Saturday, June 30, 2012

Joke's on Me

Ahhh, Saturday, the weekend, time for rest. Hahaha yeah right. Woke up at 6 am (78 degrees) and got my butt outside running. I lost my headband in the process, so . . . success? I did as I said I would: walked (or slowly jogged) the downhills and flat areas and ran as hard as I could up the hills. I feel like I worked hard and got a good exercise, and I was beyond exhausted those last couple hills, but I kept going, and kept running for my cool down (very light jog I should say).

After that I did some stretching and some other exercises, refilled my water bottle and went to the gas station. Got my gas ($3.09!) and got cash to go to the farmer's market. LOVED IT! Everyone was super friendly and helpful. And I had what might have been the most delicious peach in the history of peaches. Ever. Made for a magnificent breakfast. Unfortunately they didn't have all the veggies I was looking for, so I had to go to Schnuck's anyway. Also picked up my new prescription, which was supposed to be generic (so cheaper right?). Well, no. I paid more than I do for my normal meds and looked it all over when I got home and realized they gave me the wrong thing altogether, which was not generic. Wtf.

Also, no matter how many lists I make to remind myself of things I need to do/get, I always manage to leave something important off of that list. So I'll have to make another run to Target later this week for what I need. Not that I don't love Target (who doesn't?!), but it's across town, and I have no a/c in my car, so it's a little hot for all that nonsense. I gotta say, up until now, I don't think I complained too much about not having a/c. Yes, it sucked, especially driving to and from St. Louis, but it was bearable. 100+ degrees is not all that bearable though. I don't know why I even bother wearing makeup. I sweat most of it off before I even get where I need to be.

Anyhoo, back to my day . . . I met up with Kirsten and went to the pool. The water was the perfect temperature. And I don't think I burned! First time for everything. So after a couple hours of that, I decided it was time to go home, take a cool shower and get cleaned up, and maybe even squeeze in a nap before my boyfriend got here. Again, the universe laughs in my face. I was locked out of my own freaking apartment! Let me tell you, it should be impossible for that to happen. You have to lock the door with a key on your way out. So if you forget your key, the door is unlocked when you come back. Unfortunately, a brass bar across your door (the kind they use on hotel room doors) does not care whether you have a key or not! Because we have to practically slam our door to get it to lock in the first place, apparently when I did that on my way out again, the brass bar slammed along with it, locking me out.

So I sat for about 20 minutes in this heat waiting for my landlords to show up and get me in. After trying a few different methods, nothing was working. So my landlord just sawed the thing off. His wife said they would replace it later this week. Why on earth would I want them to replace the thing that just locked me out of my apartment?! I swear they don't think sometimes.

Now I have showered (thankfully) cleaned up the apartment, and am debating a nap while waiting for Chris to get here. And I am not so patiently awaiting dinner . . . Bella Italia = the best Italian restaurant I've ever had. Can not wait for dinner. Oh and I'm pretty excited about strawberry mimosas in the morning with breakfast :)

Stay Excellent!

-A

Friday, June 29, 2012

Cheers to the Weekend!

Ahh much better mood today. Helps a lot that it's Friday! I feel much less guilty for effing up my diet. I had quite a few friends comment who were very supportive, including Adam . . . guess he's not so bad after all :) And I had a nice email from my Momma this morning as well. Honestly, I just don't think this whole 30-day diet thing is really for me. But, with the research I did before starting, I learned a lot, and I found a ton of websites with some really good, healthy recipes that I want to try. So I'm not giving it all up completely. It's not like I'm going to just eat at places like McD's all day every day. I definitely plan to keep most of my meals healthy and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. But there's nothing wrong with chocolate now and then. Or a sandwich.

I'm starting grad school this fall, so on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'll be working from 8-5 and then I have class both nights from 6-8:50 pm. So that's a really, really long day, and I'm going to need meals that are easy to take with me. Sandwiches are definitely on that list. And stuff like pasta. Stuff that's easy to make when I get home after class if I didn't have time for dinner.

As you might have guessed, I did not wake up this morning for a run. Partly because I was exhausted and partly because my phone is a ginormous p.o.s and wouldn't charge, let alone let me change my alarm. I'm lucky my usual alarm went off this morning. So I may attempt a run after work . . . maybe down by the river where it's cooler. Otherwise I don't know when I'll go today. I went to bed between 10:30 and 11 last night and it was 88 degrees. And I won't run that late. I will be getting up early for the farmer's market on Saturday, so I will go run either before or after that.

And then my boyfriend is coming for a visit! I'm super excited. We were planning on going to the pool on Sunday but with as hot as it's going to be, it might be way too crowded. And Lord knows the last thing I want is to be surrounded by a bunch of screaming, wet, dirty children in 100 degree weather. No thanks. So he suggested water balloons. Of course, that sounds fun, but I told him I don't have a hose. To which he replied, "You have a sink, darling." Oh yeah. Ha. I think this heat is frying my brain cells . . .

Happy Friday everyone!

-A

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Day 11: Failure

Let me preface this by saying that my good friend Adam is evil. He was taunting me about all the delicious cereal he was eating. Pure evil. So after all his torture I went across the street to get the mail. Once I made it across the street I had decided I wouldn't be running after work. The heat did not bother me, but I couldn't breathe. Suffocating. Also, my mom had texted me early in the morning telling me not to, and I didn't want to listen to any "I told you so" or griping because I landed myself in the hospital from heat stroke or whatever. So I did not run.

While I was getting the mail, I stopped by the vending machine and bought a Snickers. FAIL. But it was the most incredible Snickers I've ever tasted. Unfortunately, I didn't stop there. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. My dinner was chilli cheese fries. That's it. MAJOR MAJOR FAIL. So now I don't know what to do. Do I go on with the diet anyway even though I already screwed it up? And will probably screw it all up again during my birthday. Part of me wants to keep going with it anyway and just add on a few extra days. Part of me wants to say the hell with this diet and eat mostly healthy, but eat what I want too.

What a dilemma. Most of what was keeping me going with this diet was the fact that I was writing about it every day. And now that I've screwed it up, I feel like it's pointless now. Obviously if I don't stick with this for the full 30 days (which I already haven't), I'm still going to eat healthy food. I actually enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. And I still want to try making foods with cauliflower and I want to try sweet potato fries. But maybe I can have carbs again too, except maybe in smaller amounts than I previously ate them.

Honestly, I do feel horrible about what I ate today and I feel like a failure and a quitter. And not even for what I ate. Because I enjoyed every last bite of it. I'm just disappointed that I couldn't stick it out for 30 days. I didn't even make it half way. And I feel like I've let everyone else down, too. Blah.

Goodnight All,

-A

It's All About Balance

I boiled more eggs last night. WAY better than my first attempt. Probably either need to adjust the temp just a little bit or cook them for a few minutes less. The egg I had this morning had just two little brown spots, but I think it's from the egg touching the sides of the muffin tin while it's cooking. I just trimmed off those two spots and ate the rest. So good.

It's supposed to be another stifling hot day out there today. As of now, it's only 75, compared to 85 for all my poor friends in StL. We are supposed to hit 106 by 3pm today. Am I still going to attempt to run? Probably. Although with the heat, I probably shouldn't be too hard on myself if I do as poorly as I have been. There are a lot of things I haven't been factoring into my sucky runs. One of them being heat. Another would be the insanely high pollen counts for the past few weeks. I am allergic to pollen, so that could be a strong contributor to my inability to breathe while I'm trying to run. So maybe it isn't just my asthma.

As far as my food situation goes, well I'm pretty stocked up on protein. I have zero fruits and veggies though. But I'll be going to the farmer's market Saturday morning, so hopefully I find some good stuff. I need strawberries (making strawberry mimosas to have with breakfast Sunday morning . . . yum!), I'd like some peaches or nectarines . . . something along those lines, definitely some grapes and bananas. I also want broccoli, cauliflower (so I can try to make pizza, or mashed potatoes), cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, asparagus, and I don't know what else. But I doubt I can afford all that. So we'll see what I end up with.

