Lil bit of training & lots of planning

Anyone else feel like they spend most of their time planning and planning to plan?  I am constantly making lists, lists of goals for each year both work and personal, lists for groceries and shopping, lists of things I need to do each week then broken down to each day, lists of what trips I need to plan and what I'm going to do while I'm there and what I need to do before I get there, training schedules, race schedules, holiday lists and schedules, daily work tasks lists etc, etc.... No?  Just me?  Come on I know all you triathletes and runners out there must have some Type A tendencies!  I've been made fun of more times than I can count for being such a planner.  Then on the flip side I've been thanked for being a planner cuz if not half the stuff wouldn't have been possible (especially on vacations).

Not to say that I don't leave room for some spontaneity but it has to fit into the empty slots ;-)  I guess it's just about staying in motion....  Right now my latest lists involve Christmas Gifts and Volunteer Events.  I've started my own little tradition in that the only gift I really want from my friends and family is their time.  I usually have to find the events for them to volunteer at and and book it but it's worth it in today's world of commercialism and corporate holidays I wanted to bring a little taste of reality back to it.  On the block so far this year for different events is a food bank, toys for tots, and homeless veterans.  I've decided to take a short break from volunteering year round with a local hospice and possibly pick up some extra volunteering with an outdoor group, I spend enough time in the outdoors that maybe just 2 x a year for a trail clean up isn't enough!

Training: Yesterday I played another soccer game.  We won which has been a nice change compared to our previous season.  I was told to not be afraid to kick the ball hard at the goal that I was tapping.  1st I've never played forward so I don't know how to take goal shots I welcome any help in that area, 2 my ankle is still tender so I was a little gun shy.  But with time comes experience.  Today I'm going to do 20 mins plyometrics, 30 minutes weight lifting and 1-2 miles on the treadmill.  Tomorrow is sprints.  I'm arguing back and forth with my other half whether to do the 16 mile run this Sat. or next either way 10 miles will be the longest we've ran so far so I don't see the difference and that would mean I could participate in an event I look forward to every month with my local running group... But we'll see who wins the logic behind this one!

Keep moving!

Post Thanksgiving Fallout

Thanksgiving was a success as far as food, friends, family, outdoors, relaxation, sleep goes.  As far as workout status I'm a little bummed.  On Thursday I managed to run 1 mile warm up, 8 hill sprints, and 1 mile cool down and it wasn't too cold.  The bf was complaining about his knee but I felt really good.  On Friday we took the entire family for a hike (about 3 miles), including the new pup and it was awesome weather.  Sat we started out on our 15 mile run and I felt awesome but bf still having knee problems.  Then about mile 4 he actually passed me and the wind hit me like a ton of bricks.  It slowed me down and I got very chilled!  We made it to 6.5 miles then decided to catch a ride back to town instead of finishing the run.  My ankle was swollen I think due to post soccer and hiking strain on the old sprain.  On Sunday we drove back and I had every intention of working out but when the weather didn't cooperate I decided to clean and decorate the house.   :-(

I'm torn I had an awesome weekend but am feeling desperate when I think about how far behind we are in our marathon training!  Wish me luck in hopes of catching up next weekend!  Tonight I have an 8:20pm soccer game and I hope I don't agitate the swollen ankle.  I can do this!  I won't let others influence my workout frame of mind and I won't be so easily swayed by extenuating circumstances, starting NOW!

Vegetarian Chili  (to serve with Frito pies)

1 package Lightlife Smart Ground Mexican Style (or if you prefer to leave this out make it a 2 bean chili and add some black beans)

2-3 cloves garlic (to taste)

½ - 1 chopped white onion

1/2 chopped red onion

2 stalks celery halved                                            

½ bell pepper

1-2 tblsp tomato paste

Add the spices you enjoy: salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle powder, green chili (I usually add all)

½  or full package if small one of Small Red Beans (remember to sift for dirt/rocks)

In a crock-pot add beans, garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper, and all the spices except for the salt fill up half way with water if half bag or ¾ full of water if full bag.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  After done cooking take out the celery, bell pepper, and whole garlic cloves.  Stir in tomato paste, Smart ground, and salt.  Serve over Fritos and top w/lettuce, chopped red onion, tomatoes, cheese (optional)

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Shenanigans

Super duper excited for a long weekend in the mountains with friends, family and my bf.   Keeping my fingers crossed that my new job lets me out early.  We have a 3.5 hr drive to the mountains in the middle of what is supposed to be a nasty storm.  I'm going to offer to drive because the bf has been sick, I know I'm great you don't have to say it :-)   

So the last 3 or 4 years my brother and I had convinced my parents to have a completely vegetarian thanksgiving and they've loved it.  This year however we are having extra guests including the bf (1st holiday season together) so the parents have decided to do both a turkey and tofurky...  But maybe I can convince a few extra ppl it is just as delicious, nutritious and filling.  I am making vegetarian gravy from scratch (the main ingrediant is turnips) very yummy.  We have of course the mashed potatoes and stuffing and a vegan green bean casserole that has been requested.  We are doing the tofurky, for some reason my brother loves this stuff, personally I would prefer stuffed squash or grilled portabellas but I can compromise....

