Overhaul Day

Why hello there.

My brain is functioning a bit more after an additional night of proper rest.

Or any rest at all. If we’re gonna be all technical about it.

One way or the other, this is nothing but good news.

Because I feel better. After many indulgent weekends (Hey- I live in excess. What up?), Mondays generally start with me saying “Happy Overhaul Day!”

What is an Overhaul Day you ask?

It’s waking up after at least 6.5 hours of sleep. Woulda been 7, but I really tried to make it to the end of Game 6 of the NLCS on Sunday night. Being a Cardinals fan is exhausting…

It’s also eating your normal breakfast at your normal time in your normal routine.

Normal is nice.

It’s eating a lunch that doesn’t come out of a drive-thru bag.Bonus points if it’s homemade. And comes with a side of water (or really, any non-alcoholic beverage is a plus at this stage).

Even more bonus points if you repeat this for dinner.

Overhaul Day sometimes even means switching out that third cup of coffee (guilty) for green tea instead.We could debate back and forth if coffee is actually good or bad for you, but green tea still just feels like it would ultimately be the better choice.Wait- how did THAT get in there? Oh yeah, it was National Boss’s Day yesterday. My bosses like cheesecake and ice cream. Woe is me.

Overhaul Day includes coming home and getting a little action. In the gym (where is your head at??). The run was at an 8:17 pace- faster than usual, but I was in a rush and trying to get as much mileage in as possible in a very short period of time.

I was probably also a little hopped up on the cheesecake. But that’s neither here nor there.

Overhaul Day means making the rest of the evening a lazy one that doesn’t include thinking. My night included going to see the movie 50/50.

I cried. I never cry. My friend sitting next to me witnessed it going down and wasn’t quite sure how to react.

I’m just not a big crier. We could even go so far as to say “a little emotionally detached”. This characteristic doesn’t bother me. I just take a little longer to get worked up about stuff than your average, um, human being.

Anyway…

Laughing and having a good cry all at the same time sounds a little weird, but this movie quickly became one of my favorites of the year. Cancer is a serious subject that has had quite the effect on my family. It’s a pretty awful disease (this would be a “hey duh” statement). That being said, I’m one to often step back from any serious subject and attempt to awkwardly make light of it and have a little laugh to ease the pain of the situation. Life’s too short not to. And 50/50 did it perfectly. So go see it. Like now.

Anyway, now that I’ve been a bit of a Debbie Downer… I should probably just go… 

Uhhh… happy Tuesday?

Waiting Game

Waiting to run, that is.

No really… it’s fine. I’m just dandy.

Maybe a little agitated.

Ok fine. It’s to the point where if you have anything sarcastic to say about the wreck that will be my race in less than 2 weeks, you’re just not going to bring it up.

That’s where we’re at.

I skipped my long run this weekend and opted for the elliptical since my leg has been feeling funky. Apparently they had blizzard conditions in Missouri over the weekend and the temps show no sign of rising in the near future. And we all know I have not done a good job with the factors I can control (ie trail running and pace time sucking).

This little hobby of mine is going AWESOME. This little half marathon is gonna be so.much.fun.

Rant over. Moving on.

No worries, mom and certain friends who I know read this, I will not be having a meltdown. I’m just annoyed for the time being. We’re close to moving into the “acceptance” stage of what’s all going down.

And we’re popping calcium pills like it’s our job. No, I don’t know where I stand on the whole multi-vitamin thing or if they really help that much, but at this point- why not?

At least the weekend kept me busy.

I baked (more on that later). Because sugar makes me happy. And possibly because I was going to dinner at someone’s house and felt the need to bring something. But mostly because I like sugar.

Had a 5-year-old challenge me in bananagrams (it’s a word-building game) and talk smack on my accent. Yes. Taking heat from a 5-year-old. Hilarious.

Watched The Adjustment Bureau with Mon (like we had planned to on Wednesday before the weather got weird). It was really good. A bit of a thinker, but not as intense as something like Inception. Watching Matt Damon run around for two hours didn’t hurt, either…

Dealt with Kansas making it to the Elite Eight as we were watching on Friday night, but at least they swiftly got the boot before the Final Four. Whew. I never would have heard the end of that one.  There are WAY too many Mizzou haters in these parts…

A nice, well-rounded weekend, wouldn’t you say?

I’m going to be completely throwing off the half marathon training plan this week and add in an extra rest day or two. What I’m feeling seems weirdly familiar to how my leg felt last year after running the Shamrock Shuffle when I probably shouldn’t have (oops). So I’m trying to be smarter about it. Rest will be good for me. *Scowl*

Ok fine, I’ll probably be doing sit-ups and arm weights like it’s my job. Unlike my legs, at least my core strength will never fail me. 

