Niki's Neverending Adventure

Today has not really been a very good day. It all started with my run this morning. I got up at 6 am to do a 3 miler. For some reason I was crazy sore, I am guessing it's from soccer the other day. And the calf pain that won't go away!! My hips, hamstrings, quads, left ankle, and especially my right calf were giving me trouble! Every step was ouch, ouch, ouch! But I was bound and determined to do 3 miles. I told myself just get through this run and you can have the next 2 days off since you will be working all day. I did get through it at a 10:23 min/mile pace. Not terribly bad for all the pain I was feeling. I did stop twice to try to stretch out my calf. I have been icing it all day also. It's just in one huge knot! Like I can literally see a knot sticking out of my leg! Haha. Hopefully 2 days off will help:)



They day didn't get any better after that. I promised Al I would go down to 201 Poplar (jail and court) with him so he could try to get out of his speeding ticket. I hate going there. I feel so scared the whole time! For those of you who aren't in Memphis, I am sure I was surrounded not only by speeders but by thieves and murderers waiting for their court. And I'm not kidding. Luckily I'm a VERY nice girlfriend! And to make matters worse, when they scanned my purse, they asked if I had a camera in there. I said yes because I always have my camera with me. Well apparently cameras are not allowed at 201 Poplar and I had to truck it all the way back to my car to put it up ALONE. AGH! I'm surprised I'm still alive! Ha



I did all my grocery shopping today and just realized that all my cereal I bought at Walmart is missing!! Ahhh! That's alot of cereal and it's the expensive Kashi kind! Plus I'm too lazy to go back and deal with them to try to get it back. I did go to Whole Foods today and that always puts me in a good mood! I got all kinds of yummy fruits and veggies!!



Tomorrow I am starting The Simple Life Challenge that Bobbi at NHerShoes is putting on. Click here to read about it! It sounds awesome! Basically there are certain ways you can get points. One is to cook all your meals yourself and not eat out. This will be very hard for me but is definitely something I need to work on!! Second is to walk, run, bike to places like work or stores to run errands when you would normally drive. And third is doing something extra that you normally don't to be simple and green. I have some good ideas for this one but would LOVE any other ideas!! I think this is such a great and fun idea for a challenge! I totally stocked up on lots of yummy things to eat! I will keep ya'll updated on how I'm doing:)

Posted in: on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at at 4:38 PM 3 comments    

Ya'll check this out!! Lauren Nicole Gifts is having this awesome Vera Bradley giveaway!! It ends Thursday at midnight so head on over and enter!!

We won our game last night! Yea! It was 4 or 5 to1. I lost count after 3 goals:) My legs felt completely dead after the game and I am so sore today!! Maybe I shouldn't run before my games:) It's just so hard not to!! So needless to say it hurts to walk down stairs so I won't be running today. I stayed at my parents house last night so I didn't have to drive so far after we went out celebrating! ha! I am going to talk my dogs on a walk in a bit and am debating a bike ride or not... Depends what time my mom and I are going shopping!!

I am contemplating picking up Friday to work since I don't have to work Sunday. I know I should but I love my days off! Ya'll probably are laughing at me since I only work 2-3 days a week but hey, it's tough work! Ha. Guess I probably will, just need to make sure Al doesn't have anything planned Friday before I decide to go to work!! Hope everyone has a fun Wednesday!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at at 9:35 AM 3 comments    

Got up this morning and headed to my parents house so my dad and I could take my car in to get the air conditioning looked at! On our way home we decided to stop at Shelby Farms and pick strawberries! I didn't even know this place existed but it was so fun! We picked a whole bucket full and I am planning to make a strawberry cake out of some of them. YUM! When we got back I decided to go for a short 2 miler since I have soccer tonight. I started off at my usual pace but was really itching to go fast! So halfway I decided to speed it up a bit and that left me worn out when I got home! It felt GREAT! My right calf is still giving me some issues. It was sore halfway into the run and after that felt fine, but is really stiff now. Hope that doesn't affect my playing tonight!! So here is my run info:



2 miles- 18:45
1st mile-9:45 min pace
2nd mile - 9:03 min pace



That's a good deal faster on my 2nd mile! I'm pretty happy about that! And yes I know I'm no speed demon! Haha. And my car wasn't that expensive to fix! Yea!





I was also given The Lemonade Award award by the lovely Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries!! She has such a cute blog and I have really enjoyed reading it and getting to know her!

