Feelin' Blue

Running or working out is the last thing on my mind. I've spoken with my mom briefly this afternoon, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to talk again, because the power is out in pretty much all of Alabama. I know that my family is safe, without power, but safe, and my friends and boyfriend are safe in Tuscaloosa. However, I can't pull myself out of this dark place. My heart is completely broken. I feel like someone very dear to me has passed away, maybe because the place I call home will never be like it was when I was there. There are so many people whose lives have been changed forever by these storms, losing loved ones, their homes, their jobs, their senior finals week, and even graduation has been postponed. Such a sad day in Alabama. I've never been more homesick than I am right now.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

I went to the gym today after work to begin my workout adventure. I'm paying $30 a month for this gym membership, and I'm going to have to get rid of some of my cable to afford it, so I'm going EVERY DAY! Ok, mostly every day. I do love this gym because they have a "Ladies Gym" within the big gym that is blocked off and no one but women can go in. It has a row of cardio machines: treadmills, elipticals, bikes, stairmasters, etc. Then it has a great selection of dumbbells, yoga mats, exercise balls, and other fun things. I did about 30 minutes of weights, some serious squats using a 4 lb. bar on my shoulders (owwweeee!), then I hopped on the treadmill. I didn't take my iPod with me because it needs to be charged, but thankfully they had some good music playing in the "Ladies Gym". They have a wall that is nothing but a mirror which is where they have the treadmills lined...perfect. ha! I was really skeptical about getting on and running for 30 minutes with nothing to do but stare at myself in the mirror that doesn't lie. I set the treadmill on a 10:54 pace (I know that's sloooow, but hey! I'm workin' on it!) and got to running. You know what? I actually enjoyed watching myself run...my legs don't look as bad as I've always imagined them looking when I run, my arms look pretty powerful pumping to keep me going, and my face actually looked pretty-it was so relaxed and in sync with everything, until I started sweating like a man! I ran 2 miles in 22 minutes-no walking! I know that's really slow, but I'm going to get to my goal eventually. Woo for a good day at the gym! :) 

Slacker

I haven't made it to the park, to the fitness center, or anything else that might make me physically active this week. I've lugged my bag filled with running gear all week to work, but have yet to change before I leave. This is really bad, because I did so well last week! Oh well, maybe I'll get better next week. I got a promotion pamphlet in the mail from Gold's Gym for $19.99 a month. I'm considering cutting something out of my budget so that I can afford the membership...they have some pretty cool classes and I feel like I might need something exciting and different. I really enjoyed spinning when I was able to go to the Rec at school, so it'd be cool to get back into that. Anyways, I've done pretty well on eating my food groups proportionally this week, so maybe I haven't gained. :/ I'll keep you posted on how it goes for me Monday!

Workin' for the Weekend

Yay! It's Friday! The only worry I have now that I'm home from work is what I'll have for dinner. Since today was pay day I'm considering going to pick something up. I usually eat in every meal, but on pay day Friday nights I'll splurge and get sushi or Chick-Fil-A. Big spender, right? I'm thinking sushi and edamame tonight, and I just might stop at by the Redbox at the 7Eleven for a movie. Man, my life has changed drastically in just 2 months! Friday nights were so exciting when I was in school. The question for weekends was always, "Where are we meeting?" Oh well, I guess we all have to grow up some time. Let it be known, though, that I'm only 23...so it's technically not obligatory that I act like a grown-up yet; it just happens that I have a grown-up job and must therefore, act like a grown-up. Tomorrow should be fun: I'll sleep in (the best part of the weekend), maybe do a little run, then meet up with some friends from work for the Lake County Fair that's in town! It's been forever since I went to the fair! It'll probably smell like corndogs and remind me of those stinky LSU fans. :D

Happy weekend to everyone!

