my socks, running shoes, and watch at a few stoplights along the way – upon which reaching I drove quite speedily to the Fayetteville Road exit.

I arrived at 6:07 p.m. and later found out that I had juuuuuuuust missed everyone else by a few mere minutes. That may not sound like much, but it’s definitely long enough for everyone else to get a good start. At first, I thought I’d take my time and catch everyone on their way back. That would have meant going about the first half of the run solo – LAME, especially given this was my last Godiva run! There was only one solution.

So much for a relaxing run – Time to haul a#%!

I was excited and finally able to relax when I did catch up to one of the runners just after the 2 ½ mile mark along the course. We then quickly caught up with two others. Aaaaaand the rest of my run was complete!

Afterward, I was met with a most pleasant surprise. Carolyn, whose cameo appearance in a previous post you may recall when dubbed as one half of the most extraordinaire of post-running feast hosts, had not only made a special trip all the way to our meeting spot to see me off but also bought me my very own Godiva technical tee:

Aww! I love it!

I chatted with her and Jim – her husband and the other half of the aforementioned winged feet dynamic duo – for a little while before heading out, and I was a bit saddened. Carolyn, Jim, and the other Godivans were the first real friends I made when first moving to NC just shy of exactly two years ago.

No matter how unhappy I felt about being in NC during that time, they were a constant source of friendship. A fixed factor in a multilevel model with varying slopes and intercepts accounting for a significant amount of variance in the dependent variable of FUN I’ve had while in NC. Yeah, yeah, I know – Nerd alert! Cut me some slack. I’ve been in an intensive statistical course for four days strong now.

I will proudly wear my new Godiva technical tee next Thursday – and many others – at the Irish Snug; and I look forward to seeing Carolyn, Jim, and many other friends at another Godiva run sometime during a visit. Just by being themselves, they single-handedly gave me some footing on loose gravel, a sense of arch support, so to speak, at a time that I really needed it. They’ve been very good to me.

And this nerd in running shoes won’t ever forget it.

Melissa Mincic studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

Today is Saturday, May 11, 2013. Also, today is day 20 of my 21-day diet cleanse. Here’s a glimpse into a few of the changes I’ve made in my life during the past three weeks:

• I’ve prepared actual meals - entrée and side dishes - on a regular basis - something I am happy to do when I have a group of friends over periodically but WAAAAAY more work than my staple omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and avocado.
• I’ve skipped out on all dairy products, bread – TAKE ME, TAKE ME NOW! – and nuts.
• I’ve consumed about 40 smoothies with protein powder and flax oil.
• I’ve bothered restaurant staff with special instructions to hold anything and everything interesting on the menu’s already most bland salad.
• I’ve explained to people an nth number of times the purpose of my diet cleanse
• Once, I ate my emergency reserve organic granny smith apple at a busy bar on a Friday night because I was hungry. Jess assured me that everyone was too drunk and preoccupied to notice. Aaaaaand of course, about one minute later, I overheard some guy say, “That girl’s eating an apple” as we made our way through the crowd to the end of the bar. *Sigh*

Tomorrow is my last day. Only one word comes to mind: WUUUUHOOOO!!!

You said it, lady!

The whole diet cleanse thing was work! Still, I have some supplements and protein powder left over. So, I’m going to try to keep up the regimen until the supplements run out. And, to be sure that I do, I built in a reinforcement: I made an appointment to weigh in and to check some other body measurements a week from Monday, about a week following the end of the 21 days.

I can tell that I’ve lost weight; the question is just how much. The numbers will matter a bit, as I want to beat out my loss of six pounds last year for my first cleanse attempt. The real proof, though, will be in how I look and feel.

That said, I conducted a little test today on accident. Yes, on accident. It’s nothing too experimental or methodologically sound, but a test nonetheless. I haven’t done laundry for two weeks now and am fresh out of nice jeans, and I didn’t have enough time to wash any and make my dinner date with a friend.

And one of my two remaining clean pairs, although my absolute favorite pair on earth, have giant holes in both knees and make me look like a rebellious teenager who rolled up on a skateboard and is about to pull a package of cigarettes out of my back pocket. There was only one pair of jeans left: my only current pair of denim capris, a.k.a. my ‘skinny jeans.’

I had no intentions or even so much as a mere thought of trying them on for at least another two weeks. The last time I tried was mid-March with the hope that they would accompany me in Myrtle Beach. FAIL! And even though I’d been cleansing, I did take those two weeks off just before I started marathon training. It was a long shot, but I was out of options. So, I went for it.

