Long Time No See

Hiya.

Long time now talk, eh?

I apologize for never updating. But I’m here now and that is what matters, right?

Let me rewind a bit and tell you what’s been going on in my life…

Last Friday I had to attending a NASCAR event. Yes, NASCAR.

That’s that thing where cars go super fast and make a lot of left turns while people watch drunk. Mind you, I don’t drink, but NASCAR would make me start. I had to attend this NASCAR event because the Marine Corps… I don’t know. I guess NASCAR let us come for free if we just cleaned up the bleachers afterwards. I didn’t have a choice in going so I was cleaning up peanuts and beer until one in the morning then I went back Sunday morning on three hours of sleep to clean some more.

It was fun.

Note the sarcasm.

At least I got a burrito out of it.

Moving on.

I’ve been running daily…

My shirt reads: Running is a mental sport and we are all insane.

You know you are a runner when you buy shirts like that. You also know you are a runner when you are running on a treadmill for nine miles on three hours of sleep after cleaning a NASCAR event. I’m insane. I am aware of that fact.

This morning I got caught in the rain while running. I wanted to run fourteen miles, but I only made it to ten because in a blink of an eye it started down pouring. No joke. 

I decided to wait under a tree until it stopped raining, but I realized how stupid that idea was because I was still getting wet. 

I also saw the movie The Avengers…

And I got dressed in actual clothes…

The rest of the week I have been in classes and cooking out of the back of a HUMVEE. It’s not even considered cooking because we are basically just heating up food in a tray ration heater then serving it. I don’t mind though. It’s been exciting and I’m learning a lot. 

I haven’t been eating lunch because my options are limited. We don’t go to the chow hall since we are cooking meals ourselves and most of them contain meat. If I do eat something, it’s cereal for lunch or a Kashi bar.

Amazingly enough, I weighed myself, which just equals a downward spiral for me.

I weighed myself at the end of the day and I weighed 120. That’s at the end of the day too. Then, I weighed myself in the morning and I weighed 126. Does that make any sense? No.

Due to my insanity, I weighed myself after I ran ten miles and I weighed 120. It drives me nuts! I eat when I’m hungry and I have been eating more actually. I have been eating more carbs especially. I even bought some microwave food so I don’t have to order Chinese food every night. 

Today I ate…

Breakfast:

Lunch: PowerAde (I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t have time to eat.)

Dinner: Ruby Tuesday’s crab cake, zucchini, and onion rings

Dessert: Dairy Queen Blizzard

Snacks: peanut butter, Cheerios, nuts

For the most part, I eat when I’m hungry. Honestly, it’s a real struggle to eat without guilt. I count every calorie no matter what I eat. I don’t know what it is, but this whole number on the scale thing is getting to me again. I even got to the point where I don’t want to eat and I wish I was fully in my eating disorder mode like I was a year ago because then I know I could weigh 100 pounds and not eat. 

Since I know and understand the consequence of not eating, I eat.

I remember I said once that I would never wish an eating disorder on anyone and I still thing the same thought. Unfortunately, now I’m thinking I would wish an eating disorder on someone… that’s me. 

Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.
– T. Alan Armstrong

Easter + Ramblings

Happy Easter!

My Easter started off with a good breakfast. This is my normal breakfast…

I usually eat melon or cantaloupe with a banana, apple, and/or pear. I don’t eat all three. I eat a banana and an apple or something like that. The chow hall always has a lot of fruit so my breakfast is mostly fruit with cottage cheese. I cannot resist cottage cheese. It’s not like I get Greek yogurt here. Wahhh.

Then, I went on a run. I have to sneak off by myself to run since no one wants to run a billion miles with me. I did 10.54 miles @ a 6:58 pace. I wanted to do more miles, but my legs haven’t been feeling ‘fresh’. You know what I mean?

I followed the run with 24 minutes on the elliptical. My legs feel rather deadish.

