today is a good day

Happy Thursday friends!  Hope everyone has been getting into the holiday spirit with whatever holiday you celebrate :)  We sure have around my house



oh christmas tree oh christmas tree



even Stella got into the spirit with a festive new collar - she loves it despite the glare shes giving


I dont know whether it's because its Thursday (which I've mentioned a billion times is one of my favorite days of the week), the fact that its the holiday season, or that I had a really great run earlier this week, but I'm feeling chipper - that or the fact that I may or may not have OD'd on the christmas cookies....you be the judge



too.many.cookies...wait, there are NEVER too many!


To add to my already cheery mood I get to meet up and chat with someone fabulous today.  I've mentioned Nichole on here before, she also happens to work for the same company as me, and being she is such a running all star, I had messaged her a few questions and she offered to get together and chat.  I have a few things/ideas in the works for 2013 and knew she would be the best person to ask and get some advice from.  Last year was the first time I put in writing my 2012 goals and have had them on my fridge all year.  I have been able to cross off a few, but some I slacked on some (Ex. read more = I think I actually read less!, complete Jamie Easons LiveFit Trainer = I got to week 6 and got bored/started running!)  Once I get my 2013 set and written down I will share them here, I wont have many, but they will be significant.

I am hoping meeting with Nichole and getting my new goals ready will spark my motivation again. After my last post Jake had sent me this video.  A tad extreme considering I am in NO way an olympic athlete or anything, but motivational nonetheless.  If this doesnt make you tear up and want to go out and conquer all your hopes and dreams then nothing will!

 
OH!  Before I forget, another cool thing happened to me yesterday.  I had submitted a question a few weeks ago regarding my knee to one of my favorite blogs and she answered it in her vlog!  I feel like a total celeb. :)  Its the 3rd one in case you want to pay her a visit.

Have a great afternoon and evening everyone!

Honesty time - no pictures, just words

Hi friends and happy last day of November!  I can officially put up all my Christmas decorations this weekend and am SO excited!  I am most definitely NOT one of those people that forgets about Thanksgiving and goes directly to Christmas.  I think November and Turkey Day deserve their time to shine, and then once December 1st hits, I get ready for Christmas. 

Ok, so I need to get honest for this post.  I haven't posted anything in a while, because A. I've been busy lazy (honesty!), and B. I've been scared to actually admit some things, and feel that as long as I don't say them "out loud" its not actually true.

So here's the thing, first off, Thanksgiving was great.  We traveled to Grand Forks, ND to visit Jake's family.  It was so nice to be there for a few days and have the chance to really do nothing - a nice break.  I tried to not make myself feel guilty for eating far to much, and we did manage to get out and run a couple days.  FYI - NEVER run in the flat-lands of ND in the winter, its sucks and I wanted to die.  But we managed 2 runs in the blistering cold.  On the plus side I did get to wear my sweet new running tights!  People could see me a mile away! (they are BRIGHT blue).

However, that week of basically eating whatever I wanted has left me feeling a little on the "puffy" side.  I hate this feeling, I'm bloated, my jeans are tight, and I get really unmotivated to workout and eat right.  I still have yet to strike a good balance, and its been what? almost 2 years?!  Also, if I'm hopping on the honesty train I might as well get it all out.  Basically since I got hurt in October my eating habits and workouts have been all over the place.  Nothing has been consistent, and there are too many times that I tell myself to not workout "just this once", or that I can make and eat a pan of brownies cause " I work out enough so I can afford to".  I HAVE to get back on track.  I don't like feeling this way, I get so down on myself.  I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not running as much.  I fully believe that my knee is pretty much healed.  My last few runs have been pain free and stayed that way, but for some reason I'm constantly nervous before a run, which causes me to not do it at all.  I have lost my confidence and am not sure how to get it back.  I know its mostly mental, because when we were running in 19 degree weather and into 25mph winds, I was able to keep a 8:20 pace for 6 miles (which is SUCH an improvement from a month ago), so I know I can run, it's just getting past the mental block that I have.

I know I sound like such a debbie downer, but I just need to get this off my chest.  I am not happy with where I am.  Weight wise I know I'm still healthy, but I think all of us have a weight that we are most comfortable at, and mine is about 8lbs from where I am right now. I wear a size 4-6 and am just barely fitting my size 6's right now. I do not say these things for attention, but for people to understand that it doesn't matter where we are in our health and fitness, that everyone struggles with the same things, and we are all a work in progress.  I just hope some people can relate.

Consider this my promise to myself that I will buck up and get back on the wagon.  I have to clean up my eating for the next few weeks and hit all my workouts.  I have to remind myself how good I feel when I'm eating well and working out regularly.  So that might mean I become a hermit for a while ( I kind of already am), choosing the healthy (aka less fun) option when eating out with friends, and moving myself more, not just with structured exercise, but just getting out and doing more activities.  Less couch sitting = less mindless eating.

I am still proud that after almost 2 years, I have been able to maintain my 35lb weight loss, when it can be SO easy to go back, I am proud that I am able to go out and run 8 miles if I want with little effort.  I just need to get my determination back that I once had  With the holidays coming up I want to enjoy them without making myself feel guilty or anything.  I want to feel my best all the time, so I'm going to try my hardest to do that.

Sorry for such the long random post.  Oh, also I'll be back to let you know how I did on my November goals, and make some new ones for December :)

being this lazy is exhausting...

How can it be Thursday already?!  Seriously, this week is flying by, which is a good thing cause each day that passes is one day closer to me stuffing my face with potatoes, turkey and green been casserole.  I'm just warning you now to be prepared for way to many pictures of really fattening food.

