Archive | January, 2012

Call a spade a spade.

31 Jan

All female health bloggers: Stop right now.

I see so many gorgeous female bloggers who have amazing figures, entertaining blogs, and impressive race times constantly demean, lament and berate their so-called flaws. Even if they have ripped abs that most women would have to eat only spinach and do 600 sit-ups a day to get, they joke about their love-handles or flabby stomach. Uh, right. If they run 30 miles one week, they were such a slacker. Their 4:00 marathon time was horrible because they could only manage a 9:00 pace for 26.2 miles.

I’m mentioning this because I think this is something that we as women, and humans, are tempted to do: We’re so afraid of being called proud that we take pride in nothing.

This is something I learned from my Grandma Dee. The last few years of her life, she lived with my grandpa in an assisted living home. Like a nursing home, they had all kinds of activities going on, and lots of other people living in the same building. Every once in a while, my grandma would say something like, “Dorothy came over and sat with me at lunch again today. She just really likes talking to me.” At first, I was taken aback by her frankness. Nobody I knew talked like that – because {hush} it was prideful. But my grandma said it so matter-of-factly and moved off the subject so quickly that I kept thinking about it. She got away with saying it. Why? Because she was just stating the facts.

{source*}

The Urban Dictionary describes False Modesty as:

To tell everyone that what you did is bad, knowing all the way that what you did is good, just so everybody says the opposite.
Usually used by women.

EmoGothgirl666: OMG , My blog is crap.
EmoboyLestatDarkness: Don’t say that, it’s great!

The Wiktionary describes it as:

Behavior that is intended to seem humble but comes across as fake and unflattering.

Usage: “Although having a large ego is considered undesirable, at times it is proper to take credit where it is due rather than display false modesty.”

And I think that last sentence sums up my point perfectly.

Sure, no one wants to be boastful and self-absorbed. But c’mon. Call a spade a spade.

Not only do I not believe that you truly hate your abs of steel or think a 4-hour marathon is an absolutely pitiful time, your false modesty makes it seem like any stomach that can’t bounce a quarter or any turtle coming across the finish at 6 hours, 30 minutes is something to be even more ashamed of. If you’re complaining over what is almost unanimously the goal, standard or aim of others, what becomes of anything that falls short of that?

What about the women who hardly dare take their shirts off in front of their husbands?

What about the runners who have put their hearts and souls into training for athletic event of their life, only for the aid stations to be packing up by the time they get there?

The unfortunate side effect of false modesty is that all of those women who will never have a rock-hard stomach and never run a 4-hour, 5-hour, or even 6-hour marathon even up thinking, “Well, if she’s flabby and if she’s slow, then what am I?”

I’ll tell you what would be refreshing. A female runner who runs a 8:00 pace on an “easy recovery run” and is happy about it. A woman who has worked hard to tone her biceps to get excited over them without adding the caveat, “But I still have a loooooong way to go” or “There’s still toooooons of room for improvement.” A recovering chocoholic who makes it through the day with only one Oreo to rejoice over improvement, instead of gut out an extra 15 minutes on the elliptical because she has absolutely.no.willpower.

If you don’t want to gush and aw over your rockin’ bod or your killer time, I get it. But at the very least, don’t knock it. State the facts and make no judgments. Let the cards fall where they may.

If we as women want to create an environment of acceptance and body-love, then we have to STOP CRITICIZING ourselves instead of poking, pinching and lamenting our imperfections.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Marianne Williamson)

Delighting in who we are, what we’re capable of, and our accomplishments gives other people the permission to do the same. Be a source of inspiration to others.

What are your thoughts about pride and false modesty?

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*The sunrise is not actually ugly; I’m using it to illustrate how ludicrous false modesty is.

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I’m All Ears.

31 Jan

As a kid, I had a lot of ear infections. As an adult, I still do because I’m stuck in a Catch 22.

Because of all my ear infections growing up, I now have a condition they call Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. The Eustachian tube is what makes your ears pop to keep the pressure on the inside and outside of your ear the same.

Even though the Eustachian tube is always at work (it opens and closes with each yawn or swallow), most people only notice their ears pop when ascending/descending in altitude (like flying) or possibly when they have nasal congestion. But when your Eustachian tube malfunctions, it’s very obvious.

