Summer is Here

I wanted to get a run in today before work.  My problem is that since I work sort of second shift hours, I am not an early riser.  So, by the time I get up, drink my coffee, have breakfast, watch I Love Lucy, and get dressed, it's close to 11.  Nothing about that was different today.  So, I didn't head out until almost noon.

Made my own iced coffee.  Yum!

The forecast for today was hot and humid.  It was around 80 when I headed out, but the humidity wasn't too bad until I was running through the woods on the loop that I did.  There, the humidity was so bad it was like running through a sauna.

My after my run.  Yuck.

I was really proud of myself after the run.  I didn't set any time goals.  I just wanted to keep running with no walking.  At one point, a half mile had passed before I even realized it.

My splits are pretty even.  I missed mile 2, because my watch doesn't beep anymore.  Time to start looking for new Garmins...but that's not for a while yet.

Otherwise, my fallback rules have been working pretty well.  I haven't written anything yet.  Drinking water has been working the best for me to curb my hunger.  I think it just really helps me focus on serving sizes.

I am also up to Day 4 of plank a day.  I started at about 20 seconds and now am up to just over a minute.  And let me just say, my whole body is definitely getting a workout.  I feel it in my arms, shoulders, abs, legs, etc.

Plank a day Day 4

Hope everyone is having a great week!

March 1, Success!

Today, after enjoying a delicious cup of coffee and a quick breakfast, Kevin and I went to the gym.  I was feeling very energized and ready to conquer this workout!  I ran two miles in 21:36, with splits 11:03, 10:33 on the random setting.

BAM!

We got Jimmy John's for lunch.  I got my usual Vegetarian, with no mayo, add sauce.  Today I got no tomatoes too.  Yesterday, I had tomatoes on my taco I made, and BAM!  Horrible heartburn, so today I wanted to play it safe.

I have to close at work all weekend, so I needed to pack a lunch for tonight.  I brought baked potato and kale soup, an orange, and water.  I knew this wasn't going to be enough when my stomach started growling as soon as I got to work.  On my lunch, I ended up getting a bag of cheeze-its and a grape juice that tasted like a grape popsicle (not a good thing).

I bought these tiny little notebooks and a pack of colored pens so Kevin and I can track our foods through the day.  I like these, because it is way easier to transport in my purse.  It's always fun to get new things and use them for awhile.

Tracking in my new notebook.

On a random note, I can never successfully paint my nails.  I do not have the patience to wait until they are fully dry to do things.  It's like as soon as I paint them, I think of about a million things I need to do.  I painted them a pretty lilac color.  It seems very springy and Eastery.  Here's a picture before I wrecked them.

I better get to bed! I have to get up to run tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Long Hair, Don't Care

Two weeks into February (sort of) and I am keeping to my goals.

One goal was to work out three times a week.
I ran three times this week; a three mile on the treadmill, a 6x400 speed workout, and one 5k outside.  I was so glad I decided to go outside.  I missed just running without having to pick a certain pace first, like I do on the treadmill.  I didn't even look at my watch until I knew I was by the turnaround point.

Another goal was to try a new recipe once a week.  I made Lazy Lasagna, which I ate for lunch and dinner all last week.  Today I made lentil loaf that I found on SparkPeople.  I made it a bit differently.  I should have made half the recipe they gave, because I ended up with two loafs.
Here's what mine looked like

I had it with home made mashed potatoes and green beans.

It ended up being okay.  I wouldn't make it again though.  It's just so heavy, and it will take forever to eat all of it.  I'm glad I tried it though.  It's something I've been curious about for a while.

My weight loss goal for February is to be down four pounds.  I am right on track, being down two.  Just two more to go!

My most difficult goal for the month is staying off caffeine.  It's been 9 days and I still feel awful.  I'm crazy tired all day...and a little crabby!  I've been trying to substitute with green tea, but it is not the same.  Just 19 more days!  I'm hoping by then I will start to feel better soon.

How are your February goals going?

I Finally Gave In

Last week, I finally gave in and joined the gym.  I love running outside, but it has been getting too cold and icy for me to suck it up anymore!  And, I figured, I have to start tri training soon, so I'll need a pool and spin classes.

Running on the treadmill still sucks, but it's better than wearing 100 layers of clothes and getting frustrated at the weather.  I mean, I live in WI, it's going to get cold.

I am glad that I have the options for classes again.  I have been to a yoga class and felt so much better afterwards.  I also discovered the cardio cinema.  I went today with the plan to see what movie was playing and if it was something I liked I would just use the elliptical instead of running.  Well, they were playing Dark Shadows; the new one with Johnny Depp...a.k.a my future husband.  I would have watched the whole thing, but I had to get to the hospital to visit Melissa and her twins!