Workout:  55 min. bike - hard intervals
                 
Ok, I don't know what is wrong with me, but I haven't gotten up early once this week to workout, and I was actually looking forward to the spin class that I was supposed to get to this morning.  I'm starting to hate myself for it cause I've been feeling super rushed at night.  Getting my workout in after work, making dinner, eating said dinner,  drinking my mandatory 2 mugs of hot chocolate and trying to be in bed by the late hour 8:30pm isn't easy - I might need to take a rest day because of it.  But for real, this has to stop, I feel much more productive when I workout in the a.m and lets be honest - the real reason I'm not getting up is because I'm lazy, and that's not a good reason.  I give myself one more day and I will start fresh on Monday :)

I made this tasty dish for dinner.  Its from the same Oxygen mag. that I've used before.  I've made it a few times and is always good.  So since I'm a HUGE fan of tasty food and think you should be too, I will share the recipe in another post :)

roasted tilapia with baby potatoes and capers

J has been super busy with school lately so I feel like I haven't really seen him much.  Something about wanting to do well on tests and papers, I don't get it, skool is for fools!  We do have some pretty super duper fun plans this weekend so I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with him. I will make sure to document it all so you don't feel left out - I know you would be sad.

Have a great evening guys.  All my favorite funny shows are on tonight, yippee!



Anyone else have green bean casserole or is that just a Midwest thing?

Stuffed Pepper Recipe aka - the best thing you will ever eat

Ok, I made this for dinner the other night and it was SO good.  If I could eat this, along with my apple salad for the rest of my life I would die happy. 

Stuffed Chili Relleno
Makes 2 servings

2 Poblano peppers
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans
1 cup brown rice (dry)
2 triangles Queso Laughing Cow (or other spicy cheese)
chipotle salsa
panko bread crumbs
egg
milk

Preheat oven to 400
Cut a slit in each pepper and take out the ribs and the seeds
Fill each pepper with a 1/2 c. each of the corn and beans
Add in the cheese
Mix the egg and milk in a shallow dish
Put panko in a shallow dish
Dip each pepper in the milk/egg mixture
Dip into panko
REPEAT

Lay the peppers on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 40-45 min,
Cook the rice
Once the rice is cooked place on low heat and add in salsa ( add as much as you want)

Serve the peppers on top of the rice, prepare to have your taste buds to a happy dance!

nothing like a blurry photo to make it EXTRA appetizing

unintentional meatless monday and sleeping in

Happy Tuesday best friends!  Let me recap yesterday before I tell you about today (notice the build-up there?  Like I'm about to tell you something really exciting when in reality its just the same ish different day)

MONDAY

Workout: 40 min. strength DVD
                 20 min bike

I didn't get up early this morning so I did my workout at home today.  I knew I needed to get some strength work in so I did a 30 min. DVD followed by a 10 min. abs DVD.  Then to make it an even hour I hopped on the bike and pedaled to an episode of Seinfeld.  A nice low impact workout so hopefully my run on Tuesday goes well.

Over the weekend J and I hit up Trader Joe's for a few items.  Back before we got Stella, I would go to TJ's every 2 weeks, but since we got her we've had other responsible things to pay for so I haven't been there in forever.  Since when do vet bills trump delicious pita chips, cheap wine and pumpkin butter?!  Well we decided enough was enough and we went.  I stocked up on some favorites which included these,

I swear, these are the BEST veggie burgers ever.  If you haven't had them, go now and get some, they will change your life.  We had them with the worlds best salad.  Seriously, look it up.  The combo of apples,
 craisins, pecans and feta = heaven on a plate.

OH!  and before I forget, I think I made the best dinner of my life over the weekend, I will post up the recipe so you can have it too :)


TODAY

So I couldn't pull myself out of bed again this morning, so I will once again workout after work.  I did pack my gym bag to I can grab it when I go home for lunch and get to the gym right after work.  That way I don't have an excuse not to go.



Workout: TM Run 5 8 miles! BOOM!

OK, so before the gym I was having an inner struggle on whether or not to go.  The negative Nelly side of me was trying to say that I was a big lazy bum and that skipping one workout in favor of couch siting wasn't going to matter cause I'm not in running shape like I used to be, so why even bother.  But the positive side told me that I would feel SO much better if I worked out and that if I skipped I would just feel worse.  So I told myself to grow up, put on my big girl undies and go. So I went.  The first 3 miles were tough - I have found that it really takes me about that distance to really warm up.  After that I was flying.  I had planned a 5 mile run, but once I got going I just thought I would see how far I could go with my knee. Turns out my knee let me go 8 glorious, sweaty miles.  It was awesome and such a confidence booster.  MY knee still feels great which hasn't happened in about a month.  I'm not going to go crazy just yet and keep it low impact tomorrow, but this is a silver lining for me, maybe all is not lost :)

proof I got my rear in gear....so glad I did

 Have a lovely evening friends, I'm currently enjoying some hot chocolate and The Voice :)

Exercising my booty and my right to vote

feeling like a VIP rollin' up to my polling place

Happy Election Day!!  Hopefully everyone already has or will get to the polls to vote today.  This is the 3rd election that I've been able to vote in and I still feel extremely grateful that I have a chance to let my voice be heard, even if the candidate that I voted for doesn't win.  I do make a conscious choice not to discuss politics - not because I think my opinion doesn't matter, but because of the nastiness that unfortunately surrounds it.  I have had to block/hide some people on facebook & twitter this election season for that reason.   I understand we ALL have the right to our own opinion, I just personally feel that it's best to keep things to myself and let things play out they way they are supposed to.  I am all for having polite, educated conversations with those who agree or disagree, but for the most part I think we all need to just put our money where our mouth is and VOTE for who we think can do the best job for our country - I know I did! 

