Thanksgiving Fun, a Cold, and a Broken Pinky Toe.

I have had a few bumps in the road. Two weeks ago I got a pretty bad head cold. It sucked!!! I haven't had one that bad in a while. Anyway, let's just say I am STILL coughing up nasty shiz. I stopped running for a week or so because of it. Then I stubbed my toe so bad that popular opinion is that I broke it. It was so swollen and purple, I've never experienced that before. Then Thanksgiving rolled around and I had signed up to run the Utah Food Bank 5k that day. I was nervous, with all of these setbacks going on! Dave came with me and waited at the finish line for me. It sucked cuz I had to stop every few minutes to blow my nose. The snot was just making it so hard to breathe!!! Lol. Oh, and ummm yeah it was BUTT ASS COLD!!!!!! It doesn't usually get below like 20 degrees in Utah during winter, and it just so happened to be 7 degrees the morning of the run!!! Yeah. Anywho, I thought at the beginning of the run "I will never do this again!" But after seeing my time results (I was 15th out of the 5k women who had a timing chip) I feel happier about the whole experience and definitely think I'll do it again next year. It feels SO great to go out Thanksgiving morning and get in a good work out, for a good cause, and then go stuff your face with the yummiest food ever!!! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was amazing! =) So now my goal is to move from running 3 miles at lunchtime, to 3.25 and then I'll go uo to 3.5 a week or two later. Lovin it!!! =)

A Month?!

Geez, why do I barely get time to write one blog post/month? Frick. Frack. So, an update is in order...I am still slowly getting ready for Ragnar. The thought kinda scares me. I don't think I'm alone. I think it scares a lot of people. I have been running 2 times/week. I wish it was 3 times/week but with school and having an actual life, I find myself running twice a week. So shoot me. I have gotten to the point where I can comfortably run 3 miles straight though. This is pretty exciting for me. I have never been a big runner in the past. I used to do it every now and then for cardio and even then I was only running a mile here and there. I signed up for a Thanksgiving 5k. Pretty excited about that.
Dave and I went skiing up at brighton on Sunday. It was so so fun! I picked back up right where I had left off. We had a blast. Not all of the runs were open, but it was still super fun. We had lunch at Molly Green's and a couple drinks. It was a prefect day. I can't wait for more of those to come!!! We will be out ever Sunday and Kayden will be up there with us every other Sunday. So fun!

It Feels Good!

Update from last post-
I ran without my ipod but I got some advice beforehand from a guy I work with. He told me, "just run two miles and get it over with as fast as you can. What matters is the miles." I did it in about 18:30 I think and I was very happy about that! It ended up being one of the best runs I've ever had. I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation to postpone the run!

I have really been enjoying working out lately. I have been running every Mon. and Thurs. and doing pilates every Tuesday. Last night I tried out a kick boxing class with my best friend Michelle. It was fun but it was like aerobics kick boxing, and I'm not very coordinated sometimes. Lol.
I found something new that I just LOVE. I haven't actually gone to a Zumba class yet, but I've been practicing the moves and they are so fun!! Watch this, you will fall in love too...



This one looks way fun...

I love nothing more than finding a workout that I have fun with and that is challenging, and this looks like both. I am going soon with my friend from work. =)

In my last relationship, I was with someone who was so needy of my time and jealous when I spent time on anything besides him, that I didn't get to go out and do fun things like this. My boyfriend, Dave, is so understanding and has no problem at all with me going out and doing things that make me happy. He even told me he thinks it's sexy how active I am =). Lol. maybe TMI, but I'm just in a really happy place right now and most of it has to do with both Dave and working out. I have accomplished a lot in the past few months and I feel great about it. I still have a huge feat ahead of me.....RAGNAR. Yikes. Here's a few pictures of my accomplishments this summer.....I completed the Lone Peak hike. It is now the longest hike I have ever done(it took us 12 hours!!!) In September I did the Dirty Dash which was one of the FUNNEST things I have ever ever done. Here are some pics of all the fun...

No iPod?!?!?!?!?