Besides, otherwise I just get restless.

Adjustments

Hey kids!

I think I found the secret to making a gross and gloomy day not so bad…

See a movie!

Ok, so it’s not like it’s a really mind-blowing concept. And considering I just went last week, it’s not anything new in my little corner of the blog world. Acting out last week got a pattern started. Movie Wednesday anyone?  It works so well. Because Tuesdays are lame and it’s better to just keep your head down and hope they don’t get the best of you. Thursdays are close enough to the weekend to not seem so bad, plus you’ve got quite a tv lineup to keep entertained with.

But Wednesday’s sort of stuck in the middle. I love my Modern Family, but it has been nice to actually be out and about. Feelin’ semi-social (in a dark theater, but hey- I got outside!).

Plus, drinking too much wine on a work night is killer.

So Mon and I made plans to go see The Adjustment Bureau. Matt Damon can rarely do any wrong, so we were both excited.

And then some sort of rain/snow started. Texts were fired off right away. Adjustments to the schedule were made. We ended up staying in. And drinking wine. (roll eyes here) And watching How Do You Know?(Source)

My friend gave me the movie to watch and warned of how awful it was. So our expectations were low. Which worked out well because we both thought it was ok. Not good. Not bad. Just ok. My takeaways were a few quotable lines and the desire to hug Paul Rudd.

And because of the wine, we played a rousing version of marry/hump/kill with the lineup of Paul Rudd, Justin Timberlake and Jake Gyllenhaal. After a glass or two of merlot, I revert to the thought process of a 12-year-old girl. It’s a flaw and a talent all at the same time.

Feel free to leave your choices in the comments section. I ended up marrying JT. Out of the three, he seems like he’d be the most fun. Active and passionate without being too needy. Perfect.

Yes, we had an entire conversation about it. That’s just how we play.

And just to confirm- wine on a work night really does make the next morning a killer.

Earlier in the day, before the movie night festivities, I got another early morning run in. Another girl was already trucking along by the time I got to the workout room, so I just hopped on the ‘mill next to her and we ran in all of our crazy 4:45 AM glory together. 

Final stats? 4 miles at 8:35. Then I did a 10-minute cool down on the elliptical with tons of stretching. How did I feel? The left leg could be better.

It’s been a nag the last few mornings I’ve gotten up. Oh- is that maybe part of the reason I slept in yesterday? Yeah, it would be one of the reasons. You caught me. We’re not going to freak out at this point or anything because that would be just silly. But adjustments are being made. Scaling back a little until I’m feeling more comfortable again. There’s no way I’m going to blow it with approximately 2 weeks until the race.

Along with the knee problems Mon has, she may be right. We should really have a down payment ready for some scooters.  Matching of course.

Or at least color-coordinated. That would be better. No need to look nerdy.

Acting Out

Spring is almost here. The weather is nice (I consider mid-50′s nice). It’s a little greener outside. The air even seems fresher, don’t ya think?

It’s wonderful.

Although it makes people restless. More restless than normal.

I felt the need to act out. Rebel against routine. I didn’t even want to wait for “Thirsty Thursday”.

So when Mon casually suggested we mix it up and go see Red Riding Hood after our workouts last night, I had a list of available movie times sent back to her within minutes.

Sure, I’m replacing the idea of fresh spring air with semi-stale buttery popcorn smell. But that’s not the point.

The point is we’re doing something different. Watch out now!

Obviously, we still had to workout first (some things will never change). I did another 5-mile run. 8:39 pace. 5 miles in the middle of the week is still a very new concept for me. Getting used to it, but I still start feeling pretty “done with this shiznit” at mile 4ish. Luckily, another girl I see regularly who had just started her run said she was in the long haul for a 5-miler, too. So there was someone next to me the entire time. It helped.

Afterwards, I jumped in and out of the shower in a flash so I’d still be able to come up with some sort of dinner before we left for the show. Then I just decided to break out the big purse and take my dinner to the show… A peanut butter wrap. This is what happens when there isn’t time to cook for myself. And when I don’t have 2 slices of bread laying around. *Shrugs*

What else would you expect? I was at a movie! It was either that or swedish fish…

If you think I’m toting broccoli into a theater, you’re sadly mistaken.

But back to the movie…

(Source)

I’m usually not one for movies like this. I know the same director did Twilight and I’m not really into that whole series (a lot of that may have to do with my dislike of Kristen Stewart- but that’s a discussion for another day). But it seemed a little suspenseful without all the gore. Which I like. So I went.