As you all know, the Fourth of July is next week and it is my most favorite holiday. Who doesn't love barbeque, beer, and fireworks?! A week after that is my birthday, and those festivities will probably go through the weekend. That's a lot of drinking, which I am making exceptions for (I promise I don't normally drink that much). But living in a college town makes it difficult to not drink. After all, we have a favorite bar (I don't remember the last time we went anywhere else). We love our bartenders at that bar. We generally enjoy the company of the other customers . . . generally. And up until this week, we were going there at least twice a week. Which was never really a problem because I don't have a lot of money, so I'd drink enough for my tab (about 2-3 beers) and I'd be done. Sometimes it's hard not to drink more though, especially when I'm not the one driving.

But it's important to find a balance, especially if you're trying to lead a healthy lifestyle/lose weight/whatever. As I was reading through some of the blogs I follow, I came across Mama Laughlin's latest post. She's incredible, has lost a ton of weight and looks fabulous. And she hasn't given up alcohol . . . My Hero. So today she has posted How to be an Alcoholic and Still Lose Weight. She's got some great tips (and some yummy drink recipes I'll have to try . . . and I'm also really jealous of her Tervis Tumbler!). And she's hilarious. Most of the blogs I follow are funny. I like funny people. Anyway, as she says, it's all about balance. If you know you're going to go out and drink Friday night, eat light and really healthy during the day Friday, saving your calories for your drinks that night.

So my dilemma is: It's my birthday, and I'm celebrating almost all week. Am I going to "save my calories"? Well, to be completely honest, probably not. Because, well, it's my birthday and I'll do what I want. I don't want to completely trash my diet though, so obviously I'm going to stick with what I've been eating. But I'm also not gonna hold back on drinking what I want either. Shots of Patron anyone? :)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I Want to Eat Everything

My run did not go as planned this afternoon. It never does. Walked more than I should have. I also have a ridiculously huge blister on the back of my ankle so that's pretty painful. I also find it odd that I would still get blisters like this from my shoes since I've had them for months. Yuck.

I have a game plan for tomorrow though. I'm going to run one of my usual, extremely hilly routes and I'm going to run my hardest up the hills and walk down hill. Maybe it's not the best approach. But I figure if I can push myself to run up every hill, when it comes time to run up and down and everything in between, it should at least be easier. I think if it goes semi-well tomorrow, I'm going to start doing that at least once a week. And I have plenty of hills to choose from. I am completely surrounded by them.

In other news, this diet keeps getting harder and harder. I'm craving just about everything. I'm afraid I'm going to give in and binge on whatever is in sight. Or that I'll make it to the end of the 30 days and binge then. And I do mean everything. Fast food, pasta, bread/sandwiches, chocolate, candy, pizza, and anything else you can think of. I just want any and everything that's bad for me. Or good stuff mixed with not-so-good stuff. Like having biscuits with a meal. I think maybe I have pushed myself too far by trying to do a hardcore diet and train for a half marathon.

Obviously you can't train well by eating badly, but I also don't think I can eat healthy without eating a few bad things eventually. So assuming I survive the next 20 days, I think I'll stick to eating primarily healthy foods and mix in a few deliciously bad things now and then. I probably shouldn't make decisions like this without finishing out the 30 days first, but I already hate this. AND I MISS BREAD!!!! Giving up carbs is quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever done. Oh, and I was looking at the nutritional facts on my gum, ya know because it's gum so it can't have a whole lot in it. Well my gum has 1g carb. Really? I know it's just one, but that kind of annoyed me when I saw it. Probably something I should just laugh about and shrug it off, but damn that's irritating. Am I going to stop chewing that gum? No. I'm not that mad.

It's after 7 and it's still over 90 degrees and I want soup for dinner. There may be something wrong with me. I've got AC though, so it's cool, haha.

Happy Wednesday everyone! The weekend's almost here!!

-A

10 down (almost), 20 to go

Happy lunchtime everyone :)

I had tuna salad again for lunch today. Don't judge me. It was delicious. I had another boiled egg left. And I'm stuffed. To be fair, I probably ate more than a serving though. But considering everything in it has very few calories, I'm okay with it.

I'm in a slightly better mood today. Slightly. Still frustrated. And kind of dreading my run this afternoon. I keep telling myself that getting out there and doing what I can is better than doing nothing at all. But that's hard to believe sometimes when I'm tired and exhausted and frustrated and it's 100+ degrees out. (Yeah, I know I've said before I like it hot, but I also like to not pass out from heat stroke or whatever.) However, for the first time in a very long time, I'm going to try running with someone else, which occasionally motivates me. Sometimes, if the person is faster, it just pisses me off. Which is why I tend to run alone. I'm a loner. A wolf without a wolf pack, haha. I'll be running with my good friend Michael, who has ran a half marathon(s?) before, so I'm hoping that helps. I know I could overcome soreness and knee pain while running because I've been doing that since I started running. It's the asthma that is getting in the way, and not being able to breathe is kind of hard to get past.

The worst ways to die would be drowning or suffocation (by any means: a pillow, buried alive, in a bath tub, whatever). I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe. It is absolutely terrifying. So when you're running and your heart is beating however fast it's supposed to when doing cardio and suddenly you can't catch your breath and even when you slow down you still can't breathe, and sometimes it even gets worse, it's impossible to keep moving. You have to stop. Maybe even sit. You have to let everything slow down so your lungs can catch back up.

Is it really too much to ask to be healthy?  On that note, I found an article on Cracked.com which I really enjoyed (I like most of them, they are witty and informative).  5 Great Joys in Life that Healthy People Never Experience was funny, pretty true, and relatable to anyone who has had to deal with health problems most of their life. My favorite quote came at the end:
"Adversity builds character, after all. And nothing is as adverse as living your whole life with your own body as your archnemesis. If trial, suffering, and determination are the only means by which one can acquire character, then, my sickly friend, you've got character shooting out your ass."
So here I am, all adverse and character-y trying to get up those hills. Perhaps I will overcome my asthma. Or at least get it under control enough to be able to run up all of those hills and keep going. Maybe I should just go back to the doctor. . . . So many unanswered questions. In the meantime I'll keep running and walking and running until I can run more than I walk. Until I can run 4 miles up and down hills like I ran 4 miles at Creve Coeur Lake last weekend. Until I can run 10 miles by September and be prepared for my race in October. I was informed that the StL half is also quite hilly. 

Stupid, stupid, cruel hills. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Day 9: This Sucks

I successfully "boiled" eggs in the oven! And by successfully, I mean I overcooked them a tiny bit. But they were edible, delicious, and much better than undercooked eggs. I put one in my tuna salad for dinner and it was so good! And I have two left for breakfast this week. Technically I have several left. I just didn't cook them, just in case I ruined them.

That's basically the highlight of my day. My run sucked. And I'm sick of it all. I can't run over two miles down here to save my freaking life. In fact, it might be killing me. I HATE HILLS. I got in one good hill and I had to stop on the next hill. I could not breathe. It was awful. And infuriating. After running four miles on Saturday, it's pretty disheartening to come back down here and not be able to run 2 miles. It's unfair.

And as for this diet thing . . . IT BLOWS. Generally I crave bread and pasta. Now all I want is sweets. I have Cinnamon Toast Crunch just calling my name. And I could totally go for a York Peppermint Patty. Or a Snickers. Or just a freaking peanut butter and jelly sandwich. UGH. And I want pizza. And cheesy garlic bread (I do have recipes for "paleo" garlic bread...but it's just not the same). I just miss eating whatever I want whenever I want. I also feel like I'm in worse shape since I started this diet. The only difference I've seen is my legs are more toned and that's probably from running and not from the diet.

I don't know how I'm supposed to judge my progress when I can run four miles on flatter ground but can barely run two miles with hills. I'm beyond frustrated. I'm just holding on to my minor success of oven-boiled eggs.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Day 8

Haven't done a lunchtime post in a while. But I was sitting here, almost finished with my lunch, feeling pretty full. Which is interesting given the amount of "paleo" food I have at home, although I will admit, some of it would not be considered Paleo by the hardcore cavemen dieters. I actually think I have more non-Paleo foods at home that I never got to finish before starting the diet. I put them all away though so I'm not tempted by them. Anyhoo, for lunch today I had steamed broccoli with cheese, four slices of roasted turkey (six is a serving, but I've never eaten that much), and carrot sticks. I saved the carrots for last because those are my favorite. Before I was finished with those, I was feeling full, and when I did finish eating I was almost uncomfortably full.