I have a new challege, as if I needed an extra challenge when it comes to running! Today I left my iPod in Dave's car on accident. It is my running day (I run M, W, & F) so guess who get's to do her run today with no music!! You guessed it! Me! Oh joy. It's hard enough as it is! I think I'm mostly being a big cry baby and I'll be fine, I just have to get through it. I'll let everyone know how it went! =)

Getting back on track! For Real!

So I have been slacking on working out the past month or so. Dave and I have been so super busy that it's hard to make the time. I know, I know. There's no excuse. Or, as my friend from work would say "Excuses are like ass holes, everyone's got one and they all stink." So he was just asking me why I hadn't been running, so I brought my running stuff to work and went at lunch! It felt so good. I cannot emphasize too much how good you feel after a good run that challenges you. Since I haven't been running much lately, I walked 5, ran 20, then walked 5. It felt awesome. I'm going to start going Mon. Wed & Fri. at lunch. Plus, some people at my work put together a pilates group that is going to meet once/week at lunchtime so we can get in a good workout during the workday!

I have been hiking about once/week and decided I'm going to try and do the 'big hike' with my hiking group this year. The big hike this year is Lone Peak. I've heard it's pretty rough. We have training hikes coming up on the 6th and the 11th of September and then the big hike will be the 18th. The following weekend, I have the Dirty Dash. It's a 10k.....in the mud!!!!!!!!! Am I nuts here?? Probably! Lol. I just hope that if I'm running three times/week that all of this stuff won't absolutely kill me. Wish me luck!

I did it!!!

I signed up for Ragnar. Paid my 90 bucks. There's no going back now (shakin in my booties). I have been told by our team leader, Metta, that I need to be able to run 30 minutes straight by the end of this year, to be on track for training for this event. I'm not worried about that at all, I'm just worried about what comes after that. Lol. If you aren't familiar with Ragnar, it is a relay run from Provo to Logan, I think. I might be a little off on my facts but that's the gist of it. I have been told that I will probably be running about 14 miles for my part. 14 miles in 24 hours. Sounds fun! I'm excited for some night running coming up this fall, though. My boyfriend lives at the point of the mountain in Draper and has a beautiful view that I will get to enjoy while I run. =)

Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT!

Am I really thinking of signing up to do Ragnar next year????? I think I am.....we'll see. I'm sure my feelings towards it will change dramatically in the next year. I have always wanted to do it but it will take quite the dedication. I've had problems with running lately. First my knee, then my hip. It sucks. When I get to like, 4 miles my feet feel like they're on fire and then my toes start going numb. Lol. But I love running and I also have a lot of time to think this over. I told Metta, one of my co-workers, that if we did a Medicity team that I would do it. She just came up to me and said "well, I have 9 people so far and we only need 12 for a team." I was like.....holy god, I didn't know you were really going to go find people. Lol! It's definitely exciting though and something I would LOVE to do. Training would be hard though, with my school schedule but isn't there a quote that says something about great dedication resulting in great rewards or something?

Two things...

So, I was thinking for a while of getting these easy tone shoes....

And I just read this article today that says they really only work your feet and ankles...

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109576/10-ways-youre-getting-ripped-off

It was an interesting article. Anyways, the 2nd thing is that I went running up Emigration Canyon today with a friend from work. It feels SO DANG GOOD to exercise at lunch. I have a lot of energy now and I just love that I took advantage of having a 1 hour break in the middle of the day. I have been bothered lately with the fact that mostly every single one of my evenings is booked and I don't have time to go running or walking. Well folks, bring your tennis shoes to work and go on your lunch break! It's perfect. Whether you have only 30 minutes or an hour, think of the difference it could make if you went every single day to go walking or running on your break! Even if you go maybe Mon. Wed. Fri. or do Tues. Thurs. you're bound to be happy with the results. You will feel better and it may help you lose those couple pounds we all sit and think about. Ask a friend from work if they would like to go with you, take the book you've been wishing you had time to read, just get out there! I know that I personally sit in the breakroom every day for lunch and the thought of all the exercise time I'm wasting, makes me want to shake myself! Ha ha. Hope this can be a helpful tip to someone out there!

