back at it ... again

i'm a horrible blogger. i think i say that every time i decide i want to blog again; and it last 24 hours. i want to try this again!!!

a few weeks ago i ran my 2nd half marathon. i wanted to run a marathon, really really bad but it just wasn't in the stars. after about 2 weeks of training i realized i just wasn't ready for that. my ankle was stinky and doing a half was a much better option. i finished my half marathon in 2:59:45, 25 minutes and 8 seconds slower than my last half. my ankle was stinky but i was proud of myself for finishing. so now i will work my ass off for the next 10 months and will run a marathon next october. watch me.

right now i've got to work on getting my training under control and eating healthier, so we're off.

today i tried a new recipe and it was delish. egg roll in a bowl. so easy and chris even loved it. that's all it takes to be a winner in my book.

catch you next time, living on cloud 9! 

Food, food, food!!

I feel like I haven't done much of anything, except eat lately. I've been watching my food intake and counting my protein, carbs and fat grams. I haven't made too much of anything important but tonight I made something delicious!! I made talipia and broccoli. I also made sweet potatoes but I couldn't even start it!! Here's a not-so-professional photo! 

On Wednesday I'm headed to Las Vegas for an Optimist International Convention. It's going to be a tough 5 days of not being able to make my own food and working out on my own. I'm packing work out clothes for every day so I'll feel guilty for not hitting the hotel gym. I mean, if there's a good hotel gym it's going to be Caesar's Palace, right?!??

When I get back I'm hoping to get down to serious marathon training with Mary! 

I'll plan on taking at least one desert run this weekend, I'll let you know how it goes!!

road to 26.2

I told myself last October that someone would have to be crazy to ever want to run a marathon... Well I guess I always knew I was a bit nuts!!

In March I sprained my ankle pretty bad while training for a half marathon (not due to training) and while I spent 3 weeks in a walking boot I convinced/talked myself into running a marathon. And that's what I'll do.

I feel like whenever I tell someone I want to do a marathon they look at me with that "you'll never make it" smile and say "that's awesome." I guess I don't look like I can run a marathon, but whatever. I'm going to do it. I know that my body is stronger than my mind wants it to be but I've made up my mind so 26.2 here we come.

I guess I'll blog about it because isn't that what everyone my age does? I am starting my marathon training today. I have done CrossFit for the last 22 months but I can't say I'm always consistent. So that has to change as of today; and obviously throw in lots and lots of running. I wouldn't say my diet is treacherous but I know it needs work so that is also something that I really have to hone in on in the next 4 months.

I want to blog about it because I love writing but most of the time let it fall to the bottom of my to-do list. I'll be getting faster and carving out some blog time!

Since today was my first day of unofficial training I'm really working on diet! I've been reading the Eat to Preform method of nutrition and I think that it is really going to work for me. So I've started.

I'll attempt to take more pictures of my food as well!! Especially if I try new recipes!

TODAY:

I started off the day with breakfast... 3 pieces of bacon and 2 eggs.

snack... I made a black bean dip with onions and oil/vinegar and told my running coach about it. She reminded me that corn is tiny nuggets of sugar and that using corn chips for dipping wasn't a good idea. Now I have to find a dipping substitute.

For lunch... I had Trader Joe's frozen chicken taquitos. I'm sure it wasn't the best thing for me but they were delicious!

And dinner, I'm proud of... garlic chili tilapia (I just bought it from the Trader Joe's meat section) and broccoli bites! Some times I get bored of just steamed broccoli so I thought I'd try something new. It was pretty delicious.


I have been in a bad habit of not getting out of bed in the morning so I missed morning classes and hit up the 5:30 p.m. class tonight. Squatting was rough... I feel like my back squat weight should be so much more than the 125 lbs. I did tonight but I'll just keep hitting it until I get something I'm pleased with. We also did strict presses... Not the best at those but was satisfied with my 3 sets of 5 reps at 60 lbs. The WOD was a quick 30 seconds on/30 seconds off slam balls then burpees for 4 minutes. 4 minute killer workouts are my favorite!

See y'all tomorrow!

Sprint Ladder

Tonight I ran lots of sprints. Now in my world, sprints aren't that fast, but whatevs. Tonight during my half marathon training we did a 'sprint ladder.' If you've never done this, and you're training for any type of race, I highly recommend it. It will help increase your endurance and make you very out of breathe.

We have the wonderful Mary Cates to thank for this great work out. Give it a try!

Sprint 1 minute

rest 50 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 40 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 30 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 20 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 10 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 10 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 20 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 30 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 40 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

rest 50 seconds

Sprint 1 minute

You can cuss Mary while you're doing it (I always do) but you'll thank her later!

New Year, New You!

The new year is about at time for starting over and making things happen. I mean, that's what I've heard.

Well here's to 2014 - ready or not!!

I want to make some resolutions for 2014, ones that I will actually stick to. So here we go:

1. Make more time for Jesus. I bought a new Rosary last fall and I haven't used it. I want to use that more.

2. More working out. This is too cliche but it's something I need to do. CrossFit regularly, all year. Run, run, run. Do at least 1 half marathon. And do something else physical that is outside my comfort zone. 

3. Less phone time. I'm obsessed with my iPhone. It's a little insane. I'm going to work on putting it down and focus more on relationships and less social media. 

4. Manage money better. I want to pay off my debts and save money for a house, or something. 

5. Love better. Say thank you more, say please more and love more.

6. Stop reading junk. Stop reading junk books and read something that will expand my knowledge professionally and spiritually. 

