Called Out

Ok, I get it.

I haven’t posted much recently. You know it’s bad when fellow bloggers start calling you out on it.  Sorry, Paige.

However, here I am!

And thanks for all the well wishes on the back and sympathy for my pathetic inability to go down a flight of stairs correctly. Handrails are there for a reason, guys. Use them.

Anyway, throughout the rest of the week, my fear of having actually serious injuring myself waned and it seems I’m just a wee bit tender in the lower back region. So I’m comfortable starting up the routine again, but staying off of strength training for a little while longer.

I’m not upset about this. We all know how I feel about using weights. Gross.

By Thursday night, it was decided I could totally go back to my normal morning routine and hit the gym on Friday morning to make friends again with the elliptical.

Friday morning came around. And after four days of sleeping in, why take my chances?  I went for the fifth and swore to make it in today, instead.

I would have felt bad about it, but was instead in an obnoxiously perky mood. Let’s blame overcaffeination that wasn’t necessary because I was extremely well-rested. And the fact that my employer announced we were allowed to wear jeans to work through the end of the holidays.

For an announcement like this to make me literally get up and do a happy dance, it’s clear my life is only average.

Anyway, some of the Chicago Running Girlies decided to congregate with our version of a holiday party (yeah- running is involved), so that is where I’m off to at the moment. Since I wanted to ease back into the working out thing, I sadly decided it would be safer to elliptical my morning away before meeting up with them post-run. Safety first. Blah.

And because you never go to a party empty-handed, I had a mini-marathon baking night with an old coworker last night in preparation.

Snickerdoodles with a white chocolate center and chubby hubby truffles. Excuse the truffles, they need tweaking. However, I don’t even love cinnamon that much and totally went gaga over the snickerdoodles. You should make them. Like yesterday.

We decided to double recipes just to make sure our respective significant others could receive an equal sugar rush. Because the way to a man’s heart is obviously baked goods and steak.

And we all know I don’t know how to make steak.

Happy Saturday, everyone. I cannot think of a way to express my sadness over the current events, but I will say hug everyone a little tighter and treasure the company of those around you. Holiday love. Make it happen.

 

Forced Rest

I’m not even sure where to begin.

I guess we could start with how my gym routine had been going.

Lackluster. The theme of last week.

We all know when it’s time to take a few days off. When you need more than just the obligatory rest day of the week. A break of a few days. Maybe because your body is showing signs of exhaustion. Maybe because your motivation is nonexistent.

I was going through all of that. However, by being a creature of habit, admitting it wasn’t likely.

Then Friday happened.

That Amy carries herself with such grace and poise. Said no one ever.

Clumsy. Accident-prone. Hot mess.

I pretend these things are “endearing”. “Adorable”.

Don’t tell me otherwise.

So when we called Friday a “night in” and changed into lounge pants and hurry down the steep hardwood stairs in my apartment?

How I made it 18 months without doing it is beyond me. But you can imagine the spectacle that happened to cause 3 matching bruises, one for each stair, that my backside slammed into in one spectacularly grand motion.

I’m personally partial to the bruise on my booty. It’s a prettier shade of purple than the rest.

At least a cracked tailbone didn’t occur like the last time I flew down stairs in socks.

Win?

Maybe. My lower back seems to have gotten the worst of it. Needless to say, I haven’t seen the inside of my gym since last week. Nor have I lifted anything heavier than my work bag.

Whether I like it or not, it seems to be this is the chosen week for a break from exercise.

I’m a little perturbed I wasn’t allowed to make this choice on my own, or just taken 2-3 days instead of 4-5. But it’s time to stop dwelling on it.

At least, since it’s the holidays, I have plenty to do.

And now that I’m in two book clubs, hilariously since I can barely keep up with one, there’s that.

And all the friends I can meet up with for foodie dates with awesome bloggie peeps. Especially awesome peeps who live in my neck of the woods and our meetups (although a rare occasion) are nonstop gab fests.