What a Weekend!

I went with my hiking group on Saturday. We did a long hike up Big Beacon behind the U. It was my first real hike of the year and it was rough! It took us almost 4 hours to get up and back down. My feet were hurting so bad and my legs were shaking by the time we got back to the bottom. My calves and butt are sore. I love the feeling of having sore muscles though! I know that I made progress when my muscles are sore. If anyone wants to get on the invite list for the hikes, just let me know and I will pass your email address on to Kurt, our hiking leader. We go every Thursday at 5:15 pm and are always going to a different place. They also do a couple big of out of town hikes, which I didn't get to do last year but am looking forward to this year. Hiking is such great exercise and you see so many pretty things along the way!

I fell off the exercise bandwagon last week. It was my birthday and I didn't get much exercise in at all. My plans this week are to go running tomorrow at lunch with my work friend Metta, then Pilates on Wednesday and possible a Body Pump class with Monica and Sara on Saturday morning at 8am (if I can wake up early enough for it!) Gotta get moving again after taking almost a whole week off!

Easy as Pie!

Holy crap! I ran my 5k on Saturday and I was scared. I was thinking I would be just so awfully tired and have a hard time finishing. It was actually quite the opposite. I didn't have a hard time running the whole way and when I got to the finish line I was like......really? That's it?? We're done? I feel like I could have run a 10k and I haven't even trained for that. Do I feel a new goal for a 10k coming on?? I think I do =) Anyways, it was the Race for the Cure 5k, for the Breast Cancer Foundation and it was very touching to see all of the support and people out there for a good cause. It was so fun and I can't wait till my next one!!! (I'm now on the lookout for the next 5k that strikes my interest, hopefully it will be soon! I'm ready!).

New Adventures, yet again...

So, two weeks ago i went to Moab with my best pal Michelle and her dad. When we got there, Michelle and her dad said, "let's go do some hiking." I'm ALWAYS down for hiking. It's one of my favorite things. I have seen some amazing things and had some amazing experiences while hiking. So, they decided to take me to Arches National Park. I had no idea what I was in for.......I had no idea that was where DELICATE ARCH WAS!!! I must be sheltered... but I was soooo excited. I suddenly was about to see one of the wonders of the world. Well, not before a nice long hike of course ;) I also love taking pictures and have taken my most favorite pictures ever while hiking. Here are some shots I got while on the hike to Delicate Arch...
Hiking is just a great way to enjoy yourself while you are getting exercise!!! I joined a hiking group last summer and we went hiking every week. I will be going with them as often as I can this year, as well. I think that with Yoga and Hiking, I have really foung two things that I completely enjoy that will help keep me fit throughout my life. Next step...Timpanogos Caves Hike!! That one can be a little tough but so fun and totally worth it!

Race for the Cure!

I have officially signed up for my 1st 5k. YIKES!!! Yikes is what first comes to my mind. lol. It's in about two weeks. I don't think I'm going to be able to run this weekend, which sucks. I can barely walk up and down the stairs right now.....so yeah. Pilates, you rock my world but make it difficult to physically function like a normal person in every day life. But I will be seeing you again, hopefully very soon. This is the machine that we used.......

Doesn't it just look like a device used to torture POW's? It scares me. I still love it though cuz I know It's turning my flab into fab...ness. Or something. I told my teacher how much I loved it and that I wanted to get one. Then, I asked her how much they were. Oh, only 4 or 5 grand. HOLY SHIT!!! Ok, never mind. I would much rather have one of these in my house than a treadmill or something. But damn it, that's about how much my car is worth. Lol.

New shoes, new adventure!