The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award
1. Put the logo on your blog or post 2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude 3. Link to your nominees within your post 4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award 5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award. 6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.

As for my attitude of gratitude, it's something I have to constantly strive at. Sometimes you really just have to look at everything you have when you are down. I am thankful for so many things that give me gratitude, like my health, ability to run and play soccer, my family and friends, my awesome boyfriend, my job, the ability to go back to school. I think it's really important to give thanks to God for everything you are blessed with!!

I am passing this along to: Melissa , Whitney , Jennifer, Susan, Kristen, Sweetpea, Rachel, Lauren

Hope everyone has a great night! I will be out late celebrating (hopefully!) after soccer!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at at 4:06 PM 2 comments    

I've been rather busy today!! I had my ACLS recertification this morning so I had to get up and head into work at 8am. I had planned to get up at 5am to run. I got up on time, got ready, headed to my treadmill, and started. I was just gonna do a short speed workout but my right calf was still bothering me pretty bad. It was to the point that I was basically hobbling as I ran so I decided this was not a good idea. Instead, I went and did the 3o day Shred. I don't know what the issue is with my calf. I think it's definitely a muscle thing and I've been stretching it. It doesn't hurt when I walk, just when I run and stretch it out. I can feel a huge knot that I've been trying to massage too. But I am planning to try again tomorrow and hopefully it won't be sore because I have a soccer game tomorrow night! At least I got in the SHRED! I love that workout! I'm still on level 1 but planning to go to level 2 very soon!!

After my class, I went to eat with a friend at McAlisters. YUM! I got the veggie pita with a fruit cup. And of course a sweet tea! Freaking love their sweet tea!! Then I mowed and edged my backyard, swept out my garage and sprayed for bugs, then watered all my new plants in the front and back!! After that, I took Sadie on a walk then gave her a bath!! Now I just finished vacuuming and am still working on some laundry! I feel pretty productive today!!

I have some bad news, my air conditioning in my car isn't working:( Boo. I am taking it in tomorrow to be fixed but I'm sure it's gonna be very expensive. But there is no way I will be able to survive without air conditioning during a Memphis summer!! How is everyone else's Monday going??

Posted in: on Monday, April 27, 2009 at at 5:27 PM 3 comments    

I love all the pretty flowers!!

The right flower bed!

This is the left flower bed!

These are the flower beds we made! Aren't the stones nice?!? I love the red flowers I planted on the right!!

So now I am VERY sunburned! Blah... And I didn't have time to run today. Literally couldn't have fit it in if I wanted to!! Plus my right calf muscle is still bothering me from running the other day. Crazy how much one week off can set you back. I work all weekend so not too much running going to get done. Next week though, it's on!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Posted in: on Friday, April 24, 2009 at at 9:24 PM 9 comments    

I am back from St. Louis! I had a GREAT time but sad now because it means my BFF is really gone:( I can't wait to go back and visit her! Here are some pics from the trip!

Posted in: on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at at 1:25 PM 7 comments    

I'm off to St. Louis in a few hours!!! I'm so excited. Not sure how much time I will have to blog and/or comment so ya'll may not hear from me until Wednesday. But I will take lots of pictures!! Hope everyone has a GREAT beginning of the week!

Posted in: on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at at 12:15 PM 9 comments    

Yesterday was awful! At work on Thursday afternoon, I started feeling bad. Had chills, was nauseous, and had back and stomach pain. It was worse when I got home that night. I just took a shower and went to bed. I was scheduled to work Friday so I knew I needed to wake up early to decide how I felt and if I needed to call in or not. When I got up I felt awful and called into work. Luckily I was bale to go back to sleep but every move I made hurt so bad. I got up at 9am and could barely walk. The only position I could get slightly comfortable in was laying down. So I called my mom in tears because I hurt so bad and she came and picked me up and took me to the Dr. I know, I'm 24 and calling my mom when I don't feel good. I don't care, she makes me feel better!! Anyway, ends up I had a really bad bladder infection! I figured it was either that or a kidney infection. So I got my antibiotics and went on my way. And let me say, Cirpo is awesome! I felt so much better after one pill!! Plus the extra strength Tylenol made my pain much better and I was able to eat some soup for dinner last night. But anyway, that was probably the worst pain I've ever had! Much worse than when I tore all those ligaments in my ankle! I feel alot better this morning, not 100% but much better. Needless to say I won't be doing my 4 miler today and not sure how many more days off I will take. Guess it depends how I feel. I'm hoping I can still go to my BFF's going away party tonight! I am also heading to St. Louis with her tomorrow and I am SO happy I'm not hurting anymore! Sorry if this was TMI, I'm a nurse so nothing bothers me:) Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Posted in: on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at at 8:56 AM 4 comments    

