I Will Be a Hamster Soon

It's end of the qtr and things are crazy. This explains the lack of blogging. I apologize.

On Sunday I ended up going on a hike instead of a run because the only place I like to run was over taken by Austin City Limits. It was a great hike and I loved every moment of it. :-) I hope to do it more often.

On Monday I did not end up going for a run for several reasons. I feel like such a slacker, but running when my stomach hurts and when it is dark is not fun for me, at all.

I packed my bag to go on a run after work and then straight to my book club meeting. :-) I actually finished the entire book this time. It was an alright book, it was The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson.

I think now that it is starting to get darker earlier I am going to have to go to the gym now. I think this is probably better for me because it means I will do weights, and be more consistent. The gym is right near my work so I wouldn't have an excuse to go home first and then get too lazy to not go. Plus it gives me less time to get too hungry to go. I like that.

How do you keep entertained while running on a treadmill? I like to run outside because I can distract myself with the beauty of nature or my people watching skills.

Also do any of you have a problem with your feet getting really really hot while on the treadmill? It creeps me out. I have no idea how I would run more than 4 miles on it without feeling like my feet were about to melt off. Maybe I will get used to it though. Not sure.

Planned Food for the Day
B: Oatmeal w/ vanilla rice milk walnuts and flax seed, Coffee w/ light chocolate soymilk
S: Nature Valley Granola bar
L: Red Lentils w/ curry and baked tofu
S: Pear, Veggies, String Cheese
D: Not sure, will be served at the book club

Planned Workout
4 mile run

The Verdict

I went to the doctor on Friday and got the news from my blood test. Turns out I do not have an ulcer, or a thyroid problem BUT my cholesterol went up even higher and my doctor is worried because I am only 24 and eat generally healthy and workout. I guess my good cholesterol (hdl right?) is really high which is good I guess, but my bad cholesterol (ldl) is higher than they would like. I guess they would start putting me on medication now but because the hdl is so high they don't think its necessary.

I am supposed to continue taking aciphex (acid reflux medication I guess) because that is probably the "sour stomach" feeling. I am also supposed to take fish oil, fiber pills and continue to workout and eat only healthy food.

I picked up some healthy food on Friday and also picked up some fiber pills and Omega 3 pills (including fish oil). They haven't been bad so far. But I HATE taking pills.

I picked up lots of walnuts, veggies, egg whites, red lentils, greek yogurt, tofu, fruit, etc. I have been doing well since Friday and the scale is being nicer. Have any of you cooked with red lentils? They are ridiculously good for you (found out recently) and super high in protein.

Anyway I am supposed to eat more omega 3's, fiber and protein overall. Blah blah blah.

My doctor is great and shows a lot of concern and seems to want to help me as much she can, but I am still annoyed about this all. All my other blood results came out as if I was doing great (nutrional levels, etc). I don't know how to not be frustrated about this, but the frustration will probably fade away pretty soon.

I am going to try to be even healthier now. I know there are a few things I can definitely work on. But then again there are some things I don't think I need to work on because I am already doing alright at it. Blah. I guess I can always improve though.

Alright, I am going to head out. I have a few errands to do, a book to finish and Dexter and Californication start tonight! Woo hoo!!

Some Good News

So I wanted to let you know some exciting news, my 3 mile run last night was fantastic! Thankfully the terrible run from last week did not turn into a terrible running streak. Woo hoo!

Oh someone asked me yesterday about the no chicken thing, and it's because I am allergic. Yes, allergic to chicken. What does it make me do? Want to die.

Today is a Mexican food day again. Work provides a catered lunch every Wednesday and today it is a Mexican Food buffet. I am going to keep small on the lunch portions because they also bring dulce de leche when we get Mexican food. haha. :-)

Today is also KICKBALL day! Woo hoo! I am just as excited as last week about this. Woo hoo!

I am planning on picking up a salad or wrap from this drive thru salad place on the way to the game today. I might need to get cash for this though, not sure. And yes, that is right, a Drive Thru Salad place, strictly salad and wraps. Woo hoo. I have been wanting to try it since before I moved here so I really hope I have time to go through the drive thru there. :-)

Okay I need to head out. I hope you all have a great day!!