Got adventurous and went with the Healthy Parm with chicken and quinoa. A possible new favorite…

Now that I think about it, that extra hourish of sleep in the morning has been nice…

Don’t feel bad for me just yet.

Now if this stretches into next week…

… someone may lose their head…

Good to go!

That’s what the doctor told me yesterday.

We discussed in detail what has been going on the last month or so, and he said that “clicking” feeling I’ve been concerned about is actually more normal than I realize and it’s good to be proactive, but I shouldn’t be overly concerned about this one.

He bent my leg every which way it would go (I’m not that flexible, so it didn’t take long), he thinks the pain I had been experiencing was just overuse and not related to the pop he felt during one rotation. When that happens, he said to take some time off  and I shouldn’t be concerned until the specific “ache” just doens’t get better.

Well ok then. It was an expensive 15 minutes of my life, but the reassurance was nice. After dealing with crutches and taking 8 weeks off at the beginning of last year, I was starting to work myself up in a tizzy of all the things that could possibly be wrong with it.

Even though I’m still obviously cutting back on running quite a bit, at least we know my leg won’t be falling off any time soon. Whew.

At least one good thing of it all? I’ve been focusing a little more on my strength training. Or at least on my Jillian Michaels dvds- which may not be hard core to some, but it’s about as good as it gets for me. When it comes to weights, I lack any kind of motivation to do them. Someone needs to be barking orders.

To celebrate my non-injury (I guess?), I met up with Mon at the gym after work. We needed to catch up on each other’s weekends, and because of the threat of rain, we chose to walk side by side on the treadmills. Cute, right? 

We’re nerds.

What was not cute was the skunk that ran out in front of me on the way home. He’s been around for a while now. My friend Bailey has lovingly named it Petunia.

And then she called the office building and lovingly said, “Petunia needs to die”.

Clearly that has not been taken care of just yet. Because we had a stare down in the parking lot- both parties frozen in terror. After about 10 seconds, he bolted to the right. And I promptly bolted to the left.

My heart is still recovering.

Had it already been Tuesday, the worst day of the week, god knows what might have gone down.

But instead, it’s Tuesday now. Let’s hope my planned run tonight will go well. And that I don’t run into Petunia on the way home.

Because we’re not friends. And he’s got fire in his eyes. I’ve seen it.

Your turn- scariest/funniest/weirdest run-in with a wild animal.

Aaaaannnndddd go!

Better Than Expected

I’m a bit happier today. If you didn’t pick up on that from the title.

And before we get too into things- a lot of people were confused about the leg situation. Sooo….

Does it hurt all the time? No- not at all.

Does it hurt when you run? Sort of- it was beginning to. That’s when it was decided to start dropping in rest days last week and cancel the long run last weekend.

If it’s not a muscle thing, what is it? Not sure. Possibly going to get it checked out next week if there are any more issues. I pulled a pretty stupid move about a year and a half ago and kept running until I could barely walk once I got off the treadmill (hey- live and learn, right?). Turns out it was a stress reaction on the upper part of my femur. Long story short, it’s basically what happens right before you fracture a bone. Expect to not run and pretty much stay off your feet for 6-8 weeks. Good stuff.

Needless to say, I freak out a little any time I think I’m getting that “feeling” again.

But after having the whole work week off and being more than a little irritable, it was time to hit the workout room to see where I stand. Nothing crazy. 20 minutes on the elliptical and everything was fine.

Maybe just run oooonnnnneeeee mile… just to see…

A slow mile. But it went ok. And this morning I still feel ok. And that makes me happy. 

I’m not feeling 100% comfortable yet, though. But I am feeling really good about still being able to run the half marathon next weekend. My planned runs are obviously going to be scaled back (more rest days, less mileage) and it’s not going to be my best run (by far), but damnit, I’m doing it.  Muah!

Anyway, this is reason enough for me to be happy. Among other good reasons. Like hello- it’s FRIDAY. And hello- BASEBALL HAS STARTED!

My Cards may have not the most ideal start to the season last night… but everyone needs a warm-up, right?