It was decent. The critics were pretty harsh, and I understand why after reading their reviews, but there wasn’t ever a moment of true boredom. The story was told decently well, however even I think they could have gone a little “darker” with it. Considering I’m the one saying this, you can imagine it’s not nearly as scary as they make it out to be…

But whatev. I was entertained. And that is what matters in my egocentric world.

Before I’m off to go chug coffee, I’ll just say good luck to everyone who will be cheering on their teams during March Madness. Mizzou made it in, so you can assume that, even with slim chances, I’ll be cheering them on. Gotta represent. Holla’.

Also, enjoy St. Patty’s Day! Are you doing anything to celebrate? While the masses will be enjoying green beer and cabbage today, I’ll be scarfing ice cream cake. It’s my boss’s birthday. He doesn’t eat cake, but has a crazy obsession with ice cream.

I see no problems with this.

100 Words Saturday- Anti-Social Edition

Happy Weekend! I hope your Saturday morning is going well!

I’m about to go climb some stairwells with Megan to prepare for Hustle Up the Hancock (oh yeah- remember that stair climb I’m gonna do? I almost forgot, too.).

Last night it snowed.

It was Mon and my justification for being anti-social. And watching a crappy movie.Knight and Day. We knew it wouldn’t be the greatest going into it. 

We were so right.

After a couple of vodka clubs, we didn’t even pay attention.

And gossiped instead. Sounds about right.

What’s the last bad movie you’ve seen?

That’s My Cue

We might as well talk about Black Swan first.

Because I’m still kind of feeling weird. And just uncomfortable in general.

Mon and I went to see it last night.

We both agreed that it was pretty good.  Natalie and Mila NAILED their parts. Impressive for sure. 

But it is definitely one of those movies where you leave feeling really “blah” about life afterwards. I got the same feeling when I left the theater after seeing Revolutionary Road.  And on the way home, all you can say is, “wow… that would really suck”.

And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Because I was feeling good for the rest of the day. Not that I did a whole lot. I took my Christmas tree down.  Does that count as productive?  Even if I should probably have put it away earlier? Considering one year, we kept the decorations on the tree through most of February (Valentine’s Day tree?) and the tree was still in our living room until April (couldn’t make this up if I wanted to), I thought getting the tree down yesterday was quite the accomplishment.

Do you have anything like that?  Where, at some point, you just don’t notice how obnoxious it is?

One thing I do know is that my dinner last night before the movie was obnoxiously good (like how I did that?  Corny?  Oh yeah…).Hey James!  Not diggin’ the mustache so much, but since I heart you, I’m willing to let it slide…

Guacamole, salsa, corn, sharp cheddar and sour cream.

The guacamole was part of a two-pack bought from Trader Joe’s a little while ago.  It suggested to use one and freeze the other.

Um.  It’s not as good after being frozen. Still alright- just not fantastic.

You heard it here.

Off I go.  It’s been one of those mornings of piddling around.  So in attempts to jump start my day, I put the “No More Trouble Zones” workout in.  Now it’s a matter of pushing play.

Oh yeah, before I go (I’m procrastinating again)- I’ve been working on integrating my 8-lb weights into The Shred. 

Whew.

I knew some of the moves would be simple. They could have used heavier weights in the very beginning.  Others?  I may have done one repeat with the 8′s and one with the 5′s.  The rest I didn’t even bother trying to switch it up.  Baby steps. There’s no need for me to pretend I’m stronger than I really am… 

Ok fine… the workout music is repeating over and over.  That’s my cue.  I need to go and face the music. 

Peace out!

Sunday Shut-In

Ugh.  I’m going to assume that most of us are either at work right now or heading there.

I share your pain.

It was a great vacation/holiday/weekend, wasn’t it?  I had tons of food, a good race, and plenty of down time.  I couldn’t ask for too much more…

Well- except for my mouse friend Stuart.  A lot of you commented on how calm I am about the situation.  It’s true- but mostly because I have no reason to believe that he only resided in the cabinets he had access to and is now stuck in the walls somewhere.  And the building management is sending the exterminator. 

If he doesn’t leave because of lack of access to food, he’ll be leaving soon enough. 

I’m still without any baking supplies.  I guess that’s one thing that bugs me- resupplying all at once seems expensive.  And yes- storage containers will be used from now on.  I’ve often looked at them when going through home goods departments.  Just never wanted to break down and spend the cash.  Now I know better.

Do you think I’ll be able to get my management company to comp some of the damage?  Maybe if I bribe them with baked goods?  I’m sort of serious.

Anyway, I treated this Sunday like any other Sunday.

Relaxed.  And very much anti-social.

