Category Archives: My Life

I’m Too Tired…

Sometimes you just need to decide to sleep instead of anything else… The past two mornings have been exactly that: sleepy mornings. I am attempting to get back on track, after a few days off from working out, and this week hasn’t helped much. I decided to go for a walk last night, just to get my blood pumping. Hopefully I will get back in the swing of things soon.

I am going through a little bit of depression, hence my lack of posts lately. While I really do like being alone, sometimes it catches up to you. Especially in the winter. I thought that it might be different someplace that doesn’t have much of a winter, but I was wrong.

I struggle with this sort of thing a lot after training, and it makes me not want to train honestly. You have this massive down time, and without something else to train for, you can easily fall off the wagon. This is a constant battle and I need to figure out a way to fight it. My usual solution is to crawl in bed and watch endless hours of tv. It doesn’t help at all, but most of the time I don’t know what else to do.

Keep Moving Forward…

Back to the Grind

Valentine's Day FlowersI haven’t written since I got back from Ohio, but just so you know, I had a wonderful experience  So many people love my dad, and they came out in droves to show it. I got to see my whole family, cousins, uncles, grandma, etc. and spent quality time with all of them. My mom, of course, went out of her way to put 5 lbs. on all of us, and we all complied. I returned to San Jose exhausted, full, and ready to get back into a regular routine.

This week has definitely be ideal. I have set up a schedule, stuck to it, for the most part, and worked out a few times. The weather has been in the 60’s and wonderful for running and walks outside. I received a lovely bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s day.

I have really started to get back into lifting, with some pain no less. I forgot how much I enjoyed the weight room, but I miss lifting with Chas, or with one of my players, like I used to do at Labette. Knocking on the doorstep of 30, I have realized that it’s not what the scale says that matters. If I am working my body hard, eating right, and feel good, that is all that matters.

I am excited not to have any major plans this weekend. A little relaxation is exactly what I want right now… Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tough Week

I’m having a tough week. Work is extremely busy. I am going home to Ohio on Friday, and have to get a lot ready for my colleagues before I leave. A lot of responsibility has fallen on my shoulders for multiple projects. I am not only feeling the pressure here, but I am just feeling a little depressed lately.

School is stressing me out. I miss my dog. I miss Chas. And to be perfectly honest, sometimes I just want to lay in my bed and cry.

But you know what? I’m a big girl, and I can only have a pitty party for myself for so long. I am trying to concentrate on my routine and working out, eating habits, and schedule.

I can accomplish everything I set my mind to. I can get everything done that I need to get done. I know I just have to keep moving forward.

Super Busy Super Bowl

I am currently watching the Super Bowl. I am currently doing laundry. I am currently working on homework, and I am currently not wanting to do any of it!

I really don’t care who wins, but I have two good reasons to root for San Francisco:

1. I now live in the Bay Area and
2. Ted Ginn Jr. plays for them

I have gotten a lot done today, going to the bank, grocery, returning something at Target this morning, then doing laundry, dishes, cooking a few items for the week, and cleaning this afternoon. I have 12 more homework questions to answer for an online class that I am very unmotivated to take, plus I need to enter in some scores for work, work on my thesis, and continue watching the 6th season of Everybody Loves Raymond, which I have become addicted to.

Greek Chicken Salad

Greek Chicken Salad

Anyway, I decided to make a new salad today, and thought I would review it here. It is called Greek Chicken Salad. Here is the recipe:

Serves 4
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar,
divided
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cucumber, cubed
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil

Cooking Instructions
1. Marinate chicken in 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste for 1 hour. Grill
over medium heat for 10 minutes per side. Cool and cut into cubes.
2. Combine chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion and feta in a large bowl. In a
small bowl, whisk together thyme, olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and salt and
pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over salad, and toss to combine.
Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories: 380, Total Fat: 21 g, Saturated Fat: 5.4
g, Cholesterol: 98 mg, Sodium: 660 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 15 g, Dietary Fiber: 3 g,
Sugars: 10 g, Protein: 32 g

TOTALLY DELICIOUS! One of the main reasons I made it was because it is very high in protein. I have to tell you, it is great. It is a very summery salad, but the flavors are amazing, and it’s very filling.