I started noticing it when I’d get a cold. My ears would pop a lot and I’d be able to hear my own voice inside my head (which is very weird, by the way). When the cold went away, so did the symptoms, for the most part. But that was in college when I never cooked anything besides turkey sandwiches and cereal, I lived in a house with 5 other girls, and spent a lot of time surrounded by other students – meaning I got sick a lot. (Travis still remarks about this, though I only get sick once every 18 months or so now.) It seemed like I was always sick in high school and college. So my ears were frequently bothering me.

Finally, I had had enough. It was miserable living that way. I went to the ear doctor and they made me do at least half a dozen hearing tests, in addition to looking in my ear with their lighted instrument. They asked, “Did you have a lot of ear infections as a kid?” Why yes, yes I did.

After all of that, they sat me down and said that I had Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. They described what it was and said that since my ears still popping (as opposed to being completely shut or completely open) and my hearing was still fine, I didn’t need surgery. But then they said something that made me almost cry.

“There’s not much we can do about it.”

What? You mean I have to live like this the rest of my life?!?!?

As I choked back tears, they explained that the only thing they could do was put in ear tubes, but they usually cautioned against that in adults because it could leave a permanent hole in my eardrum. Well, I didn’t want that. And ear tubes sounded creepy. So I just left, utterly disappointed.

That was about 7 years ago.

Today, my ears still pop every time I swallow but I’ve gotten used to it. And I am soooo incredibly thankful that the condition is just an annoyance, instead of one that would cause deafness or actual pain.

But the Catch 22 is that my Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, which was caused by ear infections, is now causing ear infections. An article on Livestrong says:

In many cases, the Eustachian tubes are either too narrow or are blocked due to irregularities in the surrounding structures. For those individuals, frequent ear infections may recur due to the failure of the Eustachian tubes to drain the middle ear.

I’ve had so many ear infections that I can tell if I have one by just pushing on the outside of my ear. If it hurts, it’s infected. I go into the doctor and say, “Have ear infection. Need antibiotics.” (But they never believe me, so they get out their lighted instrument and stick it in my ear anyway.)

Right now, I have an ear infection. Every time I blow my nose, my ears pop and my right ear hurts. This time, instead of going to the doctor, I’m trying a natural remedy – garlic oil.

My friend Carrie told me about this (she uses it for her kids) and swears that it works. And because the Internet agrees, it must be true. I read here that garlic can cure ear infections because it has antibiotic properties. Who knew?

That same article gives this recipe for making garlic oil:

 

Things You’ll Need

 

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 glass measuring cup, microwave safe
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic
  • Cheesecloth
  • Small jar with lid
  • Eye dropper or syringe
  • Cotton balls
  1. Pour the olive oil in the glass measuring cup. Chop two peeled cloves of garlic and place in cup. Microwave the oil for about a minute. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Strain the oil through a piece of cheesecloth to remove the garlic pieces. Place the oil in a covered jar and store it in the refrigerator. The oil will keep for about three weeks.
  3. To use the oil, place 1 tsp. over an open flame until lukewarm. Test the oil on the back of your hand to make sure it’s not too hot. Have the person lie down, infected ear up. Fill the dropper or syringe and put 1 or 2 drops of oil in the affected ear. Insert a cotton ball in the ear for 30 minutes. Repeat every 1 to 2 hours.

I did this last night but didn’t have a dropper and wasn’t sure if I was doing it right (and was too lazy to find out for sure). My ear feels a little better but still hurts so I will be doing this again tonight.

Have you had a lot of ear infections? Ever tried a natural remedy instead of antibiotics?

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Training Recap: 1/23 – 1/29

30 Jan

Thanks to my lovely cold, my training last week was pretty measly.

Monday: 30 Day Shred Level 1; 25 minutes yoga; 1.15 mile dog walk (20 min)

Tuesday: Rest (laziness)

Wednesday: Rest (started feeling sick this day)

Thursday: 1.97 mile dog walk (32:55)

I had been thinking about going to the gym to do cross-training but when I got out of breath on my walk from the chest congestion, I decided that would be stupid.

Friday: 3.04 mile dog walk (55:14)

Saturday: 1.7 mile dog walk (30:00)

Sunday: Rest

I was planning to go to the gym but when I got home after a baby shower, I was exhausted, had a headache, and my chest congestion had been so nice as to move to my nose. So instead, I watched a new episode of Bones that had somehow passed under my radar. So glad I didn’t delete that one before checking if I had seen it!