Unfortunately, I am now out of carrots, running low on turkey, and enough steamed broccoli for one more meal. So in order to save those for lunches the rest of the week (or try to anyway), I'm eating leftover mostly-non-paleo food. For example, my mom made stuffed shells (DELICIOUS) and they've been in my freezer for quite a while now. I'm going to cook those for dinner tonight, and eat everything but the shell. Because everything in them counts as Paleo, at least in my book. And I should have leftovers from that too.

I'm also going to experiment with boiling eggs in the oven now that I have a muffin pan. I hope it works out. I plan on making modified tuna salad. And having eggs leftover so I can have a boiled egg for breakfast a couple times this week because I do not enjoy having to make scrambled eggs in the morning before work.

And I finally get paid Friday, so I'll be able to do some shopping. There's a store in Cape that sells organic foods. I haven't been there yet, but I do plan on going and seeing what kind of stuff I can find. I looked them up online (http://www.naturalhealthcape.com/) and it appears they sell at least some of what I've been looking for that Schnuck's doesn't have. I'm also going to the farmer's market on Saturday morning so I can get some fresh fruits and veggies.

Today's workout will be abs, arms, and leg strengthening like wall sits, etc. Also cleaning the apartment. Or possibly just cleaning. That's definitely a workout. Especially when you put it off for forever like I do. Lots of vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping needs to be done. And I need to get some dishes done as well. I don't know why I decide to do this crap on a Monday.

In case anyone was curious, I did get sunburned yesterday on my walk. Nothing too terrible but I have some interesting tan lines. It's 95 out today, so I'm super happy my workout will be inside. :)

-A

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Day 7

I had sausage and eggs again today for breakfast. And watched Sherlock Holmes on tv. I forgot how phenomenal the soundtrack to that movie is. After that, I decided to quit being lazy and get out and go for a run. I changed my mind about running though because of the blisters on my feet from walking around the Zoo all day yesterday in sandals.

So like I did last Sunday (or maybe it was before that . . . I can't remember) I walked the trail here in Cape. I went the opposite direction this week, however I didn't go all the way to the end of the trail because it was extremely hot and I was running low on water. I had seen a table with a water jug on it on my way but didn't get close enough to see if it was for a race or something. On my way back, I was almost out of water, so I decided to go a tad out of the way to get some water, whether it was for a race or not.

Luckily, it was not for a race. The water was provided by the Missouri Running Company (morunco.com) and it was cool and delicious. Thank goodness for them. I'm not sure if I could have made it back to my car if I hadn't gotten more water. If only there were more of those along the trail. So far, that was the only one I've seen, going either way on the trail.

I'm home now, and unbelievably exhausted. And Lady and the Tramp is on tv. So that's pretty much what I'll be doing the rest of the afternoon. As far as the diet goes, well I don't know what I'm going to do because I'm running out of food and I don't have any money to buy more. So we'll see how long I can stretch the veggies I have. Blah.

It's Sunday . . . take a nap or something :)

-A

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Day 6: Success!

So I went for my run yesterday afternoon. It was about 2.5 total and I had to walk some toward the end. Not my best, but certainly not my worst. We went to Chili's last night for dinner after going to the carnival where we won two fish (one is named Walter...don't have a name for the other yet). I had the Margarita Chicken (or something like that) and it was amazing. Best chicken I've had in a long time. I ate the entire thing!

Woke up early this morning and went to Creve Coeur Lake for a run. The trail around the lake is 3.7 miles. So I hadn't eaten breakfast, and had one bottle of water with me. I started running from where I parked my car...almost half a mile before you get to the "one-mile" marker. Bringing the water with me was genius. I always get a horrible and uncomfortable dry mouth when I run. So having it with me solved that. My legs did get sore, but in a good way. Nothing like the pain I get when I run in Cape. Very few hills at the lake. Didn't really get out of breath. I just kept pushing. And I ran ALL the way back to my car (3.7 miles) and then I kept going another half mile! So I ran almost 4.25! And what is probably a terrible estimate of my time, I'd say it was between a 10 and 11 minute mile. But who cares? I just proved to myself that I CAN run 3 miles without stopping, and I can keep going!

So I think maybe my problem is the steep hills in Cape. Unfortunately I don't think a flat surface exists in that town. I guess I'll have to keep working at those hills. But it feels amazing to know what I'm really capable of. At least on flatter ground anyway.

I had an egg and some sausage for breakfast and I'll be having Applebees with my sister for lunch. Then I'm going to the Zoo and the Boathouse for dinner. Today is going to be amazing!

-A

Friday, June 22, 2012

Day 5: It's Friday!

I'm so happy the weekend is here! Going to the Zoo/Forest Park tomorrow evening. Oh and having lunch with my beautiful sister. :) This is going to be a great weekend.

Last night was also really great. My boyfriend made a surprise visit to see me. We went to Pilot House for dinner. I got the brisket sandwich with a side salad. The salad was delicious, and their dressing is so good! Of course when my sandwich came out, I just ate the meat--no bread! And I didn't even finish it all. I was stuffed. But it was delicious. If you live in Cape and haven't been to Pilot House, you should. Their barbeque is amazing!

I actually made breakfast this morning too instead of just eating a piece of fruit (which I didn't have because my last banana was getting brown spots and I refuse to eat bananas once they start to look like that). It wasn't anything fancy . . . just scrambled eggs, but they were yummy! May have overdone it a little on the pepper, but they were good anyway.

Lunch today is all veggies. Broccoli and cheese, cucumbers, and carrots. And 90-calorie ranch dip. No I'm not giving up ranch dip. It's too good. And it's only 90 calories, so I feel like I can afford to eat it. Next week I start cooking. Which basically means experimenting and probably screwing up a lot. Hopefully a few things turn out okay. It would be pretty discouraging if everything I made sucked.

Also, I feel I should clarify for those who have been asking questions as to why I'm on a "diet." I'm not trying to lose weight by eating this way (okay I wouldn't mind losing a few extra pounds). I'm not fat, and I know this. But I do need to tone up which is what exercise is for. The "diet" is more of a lifestyle change. I generally eat a lot of really unhealthy foods. I needed to cut most of that out to train for the half marathon anyway, so doing Paleo for at least 30 days seemed like a good idea. Once the thirty days is up, I'm going to evaluate how well it worked and I will modify it if needed. So I'm not "dieting" in the sense most people think. I am changing my overall diet to be healthier, more fit, etc.

Going to attempt to run again today after work. Hopefully there is more running than walking this time.  Fingers crossed.

Enjoy your Friday everyone!

-A

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Day 4

In case you didn't know, my mom is pretty awesome. Got an email from her this morning and apparently there's this thing called spaghetti squash. So you can replace pasta with the squash. Amazing. This makes me happy happy happy. And there's like a million things you can do with cauliflower too! "Doughs" for bread and pizza, replacement for mashed potatoes (which I have heard are delish). So basically I get to eat all the stuff I've been missing, without the carbs! Best. Day. Ever.

So I guess when I go shopping next week I'll be picking up some cauliflower and experimenting with some of these things. I would go sooner, but I'd prefer to avoid grocery shopping more than once a week. And if it weren't for needing so much fresh foods, it'd be maybe once every other week. Yes, I hate shopping that much. I'm excited about trying these new recipes, but not that excited. :)

And I'm postponing the workout . . . til tomorrow? Legs still hurt. And my knees really hurt. And it looked like it was going to storm. Apparently that blew over. Oh well. I'll run tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday . . . I hope. 


Also, I had Bread Co for lunch today and seriously, this is the best day ever. I love their black bean soup, which they stopped serving here for a long time. I was trying to decide on lunch and it was on the menu!! So I got soup for lunch and we sat outside in the nice hot sun and I ate soup. Totally worth it. 


Now it's time for the daily debate on what to have for dinner. This whole diet thing makes this way more complicated than it already was. Basically my options are places with salad. 


Have a good one!


-A

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Day 3: I MISS CARBS!

Day 3. I hate everything right now. I MISS BREAD! :(
Although everything I ate today did keep me full. So I guess that's a bonus . . . no snacking.
Also, I found out you can hard boil eggs in the oven. You know I'm going to totally try that :)

Do you ever feel like absolutely everything possible is keeping you from doing/getting what you want? Because that's how I feel right now. And I'm extremely irritated because of it. I decided on a 2.5 mile run today. I figured it might be a little easier than trying for 3.5. Wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG. So wrong. Worst side cramps I've ever had. My knee was really bothering me, and my shins are killing me. Ps I sucked it up last night and put ice on my legs. Didn't help. At. All. So I had myself a little hissy fit when I came home. Then I calmed down and cut my cucumbers and carrots so I have healthy snacks for the rest of the week. Then I emptied my dishwasher (the dishes had been sitting in there for almost a week...woops) and then I put all the dirty dishes that had been piling up for a week on the counter. So now I have food and a clean-ish kitchen.