Any guesses as to the outcome? Hmm? They. . .FIT! WUUUUHOOOO!!!

Aww, thanks, Chuck!

Talk about motivation! Not to mention validation for all of my efforts over the past few weeks. I’m guessing there are at least a few male readers who can relate. But all y’all females feel me, I know it! And the best part of the diet cleanse - running faster – is yet to come.

Here’s to further encouragement – accidental or not – along the road to Pikes Peak!

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

So. . . I last left y’all contemplating how I could #1 – have fun and #2 – manage to squeeze in a trail run while camping with some new peeps while not being seen as that girl.

The drive up was peaceful – a windy, narrow dirt road that reminded me of one of my favorite spots to run in Umstead Park. I could feel my shoulders sink in relaxation as I blissfully sighed and pictured myself running along the road.

Weeelllllllll, things didn’t go quite as I had planned.

The air was frigid, and we knew rain was coming at camp. But the atmosphere was one of full-blown vacation mode. We were totally tucked away from it all, and I’ve got to say that it felt really good – liberating, really – to be out of cell phone reception for a while. I even got a few pics of the beautiful stream scenery not 50 yards away from where we all slept:

So pretty!

Not too long after setting up camp and joining everybody, I was sharing in a good laugh. Aaaaaand then, the drinks started pouring. I failed miserably at goal #2. Not only did I not get in a run while out there, I was totally that girl. . . Um, in a complete other sense, if you catch my drift. But if you don’t, I can tell you that I completely and utterly accomplished goal #1, have fun. The parts I can remember were a blast!

Let’s do a little ‘I should have known better’ math, shall we?

Very little – two protein shakes, an apple, and some grape tomatoes – in my stomach (I was waiting for dinner to bring out my lentils while everyone else enjoyed beef brisket and tons of delicious, very non-diet cleanse approved junk food)

+ Not consuming a drop of alcohol for at least two weeks while cleansing (with the exception of this trip, clearly)

+ SERIOUS loss of sleep the night before for last minute trip preparations, of course

= A recipe for disaster!

I’ll spare you the details and tell you instead that, for the most part, I got a good night’s sleep! The windy mountain road on the way back to the highway in the morning wasn’t all that swell, but the off-and-on napping once we hit the highway made up for it. Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling much up for running of any distance on Sunday afternoon when I got home.

Sadly, this wasn’t the ‘epic runner fail’ part.

The FAIL came late Sunday afternoon when I was feeling TONS better and back to myself. The weather was drizzly still in Chapel Hill, and it probably would have actually felt really great during a run. I told this to myself many times as I sat on the couch and stared out the window, laptop resting on my lap, music blaring.

At that point, I just didn’t feel like running. So, I didn’t. Fail.

I debated whether or not to write about this in my next blog post, but I think it’s a hard lesson learned that needs to be shared. I’m not proud that I wasn’t more conservative on the trip and paid the price, but I am also human and not at all afraid to point out my own flaws. They serve as hart-hitting reminders of what not to do in the future.

I thought about it, though, and remembered that I miscalculated and actually started in the second week of my marathon training plan for the Pikes Peak Ascent last year. And, I hit my secret goal – the one that’s much faster than what I share with everybody else – too. And, Melissa had followed a much more rigorous training plan this year for the Boston Marathon, including more frequent and more intense speed work.

I definitely have a good running base despite my weekend mishap. So, maybe I could cut myself a little slack here. So long as I don’t slip up again for the next three months and three weeks, that is.

Voila! Just like that, I was back to full-force training mentality today when I woke up. And, just like an old friend with true, mad, deep, unconditional love for moi, running welcomed me back earlier this evening with open arms as if to say, “I missed you this weekend! I didn’t mind sleeping in, though. Now let’s get back to it.”

Much like my first training run last week, the air was cool and inviting. I felt comfortable and relaxed, and I was surprised at my pace yet again.

The best of friends will always have you back, even if you slip up here and there.

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

I am so excited for today. Today marks my first camping trip of the year, and, even though it’s technically still spring, a sure sign of summer! Camping is fun in and of itself, but it gets me really giddy to think of camping because to me, camping = trail running!

Buuuuuuut, I end up faced with the inevitable question: What to do, what to do?!

To know how I should prepare for a run on the trip, I checked the weather forecast:

Rain, rain, go away?