Workout: TM run 5 miles 1% incline
                 10 min. stretch

My plan was to do a "longer" run today to see how everything felt.  I felt really good the whole time.  I even ended my 5 miles with a sub 8 min. 1/2 mile.  Not much, but its something.  Makes me confident that I haven't completely lost everything and I can still run fast if I want.  I told myself to keep it slow for most of the run, but that if I felt good, I could speed up towards the end, so that's what I did.  It still is just so weird that 5 miles at my pace right now isn't hard - I'm hardly breathing hard when I'm done, and the rest of my body definitely feels like it can run longer, its my damn gimp-knee that is stopping me.  I'll get there, its just a strange feeling.

 Dinner tonight was tasty,

pork loin, carrots, taters and bubble water

I will probably stay up way to late watching the election results - even though they most likely wont be finished until tomorrow a.m.  I can 100% guarantee that it will be a massive struggle to get up in the morning, my only motivation is to watch more news coverage as I run.

I will probably need BOTH of these in the morning...

Now I'm enjoying my cookie vote and watching the election coverage - have a great night all!

A day late and more than a few dollars short

* I forgot to publish this last night - whoops, better late than never right!.....right?

Hiya buddies! Happy Monday to everyone :)  Hope you all had a wonderful rest of the weekend and are off to a great start today.  Yesterday was pretty relaxing, slept in (thank you xtra hour!), made waffles, ran some errands, did some couch sitting, and eventually got around to working out.

Sunday Workout:  40 min. stationary bike (2 episodes of Seinfeld)
                             20 min. lower body strength Turbofire DVD

No pictures to document any of this cause I'm lame.  I really need to get better about it, cause obviously if there isn't a picture it didn't really happen.  For all you know I laid around in my pj's eating candy all day...i wish

Today was another early morning at the gym.  Holy potatoes was it hard to get up!  Once I got going I was fine, but I think I could have kept sleeping for another 100 hours.  I swear, if I can get up at 4:30am to get my rear to the gym anybody can!

Workout: 25 min. Octane machine - hard intervals
                30 min. upper body strength/weights
                5 min. abs ( hey, it's better than 0 min.!)

I gave my legs a break from running so hopefully they will be ready to go tomorrow morning.  Since I've started doing more weight training I have realized that I have really lost a lot of strength I used to have, I used to be able to bust out  30 push ups no problem (real ones, none of the on-the-knee-girly ones), now I'm lucky if I can do 12 without needing a break. To me that's enough motivation to stay on top of it - and I have no doubt that it will help my running too.

Since my workout is already done, and J-Bob has to stay late after to work to study, I decided to take the pooch for a walk.  It was either that or eat everything in my pantry - I eat when I am bored so it's always best to keep myself busy.  But first I got dinner going in the ol' crock,



chopped...



proof that I did take a walk!


I got this recipe from an Oxygen magazine, here is the recipe and stats if you want!
Chicken Marrakesh
ready in 4 hrs. - makes 6 servings

1 onion ( I used 2 small shallots)
2 cloves garlic
2 lg. carrots, diced
2 lg. sweet potatos, peeled & diced
1 15oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained & rinsed
2lb. boneless chicken breasts, chopped into 2-3in. pieces
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 14oz. can chopped tomatoes

1. Combine first six ingredients in a slow cooker
2. In a small bowl, mix together the spices.  Sprinkle over the food in the slow cooker.  Add the tomatoes
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Stats per serving
Calories: 421, Total Fats: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 123mg, Sodium: 384mg, Carbohydrates: 36g, Dietary Fiber: 8g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 37g, Iron: 4mg.




cooked!

It was really tasty!  I made the full recipe so that we would have leftovers, and I have a feeling once it sits for awhile it will be really good.  I ended up adding a little feta cheese to give it a little oomph.  This is a good cold weather dish without being super heavy and unhealthy - I will definitely be making this again .

Super Saturday and food!

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope everyone's day is off to a good start  So far so good over here.  Started the day early and am now talking with you fine people with a puppy at my side and brownies (healthy ones!) in the oven.

Workout:  TM run - 4.5 miles incline 1%
                Surprise spin class - 40 min.

I decided against running with the group this morning, but J-bob still wanted to, so I went with him to the gym and while they ran outside, I kept it inside to do my workout until they got back.  I went slow and steady on the T Mill and at mile 3.5 I increased the incline for a half mile then came back down to finish.  The ol' knee felt good, but I kept my run short.  After that I had plans to go to a spin class at 8:15am, once the class before us was done, everyone went into the studio and waited....  Long story short, the instructor never showed, and I jokingly said I could just teach it since I used to anyway - well the other folks in the class thought it was a good idea so I went for it.  Luckily my instructor folder was still in the studio with all my cycling notes, so just grabbed a random class list and a CD and taught the class.  It was such a blast!   I forgot how much fun teaching is, and I'm glad it worked out that I was able to teach, and everyone still got a good workout.

I met up with J once class was over and came home to make this tasty dish,

spicy egg whites, bran muffin and coffee

Then we took the beast out for a walk - Stella came too :)

We had a few other random things to do after our hike and by the time we got home were hangry!

 Hangry

When someone becomes irritated, angry, or cranky when they haven't eaten and are hungry.

Allen: I hate you and I want to punch you.

Randy: Why are you so angry with me?

Allen: I'm sorry, I haven't eaten since breakfast so I'm just hangry, bro

So before we killed each other over who gets the last piece of gum in my purse, I made a super fast lunch,

soup&sammies

Now J-flow is off pretending to be a hipster at a brewery tour in Minneapolis with some buddies for the evening, so I'm a single gal tonight - watch out!  I'll probably just watch Seinfeld DVDs that I've seen a million times and eat a baked potato...

Hope everyone has had a delightful day so far, and please, for the love of god, do something more exciting than me tonight.

Any beer lovers out there?  Ever been on a brewery tour?  If it was a wine tour I would be all over that!

