Improvement

Half way there!

Lets see.

1. My mom makes a killer fruit salad.  And I love grapefruit.

How awesome does it look in that Bell Jar? I love the rustic look of using glass jars for water glasses and containers.

2.  5 mile run yesterday (48:16)

3. Kept my head down and worked hard, stayed late and finished a project.  1 down, infinity to finish?

4. Mental down time = American Music Awards and the VS Fashion Show.  I love that the girls are allowed to have fun with it and lets be honest, Orlando Bloom giving Miranda a standing ovation every time she walks down the runway? Super adorable.  What can I say? I’m a sucker.

5. Pushed myself to go the gym again tonight for my 45 minutes of cross training on the bike.   Spending that much time in the gym is starting to get monotonous.  I enjoy working out SO much more when I’m outside, enjoying it all.

 

There are so many things that I want to get done during the day and so many things that need to or should get done (cleaning the apartment, anyone?).  But somehow, its Wednesday night and I’ve only knocked 3 things off my list FOR THE DAY.   When I was running in the morning, I was far more efficient at night.  But after a short break awhile back, I suddenly feel like I’m falling behind on EVERYTHING.  But I’m slowly bringing myself back to balance.   For me, that starts with being effective and productive and pushing myself to do things on my list, that I don’t really feel motivated to do, but feel so much better about having done them after the fact.  A major thing on that list, is sticking with a workout schedule this close to my 8k race (next weekend!?).  I seriously slacked off lately, life just got in the way.  Another major thing?  Cleaning up this darn apartment.  Which I am now off to go do 🙂

But before I go…

Yesterday, I was grateful for: myself.  In that I finally had the strength to openly acknowledge to myself my own personal faults.  Instead of getting defensive about little snide remarks, I have made the choice to address the underlying message and get better.

Today, I am grateful for music.  It never fails, that I manage to hear the perfect song, the moment I need it most. And sometimes, its nice to be reminded that, sometimes, people really don’t know a thing about me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6g_GtUa-ho

 

xo

 

ain’t nuthin’ but sum’n to do

 

“This is ten percent luck

 

twenty percent skill

Fifteen percent concentrated power of will

Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain

 

and 100% reason to remember the name”

~Fort Minor

Bring it on Wednesday.

Thanksgiving Vacay Recap + Monday

Welcome back! 🙂

Seems like its been awhile since I’ve posted, but I took advantage of the vacation to see a lot of family and to visit some friends, run a race and eat a LOT of food.  I’m super busy with work stuff tonight, but I had to stop in and first off say thank you to everyone who supported and cheered me on for my first 5k this past week – especially everyone here 🙂 I ran the race with my little brother  and did end up beating my goal time, running a 29:39, with no walking breaks.  Here’s the dilemma.  While I did beat my goal, I feel like I could have done better than that.  Lets recap:

Start of the race:  I felt sluggish and like my legs were full of lead.

Throughout the race: I couldn’t get a good judge of my pace speed.

Throughout the race: I was cold, I was hot, I was cold, I was hot.

Towards the end of the race:  MAJOR side cramp.  UGH.

Also:  randomly dropped my phone and had to jog in place to wait to pick up said phone (had my music playing on it)

SO.  Yes, I did well in the race, but I feel like I could have done BETTER.   So here are my solutions.

1) Hydrate more leading up to the race

2) Dress appropriately for the weather (picked up two Under Armour shirts for cold weather running this weekend)

3) Run outside more

4) Sign up for another 5k that goes off this Saturday…  That’s right, I signed up today for a 5k that benefits the Arthritis foundation and will be running it this Saturday.  Given the rough day at work, I’m hoping I didn’t bite off more than I can chew in my motivational optimism.

And for the rest of tonight’s post:  I’ll leave you with pictures 🙂

After my race I came home to this…

One of my favorite Holiday accessories...any guesses? 🙂

Yummmmmmm

Perfect ending to the perfect day?

In case you were worried a veggie can't get enough to eat....this is my plate

We even managed to enjoy the annual Tree lighting ceremony downtown 🙂  Tuba’s, Christmas Carols and Santa on a fire engine.

And finally…no post is complete without a little “I made this for dinner” picture.

This is what happens when your parents send you home with 3/4 of the Thanksgiving leftovers...Thanksgiving Potpie anyone?

