"Icy Run" and Thanksgiving wishes

Hello folks!

So today was a short run for me (can I just say I didn't think I would ever consider 3 miles a short run!) and it was icy today- we got snow is Chicagoland yesterday which was nice but made running this morning a little difficult. I love running outside but when the snow hits I have to become more careful because I am super afraid of messing up my knees- basketball and dancing has taken a bit of a toll on them but I want to keep running, dancing, and just generally being active. I know I need to strengthen my knees so I have started doing squats and Warrior III pose in yoga- it's helping! 

Anyways- since this was my first run of the winter season I thought I would give you a run down of what I wore so you might have an idea of what to wear. I personally don't like my legs to be too warm (old habit from high school basketball...I always left my shorts on but always piled on my coat and sweater...to the the dislike of my coach. He was always afraid of us getting sick...we didn't but I understand why he was concerned). Today I wore cuddle duds (which are a cheaper version of Under Armor...not as thick but when you're budgeting they work)and running shorts. For the top I wore the undershirt that matched my leggings, a running T-shirt, and an old hoodie. Add a running ear-warmers and gloves and that was it. It was 32 degrees out and I felt fine. I might research and see if there are different running for winter- I know there are different shoes for short runs so you can build up strength in your feet so there might be shoes that are better for icy running conditions- if I find them I'll let you know! And if you find them- let me know!

Finally- since this is the week of Thanksgiving I want to say a huge thank you to anyone and everyone reading this. This makes my dream and idea a little more real. To my family who have been supportive of my dreams of acting and my harebrained idea of running races- I couldn't do it without you all. To my friends here in Chicagoland and elsewhere-thanks for being there for me through tears, laughter, bad days at work, and being willing to vent to me and let me vent when needed :) To my boyfriend- thanks for helping make Chicagoland home and for just generally being there (sorry you don't get a longer shout out-don't want to make people throw up ;)) To my professors, my bosses, my directors, coaches- you all helped shape me into the performer and person I am and there is no better word than thanks although I wish I could. To anyone I missed- I am thankful for all of you so just know I send you positive thoughts when I can.

Okay- long post over! Everyone please get home safe, if you're not going home please get to where you're going safe. And if you're not celebrating- do something fun! And to all the people working Black Friday...bless you and please keep your sanity!

Until next time- keeping running strong

Actress on the Run

The Path less taken

Hey!

Okay...5 mile run completed! In under a hour! Sorry...kinda proud of that because honestly I wasn't sure how I going to do today...let me explain why.  I usually try to run early, gets it out of the way and then I can pretend there isn't as many people running so its less crowded. Well today the run didn't start until 11. And my iPhone paused my running app so I think there was a chunk where I wasn't being recorded so I was thinking "Great...everything is thrown off now" and I also didn't get a maintenance run in this week. But here's the thing...I still did it. And I actually avoided rain (which is always a plus). And I now know that I can still finish my time limit even if there is equipment failure.  And the best part about the grey skies? I found a almost completely deserted running trail.  It was one of those things that was just...it's hard to put into words. The trees were beautiful and I was right next to the lake. The trail was washed away at certain points so I had to find a way across... But it was so much fun. And it is moments like that when my legs are hurting and mentally I just want to give up that makes me go on. Gems like that. And the clarity of thought on my runs- I should probably go on a long run before every major decision because I can calculate things better in motion. And now I'm rambling...sorry friends. Hopefully I will be able to be a bit more of a coherent typer next time :)  Until next time- keep running strong!
 

You can't see it but this the record of all my running

Actress on the Run

Felt inspired to write...

Hi there folks!

So, while I have no run to write about today I wanted to share with you all why I am running. Or at least some of my stories with running. Hopefully you can relate- maybe you'll be inspired. Either way I felt the need to share...so here we go.

Being tall I was always able to get away with being heavier. I am not overweight but I'm getting close to being where I don't want to be. Anyways- I've always hated that people said "Well you're tall you can get away with it." Because I can't. And I shouldn't. And it's not just a weight thing- it's a pride thing. In high school there were girls close to my height, maybe 2 or 3 inches shorter and they were a good 2 or 3 sizes smaller than me. And I hated it because it felt like they didn't have to work at it. But that is life and I remember the first time I really started being concerned about my weight; I was going to a casting call for a TV show for VH1 and I had to put down my weight... I was 180 or heavier (I kinda blocked it out...do you blame me?) and I remember being so ashamed. I was going into 9th grade...which is not an easy year the way it is. I started writing down my food and keeping a journal and while it helped until my junior year I didn't really get into the losing weight, but I did for my prom. And I felt beautiful. And then I gained it back, and then I lost it and now I am working on losing it again. Being an actress- I have to worry about what I look like, which kinda sucks but as of now...it's the truth. Hopefully things will change- Jennifer Lawrence is a huge inspiration to me...not only as an actress (she's fantastic, I would absolutely die if I got the chance to work with her) but as a human being. She seems so down to earth and if you read the caption with the following picture I think you'll understand why I like her so much.

Isn't she great?

 

The first time I decided I was going to run-my dad didn't believe me that I was going to do it. Besides playing basketball, I never really showed much iniative for working out. But one day- I decided I was going to run around one of our sections near our farm (for you city folk- a section is 1 square mile so I was running 4 miles). While my dad had good reason to believe I wouldn't, my teenage self was pissed so I went to prove him wrong. It was long. It was slow. But I didn't walk...my jog got slow but dang it I did it. I will remember his face when he saw me coming over the hill-he was surprised but he said "You did it". And that was the inspiration I needed- I kept running although the idea of racing never came to mind until college. But when I ran that race- he and my mom were there, proud and so supportive.  I run because something inside of me wants to prove people but mostly myself wrong. Because it is something I can control. Because when I run- I am running to get in better shape and because I want to do it. And that's why I do it.

