The Little Things
October 30, 2012

These past few weeks I’ve been comparing many of my thoughts and experiences to the end of April and beginning of May as I anxiously prepared for my first half marathon.

Even though this isn’t my first half marathon, I feel almost as lost as before. I’m going in with a different set of circumstances- different weather, different training, and a different injury. The fact of the matter is that I won’t know how this will all go down until I start running and see how my IT band feels on November 3rd.

Things are completely different now than then, but there are still similarities. I’m still really excited, really nervous, and still doubt myself. I wanted it badly then, and I want it badly now.

I’m in the purple shirt about to run through the middle opening of the finish line!

I know that I can do it, and I just hope that my IT band can do it too. Either way, I’m getting really excited and anxious for Saturday, and I can’t wait to hit the starting line and run this race!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s a “now and then” in your life right now? 

October 29, 2012

After two days of traveling and lecturing, a night of sleep did wonders. We started the day with a delicious breakfast (which I’ll talk about more in a different post)!

I ate and ate and ate some more. It was all delicious! Immediately following breakfast we caught a taxi into the Old City where we spent our entire day. I’m not going to talk about everything we saw and did because that would be tedious, but I did want to share some pictures so you can get a glimpse of this beautiful city!

Roof of Lonja dela Seda. This beautiful building was the silk exchange for the town. There were pillars inside the building and a secret prison in the basement!

Outside the silk exchange we saw someone walking down the street in traditional Spanish dress, and I thought it was beauitful! I’m not sure what she was dressed up for, and this was the only time during my trip that I saw someone dressed like this. I’m glad I got a picture!

Immediately following this we walked through the HUGE outdoor market they have, full of all sorts of food, clothing, purses, toys, and other items! It was really fun to walk around. I don’t have a picture because I thought we’d be back the next day….

In my previous post about Valencia I shared a picture of the Cathedral at night. This afternoon we headed back to the Plaza de la Virgin and got to walk through the Cathedral and Basilica there. I love European Plazas like this!

We got about half an hour of rain this day, but luckily we found a cute little cafe in the plaza to get tea and crepes at. YUM!

This is Torres de Serrano. Valencia is located on the sea, and as such needed great protection from attacks. While the city walls have been torn down, two city gates remain. What’s especially cool about this is that you can still walk through the gate!

I love going on walks each week, but I think I’d really love to be able to walk on these streets more often. Seriously, how cute and European is this?

I thought this was pretty funny! This is the outside wall of a church in Valencia. Clearly they just built the wall using other statues and pillars. I certainly did a double take as we were walking by!

After dinner (which I’ll be recapping in my “Eating in Valencia” post) we spent a bit of time walking around the city again. This is Plaza de Toros de Valencia- the bull fighting ring there. We didn’t go inside, but it was neat to walk around the outside.

This is obviously just a little snippet of what we did this day, but I wanted to give you all a taste of this fantastic city!

Now it’s your turn to share! When you travel, what’s your priority (museums, architecture, food, culture)? 

October 28, 2012

Well, this is my last training recap that I will write before the race. I can’t believe it. Next Sunday, when I publish my Week 10 training recap, the race will be over. Almost every week has been a fight in some way, either due to travel, injury, or illness. Nothing really went as planned, but I learned to just go with it and do what I could. What I could do is all that I could do, and that’s ok, even when it isn’t ideal. Because of my IT Band pain, this week I took things down a notch, and tried to keep moving through walking slowly. I couldn’t help it- we had what were probably our last days in the 70s, and I couldn’t make myself do anything but walk outside and enjoy it.

Here’s what the week looked like:

Total Miles: 10.73 mile walk + 2.0 mile run=  12.73 miles + 6:00 minutes of planks

So, my mileage was certainly nothing to write home about, but I did manage to finally start doing planks again, which I really haven’t done since March (oops). It was one of my goals for October to start again, and while it took until the 24th, I managed to do it! So, this week was a win in some areas and not so much a win in others. That’s ok. Up next? The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you met one of your goals recently? What are you looking forward to this coming week? (my eyes and all my energy is going towards preparing for Saturday!)

October 27, 2012

(This post combines 2 days, so if you don’t want to read about travel, scroll down until you see the first picture!)

My alarm went off at 5:30 am so I could get to the airport for my trip to Spain! I knew I had a long day (days) ahead of me with no sleep, so starting the day with 4 hours of sleep was not so ideal. I quickly got ready, finished packing, and ate a big breakfast. My first flight went quickly, and I flew into Detroit, where I had a 4 (or 5?) hour layover.

