Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. - Robert Frost

In its simplest form, this poem depicts a person stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. Taking in the lovely landscape in silence, he or she is tempted to stay longer, but then acknowledges the pull of obligations and considerable distance yet to be traveled before he or she can rest for the night. As with any poem there is always room for interpretation and this poem has a special meaning to me. When I started running, this poem spoke to me and has served as a constant warm memory and inspirational writing, consistently giving me hope and happiness. Many people who know me wont be surprised when I publish this post, because they know my deep rooted love for Robert Frost. Many people have asked me why I love this poem so much and what it means to me. For the most part, I consider myself a private person, but this like all poetry has a purpose to be loved as well as shared. Although, the entire poem speaks to me, the final stanza is my favorite part. 


The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 
but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.


It always reminds me that no matter how lovely and enticing things can be whatever they might be, I have promises to keep. To me, promises include being the person I was raised by my parents to be and keeping my fathers memory and legacy alive-always. Miles to go, is a constant reminder that I have a long way to go to prove myself and continually remember and honor my father. I like to think of it as a long journey that I hope will last a life time- until I die, this dream and goal wont be able to sleep.


Tonight, I got a permanent reminder of my favorite father and poem. It also happens to be on the left side of my body- closest to my heart. 

Pez, Papa and the Pool

I am proud to say that almost a week ago, I climbed out from my PEZ, Ramen noodle coma and started going back to the gym. Dusting off the chip crumbs on my shirt, I traded in my sweat pants for sneakers and got to work. I am still trying to find a decent time to go to the gym. It is crowded beyond belief at all times of the morning. Don't these people work? Within the last week, I also did the Gary Papa run with my mom to benefit prostate cancer research, and honor my late father. It was a great event, and with the help of co workers, family and friends, Team Smith raised over $500.00 Thank you to those who supported us and also those who made a donation. 

 If you don't see a blog from me for a while, its most likely because I am tanning. Don't be alarmed. But if you are interested in a real treat, you can join the frightened neighborhood kids and see me and my bikini at the pool. I don't know where I thought all those burgers were going when I ate them, but I reassure you, I found them. Nothing like summer to bring you back to your fitness goals! Viva La Summer!! 

I've got 99 problems but the gym ain't one

There are few days more exciting and beautiful then that of the last day of school! I am so happy that summer is here, tanning can begin, and I can finally get back into my gym routine. For months, I have been counting down the days till summer and planning my attack strategy for my summer slim down. I would like to make 1,000 excuses as to why I have been skipping the gym but I will spare you. Never the less, tomorrow is the first day of summer. I am hitting the gym and then hitting the pool. Its nice to be back. Viva La Summer and long live the Reckless Runner. 

Now Processing

 VS. 

Recently, I have been researching non processed and raw food diets. Not so much for the weight loss aspect, but more for the sake of putting good things into my body. I am no stranger to Ramen or the occasional fast food joint, but if the adage is true, and you are indeed what you eat, I guess I am a big bowl of ice cream. Lately, I've been thinking about meat and sugar in particular. There once was a time, that I didn't eat meat for 30 days. I eventually caved at a backyard BBQ when my uncle Dave made my veggie burger and it looked like a charred hockey puck. Less than appealing. A burger made of vegetables just seems wrong. On the other hand, things I read about meat and the process of how it comes to be at my kitchen table scare me. Food Inc. in particular,was one of the most appalling documentaries I have seen. The conditions that animals are kept in and the steroids and antibiotics that they are pumped with, make me sick. Currently, I don't really eat meat aside from the occasional burger or taco but I am not so sure on where I stand with meat presently. Part of me says yes, part of me says no. On to sugar. We all know that sugar is bad. It rots your teeth, it makes you fat and it also makes you hungry. Refined sugars in particular are evil. When you eat foods with sugar, it is stored in the liver as glycogen. Unfortunately, when your liver gets full the excess gets returned to your blood stream as fatty acids. I think we all know where they end up- your butt hips and thighs! Sugar can be sneaky, so you have to be careful as to where its lurking in your kitchen. Most foods have sugar that you would never dream of. Sugar is like crack, the more you have the more addicted you become. Don't take my word for it, read the labels on your favorite foods- you might be shocked at the sugar thats lurking!  This leads me into my research on non processed foods. This week I am trying to cut back drastically on processed foods, albeit difficult. I had cereal this morning, which is obviously processed and a taco for dinner with a nice crispy processed shell. Its a difficult demon to exercise from your diet, but with a little practice I hope to get there. I am hoping to see a vast difference in energy and mood after the switch. I am looking to start a 10 day non- processed food trial sometime in the near future- baby steps. 