Along with that I will be going to the gym today during lunch in preparation for driving after work. Thurs. will be hill sprints (bf's idea but now that he's sick don't know if he'll participate).  Friday will be a hike with the dog (as long as there isn't snow on the trails) and Sat. will be a 15 mile long run with hills at 9,000 feet.  I brought lots of layers!  The average person gains 5-20 lbs over the holidays, yikes!  I'm going to indulge but not overindulge....

I am thankful for my friends, family, boyfriend, being able to run, having a car that will get me there, having a job still that is allowing for me to do all this and my health! 

Goooaalllll!!!!

I scored my first goal at last nights indoor soccer game!  Or at least my first goal since I have been reintroduced to soccer.  I remember playing regular soccer when I was younger from about 3rd - 8th grade then I had to stop because my highschool was too small to have a soccer team.  Later in college I took a PE soccer class and played intramural soccer off and on.  It had been almost 8 or 9 years then a friend asked if I wanted to join her indoor soccer team.  Wow!  What a workout!  I like it for my sprint days.  I wore my HR monitor and my HR is defenitely anarobic during the sprints it will go up and down between 120s to 170s and it goes by so fast.  But I've also noticed I'm more prone to injuries which is bad when you are trying to train for a marathon...   Yesterday I felt my ankle almost give out again, and I thought noooo there is no way this can happen cause last time it took me 2 months to recover from the sprained ankle.  But then I went on to score a goal instead.

I am torn between having fun crosstraining days with my friends or playing it safe!  My final decision is that I'm going to keep playing at least this season.  The whole point is to keep me moving that's why I signed up for the marathon and that's why I try new sports.  So I will keep playing..

Now on to more recent news we had a TG potluck at work (frito pies which I brought the vegetarian chili for, recipe soon to come) and I had 2 bowls!!! Plus 1 cookie! :-(  I am so full I can't think straight.  My body becomes sluggish I can't think straight (see I already said that) and I'm even thinking how am I supposed to work out feeling like this.  Well, lesson learned stop at 1 serving and wait at least 1 hour before going back for more!

I called my mom and told her how full I was and that I no longer fit into my clothes.  She said well you just have to take it easy with the food.  She said I don't want to hear you complaining when you come up to visit for Thanksgiving that you are eating too much.  You have to know your limits and control yourself.  I am thankful for having people in my life that can tell it to me how it is and that I am open to taking it the right way.  So I will workout tonight to the extent I can without getting sick and I will take control of my eating for this Thanksgiving Holiday!

Reality Check

So this is the picture at the finish line from my 11k race last weekend.  Now two things stand out here to me: the time on the clock; at the 6 mile mark the time they called out to me was around 54 or 55 mins. that means it took me about 8 minutes to run the last .6 miles really!!  What happened! and I look like I'm WALKING, the second my foot crosses that line I'm done?  I should have sprinted all the way to the end cuz apparently I started walking too soon that is why at the very last second someone snuck up right behind me and passed to cross the finish line before me, you don't see her b/c she is in front already getting her number removed!

Ok this weekend calls for an 8 mile run on Sat. and some cross training today.  But tomorrow is a 4 mi. handicap hill run with the running club with a potluck that I always enjoy and I have to be ready for a "ball" at night funny huh I don't even have a dress picked out, or I'm afraid to see what I still fit in to.  On Wed. when I tried running the dog outside my lungs were still burning from the cold and having a cold and this morning I still had a bit of a sore throat.  So I've decided I'm going to do my long run indoors today after work.  I'm going to try and do 8 miles on the treadmill and if not at least 5 with some elliptical or stairstepper thrown in to mix it up.  Then tomorrow I will still do the 4 mile run with my running group.  I hope to get a swim in on Sunday which means not staying up too late like Cinderella I'll have to leave at midnight only there will be no prince charming ok ok I already met my prince charming but when he will have access to an open bar I'm afraid prince charming will also disappear at midnight!  So I might as well be in bed by then anyway right?!?! 

So here's to a good weekend to get back on track and to no more walking finishes.  My next finish line photo will show me in full sprint leaning forward trying to cross for the perfect photo finish!

Overwhelmed yet optimistic

Becoming slightly overwhelmed with feelings of helplessness from time to time is normal it's how we deal with it that counts, or so they say...  Let's see what do I feel overwhelmed about? 