Our flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was about 8 hours long, but it flew by! I grabbed a decaf coffee with pumpkin spice in it before we boarded, so that kept me occupied during take off. Almost immediately my dad and I started going over our presentations, and I practiced mine a few times. There’s nothing like someone talking to themselves on a plane, right? 🙂 The food was actually pretty good on the plane, but I was still happy that I grabbed the salad. I can’t really sleep well on planes, so while my parents (and almost everyone else on the plane) slept, I watched What to Expecting When You’re Expecting, and Katy Perry’s documentary movie thing. It kept me busy.

We landed in Amsterdam and only had an hour to get through customs and security and run across the airport to our next flight. I did get to appreciate the stores full of delicious European chocolate and wooden clogs though! I also demanded that I find a Dutch pastry before we got on the plane, and luckily there was one right on the way!

Seriously, how amazing do these pastries look? They were amazing, and I have to admit that I was feeling pretty sad that I hadn’t bought more than 1 each:) Our flight from Amsterdam to Valencia went pretty smoothly, and I was happy to arrive. We got in at 9:45 am, which was almost 4 am where I live, so I had already been awake for almost 24 hours at this point.

Our taxi driver was nice enough to drive us around the Old City and give us a mini history listen before dropping us off at the hotel. We checked in and dumped our stuff off in the room before going straight down to the slide review for our talk later that day. Talk about being tight on time! Nothing like traveling for 24 hours and showing up in yoga pants and a sweatshirt to a meeting. Luckily they had tea and tons of pastries there (yummmm!), so the sugar kept me awake.

After we were done with the meeting I was able to take a 15 minute nap before having to get up and get ready for the meeting. I sat for two hours on a panel before getting up to give my own portion of the lecture, and it went really well! After my talk we attended a post lecture cocktail party where people in the audience had the opportunity to speak to us. At this point I had been up for 32 hours, so I was really struggling!

We went back to the hotel to quickly change and then head out with a group of people to the old city for dinner!

Seafood Paella. I didn’t eat this because I was too busy gagging, but I did eat the other meat paella!

We ate and ate and ate for about 3 hours, and it was all so delicious! We had plates of cheese, meats, veggies, paella, and tapas. It was all so good, but I could hardly keep my eyes open! We decided to walk around the city for about an hour before heading back to the hotel. Honestly, in many ways I think that nighttime is the best time to walk around a city, especially in Europe. The night life is great, and the old buildings look fantastic in the dark!

Valencia Cathedral in the Plaza de la Virgen

After walking around for a bit we headed back home to go to bed. We fell asleep around midnight, so I had been awake for about 37 hours (minus the 15 minute nap), so I was exhausted! Plus, we had a full day of sightseeing planned the next day! (I also promise that day 3 recap will be more interesting because there’s no travel or lecturing involved)!

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you a plane sleeper, or do you have a hard time sleeping while sitting up? Do you like trying new foods, or do you like to stick to what you know? 

October 26, 2012

Happy Friday! I’m really looking forward to having a down weekend and getting some things done around the house, as well as enjoying this fall weather! This week has been particularly enjoyable with blog posts (in my opinion) and I have lots to share!

Audrey’s Birth Story: Katy had her baby girl and blogs all about it! Her baby is so cute!

Pile on the Miles Challenge 2012: Monica from Run Eat Repeat is hosting the Pile on the Miles Challenge once again for the month of November! I participated last year and had a great time. I’m thrilled to be participating again this year. Click on the link and sign yourself up!

2012 Great Floridian 140.6 Race Recap: Ashley completed another Ironman only a year after a terrible biking accident. She’s such an inspiration, and this recap is so motivational!

Healthier Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins: Emily’s description of these muffins sounded so delicious that I’m definitely thinking about whipping up a batch of these this weekend.

On Happiness: This blog by Melissa just made me smile. A lot.

30 Things I Know About Health Now That I’m 30: How many of these things do you know (and live)?

Don’t Believe What You Read: A post on the potential dangers of believing a health claim without doing the research behind the claim. Do you do research on claims, or do you tend to believe what you hear without checking?

Want a Strong Core? Start With Your Inner Thighs: Oh yes, the inner thighs. My mom’s a pilates instructor, so I’m a BIG fan of pilates. Having a strong core is so critical not only for other fitness routines as a young person, but it becomes increasingly important as we age.

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you going to participate in the pile on the miles challenge? Have you ever thought of doing an Ironman (or half Ironman)? Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend? 