Longer post this time...sorry about that. I think I'm going to be balls-y and post my blog link on my Facebook...so other people can read it (YAY!) Hopefully this at least gave you some background if not inspired you. Until next time- keep running strong.

Actress on the Run

Semi- long runs = semi- cohernet thoughts

Hey everybody!

So- today was my 4 mile day AND I DIDN'T DIE! Thought I might, kinda felt like it...but I completed it in 41 minutes...which was much faster than I was expecting. I am aiming for a solid 10 or 9 minute mile at least so when I run the 1/2 marathon I can start in an earlier time slot- I figure the faster I run, the more time I have to take pictures with characters on the side of the road AND still finish with a decent time. I have also begun to hypothesize that I run faster when I run longer. Why is that you might say-well I will tell you why; when I am running for a set time (30 minutes x 2 a week) I am just filling time. I am running but no matter how fast I run it won't change the amount of time. Now when I am running for distance (once a week) I can change how long my run is because it depends on when I get my miles done...not the time.  It's weird but that's how I work. Anyone else feel this way?

I also noticed something while running today (and maybe this is just a Chicago thing) but people here run with their running swag a lot. Let me explain- a lot of races here in Chicago give out "swag bags" which are actually draw bags to hold your stuff and a sweater or a shirt with the race you ran and the sponsors on it. These items are usually running based because they want you to keep running races and want people to see what races are out there. While running today I didn't wear any of my running "swag" and it kind of felt like being back in high school...except with a lot less judgement. There where people running with cross country shirts, Monster Dash sweaters, Hot Chocolate 15k/5k sweaters, professional looking running gear and I was just like "Ooo...I think I need to try harder". But these people do this all the time. I am by no means a serious runner- I like it but it's not a "Must do everyDAY" type of thing for me. But I will say that it inspires me a little to run more races-assuming that my body and my bank account can keep up.

Well-I'm off to stretch and just generally be chill today (or warm...it was cold running today so I am in the process of warming my legs-proper running gear will be a different blog entry). If you're running, run safe, if you're just reading I hope you're enjoying, and if anyone is interested in joining me on this little running journey please leave a comment below or message me. I will send you links to the training plan that I am using and we can be moral support for each other.

All for now- keep running strong!

Actress on the Run

Blogging about jogging...let's give this a shot

Hey anyone reading this!

So...this is my blog. I'm not sure I'll be very good at this but maybe this will help me stick to my health/just because I can goals...we will see. Anyways! Background! I live in Chicagoland, love to cook, have a loving boyfriend and some really awesome friends and a kickass family (sorry about language...this will probably be PG-13 most of the time...won't drop any big bombs). I am pursuing a career in acting and I am working two part time jobs (but none of them include food...at least I broke the poor actress stereotype!) And that's all you really need to know about me...if you want to know more about my acting career visit my actor's page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Gabrielle.Arietta.Cross.  


So, the reason I am starting this blog is because I've just started training for the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon in February 2015. I know, it's really early but at this time there are 479 days until the race and for someone who hasn't seriously ran in over a year and that race was only 3.1 miles compared to 13.1...you need a little time to prepare.  This is going to be just my general feeling about my days after running (am I dying? Did I see something interesting? Did I fall?) that might hopefully be inspirational or at least entertaining for people to read.

The race goes through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot- how flippin' cool right?? It's a little expensive...but it's in Florida in Disneyworld sooo what can you really expect? All magic comes at a price.

Myself last November in my first Chicago race

A little history with myself and running- I used to HATE it. And honestly, most days it still takes a bit for me to get the running gear on. But why I started getting into it was actually two-fold; the year I started running even a little bit I was trying to get into shape for my University's production of A Chorus Line. Now- while I'm not a traditional dancer frame AT ALL;I'm a 6 foot tall (according to Disney Casting) and 176 pounds (I blame that on being a foodie and for just general lack of interest in exercise...I am very much like Jennifer Lawrence in the food area)mover/dancer. I wanted to at least get into better shape for a better chance to get into the show (which I did- which was awesome and one of the best experiences I had at USD (P.S.- USD stands for The University of South Dakota...Go Yotes!)). Another reason was that I guy I had a crush on was a cross-country runner (if he's reading this, HI! If he's reading this and he doesn't know it's him...well you weren't paying much attention were you?) and I wanted to impress him. Fast forward a year after A Chorus Line and I am bored without a show to do so I decide I am going to run a race in my hometown- the Turkey Day 10k. I had a year to train for it, convinced my then boyfriend to run with me and that was it. But a funny thing happened- while I started running to have something in common with him (sidenote-he was the cross-country runner...just in case you missed it), I fell in love with it.  It's like any relationship- we have our good days (Super fast mile? AWESOME!) and our bad ones (rain half way through run...grrrr...) And then it became a thing for ME and that's when running became fun.

So...that's it. For now. I would love comments (preferrably non-offensive ones...but there is freedom of speech so whatever...but do know that I'd consider you a coward because you're hiding behind a keyboard...probably after I ate some ice cream though.)  And if you want to join me-please do! Keep me updated on how it's going since I'm doing so with you!  

So until next time! 

Actress on The Run