Believe it or not, the barracks I am currently living in have a gym. I won’t lie to you. It’s a pretty average Joe gym. There are some weights that the dudes hog, two ellipticals (one is broken), a treadmill, and a stationary bike. I want to lift weights more; however, I’m too intimated. I don’t know why. I use to lift weights at my old gym all the time. Here, I’m intimated and embarrassed that I lift like 20 and 30 pounders while the guys lift 80’s.

Back to running…

On base we have The Battlefield. It’s actually a little tourist section with amazing running trails. Every time I run in the trails, I see deer and horses. It’s beautiful. It reminds me of home actually.

Well, this week I ran basically every day on my own time except for Wednesday. Wednesday’s here are considered ‘field day’ where we clean our rooms for an inspection. That means no liberty so I can’t run. Nonetheless, we do have PT every morning with our class. PT here is a joke. Yeah, it gets you moving, but we run for like twenty minutes at, like, a 12 minute mile pace. I swear I can walk it. PT here is for body maintenance, which is funny because a lot of people here are chunky. Not all, but there are quite a few. I blame the vending machines with donuts, Poptarts, and potato chips.

As I was saying, I ran basically every day this week. My stats look like this:

Monday: 8.39 miles @ 7:11 pace
Tuesday: 12 minute run (two miles at least) with a staff sergeant under a seven minute mile pace + weights + 50 minutes on the elliptical
Wednesday: PT run in the morning
Thursday: 8.51 miles @ 7:12 pace
Friday: 8.62 miles @ 7:04 pace
Saturday: 11.17 miles @ 7:10 pace
Sunday: 10.54 miles @ 6:58 pace

Total mileage: 49.23 miles

Of course that is not even close to what I want to be running!

Of course not everyone can be like Miley either…

I bet she’s better than Kara Goucher.

I kid, I kid.

Anyway, you can add a few miles that I run for PT in the morning with my class, but I can’t even count those because they are so darn slow.

As you see, I run like eight miles daily. Doing a bit over eight miles takes me an hour and that’s all I can do when I have a buddy running with me. It’s only fair to them. I know not everyone is a crazy runner like me. That’s why I am a weekend warrior with my eleven miles. Hah! I wish I was doing seventeen.

I hope this week to ramp up the mileage even though on Saturday I will be at an amusement park all day. I’ll just run on the treadmill at 10 PM. I don’t care. I just want to run.

My running face

And I absolutely love my running shoes. My mom sent me these:

They are like six ounces or something. Whatever they are, they are incredible. They go great with my unshaven legs.

Well, I hope I have a better week of running. I have a few posts up my sleeve about what I’m eating, reading, ‘dieting’ and more running. Obviously.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter!

I got some honorable eats for you. I couldn’t forget…

“Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.”
-John Bingham

Fuel Me Up

Happy Saturday!

I started my day off with 15 minutes on the elliptical, an hour spin class, and a five-mile run. I felt fast so hopefully my pace was up there. It will be my last run until God knows when.

Well, I am riding 45 miles tomorrow.

I have never rode my bike that far. I think the furthest I have gone on bike is 30 something miles. I’m rather excited to ride 45 miles in the lovely city of Portland.

Being away from Portland for three months made me realize how much I love Portland. I seriously could live here my whole life I think. As long as I get to travel, I’ll be fine with living in Portland and the weirdo’s.

Enough of my love for Portland.

As I was saying, I am beyond pumped for tomorrow except I have no idea how to fuel myself before riding 45 miles. I know on bike rides you can eat more and not have to worry about stomach issues. Fueling for a bike ride is different from fueling for a long run.

If you guys have any suggestions on what to eat before a long bike ride, hit me up. I don’t think I’m going to have a bagel or anything to carby. Maybe just my usual breakfast of cereal, cottage cheese, and a banana? I’ll be bringing gels and fruit with me on my ride. Also, there will be plenty of rest stops with food from local food places so if I get hungry, I’ll be okay.

In all honesty, I hate fueling during a long run/bike ride. I never do it. Even during two-hour runs, I don’t eat or drink anything (unless it is water). I know that’s wrong and not healthy for training purposes, but I never get hungry on my runs. However, I do eat immediately after I work out.