I ran for 20 minutes straight last night. I haven't done that in a while. I usually walk inbetween running. It wasn't the easiest thing ever, but I'm ready to do it again! It feels soooo good to run. Oh man, I love it. Oh, and PS- I LOVE MY NEW RUNNING SHOES. They are my babies. I feel as excited as you feel when you get a new car. And this is much cheaper. Ha ha. Not cheap exactly, but much cheaper than a car! ;) So I ran in them for the first time last night and I loved life. I think my first 5k will be on May 1st. I can't do the one this weekend like I wanted to because I totally overlooked the fact that I have an 8 AM CALCULUS CLASS ON SATURDAYS. Remind me again why I signed up for that??? Yeah I don't remember either. Anyway, it will be over in about two weeks, so I'll be able to start my 5k adventures. Very excited. And nervous.

Yoga

I'm so excited to go to Yoga tonight. It's funny how if you have a friend to go with, it can be so so exciting but if you have to go alone and don't have motivation it can feel like you're dreading going. I'm excited. I hope i hurt as bad tomorrow as I did last time. I always hate it how you do something new and your muscles hurt SO bad, and then you try it again and get no sore muscles. I do think it's pretty cool how hard you can work yourself just by using your own body! Last time I went to this Yoga class, there was a surfer dude in back of me who kept making sex noises and the teacher ended up saying "I think I'm going to record this class and sell it to a phone sex company!" Ha ha. Made me laugh, cuz we all knew she was talking about the awkward guy in back of me who couldn't keep the noises in. I had to keep stopping cuz what they were doing was so hard, and one time I looked around and this guy was just chillin on his head. Like, he was doing a head stand. People are nuts! Next week, I'm going with the same friend to a Pilates class for my first time! And I've been trying to get out running lately so I can run the 5k on April 17th. I think I'm gonna go for it and just try my best!

PS-I think I'm going to take a picture of my pantry and post it soon. It might bring some laughs cuz of all the crap I have in there!! I really am like a 5 year old with my treats. TTFN!

You go, grandpa!

I just wanted to say that my grandpa is pretty kick ass. My brother, my grandpa, and myself went skiing yesterday and he is 75 years old!!! He only made it down two runs this time, but has had a few mishaps helath-wise in the past year that he is still recovering from (a car accident and a surgery.) He is so crazy and cool and I just hope that I'll still be skiing when I'm his age!!! The snow was pretty good. Pretty powdery, which can be good and bad. We went to Snowbird and the slopes weren't all that crowded. Very nice. I had a lot of fun and my brother and I are going to try and make it up there one more time in the next couple weeks. Skiing is fun and great exercise and I LOVE IT!!!

PS- I haven't had the motivation to make it to Yoga for the past couple weeks. Let's hope I can go this week, since my friend is wanting to go with me. The buddy system is the best system!!! Much more motivating when you know someone besides just yourself, is planning on you going.

You ARE What You Eat.

I love this show! It's on BBC America. First and foremost, I love their British accents. I LOVE that they have funny names for things. Lol. They call cookies bisquits, fries chips, and chips are crisps. They are just so funny to listen to. Then today, the host of the show, Gillian McKeith, was talking to this guy who smoked and she said "You have to give up the fags!!" and I couldnt help but laugh like I'm in 6th grade. It's not a nice word, but it was funny at the time, OK? Shoot me. Anyway, on every episode of this show, they put on a table everything this person eats in a single week. It's DISGUSTING! I want to do it to myself one day, it would give me a good reality check. This was one of the tables, but not really one of the shocking ones that I've seen...

Keep in mind that's probably only about half the table they're showing there. It's crazy. Look at all that coffee! And soda! Holy crap. Lay off the coffee and get some sleep! It's good to be tired sometimes, cuz then you actually go home and pass out at a decent time!

I was on their website earlier and I took the quiz "How healthy are you?" There was a question that tripped me up. It said "Do you avoid sugar and foods and drinks containing sugar?" That's when I wished there was a 'sometimes' option. Travis and I decided to swear off soda, which was a really good thing. Besides soda, I usually never drank anything but water and milk. BUT there's my sugary cereal addiction. I am constantly trying to avoid food with lots of sugar in it, but if we want to talk about how many times I actually succeed in avoiding it, that's another story. I do think I do a good job, but I could definitely do a lot better! Gillian said on the show today that if you are craving a sugary snack, you should have a sweet potato and that reduces your sugar cravings. Nice tip, thanks Gillian! (Too bad it takes about an hour to bake a sweet potato. Hmph.)