October 25, 2012

Happy Thankful Thursday, a time to focus on what we’re feeling thankful for this week! Not only is this a good thing to do to keep ourselves focusing on the positive, but it has physical and mental benefits (win-win)! It’s been a much more calm week then the last have been, which has been nice! Anyways, here are a few things I’m feeling thankful for this week:

I’m thankful that I got to see so many great friends from college at Homecoming this past weekend. Sure, I didn’t get much done this weekend, and I certainly didn’t get caught up on sleep, but I had a blast hanging out with some of my friends! One thing I don’t like about life after college is that I have friends spread all over the world, and don’t get to see all of them that often. It was a wonderful weekend full of laughter, reconnecting, Starbucks, walks, and football games!

I’m thankful for beautiful fall weather! This weekend was chilly but sunny. Yesterday and today have been in the upper 70s and sunny. AMAZING and perfect for enjoying fall!

I’m thankful for so many people who blog about their races! I love getting to read race recaps, and I’m glad that people take the time to do them! I love getting to vicariously experience the excitement and energy that they experienced. There are so many inspiring racers out there, and they are inspiring! The next few weeks are huge racing weekends, and I’m so excited for everyone to compete!

I’m thankful my race isn’t for another week and a half. I’ve been having some IT band pain, and I need all the time I can to rest it and for it to hopefully heal a bit!

I’m thankful for ice packs and foam rollers! I’m using these on a 2-3x/day basis right now to try to get my IT band back in tip-top shape before my half marathon! Both of these items were fantastic inventions.

I’m thankful for some extra time in my work week to get some paperwork done. I definitely enjoy seeing clients more than I enjoy doing paperwork, but I also don’t like feeling behind on paperwork. It feels good to check some things off my to-do list in the office after a few busy weeks and my trip to Spain!

I’m thankful for the upcoming weekend! I’ve been gone or had someone visiting me or staying with me every weekend since before my triathlon. It’s been a great few months, but I’m definitely thankful for a weekend to rest, clean, and catch up on my ever growing to do list!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? What do you enjoy most about race recaps (or do you avoid reading them)? 

October 24, 2012

I’m nervous. Really nervous. I’ve made a few comments here and there that my training hasn’t been what I wanted it to be. My training has been a short two months because of the triathlon I did at the end of August. Every single weekend between now and then I have either been out of town (or the country!) or had someone visiting me. Every. single. weekend. It made my weeks very packed as I was either packing/unpacking or cleaning for someone to stay/cleaning up after a visit. It’s been a crazy two months. Somewhere in there I’ve managed to actually work and to train for this half marathon. It hasn’t gone as I would’ve liked.

A few weeks ago on runs the outside of my knee started hurting. I could run through it no problem, so I iced after runs and experienced no real pain afterwards. It kept getting worse and worse. On my long run last weekend (my last long run before the half), I was in pain by mile 2, and toughed it out until mile 6 (i had to get home!). I chalked it up to building mental endurance, but I definitely took many walking and stretching breaks throughout. I was supposed to do 10. So, my longest run this training cycle was 8.5 miles, and my knee and hip are in lots of pain from IT band flair up.

Wonderful. I’m feeling a little discouraged and worried about my race. I now have just under 2 weeks until my race. My plan between now and then is to not only get sleep, eat well, and hydrate, but to take care of my IT band as well. Here’s what I’m doing:

I feel caught between needing to rest so I can run the best I can on race day, but also keeping my cardio up. Here’s where I could use your help!

What type of cross training is best to not put too much pressure on my IT band but will allow me to keep my cardio up? (slow walking, biking, elliptical??) What types of stretches would be helpful for my IT band? Any other thoughts on helping it to feel the best it can by race day?

I could use any help or advice I can get! What have you done to deal with IT band pain?

October 23, 2012

Since my very first post on this blog I’ve said that I need to do a series of posts on my journey to running. In a nutshell, I loathed running. I was not a fan. At all. As part of a recent sweat pink ambassador blog swap, I met Lindsay (her guest post on excuses is here) and wrote a blog post for her. I decided to jump in and start to write about my journey to running. As part of my post, I also included some “dos” and “don’ts” for starting to run. I’m not going to put the whole post here (you need to check her blog out to see the rest of it!), but I thought I’d give a sneak peek here to increase your interest:)

“I would rather swim a mile than run a mile any day. That’s how much I loathe running!”

I said this over and over again for a good decade of my life. I truly didn’t like running. Every two years or so I would get a little urge to run, head out for a mile or two, and would hate it. Yes, running was not for me. Then I joined twitter and became part of this crazy fitness and healthy living community online. I started reading blogs, and some of those posts included training for races and race recaps. I guess the concept of running worked its way into my head, because one night I had a dream that I went out on a run…

Make sure to head over to Lindsay’s blog and read the rest of it and give her a little comment love! Then head back here and tell me how getting into running (or your current fitness routine) went for you!