I will start eating properly for training purposes when I finally settle down at wherever the military places me. When I arrive in Virginia, I plan on finding a marathon to train for. I know I am ready for marathons. Before, I was just physically ready for a marathon, but now I know I am mentally ready for a marathon. I am fully prepared and I want to start training for a race.

I also plan on stricter eating habits. I do eat sweets daily (at night), but I want to cut that out once I settle down. I want to go on the Paleo diet too. I ordered The Paleo Diet for Athletes, written by Dr. Loren Cordain and Joe Frie off of amazon.com. I won’t get it until I come back from MCT. I have been reading a lot on the paleo diet and I like a lot of the aspects of it. I read about it in Triathlete magazine. A lot of athletes follow it. As much as I would like to be vegan, I need dairy. Without dairy, my body suffers. It suffered enough while I was in boot camp because I wasn’t getting enough iron. I had a clump of hair fall out. Disgusting. Anyway, once I settle down wherever I am, I am going to start training hardcore and eating like a professional athlete. All and all, if I want to be one, I have to act like one.

What are you views on the Paleo Diet? If you didn’t know, the paleo diet is based on lean meats, seafood, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables, which can promote peak athletic performance. Obviously I would not be eating any meat. No meat for me.

I hope everything goes smoothly for me on the Worst Day of Year Ride. It will be my last day in Portland. I’ll get a post in tomorrow too before I take off. I think I may do a vlog because I got my laptop! It has a webcam and all that cool stuff all the cool kids have.

I leave you with my recent eats:

Eggplant, Indian rice, onion rings, asparagus, crab cake
Crab and shrimp

Have a wonderful weekend!

11 Things

It’s Friday! It’s raining here, but my mood is high. How is everyone doing today?

Well, I have been tagged by Sarah for the 11 things survey. Holla. She’s beast.

The Rules:

1. List 11 random things about myself
2. Answer the 11 questions she asked me
3. Come up with 11 questions to ask other bloggers
4. Tag 11 bloggers do this next

1. I enjoy reading Good Housekeeping and those Family magazines. Don’t judge. They have good recipes.

2. I won’t dare touch a soda, not even diet, but I will drink sugar/calorie free Monster. I bet they’re bad for me. Go ahead and tell me how wrong I am.

3. I  cannot sit still through any TV show. I have to record it first so I can fast forward through the commercials and any parts I find boring.

4. I’m currently reading three books:

5. I want the abs of Kara Goucher.

6. My brother is my biggest idol. I look up to him more than anyone else.

7. It’s noon and I still haven’t showered. In my defense, I am waiting for the FedEx man for my laptop. I don’t want to be getting dressed and have him come to my door. Awkward.

8. Eggplant and brussel sprouts are my favorite veggies. 

9. I bought another pair of shoes. I already have these, but in blue. These will be 5th pair of Adidas Tempo 4.

10. I’m surprised at how much I pee. I pee more than a puppy.

11. While I was gone at boot camp, my doggy died. My mom didn’t tell me until I got home. It was awful and now I feel like a Debbie Downer.
Sarah’s questions:

1. Are you a Hunger Games fan? (I can’t wait for the movie!) Hello! Hell yeah I am a Hunger Games fan. I’m so excited for the movie.

The only thing that pisses me off about the series is the two guys and one girl aspect.

2. Physical or intellectual challenges? Physical. I can’t solve riddles.

3. Cardio, weights or both? Cardio only because I love running too much.

4. Name a pet peeve. I hate when people touch my sides of my stomach. Or when people walk super slow. Come on. The world is ending, start walking fast.

5. Psychology or sociology? I suppose psychology. I took a psychology class in high school and enjoyed it. It was really interesting.