As far as dinner goes . . . beats me. I'm not super hungry right now. And I don't want to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry. With the exception of breakfast. I'm one of those people who HAS to have breakfast. Otherwise I'm grumpier than normal and generally feel like I'm going to vomit. No one wants that.

Apparently the best way to boil your eggs in the oven is to put them in a muffin pan (so they don't roll around and possibly crack while taking them in/out). I don't own a muffin pan because I don't bake muffins. I also found a recipe for "egg muffins" which is just egg whites with whatever kind of veggies or meat you want included. Perfect for a quick breakfast. So looks like I'm gonna be needing a muffin pan in the near future. Because I love eggs.

I've also been looking for other recipes that don't have carbs. It feels almost impossible. Just about everything I find has bread or pasta in the recipe. I've found a couple chicken recipes that look good, but I don't know how to cook kitchen--and I can't grill because I don't have one. So if any of you know of any easy recipes minus carbs, I'd really appreciate it :)

Hope you all enjoy your Wednesday evening,

-A

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Day 2: Rough Workout

So it's only day 2 and I already found something I don't like. I love salty snacks. Unfortunately, most of what I bought has almost no salt. I even bought unsalted pistachios. I figured less salt would be better. Well, it's not. I need my salt. So next time I go buy pistachios, I'm getting the lightly salted ones.

Second reason this kind of sucks: I have no freaking clue what to make for dinner. My go-to is usually pasta. Can't have that. And I'm really craving tacos. Can't have that either. Well, I can't have the shell. I am considering making a "taco bowl" with no shell. Ground turkey, some veggies, lettuce, cheese. I might hold off on that though. I need tomatoes. Next option is eggs and asparagus. But I don't have milk. I know you can make scrambled eggs with water...but I'm not sure how.

Fast-forward a few hours: Decided on eggs and asparagus. Pretty simple (way easier than hard boiled eggs..lol). I do love my eggs and asparagus. And I had a banana.

Rewind to my workout this afternoon: It SUCKED. I always forget something before I run. Today, it was stretching my quads and calves. So my legs hurt. And even though I took my inhaler, I was having a really hard time breathing. So I walked entirely too much. I'm really angry and disappointed about it. One thing I learned: Paleo does not work overnight. I knew it wouldn't, but it's frustrating that I'm having this much trouble.

On the bright side, everything I'm eating so far is really filling (besides my breakfast...I only had a banana...didn't really hold me over til lunch). The trouble is trying to decide what to eat and make. It also sucks because I have to cook more food. I don't like cooking. And cooking means having to do more dishes. And I hate doing dishes. This is gonna be rough.

Today is day 2 by the way. I'm sure you can all keep track, but I'm going to count the days in every post. Because we all know I can't count, and I'm incredibly forgetful.

Fingers crossed tomorrow will be a better day. Thanks for reading!

-A

Monday, June 18, 2012

Day 1

I had a fantastic lunch today. Jiimmy John's has the "Unwich." Basically, any of their subs wrapped in lettuce. I was skeptical at first. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of lettuce. I love my bread. But since I'm not eating bread now thanks to Paleo, I figured I'd give it a shot. It was better than getting something like Mcds for lunch. So I got the Turkey Tom unwich. No mayo, because it's not healthy, and I've never liked it. So my unwich had turkey, tomatoes, and oil/vinegar (or whatever it is...I can't remember now). It tasted incredible. And I was full the rest of the afternoon. In fact, I just ate dinner (which was Tyson chicken nuggets and veggie salad, or whatever you want to call it). I'd say as far as food goes, I did pretty well today.

Grocery shopping wasn't too bad either. I bought eggs, lettuce, asparagus, bananas, pistachios, pickles, and a few other things I can't remember off of the top of my head right now. I held off on getting a bunch of fruit and veggies because I'm planning on going to the farmer's market this weekend, so the produce will be better and less expensive.

I did not work out though--fail. But I did carry in all my groceries at once, and I totally count that as an arm workout. Has anyone ever made more than one trip carrying in groceries?? And I put away laundry and such. Not necessarily a workout, but it was enough I think. And I slept for...a few hours. I have no idea why I'm so tired. Hopefully this healthy eating will give me more energy. I do love that I ate healthy food all day, and I was full enough that I didn't need a snack in the afternoon and I didn't feel like I needed to eat dinner super early, or feel the need for a snack before bed.

I do think I'm going to have a banana. It sounds really good. So, since I was able to buy the groceries I needed and had a healthy lunch and breakfast, I'm counting today as Day 1. Thirty days of this. It's going to be hard. I'm already planning my birthday dinner out with my family around this.

Tomorrow is my 3-mile day. I think the route I'm taking is actually about 3.5. So it'd be pretty awesome if I can run the whole thing. I hate all the hills though. Blah. Also, my ankle seems to be feeling better, so hopefully it won't bother me on my run tomorrow.

I hope you all had a fairly decent Monday! Goodnight!

-A

Here it is:

The post you've all been waiting for! Or maybe not. Either way, here are a few links to some blogs/websites I found helpful. A couple of them are pretty long and wordy, and I'll admit I started just skimming through to things I found relevant/useful.

http://nomnompaleo.com/


This one was probably the most helpful, and the guy was pretty funny too: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/


This site has what to eat, so it will come in handy when I go grocery shopping after work today:
http://robbwolf.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/thePaleoSolution_QuickStart.pdf


I just really like the title of this one. It was helpful too though :) :
http://www.gnolls.org/1141/eat-like-a-predator-not-like-prey-paleo-in-six-easy-steps-a-motivational-guide/


There they are. There are tons more out there. But these are where I started, and I'm still looking and learning. So if you're looking into this too, i hope these help :)


My run yesterday was good. But later in the day, my ankle started hurting. This happens pretty often and I don't know what to do to prevent it. It's the front of my ankle. Like I pulled a muscle there or something. It mostly hurts when I'm walking. Has anyone else experienced this? It's in a weird spot . . . I don't know how to stretch it or anything. I guess I'll just try rest and ice and see if that helps. I'm glad today is my day off. I'm going to go grocery shopping after work, and then I'll do my workout. Just abs and arms today. Then I'm going to rest the rest of the night, and maybe even go to bed early. 


Also, apparently it's going to be one of those days where I can't type. So I apologize for any errors I miss. I'm usually really good at catching all of them, but I have a feeling one is going to slip through. I'm off to Smoothie King for breakfast (Angel food is my favorite). I'll write more later and tell you all about my groceries :)


Hope everyone has an okay Monday (not gonna say good or great . . . Mondays are never great)!


-A

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Daughter of the Year

Happy Father's day! Or if you don't have kids, Happy "You're not a father" day! :)

I re-secured my "Daughter of the Year" plaque--got my daddy a limited edition of Crown Black. Also we made Dad breakfast. Then I left for a run.

The run was pretty good today, hot, but a little cloudy. I walked about half a mile-ish (not all at once) bc both my lungs and legs hurt. But aside from that, I think I did a decent job. And thus was my second day running in just a sports bra. Not sure its doing anything for my tan...but regardless of how I look--and feel sometimes--I think its giving me more confidence. Especially when fully clothed lol.

Still haven't started Paleo yet, but I've sort of been prepping myself. Eating smaller portions, and if I want seconds, I eat the healthier stuff rather than a second helping of potatoes. And I'm drinking a ton of water (and beer).

I know I've been promising for days to post the sites and blogs I've found and I promise I will, but I can't get to that stuff from my phone. So I will definitely post them tomorrow sometime. Which I think will work out better, at least for me, because I'll get to look over all the foods before I go grocery shopping and I can make a list of what I need.

I was dreading the idea of this diet at first, but I'm starting to get excited. It will definitely be interesting at first...trying to figure out what to buy and how to cook it. For example, I've never ever cooked chicken in my life. So I'm sure several of my posts in the near future will include how my meals turn out.

Hope you're all looking forward to reading about it as much as I'm looking forward to doing it! And just maybe I'll inspire some of you to do it too. At least one of you should...make me feel like I'm making a difference. Haha

Have a happy Sunday!