Great running weather! Or, is it? While the thought of running in the rain generally sounds pretty amazing, I’m not sure a wet, muddy trail would be as welcoming for either me or the rest of the herd. I seriously doubt they’d want to hang out with a lil’ gal reminiscent of a wet dog. I’m one of several peeps who will be bonding with nature without running water but with, of course, LOTS of beer.

Disclaimer digression: I’ve been pretty darn dedicated to my diet cleanse, but among this weekend’s camping peeps are a few of my newest NC beer guzzlin’ buddies. Sooooooo don’t judge me if I am coerced to have one. . .hmm, or two. . .over the next 36 hours. Or, do go ahead and judge, just don’t tell me that you did. And now, back to your regularly scheduled program. . .

I know a group hike is scheduled in there somewhere but don’t know what the plan is for the weekend as a whole. As much as I want – and need (I’m in week #1 of marathon training, remember? No slackers past this point!) - to run, I don’t want – or need – to be “that girl.” You know, that girl who left everybody and went running. That girl who had her own agenda. “Ugh, rude!” Yup. Her.

In lieu of party prep to see a good work pal off to the next stage of her career, I skipped my four-mile run today thinking I would tack it onto my one remaining seven-mile run for the week. So I have no wiggle room left.

Do I try to squeeze in a long run, even if it makes me look antisocial at best and maybe a bit whacked otherwise? I’m not sure when we’ll be back on Sunday. Should I chance it by taking Saturday off with the plan to run on Sunday after we get back? Or, should I count the hike as a few miles, then shorten my long run to be sure I can get it in?

Decisions, decisions!

No matter what potential answers apply to these questions, I want to be sure of two things. First, we will all have FUN! Second, I will find a way to fit in my run. It’s only training week one, but it’s just as official as the final week of training: The gun for my first ever marathon starting line awaits!

I hope you are as fortunate as I to include camping in your weekend plans. More than that, I hope your weekend plans include a great run. Either/or, both, or neither, have a great one! I know I will.

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

The week of April 28, 2013. It might not hold any particular significance for you, but it’s the beginning of the ‘long haul’ for me. This week marks my first official week of training for the Pikes Peak Marathon; and yesterday marked my first official day of training, which, according to my plan, included “6 miles hills.”

So, at about 5:30 p.m., I closed my office door and changed into my running gear. I always try to be discreet when I change at the office to head out for a run, kinda like Clark Kent. Huh huh.

Eh?! Whatta ya think?

My ‘Superman’ delusions and I headed out for the usual starting spot, the parking lot between the track and the field house on campus.

All superhero references aside, I was a bit nervous about the run to be honest, not because of the distance or the fact that I was supposed to include hills, but because it had been TWO WHOLE WEEKS since I had done any form of working out.

I know it’s only the beginning of training; so I shouldn’t be particularly worried about pace. Anyone who knows me, though, knows that doesn’t matter, that I want to be fast all of the time, and especially now since I had been running with Melissa and knew that I could run fast.

I tried to talk myself into very lax expectations for speed, tried to remind myself that I would, in fact, get faster as my training progressed. And the fact that I hadn’t run in about two weeks – that I knew I’d be rusty – only added to the amount of self-talk required.

The sky was overcast all day, and by the time I got to the parking lot, clouded up and looked as if it might sprinkle rain drops at some point. There was an occasional cool breeze, the kind that feels only very slightly chilly if standing outside without a jacket but brings a most welcome, unexpected gush of fresh air while out for a run. Conditions were perfect for a ‘welcome back’ run.

Without thinking twice, I jumped out of my car, tied my key into the knot of my left shoe like usual, and cued my watch to training mode. Wake up, old friend. Time to get to work! Once my Garmin was good to go, I took off.

To my surprise, I felt pretty loose and fluid from the start; and I was pleased with the digits on the screen when my watched beeped to mark the first mile. Huh. OK. Not bad to start, but I’ll slow down as I go.

To my even greater surprise, my second mile felt just as good and was about the same speed. All of that chillaxin’ must have done me some good, damn straight! I feel awesome!

To my greatest surprise, I felt strong the entire run, even up the few gradual inclines and steeper spots. In fact, I tacked on just a bit of extra distance at the end to get one last incline. And, once I got back to my car to grab my water bottle, one of those cool breezy whispers greeted me like a pat on the back for a most excellent first marathon training run.