I am planning to do an ab workout tonight, then the next 4 days are hard core lifts, runs, and diet. Friday I head back to Ohio, and so I have to be prepared.

I wish you all a happy Super Bowl Sunday, and may the best team win.

It’s Been Awhile

Today was my first run over 10 minutes since the marathon. Wow… I am sore. My knees, my feet, everything. I struggled. But I made it, and I am happy to be back in business per say. I am still definitely having problems with my right foot. I would guess I probably sustained a stress fracture in the foot. It was painful after the 39.3, and it definitely bothered me today.

I have been lifting a little bit, and am really enjoying myself. It something that I used to love, and hopefully I can get back into it with some intensity.

I am in the middle of my 24 day challenge, and honestly, I am not doing great. I kinda decided to break this weekend, because I was just having so much trouble, then restarting on Monday. It’s a hard thing to do…

Oh well, more to come soon.

The Infection of a Toe

My infected toe... can you tell which one it is?

My infected toe… can you tell which one it is?

Here we are, 8 days out from the biggest racing weekend of my life. While I haven’t run since then, I have worked out twice, doing the elliptical, riding the bike, and lifting. The main reason for my lack of training is because I have an infected toe… After the marathon, my toe really hurt, so I wore flip flops. A day later, I realized that I had a ginormous blister underneath my toe nail! This turned into a full blown infection by Friday, and now I am knee deep in a large dose of antibiotics. It is feeling much better though. So much so that I have signed up for a 5k next Sunday at Golden Gate Park. I am super excited about this, because I have yet to be to the city since I moved to the Bay Area. YAY!

I’m having a sort of “BLAH” day today. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all that is going on in the next few months, and a large amount of items have started to pile up on top of me. I don’t want to complain, but this is my blog, so I am going to do whatever I want.

Things that are bugging me:

My sick cat
Turning 30
School work
My thesis
I have a sunburn that is itching like crazy
Work/Selling advertising
Going home in 2 weeks

And to top it all off, I am on the Advocare 24 day challenge, day 4 to be exact, so I can’t go get junk food to make myself feel better. AHHH!

Ok, now that that is out in the open, I will end with saying that I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon today. Super excited to get my Coast to Coast medal. That will be really fun. Ok… to bed.

P.S. Believe me, I know how lucky I am that I am getting out of 40 miles with just an infected toe. I am an extremely lucky girl.

Mission: Accomplished

I am back home, back home after 39.3 miles on the roads of the Walt Disney World resort. I made it. The Goofy Challenge is complete, and I (excuse my language, but after almost 40 miles I think it is warranted) FUCKING ROCKED IT!!!! Thought I would give all my readers… if there are any… a summary of my race. So here it goes.

I have never really cared about my time when I run. It’s about completing a distance. Well that magically changed at WDW. I started the half marathon with 27,000 others on a crazy crowded course. It was jam packed with people who thought a half would be easy… very few serious runners. It was a very frustrating run, because of the crowds, and I ended up finishing in 2:45:05. My goal was 2:45:00, so I was very happy with that. I definitely thought that I could have run it 5-15 minutes faster without the mass of people I had to weed through.

I felt good the morning of the marathon, and was ready for a very hot day… A heat advisory was in effect due to the combination of temperature and humidity. As I crossed the start line, I felt amazing. Upon approaching the 5 mile mark, I realized that I was really doing great. My time was at exactly an hour, and I felt awesome. By mile 10, I was cruising. At the half way point, I realized that I had PRed from the day before, decreasing my time by 3+ minutes. It got very hot very fast on the course, and by mile 17 I started to worry a bit when I was getting the chills. I immediately made sure that my mind set was all about fluid, and I stopped at every water station there after. It continued to happen, but I was doing ok. I started really feeling the heat between mile 20 and 21, but I just slowed down a bit, and made it into Hollywood Studios with few problems. As Epcot approached, I was again cruising. It wasn’t hard, it was just a matter of continuing to move. I was nearly brain dead by the finish line, as I just couldn’t even comprehend what I had just done, but was overwhelmed with joy. I got a PR on my marathon by about 21 minutes.