Back in action and November goals

Happy Friday folks!  Well I was out of comission for a few days at the beginning of the week.  I was feeling pretty under the weather, so I had to for-go my early workouts in favor of a lot of couch sitting - pretty sure I have bed sores now. 

I haven't ran since last Saturday morning.  Every Saturday there is a group that runs from our gym.  The standard milage is 10 miles, which up until I got hurt, I was able to do no problem.  I went into this one planning on being conservative by going slow (for me) and planning on just going out 3 miles and back 3 for an easy 6 (3+3=6, see mom I AM smart!)  Well we started out really slow, which was fine, but it probably made me feel better than I actually was.  That combined with the fact that we were running as a group and I put pressure on myself, I ended up going all the way to the 5 mile turn around.  I thought to myself "great, now I'm stuck, and the only way to get home is to go the 5 miles back, yikes..."  My knee was holding up, but I could start to feel it and once I got to mile 7 I had to stop (yipee that I was able to do 7, boo that I pushed it to much)  From there I walked about a 1/2 mile, tried to run, yeouch!  Stopped and walked again.  J said he would run ahead, grab the car and meet me to pick me up, like roadkill getting scraped off the ground.  He ran, I walked about another 1/2 mile.  By this time I really wanted to run, I was feeling like a loser, plus it was freezing!  So I ran, and felt good - no knee pain.  I ran another mile then stopped when I got to a downhill cause I knew it would hurt my knee.  I saw J a little way down the road and stuck out my thumb to be picked up.  I ended with a total of about 8 miles, but was happy that I was able to run the 7 with minimal pain and without having to stop.  Lesson learned - ONLY RUN WHAT I PLAN ON RUNNING - DONT TRY TO BE A HERO.

I am planning on running tomorrow with the group, and I only plan on doing at most 5 miles, and I will stick to that no matter what.  I need to get back into running shape and if I keep pushing it and overdoing it I wont get there.  I really want to have a good base for the winter since I dont think I will want to run 12+ miles in the freezing cold and snow...


blurry photo - but this was last Saturday on our way to the group run, it was a balmy 30 degrees.  Thanks alot Minnesota!



 The base milage I would like to have is a comfortable 6-8 miles, with a Sat. 10 miler thrown in as my "long" runs.  I would love to have this built up by the end of November.  I think know I can do it, it will just take me actually being smart and listenting to myself instead of putting pressure on myself to be better.  I'm the worst at comparing myself, not only to other people, but to my past.  It doesnt matter what I was able to do before I injured myself, all that matters is what I can do now, and that I will get back to it and be even stronger and faster, because hopefully I've learned something.  I have to remember that I havent been doing this for very long, and if I want to run for years and years (which I do!) then I need to play it safe and smart.  So here are my November goals:

1.  Work on getting a base ( 6-8 miles) and get comfortable with it
2.  Do not run through pain, if I feel knee pain I have to STOP collaborate and listen...
3.  Cross train and strength train like a boss.  Especially my lower body - I know this will make my knees healthier and stronger (seems obvious, but hard to get through my thick skull)
4.  Keep up with the early morning workouts.  I dont mind this actually, so it shouldn't be to hard :)
5.  Since it is Thanksgiving month - be thankful and greatful that I can run.  There are many people who are not able and I am lucky that I can throw on my trusty Mizunos anytime I want and bust out some miles.
6. Oh, and I cant forget, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite "food" holiday, so is it bad that my goal is to eat as much turkey, potatos, and stuffing as humanly possible?

Anyone else have some November goals?  Lets here 'em if you do!

I also have to give a shout out to Nichole who is running the New York Marathon this weekend.  She has been a big inspiration for me and my running.  Feel free to stop by her blog and wish her luck!

Have a great Friday friends!  I will let you know my run tomorrow goes - cross your fingers.  I also have some DIY projects planned too - so lets hope I dont burn my house down in the process.

Fun Friday!

Today has been such a good day.  First off, its Friday - I dont really need to explain why that makes it a good day, also Friday's are half days at work so I've been off since 1pm, yahoo!  Second, its payday - bringin home the bacon baby!  Only to have it go straight to bills and groceries, but you will come to find out that going to the grocery store is pretty much my favorite thing to do.  Third, I had another bombtastic early morning sweat session

Workout: TM run 4 miles, 1% incline
                20 min. weights

Another successful, painless run!  Also, the weird feeling in my lower leg/shin wasn't there, so I'm pretty sure it was just tight.  I felt really good.  I went a tad faster this morning than my run on Wednesday, and did the 4 miles in about 33 minutes.  Also, I started at a 1% incline, but the last 1/2 mile I gradually bumped it up and finished at a 4%, which isn't much, but its a step in the right direction.  It felt good to sweat a little more and work a little harder.  Tomorrow a.m. there is a running group that meets at the gym at 7:00, and I am going to go down and run with them.  We usually do 10 miles, but I think I'm still going to take it easy and do a "long" run of 5.5-6 miles, we'll see, but I'm feeling positive about it!

Lastly, we had our yearly fall/Halloween get together at our friends house!  We carve pumpkins and eat tasty treats. I cant remember how many years we've been getting together to do this, but its always fun, plus our friends always have a giant bowl of candy corn that I pretty much dominate.

Halloween popcorn!

BOO! Ghost cookies!

in progress...

my final product!

It was a good night!

the best day of 2012! (and 2009)

Good morning!  I had to do a quick post because I'm just to excited!  Remember when I told you I was "back"?  I had mentioned that we were getting ready to travel to Cincinnati, OH to be a part of my brother's wedding in September.  Well I am happy to announce that the wedding pictures are up!  Our wonderfully talented cousin was the photographer for their wedding and she just posted it up on her blog.  They pictures and slide show turned out simply lovely.  She has such a great talent, and captured my brother Sam and his now wife (!) Evan just perfectly.  I think I have looked at these a million times this morning, and will probably keep looking at them all day.  They make me smile and take me back to that day.  I wish we could do it all over again!  Chelsie, you're photos are pure magic, please never stop! :)

Here is the link to the pictures, enjoy! San and Evan are married! Finally :)  oh, and when you get to the bottom you HAVE to watch the slide show - it's perfect.