-A 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Tips

First, a few tips:
1. If you're going to be running more than a mile, go pee before you leave.
2. If you need an inhaler, take it before you leave!
That's how my run was today. Less than a mile in I needed to pee. I also realized I forgot to take my inhaler before I left. So I ran about 2.5 miles and had to walk the last mile or so.

This was also the first time I've ever run in just a sports bra. I'm a little self conscious even though I don't have much reason to be. I made the decision based on two things. 1. I need to even out my tan. 2. I see all sorts of women older and bigger than me, with wrinkles and stretch marks, running in just a sports bra. So I figure if they're comfortable enough with their bodies to do that, there's no reason I shouldn't be. It actually felt good. Especially when it's 90 degrees out.

Today has been fairly eventful so far, and it's only noon. Went to get my plates and license renewed. I was not prepared to have my picture taken. Yikes. Then I was on my way to get my dad's gift and a wasps was in my car! This isn't the first time I've had a bug fly into my car. First time, I killed a massive bug with a can of freeon. This time I was happy I was wearing flip flops. So I was stopped at a light and I took it off and start beating the passenger window--I'm sure I looked insane. And I have no idea if I killed it or not. I looked over and it was gone! Scary stuff.

Soon I'll be headed to the family reunion. That will be interesting.

I hope your weekend is going well and you don't have any terrifying bug encounters like I've had!

-A

Friday, June 15, 2012

Lazy

As you might have expected, I did not get up this morning to run. After waking up super early several times this week and getting very little sleep, the idea of getting to sleep until 6:30 sounded way better. So I slept in. And I'm not going to have time later to run. But I am going to have an enjoyable evening in Stl with my Momma. And I'll have to get up super early tomorrow morning, so I plan on using that time to run. I might even go to Creve Coeur park. It's almost 4 miles around the lake. Might not be able to run the whole thing, but I love running there. Best part of running in Stl? Very few hills! I'm excited about that.

Assuming I don't get anymore headaches, I'm getting back on track next week, and I'll be starting the Paleo diet. I will post the websites and blogs I found for you all tomorrow. It's gonna be an interesting 30 days. But I think it's going to be worth it. According to some of the sites I've looked at, going Paleo helps reduce a lot of illnesses/ailments (I believe I've mentioned this before), so maybe it will help reduce the amount of headaches I get, which will mean I can run more and take less medicine. Which saves me money because it's all expensive.

I also read that it can reduce the symptoms of asthma. Which doesn't make since since asthma is essentially your lungs not getting enough oxygen. But although I don't understand how eating healthier food would help this, I do know that when I eat poorly too many days in a row (ahem, like this week :/), I do notice that it's more difficult for me to breathe sometimes. For all I know this could just be in my head and maybe my diet has little affect on my ability to breathe. But if there's a chance that it could reduce my asthma (or get rid of it completely--I can only hope), it's definitely worth a try. I can't remember exactly, but my inhaler costs me between $50 and $80 every time I need a refill. And I always seem to need a refill at the most inconvenient times, like a week before payday and I've just paid all my bills, but I can't put off getting it until payday because I use it almost daily, whether I'm working out or not.

So 30 days of this, starting next week. Eating extremely healthy (except for beer!) and running a minimum of 5 days a week like I should be. And I'm going to monitor everything. How I feel, how I look, my weight, etc. I'm considering doing before/after photos, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe I'll take a before one and then post it at the same time as the after. I'm excited to get started on this, but not so excited that I can't wait until Tuesday :)

What's on tap for the weekend? Anything exciting? I'm headed to St. Louis in a couple hours. I gotta get my license plates renewed. And my driver's license. Lame. But I'm going tomorrow to get my dad's gift (I tried to get it sooner but they didn't have it here...I actually wasn't procrastinating!). And tomorrow night I'm going to another concert--I love local bands! Killer Me Killer You. I love their stuff, and they're good live. And I have a family reunion at some point this weekend, but I have no idea when. Oh boy.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

-A

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Math and Migraines: A Strong Correlation

Migraines really suck. I started getting one shortly after I ate lunch and it got progressively worse. And I'm a big dummy and can never remember to bring medicine with me. So I came home, took some Excedrin. And nothing happened. Needless to say, I did not run today. I slept instead. I feel kind of like a failure. Two days in a row of not running is no bueno. Gonna shoot for another 5am run tomorrow. I'm hoping that since the one on Tuesday was so successful, that will be enough motivation to get out of bed early tomorrow morning. I just have too many things to do after work before I drive up to Stl for the weekend. Things like getting gas and packing and more lame stuff. 

Also, thanks to this stupid migraine, I have felt nauseous all afternoon/evening. I don't know if this ever happens to anyone else, but now I'm at the point where I'm starting to get hungry, but I'm still feeling nauseous, so I'm not sure if I should eat or not. And all that food I have that requires a lot of cooking? No way am I gonna even bother trying to make that. Too tired.

I'm blaming this migraine on the ridiculous amount of math I have had to do all day (and more tomorrow). My brain is fried. I can't do anything the rest of the day that requires too much thinking. Math sucks. Aside from getting my Bachelor's in English because I love reading and writing, I got it because I suck at math. I hate math. People who enjoy math are weirdos. Seriously, if I never saw another number again in my life, I would be happy. My brain just wants to shut down when I have to do things like pay bills or balance my check book (I don't think anyone actually does that anymore...online banking does it for you). I can't even run on a track because I always lose count of how many laps I've done. And we all now how great I am at keeping track of my time when I go for a run. If I do manage to "keep track" I do it by what time I left the house and what time I got back, which is highly inaccurate almost always. 

I'm going to spend the rest of my evening trying to decide whether I'm actually hungry or not and picking something to eat that I'm least likely to throw up later. And then probably go back to bed. You burn calories in your sleep right? ...Right? 

-A


My Poor Empty Fridge, and Even Emptier Stomach

I am slowly inching my way toward being completely out of food. I went to make my lunch this morning and found that my bread was moldy. So I couldn't make a sandwich. Everything else I have requires a lot of cooking, which I obviously didn't have time for before work. So I'll definitely be starting this Paleo thing next week (probably Tuesday-ish).

People who are really strict with the Paleo diet seriously eat nothing but things they could go out and pick in a field or a forest or something. Zero dairy. And if the meat is grain-fed, they won't eat that either (I'm not even sure how you know if your meat is grain-fed...). But in my research, I have found that a lot of people make adjustments. Some include dairy, and I'm all for that because I don't know how in the hell anyone can live with out cheese. Some include drinks like beer and other types of alcohol. So I'm not getting rid of beer. Or other alcohol, because Fourth of July is less than a month away and my birthday is a week after that. In case you're wondering, it's my third annual 21st birthday, so we're going big.

Basically what I'm saying here is that a lot of people modify the diet to suit their needs. If they already hated dairy products but ate them solely for calcium, then they can cut dairy out completely. So I'm keeping my dairy (I will cut back though, because milk is expensive!). And I'm keeping my alcohol. Other than that, it will just be fruits, veggies, meat, and whatever else is on the list I found about what to eat and what not to eat. They also say to avoid carbs which is confusing because most websites on exercise and especially running say to eat more carbs. But I'm going to do a 30-day thing to start and see how I feel and how I like it, so I'll cut out carbs for that time period. Which will be extremely hard. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and eaten just one piece of bread/breadstick in the basket they put in front of you? No one has. Ever. You eat at least two.

I'm still checking out some more websites and blogs and I'm making a list of the ones I find most helpful. So I'll post those when I'm done, in case any of you are interested in doing it or just want to learn more about it.

As always, thanks for reading!

-A

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Fat Days

The Anberlin concert was amazing. Everything about last night was fantastic and I'm so happy I went. The sucky part was that I had been up since 5am. Didn't get to bed til 1am or a little later. And because I'm paranoid about not hearing my alarm and not waking up in time to leave to get back for work, I barely slept. So I had a terrible headache at 5 this morning when we were leaving. May have been the four or five beers I had last night. Or the lack of sleep. Probably both. Totally worth it though.

