This & That

When I started blogging I'm not sure how often I anticipated updating, but I know once a week wasn't what I had in mind. That being said, once a week feels pretty damn current at this point. I've developed this thing during my runs, though, where I'll start plotting the blog I'll write about that run or workout as it's happening. Then I don't write it. C'est la vie. So rather than regurgitate a week's worth of mental blogs, I'll give it to you short and sweet.

• My life doesn't start before 9am these days. While I know I'll look back on this and say "wow, why didn't you enjoy that more?"for now I feel lazy and dumpy sleeping in so much and not doing anything productive. Example? I've slept through my alarm for my Saturday running group every week now. whoops...
• Despite sleeping through the alarm I managed to get in pretty awesome long run on Saturday! I was supposed to do 7 miles but the only route I knew was an 8 miler so....8 it was!

I wish the garmin elevation charts showed hills in
level of badassness          

So much for 12:40 pace...

• I have my first blister of the training season. I'm kind of glad to get it out of the way. 
• I want a dog so bad I physically can't stand it. I think this is the way girls my age are supposed to feel about babies. You can keep your baby, I just want a dog. The minute J and I start cohabitation there will be a dog. We're naming him Arthur. This is who I dream about on my long runs

• I'm starting to get a marathon appetite to go with marathon training. I could eat everything in sight if I let myself. Hopefully this week there will be pictures of all the awesome new recipes I'm trying!
• If it weren't for running (and school...and work...) I probably wouldn't leave my couch. Someone should have told me that starting Downton Abbey and The Wire at the same time wasn't a good idea. 
• This morning my good buddy Carter and I went for a run together. We haven't seen each other - let alone run together - in far too long so it was a great way to start an otherwise boring Wednesday!

• Wednesday Wish List - I really want to change up the blog a little bit so it looks more awesome like all of yours. Specifically, I want to add an awesome title Banner with pictures instead of just title but....I'm at a loss for the skill. Any suggestions?
• I'm loving Dailymile and the fact that I can keep up with everybody and get new workout ideas. If we're not already friends on dailymile, fix it! (Jenn S.) 

Happy Running!

So many of you have been sick! Are you feeling better? REST & eat your veggies/fruits!!

Do you have a 4 legged friend? Will you loan/him or her out so I can cuddle?

Back in action

I feel like a completely different person than I did this time last week. It's amazing what a difference 7 short days makes, but it's true. My efforts at rehabilitation paid off and Saturday morning I woke up feeling 100% again. I even slept until 9:30 - oops! - but managed to have a leisurely day with J and still get in my long run.

Checking off my long run

And yes, I proudly wore my Broncos gear all day Saturday. Football is such a cruel mistress, am I right?

I've pretty much resumed my normal activities this week. Last night I got in a great workout on the treadmill and trudged through three horrible games of volleyball. After we were finished I was oh so excited (read: not excited at all) to find a new achey spot in my knee. Good thing I've got my trusty ice pack to make it all better.....I hope. 

Today I decided to take my short, easy run outside to try out my new reebok wind jacket. It felt great to be off the treadmill, despite the chill in the air. I think I was going faster than my planned leisurely pace but lots of stops for traffic lights forced me to take lots of breaks.

On the bridge between KY & IN - failed attempt
to get the city in the background

An hour of yoga later and I'm whooped. Now for some quality time with Mr. Ice Pack & a bubble bath.

Wednesday Wish List

This week's wish centers around something I've ALWAYS wanted, but just didn't think I was built for: svelte, muscular arms. As a swimmer my upper body was always built a bit like a linebacker & being a bit chesty (Ok, more than a bit), I just didn't think It was possible. But in less than 9 months I will put on this:

So I'm adding strong sex arms to my wish list. Because when I slip on that wedding dress I want to look less like her

and more like her

Do you have any "trouble spots" that no amount of running seems to fix? 

How's the weather where you are?

Sidelined by sickness

I think I set a land speed record this morning for the rubber boot shuffle! While some of you have been dealing with "winter" for awhile now, we here in the bluegrass have had an unusually mild season speckled with just a few sub-30 degree days. Needless to say, I was not excited when I saw this:

"Feels like 5 degrees" = Feels like face breaking off into tiny shards. All I could think on my shuffle into work was, "You people run in this?" No thanks.

Last weekend I spent a few hours with my folks watching a UofL game that ended in double overtime sadness. Around half-time my dad started complaining of a sore throat & stuffy nose. 24 hours later I too had the sore throat and stuffy nose to go with my post-Basketball loss depression. When it comes to being sick I'm kind of odd. I can deal with pain no problem, but when it comes to stuffy-runny-pressure-cold/flu-related crap, I'm in agony. Worst of all, I hate cold medication. I know it's the only thing that will fix me up, but the hangover feeling I get from almost any kind of cold/flu medication just makes me feel abysmal.

Rather than get too depressed about being sick during training, I decided to go on the offensive: lots and lots of Vitamin C, multi-vitamins, fruits & veggies, water, pseudoephedrine, and rest.

3 Zero's in a row? Blah!

While I hate to see blanks in my training, I think my tactics may have worked. I woke up this morning with (mostly) clear sinuses and only a little cough. Thank God my sinuses finally opened up, I felt like a drunk sailor wobbling around most of Wednesday. Not really the professional sort of appearance I was hoping to put out.