Seriously- why am I such a shut-in on Sundays???

And lazy.  Soup for lunch.  Yes, it’s from a can.  But there’s a chance I just might make it from scratch at some point this week.  CRAZY, I know.And salad for dinner.

You don’t get much easier than that.  No brain power involved.

I was even the loner at the gym until Mon walked in about half way through.  Good thing she stopped in.  I’ve read all the magazines at the gym at least three times, so I was happy to have someone to talk to and distract me while I chugged along on the elliptical.

While at the gym, we decided we should do something to be a little less lame.

Like get out of our apartments.  And see a movie!(Source)

We saw Love and Other Drugs. It’s taking me a while to figure out how I feel about this movie.  It’s sort of depressing. But it was a decent story and kept me paying attention the entire time (nothing to scoff about being as how I can get fidgety easily).  Oh and Jake is pretty cute.  And often is found not fully dressed.

I’ll call it a win. 

And I’m really having issues with him and Taylor being together. I don’t approve.  Doesn’t he know her routine?  They’re going to break up and we’re going to hear all about it on her next cd.

Oh Jake… you should know better.

Well let’s get to it, shall we?  This is my week of work where I go in and leave a little later.  Which means I’m hoping to get in a few morning workouts.  Didn’t happen today.    Shall we call it the last of the holiday hangover? 

Do your workouts change over the holidays?  I’ve been a little thrown off already.  And it’s only just beginning!

No Rhyme Or Reason

Apologies that my posts have been scattered the last few days.  But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that’s what it’s been like in my head the last few days as well.  At least it makes life interesting.  Anyways…

Friday- I heart you.

Although I did also heart yesterday being “rest day”.  It helped.  Today I’m much less crabby.

And more my perky self.  Weeee!  Seriously- I realize that rest days are there for a reason and now have even more of an appreciation for them.  As the weather turns, I’m sure I’ll enjoy them more being as how it consisted of curling up on the couch and watching tv for most of the night.

What also helped?  I said “screw the salad” at lunch and bought overpriced chili in my office cafeteria.  On a rainy day?  Worth every penny.  Also made me realize I need to make my own sooner than later.  Because sure, it was worth it yesterday given the circumstance, but almost $4 for a cup of chili is a little excessive in my book.  Especially when I have half the ingredients at home to make it- that I acquired from the ‘rents for free.  Shame.

What’s your fav comfort food?  Chili isn’t really mine, but it’s up there.  I’d say I’m a fan of anything that would qualify as a “Thanksgiving” food.  Lucky me that it’s getting closer…

I got home from work and uh…. rested. 

Until I got the call.  Mon opened a bottle of red. 

Yes please!  We ended up also watching City Island with Andy Garcia.  What has he done lately?  Apparently nothing until this movie.  He looked a bit aged.  But the movie was good.  Not really a drama… or a comedy.  More like a week in the life kind of movie I guess.  I left Mon’s house wanting to talk with a Bronx accent.  Think the little girl from Missouri can pull it off?  Maybe?

So I’m tired this morning.  But it’s cool.  I’m 8 hours away from the weekend.  Which was celebrated with a breakfast burrito (scrambled egg, spinach, and chedda’).And obviously caffeine.  That goes without saying.  Or picturing, in this case.

Oh… and I love this weather.  Usually.  Windows open all day/night = nice.  Windows open all day/night when a skunk rolls through = not nice. 

Because I haven’t done it in a while, here are a few fun google search terms people used to find my blog.

- “men who lack adult supervision”  No comment necessary.

- “bob couldn’t handle me right now” Hmmm… poor Bob.

- “women runners with socks on fetish”  Great.  Now I’m attracting fetish people.  Pervs.

- “naked rock n’ roll”  Um.  I ran the rock n’ roll half.  Clothed.  But that’s interesting.  Whatever you’re doing should probably stay in the comfort of your own home.  Behind closed doors.  Clearly you wouldn’t get along with the dude above- he at least likes socks on.

Since there’s no better way to end a post on a Friday than by talking about naked rock n’ roll, I’ll leave you with that.

Have a great weekend!

Dinner for Food Geeks

It’s Friday!  Thank goodness.  After being on vacation in Washington DC for the better part of last week, this five-day stretch really seemed to creep by!

