I finally ran!

I finally got in a run today, but it wasn't what I was expecting. 2 miles on the treadmill before my knee started twinging (and not in a good way). 2. freaking. miles. Ugh.

Crossing my fingers and toes for the weather to clear up tomorrow so I can go outside for a run. I NEED some outdoors time that doesn't include spray paint or taking pictures of mushrooms (our backyard is a freaking mushroom city this year! dad and i are constantly pointing out new ones to each other). I don't want to kill myself because I'm expected to stand in front of people in heels and not wince a week from tonight (I REALLY AM excited about the wedding, trust me, I'm just not happy with my body right now), but I'm tired of taking it easy. I want to get back to running 3-4 times a week and enjoying it.

An Open Letter to the Worldwide Triathlon and Endurance Communities From Mark Allen and Dave Scott

An Open Letter to the Worldwide Triathlon and Endurance Communities From Mark Allen and Dave Scott

SUAR's Planet Gear Giveaway

SUAR has an AMAZING giveaway going on right now with Planet Gear! Go check out the blog post:

http://www.shutupandrun.net/2011/09/planet-gear-giveaway.html

and also go become a member and check out the deals at Planet Gear!

I have to admit, I've been searching for new "active" sunglasses for a while and fell in love with the Iron Girl Victorious C. It must have been fate or something because they sold out MINUTES after I ordered mine :) Here's hoping they live up to my expectations!

Hope everyone's having a great day. I'll probably have a post of my own later today or tomorrow. There's just so much going on that I'm finding it difficult to keep up on my blogging ... 1 1/2 weeks until one of my closest friends gets married!

1 year and gone for the weekend

Ok, warning ahead of time, not much running in this post.

Today makes it 1 year since we lost Grandpa. I realized this last night when I was watching tv and I broke down all over again. It rained off and on most of the night, just hard and steady enough to be soothing. Funny how it usually does that on nights I'm the most broken. I pulled Wrinkles (the stuffed dog from my Grandparents' house) down off my shelf and snuggled with him all night. I always feel so much closer to them when I have him around. I had a really nice dream too, where I'm back at Grandma and Grandpa's house and I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Grandma while she cooked. I don't know if I was completely dreaming or remembering something and it was just my adult body in the scene instead of the kid body. Whatever the case, I miss my grandparents every day. They were such a huge part of my childhood that the last couple years as I was loosing one after another was REALLY hard ... and still is.

There's a 5k out at PIB that I REALLY wanted to run tomorrow morning (LOVE LOVE LOVE the Lake Erie Islands), but instead I will be traveling to Illinois for the weekend with my parents (*sigh*). My cousin is getting married. I'll reserve my thoughts on the whole deal, how I ended up going (grr), and how much I do NOT want to be in the car for that long with both my parents for another time ... maybe. At least I'll get to see my aunt and uncle and Justin's baby girl. Ellie is SUCH a doll! :)

Fitness Goals For The Rest of 2011

It's time I get back to LIFE. Seriously. I need to work out again for sanity's sake. Plus, Annie's wedding is 2 1/2 weeks away now. That gorgeous bridesmaids dress is hanging from my closet door right now, mocking me for my lack of exercise the past couple weeks. I've run a couple times, but mostly just rambling down the trials over at OO.

So, to re-commit myself, I'm writing out my fitness (mental and physical) goals for the rest of this year.

1. Blog at least 2x a week, even if it isn't about running. I try to keep as much of the personal ranting off here as possible (that's why I still have my Xanga, right?), but sometimes there is something that just needs to be said.

2. Run at least 3x a week. Simple enough.

3. Weights/ cross-train 2x a week. I'll be focusing on my arms and upper body until after Annie's wedding, and the pool is officially closed (*sob*), but I'm setting up little brother's playstation (that he didn't take to his apt) in the basement so I have a way to play my workout dvds where I actually have ROOM to PARTICIPATE. Maybe I should move my Wii down there too ... now to buy a balance board.

4. Complete at least 5 challenges every week on DailyChallenge. I'm on the "Active Life" track right now. Most of the challenges are extremely simple things like stretching or today's was doing 12 wall push-ups, but it's a nice reminder to get up and do something.