…………………………..

I am feeling much better today – my headache is gone, my cough has almost completely gone away, and my nose is clearing up little by little. So I am planning to attempt my first run in over a week – and I’m pretty pumped about it. It’s almost 60 degrees out today. When I got out of my car to walk into work this morning, birds were singing and it felt like spring. I am so ready for spring. I always say that spring is my least favorite season because I hate when the snow melts and you have to deal with dirty, dirty puddles everywhere. But in Colorado, I think spring is my favorite season. Which is good because every other day in January is a taste of spring. 😉

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Travis and I had a “conference call” last night with his parents to talk about our plans for Alaska. At this point, barring death or illness, I think it is 95% safe to say that I am doing the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska on June 23.

Which means that after the Ralston Creek Half Marathon on 2/12 and Snowman Stampede 10 Mile on 2/18, I will completely restart my marathon training plan:

Considering my sickness this week, I am glad to have the time to start over! Hopefully I won’t get sick again during training.

In the next two weeks, I plan on researching more about the marathon course so that I know how to tailor my training. Luckily, I don’t think the hills will be an issue. Here is the elevation profile:

It looks bad but note that even the biggest hill is only a 300 foot gain from the very beginning (and less so in the individual climb) and after mile 16, it’s pretty much completely downhill. Since I’ve read that part of the course is on a gravel/rocky trail, I am aiming to do at least one run a week on a trail, and in Colorado, trails usually mean more hills. So I think I’ll kill two birds with one stone there.

Also, as I was walking the dogs the other day, I discovered a staircase on one of my favorite running routes. How I have run past that staircase 2,000 times and never thought about running on them for stair work is beyond me. But no more! Next week’s speed run will be there.

It’s exciting to finally know (almost for sure) which race I’m doing!

………………………….

Finally, I went to the grocery store (aka SuperTarget) on Saturday night and bought 25 tubs of yogurt. Ok, not really but I did buy a big tub of plain non-fat yogurt to use in recipes, smoothies, sour cream, etc, as well as 6 new (to me) Chobani flavors I had to try after seeing every blogger in the US talk about them, plus 6 Yoplait Lights for Travis so that he wouldn’t steal my Chobanis. 😉 I just ate the Blood Orange Chobani today and it was really good – a little sweet but I love how Greek yogurt is so much thicker than regular yogurt. I do not, however, like the price.

I told Travis how much we’re spending on groceries every month (from what I can guesstimate, since we’re not doing the Dave Ramsey envelope system anymore and I haven’t checked our bank account online since… 5 years ago) and he was a little surprised. Sooooo… I will be looking for ways to cut down our grocery bill in the near future. (Goodbye Chobani.)

One thing I think will help is to stop buying processed food (like mac ‘n’ cheese in a box, frozen pizza, cans of soup). Every couple months, I buy those things more often than I should because I just get lazy in the kitchen. But I realized yesterday that making my own little pizzas on whole wheat pitas isn’t really that much more work and it’s way healthier; it’s really easy and healthy to make soup from scratch with low-sodium ingredients (dump everything into the crockpot!); and it doesn’t take much longer for me to boil whole wheat or brown rice noodles and add real cheese than it does for me to use a pre-packaged box. Not only do I pay more with my wallet for the convenience, I pay more with my health too.

I just get lured in by the pictures of creamy deliciousness and liquid gold – I never knew I was such a sucker for Mac ‘n’ Cheese until I was paging through my binder of printed recipes the other day and had 4 or 5 different versions of it. Heh.

What are your tips for keeping the grocery bill down?

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Bright.

28 Jan

That’s how I would define my new Brooks running jacket and Aspaeris compression shorts.

In the words of Elf, That’s shocking.