Apparently I missed the memo (for the last 3 years?) that many Chicagoans find this reason enough to call it a holiday and aren’t working today. Not too worried about it. I’m getting my time in today, hopefully missing out on all the rain, and will be hopping around (without too much strain on the leg, of course) in one of my favorite neighborhoods tomooooorrrrrrrooooowwwww!Have a great weekend!

What I’ve Been Up To

I’m so glad some of you were interested in trying the scotcheroos!  Seriously- you will not be disappointed.

And a couple of you asked if you can substitute something for the corn syrup. Well… I’ve never tried it. But a google search let me in on the secret- yes, you can sub a combo of sugar and water. Not surprising…

Speaking of google searches, someone found my blog by google searching “is there an actual city called crazy town?”. Well Mr. Unknown, I do not know the answer to that. But if there is, I am definitely an interested party. I may be moving there sooner than later…

Anyway, the lack of my regular routine has also resulted in lack of regular posting. The non-routine thing has me all in a tizzy with all these sudden rest days. And a bit of a bad mood. Thanks, leg. I guess as much as I’d love to be, there will never be a day where I can truly consider myself “spontaneous”. Lame. 

What does this mean?  Well… I had a few moments where I sorta looked like this dude.

And then I cleaned. Thanks to a crazy roommate from back in the day, I don’t like having dishes in the sink. Like at all. If they start to build up (as in more than 2 bowls are sitting there), I get all anxious she’s going to storm through the door and yell at me.

Clearly I’m scarred for life. And like to think of myself as Cinderella.

Any good roommate stories? I’ll have to ponder a while to figure out my best one…

I also grocery shopped. And- ahem- stopped by the mall. Retail therapy… ya know?

My thought process is that if I eat all the groceries I bought…… maybe I’ll also enjoy my apparel purchases a little more? 

This made me happy, but soon I looked like that dude again.

So yeah. Not too much going on here.

And I can’t escape how I really feel… grrrr.

Don’t get me wrong- it’s nice to have some rest time. But I’d rather be getting myself ready for this silly little half marathon thing I’ve got going on in about 10 days. Actually enjoy the rest time- after the race. Instead of just sitting around restless and anxious now. Meh.

Because I’ve got limitations on being able to properly prepare, I’ve at least made some rules. Mostly to keep myself from getting any more sluggish than I already am at the moment. (Does anyone else notice when you’ve got way too much downtime that you just get more and more lazy? Or is that just me?)

No wine. Lots of veggies (um… duh?). And don’t forget the protein!The ice melted funny.

I put asparagus and broccoli with the eggs, so we’re just gonna say that’s what cancels out the cream cheese spread on the bread, mmmk?

Because I had the time, and didn’t want to stop the baking extravaganza with scotcheroos, there was also some more honey oat quick bread thrown together. With walnuts added in- a must do.

Like mentioned, there hasn’t been a lot of action on the workout front (other than random situps here and there, some pushups, swearing, maybe throwing a few things, etc etc). Tonight I will be hitting the gym to see what’s going on with the whole situation with that weird feeling I’ve got in the left leggie. As in, I’m going to hit the elliptical for a bit to get in some decent cardio while loosening up and then see how the treadmill goes.

It’s not a muscle thing. That I know. I also know it will take all of 20 seconds on the treadmill to figure where I stand on it (puns!).

Wish me luck.

Or give me some advice if you have it.

Either/or.

Thursday Randoms

As the title (and the name of my blog) suggests, it’s going to be just that.  Hold on tight and try not to get lost. 

I’m glad you guys liked some of the tips for not overdoing the sweets last night.  I was somewhat nervous about posting it since diet choices/lifestyles can be such a personal and sometimes touchy subject.

New google search terms that people used to get to my blog that are worth mentioning:

What are the seats like at second city?  I assume you mean the Second City Theater.  I can answer that for you.  It’s tight seating and cabaret-style.  Please don’t let this deter you from going.  It’s a great time and they’re nonstop hilarious.  You’re welcome.