1. My weight, tracking my food, increasing training and having to give in to buying a bigger pair of jeans to fit into is overwhelming because I haven't seen any progress in the last 2 months I feel like it isn't fair as my bf loses weight with our increased training I'm still at a plateau. I know we can't compare the two metabolisms, and I shouldn't resort to malicious tactics such as forgoing the HUGE free muffins they gave us but taking it back to my bf to eat tonight just in hopes to even the playing field (j/k I would never do a thing like that)
2. Having depressing work meetings that tell us the doom and gloom of the next years to come with the economy and the prediction that the unemployment rate will take 5-10 years to fully recover.  Realizing that I was the last in to my dept. and that usually translates to first out during layoffs.
3. The holidays are coming up and my savings account keeps going down instead of up.
4. The learning curve on my new job should be better in my own eyes but everyone keeps telling me I'm right on track...
5. The pressure to be married and have kids in order to avoid the social stigma of becoming an old maid, I mean really ppl what century do we live in...
6. Is it really that important to be excited about a fancy holiday party coming up when I will be going through all my old dresses keeping my fingers crossed that I still fit into one while thinking I should be more worried about other things.
7.  Being sick and not having gone to the gym in 3 days.

But I'm feeling better and today I will be back at the gym so all this should be shaken off by the end of the day with a whole new bright perspective!  I still have a job, I still have food on the table, I still have my house, I have close friends and family to spend the holidays with and I will try to help others in need in any way I can with some extra volunteering this next year! 

So I'm not giving up I'm gonna keep trucking along and this weekend's long run should put me back where I need to be.  Cheers!  This weekend I go shopping for yummy vegetarian THANKSGIVING food and going to practice being THANKFUL!

2011 Calendar Photos

I was trying to pick which photos to submit for my 1 free calendar they give us at work to create my 2011 calendar and it was so hard!  I did realize that I prefer and do more in the fall and winter months because I didn't have many "summer" pictures.  I did play around with the colors and cropping on a few of them.  But here are the finalists I chose.  Now for next year I'm gonna try to make it a point of taking a few pictures each month of the year in preperation for next year's calendar!  I'm excited to see my final result...

 

 

Ow! Week 3

Keeping up with my long runs on the weekends!  Working harder to keep up with my workouts during the week.  Missed a few last week but did a 9.9 mile run last Sat. on a loop course which meant there were 3 hills.  Training for a hilly marathon is way harder than training for a flat one....  At least on race day we'll be at a lower elevation than we are training in, woohooo! 

This was the first run the bf actually ran faster than me!  Not on the first loop but the 2nd a 3rd loop he smoked me...  He must be doing his weekly workouts now and I decided to slack last week, oh oh!  Also my foot hurts soooo bad ever since my long run Sat.  It's on the big toe of the right foot I believe it's the ligament that hurts.  It's a hard place to try and stretch.  Today walking around is very painful.  So tonight instead of a 40 minute run that it calls for in my training I'm going to do a 40 minute bike ride then go take my dog for a walk.

Hopefully this gets better soon because my run last Sat. although I felt good was pretty pathetic time wise.  It's been unseasonable warm for this time of year which has made it easier to get out there and run but that is supposed to change this week.  Next week for the long run we are doing the Veteran's 11k then gonna keep going to finish out the 14 mile run that's on our schedule.  So here's to hoping for a speedy recovery and motiviation on week nights to pump out those important evening workouts.  Wed. I start another indoor soccer season so that should help with sprints as long as I don't sprain my ankle again.  I think I'll wear my ankle brace during games to help prevent that!

I'm excited for these beautiful fall colors....
See you on the road!

Back on track, kind of

Stuck to some awesome workouts last week!  Did my speedwork on Wed., my cross training on Tues. & Thurs., some weight lifting and best of all the 8 mile run on Saturday!  It took a little longer than I would have liked 1:26 but I was in a lot of pain (lady problems) and pushed through it.   So I was very proud of my self....

Then came Saturday night!!!  I ended up staying up way past my bedtime (3:30am) and did partake in some of the celebrations but mainly keeping everyone else calm and safe.  Needless to say Sunday we were both useless and barely got the kitchen cleaned up.  We have decided that for now we are done being hosts.  We love having friends over and enjoy everyone's company but not always being the hosts.  It's time to let others step up for a while or only host small groups )2-4) for dinner. 

This week hasn't been as spectacular as last:
Mon. 40 minute 13 mile bike ride with hills AWESOME
Tues. Upset stomach & voting (coincidence?) = no workout...
Wed. 30 minute run/walk with my new puppy (fun but could have been a little more productive if she didn't try to run in front of me everytime a car went by)
Thursday (possibly no workout at all because I have vegetarian cooking class until 9pm tonight)

But Friday I'm going to lift weights then head out to a low key date to carb up with my bf.  Saturday we're doing a 5k Diabetes run then just gonna keep going at the finish line to make it a 10 mile run.  Then my dad is visiting on Sunday and would like to get a bike ride in.

So hopefully even though I was off to a slow start it will pick up the later half of the week.

Also need to sign up for puppy training classes.