But colors aside, I think my new running gear is going to be good. The jacket fits snugly but a good snug. The bottom black part is elastic so it stretches across my booty and the jacket is roomy enough in the chest and arms for me to fit one or two thin layers underneath. I’m not sure I’ll need to though, since this jacket clearly states that it’s designed for “40 degrees and below.” The jacket is thinner than I expected but when I put it on, I do feel warmer. According to the tag, the “lightweight aluminum membrane retains your heat so you stay warm without adding layers.” For $110, it better live up to the hype. Now I’m wishing for Colorado to cool off so I can try it out. 😉

I really like the reflective details on the jacket – you can see the vertical one at the bottom in the picture above (there’s another one on the right side). There’s also a reflective logo on the left sleeve, and on the back, there’s a reflective logo at the top and then another reflective piping strip along the vent in the middle (never mind the black specks, those are mascara smudges on the mirror that I can’t get off):

And never mind that you can see the stripes of my underwear through the red shorts (buyers, beware). I also like the left inside pocket for holding your mp3 player or phone (the gray mesh part is also a bigger pocket, on both sides):

And the thumb holes:

The black fabric, which is just from the cuff down, is really soft. I’ve never had a jacket or sweatshirt with thumb holes before but I think I’ll like it. At the very least, it’ll force me to not obsess over my pace because I can’t get to my watch!

I’ve wanted the compression shorts because SkinnyRunner raves about them, I don’t like my other tight running shorts, and I’m in love with all shapes and sizes of compression gear – but I couldn’t stomach the $60 price tag. The minute I heard they were 50% off with the code cooleronline (in support of SR’s Ragnar team – I’m not sure if it still works but give it a shot), I snatched them up. And in red. Why not? It’s actually a very pretty red, IMO.

The shorts fit really well – they’re definitely tight and hard to get on, which is the key to compression gear. If it slides on easily, it isn’t compression.

I also like that they come up higher so I don’t feel like my belly is hanging over them or getting some muffin top action. That’s never good. In case you’re wondering, I ordered a medium in both the jacket and shorts. It’s a rare day that I’m not a medium!

But it’ll be a couple of days until I can try these things out – or try running in general because I ended up getting sick. Boo. I started feeling sick on Wednesday but didn’t feel sick enough to stay home so I went to work that day and Thursday. Finally, Friday I felt crappy enough to merit starting the weekend early staying home from work.

As far as sickness goes, it’s been kind of bittersweet. I have hardly any sinus congestion but I have a major headache that I can’t get rid of (even with acetaminophen and lots of water) and some major chest congestion and a hacking cough. Which means I feel well enough to read, bake and take the dogs on slow walks, but I can’t run or do anything that would get my heart rate up. I’m a little bummed because I was looking forward to running this weekend but the smart thing is to rest until this blows over. (I’m pretty sure I’d hack up a lung running anyway and I need to keep what little lung I have.)

I am thankful that I can mostly enjoy being forced to take things easy, instead of being in a Sudafed-induced coma. I’ll live vicariously through reading about all of your runs. 😉

Hope you’re having a good weekend!

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Setting the Record Straight

26 Jan

A little-known tidbit about me: I can’t read cooking blogs. The pictures are fun to look at and the recipes look delicious but they just make me overwhelmed. I even feel slightly intimidated by the cookbooks I own. Some people thrive on options; I do not. They just make me feel like there’s too much to do, and too little time.

I also felt overwhelmed yesterday while reading the blogs I regularly follow. Reading about productive weekends full of baking, cleaning, organizing, family time, long runs, Crossfit workouts, and fun dates instantly brings back an old familiar feeling: I’m not doing enough.

I’ve been thinking about this lately because a good (IRL) friend of mine who occasionally reads my blog remarked that I seem to have a lot of things going on in an effort to improve my life (like not eating sweets for a month, limiting my laziness, reading 25 books, and training for a marathon). I dismissed her comment saying, “It’s really not that much; it probably seems like more on the blog.”

I don’t really consider myself an ambitious person. In high school and college, I did what was required of me with excellence (I did graduate from both with honors) but I didn’t go above or beyond that.

Instead of being an overachiever, I guess I was just an achiever. I never had an internship. I never volunteered or got involved in any kind of club. In fact, I somehow graduated as a member of the National Honors Society in high school, even though I never attended a meeting and only did 2 volunteer hours (I think something like 30 were required?). In my defense, I tried to return my medal but they wouldn’t take it from me.

I’m fairly certain that I’ve gotten where I am in life by being anal, not ambitious. While fellow classmates in high school were reading Cliff’s Notes in lieu of The Scarlet Letter and The Grapes of Wrath, I read every single page of every single book, including the Foreword if there was one. Partly because I actually enjoyed reading and partly because I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I hadn’t actually read the book.

Until recently, I had to finish every book I started reading, even if it was crap, just because “it bothered me” to start and not finish. (Now I know that life is too short to read bad books.)