October 22, 2012

Eh. It was another week. This should’ve been the best peak of my training, but instead I  still felt off from the food poisoning until the end of the week, and that really affected my workouts. Lets just say that I’m not so confident in my training. Nonetheless, I did get some good workouts in and even participated in a virtual race!

Total Miles: 9.8 mile run+ 25 min sprints + 8.26 mile walk +3.00 mile bike

Like I said, it was a week. I’m going to do a separate post on where I’m at currently and how this might impact my race (in 11 days! Agh!). If you haven’t checked out Lindsay’s guest post on my blog, make sure to do so! It’s great!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this coming week? 

October 21, 2012

One of the things that I love about being a Sweat Pink Ambassador is getting to meet so many great people who also love fitness and healthy living! Today a number of us are participating in a blog swap, and I’m excited to share a post by Lindsay from Sweets ‘N’ Sweat! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

A book of excuses. Could you write one? Let’s narrow it down a little. A book of excuses to not workout and take care of yourself. I bet if we got a few of us together we could come up with a big one. Here are a few that have come across my mind:

Do any of these sound familiar to you? I bet at least a couple do. Let’s look at these a little closer and come up with some solutions.

I just don’t have the time and I’m so busy. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was just a few more hours in the day? Think about how much more we could get done. Would we really? When people tell me they don’t have the time, the first thing that comes to my mind is they just don’t want to make the time and the second thing that I think about is they need to manage their time better. We are all busy. Whether you are as busy as you think and say you are. Yeah, you know who I’m talking to. I’m pretty sure that you can squeeze a half hour to an hour of physical activity in every day. If you still aren’t following me, how about writing down your typical day on a piece of paper. See a couple things that you can do without or do you see where you are wasting some time? Sitting on the phone or computer too long every day? Watching too much TV? I know what you can replace that with…ehem. Still haven’t found the time? Well, you’re just going to have to get up a bit earlier and get it done then. Sound harsh? Not the answer you were hoping for? Too bad. Once you make this a habit, you WILL be thanking me for how good you feel. You brush your teeth every day right? Make working out just as important to your daily routine.

I don’t like working out. I wouldn’t work out every day if I hated it either. You know what you have to do. Find something you like! There’s something out there for everyone. I just know it. Write down a few things you wouldn’t mind doing. Do you like to dance? Kickboxing? Running? Yoga? There are SO many ways to get in shape. This is no longer a valid excuse.

I’m tired. I really think that we’re all tired. And when people say how tired they are, the other person tries to compete with just how tired they are. I don’t think alot of people wake up in the morning and want to get up right then. Face it, everyone would love a nap. If you choose the right workout program, you manage your time well, and you make working out a routine. You will find that being tired just isn’t an option anymore. You just need to find something that motivates you to get your workout in for the day, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

I don’t deserve it. It’s hard to start up something new if you feel like you just keep failing. When you stop trying, bad things happen. Always know that you are worth it. You are beautiful inside and out. This is not just about looking good. It’s about feeling good and taking care of yourself. Your health is so important. You can’t buy it anywhere. It’s all up to you. Get healthy for your family. It’s the best gift you can give to yourself. You deserve this gift. Tell yourself that everyday and don’t you dare forget it.

Working out is boring. No it isn’t! You still haven’t found the right one! I’ve done a couple mindless workouts and when I was finished I crinkled up my face and thought to myself, “what the heck was that?” I got over it and moved on to try something new. Keep it interesting. Please don’t do the same thing every single day. You will go insane. Make a weekly or monthly schedule full of different workouts with different time lengths. One day have a 20 and the next have a 45-60 minute workout. Give yourself variety. Be your own personal trainer. You’re not boring!

 I don’t get time away from my kids. This is a big one for us mommies. It’s hard when you have kiddos. When my little guy was one I was up every morning at 4:30 doing TurboFire like a crazy woman while everyone slept. Now that he’s older and he isn’t at risk of getting hit or hurt (he just plays off to the side and copies what I do when it looks interesting enough) I work out “with” him all of the time. Plus, by working out with your kids when they are older you are showing them how important it is to incorporate fitness into your daily routines. They are creatures of habit. If you sit around all day and watch TV, so will they. Workout with your kids. They love to be with you. Mom’s don’t feel bad for taking an hour out of your day to take care of yourself. Working out is therapy. Physical and mental.

Are you ready to stop making excuses?

 

 

If you would like some motivation from yours truly:

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Email: sweetsnsweat@gmail.com

Thanks so much Lindsay for sharing some great tips on combating some of the common excuses that many of us use!

Now it’s your turn to share! What excuses do you use to avoid working out?