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a breakfast date with my friends this morning. So I decided to get up early and run before breakfast. I had my alarm set for 7 am and woke up at 6:45! I love when I wake up a little before my alarm. Makes me feel like I definitely got enough sleep and am ready to tackle the day! I haven't been running in the mornings very much lately out of pure laziness. On my days off, I have been waking up, eating breakfast, and being lazy until about 11am and then heading out for my run. This is a new thing I started recently and normally I would get up and do my run right away, especially in the summer months. Anyway, I got up and got ready, and headed out for a 3 miler. I did a different route than I usually do, actually it was a completely new route. It was slightly hilly but not like the one huge hill on my normal route. It was actually a GREAT run. I was speedier than usual with a 9:45 pace. That is really good for me right now, especially to sustain that pace for 3 miles! I think , actually I know, I just do better running in the mornings when I first get up. Always have, always will. Luckily races happen early in the mornings and not late in the day! Ha!

I am pretty sore from doing the Shred for the past couple days and really had to hold back and not do it today since I have soccer tonight! I still am contemplating doing it though! It's so addicting! I can either do it today, or wake up before work and do it tomorrow morning. So those are my options. Now, obviously I don't mind getting up before work and doing it, the only issue with that is I won't get home from my game until 11 or 11:30. So do I sleep or workout?!? Ha ha, decisions, decisions!!

If it would warm up about 10 degrees today I would get out in my yard and do some yard work!! I thought it was supposed to be 70 today so maybe later I can do that. I am going to take Sadie on a nice walk today, she will love that!! Breakfast was at The Bagel Company this morning, and as always was fabulous! I was starving by the time I got there! I had my usual, a wheat bagel with honey walnut cream cheese and coffee. I could eat that every morning!! What is everyone else up to today??

Does anyone have the new Rascal Flatts CD?? I can't wait to get it, might download it from ITunes today!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at at 11:57 AM 6 comments    

Yes, that's right. I'm in tears. Why? Because I'm watching The Biggest Loser! I am such a sap:) I normally don't watch the show but decided to since I've been doing the 30 day Shred and am totally into Jillian Michael's workouts!! So anyway, they did a big makeover and got to see some of their friends/families and everyone was so happy to see eachother and tears were flowing!! So of course, my tears were flowing! Especially when the father/son team, Ron and I forget the son's name, saw their mom/wife and other brother/son. And the other brother/son was so happy to see them but so upset that he was now "the big one". I just lost it!! I love this show! I am totally gonna watch it until the end and all the coming seasons! I seem to cry more at movies and Tv shows than anything else in my life. Is anyone else like that??

I also watched American Idol tonight, normally don't watch that show either and I think Adam is AMAZING!! What is he even doing on that show? He's too good for American Idol and should have his own record by now! I'm going to continue watching this show too!!

Ok, now a totally random question. Does anyone know how to find out the most accurate basal metabolism for yourself? Don't know if that makes sense, but basically I am wondering where I find out how many calories I should be taking in based just on my metabolism (what I burn normally in a day without the extra workouts). Since I've been totalling up my intake for the past couple days on Fitday, I've been taking in about 1600-1700 calories, which I think is reasonable but not sure. That's what I would like to find out! So any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Plans for tomorrow include getting up at 7am and going for a 3 mile run, going to breakfast with Mac, Magan, and Michelle before Mac leaves for St. Louis, doing a little shopping, then soccer tomorrow night. Mac is my BFF who is moving TOMORROW :( She is going to move to St. Louis to be with her boyfriend. She will be back Sat though, then I'm going up there with her Sunday for a few days so it's really not like she's leaving yet. But after next week, when I come home, it's gonna be so sad without her here. I am going to miss her so much. I am totally ignoring the subject because it makes me so sad. Everyone at work keeps asking if I will be ok or if I'm really sad and I just kinda blow it off and say I don't want to think about it. This will bite me in the butt after next week though, I know it. I will be such a sad girl:( Anyway, hope everyone has a good night and great day tomorrow!