Also, J-bob and I were lucky to have Chelsie be the photographer for our wedding 3 years ago, feel free to take a peek at those while you're there.  aaaah memories....

Have a great morning friends - I'll be back later....I mean it :)

noodle arms

Hiya friends!  Hope everyone is have a great Thursday.  Its really rainy and dreary here today, I'm already looking forward to going home, throwing on my sweats and eating my after work snack of popcorn and hot chocolate while watching The Office.  Yes I  just started that tradition yesterday, and yes I have a feeling it will be here to stay.  Makes me feel like I'm back in elementary school to have an afternoon snack - its awesome, you all should try it :)

so I'm not in sweats, but I did put on my favorite fuzzy socks so that counts for something right?  Also, I'm aware I'm using a Christmas mug in October, but cold weather like this makes it ok :)

Workout: Spin Class 45 min.

This morning I went spinning at 5:15.  Back in the day I used to teach spin at our gym.  I got a little burnt out so I dropped down to just being a sub, but I haven't done it in SO long.  I forgot how much fun it is!  The instructor was super nice and gave us a good workout.  Throughout the class we did sets of pushups for a total of 7 sets.  Except the first set started with 25 pushups and by the 7th we did 31.  Man!  I could barely lift my arms to put on my makeup when I got ready.  That probably explains why people keep giving me weird looks today - could be the mascara all over my eyelids.




recycled pic from about 2 1/2 years ago as an instructor - pre weight loss and pre fashion sense (those pants and top aren't doing me any favors)


Another successful early morning workout is in the books.  Dare I say I'm looking forward to tomorrow already, but it could also be that its Friday tomorrow too...

Have a great night peeps!

what time is it?

Hey guys and happy hump day!  Well since I'm writing this post I guess it means I survived getting up with the birds, and no babies, seal cubs or fluffy kitties were punched in the process, although I have no idea what time it is, or day for that matter, getting up at 4:30am has me all screwed up.

I'm alive!  and gym locker rooms make the BEST backdrop

Workout: TM run 4 miles 1% incline
                Elliptical - hard intervals for 10 min.

I made it farther than a mile and am happy to report that I had NO knee pain!  I guess all that sitting on my arse paid off :)  I did have a weird tight feeling in my left lower leg, it kind of felt like it was asleep/dead, but I'm thinking that it is probably just really tight since that's the leg that's been hurt.  I will have to do some major stretching when I get home.  Also, anytime I run on the t-mill I always do at least a 1% incline to add a little something since I'm not outside in the "elements".  I ran VERY slow (compared to what I'm used to) this morning, I think it took me like 37 minutes just to go the 4 miles, but the fact that I was able to run without pain is a win in my book.  I know I will get my distance and speed back sooner or later.

It actually wasn't to horrible getting up this morning, and I'm kinda pumped to know that I'm done, and I don't need to stress about if I'm going to workout later or not.  Exercise shouldn't be stressful, it should be fun and something to look forward to, so I think this new routine might work to get me out of my rut, yahoo!

On another note, my boss got me this cute little fleece for Stella - she really is happy to be wearing it, she's just trying to act cool.

  

Tomorrow there is a spin class at 5:10 so I think I'm going to hit that up instead of run, I really want to keep my legs feeling good and get back to where I was and better, so cross training will be key.  Have a great night!

Cha cha cha changes!

Hey, so I know I said I would be back  after my last post, but things got kind of busy 'round these parts and I never made it a priority to come back and blog like I said I was going to.(*cough* excuses).  I know I know, I'm a terrible person, but aren't we all :)  So I figured I would make it easy on everyone and just start with today and keep the train a rollin'.   Plus, so much time has gone by anyway that I highly doubt you care what I did 3 months ago - you probably didn't even care in the first place.  But now I'm forcing you once again to read this pointless drivel that I call my life.

So lets start!  I've been running like a fool these past few months, and about 3 weeks ago was up to my longest run ever of 11.85 miles!  I never EVER would have thought I could do that.  I was runners-highing like crazy, and had a goal of hitting 13 miles in November.  Well all that came to a screeching halt, when after a hard 9 miler my left hip/side quad (is that a thing?) started to hurt.  It wasn't a sharp pain, but more of a dull ache that made me feel like the outside of my left leg was sort of "dead".  I took 3 days off running, but still did the elliptical and stair climber like a mad man, and foam rolled the shiz out of the IT bands.  I tried to run after that and this time had a sharp zing of pain in my left knee, it caught me off guard enough to stop me in my tracks.   I walked a bit, then started again and made it about a half mile and had to stop.  I stuck it out and ran  the last 1.5 miles home (total of a 7 mile run).  My hip/leg/knee continued to bug me the rest of the day.  Since then I have tried to run a few times but once I hit 3 miles, I can feel my knee starting to hurt so I usually stop.  So far I haven't run further than 5 miles :(  It was such a weird pain too, it didn't feel like it was the muscle around the knee, but the actual knee cap itself.  I have heard of something called a "runners knee"  and from what I've looked up and read up on Chondromalacia it sounds like it could be what happened to me.  I'm no doctor but I play one on this blog, but it seems to make sense.