Both mommy and babies are doing well and will come home tomorrow!  Let the games begin!

Would you rather run inside or outside in cold weather?

Ice, Ice, Baby

Today when I was getting ready for my run, Kevin told me to put on my Yaktrax.  He found some for me at Goodwill a couple of years ago.  I only wore them twice.  They sort of annoyed me, but it wasn't icy like this when I wore them.

Wool socks, tights, skirt, thermal shirt and jacket ended up being way to warm.

I thought it would be fine.  The sun was out, it was up to about 25 degrees, and there wasn't much wind.  I figured most of the ice would be melted by now.  Wrong-O!

Looks like water, but was solid ice with water on top.  First time I almost fell!

It was actually a gorgeous day out!

I almost fell on my ass about 5 times.  I followed the usual trail I do for my 3 mile runs.  I figured it would be easier to run on a path instead of sidewalks where no one seemed to have shoveled.

Well, the whole, entire path was covered in a solid layer of ice.  I had to shuffle along and hope I had a strong core to balance me.  Going over the bridges was the scariest part.  There are 4 of them I run over.  I was holding on the railing of the second bridge taking baby steps and still almost fell down!  And all the sun was doing was making the ice more slippery by forming a layer of water on top.

Slow run, but I didn't take any walk breaks!

I wasn't too sore afterwards.  My inner thighs and upper calves were a little sore, but that went away after stretching.  Tomorrow is a speed workout and I think I may have to skip it.  It's way too icy out to go bursting off as fast as I can.

My knitting is coming along as well.  I've been working on the trinity stitch.  It took me two days to finish it!

I'm not sure what stitch I am going to do next!  Only nine more squares to go!

Do you like to run inside or out?

Free For All Friday

Happy Friday!  I thought this day would never end! I wrapped up another 9 day work week and it couldn't have come soon enough!
I have actually stuck to my running plan this week! Shocking, right? I heard you gasp all the way from here.

Walked 3 Miles on Tuesday

6 miles on Wednesday

Thursday 3 miles

I am so physically exhausted.  Running those miles and working about ten hours every day really takes it's toll, especially when I am literally running around the whole time I am there.  I get home and just collapse into bed.

Today, after work Kevin and I got a Papa Murphy's pizza.  We had a coupon for an $8 large pizza.  I really liked it.  They must use fresh oregano or something, because it has a really great taste.  And I really like their crust. Yum!

After supper, we put up the Christmas tree.  This is going to be my only free day until Christmas, so I figured I better get it up.  Last year the tree didn't get up until about a week before, because I was so busy with work and school.  So, this year I get to enjoy the tree for almost a whole month!

Kevin and I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while putting the tree up.  It's both of our favorite movie.  I put in White Christmas after that and Kevin disappeared.  It's not really his cup of tea.

Here's the tree all set up.  Eggy loves having it up.  He hides under it and shoots out when I walk by.  And there's ornaments he likes to hit off that we keep on the bottom for him to play with.  

Eggy is waiting for Santa

I'm surprised he let me put this garland around him.  He usually freaks out if I try to do that.  He was pretty exhausted though after playing for about two hours straight.  He is already in bed sleeping on his electric blanket.

Did you put up your tree already?

Have a great weekend!

That's What She Said

Hey! Did anyone know that it's election day?
I got up early on my day off to make sure I got my vote in.  This is the first year that I had to wait at all.  I ended up being in line from start to finish for an hour!  It must have been the time I went, because my friend goes to the same place to vote and she said she was in and out in 15 minutes.

After that, I worked a bit on a sweater I am knitting.  I hadn't realized how long it has been since I knitted until I was trying to make the first two loops.  It took me a good 20 minutes!  Yeesh!  And the first two rows took about two hours.  Now that I am getting the hang of it again it is going much faster.

The sweater I'm making.  

I went over to my mom's about mid morning to do some cleaning and walk her favorite child  dog.  I made Asia a sweater and I wanted her to try it on to make sure it fit.  It actually fit really well!  I am going to add a collar and edging to it and maybe a couple of more flowers to give it a more finished look.

Asia really likes wearing sweaters.  She is so cute.

On our walk

It was funny to watch people slow down and check Asia out on our walk.  They would see her and start laughing.  She is such a cutie.  Too bad normal sized dog clothes don't fit.  I may have to become the Lane Bryant of dog clothes.  A friend of mine already asked me to make her dog an outfit since store bought clothes don't fit him.