So, I get a little bored...

I have time on my hands, ok? So, I like to blog. I may be far from amazing at blogging, but I enjoy it and it keeps me out of trouble...I decided to start a blog about basically the stuff my life revolves around (besides my kick ass boyfriend, Travis, tee hee). What do most people's lives revolve around? Hello, FOOD! It sounds terrible, but let's face it, it keeps us alive. Not only that, but many of us, dare i say most of us, have an emotional relationship with food. I do! ME ME ME!

To start off, I'd like to explain a few of my feelings on food, dieting, and exercise. Firstly, I have some hypoglycemic tendencies. I get a headache when I eat candy, if I eat something even slightly sugary on an empty stomach, I feel close to passing out. I'm always surprised I don't, that's how crappy I feel. I'm ALWAYS hungry. And I mean always. For example: I have a hearty breakfast every morning of either oatmeal with a banana in it, or Cheerios with a banana in it, and by the time I get to work I am starving again. You might be thinking "It's because you eat a big breakfast." But no, I've tried everything. I've tried only eating an apple, I've tred just a half cup of cheerios, I've tried a small yogurt. But no matter what, I'm always hungry when I get to work and sometimes even really light headed. Tapeworm? I went to my doctor and they did blood tests to make sure it wasn't Diabetes or anything too serious. He told me he thinks I have Hypoglycemia and to stay away from sugar, period. He said they don't really diagnose Hypoglycemia because there is no medication or treatment they can give for it. It needs to be controlled by your diet and exercise. This is hard for me. No creamer in my coffee, no sugary cereal (which is my favorite!). He even said to stay away from some fruit, as it can be too high in sugar. I'm like, seriously?! I felt like he was asking for me to hand over one of my limbs. It's sad, but true. I've always thought that I could balance out the sugar and fatty foods that I love so much, with maintaining an active lifestyle. My doctor thinks otherwise. He said it can turn into Diabetes if I'm not careful. Weird, cuz to me, Hypoglycemia and Diabetes are the opposite, but I guess they both have to do with abnormal levels of glucose in the blood. Too little, too much. Tomatoe tamato. I refuse to get Diabetes and yet my habits haven't exactly changed in the eating department. i do try every day to do better (I'm munching on carrot sticks right now). But let's take a look at what I have in my pantry at home right now, shall we? (Besides the Cheerios).

And I swear to god I have no children.....This cereal is all for me. And I love it. Ha ha.

To make the rest of the story short, I don't believe in diets. Not one bit. I think they work while you're on them (sometimes) and then you stop, and you gain the weight back. If you are dedicated to being HEALTHIER and loosing weight, it takes an entire change in the way you live. I'm sorry America, but it's not as easy as sitting on the couch, continuing to stuff your fat face full of spicy cheetos and TV dinners, taking a magical pill, and you'll lose weight and feel better. It's just not. I know they are very convincing in those commercials, but it's just not reality.

Exercise is a hard area for me as well. I have been in the process for a couple of years now, of trying to find a type of exercise that I love doing and can be completely dedicated to. I might have found that, with Yoga. I had to take a gym class for my degree at school and am enrolled in Yoga right now. I really love it. I ventured out last week and went to a class in Salt Lake. Let me tell you what, it hurt to breathe the next day! But i loved that! The downfall, the class that I love so much is $12/class =(. I really want to try to go regularly but with that price, I dont think I'll be going every week like I would like to.

I think everything is ok in moderation. I don't believe in 'Low Fat' 'No Trans Fat' 'No Fat' or 'Organic' labels. I think if you do, you're pretty silly. The only way I'll believe something is completely organic is if I grow it myself, but even then I have my doubts.... I just want to be as healthy as i can while not becoming miserable on the way. And that is all. Hopefully this will be a fun and interesting blog for anyone who's bored =P. And hopefully it will help me to track my habits and maybe fix them. Thanks for reading!