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at at 9:11 PM 7 comments    

I was tagged by Running With High Heels On to do this little questionnaire!! Thanks girl! This is so fun:)

The rules are:
1. Fill it out
2. Change one question with one of your own
3. Add an additional question
4. Tag 3 other people to do the same

1. What are your current obsessions?Running, doing the Shred, soccer!!
2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often? Either my scrubs or workout clothes!
3. Last thing you bought for yourself? Groceries yesterday!!
4. What’s for dinner?Not sure, maybe a home made BBQ Chicken pizza or pasta!
5. Say something to the person who tagged you: Love your blog! You are a very motivating runner!
6. What is one item you could not live without? my cell phone! I am not a big talker but I don't know what I would do without it!
7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die? Hmm... Europe, the Caribbean, Australia
8. Three things to do before you die: run a marathon, get married and have a family, swim with the dolphins!!
9. What are you reading right now? Breaking Dawn, the last book of the Twillight series!
10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed? The Boy in the Striped Pajamas! So good but definitely a tear jerker!
11. What’s your guilty pleasure? Chocolate and ice cream!
12. What’s your favorite smell? fresh cut roses!
13. Best thing you ate or drank lately? Had a great Tilapia dish for dinner last night!
14. Favorite Movie? The Notebook, hands down!!
15. Describe one of your happiest moments. When I finished my first half marathon! I was thrilled that I completed it with a pretty good time and can't wait to run another!
16. Whats one thing you can't go a day with out doing? Getting on the computer!!
17. What do you have an addiction to? running, soccer, tv!!
18. Whats your favorite holiday? Christmas!!! Not only is it the best holiday, but it's my birthday too!!
19. How many pairs of shoes (not just running) do you have?? I would say about 20. I'm sad to say I am not a big shoe girl. When I buy shoes I like them to be able to go with multiple outfits.
20. What is the biggest obstacle you have had to over come?Tearing the ligaments in my ankle playing soccer. It was awful! I couldn't run, workout, or play soccer! I could barely walk. It was my first time to have a cast, EVER. And I never want one again!!
21. What do you do for fun? I love to go out to eat, spend time with my BF and friends, and shop!! I am very low key!!

I tag:
Ashley
Pink Cupcake
Robyn

Posted in: on at at 11:35 AM 2 comments    

I was up at 4:10am to do my Shred workout before work. It was a great workout. I have been having trouble doing some of the strength moves with my 5lb weights so I used 2 Vitamin waters today for some of the moves I was having trouble with and it was a perfect amount of weight. After I finished I did some extra ab work and some planks then headed for the shower. After I got ready and was fixing breakfast, I got a call saying I was cancelled today from work since they were slow and today was my overtime shift. Now, it's kinda nice to be cancelled every now and then but not on a morning where you got up at 4:10 and worked out! Needless to say, I went back to bed and slept until 8ish. Now, I am being incredibly lazy! I should go on a run today but it's just such a cold, ugly day. And I keep justifying not going by saying I hadn't planned on it anyway if I was going to work and I already had a good workout this morning. But still wish I could get my butt in gear!! Haha




I got a blog award over the weekend from A Little of This and That! She is hilarious! If ya'll don't read her blog already, check it out!



Here are the rules:These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

So I tag:

1. Kristen

2. Melissa

3. Jane

4. Whitney

5. Melanie

6. Jennifer

7. Angela

8. Lauren

Hope everyone is having a GREAT Tuesday!!!

Posted in: on at at 10:11 AM 5 comments    

Hope everyone had a good Easter! I really didn't, I worked all day then was in a bad mood when I left. No reason really, just was in a funk. But I kept reminding myself the reason for Easter and to be thankful for my Savior!!

I decided to take Sunday as a rest day from running/working out, so I got to sleep in my extra hour before work. I actually kinda missed getting up early and working out before work. I felt GREAT on Friday and Saturday when I did! So I am planning to continue to work out before work, either getting a run in or doing the Shred!!

On to today's workout... The weather was kinda iffy today, so I was just gonna play it by ear. I decided to get up, eat breakfast, and be lazy for a little while before my run. So at about noon when I was about to head out for a 3 miler, the skies opened and it started raining. No big deal, it was windy anyway, so I headed in to my treadmill and did my 3 miler there! I really had to keep distracting myself so I wouldn't look at the time but it wasn't that bad. I watched the new Real World/ Road Rules Challenge while I ran. So much drama on that show! It's very entertaining! After running, I did level 1 of the 30 day Shred. It was much tougher after a run!! But I am glad I got it in. I am on day 3 of level 1. I think I'm going to stick to it for 30 days and see what my results are. I really enjoy doing it, although I wish I had 3 lb weights instead of 5! Some of those arm strength moves are killers!!