I was waiting for Becky to get home from work so we could go run together.  It was pretty chilly out, dark and had started drizzling and it was only 3:00p.m.  I made sure to wear bright colors so cars would see me us.  I also wanted to try my leg warmers.  They ended up falling down leaving my calves cold.  I will have to add a tighter row to the top to keep them up.  

You can see my leg warmers are already falling!

This run was a really good one!  I was a little jazzed up, because I had just drank some soda.  Caffeine has the effect on me as a bag of sugar would on a little kid.  Becky had to tell me to slow down a couple of times.  She knows that I would want to stop after the first mile if we kept up at the pace we were going.

My run time/miles.

How many times can you use, "That's what she said" in this blog?

And on the Seventh Day...

This past week has been action packed!  After last Saturday's half marathon, I decided to take some time off of running, which was a great decision.  I was tired, I had a busy work schedule, and my mom ended up having to have surgery.

I ended up staying over at my mom's the day she got back from the hospital.  My dad works third shift and I thought someone should be there in case something happened.

Mom is doing a lot better now.  She was pretty mobile right after surgery, which surprised me after a back surgery.  A lot of her pain is alleviated.  The doctor said she was in so much pain, because part of her disk actually broke off and fused to the nerve!  Ouchie!!

I've been taking my mom's dog for a walk about every other day, so I haven't become a total couch potato without running.  She absolutely loves getting outside and hunting through all of the tall grass and under all of the bushes.

With the weather getting colder, I've been making Asia a sweater.  My mom made her a turtle neck sweater last year, but every girl needs more then just one sweater!

I had to custom make it since she is a plus size gal.  I had to redo the bottom, because I had actually made it way too big.  Asia volunteered to help.

 I finally finished the sweater.  I sewed her name on with yarn and added some flowers.  I got the original pattern for free here.

I have gone back to doing the daily crosswords in the newspaper.  I have been doing crosswords since I was in middle school.  There is something so satisfying about filling up all of those squares with the right (or close to right) answers.  I am a little rusty still, but those of you who do these know the clues tend to repeat each other once in a while, so that has helped.  

Today, I went on my first run since the half last Saturday.  I went with my friend Becky who is training for her first marathon!  She only had to do five miles, so nothing I couldn't handle.  We took it pretty slow, walking once every mile, and just enjoying the day and the scenery.  

I decided to have some fun with my outfit, so I wore bright colors.  I also wanted to see what it was like to run in my compression socks.  I felt like my calves were a little sore during the run from the socks, but that could have been from the hills and not running so much for a week.  I'm not sore now though, so maybe they did help.  Who knows.  I think I will have to try them on a really long run to see.

My outfit on my run.  I love my pink compression socks!

My splits.

Hope everyone has a happy Monday!

With the Wind at Your Back

Yesterday was a rest day...a much needed rest day.  The plan was to get up this morning and run 5.  I didn't fall asleep last night until about 3am!  I was very over tired and could not fall asleep.  This led me to sleep in until 10 this morning!  I hate sleeping that late.
I made my coffee, did my sudoku, and got ready to go run.  I had two cups of coffee and an apple with peanut butter for breakfast.
I finally took off to run at almost noon.  I had to work at 3, so I was really pushing it.
It was pretty chilly out and quite windy.  The forecast also called for rain.  It was a little dark, but I figured I'd be fine.  A little rain never hurt anyone.
I started running and after about a minute I realized I was going too fast.  I tried to slow down, but it wasn't working.  The wind really blew against me on the way out.  With pushing my speed so much faster than I'm use to, I was worried I was going to burn out by the second mile.  As soon as I turned after mile 1, the wind somehow turned to my back.  It really pushed me along.  I had the fastest run that I have ever had!  I just could not seem to slow down and I figured if I was still going I must be capable of it.
It started drizzling around mile 2, but never turned into anything serious. As soon as I got home I stretched, ate and jumped in the shower for work.

Now, I have to watch Chelsea Lately, get my clothes and lunch ready for tomorrow and go to bed since I have to be there by 7am!  Here's hoping tomorrow goes fast! TGIF!!

Andy Cohen's Inner Monologue

Happy Monday!  Well, it is for me anyway.  I had off today and again tomorrow! Yes!
This morning started off with a run with Becky.  The weather was beautiful!

After I got home and showered, I was SO tired.  I was sitting on the couch and could not even keep my eyes open.  I woke up an hour and a half later feeling refreshed!
I hadn't had any coffee before I went running or food.  I also didn't have either when I got home.  That would definitely be why I collapsed from fatigue.
After I got up and dressed, I ran some errands and hung out with Melissa for a while.
After I got home, I decided to start on some leg warmers that Melissa and I are wearing with our 80's costumes for a Halloween race.

First, I had to find my yarn.  It's been a while since I have made anything.  Eggroll was very excited about crocheting.