 Last Wednesday was the last time I ran, or did anything besides eat my feeling for that matter.  I've gotten pretty bummed and feeling like I'm stuck.  I decided I needed to change my attitude and maybe change my routine.  Since its Fall here, its starting to get darker earlier and that causes me to want to just go straight home after work and throw on my sweatpants.  I know, Jake is SO lucky to be married to me :)  I figured I needed to get out of my rut and change things up a little, so I decided to become a morning person! Trust me, for the longest time these were the people I hated.  Always so cheerful and excited to be up before the sun, but I think they might be on to something (or just on something,  Lance, I'm lookin' at you buddy) so I'm going to give it a try.  That way I get my workout done and don't have to feel guilty when I want to sit and be lazy the rest of the night, win win!  I may sound pumped now, but ask tomorrow at 4:30am if I still think its a good idea - I have a feeling I am going to hate life....

Oh well, onward and upward, I'll let you know if I feel great or if I feel like punching a baby.  Either way, I'm going to test out running and even if I only make it a mile I will be grateful :) 

and this blob will be at 5am!

I'm baaaaack!

Holy cannoli is it really me?!  Can it be true, Im blogging again?!  So here's the skinny, when I last left, I was getting ready for our weekend up north running the Muskyfest 5k.  Well, I ran, survived, took pics, and when I came to blog about it, our Internet decided to take a major dump.
*Note, I may have mentioned this, but in case you forgot, when I say "our" Internet, I really mean our-neighbors-across-the-street-who-don't-have-it-password-protected-so-we-steal-it, Internet.
Anyway, I cant really get that mad when it doesn't work since I'm not actually paying for it, but it gets frustrating!  So after about 4 weeks of little to no connection, I decided to give myself a summer vacation from the blog.  Yea, cause it really takes up a lot of my brain cells writing these posts, clearly I needed a break.  I was sick of trying to upload pics and posts and have it not work that I just decided that I would get back to it once J-dizzle started school and we got Internet.

So set your Delorian for June 2012 and lets all take a trip down memory lane, and let me fill you in of whats been goin' on 'round these parts the past couple months.  I will do a full photo post soon in case you don't like to read.  These are going to be brief to ensure that you all don't get bored and fall asleep at your computer.

Muskyfest 5K weekend 6/22-6/24/2012
Such a fun weekend.  J biked, the rest of us ran, we ate good food, played with the dogs, and went for a pontoon ride.  The weather was really nice, except it poured when Jake had his mtn. bike race.  He still did a great job though!  Also, our hosts for the weekend were so great.  They made us feel completely at home, and it was sad to leave.  There's nothing like being up north at a cabin on a summer weekend.

My brother was in town! 6/29-7/1/2012 (shoutout to J-bob's Birthday!)
My brother came back home for a friends wedding at the end of June.  He lives in Cincinnati, OH, so I rarely get to see him.  It was so nice having him back, even though it was just for a little while.  I cant wait to see him again coming up this weekend for HIS WEDDING!!!  Also, on July 1st it was the old geezer's Birthday.  We caught the early bird special and had a nightcap of prune juice.  Kidding, I got him Cirque du Soleil tickets (show's on 9/21), and we went to dinner at a super delish, nice restaurant on the water.

Fourth of July 7/4/2012
I ran our town's 4th of July race.  Super fun, super hot, and came home with a pretty nifty homemade trophy :)  We spent the rest of the day out on the water on the jetski, then grilled some patriotic food and watched fireworks.

North Memorial Whiz Bang 5k 7/14/2012
I signed up for this race a while ago, not really realizing it was only about a week after the 4th of July race.  Turns out I think I'm getting the hang of this whole "running" thing.  I had a great race, and took home some more hardwear!

Halos of Hudson 5k 8/4/2012
This was a race I did with a group of my family, honoring my cousin who had recently lost a baby.  It was actually honoring any one who has suffered the loss of an unborn child.  There was so much love, and happiness as we remembered our family's baby angels Moose and Joseph.  We ran and walked for them.  I just so happened to run my fastest 5k that day.  It was a wonderful day full of hugs, tears, smiles and laughter.  This is a great organization, and if you or anyone you know could benefit, please check our their facebook page here.

After the Hudson race, I didn't have another race on my calender.  I thought about a few, but the weekends were just getting so busy, that I didn't have time.  I did start to increase my running though.  I started to up my miles, and really figure out my nutrition. I have to say as of right now I am feeling really strong.  I have about 3 pesky pounds that I would like to shed to get to my ideal weight, but I'm feeling good about where I'm at.
* also note, if reading about weight loss, body image and the like is something that makes you uncomfortable, or is a trigger of some sort, please know I do not mean to offend.  It is however part of my life/journey in fitness and will occasionally come up on the blog.

September: J starts skool/ Laural Ingalls 10k!!
And now we're back in present day.  Congrats you made it!  This month started out busy, and I'm pretty sure it will stay that way.  Labor day weekend was filled with fence finishing (finally!) and wine drinking.  Even though its technically still Summer, it sure did feel like one last hurrah before the fall, even more so cause J started school!  Holy smokes, I cant believe its that time already.  Hes been talking about going back for a long time now, and even though its going to be a long road, I cant believe how fast time went by.  I have to say better him than me, the thought of homework makes me break out in hives.
I also ran my very first 10k race.  This was a goal of mine at the beginning of the summer, and I'm happy to report it went great!  Well, kind of.  See, this race is tiny, like really tiny, so it really unofficial.  Like, when you finish, they give you your race place on a popsicle stick - not kidding.  Anyway, the directions at the beginning of the race were really vague, so I relied on just following people.  Turns out, that wasn't a good idea because about 5 of us didn't see our signs and ended up going 1.4 miles EXTRA.  I did manage to check the Garmin when I beeped the 10k mark (6.1 miles), and would have ended up with a 47.46.  My goal was to just get under 50 min. so I was happy!  I still ran hard to the finish, and just consider the race a really hard Saturday morning run :) 

I also have to say that I'm feeling pretty strong with my running.  Its hard to believe that at the end of May my "long" runs were 4miles, and as of yesterday I did my first double run of 5 miles after work then 4 later that night = total of 9, albeit not all at once, but I'm still proud of it.  Otherwise, my farthest distance at one time is 8.4 miles.  I have progressed to running no less than 5 miles on my "short/easy" days, and knowing I'm getting thisclose to running double digits is exciting.  I still try and fit in strength/ab work at least 1-2 times a week.