Today is a planned rest day and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some sort of run in tomorrow. I have 6 miles scheduled, but I'm flexible. Just can't wait to get moving again!!

Food Journal Notes 
Last week I noticed my stomach was getting kind of upset after meals that involved a lot of dairy. Not just dairy, but straight milk (i.e. chocolate milk recovery or milk in a smoothie). I bought my first ever carton of soy milk and I have to say, I'm totally happy with it! Tastes awesome and no bellyaches. Jury's still out on yogurt or cheese yet. Greek yogurt doesn't seem to bother me, but cheese does. Any thoughts - does one have more lactose than the other? Weird.

Happy Friday the 13th everybody - hope you're safe and warm wherever you are!
Do you run when you have a cold? How sick do you have to be to cancel a workout?

Every year after the holidays we take stock of our lives and come up with a new set of resolutions for the coming days. Often these "resolutions" are overly ambitious and lofty pronouncements created after the two weeks of sheer gluttony and laziness we call "The Holidays". While made in good faith, these resolutions are often so ambiguous and unrealistic that we leave ourselves room only to fail. When a news anchor for CNN was asked what his resolution was he happily announced "I want to be a better husband and father." What does that even mean? Laughing, Josh said "it means he wants to stop cheating on his wife." Fair enough.

Thinking about Mr. News Anchor brings me to a good point about these resolutions: we set our sights on this improbable goal without any roadmap to get there. What good is 'I want to be a better father' if "i will stop cheating on my wife' is not included? Exactly. In the January 2012 issue of RunnersWorld, Ed Eyestone examines this problem with runners and comes to a similar conclusion. If you want to succeed, you need to set a defined goal and focus on the specific requirements for reaching it. For 2012 I have a couple of running and non-running related goals, and here are my plans for reaching them!

Run a Marathon

- Derby Festival Marathon April 25 2012

- Create a training plan and post it on the fridge (DONE!)

- Find a running group/partner to complete long runs 

- Run at least one 20 miler

- Use the blog & daily mile to keep me accountable for my training

Healthy Body for the Wedding

(Best way I could think of to say 'lose weight' without actually saying it)

- Maintain free lifetime Weight Watchers membership in 2012

- Try new vegetables and recipes! Add good finds to the blog

- Take stock of what I'm eating, how I feel, & how it effects me (30 day food journal challenge)

- Continue my effort to take the word "Fat" out of my vocabulary

Keep the Apartment Clean

(this one is my adult goal, mostly because having a messy apartment stresses me out!)

- Start from a "clean" slate by floor to ceiling scrub down (Done!)

- Bi-weekly cleaning on Sundays 

- Empty sink at night (no dirty dishes in the sink overnight!)

So it's taken me a little time to get these worked out, but I think I'm on the right track! One week down, 51 to go. You may note that there are a few big ticket items absent form this list (i.e. graduate from law school, pass the bar, get married). As far as I'm concerned, those aren't "goals" in the traditional sense. What it takes to accomplish/achieve those things was set in motion long ago and there's little I could do now to alter those outcomes. But I'll probably keep you up to date on all of that stuff too, you know, just in case ;)

Happy Monday Everybody!

Back to the Grind

Today was officially my last first day of school. Ever. I was having mixed feelings about ending law school; the impending bar exam, the whole idea of being a lawyer (FOREVER)....I was torn. But after kickstarting my final semester with a 2 hour lecture on Income Tax that was decidedly less interesting than paint drying, I've decided I'm really ready to leave. 

Add about 15 years and you have my tax professor..ugh

In happier "kickstart" news, Marathon training has commenced! I can actually say MARATHON now because I'm officially entered in the 2012 Derby Festival Marathon! I'm still finagling my training plan and all of that, so I'll share as soon as I know what it is. I've also cooked up a good set of 2012 Goals (I'm not calling them resolutions since I think Steph @RunningtoHealth is on to something) but they're also not quite ready for public consumption. So again.....stay tuned!

So far my whopping 4 workouts have gone really well and I'm feeling healthy & happy with how it's going. What more can you ask for? I've also gotten to try out some of my awesome new Christmas gifts, including a cute and fuzzy warm Saucony pullover. It's pink to match my Team Sparkle skirt, obviously. 

New pullover and UA gloves kept me warm for the first cold run of the season!

As the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge has started winding down, I'm excited to have started the Run To the Finish 30 Day Food Journal Challenge! Since I started doing weight watchers 5 or so years ago, I've been tracking what I eat almost consistently. Seeing a daily log what you eat really impacts the choices you make. If you're looking to make a change in your dietary health - to lose weight or just to feel better! - writing it down will really help you take stock of what you're putting in your body. While I'm still tracking weight-watchers style, I'm taking more notes about how I feel, my energy/hunger levels and when I'm eating. Excited to see how it shakes out at the end of the month!

Getting back to the grind after the holidays is such a pain, but at the same time it's really relaxing to return to a normal routine. Almost comforting. I'm sure the monotony of school, work, and training will soon set in, but for now - I'm loving it!

How is your week shaping up? Do you like routine or do you need spontaneity or something different every day?