Saw Russell Brand walking down the street. I’m sort of  jealous of you mystery google-search-person…

Bug Went Up Nose.  I’m sorry.  That sucks.  I’ve been there.  We actually had the debate a few months ago here on the blog.  That’s still not as bad as having a bug fly into your eye.  I promise you.

It’s Friday Bitches.  Sounds like someone’s pretty excited.  One more day… woot woot.

Ok, enough of that and moving on…

Lunch yesterday was spent at a nearby grocery store.  We were having a meeting that included pizza and adult beverages and I was more than happy to make the beer run because it gave me an excuse to get out of the office for a bit.  So I got out and tacked it on to the end of my lunch. Didn’t mind a bit!  The grocery store next to me has a seating area for all of us lunchers who need to escape, so I hit up the salad bar and settled down there for some down time.I’m still working through the book I won from Leah a few weeks ago in a giveaway.  I really do like it so far- but I’m still only a little over half way through it…

The salad bar is an issue that Low also just discussed.  The grocery store salad bar is a definite step up (and considerably cheaper) than the one in the cafeteria in my office building.  My fav salad bars are the ones that include more than just “standards”- you know what they are- wilting lettuce, cauliflower, croutons, tomatoes, suspicious-looking pasta salad… 

I was considerably happy with my salad today.  Some of that had to do with the fact that I had the sense to buy a bottle of salad dressing beforehand.  Everything offered at the bar is cream-based except for olive oil.  And I’m not a huge fan of just oil.  So that was a good idea on my part.  Also, I never get my carrots.  And check it out!  They’re so cute hanging out in the corner…   Finally, sometimes I like onions.  Red onions in particular.  Take note- please make sure to have an adequate amount of gum after eating said red onions.  Don’t be that person… (this has been my public service announcement of the week)

My only thing is that they have a crappy selection of containers.  I had to fill my, for lack of a better word, TUB with salad and make sure to not go overboard at the same time.  I have no idea how people can fill and then eat the entire thing.  Whew!

Ok- I’m feeling goofy, so do we have any really good salad bar horror stories? 

I ran last night.  Yes.  Yes I did.  As you may have read yesterday, I was a little nervous.  The shins are throwing some fits and we’re having issues coming to an understanding.  Not so much an understanding, but a realization of who’s boss up in here.  I wore my new shoes and let me just say- running in those babies is like running on the clouds.  Wonderfulness.  Hey Fleet Feet dude- I don’t remember your name, but you ROCK.  I may love you.  Just a little. No restraining order necessary.  Promise.

Anyways, I got lost for a minute there… So I ran three miles.  And then I slowed down and walked to feel out the situation at hand.  I felt ok.  Not winded at all.  But, most importantly, the leg felt ok.  So I breezed through another mile and called it a night.  This morning I feel fine.  We’re still being diligent about icing and listening to the legs.  But I’m hoping this means I’m in the clear. 

Happy Thursday everyone!  I’ve got a day of work and then am picking up my friends at the airport!  I still have to work tomorrow, but having visitors here will hopefully make it go by quickly!    See ya later!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

*Ok before my regularly scheduled post, can I just make mention of the news that Vince Vaughn and his wife are expecting their first child?  If my heart wasn’t broken enough when he got married, it definitely is now…  *sigh.

Moving on…

So it’s well known over here at SCR that I usually do not enjoy Tuesdays.  Does baking help combat this?

It really does.

After my last few baking extravaganzas for my friend Jaime’s wedding and for Annie’s birthday, I took a bit of a break.  But I’ve been feeling the need to break out the mixer again.  So after much thought,  I decided to do my own version of Martha Stewart’s Kitchen Sink Cookies.  I really needed to get in that peanut butter and chocolate combo somehow or another.  And I wanted oatmeal in them.  And white chocolate…  Ok fine- I couldn’t decide and really wanted to find a way to make it all work…

I followed the recipe exactly until it got to the mix-ins:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup M&M’s

3/4 cup Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups

I would have thrown coconut in there, but some people aren’t big fans (can you believe it?!?!  the horror!).  Just in case my friends aren’t, I kept it out.  But next time… it’s so on…It’s like candy heaven in a bowl.  Nom nom nom…

Now here’s where it differs between my baking and Martha’s…  Mine did not take the full 16 – 18 minutes.  I probably took each pan out after 12-13 minutes.  Also, I didn’t get close to 4 dozen- mine came closer to 3.  Now, this could be because I am a cookie monster and had more than my fair share of cookie dough (yeah, I’m a taster).  But it may also be because my idea of cookie size differs a bit from Martha’s.  Either way, they turned out!Happiness.  Cookies are seriously my favorite.  And I rarely make them.  This is a problem that I should fix.

