Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Flake

I was gonna share pumping bread tonight, but I didn't get any sleep last night.

I had a big thing at work today.

I am exhausted, so sleep right now.

Night. Night.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Crazy Girl

So you wanna try spin?

I did too. So I tried it.

Here are my thoughts on my VERY FIRST spin class:
1. I was really intimidated by my goddess instructor, but she was really nice about adjusting my bike. Definitly go early, and get help getting your bike set up
2. Spin is not easy, as a runner you kinda assume that all other cardio workouts can't hold candle to logging mileage. Spin is hard, after 5 minutes I wasn't sure if I could do a whole hour.
3. Spin is hard, but it's only as hard as you make it. Want a good work out? Don't phone it in. Push. Need a break? Pull off the resistance. You set the difficulty.
4. My cooter hurts. Still. My class was Sunday. A seat cushion is a must if you want to make spin a regular habit. Honestly, I am not sure how it is even feasible for dudes to do spin.
5. Falling out of your pedals really hurts, but don't make a big deal out of it.
6. Posture is important, if you want the best work out. Engage your core, no slouching.
7. All you need is a towel and water bowel, but make your water bottle isn't an open lid, lie, the basic nalgene. Spilling water everywhere is kinda awkward but it will make you look extra sweaty.
8. Everyone looks in the mirror, don't be ashamed.
9. Capris are a good idea.
10. Spin wins!

I will be back, I haven't decided how often. I think my crotch may only be able to take once a week.

Now I leave you with a Goliath pic.

Up next on the blog: Pumpkin bread and Injury Outlook

What do you love/hate about spin?
Does your pup get into trouble?
What is your favorite fall treat?


Monday, October 24, 2011

Early Mornin'

I REALLY love my bed.
It is like waaaarrrm, and comfy...and it doesn't judge me. Which is why it is really really hard for me to get out of it.

So when the occasion arose that the best time for me to exercise is in the AM I knew I would need some advanced planning. I have tried this several times, and am ashamed to say I have failed every time. Seems to be that I'd rather be well rested than well exercised, but maybe that's not too bad.

Planning started with figuring out what non-weight bearing exercise I could do, and identifying what I am likely to do and what I probably won't follow through with. I know I am pretty good at showing up to structured classes, swimming laps and yoga. So I am not going to even bother pretending like I will get on a rowing machine or stationary bike.

Next thing I did was plotted my workouts and classes.

Final step was building something important: my gym bag. Since I plan on going before class or after work, I need a lot of things. So after a week of gym classes, I have learned some ticks and tips:

The Anatomy of a Gym Bag
What I gots I in my bag:
1. Extra gym clothes for last minute work outs
2. Sneakers
3. Three pairs of socks
4. A lock
5. Water bottle
6. Two swim suits
7. Body towel
8. Sweat towel
9. Swim cap and goggles
10. Hair dryer
11. Make up remover towelettes
12. Shower stuff
13. Make up
14. Plastic bag for wet clothes
15. Flip flops

Some things that are good ideas to try:
-If you buy a new lock, practice the combination and store it in two different places, like on our cell phone.
-Scout your locker room. Make sure what you need is available. Some gyms have blow dryers built in, some gyms don't have outlets, and some shower set ups are tricky.
-Do a run through. Go to the gym on a Saturday or Sunday to make sure that what you plan to during the week is feasible.
-If you are trying new clsssses, don't be shy to talk to the instructor or other class goers. Ask questions.

Up next: What I thought of my first spin class and Pumpkin bread Recipe

Are you a gym "regular"?
What is in your gym bag?
Do you have tips for gym goers that helped you stick with a gym routine?



Sunday, October 23, 2011

Breaks the Sea

Torn Meniscus.

Maybe.

Torn MCL.

Maybe.


We won't know until my MRI in a week. Doc wants to give my knee two weeks of NSAIDs and support to let the swelling go down.

In the mean time, I am figuring out ways to manifest my anxieties and stress. Friday night, I had a wonderful dinner with my mom and her two friends at Blue Grotto in Brookside.

Sitting by a fire pit, drinking red wine and shoving food in my face was step one in grieving.

Step two was meeting my new love Andre. SwellMary brought a new puppy into her life and he is gonna be a big 'in. Great Dane. He is aaaadddoooorrrraaable!!!

My final step, was well...a picture is worth a 1,000 words right?

Up next: The Anatomy of a Gym Bag and What I thought about my first spin class.

Have you ever had a MRI?
Do you go to exercise classes? Which ones?
What's the newest song on your iPod?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Where There's Gold

So remember that time I said I needed to lose weight and then ignored that for two months?

So maybe now that I can't run, it is a good opportunity to focus on my diet and actually LOSING weight and not my mobility.

I have worked really hard on making my work space healthy. I know have talked about it before, but taken certain measures to ensure my success at work.