My house is clean and organized because my personality can’t stand clutter and mess.

I don’t stop in the middle of a project, even if it’s mindnumbingly tedious, because I am stubborn.

When we first moved into our apartment in Boulder, I refused to let Travis store stuff under our bed and futon because not storing stuff in an actual closet bothered me. After a couple hours trying to cram things into the 3 tiny closets of our apartment, I saw the folly of my ways. (Although, I have to admit that storing things under the bed still bothers me. If you’re wondering if I’m annoying to live with, my husband would say no, but really mean yes.)

So why am I explaining this to you?

Well, you’ve probably heard people discussing the effects of social media on relationships today. It’s easy to project this perfect image of your life, because you get to pick and choose what people see and what people don’t. I think the same thing goes for blogs. It’s easy to post only the positive, happy things that happen in your life in the name of “making your blog positive” because people “come there to be entertained.” I personally don’t agree with that philosophy but I think it can happen without our realizing. It’s human nature to want to share happy news with others, but shrink back with bad news. You don’t want to blog just to complain, or tell about pathetically boring your day was, or relay how you behaved in a way you’re ashamed of (like throwing something at your husband or eating an entire box of cereal in one sitting).

So I just want to set the record straight: I haven’t checked off an item on my daily To-Do list all week until today (and that only because I had an appointment to get a new passport), I’m feeling slightly sick and majorly lazy, I haven’t walked my dogs in a few days, last night I ate my way through the cupboard before eating dinner trying to fill the chocolate-shaped hole in my heart, I’m having a hard time adjusting to having actual work to do at work, and my big toe is sticking out of the sock I’m wearing. I’m not perfect. I don’t have it all together. I have lots of big ideas and want to live my life intentionally but sometimes (or perhaps, often), I just need a glass of wine, Desperate Housewives, and a night on the couch. And I’m pretty sure other bloggers do too.

Would you consider yourself ambitious? Do you tend to be productive or relaxed with your free time?

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Training Recap: 1/16 – 1/22

24 Jan

I had the most amazing dinner last night: a homemade waffle topped with peanut butter, raspberry yogurt, and fresh strawberries and blueberries. It totally hit the spot. I had been craving that for days. Actually, I was craving what I used to eat in college: Eggo waffles topped with peanut butter and frozen cool whip. So delicious. But since cool whip is off-limits for January (only one week left!), I had to make do with yogurt.

Things have finally picked up at work (hip hip hooray!) so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

Last week’s workouts were:

Monday: 2.5 mile run (31:08, 12:04/mile)

It started blowing snow as I set out on this run, which was not enjoyable because I could barely keep my eyes open. The arch of my right foot felt really tight too. Not the best run.

Tuesday: 3 mile intervals on treadmill (31:58, 10:39/mile), 10 min upper body weights

I alternated between jogging at 5.5 mph for 90 seconds and sprinting at 7.5 mph for 30 seconds.

Wednesday: Supposed to be rest but did resistance training at physical therapy

Thursday: 4 mile tempo run (43:24, 10:22/mile)

Friday: Supposed to be rest but did resistance training at physical therapy

The lateral and front/back moves with a resistance band around my ankles were killer after my tempo run. Feel the burn.

Saturday: 9.64 mile long run (1:49:42, 11:22/mile)

Sunday: 500 yard swim + 15 minute walk

I was also going to do yoga on Sunday but the couch got the best of me.

Travis and I went out to eat twice last weekend – which is uncharacteristic for us. Friday night, we went out to an Italian place called Abrusci’s. We had Chicken Saltimbocca, which was chicken breast topped with ham and mozzarella served on spaghetti with broccoli. It was delicious – and no wonder, since everything was covered in butter. They also had the most amazing garlic dipping sauce for bread. I haven’t yet advanced to the heights of taking pictures of food in restaurants, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. Sorry.

Then Saturday, after I was done with my long run, we went to Denny’s. I got their new Fit Omelette that comes with turkey bacon and fruit, plus a side of the Hearty Wheat Pancakes. Seriously delicious. And the Omelette only has 390 calories! Totally worth it.

I wanted to go to Panera for breakfast before church on Sunday but we decided we had spent enough money eating out for one weekend. But this Sunday, Pa-nay-nay here I come!

How often do you go out to eat?