That was probably one of the single most enjoyable solo runs I had run in North Carolina, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

I know my training runs won’t all be as pleasant as this one, but I am looking forward to the next four months. More than that, I am looking forward to seeing Dakin, JD, and any other peeps that wait for me at the finish line of my first ever marathon.

2013’s already been a pretty stellar year, but I can tell it’s only gonna get better from here.

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

You never know where life may take you, it’s so true. I definitely never expected to live in NC. Still, it’s turned out to have its perks. Most recently, a job perk for me included my third conference trip for the spring to San Francisco! That carried with it more exciting perks – visits with two of my previous runnin’ pals!

First, Maria. Maria and I ran cross country together during my first year of college – I was a freshman, and she was a sophomore. We fell out of touch after she graduated and left good ol’ Trinidad State Junior College up until about three years ago - about 11 years after Maria graduated.

On some random week night, Maria called me. I don’t remember how she got my number, but I was so happy to hear from her! I really appreciated the fact that she made the effort to seek me out. We caught up on each other’s lives for about an hour, and we’ve kept in touch ever since.

We even flew to Japan together a few summers ago to visit yet another former member of the TSJC Lady Trojans Cross Country Team, Makiko:

Representin’ the Lady Trojans after learning to conduct a tea ceremony in Kyoto

Maria ended up back home in California, and she was nice enough to meet me for dinner and a walk around Fisherman’s Wharf in San Fran on Saturday:

Miss this girl!

As if that weren’t awesome enough, I met up with Dave, a good friend from the Irish Snug Running Club, after this. I don’t think Dave had any plans to move across the country for a job; but, as was my case two years ago, life had other plans in store for him as well.

When he learned that I would be moving to Durham, NC, in May 2011, he wasted no time in recruiting me to pace him for the last 11 miles of the Outer Banks Marathon on the NC coast in November 2011. It was then that he earned his nickname, thanks to a few marathon spectators without filters who thought out loud before we were out of earshot on along the course.

We rounded a corner where two women were standing in a residential neighborhood. We may have only gotten a few feet past them when we heard one of the women say, “Look at that man running with his granddaughter!”

We looked at the other for a sec then laughed, and I’ve called him “Poppy” (what his grandchildren call him) ever since.

Posing after Poppy’s new marathon PR – which he has, of course, already beaten since!

And again, just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Poppy gave me this, a memento from the marathon:

Aww! Thanks, Poppy! You shouldn’t have!

Not only had I had a great time with Maria and with Dave, they both traveled at least an hour to meet me in San Francisco. If that’s not the sure sign of good friends, I don’t know what is! The best part? I know this wasn’t the last time our paths would cross.

I am a very lucky winged feet gal to have such amazing running peeps, only one of the many reasons I run, even if we can’t run together right now.

There’s nothing like an awesome blast from my running past to round out the end of my mini running sabbatical. San Fran was fun, but now it’s time to get to work – This week marks week one of marathon training. The Pikes Peak Marathon is 108 days and about 8 1/2 hours away. The countdown has officially begun. . .

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

It’s Tuesday, and I haven’t run in 8 days now. At the end of last week and over the weekend, I was in Seattle for a conference. And, since I’ve been back, I’ve had to:

• Readjust to the three-hour time difference between the west and east coasts, a.k.a. force myself into bed at night and out of bed in the morning
• Diligently attend to EVERY little thing I consume in order to stay on track with my diet cleanse
• Cook from the diet cleanse cookbook most every day - and clean up a messy kitchen afterward – so that I don’t starve after surviving most of the day on raw vegetables and a handful of pills alone:

Holy pill popper, Batman!

• Start checking off items on my latest ‘to do’ list, including some very time-sensitive items, which has by far surpassed the size of a Post-it note - my typical ‘to do’ list size preference:

Post-it note AND THEN some! Plus my diet cleanse grocery list on the back. . .

• Do at least one load of laundry – which has crossed my mind at least three times so far this evening yet remains untouched
• Prepare for my trip to San Francisco for my final conference of the spring this upcoming weekend
• Finish a paper for work – a paper I wanted done over a month ago now – before I fly out on Friday afternoon.

If I haven’t already painted you a vivid picture, I’ll just say this – I’ve got a LOT to do!

Seriously, how do parents do it? And even married couples without children?! If I ever do get married, he’s gonna have to be one very self-sufficient fella. I fly by the seat of my pants on a daily, in a seemingly eternal disheveled hot mess of a rush, and barely manage to take care of myself!