6. Favorite way to workout your legs? Deadlifts.

7. Do you play angry birds? I do. I beat like all the versions of Angry Birds though.

8. Do you have any tattoo’s? Nope. I wouldn’t mind getting some though.

9. What is your go to post workout meal? Greek yogurt, peanut butter, cereal, apple or pear, and Luna bar.

10. The beach or the mountains? The beach. I need the warm weather.

11. What are you currently excited for? My 45 mile bike ride on Sunday!

I’m suppose to tag 11 more people, but this survey has been around the world and back. If you want to do it, do it. I have some questions you can answer regardless. 

1. When do you feel most confident?
2. Harry Potter or Hunger Games?
3. Favorite store that is not a grocery store?
4. If you could go to any restaurant, what would it be?
5.  Your opinion on Valentine’s Day.
6. Dark or milk chocolate?
7. Favorite actress?
8. How many pets do you have?
9. Favorite form of working out?
10. Could you live without Facebook?
11. What type of cell phone do you have?

Answer them in your own post or here.

Have a great Friday!

Pacing

Hi! What’s up, ya’ll?

I’m such an awful blogger. Not only do I leave for three months, I come back and I don’t even bother blogging. Truth be told, I don’t know what to say! That’s a lie. I could talk about running… and I will.

The thing that sucked about boot camp was the most we ran was three miles. We barely worked out. For me personally, that messed with my head big time. However, that’s a whole different blog post I have planned. Anyway, I love running. Obviously.

 I run despite my mood, the weather, the pain, and the voice in my head that tells to stop.

I have a billion and one running photos on my computer…

Not running for three months was terrible. I feel like now I have to make it all in this single week before I leave for North Carolina.

Already on Saturday I ran 16 miles @ 7:29 pace.

The rest of the week, so far, has looked like this:

Monday: 9.84 miles @ 7:25
Tuesday: 8.94 @7:16
Wednesday: 12.06 miles @ 7:29

Tuesday I did a speed workout that consisted of…

• 1 progressing mile @ 6:07
• 3 500′s @ 1:40
• 3 400′s @ 1:20

My pacing is totally off! I just keep thinking if my calves weren’t so sore and I have been running consistently, I could being doing a mile in less than six minutes. It’s crazy. My long runs are messing with me mentally. I was doing 14 miles at a 6:59 three months ago. I don’t know when I’ll get back to that.

Whateva, whateva.

Yesterday was my birthday! I’m 19, ladies and gents.

My mother ordered me a Dell laptop, which I should receieve on Friday. Unfortunately, I cannot take it to MCT, but I can take it to my MOS school. I can continue to blog then as well as stay in touch. By the way, my blog needs serious updating. I am aware. Moving on…

Also, for my birthday, I celebrated by going to a restaurant called Zeppo. It’s an Italian restaurant and it is delicious.  I got…

with

fresh salmon thin crust pizza that had garlic, goat cheese, spinach, and capers. It was amazing. I seriously ate the whole thing then went to Coldstone.

With food, I am just enjoying myself although it is a struggle for me to not step on the scale in the morning. I’m starving all the time though. I came home from boot camp and I just want to eat. My stomach is a pit I think.

It will be even more so since I signed up for the Worst Day of the Year Ride.

It’s a bike ride in Portland. There is an 18 mile course and a 45 mile one. Guess which one I did?  The 45 mile one. I may kill my legs. Oh well. I’m excited despite the guilt my mom placed on me for leaving her by herself all day. It’s the day before I leave for North Carolina too. I feel somewhat bad about it, but I don’t know if I will have another opportunity.

Well, I hope all of you are doing well. Share anything you like with me because I’m very lazy/busy/tired to stalk your blogs.

I’ll leave with you some past eats…

 

“Common sense is necessary … more so than high tech. Race to the
finish not race from the start, pace yourself, run your own race and
don’t get sucked into someone else’s, walk when you need too, run when
you can, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we will hurt.”
- Kevin Sayers

A Little Blurry

There is so much to say about my experience at boot camp and there is a football game on that i would like to watch as well. Honestly, I don’t remember much about the beginning of boot camp. Receiving and forming week or whatever else those weeks are called are such a blur to me.