Drawer full of work out clothes:

Never ending supply of healthy dry goods like oatmeal and replinishing supply of hearty fruit/veggies:

Healthy Readings:

Workout necessities:

So now...I just gotta explore my exercise options. I am regular with yoga, will be hitting the pool pretty hard and MAYBE I will look into a spin class? Who knows! I need a plan.

How have you made your work space healthy?
What are your favorite non-running work outs?
Are you into new fall tv shows?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Race Recap: Kansas City Marathon

Alright, so I am going to do my best to recap and then analyze for y'all.

So Friday night I carbed up with the family that I choose. All you can eat Italian buffets can be troublesome diet wise, but when you are loading they lose. Three trips, and I was stuffed.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 4:30 and gleefully got up. Shocking.
I arrived at the race site at 5:45 am, there's something to this thing about getting there early instead of 5 minutes before the start. I had sooo much time to relax, warm up,stretch and chat with Megan.

We lined up in the corrals 15 minutes before gun time and stuck ourselves to the end. Neither of us had any desire to run with a pace group, we just wanted to run. Run by feeling. I did not even wear my garmin.

Gun time finally came and went and I said to Megan "If at the half split I try to follow you, you yell at me! Unless of course my knee hurts too bad!" she agreed and within the first mile, it did hurt.

Attitude can go a long way. I told myself all week, all morning and throughout the first mile: you do this because you love it. PROVE IT. Prove that you love it. So I did, Megan and I rocked out mile after mile.

Everything seemed like I was learning from last year's mistakes, Everything seemed if I was finally giving myself the perfect marathon experience.

Megan unfortunately had to split off around mile eight, and I have to admit-she is the wind beneath my wings. Dear Megan, thank you. I love you. Sincerely, Julia. Our miles together were excellent, we had fun and were not in agony.

We said our goodbyes and I got a little teary eyed. It was emotional. I was doing it, I felt it, I was doing. Alone. There is a real sobering moment when you have to realize that the only thing you have to lean on is you. That only YOU will get you through this.

At mile 9, Logan was there waiting for me. I walked through the aid station, hugged him and walked until my water was gone, he wished me luck and said he'd see me again in about 9 miles. What a daunting thought: 9 Miles until a recognizable face.
I took off and breezed through the next few miles, of course my knee was still bothering, but I consciously reminded myself that attitude was everything, that positivity can go a long way-maybe 26.2 miles, and that the right song can make anything happen.

I went though the aid station at mile 11 all by myself, there weren't other runners for a minutes. I felt like a celebrity. The full in KC is VERY thin, so even with no one around I was still mid pack.

Right after the aid station, I expected a long-drawn out incline that I had planned on walking. As I walked up this mountain, a pace group caught my tail and asked me if I was ok. Strange? Why would they ask me that? It was at this point that I finally realized I was limping. They encouraged me to run with them and stick with a group. So I did.

That pace group was a two edged sword. It was super encouraging, but I also am not a fan of being with a group. They got me through the next few miles. A great bunch of people, and I know they all finished strong. We all passed the half way mark together, cheered and continued on.

The next mile is kind of blurry. All I remember is a lot of pain. All I remember is my knee hurting but my brain telling me to overcome it. I called Logan and said that I hurt, he said he was a few miles ahead. He asked if I could get there, and I thought I could.

I continued to try to put one foot in front of the other. Then my right leg started to cramp. I took some sodium shots and tried to wait for them to hit. The compensation my right leg was making to keep my left knee from buckling felt murderous.

Volunteers at the aid station at 14 yelled at me to stretch and to keep my chin up. I felt tears pour out of my eyes. I couldn't stop them, they jutted out without permission. I fought to make them stop.
It was kind of odd, I was sobbing and couldn't really explain why. It was my body reacting to the pain, I just wasn't denying it. I wanted this so bad, and I wasn't going to let it go.

Sometimes though, it's not up to you. As I crossed an intersection, an office who has sworn to serve and protect, protected me from injuring myself further. He instructed me to stop. He help out his hand like traffic. Like I was a speeding sedan. I stopped confused. He was mouthing something, and I took out my headphones as he said "...ambulence." For who? He repeated:

"I'm sorry, but if you stay on this course I am going to have to call you an ambulence."
So I walked off the course. I don't need a $500 ambulence bill, $100 ER copay and several hours of time to know that I shouldn't have been running. I called Logan and my friends in tears, gave them my cross streets and they rescued me.

I just really don't like people telling me I can't do things.

Monday, October 17, 2011

That's Not My Name

Oook so let us talk about the marathon.

I really DON'T want to talk about the marathons, but I need to.

Here is what I will say for now:

The first 14 miles were the best miles of my life.

I did not finish.

I am really depressed.

An ambulance was called. Don't worry it was for liability purposes, it wasnt serious.

I did not get out of bed until this morning, to go to the doctor.