What is your favorite way to eat a waffle? We had cinnamon and sugar on our waffles in Mexico during our honeymoon and I got hooked on those for a while. Now I’m hooked on pb and yogurt.

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Double Digits.

23 Jan

I must apologize for not choosing the 4-year Blogiversary Giveaway winner last week like I said I would. Sorry. I totally blanked.

But random.org has finally chosen one and the winner is Jen!

Jen – email me and let me know where you’d like to spend your $25! Congrats and thanks for reading.

Speaking of money, I just spent $108.95 on the Brooks Nightlife Speedy Bullet jacket (yes, the yellow one). I’m still not completely sold on it, so I made sure that I could return the jacket if I don’t like it. It’s just so much money! All I’m saying is that it better make me run faster.

Speaking of running (you see how nicely these all segue together?), I did my longest run since November 2010 on Saturday: 9.64 miles (but we’ll round it to 10).

I was looking forward to the run on Friday and even when I woke up Saturday morning. I checked the weather and determined that it would be warmest around 1 pm. So instead of running in the cold at sunrise, I had coffee with a friend, ran errands with Travis and then took a nap before heading out on my run around 2 pm.

By then, I wasn’t feeling the run as much. But at least it was a gorgeous day – I wore my 2XU compression tights and a t-shirt. Glorious. I took the pooches around the lake for 1.55 miles, dropped them off, and then did another 8.1 miles (I thought it would be 8.5 but I didn’t check the route before I left) in a loop that I had only done on my bike before. I figured it would be good to explore new territory (for sanity and safety) and I knew that these trails would be packed with people on such a nice day.

For the first 5 miles of that 8-mile loop, I was pretty indifferent about running. I wasn’t necessarily enjoying it, but I wasn’t hating it either.  But the last 3 miles, I felt pretty good. Half a mile from home, I thought, Another 3 miles wouldn’t be that bad.

Total was 9.64 miles in 1:49:42, an average pace of 11:22. (I didn’t start my phone app until 1 mile in to the 8 mile loop.)

After my run, I decided it was time for my first epsom salt bath – the ice bath alternative. I filled the tub up with warm water, added 2 cups of epsom salts (found at my local dollar store!), and read my book for 15 minutes while soaking in relief from sore muscles. I’ve never taken an ice bath so I can’t comment on how that feels afterward, but my legs felt pretty great after the epsom salt bath. Not nearly as sore as they have from other runs. So I’ll call that a success!

But I’ve noticed that when I use the iMapMyRun app on my phone to record my workout, it estimates the distance longer than if I manually map it out online. My Thursday run was recorded as 4.18 but mapped as 3.98. And this run was recorded as 8.1 but mapped as 7.88.  Obviously, I’d like to believe the recording. I asked Travis about it and he said that if anything, the GPS on my phone would record it too short, not too long. What do you think? 

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I’m completely giddy.

21 Jan

My wonderful husband installed this Thursday night:

The CD player that the car came with hasn’t worked for at least 2 years and then the radio crapped out so I drove to and from work every morning in silence. And while I actually enjoyed it, I also enjoy having the freedom to listen to CDs again. AND this stereo has an iPod jack so I can listen to my audio books and downloaded music too. I’m going to drive around all night just to listen to music.

As if that wasn’t enough, I just discovered this on MapMyRun.com:

SPLITS.

Like a Garmin.

Now I can see my schizophrenic pace!

If I had known that using the iMapMyRun app on my phone did this, I would’ve been using it for every.single.run.

Another benefit of bringing my phone on runs (besides safety, which I need to get better about) is taking pictures of the amazing Colorado sunsets.

Well, today’s 10-miler is done and now we’re off to Denny’s for some pancakes or french toast.

Hope you’re having a great Saturday!

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Getting Motivated When You’re Bored Out of Your Mind

19 Jan

You’ve probably heard me mention before how slow things are at work, and have been since May when I was hired. Luckily, I am good at entertaining myself or I would have quickly gone mad.

However, I stink at being motivated when there’s nothing I have to do. And I find myself pushing the tasks I do have off until the next day because frankly, I can’t be bothered to stop reading blogs, mapping running routes, modifying training plans, and reading other useless nonsense on the interwebs. When I do have more than one work-related thing to do each day, I find myself annoyed because I had other things I wanted to do today. I already had plans, thankyouverymuch.