Here is what I recall:

The first two days I did not sleep. No one slept. I was up for two days straight. I remember being thirsty, scared, homesick, and just plain frightened. When we did get water, we also go box chow. Box chow is the worst food ever. In the box is a terrible meat sandwich, chips, cookies, raisins, an apple, granola bar, and powder Gatorade. The drill instructor was screaming at me to eat the meat sandwich so I did. What was I going to say? “Um, excuse me. I’m vegetarian.” That was the only time I ate meat though.

Those first few days of no sleep and barely any food, I lost three pounds. In total, I lost 13 pounds surprisingly.

During phase one of boot camp you do martial arts. For me, I despised martial arts. It was repetive. In addition, I swear everything at boot camp had the fun sucked out of it. Martial arts could have been a blast, but it wasn’t. There was swim qualifications were during phase one too. I thought we would learn to swim so I was excited. However, the qualification for swimming was for you to know how to stay afloat. I passed the first day.

I can’t recall any more from phase one. There was initial PFT testing. That involves flexed arm hang, crunches, and a 1.5 mile run. I did 70 seconds for the flex arm hang, 144 crunches, and I came in first in the run. In all the runs, I came in first. The runs only went up to 3 miles though. For the final PFT test, I ran three miles in 18:04. That combined with my flex arm hang of 1:29 and my crunches, which were 149. My score of the PFT combined with my CFT score. With that, I won Ironwoman. I was the most physically fit of my company. Do you know how much that means to me? That’s like the only thing I remember of boot camp.

Phase 2? Well, we were at the rifle range. I remember that because I loved shooting. I got sharpshooter.

As for phase three, still a blur. I only remember Liberty Sunday, Family Day, and leaving the damn island. The Crucible went by rapidly that I don’t remember all the details.

I don’t know what was in the water, but it made my memory disappear. All I can is that I am so happy to be home although I leave February 13th for MCT school for 29 days. Booooo. I am not looking forward to it at all.

To conclude what I have to say, Marine boot camp is 90% mental and drill. It’s not physical whatsoever. I was challenged. I am a new person now. I would take a bullet for any girl in my platoon. I would fight for any American’s freedom. I still have barely any confidence, but I am a new person. I feel different. The experience was worth it.

As for now, I just want to get back to normal blogging where I talk about running constantly. I want to comment and read your blogs again, but I can’t seem to find the time.

Anyway, when I arrived home Saturday, I ran 16 miles. My pace was awful so I am not even going to say it. What can I expect? I haven’t ran that far in three months. In the end of my run, my calves were killing. However, the run itself was great. I did not turn on music for the first hour. Amazing run.

Today I returned to the gym.

I was expecting people to be like, “Hey, Christy. Where have you been for three months?” Instead, they were like, “Hey.” I get to go to my gym for free though. That’s rather awesome. My spin class was killer. My body is sore. See, I was not physical challenged at boot camp. Now I feel so behind. I know MCT school will kick my ass though.

My shirt kicks ass though.

Well, I apologize for how choppy this post is. I just wanted to get something on here. I’ll answer any questions you guys have about boot camp. Just let me know.

The questions I received so far are:

- Was the food good? Well, as a vegetarian, I did not eat much. Breakfast I would eat fruit, eggs, and cottage cheese. Lunch was spinach and veggies. Dinner was more spinach, veggies, and maybe rice. I got lucky if there was fish, egg salad, or tuna. Otherwise, I did not eat much. Eating now at home is making my stomach weary. I feel sick, but extremely hungry. I think I was in starvation mode because I cannot stop eating. I still weigh 111 though. I really suffered mentally with eating. I feel like my eating disorder re-kicked in and now it’s on my mind 24/7.

- Were there scheduled eating times or snacks allowed? We had scheduled time for chow. Breakfast was around 4:30 am, lunch was around 11:30, and dinner was at five. There were no snacks except for at The Crucible, since that is 54 hours long with hiking. We received MRE’s there (meals ready to eat). Those were good and we could snack on them throughout the day when there was time.