I was pretty busy today with other things like cleaning, grocery shopping, giving Sadie a bath, and writing a letter of recommendation for a friend. It will be nice to relax tonight! I am cooking Tilapia with a baked potato for Al, sweet potato for me and some green beans in a balsamic vinegar sauce!! I am trying to log my food into an online food diary thing called FitDay. I did this when I trained for my half marathon. It will calculate up all your calories, fat, carb, protein intake for the day when you enter your food in. You can also enter exercise in to see what kind of relationship you have between calories in versus calories out. I think it keeps me from snacking on random things because it's harder to log a random amount of something than it is to log one serving. Anyway, it's kinda fun to do! Hope everyone has a great rest of their Monday!! I'm off to work bright and early in the morning!

Posted in: on Monday, April 13, 2009 at at 4:38 PM 5 comments    

I got up and ran this morning on the treadmill. Decided I would feel safer doing that than running outside, alone in the dark, even though I live in a safe area. Maybe sometime soon I will venture out!! Since I get bored SO easily on the treadmill, I decided to do speedwork to mix it up. I warmed up for a mile and then did 4 X400 (approx.) with rest running/walking in between. I didn't have to walk very much at all which I was very happy about!! I ended up doing a total of 2.6 miles. Not to shabby for a 4am workout!

My energy level is surprisingly great this early!! I kinda like it:) And I had some extra time to really sit and enjoy my breakfast, catching up on blogs. Hence the early morning post! Hope everyone has a great Saturday! What are ya'll doing today?

Posted in: on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at at 5:33 AM 7 comments    

Just a little update... I DID get up at 4:30 this morning and I did do the 30 day Shred! It was a GREAT idea! Not too hard to get up and I'm not more tired than usual! All in all I feel like this was a good decision and will do it more often! The plan for tomorrow is to get up early again and run. I will probably have to get up a little earlier than today, 4ish I'm thinking. Not sure if I am going to run outside or on the treadmill. I think I will feel safer on the treadmill (since it's inside my house!!) but would MUCH rather run outside!! How many of ya'll run outside alone in the dark?? Maybe I'm just a chicken...

Posted in: on Friday, April 10, 2009 at at 8:43 PM 6 comments    

I've been busy today!! I got up about 7:45 this morning and went to the Dr. Don't worry, nothing's wrong. It was just a check up:) I then went and picked up Sadie from my parents house and came home. I was debating on whether or not to run today because my legs still feel so tired and I decided to take the day off. So I took Sadie on a walk around our neighborhood. She loves walks. Sadie has this hatred towards kitties. I'm sure it's because we have one that roams our cove and teases her. Well on our walk, she came face to face with a kitty and freaked out! At first she was scared and then she turned into a big, bad dog and barked constantly as I pulled her away. Luckily she got over it fast and moved on!!

I had a lot of cleaning to do. Somehow, my house got so dirty when we were moving the couches in and out last night. Moving them went really well last night! I was able to do it all by myself, with my brother of course! I think the 2 of us made a GREAT team!! But I am so sore today! Every inch of my arms and my back! That was a really good work out!! I love how the new furniture looks! It just makes the room look so different! Before I only had a couch and loveseat, and now I have a couch, loveseat, big chair and ottoman, so I had to change up my whole layout and it looks really good!!

After all the cleaning and laundry, I decided I would try out the 30 day Shred DVD that I got from Netflix yesterday. I have heard so many GREAT things about this!! I really liked it! I just started out at level 1 and it was tough! I really liked how it was only 20 minutes, but a good solid workout!! My plan is to try to do this as often as I can!!

I also decided that I am going to start waking up before work and either running of doing the Shred. And that is super early for me, like 4:30!! I really want to do it though and I think it will really help my running if I can do it 5-6 days a week instead of 3-4. So the plan for tomorrow is to do the Shred and hopefully Saturday I can get up and run before work. I will let ya'll know how it goes. Any tips on how to make yourself get up super early?? Hope everyone has a Great night!

Posted in: on Thursday, April 9, 2009 at at 6:17 PM 7 comments    

Just created a signature at mylivesignature.com and want to make sure it works and looks good!! What do ya'll think??