7. Find something new that makes me genuinely happy. This just can't end bad. And it goes well with number five. 

What are your resolutions. Eat more cupcakes? 

You ran a marathon? Oh that's cute.

I didn't run a marathon, I wish.

My very special running coach and friend did something amazing last weekend. I've spent the last week thinking about this blog post and what exactly to say. Mary says she's a writer so I'm nervous that I might let her down!!

Well like I said Mary did something crazy last weekend. SHE RAN 100 MILES. AT ONE TIME!!!!! I told her via Twitter that I was trying to come up with something inspirational but all I could come up with is that she's crazy. And it's true. But I love her.

So this woman, ran 100 miles. And it wasn't like it was just her, 55 people had signed up for this. Apparently there are things called "ultra marathons." They sound painful to me. But they're popular and for a special kind of person.

As a testament to how amazing of a woman Mary is she had lots of friends out there on that 11.1 mile loop with her during her 26ish hour journey. I even ventured out to watch the crazy. I decided to take the 2 a.m. shift because what else did I have to do at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I pulled in the parking lot around 1:30 a.m. and sat waiting for Mary and crew to arrive. I got to watch one man cross the finish line around hour 17. That's insane and I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it.

When Mary came through she looked amaze-balls. She was around mile 77ish of her journey. It was cold and she was killing it. Walking up hills and jogging the rest of the course. I had planned to ride my bike with her for five or six miles; when I got there I realized I hadn't been on a bike in 99 years. Mary wasn't running her usually 100 mph so I decided just to suck it up and run with her. So I ventured off.... for an entire 11.1 mile loop. I have no idea how she did that loop plus eight more. It was a bit chilly and I want to complain about it but Mary did more and I haven't heard her complain at all so it's really hard to complain, especially in public.

It's hard to even put into words how proud of Mary I am. She's a trooper. And just awesome. And crazy. And insane. It was fun watching all the other runners out there too. They were looking kind of loopy around 6 a.m. when I left but they'd been walking/running for 22ish hours so I don't blame them. I wish I had that kind of whatever it takes. Maybe just a love for running.

At one point Mary said, "look at that man, he's swaying." Only to be responded with, "that's what people out at 3 a.m. are supposed to look like."

I mainly want everyone to know how amazing Mary is. And that if you want to run 100 miles let me know and I'll tell you how amazing you are too.

Let's do this!

Let's do this... aka get caught up since I apparently have been too busy to blog in 2 months.

November was a interesting month. I was counting down the days until my 24th birthday and freaking out that I may be having a quarter life crisis. So when Chris told me I could go pick out a kitten the weekend before my birthday my crisis stopped and I was freaking excited. We went to Young Williams Animal Shelter because they were having a cat sale and I adopted an adorable black kitten for $50! He was neutered, had all his shots and a perfect fit for me. HE EVEN LICKED MY FACE!!! I was super excited about taking my dog-cat home. I named him Nauts (like boating stuff) and he's my newest best friend. Except when he farts, which is a lot. He's sitting on my chest right now and just farted, it's disgusting. I didn't know cats actually farted, I thought they were clean and smelled good. Also, his liter box stinks and is kind of gross. But, he's totally worth it. He has my personality and loves hanging out with me, which is exactly what I wanted in a kitty.

I had a fun little birthday weekend; Chris and I went to the last UT game and went out with my parents and some of their friends.

I went to work on Tuesday and found out that my boss was no longer going to be my boss. That was a shock. I had become very close to her and was super upset that I wouldn't be able to work with her any more. Then on Wednesday I found out that I was no longer going to be employed.  Ummm, COMPLETE SHOCK! Due to restructuring I had been laid off. It was a shock and not something that I ever thought that I'd actually have to go through. So, since then I've filled for unemployment, worked a 2nd job at Pandora for the holidays (which was supposed to just be an extra job for extra Christmas cash) and tried to hold myself together.

I feel like I've held it all together pretty well. I obviously cried the day I got laid off but since then I think I've only cried maybe once. Until today. I lost it. I'm not sure why I'm even sharing this. Loosing your job sucks. I finally moved out on my own and thought that I could be an adult and hold it all together without my parents help. NEWS FLASH I CAN'T!! Well, I cried a lot this morning and couldn't figure out all this unemployment stuff. But I'm better now. I applied for 4 jobs today, maybe one will work out.

Mom says, "when one door opens another closes" I'm praying she's right. She usually is. So, if you're a praying person pray that I'll find a job and can pull my life together, again. BUT, there are a lot of people going through a lot worse than me. So I'm going to be grateful for the things I have and the opportunities that I can make for myself. Please keep positive thoughts for those people too!!

Christmas fun! I love this holiday; there is so much love and joy how can you not like it!!

But Christmas and the New Year have passed and I get to do something really fun this weekend, help my running coach run 100 miles! And by help I mean ride my bike beside her because she's too fast and chat with her. I've got some hot pink pants to wear and I'm wearing my puffy vest to channel my inner Mary. I'm super excited about taking the 2 a.m. shift. Think of us at 2 a.m. Mary will be running from 8 a.m. on Saturday until around 6 a.m. on Sunday. She's an animal and I love her for it!

I think I'm done updating you all. Since I guess I won't have a job for a few more weeks (hopefully not too long) I will make an effort to blog more.

Here's to a happy, healthy 2014 full of fun blog posts!