- How much running was there or any form of cardio? Not much. We did not run much at all.

- Best and worst memory? Like I said, my memory is awful. My worst memory is something I don’t even want to mention on here. My best is graduating.

- Daily routine? Chow, drill, classes maybe, PT maybe, chow, more drill, more classes maybe, chow, free time, letters, bed. My day started at 4:00 and ended at 8:00.

- Friendships? I made so many friends. Most of the girls I got along with where in their 20′s. Throughout my whole life I always got along with people who were older than me. Anyway, there was 54 girls in my platoon. Some girls I could not stand, but I would take a bullet for them.

I’ll end this post with recent eats and other eats from, like, November. Enjoy.

Jalapeno poppers
Mushroom pot pie
Flatbread w/ salad
Tofu sandwich w/ salad

That’s all, folks!  

You Are an Ironman

Recently I read You Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World’s Toughest Triathlon. 

I bought this book because it was actually recommended… on The View. No joke. Like any crazy person who has the deep desire to do an Ironman, I bought the book immediately.

You Are an Ironman features six average Joe’s. In a way, their stories and journey towards the Arizona Ironman were inspirational, but they were not at all dramatic. Like, “Oh, this kid picked on me in the first grade. I’m going to show him. Boohoo.” 

I was expecting to read some sap stories. In reality, these six average Joe’s were just normal people with a love for the sport. They shared their struggles of fitting in work, family, and two hours of exercise a day. And you guys thought I was crazy? These people bike 60 miles a day then go on a run. The whole time I was reading You Are an Ironman, I kept thinking, “I want to do this.” No doubt I will.

By the way, Ironman triathlons are always a 2.1 mile swim followed immediately by a 112 mile bike ride, followed immediately by a standard 26.2 mile marathon.

Anyway, this book is perfect. The writing is fantastic and it’s not written in first person. That was a great feature.

If you ever doubt yourself, get this book. You will realize that you can do anything. You can run a marathon, you can swim a few miles, and you can bike far. You shouldn’t let anyone stop you and, most importantly, you shouldn’t let someone tell you that you are addicted to exercise when you just have a goal to do an Ironman (or whatever it may be).

What I also love about this book is the fact that it includes not only the physical struggles of training for an Ironman, but the emotional. It shows that something has to give. Of course a person can have a family and train, but it’s difficult. Time has to give, which means a mother or father cannot take their to children to school or what have you.

Training for an Ironman or just training in general is somewhat of a selfish act. Having a family while training isn’t realistic. That’s why most athletes don’t have children and, hey, I don’t want any anyway so it all works out for me. (Not a big fan of children.)

Also, training for an Ironman is expensive! The race itself is outrageously expensive then you must have a bike, helmet, swim gear, running gear, a hotel, and so much more.

In the book, everyone did several races leading up to the Ironman in Arizona. These races – mostly tri’s – were also expensive. They are more money than a running race. If you have a child, I can’t imagine spending that kind of money.

But it shows you that you can’t have it all. Well, you can, but something always goes wrong.

That isn’t my main point of the book though.  It’s by far one of my favorite sport type books. I loved it to no end and I couldn’t put it down.

It definitely helped my running rut as well as inspired me to become a triathlete. After the Marines (bootcamp that is), I hope to learn to swim besides just floating in the water. I have never wanted to do an Ironman more in my life. I feel like I am meant to do it; that running isn’t my only passion. I also really desire to do a century – 100 mile bike ride. Sounds like a blast to me!

Then again, I’m a little cray cray. You guys know that already.

By the way, if you guys don’t know the official results of Ironman Kona 2011, you are in for a treat.

Craig Alexander finished in 8:03:56. He was the first male. He won the event in 2008 and 2009.  He broke the course record by 12 seconds.

The first female was Chrissie Wellington. (8:55:08)

I was rooting for Mirinda Carfrae, who came in second.

She did finish in 08:57:57. So amazing. The average person probably finishes in 12 hours or more.