So happy… I missed this amazing feeling that running give you. I am so happy to have it back, and I am not going to lose it again. More races are in my near future. Thanks for everyone’s support, kind words, and help over the past year of training. I am excited to re-evaluate my plan and continue to grow as a runner.

In the Words of Bruce Buffer…

Here We Go! I am currently sitting in the parking lot at Epcot. It is 3:14 am, and I am so ready to run this half marathon, it’s not even funny! I am so proud if myself for pushing hard enough to make the dream or running the Goofy a reality. When you work so hard for something, it makes the final experience so rewarding. But there are 2 things that are overwhelming me at the moment. The first is actually finishing all 39.9 miles with my body still intact, and the other is what I’m going to do when I get home from this. Training becomes such a huge part of your life, that’s it is super hard to be prepared for what to do next when it is finally finished.

As for now, I am going to go run…

I went back to the office today after a few weeks back in Kansas. I miss my dogs. I miss my boyfriend. Sometimes I wonder why I left. I know it was absolutely the right decision for me. I would not be happy if I had stayed in my old position at Fort Hays State. I was miserable there. I was a babysitter. I wasn’t running. I was working like 80 hours a week. It was all around a very bad situation for me. I lost myself there, which is funny, because I thought I would have everything I needed!

I am down to less than a week until I leave for Florida, and I feel that this will be a step back on the right path for me. One of the best years of my life was when I ran the first marathon 3 years ago. Running had helped me get through so many things, and being away from my family is one of those things.

I will leave you with this today, as it is how I decide my next move in life:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”- Walt Disney

Keep Moving Forward…

keep_moving_forwardWelcome to January 2013! Hard to believe that 2012 has come to an end, but I am always up for a chance to reinvent myself again by setting new goals and objectives for the upcoming days. I am heading back to California today after spending the last two weeks in Kansas. I was so sad to have to leave, knowing that I am going back to my tedious days of work, running and sleep. With the ultra-marathon just 10 days away, I am trying to prepare my body for the task of running over 40 miles in a single setting. As overwhelming a task as that seems, I am so excited. After training for 6 months, early mornings, freezing temperatures, and more Clif shot blocks than a person can count, the moment that I have been waiting for. Temperatures are scheduled to be in the 60-70’s which brings up another challenge: deciding what to run in. The wrong gear seems to be the root of any problems I have running, so I will spend the next week trying to decide what feels best on the treadmill, and hoping that I will be able to fit it all into a suitcase for the trek from San Jose to Orlando.

My mom is meeting me down there, which I have mixed feelings about. This adventure is something that I know I couldn’t do without her. She takes great care of me and has great advice for any issues that may arise. But since the A-bomb got dropped in July, or should I say GAY-bomb, my relationship with my brother, and the rest of the family for that matter has not been the same. That news was not something that I was, or am, prepared to handle, and I still have very mixed feelings about it.

California has made me a must more cynical person, and I almost hate that about myself. Everything and everyone is so impersonal, which is so much different than in the Midwest where I grew up. But life there is what I consider actual reality: bad drivers, traffic jams, lots of Asians, rushed work schedules, and beautiful scenery. Haha, that’s a funny sentence. Oh well, freedom of speech, right? I miss the innocence of Kansas, the crazy weather, the flat land, and the hometown people. You never meet any farmers in San Jose, that’s for sure.

Anyway, like I listed in my last post, I have set some goals for myself this year in hopes that I expand my horizons, fill the hole that seems to be growing larger by the day, and enjoy the beautiful state that I have the wonderful opportunity to live in.

I plan to try to make it down to Disneyland at least once a month, since I have an annual pass and have only used it once so far. I also need to make it up to The City. I have been in San Jose for 6 months, and haven’t made any trips. I want to go places to run and take photos as I don’t think that I explore my surroundings enough. 1,500 miles in 2013 is my goal. I have .65 down, and 1499.35 to go…

I have a ton of travel planned this year, from Orlando to Ohio, Birmingham to hopefully Hawaii, I can’t wait to explore these locations a lot more. I am so excited for the possibilities that lay before me, and I am grateful that I have the opportunities to see and do so many things. 2013 is going to be epic! I just know it. And the best part… I am going to share it all here, with you.