Now don’t think my dinner consisted of butter and sugar (although would that really be such a bad thing?).  I went for another breakfast for dinner session:Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and yellow peppers.  Not the first combo you’d probably think of- but because of need to grocery shop and sheer curiosity, it happened.  And it worked out!

I know the dinner isn’t as pretty as it was delicious.  Sorry.  There’s only so much I can do about that. 

Let me distract you with pretty pics of more cookies!Since last night more than took care of my sweet tooth, I made the oatmeal a little more savory than usual:Some crushed Quaker Oatmeal Squares on the underneath paired with sunflower seed butter and sunflower seeds.  Good stuff.

Is it just me or does sunflower seed butter always look just kind of “ickish” as it sits like a little puddle in my oatmeal?  Hmmm…

I’m up in the air again about my workout tonight.  I feel sort of stuck.  I’ve been resting the leg a little more recently as to not hurt it any more than that sore feeling I’m getting.  But I feel the pressure of the lack of days left between me and the half marathon.  Without working out, I’m scared of being underprepared.  With working out, I risk injury.  It’s a vicious bitch of a cycle and I’m frustrated about it.  Tonight is supposed to be a run night, which I’m just going to start out on the treadmill.  If it starts to bug me, I’m cutting it off and hitting the elliptical.  If it bugs me on that thing, we’ll just do weights and call it a night.  Sound like a plan?  I thought so…

Taking some time off for peeps coming into town this week for a visit may be a blessing in disguise.

Now where’s that stupid calcium supplement of mine?

Overpronation

Thank you so much for all the advice about shin splints.  Like I said, it’s really never been a painful issue, just an “off” feeling setting in.  And I’m glad that I’ve had the common sense to chill out a few days and even move my long run day as to not press the issue.

Sounds like more stretching and ice will be involved in my regular routine…

That being said… I made the decision to do the long run yesterday.  I’m just going to throw that out there…

I hesitated a bit in the morning.  I really couldn’t decide what to do.  Everything felt ok.  It felt better than the 3-4 previous days.  So I decided just to go to the trail.  And told myself if I had any issues, I’d just walk the rest of the loop that I was on, and maybe go do the bike or elliptical for a little low impact workout.

I had  no issues!  And ran the whole 9 miles I had set out to do.  Now, before you think I’m completely up the wall nuts, I will say I did take a few extended breaks for water and walking around to make sure everything was still “doing ok”.  The only thing that made the last mile and a half really hard for me (and I seriously had an argument in my head about if I should finish it) was because it was starting to get ridiculously hot and because I had taken walk breaks, it had only extended my run that much further into warmer temps.  Ick.

Final stats?  (breaks not included)  9 miles at an 8:38 pace.  Like I said, usually, I just keep the time going because I take super short water breaks, but had stopped my Nike+ this time because the breaks were much longer.  Either way, I’m happy with it.  And I made sure to ice myself down after I got home.  :)  So far we’re all good and back in business…  I’m just being really good at icing down after workouts now just to be safe.  Yea!

I also ran some errands.  Which included a trip to Fleet Feet!  I have been due for a new pair of shoes and was yet to get my stride analyzed and be properly fitted.  And since I want to make sure to have enough time to break them in before the half marathon, I figured this was as good of a day as any to go.