I hope to one day be up there. Not the top three women, but at least there in Kona.

No, Seriously

Who am I? Seriously.

I am not a lazy blogger. I think about blogging a lot, but unfortunately the majority of my day is spent at work behind a bakery case or an espresso machine.

It’s either I am making a 400 calorie drink for someone or burning 400 calories by running.

I’m still in my running rut, but I feel better about it. I no longer feel like dying during my runs, but I prefer the treadmill over the outdoors. Who am I?

I’m also listening to music while running outside. Again, who am I? Before this rut, I would have never put music on while running or even step on a treadmill.

I’m cray cray.

Due to my craziness, I’m going to cover this week’s workouts.

So, Monday…

I don’t even remember that day. I don’t know if I ran or what so let’s just skip that day. Oh wait, now I remember.

I did run. I ran 5.30 miles @ 7:07 pace.

I didn’t even look at my watch the whole time. Go me.

Tuesday: I rode my bike to the gym (7.21 miles) where I did a track workout with a girl at my gym who does Ironman’s and all that crazy stuff I want to do. Her fiance is sponsored by Newton (stay tuned for more Newton news).  I just want to be her.

Anyway, we did two laps as a warmup followed by a mile that was supposed to get faster as we went along. I think I did the mile in 6:03. Next, we did two 400′s, which I did in 1:30. The last thing we did was 6 x 200. All of this totaled out to 4.25 miles.

I can’t tell you the last time I did a track workout. It was awesome.

After that, I went on the elliptical for 11 minutes and lifted some weights before I rode my bike home (9.80 miles).

Wednesday: Another run! I thought I was going so slow, but it turns out I did 8.83 miles @ 6:49 pace. I’m a little shocked.

Thursday: I ran for an hour on the treadmill, probably covering 8 ish miles between 7:03 – 7:13 pace.

Who am I running on a treadmill?

So much butt sweat.

Friday: I rode my bike to the gym (7.23 miles), ran on the treadmill for an hour covering 8 ish miles, lifting for 15 minutes, and then riding my bike back home (9.77 miles).

I did lift some weights on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but otherwise I was lacking in the weight lifting department. It’s like, yeah, I’m still in this running rut, but if I can handle running on a treadmill, why not do it? 

Running miles: 34+ miles 
Biking miles: 34.1 miles

I definitely want to bring up those running miles to like… 200 miles. Seriously.

In other news, I bought some bike shoes. 

I love it. I’m such a hardcore biker now. Man. Now I just need some stickers on my bike that say “Keep Portland Weird” or “Drink More Beer” and I will fit right in with the Portland crowd.

I got another pair of running shoes (more on that later).

I got acupuncture done again at this new place. My quad has been killing me so I’m hoping some needles will help. My mom came with. Awesome time.

Let’s see. I haven’t been up to much. I’m going to have a post tomorrow on Newton running shoes and a book review. 

Well, let’s wrap this up with honorable eats. Boooyeah.

   Candy cane mocha
 

“Even if you fall flat on your face at least you are moving forward”
–Sue Luke

Get Use to It

You guys should really get use to me being gone all the time. In a few weeks I will be gone for three months.

Sorry to disappoint you. I know how much you all (maybe like two people) love me and my bitchiness.

It’s all good though. It’s all good.

Anyway…

Heyo!

Today included me riding my bike to the gym,

 My awesome bike shorts that give me a butt

sweating on the elliptical, lifting weights, running a mile, and then going to the Marine’s office.

There I did 100 sit ups. Killed it.

Did a flex arm hang for 70 seconds. Died.

Then, my recruiter drove me to the track where we had a tea party where I ran two miles in 18:04. Don’t laugh. I know I fail at running now. I did do my first mile in 6:28. That’s something considering I pulled something in my quad and it hurts like a bitch.

I haven’t run in… a few weeks. Seriously at least. I run at least a mile or two daily, but other than that, I have no desire to run so why force it, you know?

This happened before though except for not that long. I just biked instead everyday. Whatever. I better like running soon since I will be doing it all the time at boot camp.