Additional resources
New York Times Article: Is sugar toxic?

Live Strong- Non processed food diet

The Opinionator Blog: Meat is bad for you ( and good)

Fill up your heart and hit the road

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle when the sun comes up you'd better be running. - Anonymous 

I love this quote because its so true. Running is a mysterious thing. It can make you feel on top of the world, or like a failure. The power and hold that it has on you is addicting. As much as you want to quit or give up, after each race you crave more. Sometimes you need to do another race to redeem yourself after a bad one, sometimes you just want to work on your PR. Often, you find yourself looking for the next big thing to fill that need for endurance and determination. It seems like after every finish line, you find yourself saying, "26.2 miles wasnt that bad" or "I really think we should do another half". It never seems as hard looking back. Either way, running takes endurance, strength, preparation and a lot of heart. I think its due time to present to you, in no particular order some people who deserve to be recognized for their running prowess. These people make me want to be better, run farther and train harder. 

Jen Rarick 

Elite Runner Currently running a 5k in every state.

Dan Santos 

1/2 marathon runner 5k

Jacklyn Unzeitig

5k 10k 8 miler 

Luisa Santos

1/2 marathoner 5k 

Stephanie Hines

8k 5k 

Tyler Smith

10 miler 5k soon to be 1/2 marathoner

Amanda Piccirilli

Marathoner 1/2 marathoner 10 miler 5k

Hans Gibson

Marathoner 1/2 marathoner 5k 8miler 

Rebecca Hann

Marathoner 1/2 marathoner 10 miler 5k

Where do we go from here?

Now that my big races of the season are behind me, I am searching for the next big thing. I do have plans to do another half this fall but until then I've been researching other races. I recently got a card at the Broad Street Expo giving information regarding the Ragnar Relay. This race is unlike the others. It starts in Lancaster county and goes 200 miles to the Pocono mountains. A team of 11 assembles and runs day and night till the finish. Participants rotate and run 5 mile intervals all day and night until the destination is reached. The nice lady promoting the event said that the group goes in a van across the course screaming out the windows and cheering on team members. Seems like a good time. Now I just need to find 10 friends crazy enough to join me. 

Check out the link for more information.

Ragnar Relay

Broad Street is OVER! Time to party!

Today was the Philadelphia Broad Street run. Last night I hit the sack early and woke up at 4:40 this morning to eat what I could and start the drive down to the city. While taking the subway to the start, I reminisced about last year, and how I was so overwhelmed by the runners who were participating in the race. I longed to be out there with them, and now was the time. Unfortunately, as many of you know, a lack of effort and preparation in training went into this race, so naturally I was nervous. With my cousin Amanda and my brother and Becky by my side the race began. During the first mile, I was miserable and thinking this was going to be the longest 10 miler of my life. I pressed on and somewhere around City Hall ( mile 5) I got into a solid pace I was comfortable with. My mom and Tyler's girlfriend were at mile 6 which made it easier to keep going. I just kept telling myself to get to mile 8 then, If I needed to stop I would. It was a rough road to mile 8, but a water station was on the horizon so I kept going. I grabbed a water and looked up to thank the generous volunteer and BAM! I realized that the silver fox in front of me was no other than David Murphy from Action News! I love love love love Action News! I screamed "Oh my God I love you!" and went in for a hug. I am sure I smelled like a goat but whatever, I was in heaven. I ran away and was in disbelief. I swear my dad sent me that run in with David Murphy to make it to the end. Former Mayor Ed Rendell was also on the course, cheering people on. Its amazing taking part in something that large. 35,000 people ran today and for each one of them the streets were lined with people cheering and screaming to continue. Its pretty overwhelming running and having that much support. It was incredible, and by mile 10 I was glad I had finally made it to the naval yard ( race finish) and done the race. Congratulations to all the Broad Street participants and thank you to my mom who came out to support my brother and I today. I would also like to give a shout out and a congratulations to my friend Dan Santos, who ran his first half marathon today to raise money for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Great job Dan! 

Dan's 1/2 Marathon!

5:00 am 

runners on broad 

Amanada and Jac post run

Tyler and Amanda got hungry

The Girls

Beasts of the East

Its a family affair.