Someone driven by career goals would have quit long ago. My only “career” (and I use that term loosely) goal is to be a published author so I’m not sad to not be “succeeding in corporate America.”

Others would have at least utilized their 8 hours (sometimes 7…) a day for something that would improve their job performance. (I’m a copywriter so blogging counts, doesn’t it?)

Not me. I have seriously done everything on the Internet I’ve ever wanted to do, except anything work-related. I’ll find myself driving by a billboard that looks slightly amusing and making a mental note of the website – I should look that up at work. Things I would normally do at home (read: everything personal) I now save for work, so that I don’t lose it by 10 am and wind up in the office coffee shop, chugging spiked frappucinos.

Some days I succeed. I have enough blog posts queued up in Google Reader from the 100 or so blogs I follow that after the morning’s work of logging my previous day’s workout, checking my email (work and personal), and doing “15 minutes of actual work,” I can easily zone out until I leave at 4 pm.

Other days, when it’s slow in blogland, Reader is empty by 12 pm and I languish. I get a headache from looking at the screen and reading but what else to do? I do a crossword, check email, visit The Nest message boards, vote for the best outfits on People.com, and ::gasp:: even attempt reading the news. (But my eyes quickly glaze over and I abandon that idea. How did I manage to major in Journalism without ever reading the news? I’m just that good.)

You’d think by the time I’m done wasting hours of my life sitting in an uncomfortable chair and causing my back to need physical therapy, I’d be rearing to get ‘er done once I got home. But the combination of the winter cold, the short days, and “I’ll do it tomorrow”s combine to make me even more lazy once I get home. It’s like I’m in a walking coma. After my workout and dinner, it’s only 6 pm and I wonder, Is it too early to go to bed?  I don’t want to watch TV but I don’t want to read and I surely don’t want to be productive. What to do, what to do…

I assure you, there is a point behind all this mindless chatter.

The point is, I have realized that I am not a victim of circumstances. I make my life what it is. And if I don’t want to spend days upon days of accomplishing absolutely nothing but running a few miles and eating a bunch of food, I don’t have to.

So I’m making some changes. I’m not going to get crazy or anything, but I think implementing a modest structure for my days and evenings of boredom would be wise. So this is what I’m thinking:

At work

Do work-related activities until at least noon. Obviously, this goes out the window once I (hopefully!) start having more things to do but who knows when that will be? In the meantime, I will read books and blogs on writing style, marketing, copywriting, etc, or do whatever work is assigned to me. After noon, I can do whatever useless crap I want (unless work comes in, then I will do that). Baby steps people. It’s harder than you would think to break out of a 9-month funk.

I put this into practice today. I had a meeting this morning, worked on some event materials, organized some files and then read The Elements of Style until noon, at which time I promptly opened Google Reader and exhaled a sigh of relief. Although I did mostly enjoy reading the book. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE grammar and syntax? I took a Linguistics class my senior year in college for my Spanish major and wondered why hadn’t I taken any before. It was by far my favorite class ever.

At home

Do one thing every day. I have done this before and found it quite useful. I make a list of all the things I’ve thought about, wanted, or needed to do and then do one small thing or part of one bigger thing on the list every day. For example:

  • Finish race memory book
  • Find passport or apply for new one (I’m pretty sure it’s lost)
  • Buy photo corners at Michael’s
  • Work on scrapbook (1 page each night)
  • Clean the dogs’ ears
  • Brush the dogs’ teeth
  • Buy more dog food
  • Schedule bike fit
  • Clean refrigerator
  • Get teeth cleaned at dentist done!
  • Get haircut done!
  • Get physical therapy for back done!
Because…

On a positive note, I have been more diligent about going to bed early and getting up at 5:30 to read the Bible and work on my book. So at least I have that going for me!

Do you struggle with laziness when not required to do anything? Any tips on getting motivated?

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Five Randos

18 Jan

1. I had my third physical therapy appointment this morning. Holy crap it was painful! I told him that the top of my shoulders were still tight and he went to town on them. Seriously, nothing that I voluntarily endured has ever come close.

2. I found the running gear version of Sasquatch – the elusive winter jacket or vest with more reflective detail than just a logo on the chest. It does not exist for a price I’m willing to pay. Seriously, almost every jacket or vest that did have plenty of reflective details was a lightweight jacket. Which just boggles my mind because when does a runner need reflective gear the most? In the winter when’s it cold.