Aye, I got results and photos from Race the Reaper that I did October 1st.

I game in 5th place in my heap, 51 place overall, and 6th female overall. I feel like I could have definitely done better. Whatever.

As you can see, I was pissed. What’s new?

So, I have been meaning to talk about my acupuncture appointments. I have had three acupuncture appointments and all of them were great. The first time I did it, I had a Groupon.

I did have a problem with my right foot again. After the appointment, my foot did feel better. Then, I went to a new acupuncture place that my mom paid for and, afterwards, my foot felt brand new. It helped so much and I was able to run better immediately. Of course, I still iced my foot, wore compression socks, and toe separater(?) socks to increase my recovery.

Even though I didn’t feel like running, I ran to test out my foot and to see if the acupunture indeed helped. It did in my opinion.

Acupuncture isn’t even painful. Basically, you get very fine point needles put wherever you feel some type of pain. The needles sit there for, like, 30 minutes while you sleep.

“Acupuncture, the treatment of pain and injury using thin, disposable needles, has a history dating back thousands of years in China. Although its practice and theory have evolved since being introduced to Japan, both styles share a similar focus: reducing pain and muscle imbalances by treating specific points of the body. Russ Stram, a New York-based licensed acupuncturist at Brill Physical Therapy, practices a mixed style. “Acupuncture follows Chinese medicine theory with the philosophy of restoring balance to the body,” he explains. “A practitioner takes a thorough history and examines the body for tight and painful areas, choosing points based on the meridian point system.” (Source.)

If you are a runner and are experience some muscle soreness or another type of injury, I recommend acupuncture instead of seeing a doctor who will just tell you to stop running.

“But more than recovery from injury, acupuncture’s greatest potential may come in injury prevention. According to Stram, “Running and training hard, whether it is fast acceleration sprints or long distance, takes a toll on the body. This is especially true of problem areas such as the back, hips and legs, which are most affected by running. Acupuncture needles can get directly to deep muscle bands to maximize the treatment effect. ” (Source.)

I loved acupuncture and will be going back once more before I leave in November.

Also, don’t be afraid to try a few different acupuncture specialists until you find one you like. My first experience with acupuncture was just okay so I tried it again and found someone better who knew what they were talking about. It was fantastic. Don’t be afraid of needles either. You literally feel nothing.

So, I’m going to wrap this up with some honorable eats:

 Tamale w/ tofu

Black bean burger

Not that great tasting, but I like that it’s crunchy
 I just started eating this bread. Love it.

Since I’ve been gone…

Heya.

Since I’ve been gone…

I grew a mustache.

Since I’ve been gone…

I shaved it.

Since I’ve been gone…

I was called cute by one of my (male) coworkers after I shaved my mustache.

Holla.

Since I’ve been gone…

I ran, like, maybe sixish miles. I’m still in a hell of a running rut.

Since I’ve been gone…

I biked 52 miles.

Since I’ve been gone…

I have not been able to put down this book:

Seriously. It amazing.  I will definitely do a review on this. Thanks, Barbara Walters, for recommending this on The View.

Also, since I’ve been gone, I bought the ESPN Body Issue.

Look at those legs. Holy moly.

I think they could crush a walnut.

The ESPN Body Issue actually made me feel better about myself. I may have big thighs, but they are all muscle. I may be a size zero/one, but I’m strong. I’m buff. My dentist told me that. Nevermind my teeth. Who cares?

Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic snowboarder, proclaimed, “This is not about being sexy but about being strong and powerful and showing girls it’s OK to have muscles.”

Today, while working out, I actually liked my body for once. I’m not a stick. I’m not just a bone. I have gained muscle and weight, and guess what? I’m still a size one just like I was when I was 105 or 103.

I don’t weigh myself anymore. I’m not doing all this cardio like I was (thanks to my running rut). Guess what? I’m fine. I may not be 100% confident with myself, but I feel better about myself.

That’s a start.

“It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners.  Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit.”
 –George Sheehan