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal w/ flax seed & rice milk, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: granola bar
L: beef fajita, dulce de leche
S: pretzels w/ cheese
D: wrap

Planned Exercise
kickball (and it counts, I was super sore last time from it and sweating! haha)

Pathetic Last Week: Fantastic This Week?

Did I mention I am re-doing last week's training since I only did 1 run out of 3? Pathetic right? Oh well. I felt pretty terrible last week. Extremely fatigued, and my muscles were incredibly sore over what I felt should be nothing. Oh well. It's a new week with a scale report that keeps me motivated (as in terrible report).

This is the plan for the week:
Tuesday: 3 mile run after work
Wednesday: Kickball
Thursday: 3 mile run after work
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 mile run
Sunday: Rest

I have a doctors appointment on Friday to go over the blood tests I presume. The free sample prescription pills are now over. So I might start to feel crappy the rest of the week. I actually started to have the gnawing pain again yesterday. Blah. I am trying to suck it up though and pretend its just psychsomatic because I read the symptoms for thyroid conditions yesterday, which was something the doctor felt I should be tested for. Remind me, webmd is bad for me. Also reading articles about people who play off symptoms because people call them paranoid all the time but actually have valid symptoms are bad too. haha.

Also I am keeping a food journal for the doctor, but its annoying because I actually have been eating worsse than normal in the last 2 weeks. I need to step it up, not only for the doctor but for myself. haha.

Today we are all going out to lunch at work though because a new person started in my dept and we want to welcome her. I think its going to be Mexican food. I can either eat a tiny portion of whatever I want or get something semi healthy. Not sure if anything is really healthy there for me since I don't eat chicken. Oh well. I will figure it out. If any of you have an idea that does not inclucde chicken, please let a girl know ;-)

Time to go now.

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal w/ greek yogurt, coffee w/ light chocolate soy milk
S: granola bar
L: mexican food
S: carrots, pear
D: leftover mac n cheese

Planned Workout
3 mile run

Monday Monday

I hope everyone is doing well. It has been awhile since I wrote. Things have definitely been busy.

On Friday I worked a LOT and worked hard. I didn't do much after work aside from watch Charlie Bartlet.

On Saturday I went to the UT Football game with Kim (who was kind enough to let us use her parents tickets), Mike and Teddy . Woo hoo. They won 52-10 as Kim predicted and overall it was a fantastic game to watch. So much excitement!! Afterwards we went to a party at Mike's friends house, then of course had to have the "4th meal" at a local diner. I didn't get in until 3am, which explains why I did not do much on Sunday. haha.

I woke up late on Sunday, and then pretty much just did laundry, and went to the dog park with Mike and the pups. Mike ended up getting me dinner on Sunday because he wanted to make me happy. It was a good evening. :-)

Today my plan was to go to the gym at lunch but I couldnt find my gym bag with my locker lock. So I will just have to work out tonight. I think I am going to pick Mike up from school after work and we are going to go to the grocery store. Afterwards I want to do some weight type exercises.

I hope you all have a great Monday!

Planned to Eat Today
B: oatmeal w/ fage, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: nature valley granola bar
L: leftover chinese food
S: string cheese, pretzels
D: Something with a lot of veggies.

Planned Workout
at home, push ups, squats, the like.

Kickball is apparently a workout. Who knew?

So apparently kickball DOES count as a workout. I have been ridiculously sore the past 2 days. What the heck? I can run 7 miles, but I am in pain after a day of kickball. Ridiculous.

Last night I was sore and VERY tired but forced myself to go on a 3 miler. I kept telling myself, its JUST 3 miles. Well when I got out there it was awful. One of the worst runs of all time. I had to walk a lot of it, and I just wanted to stop moving with every step.

I went home, took a shower and decided I didn't have the energy to eat. I knew I had to eat something or I would feel sick in the morning so I just took one of Mike's slim fast he buys (not to lose weight, just as an easy breakfast for when he is running late, etc). I went immediately to bed, at 9pm. I didnt end up falling asleep until 945 because people kept calling me, texting me, being loud, and the dogs kept trying to see what was going on outside the bedroom. GRR. But I did eventually sleep.