Unfortunately, I had zero time for breakfast at home this morning because everything I had required cooking of some sort. So I booked it over to Mcds for a chicken sandwich, hashbrowns, and a sprite. That sprite was possibly the best I've had in a long, long time. Obviously, I didn't have time to pack a lunch either. So my roomie and I hit up Culver's where I had a double cheeseburger, fries, a sierra mist, and ice cream. Due to my lack of sleep I came home from work and showered (to wash off the grimy feeling of taxis and hotels and smoke and alcohol) and then went straight to bed. Now that I'm awake and hungry for dinner, I'm considering eating out for third time today because I am too exhausted to try to cook something (I'm so tired I'd probably screw it up more than usual anyway). On top of all this, there's that whole PMS thing which makes me feel fat and lazy and makes me crave only food that will make me fat. I suppose it's a good thing I work out (except for today, that shit was not happening).

Gonna make up the run I was supposed to do today on Friday, because you should really have at least 6 hours of sleep before going for a run/workout. And if I'm going to start that Paleo diet (still researching, I will post my findings soon), I kind of wanna eat what I want while I can (especially since that's what I'm craving). So I'm allowing myself a few fat days. Especially today. It's much less of a fat day if you actually include exercise. Since the most exercise I've gotten today was walking up and down the stairs at work and to my car for lunch and back, it's a pretty big fat day. Oh well. Can't win 'em all. And considering how amazing last night was, I don't really care.

Did I mention I saw the guys from Greek Fire up close and in person, but I was too big of a baby to talk to them? Yeah, I'm that girl. I see my favorite band just hanging out in the crowd, talking with people and taking pictures and I don't go talk to them or get a picture. Even worse, Dan Marsala, lead singer of Story of the Year was there as well and I really really really wanted to talk to him/get a pic. Did I? Nope. I kind of regret it a little, but it was so awesome just seeing them and being that close that I'm pretty okay with it. And Moon from Greek Fire and Dan both got up there and played a couple songs with Anberlin. I don't think I knew either of the songs, but they were great. I love it when bands do stuff like that.

I will now stop rambling about how great my night was last night (I got a really cool tshirt too, btw) and focus on what I'm going to eat for dinner so I can go out with my lovely friend Rhyen. If you're not reading her blog, check it out. I can assure you, she's funnier and sassier than me sometimes: http://alittlebitoflifenotwasted.blogspot.com/

I'll catch up with you all tomorrow!

-A

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Be Your Own Hero

I shocked the hell out of myself. I actually got out of bed at 5 to go run! (Well, I hit the snooze button once, so 5:10). Surprisingly, I felt/feel great. I got up, took my inhaler because I was dreaming I had an asthma attack, and I sort of was when I woke up. So that's cool. I had half a granola bar before my run because I can't do anything on a completely empty stomach. I stretched and left. It was a little on the chilly side for me. I prefer running in 75 degree + weather. It was 64. So it took me a bit to get warmed up. But it was a really great run! There are fewer cars/people out that early in the morning. I got to see the sunrise, which was beautiful. Best of all, I ran about 2 miles and I felt amazing. No breathing problems. My legs were sore, but nothing I couldn't work through. I would have gone for a longer run (especially if I had known I would feel that good) but I didn't want to risk running late.

So now I'm relaxing. I get to watch a full episode of Boy Meets World (normally I'm just getting up at this time). I'm boiling eggs so I can have them for breakfast the rest of the week. I just feel so good right now. Oh, except for when I went to get in the shower and there was a HUGE spider in there!!!! I just about had a heart attack. I had no one to come rescue me and kill the spider for me. No one was there to save me. So I had to suck it up, grow a pair, and kill that damn thing with my shoe before the bastard ran away. And I did. I saved myself from the big scary spider.

Aside from that near heart attack, I feel so great. If running is like this every morning, it might be worthwhile to get up and go. Like I said, more peaceful, less people out and about, sunrise, and I really do feel less grumpy :) The disadvantages are that it's still a little too chilly at 5 am and the sun isn't up yet, so I get no tan.

Since I'm running out of food and I'm gonna have to start fresh next week when I go grocery shopping, I'm thinking of trying something new. A friend of mine suggested trying the Paleo (aka caveman) diet. Basically you eat what hunter/gatherers would have eaten. Fruits, veggies, meat you could kill (not that I'm going to go out and kill my own chicken or anything), etc. Benefits obviously include eating healthier and possibly a better immune system (I do get sick a lot) and maybe even improve my asthma. I haven't done a ton of research on it yet, but it sounds like it might be worth a try. I'm going to do some more research and post some links for the sites I find helpful.

Sorry this was a long one, I feel like I've got to get more in because I probably won't write anything again until tomorrow. Have a wonderful day folks!

-A

Monday, June 11, 2012

Cold Hearted

Well the storms weren't quite finished when I got home from work. So I did my workout inside today. Abs and arms mostly, but I did some more lunges and wall sits. Since then, I have spent almost all of my evening on the couch watching One Tree Hill (guilty pleasure). Also, I'm currently eating Nutella straight out of the container. PMS is a cold-hearted bitch. But I suppose Nutella is slightly healthier than a Snickers? I'm not sure. But it says a serving is 2 tablespoons, and believe me, I plan to eat just that. Sorry to all the guys out there who will never understand this.

As for tomorrow, the verdict is still out on whether or not I'm getting out of bed at 5am to go run. Especially since I have a nice little drive to St. Louis tomorrow afternoon. The drive is totally worth it (going to see Anberlin), not having AC really sucks though. And I have a little bit of what some people might call road rage. And after spending two hours yelling at idiots for driving too slow or not using their blinker or driving too fast and hoping they get a ticket, I'm exhausted. I feel like that should count as some sort of workout. I'm really gonna try to get up early tomorrow, and I'm even going to set my alarm. But I hate mornings. I am the grumpiest morning person ever. Although running might help make me less grumpy. But coffee is helpful too.

And my food situation is uhhm, almost scary. I did cut up one of those cucumbers and it is delicious. But that's about all I have left. No cheese, no milk, and the food I do have requires milk. Blah. I'm gonna go broke after I get paid just buying groceries. And I have so much I have to buy! Everything disappeared at once! Did I mention I loathe grocery shopping? I'll put it off til Sunday. Or Monday. Maybe even Tuesday. I'm going to my parents' house this weekend, so I'll get some leftovers. :)

I hope you all enjoy your evening, and I'll get back to enjoying OTH and my Nutella.

-A

Let's Talk About . . .

Well, it's lunchtime again, and considering all I had was a pbj sandwich, I've got a little extra time. And yes, just a pbj. I have almost no other food at home and I'm poor. I do have cucumbers, which I'm going to cut so I at least have a vegetable to eat with my pbj tomorrow. And also probably make some cucumber and onion salad if my lovely roomie brings over some vinegar :) If you've never tried it, do it! Delicious! I'll post the recipe after I actually make it . . . easier to remember while you're doing it.

Remember all that rain I wanted yesterday? It's here! Actually this is a storm rather than rain, but I love storms. However if it stays like this, I might not be running after work. I'll run in rain, but I don't think it's a smart idea to run in what looks like a storm that could produce hail or a tornado any minute. But there's a couple hours left before I'm off, so we'll see what happens. I suppose if I don't run, I'll suck it up and get up early tomorrow morning. Which sounds unbearable. So fingers crossed that at least the storm part of this goes away soon. Probably the only time I'd ever wish a storm away.

I definitely got a good workout in on that walk yesterday. My muscles are sore! But that good sore you get when you work hard. Love that. My abs hurt a little on one side, but I think it's more abdominal pain rather than muscle aches.

 Now, let's talk about chafing. No one likes to talk about this. The word itself just sounds dirty. It's embarrassing. Regardless, it's uncomfortable and painful. I've had to stop running before because I had chafed so badly it felt like my thighs were on fire. My thighs are generally the only area I have trouble with chafing. And until yesterday I hadn't had a problem so far this year. Solutions? Generally before a run, I put deodorant on my thighs. They sell official anti-chafing things (which are basically deodorant but more expensive). I just go buy the travel size deodorant and rub it on before a run. That helps keep from sweating which reduces chafing. Doesn't always work great, especially on longer runs or extremely hot days, and I forget more often than not unfortunately (I forgot yesterday). But it works pretty well if you can't afford the good stuff. If you're already chafed, vaseline works well to heal it. I put it on after I shower and sometimes again before I go to bed depending on how much time I have between the two.