They are just AWESOME at the store.  The guy helping me was so nice and answered every little dumb question I had.  After having me put on a pair of test shoes and jog a little, he concluded I was with a good number of runners who overpronate, which basically means the feet roll a little too much inward when I take a step. Any other overpronaters out there?  Holla’!  So to neutralize the issue, we looked for a shoe with moderate support.  He also asked me what kind of running I do, how often, etc.  After trying on about four pair, I came out with these bad boys:I wish there’d be more of a selection of styles/colors (because I’m girly like that).  But they’re comfy.  And as long as they do their job, you won’t here any complaints from me!

Speaking of Fleet Feet, I’m actually doing a race they’re sponsoring next week:

I’m running the 10k- which will be my second one this month.  Since I just recently did the Frontier Days 10k Stampede, I’m hoping I’ll have a better feel for the race going into it.  Plus it’s going to be much bigger, so I’m pretty excited about it!  Friends are going to be here this weekend (no worries- they knew I was doing the race before they scheduled the visit) and I’m hoping that we’ll get to go out for a fun breakfast afterwards if they decide to come along to spectate.  Because, let’s face it, going out to breakfast after a race is half the fun!

Happy Monday, everyone!  Let’s do this thing!

Not Ideal

I’m not happy with the way the weekend has been going.  Sure, I’ve been relaxing.  I enjoyed going to celebrate a friend’s birthday on Friday night in the city at LaSalle Power Company.  Didn’t really drink, but still had fun catching up with some lovely ladies I hadn’t seen in awhile.

I made a point of making it a one-drink night.  Why?  Because I had a long run scheduled for Saturday morning.

That didn’t so much happen…

This is what did:

I haven’t had a pain the last week, but it was an “off” feeling.  Then, on Friday night while doing my cross training session, I decided to include a mile on the treadmill between weights.  It didn’t feel so hot.  So I made an executive decision to pass up my long run and push it to a different day.  I cross trained again yesterday.  No running.  I think what almost bugged me more was that my training plan is all thrown out of whack- after two solid months of following it religiously!  Ahhh… the ocd in me kicks in…

It was fine that I didn’t do the long run for another reason- I was tired.  Friday night did not include much sleep.

Sure, I got a nap in.  But apparently I was looking rough during my trip to Trader Joe’s.  I’ve noticed they always like to carry a conversation- usually about food choice and what you’re making.  After a brief and vague conversation, the cashier adds, “oh yeah, asparagus is definitely one of the best things for a hangover.”

What?  It’s 7:00.  On Saturday night.  Do I still look that rough? I had one drink.  I’m just sleepy, I swear! Ouch…

Clearly I need a little pick-me-up.I don’t know how many times I’ve used McDonald’s $1.00 large iced tea as my go-to beverage.  Starbucks needs to recognize…How… um… classy.  The salad was amazing- topped with green beans, edamame, orange pepper, mushrooms and peanuts.  Or in other words, everything but the kitchen sink.

So yeah… I’m freaking out just a bit.  I’m nervous that I have the beginnings of shin splints.  High impact is really the only thing I’m having trouble with.  I can ellipticize (is that a word?  if not, I’m claiming it as my own) all day.  I can climb stairs forever.  But the running might take a backseat.  Being as how we’re exactly three weeks away from the Rock ‘n Roll Half, I’m not happy about this.  But I guess there’s not much I can do.  It’s not severe, so we’ll just keep testing the waters out until I’m back on the trail…

If you’ve got any helpful advice, I’m all ears.  Seriously.  I don’t want the schedule being thrown off to completely take down my motivation for the race.

On a happy note- Sarena The Non-Dairy Queen passed along the Sugar Doll Award to me the other day!  I love Sarena, by the way- she’s got a sense of humor that keeps me cracking up every day!  So here’s a few more random things for my peeps to ponder:

1. Heath Ledger was my most prominent celeb crush I had in high school after I watched 10 Things I Hate About You.  I adored him enough to even sport the big poster of him from A Knight’s Tale through my freshman year.  I believe my roommate and my boyfriend at the time both despised it.  Brandon Boyd from Incubus was a close 2nd in this category.  What can I say?  I went through a phase of digging the shaggy hair…  Who was your high school celeb crush?  No judgements will be made… or at least not out loud…

2. My favorite Bath & Body Works scent is WarmVanilla Sugar.  Because that was the scent of the lotion my aunt gave me for Christmas before she passed away.  It still reminds me of her every time I smell it.  And I search it out if I happen to come upon one of their regular clearance sales. 