Thursday Schmursday

So, if you can't tell from the title, today was not that great of a day. I went in to work 30 minutes early this morning because my co-worker/rock to lean on in sticky situations was sick. :( It didn't bother me to go in early because it just meant I got off early. woohoo! However, from the minute I walked in the door it was CrAzY! By 4:00 I was pooped, and ready to get out of there, but I still had a ton of charting to do and there was one more client to be seen. I was so frazzled by the end of the last consult I couldn't think straight. The nerve some people have amazes me, and the way some people talk to others is even more shocking. I could have punched someone I was so mad at how this client spoke to me, but thankfully I work with wonderful people who let me vent my frustrations and then tell me they're on my side. Long story short I was reminded today that no matter how hard you try in life there are still stupid people out there that don't have a clue about education or what it means to have an education. And those people are in the places they are because they've chosen to stay ignorant. In this time period, there are equal opportunities for everyone to finish high school and go to college, so there's no excuse to be dumb.


Ok, venting is over! Promise! After work, I was still smoking mad, so I was pretty ready for a run even though I didn't get a chance to eat my afternoon snack. I pulled up to the park and suddenly felt the tickle of hunger in my stomach, but chugged some water to try to trick my body. It worked...for about 5 minutes. It was 87 degrees this afternoon and quite humid (Welcome to Florida, right?), so I wasn't sure how this run would go. Yesterday's run was amazing! I ran 3.9 miles 49 minutes! That's a huge difference from Monday! (I forgot to take my sports bra Tuesday! oops!) Today wasn't so easy. I was pretty sore from yesterday, and really tired and hungry. But, I pushed through 2 laps (2.6 miles), then, I was done. 35 minutes, walked a little cool down, and that was it. Not too shabby. I'll probably take tomorrow off to let my out-of-shape muscles rest, then do a little run Saturday.


Lesson learned today: If you don't have anything nice to say, then stay home and wait till tomorrow to talk.

fifty-eight

So, today was my first day back running since I bought my new Asics! woohoo! I was in terrible need of new shoes since I ran a half marathon, trained for and ran a full marathon in my others. The thing that sucks: I waited too long to get back to running. I am now completely out of shape. No joke. As mentioned in the previous post, I am going to work on my 5K time. Well, today I changed at work and went to a nice little park down the road from my office that has a paved trail around it that equals 1.20 miles. Now, before I tell you my time, I must remind you of a few things: 1) I haven't truly ran since January. 2) I worked 8-5 today 3) It was close to 90 degrees today!!! So at 5 pm, it's still BLAZING. I did 3 laps in 3:1 intervals (running 3 minutes, walking 1 minute). Three laps equals 3.60 miles...a little more than 5K distance. I pretty much walked the entire last lap. :( Anyways, it took me 58 minutes. I have a looooonnnggg way to go.

I have a really bad habit of talking down to myself, like saying in my head, "Your legs are jiggling so much." or "Why do I run? I'm not a runner!" I don't know how to get these things out of my head. I try to think positively, but it's so hard when I get out there and I'm all vulnerable and stuff. I shouldn't feel bad about myself, because, yes, I may have slacked off for the past few months, but I ran a MARATHON for goodness' sake! 26.2 MILES!!! Oh well, tomorrow is a new day, and I plan on pushing through that 3.60 miles again! Maybe get it down to 57:00. ;)

Mooooo-ving On

This title may or may not be how I feel about myself these days. (Like a cow, in case you didn't catch that.) It's time to change that. I'm turning this blog into something that's just for me to keep in touch with how I feel about my body and my workouts. If you feel like reading...so be it.

Tomorrow is Monday, the perfect day to begin this new outlook. I'm going to start focusing on eating as healthy as possible, which is going to be hard with those Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs sitting on my counter. I'm also going to start running diligently like I used to do in Tuscaloosa. I've decided that since I can't find a good place to do long training runs yet, I'm going to start working on my 5K time. So, my 5K goal to start with is 30 minutes. That seems easy, but I tend to be on the slow side, so 30 minutes it is. For now. :)