Also in exciting news, we're heading out to Ohio tomorrow for my brohams wedding!  I'm so excited for this trip and for he and Evan to finally get married (they've been together for like 194 years and that's a low estimate).  I will keep you updated on the travels when I get some free time

Sorry I'm not sorry for the long a$$ post, but there was a lot goin on!  I promise to post a pic recap, that will probably be more interesting then reading this garbage. 

Glad to be back kids!

running is fun, except when it's not....

Hey friends!  Well, its been while since I talked to ya'll last, but to be honest, nothing super exciting has been going on, and I didn't think you would want to hear all about my awesome boring life....but maybe you did, cause you have nothing better to do like me.

Anyway, I'll do a quick recap and let you in on my fun weekend plans!  On the running front its been a little frustrating.  I started out last week really strong - two 6 mile runs in a row!  Well I should know better, and I do now, that was a recipe for disaster cause I ended up really hurting my shins/ankles.  It was a case of going to far to soon, I should have just stuck with what I had on the schedule for the day, and I probably wouldn't be in the mess.  Anyway, I took a few days off last week and attempted a treadmill run on Thursday - HUGE mistake.  I made it a mile and a half and had to stop, my right shin and ankles were killing me! (can I just call it a shankle?)  So I hopped on the Octane machine and did a hard 6 miles on that - I was pretty discouraged and upset with myself. 



I probably looked like a mental patient on this thing I was moving so fast - reason # 1,856 I don't love the gym, I make a fool out of myself


I took another day off and ran a SLOW 3 miles on Saturday to test it out.  It hurt for the 2 miles, but then seemed to loosen up, and was OK when I finished.  Since then though I haven't ran a step. I could feel it when I walked and knew that if I tried to run I would just make it worse, so I figured it best to just not do anything.  Unfortunately this leaves me feeling bummed knowing I pretty much did it to myself, and since I have a constant case of I-eat-my-feelings-syndrome I have been munching like crazy for the past week and a half.  I have a 5k coming up Sunday and I know it will just be a death march, hopefully I don't barf at the end, if I do I'll make sure to post a pic fo-sho!

so if I dont get an award for running, at least I could win a barf award...gross

Enough with the negative nelly vibes, lets get on to something positive.  This weekend we have some fun plans.  As I've probably mentioned before J-bo has a 100k mtn. bike race on Saturday up near Hayward, WI.  I got into mountain biking for about a year, but then it lost its luster, aka I fell off my bike, got a tiny scratch and cried "never again!".  Yep I'm a winner right here.  So I sold my mtn. bike and left that hobby to someone who's clearly braver than me.  But if your someone who likes dirt and mud and falling down, check out the race he's doing - its seems pretty sweet.  Chequamegon 100. 

So that's on Saturday, then I have my 5k on Sunday.  Its part of the MuskyFest in Hayward.  Sounds pretty redneck awesome right?!  I've decided given my current state of fitness (non-existant), that I would do this race for just the fun of running - which it always should be right?! :)  I'm not going to be concerned with hitting a certian time - I will go for that on my next race (4th of July!). If you are ever up in the Hayward area, or feeling taking a sweet va-ca to check out some muskys, here's the place to be.

One last tidbit to make this a blastie weekend is that my co-worker/our friend is going to be up there with her hubby as well.  They are staying at her in-laws cabin for the weekend and graciously asked if we wanted to join - heck yes!  I was chatting about this race with her a few weeks ago, and she said they go and run it every year - small world, kind of :).  Anyway, the thing is, I can talk about running my piddly miles all I want, but she is an ACTUAL runner, like she ran the Olympic Trials in the marathon this year kind of runner.  She super fast and her hubs is too, but she is so nice, and it should be fun to hang with them this weekend. Maybe I can get tips on how to be not slow.  If you want some inspritation or just be totally jealous that we all cant be fast, check out her blog here and say hi!

I will try and take pictures this weekend and will be back to tell ya all about it!

weekend in pictures

my new duds, I feel faster already!

Lake Harriet - don't mind the green sludge, look at the cute ducks :)

gettin' geared up - don't worry, my eyes were open when I ran

ready to rock and roll - and go to the bathroom for the gazillionth time

thanks J-man for being my personal photographer

sweaty and done!

This is the place where bakery dreams come true...

cute little macaroons!

Italian Nachos!!!

 turns out crusty old bins and a can of spray paint make a pretty cute project!

my weekend in words

Hey hey friends!  I tried to post this up last night but my computer was being a total turd nugget so it goin up now.  Also, I promise some pics in the near future.  Once I wrote up the post I realized it was really long with lots of links to look at, so I figured it best to give the pics their own post - theres some high quality images that obviously need their own.  So lets get to it,  I had a pretty eventful weekend – shocking I know,  so there’s lots to talk about!

Saturday I had the Walker Methodist 5k at Lake Harriet in MPLS.  The race was at 9:05am - which is late for a morning start, and it was supposed to be around 90 degrees that day.  We got the race at 8:15 so I could get my bib number and shirt.  Oh, backtrack to yesterday, per usual, I used this race as an excuse to buy new gear.  The tempo shorts were still on sale so I picked up another pair along with a tank since it was supposed to be ungodly hot.