3. I can still rap Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez’s rap intersession in “Waterfalls” by TLC.  I learned it around the age of 10 and had no idea what it meant.  Ah the young and clueless.  But I can still do it… holla’.

Anyhoo, I’ve just had breakfast this morning.  I’m waking up a little and hopefully hitting the trail.  We’re going to test it out.  So I’ll either be doing a solid run or a warm-up walk followed by some gym time.  Wish me luck! 

Slow down and enjoy the rest day…

Work has been steadily busy the last week, so I feel like this week is flying by!  No complaints… but isn’t it funny how we mostly seem to wish the week away to get to the weekend?  Then wonder where the time went?  Just a thought.

I need to slow down and enjoy my coffee tea today. 

I kept my eye on the weather all day yesterday.  Originally, it was supposed to be raining all afternoon.  But God seems to know and respect my training schedule, and postponed the rain until later in the night (perfect sleeping weather, btw).  It was another steady 8:30-paced run on my favorite trail.  Ok really, I just need to find myself a new trail.  On the “to-do” list this weekend… 

I didn’t monitor my pace at all during- as to not obsess and psych myself out.  I know I’m slower than I was a few months ago.  Maybe some of it is nervousness.  As of late, it seems I hit that five-mile mark and my body says, “back up, bitch” and starts to crumble.  I won’t be doing that until next week, but it’s still in the back of my mind.  I can’t believe it’s already been six months since I got my first injury???  That’s an entire half a year of running… nonrunning… running… nonrunning.  Stressful to say the least.

I’m not going to baby my leg forever, though.  Someone needs to be taught who’s boss.  And that’s ME.  Maybe it was the 8:30 pace, but those three miles were almost too easy.  I’m ready for more!

And because I decided yesterday that I was a bad ass, I decided a little tread and shred was necessary.  Whats up, Level 2?  Cheer squats and a v-fly?  Please…

Ok, actually that move still sucks, but don’t bring me down.

Maybe I felt so crazy because I had a stellar dinner.It’s that “old fashioned” protein we discussed in the last post.    I was grocery shopping last night and couldn’t resist when I passed the deli counter.  I honestly don’t remember the last time I bought deli… so it was a good way to mix things up!  Turkey/spinach/mushroom wrap with zucchini and yellow squash?  Yes please!

Speaking of, thanks for all the comments!  I know that eating habits and lifestyle can be a touchy subject.  We’re all set it our own ways.  Personally, I eat meat maybe three or four times on average during the week.  It works for me.  And I know I get my protein elsewhere (the point was made that there are small amounts in a lot of the things you eat- which is true and something to consider if you’re concerned about your intake).  Some people need it at every meal.  And that’s fine.  That’s even how I grew up.  I just eat differently now.  As long as you find the balance that works for you.  That’s the important part!

And the grocery shopping… what a trip.  This is not the “healthy balance” I just mentioned… ha!  I got a random coupon to Dominick’s (the Safeway brand store around here) for $10 off if I spend $50.  “Perfect,” I thought, “I’ll stock up on the necessary stuff for Jaime’s wedding cake and get some randoms I need”. 

So what did my cart look like?

Asparagus… salad mix… zucchini… squash… mushrooms… oatmeal… 2 lbs of butter… 2 large bags of powdered sugar… large carton of heavy whipping cream… 5 lbs of sugar…

I probably blew the guy’s mind.  But maybe not.  Either way.  I was laughing.  As he swiped the butter, I wanted to be like, “yeah- I’m feeding dessert to about 100 people next week- don’t judge.”  Then I realized I don’t really care that much…

Here’s to a good Thursday!  It’s actually a rest day for me, so I’m spending the night cleaning and such.  Well… maybe just the “and such” part.  We’ll see how ambitious I get.