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at at 9:36 PM 7 comments    

Yep, that's right. Doing your long run and playing soccer within 6 hours of each other, NOT A GOOD IDEA!! I did fine in the game, of course I was really feeling the burn in my quads and hamstrings, but I kept playing as hard as ever! We won too, 3-1!! But last night and today, my legs feel like lead!! It's kind of a weird feeling. Sore, but not like, "I did a bunch of lunges and squats sore". More like, "Every step I take I feel like my legs are dragging" sore. But anyway, I decided I would try to do some kind of run today anyway. I didn't have great expectations for this run but decided I would try to do a hilly 3 miler. I only made it 2 miles before my legs gave out on me but I walked the rest. Then came home and did 2 X 30 sec. planks, 2 X 30 sec. side planks on both sides, and crunches. Then after that, I took my doggies on a walk (I was at my parents house so I took Sadie and Georgia). All in all, I feel like I got a good amount of exercise in today. And tonight, my brother and I are moving my couches out of my house and going to pick up my new, slightly used couches from my BFF who's moving next week, and move them into my house. My dad has no faith that I will be able to help him all by myself, but I think I'm strong enough! I am getting a couch, love seat, chair and ottoman for pretty cheap! And she only has had them a year so they are still like new!! I am so excited about the couches but so sad she's moving next week. I would gladly keep my best friend here and not have the couches!! But she is moving up there to be with her boyfriend which is something I totally encourage! I want her to be as happy as she can be:) But anyway, hope everyone is having a great day! Any exciting plans for tonight?

Posted in: on at at 3:42 PM 0 comments    

I ran 4 miles today!! I am very happy about this. It was cold today, about 45ish when I headed out. Normally, when I do my longer runs, I eat breakfast when I first get up and then run 2-3 hours after eating. I know that oatmeal works best for me, regarding stomach issues, but of course I wasn't in the mood for that this morning. So I ate some of my Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with milk knowing it would probably end up giving me a stomach cramp on my run. But that's what I really wanted to eat!! My first mile was super easy, second one easy enough, but when I turned around at mile 2 to come back, I was running into the wind. YUCK. It's always so much nicer to have the wind at your back on the last half of your run but that didn't work out today. Around mile 3 was when I got a slight side stich, which I knew was from my breakfast! Haha. But it was easily dealt with and didn't even require me to stop or slow down. I ran my 4 miles in 42 mins even. So that's a 10:30 pace, which is what I've been doing for most of my other runs, so I was very happy about my time!

Soccer may not be too much fun tonight since I've already ran today and am kinda sore but I'm sure I will be fine. I know the adrenaline will keep me going!!

Question to you runners: This is regarding post run fuel. I know when you do long runs you have about 30 mins to refuel with protein and carbs. So my question is, at what mileage is this important to start doing? I'm not sure if 4 miles is long enough to really need a post run refuel snack. When I trained for my last half marathon a couple years ago, I was really bad about refueling and I'm sure my running suffered. I don't want to start bad habits again, so any advice is greatly appreciated!!

I spent the rest of my day running errands, fun fun. But I did get my new car washed and it looks beautiful:) Hope everyone has a good night and wish me luck at my game tonight!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at at 3:49 PM 4 comments    

PS: It's also based on a novel!!

Posted in: on Monday, April 6, 2009 at at 9:58 PM 3 comments    

I had a good weekend at work and am ready to be off for 4 days! That's right, I don't work again until Friday! Yay!! I usually really like Mondays, because I am always off work on Mondays. However, I am really not fond of THIS Monday. The weather is ruining it all! I'm just gonna come out and say it. I HATE THE WIND!! I hate the wind because it messes up my hair. I hate the wind because it blows all kinds of crap into my yard. I hate the wind because today it's really cold. But most of all, I hate the wind because it screws up my runs!! I absolutely HATE running on windy days! When there are wind gusts of over 20 mph, running outside is a no go, especially if it's cold like it is today! Now if it was hot outside, I might reconsider, but it's frezing. And, I thought it was Spring?? What's with this freeze warning stuff?? So, needless to say, I did my run on my treadmill this morning. I ran 2 miles and lost my attention span after that. So I moved on and did lots of ab work and a few arm moves. I am planning tomorrow to do a longer run, hopefully 3.5-4 miles. It's probably not the best day to do it since I have soccer tomorrow night but that works best with my schedule! I just hope the crazy wind is gone by tomorrow!!