So we got to the race, and by that time it was already about 80 degrees.  I got my stuff together, set the Garmin and my ipod, and at 9:05 we were off.  The course was one big loop around Lake Harriett.  It was really pretty, the lake on one side, and ginormous mcmansions on the other side.  They were really cool to look at.  It was super hot running but I tried to keep my pace for as long as I could, and kept it under 8 for about 2 miles, then it started to go down.  I never let my pace drop to much, and still had some kick left for the finish so I tried my best to sprint it in.  I finished in 25:22 (26 min. slower than MedCity and my pace was 9 seconds slower as well), but I chalk it up to the heat.

 I did get 2^nd in my division and 24^th overall.  Goes to show how slow the numbers were if even I did that well.  I still had a fun time though, and was really happy that I didn’t completely bomb the race.  Afterwards I made myself look presentable – aka, spray copious amounts of dry shampoo in my nasty hair, and we went to my fav. bakery, Patisserie 46 and got some treats.  If your ever in the area, this is a place you MUST go, seriously………go now!  We took our time getting home, ate lunch at a local café in town, putzed around at home, and later we met my mom and Paul at an outdoor restaurant called Vino in the Valley for dinner.  This place is great, it always has good food, but it’s the atmosphere that I go out there for.  It was such a great way to spend the evening.

Sunday, I took a rest day from running and slept in.  J-Weezy went for  a bike ride with a buddy, and when he got back we got busy ;)…..with yard work……get out of the gutter sickos.  We had to tackle the other side of the fence project.  Am I the only one that feels like this is the project that never ends?  I had some major yard cleanup to get done so I trimmed bushes, pulled an obscene amount of weeds, and pretended I was Martha Stewart  and spray painted these metal bins (found in our dungeon of a basement), and used them as planters.  I just love them!  I have 2 more bins that I think I will do the same thing to, I just love the way they turned out.  Talk about a cheap project.  By the time we got done with everything it was about 6pm so we grilled up some grub, played with the dog, and called it a night!

So keeping with the trend, I wrote up a new training plan, a few changes though.  My last one, I felt like my legs were just dragging the whole time, and I felt pretty sluggish, so hopefully this will work better.  I have another race on the 24^th in Hayward, WI .  Jake is doing a 100K mtn. bike race that Saturday up there, and there just happens to be a 5k the next day so I figured it would perfect timing.  Maybe the top prize is a giant musky - fingers crossed!

So here’s the training plan to take me though till then.  As always, if anyone knows better (cause I sure as heck don’t), let me know.

Sunday - rest
Monday - 4.5 miles - no pace 6.3 miles! I felt so good I kept going, just call me Forrest :)
Tuesday - 50 minute training pace
Wednesday - strength & core
Thursday - 45 minutes training pace
Friday - 3.5 race pace & strength/core
Saturday - speed : 4-6 600's @ 7:15 pace
Sunday - rest/walk
Monday - 55 min. no pace
Tuesday - 45 min. training pace
Wednesday - strength & core
Thursday - 60 min. training pace
Friday - 4 mi. race pace
Saturday - rest : Jakes bike race
Sunday - 5k race!


So there you have it, stay tuned for life changing pictures of everything I just talked about....lucky you

that was a GREAT run! and by great I mean totally craptastic.....literally

* consider this your warning, if you have a problem with bodily functions (that are totally normal by the way!), or have a brain still stuck in 3rd grade and you giggle every time someone says the word "poopie", then this isn't the blog for you.

Happy Wednesday and National Run Day everyone!  Hope most of you were able to get out for a little jog of your own today, even if it was just to the mailbox, it still counts!

So I'm still following my "training" plan that I wrote up last week, and today was my long run (5.5-6 mi.) day.  Unfortunately ALL day I thought I had an easy 3 miler....until I checked the plan and saw the long run on the docket.  Once I realized that I kinda psyched myself out, thinking it was going to be really hard and I was going to be really slow.  Now, these runs are only at training pace, which I want to keep at 8:30's-8:45's, and my race pace is about 7:45's-7:55's.  Considering I've been a bit sluggish this week, and my yesterdays strength workout focused a little to much on my legs, I wasn't looking forward to 6 miles.

When I got home from work I did my best to get in a good mood, and drove to the start of my run.  The plan was to go down a road that turns into gravel and run 3 out and 3 back.  So I started out and was keeping about a 8:18 pace, well below where I needed to be, so I tried to slow it down. I was feeling good until about mile 1.5, and that's where the ish hit the fan.  My stomach started cramping and got the unfortunate feeling of needing to go to the bathroom. Damn you I.B.S!  I was at a point where the gravel could end and I could hop onto a bike path - so I did that, thinking the gravel roads were jumbling my stomach a little to much, and that pavement might be better.  Well it was better on my ankles, but by the time I got to mile 2, I was thinking I might have to duck in the woods and do the business.  I had to stop, I hate stopping, its such a bummer.  I walked for about 45 seconds, and my stomach stopped cramping, so I though I was ok.  I turned back and started up, no better, I literally was thisclose to either sharting in my pants or jumping in the woods, and no body likes a poopy diaper, so the woods were looking good, but everytime I spotted a good tree to squat behind, some biker or runner would pass me so I couldnt.  I made it to mile 4 and stopped again, walked for 30 second and started again.  I made it about a half a mile and stopped again.  I had about .2 miles until I could get my car so I did my best to not lose it, and made it to my car, raced home and ran inside.

I was still totally bummed I didn't do the full 6, so after I relieved myself, I headed back out my door and did another 2.3 miles.

This was such a bummer of a run, but I'm proud of myself for getting it done, even if it wasn't all at one time.  I also magically managed to keep a 8:40-8:45 pace the whole time (with the exception of when I had to stop), so I was still in the "training" range, I just wish my stomach wasn't such a giant turd.

yup, and I think I had one to many cups today, lesson learned

Here's to hoping tomorrow is A LOT better :)