This past Sunday, I also managed to get myself “back on track” and pound out a 5.4 mile long run in the early morning.  Lemme tell ya – Farm Country in the mist is a pretty awesome way to start your Sunday.

Also – its still November, right?  So lets keep up with that gratitude game.

On Thursday I was grateful for good food and amazing amazing amazing family and friends.  I was also grateful for the support from everyone for my first race.

On Friday I was thankful to be able to run into an old friend and to re-experience a childhood tradition with Tuba Christmas.

On Saturday, I was grateful to not have to divide my time between Brandon’s and my families and enjoyed a dinner with everyone.

On Sunday I was grateful for seeing my best friend and her darling sweet daughter, for time out shopping with my mom and for my run, to remind me that sometimes being up early is pretty ok.

Today, I am grateful for kind words and a cup of hot tea when I need them most.

And with that my darlings, I am heading to bed and to try to keep my chin up.  The sun still comes up tomorrow and I’ll still have to put my best foot forward.

xo sweet dreams 🙂

DAYS UNTIL the JINGLE BELL 5k:  5

DAYS UNTIL the JINGLE BELL 8K: 13

Pre race jitters!

Well,  somehow – tomorrow morning is here already!  Tomorrow I run my first race!  I’m a little nervous  My biggest fear is my legs giving out and getting a horrible side stitch.  I’m still fighting off the last remnants of being sick too.  I just have to remind myself that I’ve trained pretty well for this and my first and foremost goal is to finish it.  To prep for the race, I had my hard(ish) run for the week yesterday and I was still a little sore from lifting on Monday, so today I’m using to rest up and to stretch…and run errands for my mom, because lest we forget, tomorrow is also the day we eat and eat and eat and eat and eat… 🙂  The majority of the evening has been spent giggling up a storm with my brother and my mom as we prep all the food.  We have a pretty traditional dinner, but have a lot of traditions 😉  so no one EVER goes hungry.  Later this week, I’ll show you my plate for dinner, because as a Vegetarian, people find it pretty hard to believe I could fill up without the turkey.  My mom is pretty good about making sure there’s stuff for me to eat, so I’m excited to share 🙂

All in all, nerves included, I’m looking forward to tomorrow, to challenging myself and accomplishing something I’ve never done before.  Which will be made all the better, because of everyone else I know who will be running too 🙂  I’m also looking forward to seeing my family and enjoying my mom’s cooking and of course, football.

I looked around today on pinterest (follow me here!)for some race day inspiration – here’s what’s keeping me motivated today:

What a great way to motivate someone for that final push to the finish line!

 

I love this

I am off to snuggle with my cats in front of a fire and browse some more pinterest 🙂 But first…

Today I am grateful for being able to work at a dining room table with a cup of fresh coffee, instead of at my desk at work.

Safe travels for anyone who’s traveling tonight or tomorrow and GOOD LUCK to anyone and everyone who’s running 🙂

xo

 

annnnnnnnnnd done

So, alll together now…”Ahhhhhh”. That, ladies and gents, is the collective sigh of Thanksgiving vactioners everywhere. And I am officially one of them! Its been a long and somewhat stressful fall, but the holidays are here and its time for some breathing room.
Since August, I’ve completed my PhD, I’ve found a new job, moved, learned, struggled, laughed, challenged myself, had my fair share of tears and have done a lot of smiling too. Most of all, I’ve been doing a lot of life. (This picture? Yeah, those were our seats at the Ravens game this past weekend. ROW 2!). I’ve learned a lot about myself, my determination and ability to push through it all, even tonight. We’re finally on the road, after a long day of work, a quick, but feel good dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup and a satisfying workout. 4.5 was on tap for tonight and I had my doubts. I faithfully pounded out my 3.1 miles (28:44!) And after a few false starts and a lot of swearing to burst into tears, I struggled my way through the last 1.4 miles to round it out. It probably wasn’t pretty, but it was successful. And best of all, I can come here and share a smile with everyone and not need to explain away missing another workout 🙂
So today, I am thankful for, well…pretty much everything. But mostly, I’m grateful for how satisfying it will be to sink into my parent’s couch tonight, knowing I worked as hard as I could these past few weeks. 🙂 no regrets!

Xo