5. Be more conscious of what I eat. Eat to enjoy food and fuel my body properly. This takes effort because I'm a bored and nervous eater and I don't always make the best choices. I guess mom is going to work on dad (he promised to go on a diet after he realized he at 4 hot dogs for dinner before the football game the other night), but we'll see. I appreciate my mom cooking from scratch as often as she does (which is more related to HER health issues than to my diet), but portion control is a SERIOUS issue in our family.

There. I think those goals are reasonable. And 5 is a nice simple number. Not too many, but I'm not slacking off either. This will be a good thing. Any one else want to weigh in?

I should probably get in a decent late-morning snack/ early lunch NOW so I can run when I leave the lab this afternoon. *Looks around.* Yes! I still have instant oatmeal in my lab stash. *happy dance* :)

I'm alive!

I'm alive, I swear! Life has just been a bit busy. I'm still running, though not as frequently as I would like. I try to at least get in 2-3 days during the week and a 6+ miler on the weekends.

My depression is just hitting me hard right now with all my stress. I have spent more days in my soffee shorts and old rowing tee shirts than I'd like to admit, but I'm working on it. I write every day, but it's rarely what I would want to put out on this blog. Most of it is so dark I keep it under lock and key on my Xanga ... or I just delete it after I'm done typing.

Time to get my butt in gear again. Annie's wedding is right around the corner and I plan on rocking that dress. :)

Daily Challenge 9/3

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER! He's 20 today (good grief I feel old). We went to Red Robin last night for dinner and mom MADE SURE the waitress knew he was the birthday boy so they'd sing to him. He glared at mom the entire time. It was hilarious! lol.

How to do it

Find the oldest, most outdated, clunkiest pair of shoes in your closet. You know, the ones with an inch of dust on them. Put them on. Walk around the house in them. If you're still unsure whether you should get rid of them, snap a photo of your feet and send it to a friend. Have her give you three reasons to get rid of them. Then put them in your donation bag (or toss if damaged).

Why it matters

Closet real estate is king, and way too valuable to have it taken up by shoes that we no longer wear. By ridding your closet of old, unused shoes, you will have the room to be better organized. This will facilitate wearing what you have, taking better care of it and getting dressed faster, thus eliminating the mad dash for the door every morning. And you will never again be frustrated by not being able to find a pair of shoes that you just KNOW are in there.

My Answer

I always "rotate" my tennis shoes ... When my running shoes get worn out, they become my every-day shoes and then become my grass-cutting, creek-stomping shoes. They don't get thrown away until they are COMPLETELY trashed. That being said ... I have a pair of old nasty creek-stomping shoes still in my car after last weekend. They're headed to the trash can now.

Daily Challenge 9/1

How to do it

Write down one problem or issue that you are concerned about. Spend a few moments thinking of two solutions, and then write the solutions next to the problem. If there is one solution that seems stronger, circle it and think about how to implement it.

Why it matters

When we're really worried about an issue, it's easy to spend time over-thinking it. With too much thinking and too little action, people become stressed about a problem. Taking the action to brainstorm solutions and select one to potentially put into action lessens some of the stress created by the problem.

My Answer:

Well, my biggest issue right now is financial. I can't find a job while I'm working on my Masters, but I'm not on a graduate stipend any more. I had a nice savings built up when my TA/GA ended, but I've been living off it since the beginning of this year. My savings has lasted me much longer than I had expected, but as my wallet shrinks, I seem to have bigger and bigger expenses. One of my solutions, and the most practical, is to hurry up and finish this stupid Masters so I can find a job. In the short term, I'm cutting back my spending as much as I can (no fast food, no unnecessary expenses [hard when you're a bridesmaid], only driving to campus a couple days a week), and finding smaller ways to make a couple dollars. I babysit when I can and I'm collecting aluminum cans to take to the recycling place. IF ANYONE IN THE TOLEDO AREA HAS CANS THEY WANT TAKEN CARE OF, LET ME KNOW. I CAN PICK UP.