My knee finally gave out

So I gave up.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Hard to Control When it Begins

Today, packets get picked up.
Tomorrow, pasta gets eaten.
Then, 26.2 gets ran.


Um, yes please.

This year's expos was pretty jammin.

Chobani came and gave me tons of free yogurt!


KCRC reppin' strong! Signed up for the heartland 39.3 series...more on that later.

And of course, I got me a new bondi. I think it is appropriate right?


Anyone racing this weekend?
Do you like race expos?
How early do you like to register for races?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Without You

So iOS5...What's that about??

Ironically, I am blogging from my macbook that never got updated from OSX to leopard, and can't even support an ipod shuffle, as my iPad updates to iOS5...

So as I am using my laptop and my new found pride and joy, I was forced to flip through some old photos.  This is the laptop I bought for college, and honestly in the last year I have probably used it twice.  It's been neglected, which should never happen to any apple produce.  This evening I reluctantly forced myself to do those tedius tasks like deauthorize my itunes account on this device, sync my media to another hard drive and sort through old photos.  The last being the most dreaded of them all.

What is it about a photo that regardless of how terrible it is or what emotion it evokes, it's hard to delete?  I guess, for me at least, it has to do with the fact that a photograph captures a moment and if you delete that moment is gone, despite what connotation it carries.

I have flipped some of the most useless photos tonight, and can't bring myself to dispose of any of them.  Some of them serve a purpose though.  Some might say what I am about to do serves no positive purpose, but I want to share with you some photos of me.  Pictures of a time in my life where I was happy, but not happy with myself.  A time before I changed and a time before I ever even thought about changing.   

The before the Before pictures if you will:




To be fair, I did not go through all my pictures and select the worst ones. I just wanted ones that didn't have uncosenting friends in them.  

Why share these?  Well, why not?  These aren't my "fat' pictures, because at the time I certainly didn't see myself that way, no I was not comfortable but what late teen is?  In a few short years though, I'd reach my breaking point.  And now, almost five years later I feel better than I ever have.  It's weird to look back at my before-the before pictures and kinda feel uneasy because even though I felt okay about myself then, I feel confident about myself now. 

So like my new iOS 5 update that is taking five years to download, I too took five years to upgrade.  I just had one of those "daaamnnn! you look good moments" and a girl needs that every once in a while.  

Do you delete photos?
Have you ever used photos to reaffirm yourself?
Any of you Apple users update yet??

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

An Adventure

hm mm....

I keep starrrrrring at this picture to make sure I REALLY want to run 26.2 on Saturday....

Monday, October 10, 2011

All Night Long

Uhmmmmm.....holy poop....I AM STILL ALIVE!!!

When you are use to posting regularly, or at least attempt it...it seems like FFOOREVERRRR when you miss a week.

Unfortunately, I don't have people chomping at the bit to be guest posters so the blog suffers.

I am not really sorry about not posting because my life is crazy. What I AM sorry about is not keeping up with YOUR blogs. I have to admit my reader is a monster right now, and it is totally overhwelming me. So I am just gonna give myself a mulligan, mark all as read...and start fresh. Sorry loves!

So what have I been up to??

Running 5ks with my BFFs
hmmm...I should do a recap on that!

Eating lots of food

Training for the KC Marathon

Playing at the dog park

Teaching Yoga

Planning Wellness sessions

Eating MOAR food

Winning Volleyball leagues

What have you been up to lately??

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Thistle & Weeds

Howdy y'all!

I am feeling much better after one of the worst stomach viruses ever, it has literally taken me a week to feel normal.

It started Monday, and I forced myself to get back to school and work Thursday. Yesterday, I felt like myself and this morning I finally ran.

Yesterday, was a good day with G-Bonez. I always feel so guilty when I can't get him out of the house like I should, so I rewarded him a long trip to the dog beach...like I do every Saturday. So the usual.

Can I just say I can't stand the people who go the dog park and then complain about other people's dogs when they act like a dog. Every single time there is always some bitter Betty or poopy Peter who talks mad smack and makes a scene. Por ejemplo, yesterday there was a big German shopherd who was bery emphatic abou a stick. He would walk up to people with the stick in his mouth, over and over and over people kept reaching for the stick out of his mouth and he would subsequuently snap at them. He broke the skin on two people. One of which, made a giant scene and confronted the owner. The owner just apologized, but when that wasn't good enough the bitter bitten Betty made a slanderous scene. Here's a tip, for EVERYONE not just infrequent dog park goers, not just for people who don't know much about dogs, for EVERYONE:
DO NOT REACH FOR OBJECTS IN A FOREIGN DOG'S MOUTH.

I have never been bit at the dog park, wanna know why? I don't try to steal from dogs I am not friends with.

Have you ever seen people make scenes at dog parks?
What was it about?
Ever been bit by a dog?