Thankfully, I didn't start to chafe until I was almost finished with my run yesterday, so it isn't bad. And in case you're interested in the weather down here, lots of lightning and thunder, really windy, and a steady downpour. I do love this weather :)

-A

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Running from Fast Food

I went for a walk today like I said I was going to. It was about four miles. I was and am pretty sore, but it's a good sore this time. Most of the trail that I was on was pretty and peaceful with lots of trees and green grass. Except there's a short part that is surrounded by stores and restaurants/fast food. It's impossible to get away from that stuff. You can see them from the trail and worst of all, you can smell them. Fried food is one of the most awful smells when you're trying to work out. To top it off, people are disgusting and throw their trash everywhere, so all along the trail you see McDonald's soda cups, candy wrappers, etc. It's difficult to stay focused and determined on eating healthy and exercising when we're constantly surrounded by fast food. On tv, on the radio, billboards, the trash people littler our sidewalks, roads, and highways with.

My walk took me about an hour and a half or so. Maybe less. I'm terrible at keeping track of my times. The entire time it was breezy, and really cloudy. All I wanted was some rain. Did I get any? No. I love running in the rain. So, even though I said I was going to walk, I would have ran if it had started raining. Is it too much to ask for a little precipitation? (Bonus points if you know what movie that's from) It never rained. And it's sunny now. Boo.

Sidenote: I'm watching Finding Nemo on tv and it's the part where Dory speaks "whale" and I laugh every single time I see it. Hilarious. Also, I can't wait for this to come out in 3D this fall. I'm so excited!

Normally, Monday would be an off day (no running), but I'm going to a concert Tuesday night so I'm switching the two because I'm far too lazy to get up early on Tuesday to go run. No way. So tomorrow I will attempt to run 3 miles, or most of it at least. I feel like the past few days have been pretty successful, so I'm hoping things will keep going that way. Also, it's amazing how sunburned you can get when it's overcast. Fingers crossed it doesn't peel.

-A

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Getting Better

About five minutes after I published my last post, I heard saws outside. I can't tell what they're doing, but it looks like a table saw. Maybe. I really have no idea what I'm talking about. So much for an afternoon nap. And if anyone is looking for those obnoxious kids, I'd start by asking those guys.

Anyhoo, I had a pretty decent workout today. I did lots of ab exercises with my 8 pound medicine ball. Then I did some lunges and wall-sits. I figured maybe if I start doing some more strength exercises like that it might keep my legs from hurting so bad. I started off walking my route. After I got warmed up, I ran about a mile and a half and then alternated after that. The whole route was about 3.5 miles. I feel pretty good. Not too sore, and I stopped running shortly after I started feeling pain rather than trying to push through it. That seemed to help. I think tomorrow I'm going to go for a long walk on one of the trails around here. It will be longer than most routes I run, but I'm going to walk the majority of it.

My only other complaint during my workout today is that my fingers swelled up pretty bad. This happens pretty frequently when I run and it's really annoying and slightly uncomfortable. Of course this is only minor compared to the pain in my legs the other night. But I've been doing research online. It looks like the cause of it is low/diluted sodium. I'm almost positive it isn't caused by dehydration, because for the most part, I drink plenty of water. So maybe I need to drink more Gatorade before I run, rather than just after. It's a beautiful day though. Sunny, breezy, clouds moving in. I'll be happy if it rains/storms later. I love a good summer storm.

Now time to shower and avoid overflowing my bathtub then off to run some errands and find something to do the rest of the day. I'm considering another movie night. This time with popcorn. You can never go wrong with popcorn :)

-A

Finally the Weekend

Good morning everyone. I'm writing this from my bed. I love waking up at 9am sneezing uncontrollably. Not. Hoping my allergy meds kick in soon. Also the children playing outside are loud. So much for sleeping in. I may or may not go back to sleep for another hour or so...ya know if those kids run away or something.
Last night we watched Young Adult with Charlize Theron. It was pretty damn funny. It was more dark humor and we compared it to a middle-aged version of Napolean Dynamite. The Chinese was not so good...which is my own fault for trying something new. I tried sesame shrimp instead of getting sesame chicken. Not wise. So I ate my crab Rangoon and made a cheese quesadilla in the microwave.
On the agenda for today: Sleep. Breakfast (Cinnamon Toast Crunch...bc old people cereal is boring). Workout, run/walk, lots of stretching before and after. Shower. Maybe some more sleep. Lunch (maybe). Dinner eventually. And hopefully hanging out with some more fabulous friends. Or at least one :)
Speaking of shower, here's the picture of my awesome bathtub. I hadn't been in the shower for ten minutes. Not a happy girl.
It looks like its sunny and warm, but I can't be sure since I'm still in bed :) Happy Saturday everyone!
-A

Friday, June 8, 2012

I've Got a Golden Ticket

So I got about three hours of sleep last night. Needless to say, I came home and went straight to bed for about 4 hours. Oops. So unless I get some huge wave of energy before 11 tonight, I won't be working out. Fail. But I value my sleep and peace of mind. And there's really no way I could be alert enough to go walk anywhere tonight. So I'm going to get Chinese for dinner and watch a movie with one of my best friends. Then I plan on going back to sleep and sleeping in tomorrow for as long as I feel necessary. This is the first weekend I have NOTHING to do. And I'm totally okay with it. So after I get plenty of sleep, then I'll get up and get my exercise on.

While I'm waiting for my friend to get here so we can get some delicious Chinese, I turned on the tv and what do I find? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This movie is A. wonderful and one of my favorites, and B. makes me crave chocolate WORSE than PMS. But I already ate all the chocolate in this house (I think) so I guess I'm safe there. Unless I buy some while we're out getting dinner and finding a movie to watch...Although I think I'd rather have popcorn. I love my popcorn. And I'm getting a little better about not getting the kind soaked in butter (but that is the best kind). I really just want some Chinese. Sesame chicken, broccoli, maybe some noodles, and by God there will be crab rangoon.

Sidenote: Does anyone know why Charlie's grandparents are bedridden in the first place? It's kind of hard to believe Grandpa Joe would just hop out of bed and after a few stumbles, just start dancing and prancing around.

In other news, my bath tub nearly overflowed earlier after I had been in the shower for about ten minutes. TEN MINUTES and the damn thing almost overflowed. Looks like I'll be calling my landlord about that. Oh boy. They "fixed it" once. And by that, I mean they put a different thing on the drain that helps filter out hair and whatnot. Well that only helped a little, and not for long. Ugh. They can be frustrating. And they're old. Sweet like grandparents, but frustrating like any old people who manage to never understand what you're trying to explain to them. I took a picture for proof. I'll post later, just in case any of you really want to see. :)

Have a fantastic evening!
-A

Beer

I am so not a morning person. And I can never ever sleep late after a night of drinking. Not that I could have slept in too much anyway. I also managed to make my legs hurt worse because for whatever reason, my legs always ache after drinking and I feel like I ran a marathon the next morning.

As one of my readers commented on my last post, beer is great in moderation (isn't everything?). Like I really needed an excuse to drink beer. The problem with doing anything in moderation is that you have to be able to stop after one or two (depending on what it is you're eating/drinking). Unfortunately, a night out with friends makes it more difficult to stop after a couple (which I did not). I had  about four-ish. Woops.

In a perfect world, I would eat some meager salad for lunch and work out extra hard after work to compensate. But the odds of that happening are very slim to none. I will eat something fairly healthy, and I will work out. But probably not enough to make up for last night. But that's kind of the point of all this. Yes, I need to train and be disciplined, but I also need nights like that now and then. A night out with friends and a few beers. And it's practically impossible to not drink beer during the summer.

And did anyone catch the Cards game last night? Pretty good one. Although the mounting number of strikeouts is pretty frustrating regardless of whether we're winning or not.

In other news, nose is still bleeding. And I watch Boy Meets World every morning before work. One of the best shows ever. I like to think I'm starting my day off right.

Now I need to find something for lunch and get to work. I'll write more later after my workout this evening.

Have a great day everyone! Happy Friday!

-A

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Better Day

Today was so much better! *Knock on wood*
Better mood. And my boss is back from vacation :)

I had a turkey sandwich with pickles and dijon mustard (no cheese though = sad) for lunch. And the afternoon flew by. I love days like this. Unfortunately, my legs still ache. Not quite as bad, but that's probably because I'm not running. I'm going to a work out in a bit that doesn't involve my legs. And probably take some more Ibuprofen. If I'm feeling better, I'm going to do my workout and then go for a walk. See how that goes. Hopefully by Saturday I'll be running.