In other news, yesterday I ate Indian Food, for my 2nd time. The first time I really didn't like it, but that was also the same time I didn't like onions, garlic, etc. So I went to some Indian buffet place with some co-workers and tried everything without chicken. It was pretty tasty. I would definitely get it again. I am now excited I have a new food type to eat. Mmmmm.

I am going to the UT game tomorrow. I am really excited. I guess the seats are amazing, and FREE for me. Go Longhorns!!

Peace out, yo.

Kickball is FUN

Wow the kickball game last night was a lot of fun. I was not as terrible as I expected, except for one play, but I would like to pretend that didn't happen. haha.

After the game we went to a bar close by and hung out until late. I left at 12am, while some left earlier and most left later. Let's just say I am VERY tired. Geesh. I made myself an egg sandwich, which was amazing, but still feel like I need MORE. I also had some coffee w/ light chocolate soymilk at home. I am glad I did because there is no water at work right now, which means NO COFFEE. Everyone must be miserable already. haha.

Tonight I am going to go on a 3 mile run after work and then pretty much go straight to bed (after eating of course). I am DEAD. And tomorrow I need to make sure I get in by 8am because I have a meeting then. Eek.

I have the shopping bug right now, where I want to go shopping RIGHT NOW but I cannot. I might go this weekend, but keep it to a budget.

I still have not heard back from the doctor yet regarding my blood tests. I will probably call Friday if I don't hear anything by then. How long does it typically take?

One of my friends might give me tickets to watch the UT game this weekend. If so, I want to go, bad! They are expensive tickets, and everyone is extremely into the game, so it will be a lot of fun, even if I don't know much about football. haha.

Okay I need head out. Have a great day!

Planned To Eat Today
B: fried egg, 2% cheese single, sandwich, coffee w/ chocolate soymilk
S: almond butter & jelly bar from Teddy
L: Thinking bagel sandwich but not sure, but definitely not a packed lunch today
S: granola bar
D: Mac N Cheese w/ avocado, tomatoes, onions, garlic

Planned Workout
3 mile run

Disappointed and Excited

Last night Mike had to stay up late doing homework, which required him to be in the bedroom where his computer is. This is my only place to sleep right now, so I decided to just wait until he was finished. At 1130 I just went in there and put a pillow over my head and went to sleep somehow. It was a dead sleep too.

Because I went to bed so late I knew I could not, and would not, get 5 hours of sleep and then go on a 3 mile run. I opted for 6 hours of sleep and no run. I guess I will just have to run 3 miles in a row on Thursday and Friday. Not that big of a deal, but still dissapointing.

I am excited though about my first kickball game today! Woo hoo! We got jerseys (t-shirts really) and the girls are wearing these obnoxious tube socks with green stripes to match our jerseys. hahah.

We had practice last night and it was a lot of fun. It definitely made me more excited for it (if it was possible! haha). Did you know that kicking a kick ball hurts pretty bad though? Oh man. I swear I am going to have a bruise tomorrow. haha. Oh well. Still worth it.

Also I finally got my prescription last night. Woo hoo! I also got a cute skirt for under $10 from target. I have been keeping an eye on it for awhile just waiting for a sale on it, and it finally happened. haha.

Today is catered lunch day at work. We are getting California Pizza Kitchen today (woo hoo!!!) and I am getting the BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad w/ avocado, replacing the chicken with turkey. I am definitely looking forward to that today.

Oh yeah I tried something new with my oatmeal today. The kind of oatmeal I am using this week is the Maple Nut Organic Oatmeal (forgot the brand but expensive healthy version). Well anyway, I added fage 0% to it, and mixed it in. It was delicous. I am excited to add some to tomorrows mix. It adds some protein and gives it a great flavor. mmm.

If you eat oatmeal, what is your favorite addition?

Planned Meals for Today
B: Oatmeal w/ fage 0%, Coffee w/ light chocolate soymilk
S: pumpkin seeds
L: half of the cpk bbq turkey chooped salad w/ avocado
S: granola bar
D: rest of my salad

Kickball Practice Tonight!

There has been a lack of communication between my pharmacist and my old doctor in the last few days which has resulted in me not getting my "monthly prescription". I am pretty annoyed about it because apparently my body is addicted to the hormones in this monthly prescription and I am painfully bloated. I am a little less now after taking medicine, but I could barely take a shower this morning, and I couldn't eat my breakfast until 830 (woke up at 615) which is crazy late for me. haha. Let's hope they get their stuff together because I only have time today to pick it up during lunch due to kickball practice tonight.