Posted in: on at at 2:37 PM 7 comments    

I am going to start with my workout this morning. I decided to do another circuit training workout, mainly because it wasn't very pretty outside and I was being lazy! But now that I think about it, I work my butt off with this circuit training! I get a crazy good workout and feel super exhausted afterwards! So, I think it's safe to say, I feel like I get a much harder workout doing this than just simply going on a 3 mile run! So it's fun to mix it up! Anyway on to my workout....

Posted in: on Friday, April 3, 2009 at at 5:27 PM 4 comments    

I knew from watching the weather that today was going to be stormy. But I also knew not until the afternoon. So I decided I would get up late, be lazy, and eat breakfast before I did my run for the day. I had planned on going out around noon to do 2 miles or so. I am such a planner. If I am going to eat breakfast before a run, it has to be by 9:ooish so I can get out around noon. I have to let food sit in my tummy 2 1/2 to 3 hours before I run otherwise I will get cramps. Anyway, around 11ish I was getting bored and antsy. So I did some arm and ab work and by 1145 I was heading out for my run. My ankle was a little sore and tight from soccer last night so I was a little weary and decided that I could go on and do 2 miles. My legs were dragging too! I was just not 100%. But I managed to do 2 miles and it started to rain on me when I had 1/2 mile left so I picked up my pace and finished strong! And wouldn't you know, right when I hit my driveway, it started to thunder and lightning!! Can we say PERFECT TIMING?!? I am hoping that tomorrow my legs will be well rested and I can do at least 3 miles. I am debating on trying to do 4 or waiting until Monday. I think Mondays would be the best days for my long runs since I have the weekends as my rest days since I work. I think I will probably just do another 3 miler tomorrow and wait until Monday to do 4. Yea, that's gonna be the plan:)

Posted in: on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at at 3:49 PM 3 comments    

I finished watching Twillight today and really liked it! Now of course I liked the book better but I thought the movie was done very well! I loved the characters that were chosen! The guy who played James was one of my favorite characters on the O.C.! For some reason I always like the bad boys! Haha. But I really can't wait until New Moon comes out! I heard it was going to be in theaters in November!!

Raspberry Dark Hot Chocolate!! It really hit the spot!!

Since I have a soccer game tonight at 8:30, i decided to eat an early dinner/pre game snack. Now I don't like anything in my stomach when I run/play soccer so I try to eat at least 2 1/2 or 3 hours before I have to run/play soccer. That being said, I'm sure I will be hungry after my game and will have to snack on something else too! I decided I would go with lighter dinner and chose to make some oats!

My mix included:

1/2cup oats

1/2cup almond milk

1/2 cup water

banana

splash of vanilla

sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar

Toppings: spoonful of almond butter, plum, chopped pecans.

It was very good and should give me lots of energy for my game!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at at 6:31 PM 4 comments    

Our Memphis bloggy meet up was a hit, even though some of us were at a different Chili's location! It all worked out in the end. It's so fun to meet the people you share basically all your thoughts with! It was a blast and we definitely will do it again:)

So, I have been waiting to watch Twillight and I received it from Netflix a couple days ago. Al and I started to watch it Sunday after I got off work but of course, he was making fun of every little thing that went on! So I shut it off and told him I will watch it by myself another day! Well ends up, he watched it 2 nights ago and REALLY liked it! Ha! I am going to finally watch it today! Can't wait!!

I had planned on running this morning but when I got up I really just wasn't feeling it at all!! And since I have soccer tonight, I let myself take a break. I don't want to get burnt out so soon after starting back!! Plus, my legs, mainly my hamstrings, have been really sore and tight on my runs and just throughout the day. I know many of ya'll do yoga for runners so I may have to look into something like that. I don't think my usual stretching routine is cutting it anymore!!

I think I am going to start making it a point to post pics of what I eat, kind of like a picture food log! That way, maybe I can be more accountable of what I am eating!!

Today, I still have to finish some weed killing. I used up a whole huge sprayer bottle of round up and it didn't even do my whole front yard!! So I am going to get more and finish off the rest of my front yard and back yard. I may mow also, depending on time. And of course I will be making time for Twillight!! Then off to soccer tonight! Guess I will have to play extra hard and long tonight since I didn't do my run today! Should be fun!

What is everyone else doing today??

Posted in: on at at 9:24 AM 5 comments