Yesterday I did appreciate the long “executive” lunch a few of us staffers got at work…  Usually, we all get out of the office over lunch.  But the building management held a Tenant Appreciation BBQ.  Last year it was held in front of our building.  Being as how spending more than 10 minutes in the sun will make you shrivel and possibly die, they moved it to the parking garage.  So a few of us went, grabbed our food, and retreated to our conference room for the lunch hour two hour time frame.  he he he…I went with the Garden Burger and a couple salad varieties.  But please, focus your attention on the cheesecake.  It was fabulous.  They actually called it “cheesecake on a stick” and it came with a skewer in it.  I have no idea why they thought that was a good idea.  Clearly with all the chocolate and just the weight of the cheesecake, that would only end badly.  But I stopped questioning and just ate it.

I love free food.  Especially when it happens to be delicious.

But not all good food will be free…

Enter Whole Foods Salad Bar.  Mon and I decided before we went to see Dinner for Schmucks that we’d go by heaven Whole Foods to grab a bite.  This was especially exciting for me since I attempted to do this on Sunday and failed when the salad bar was closed.  Whole Foods- you have redeemed yourself.Mon calls Whole Foods the Nordstroms of Grocery Stores.  I agreed.  Because there’s just something about the big open store with clean, long aisles of fresh/healthy/organic food.  It’s refreshing. 

Or maybe they have one crazy amazing lighting scheme going on.  Who knows?I totally had a garbage can salad- an assortment of everything.  Tofu, artichoke hearts, peas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, feta, cabbage, onions, chick peas… am I missing something?  Oh  yeah… lettuce…  I also don’t want to forget hitting up their candy bin afterwards for movie treats to sneak in.  Because I have no shame. 

Dinner for Schmucks wasn’t that bad.  It wasn’t that great, but it wasn’t that bad.  It was very much stupid humor.  Just ridiculous and a bit over the top.  There were funny parts- and I laughed through a lot of it.  Zack Galifianakis kept it from sort of sucking. But some of it just made me go, “really?  REALLY?”  I think it may have been about worth the $5 we paid at the cheap theater.  $10 at our usual, nicer theater would have been overkill.

I know some of you said you’ve seen it- what did you think?  About the same?

Oh and check out how awesome my friend Jaime is:Yep.  I never had business cards made for my blog until now.  And I may have had a last minute freak out that maybe I should have some for this coming weekend at the Healthy Living Summit.  Give her an hour and some cardstock, and this is what she came up with!  Love it.  Thank  you, Jaime!!!!

And with that, I shall leave you.  I have a FULL day of work and then a quick ride via the lovely CTA down to the city to meet up with some of you crazy kids…  Holla’!

Getting it done in the AM

So it seems a lot of you enjoy intervals more than the long runs.  I believe I’m in the minority when saying I enjoy the extra mileage.  And that possibly makes me a little messed up in the head. 

This is me shrugging my shoulders and moving on…

I’ve been busy trying to add a  bit of content to my humble little site.  It’s finally *almost* done.  So if you care to browse my racing past or what training plans I’ve used (because of general interest, to taunt me with my feeble attempts at becoming a better runner, or to just waste some time at work), you can now go to my “Racing Randomness” page.  Weeeee!

I’ve also been busy with other things.  Such as getting a haircut so I may look presentable at this conference and an upcoming wedding I’m in.  The hair was getting a bit out of control and frizztastic.  Shaggy Amy is not sassy Amy.Yes, I’m like a big frickin’ ball of sunshine today.  That is until I leave my apartment and get smacked in the face with the insane heat and humidity. Then… not so much.

Recently, I’ve been trying hard to keep up the morning workouts on days when I don’t have to go into work until 9:00.  I did it yesterday with The Shred again.  I did it this morning with a little cross training session in my apartment’s workout room.  I used the elliptical for 25, ran an 8:00 mile, and did some ab work.  While I was there, two other girls came in and set up there laptop to The Shred.  Is it sad I knew which circuit they were on without even having to see the laptop?  And is it sad that I just now realized how goofy people look while doing The Shred?  hmmm….

After a solid workout, I made sure the breakfast matched:Steel cut oats with kashi cereal and a little sunflower seed butter.  Still trying to cut back on the ol’ nut butter.  It’s working… some days (like today).  Others- um… no.  Also, there’s much more kashi in there that meets the eye.  It’s on the underneath. Because I’m sneaky like that.

Part of the reason why I did my workout this morning was so that Mon and I could have a proper fun night out.  It’s been a long week and we didn’t get to have one last week, so we decided to make a night of it.  We’re going to see Dinner for Schmucks.  Anyone else seen it?  I’ve heard pretty good things so far.  Which is good.  After Date Night, I was a little disappointed in Steve Carell.  And who doesn’t love Paul Rudd? 

What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?  I’ve been quite the little movie-goer these days, but there are still so many I want to see!

For all those coming in for HLS- I wish you safe travels!

Happy Thursday!  Try not to melt.  I’m sort of serious…