Given that I was out of town last weekend, will be out of town this weekend, and officially start training for the Pikes Peak Marathon – marking my first ever marathon attempt – next week, I decided to grant myself a ‘bye week’ to get a handle on things. And, I’ve somewhat surprisingly been able to do it so far without an ounce of guilt.

I’m not old, but I’m old enough to have learned a few things in my day, one of which has proven invaluable: CHILLAX.

Sure, it’s not ideal to be away from running this much. Still, I know I can definitely handle my first few weeks of training no problem. In fact, I’ve been running more miles and higher milage long runs than they require for at least the past few weeks. Chillax, Mel. You’ve got this.

As I mentioned, several things on my latest ‘to do’ list are time sensitive. Many of them also require others’ carving time out of their schedules in order for me to check them off the list. I’d say that makes them a priority. Chillax, Mel. This is more important right now.

OK, maybe I didn’t pick the ideal time to start a labor- and often consequently time-intensive diet cleanse. For something like this, though, there really never is an “ideal” time. Chillax, Mel. You’ve done this before, remember? You know exactly what to do. And, more importantly, you know the time and effort will pay off.

When life gets hectic, don’t fret. Chillax. Or, as I recently cited as my mantra for the day via my Facebook page, “Keep calm and marathon on.” No matter how you say it, say it as you take in and momentarily hold a big breath with closed eyes before breathing out the stressors induced by your own ‘to do’ lists.

And, if working on that list means having to take a few days away from running, that’s OK. You, are indeed, after all, a RUNNER and will get back to it. Until then, rest easy knowing that your shoes, watch, and favorite route will be waiting. Just chillax.

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.

So we all know that being in the best possible shape requires work regarding both exercise and diet. Right? Right! For a long time, I had the exercise part down pat a few years ago but didn’t realize the importance of the diet piece of the puzzle.

Between running and hitting the gym, I would work out up to 8 times per week. Sounds like a lot, right? After all that, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t thinner. I mean, I burned a TON of calories each week! I knew I could eat better, but I wasn’t that bad. . .or so I thought. It wasn’t until about this time last year that I realized just how awful my eating habits really were.

Lots and LOTS of great things have come out of my move to NC, one of which includes a complete transformation of my nutrition knowledge and eating habits. I had always wanted to do a diet cleanse, and I was planning on one shortly before I learned I would be moving to NC. I finally did it about a year later and am SO happy I did!

Several of my friends from my gym in NC introduced me to the Standard Process diet cleanse. They had all done it and said they got great results. So I thought, “Eh, what the heck?”

Twenty-one days; up to 30 supplement capsules per day – Holy pill popper, Batman! – for some of those days; and TONS of fresh, organic fruits, vegetables, chicken, and fish later, I had lost six pounds, increased my body water composition by several percentage points, and felt awesome.

That was all good, but it wasn’t even the best part. What was, you ask? I’ll tell you! I was running faster than I ever had in my life and loving it!

I’m about to start the same diet cleanse again, which means that I will have to give up many of the things I enjoy on a daily basis. Soooooo, I’ve given myself the ‘OK’ to have things I like but don’t often consume anyway in preparation for the strict dietary constrictions to come.

I think, though, I may have overdone it just a bit. Here are just a few of my indulgences in the past two weeks or so. Before you scroll down, I have one thing to say: Don’t judge me! Hmmm, well, maybe just not too harshly. . .

Victims #1 and #2

Coconut, almonds, and chocolate. Oh my!

I put the Reese’s in the freezer for a short while but ate it before it could freeze much :/

Fatty McPhatterson much? I didn’t stop there. . .

Truth be told, I’m a soft pretzel FEIND!!! I could be addicted to a lot worse, right?!

You NEVER outgrow nostalgic bliss that only ‘The Original’ can deliver

In my defense, I tried to give away half (buuuuuuuut ate it all – ‘yum yum’ is right!)

Add to this about four more diet sodas, ice cream times two, and two churros. Hmmmmm. . . yeaaaahhhhh. . . shoulda left this last list out. . .

After all of this, I am most definitely ready for my diet cleanse. Not only ready, I can’t wait! I can’t wait to eat uber healthy, to trim down after my horrible – yet yummy – eating as of late, to feel sooooo much better, and last but not anywhere near least – to run FAST!

Melissa Mincic, Ph.D., studies child development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a long-time road and trail runner. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @nerdinrunshoes.