So I abandoned that and looked for other options, such as reflective snap armbands:

How cool are those?

But I did fall in love with this UnderArmour jacket:

It is so cute. It has reflective details on the front, back and sleeves and it says it’s for cold temperatures. But do I trust UnderArmour? I should make up my mind soon because right now, it’s on sale for $84.95, down from $85.00. What a deal! {insert sarcasm}

I’m also looking at this Brooks Nightlife Silver Bullet Jacket. A little more spendy at $108.95 but I would save $13 by no longer needing snap armbands.

This looks like a great jacket and no doubt, would serve me well. I could even go look at it in the store since it’s not a closeout (like the UA jacket). My hesitation is that it’s fluorescent yellow. Yes, I realize that is the point of the Nightlife version but I can’t help thinking that I wouldn’t want to wear the jacket anywhere in public. I mean, admit it. You’ve seen those serious runners walking around in their bright yellow gear and even though you’re a runner yourself and totally understand why they’re wearing it, you still find it a bit weird. It’s just soooooo yellow. (I apologize if you’re one of those runners… who knows? I might join you!)

On the other hand, I might just get the pink version of the jacket. It still has all the same reflective details and warmth factor and it’s $8 cheaper. Travis won’t let me run at night anyway so I only need reflective-ness for about 10 minutes when my run is ending a bit late. That just might be the ticket.

3. I got the green light to post pictures of my adorable nephew!

In the hospital

Sleeping at home

With my mom, now Grandma Sheri

Isn’t he the cutest little thing ever? Can’t wait to meet him in person!

4. Meb Keflezighi runs in Skechers. Several months ago, I was reading an issue of Competitor magazine that I got for free from a race. I noticed an ad for Skechers running shoes featuring Meb. My initial reaction was one of skepticism – after hearing about Skechers was being sued for false advertising with their Shape-ups shoes, the whole company seemed like a sham, targeting the same demographic of people interested in weight loss supplements and detox diets. I was actually so intrigued by the ad that I looked up pictures of Meb running in the NYC Marathon so that I could see what shoes he was wearing. I thought it looked like he was wearing Nikes but apparently I was wrong –  he actually does wear Skechers for running.

The article I linked to above talks about how Skechers wants to break into the performance running market and is using their sponsorship of Meb to help it along. Considering that he PR’ed in and won the last two marathons he ran (including the Olympic Marathon trials), I’m not as skeptical about the shoes as I once was. But… I’m not sure that I’ll be jumping on the Skechers bandwagon anytime soon.

5. I have some friends who are doing a juice cleanse.

{source}

They’re following the Reboot Standard Program, which has you eat only whole fruits and veggies for 15 days (click on the link for specifics). The benefits are supposedly (from their website, with my comments):

  • Boost the number of fruit/vegetable servings you can ingest in a day.  Well, duh! It’d be kind of hard not to, when that’s all you’re eating.
  • Break the cycle of unhealthy eating.  Watch me binge on celery.
  • Retrain your brain to crave fruits and vegetables.  If I can’t kick chocolate in 15 days, I couldn’t do this either.
  • Manage your weight.  I always manage to weigh something.
  • Promote a lifestyle that will lower risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, macular degeneration, cognitive decline and mental illness including depression. General healthy living does this too.
  • Promote longevity. Everyone dies.
  • Decrease aches and pains in joints and muscles.  I wear Skechers for this.
  • Improve your immunity.  Ok, you got me here.
  • Promote increased energy levels. …and increased bitchiness levels.
  • Promote healthy skin, nails and hair.  Only if I stop tanning, biting and dyeing.
  • Gain greater access to digestive enzymes locked away in whole produce through juicing.  Like in kale? Ew.
You can probably tell that I’m not a huge fan of “reboot diets” (which IMO is just a fancy word for detox). Running the risk of being called a hypocrite (since I eliminated sweets from my diet for a month…), I don’t think it’s ever necessary to eliminate entire food groups from your diet, barring an actual food allergy, in the name of “health” or “cleansing.”
Personally, I would go insane if I couldn’t eat cereal. I eat cereal every day. Unless we’re out of milk. And then I cry myself to sleep.
…………………………..
I’d love to hear your thoughts –
Which running jacket would you choose above?
Would you ever wear Skechers for running?
What do you think about reboot/cleansing/detox programs?

 

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