In other random news that have nothing to do with running, I came home from work and Holes is on tv! I love this movie :) Also, I saw a guy trying to be gangster, driving a beat-up, old minivan. Not sure that ride qualifies him as gangster.

So tonight I'm going to Hot Shots for dinner and to watch the Cardinals game with my soon-to-be roomie. Gonna try to find something semi-healthy-ish to eat. Although there will be a couple beers with dinner, so I'm not sure if eating something healthy even matters. But I'm excited. I haven't gone anywhere all week so I'm glad to get out of the house and do something.

Have a wonderful night!

Go Cards!
-A

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Mood Swings

I didn't tell you during my lunchtime post, but I had a greek salad from Bread Co. for lunch today. And it was delicious. I was in a great mood earlier. Then my computer at work froze and there went my good mood. I lost things that I had already saved (I don't even know how that's possible) so I had to re-do them. Not a happy girl. So I finally get home from work. I change and do my crunches and whatnot before my run. I'm feeling good, breathing alright.

I decided to just run 2.5 miles today since I was so sore during my run yesterday. That didn't last long. I maybe ran a mile before I had to stop. Not because I couldn't breathe. My lungs were juuuust fine. But I felt like the entire lower half of my body was going to break. So I walked. Then tried to run again. Then walked. Ran. And walked the rest of the way home because I was in pain and pissed off at this point. By the time I made it into my apartment, I was crying.

Four hours later and I am still in excruciating pain. I thought a bath might help. So I cleaned my bathtub (it needed it..and I'm not ashamed to admit that). All white and shiny and sparkly. Waited ten minutes. Tub was still draining. Made and ate dinner (Tyson dinosaur chicken nuggets and Stouffer's mac 'n cheese). Did I mention I burned my finger on the mac 'n cheese and spilled it everywhere, so I cried, AGAIN? The tub was STILL not drained. So I said screw it and took a shower and the tub filled up to mid-calf. Cool.

Because of all these strange pains, I'm taking the next two days off. I'll probably workout (abs and arms) and maybe try to walk on Friday and then get back into my runs starting Saturday. I am super thankful this half marathon isn't until October.

I'm doing the Color Run in Kansas City, MO at the end of June, and I swear I will be furious if I can't run that entire thing. It's only a 5k. I've done plenty of those with zero problems. I even did one in pouring rain, and had to run uphill in mud. In my new shoes. If I can't do this 5k, I'll probably throw something.

Now I'm sitting in bed, bitching to all you fine people and I'm just angry now. So I'm going to watch tv or something and hopefully fall asleep early and we'll just chalk this one up to PMS or whatever.

-A

Obstacles

Time for a lunch break chat! Today I'm gonna talk about obstacles, because I face quite a few. As I mentioned yesterday, I have asthma (as of January-ish. That's when I got an inhaler anyway, so let's go with that). Not fun. And I'm still trying to get used to having to take an inhaler with me everywhere and taking it every single time I go for a run. And if I'm running more than three miles I have to take it with me. When it's cold, that's not a problem. I have plenty of pockets. In the summer, I have a tiny pocket only big enough to fit my house key or car key. So trying to accommodate that is annoying.

In addition to asthma, I have allergies, I get chronic headaches/migraines, knee problems (which started my senior year in high school), I get sick easily, and recently I get bloody noses. For the asthma, inhaler. For the allergies I take Zyrtec (the generic which I can't pronounce or spell off of the top of my head). If it's a really bad day, I take Benadryl at night to help me sleep. Allergies are just hit and miss. Some days I feel great and other days, regardless of medicine, I just feel like crap. Which makes it really hard to motivate myself to run or work out. Some days I can push through it and others I can't. Same with headaches. If I can take Excedrin and my headache is gone within a half hour, then I'll go for a run. Unfortunately when I get migraines, I spend as much of the day as possible in bed.

If my knee bothers me (it's the left, not that that really matters) I usually just suck it up and go. I've been dealing with that pain for about five years now, so I'm accustomed to running through that kind of pain. After a run I just stretch really good and put ice on it if it's really bothering me. But I hate icing injuries. So I avoid it if possible. As far as getting sick goes, once I get sick, generally I'm done until I feel better. Meaning it could be a couple weeks to a month or more without exercise. And sometimes only a week or two of exercise before I get sick again. *Knock on wood* I haven't been really sick in a while. If I do get sick again, I'm gonna have to learn to run through it if I'm going to run a half marathon this fall. As for the recent nose bleeds, well they aren't full on nose bleeds like most people get. It's mainly just that it bleeds every time I have to blow my nose (which is often thanks to my allergies). So I try to take care of that before I leave for a run which seems to help.

What kind of obstacles do you face on a daily basis?

-A

P.S. It's National Running Day! Get out there and run down the street! Or around the block, or across town! Just go run and have fun! :)

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tough Run

Let me start by saying that the only thing that motivated me to run today was the fact that I told you all I was going to, and that I was going to write about it afterward. So thanks for the motivation folks! I had a killer headache this afternoon. So I came home, changed my clothes, took some Excedrin, and got my ass out of the house before I could take a second glance at my comfy bed.

I stopped off to drop off some dvd's I rented last week, A because they were already late, and B so it would give the Excedrin time to sink in. After dropping off the dvds I made my way over to the trail at the park where I did a 5k once or twice.

It did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. Less than half way through I had cramps in my calves, my achilles tendons felt like they were going to be ripped to shreds (that may or may not be an exaggeration), and I thought my lungs were going to collapse. I have asthma (something I didn't have before) so now I'm trying to learn to run with this whole not being able to breathe problem. It really sucks.

I walked a little more than I wanted to and much more than I'm willing to admit. Maybe I didn't stretch enough or something. But I am sore now.

On a brighter note, I drank more water than usual. Around 100 oz, give or take a few. Thanks to my lovely 34 oz Quick Trip mug. For dinner tonight, I'm thinking a scrambled egg with asparagus and shredded parmesan (the good stuff, not Kraft).

On the agenda for tomorrow: Another 3 miles, hopefully with less muscle pain and a better lung capacity (not gonna hold my breath). Haha. That was a bad joke. I still laughed.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you'll be back to read about tomorrow's adventures.

-A
Hey all,

Time for a lunch hour post. I'd rather write than eat. Just kidding. I love food. I do spend a lot of time during my lunch breaks thinking about my running schedule, though. I've been tossing around the idea of training for a half marathon for a couple weeks now and I've decided I'm gonna go for it. Let me make one thing perfectly clear here: Time/Speed is NOT my goal. My goal is to finish. As someone who could barely run a mile in high school, most of my goals revolve around just finishing a mile, a 3k, 5k etc.  So, the plan is to run and finish the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in St. Louis in October. I figured blogging about my training, successes and failures, might help me to stay on track. And encouragement from readers, friends, and family would be super helpful too. So, that's what this will be all about. Running and overcoming challenges and obstacles. And trying to have fun while running, not running, working, playing, etc.

I will do my best to be informative, inspirational, witty, and whatever else I want because, hey, it's my blog. But I make no guarantees that anything I say will be any of those things.

So now that I'm committing myself to this half marathon (which feels like a bigger commitment than marriage right now) I have to start eating better. Which means a lot of things I either don't like or am too poor/lazy to buy and make. Guess I'll have to suck it up. Today's lunch is almost none of the things I should be eating, but I've got a fridge full of food (mostly leftovers, courtesy of my Momma) and I'm not gonna waste anything--I eat like I'm still in college. So I'm having a cheese-filled italian sausage on slice of whole grain bread, a delicious little salad concoction with chopped up cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, squash (?) italian dressing (light of course) and probably some other things that I don't recognize but eat anyway. And then I have a little ziplock baggie of Cheez-its. My favorite snack. I might die trying to give those up.

Once I've used up all the delicious I-really-shouldn't-be-eating-this food, I'll get myself on track. I even have a long, and probably super-expensive, grocery list. Running is expensive. But totally worth it.

I'll be doing a 3-mile run after work today. It's hot out, which I don't mind. And nice and sunny! Hello tan! And by that I mean a lovely sunburn that might eventually turn into a tan if it doesn't peel.

I'll let you know how the run goes later and get into more detail on my training schedule and whatnot.

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick around!

-A