I had a pattern that I found here.
I didn't know what colors I was going to use.  I just made it up as I went.  The first one came out pretty well I think.

Here's the finished product.  It will actually be scrunchy on Melissa's leg since she's about 4 inches shorter than me.

As I'm watching the RHONY reunion show, I wish they had little pop bubbles that would show Andy Cohen's thoughts, because these ladies are cray-cray!

Goodnight!

What is your favorite gang of Real Housewives? 

 I would have to say mine is New Jersey.

Twice as Nice

So did everybody realize that today was 10/11/12?  Some people I talked to had no idea!  How fun is that?  It could also be 1-2-3 if you add the numbers up.  Moving on...

 I had to get a run in today since I didn't go yesterday and tomorrow is my only day I can get in my long run.  I had 5 scheduled.  I decided to go through this small park that is in the middle of my neighborhood.  I have explored it one other time.  It's rather small and the trails really don't go anywhere, but I was really craving a change of scenery.  This added on only about a quarter of a mile, but it was something.  I did the rest of my miles around a cemetery.  The wind was crazy today.  Running against the wind, I could barely move and running with the wind I was going crazy fast and not even realizing it.  I ended up quitting at 4 miles and decided to save my legs a bit for tomorrow considering I still had to go to work and run around for eight hours.  I walked the mile and a half home so I did still get my five miles in.

You can see haw drastically the splits went down!








After my run, I hopped into the shower, changed and headed to the grocery store.  I had no fruit in my house and needed something to eat.  I headed to Aldi.  I get almost all of my produce there.  It is so much cheaper than the grocery story.  I got tons of food for $25!

By the time I got home I was so hungry I felt a little sick.  I heated up some of the refried black beans that I had made the other day and put them on corn tortillas with avocado, lettuce, and tomato.  I used half of the avocado on the tortillas and I mashed up the other half and ate it with some tortilla chips.

After that, I had to hurry and change for work and pack a lunch to take.  I'm trying not to spend money every day that I am there on silly things that I don't need.

Tomorrow I have off, but I have a lot to do!

What are your plans this weekend?

If You Like Piña Coladas

I got up this morning and my cat was so cute sleeping at the end of the bed.  I am mildly obsessed with my cat and pretty much all my pictures are of him.  He doesn't mind.  He loves getting his picture taken.

I had a running date with Becky at 8am.  My alarm went off at 6, I got up to make coffee, and then laid back down.  The plan was to get back up at 6:30, but after texting with a friend for about 15 minutes I decided to change the alarm to 7.  That went off way too quickly.  I texted Becky and asked if we could change the time to 8:30.  She said sure, so I went laid back down until 7:30 then finally got up and had some coffee and toast with jelly.

It was a bit chilly and windy, but sunny.  I cannot get enough of this fall weather!  Before I know it winter will be here.

Becky and I ran a 3 mile loop along the bike trail by our houses that goes through 2 parks.  We saw three deer.  Becky yelled out "Hi" to them and pointed.  I warned her not to make eye contact!  Those deer make me nervous.  It's hard to tell what they will do.  Especially when they are only about 20 feet from you.

It's nice running with someone else.  I was able to push myself to keep going, because I didn't want Becky to have to walk or go too slow.  I will also have her for company on my long run Friday.  I have to do 9 miles and she said she would like to run with me.  It's awesome to do long runs with a buddy!  It makes it a little less awful.  It also gives us time to catch up since we don't get to see each other too often.

And afterwards, I got cupcakes!!  They are a Hungry Girl recipe called Pina Colada Cupcakes.  They are so good.  It's just cake mix, pineapple, and one or two other things.  It's very similar to a recipe I've had called happy cake.  This recipe had fewer ingredients though and all the yumminess!  Someone ate the four cupcakes she gave me to take home though....okay, it was me.   Did I mention that they were delicious?

I also made some refried black beans.  Pretty much I just soak some dried beans overnight, boil them for an hour or so, then cook them in a pan.  I smoosh them with a potato masher and add water, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  I keep adding water as they cook and keep mashing the beans until I decide they are done.  I think I cooked theses for about an hour.  I put them on corn tortillas with lettuce, tomato, and salsa.  It was very good!

After that I went over to my friend Melissa's.  We went for a walk.  She is five months pregnant with TWINS and is trying to stay active.  She is rocking it with these walks!  She is doing a 5k in two weeks too.  Hopefully all goes well!  We walked about 2.1 miles...I wore my Garmin so I would know.  I'm weird that way.

After that, I worked for a few hours.  It was so slow and boring!  I'm glad I got to leave after four hours!

Until next time...

What's your favorite season?