Speaking of kickball practice, I am pretty excited about it. Have any of you been on a sports team affiliated with work? I have not. I am not sure what to expect. I will be in workout clothes today to practice in front of co-workers. Weird right? I thought so when I was packing my clothes for practice today. haha.

My 3 miler got pushed to wednesday morning. Mike and I both agreed it is much better for us to take 2 days off of running in order to recover from our long run. It works for me.

Here is my revised schedule for the week:
Tuesday: kickball practice
Wednesday: 5am 3 miler, Kickball game
Thursday: rest day
Friday: 3 miler
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: 4 miler

Planned Food for the Week
B: Oatmeal w/ sliced almonds, razberries, flax seed, Coffee w/ light chocolate soymilk
S: Pumpkin seeds
L: Polenta & sausage and peppers and onions
S: larabar (peanut butter cookie!! I found it!!)
D: No clue

Planned Workout
Does kickball practice count? haha

7 Miler

I did it! I finished a 7 miler, with a slow pace of 13:32. Wow. I am impressed with myself. Mike went with me this time (finished 20 minutes before me) but we still marveled in the fact that we finished 7 miles together. I actually ran a LOT more than I did in the 6 miler and felt MUCH better at the end. I really was never breathing that hard until I finished.

While I was running I was wiping sweat from my face and noticed there was what I though was dirt on my all over my face. When I looked down at my hand though afterwards I did not notice any dirt. I later discovered salt was apparently secreting from my pores bc I was sweating THAT much. ahahaa. It was a lot cooler though on this run, which was pretty awesome and I think I sweated a little less.

I am definitely a little stiff today, but that is to be expected. No biggie. Reminds me of the good run, which I like. Oh btw, the camelbak that I bought is AMAZING. you barely notice it, and it is great for staying hydrated on runs. Love it!

Oh yeah I am not sure I ever mentioned this, but I also did a 4 miler on Friday. It was for speed work. I ran faster than I ever have and did great. I loved it! Afterwards I watched Burn after Reading which was pretty great as well.

Before the run I put together a little casserole type thing so that after the run I could just stick it in the oven for 20 minutes and be done with it. It was really tasty. It was polenta (flavored with garlic and basil), black beans, bell peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes and this pimento gooey cheese I bought. It was a great meal after the run, even though I could have eaten a LOT more. I saved some for lunch today and had ice cream instead. haha.

I also read up on all kinds of grains I can eat that are wheat free. I am going to try Millet this week, although I have no idea what to do with it yet. I want to try Amaranth, but I couldn't find it at Central Market. Oh well. Do you have any ideas for Millet?

I had a great grocery shopping day though, the places were not that busy and I was calm and was able to explore a lot of area of the store I normally too stressed out to try.

Tomorrow I have my first Kickball practice with my work team. I am pretty excited. At lunch we are getting these obnoxious (obnoxiously cool that is) tube socks that are the same color as our shirts. How awesome right? haha. I have not played kickball since I was in elementary school so this should be interesting.

Today I plan to just go on a walk with the pups after work and put away all the laundry I got done yesterday.

Okay I need to head out.

Planned Food for the Day
B: maple oatmeal w/ almonds & banana, coffee w/ chocolate soymilk
S: zbar (I got the halloween smores kind!)
L: polenta black bean casserole thing
S: carrots, string pepperjack/jalepeno cheese
D: Not sure, but I have a lot to choose from right now.

Planned Workout
easy walk w/ the pups

Plan for the Week

I ended up getting my blood work done on Saturday morning. I made Mike go with me (or rather I asked and he said yes without hesitation because he is awesome!) which was great because I definitely had an anxiety attack during it. It was only about 5-10 minutes, but still no fun at all. I think they took 4 vials. Ahhh.

I have been taking these acid reflux pills that my doctor gave me free samples of. I think they are working because the pain has not been there all weekend. Pretty fantastic. It is GREAT to not feel hungry constantly (literally) and to go a few hours without eating and not feeling like I want to pass out.

I am hoping the blood results come back pretty soon Just so I know the answer.

By the way, I really appreciate all your comments. I will try to respond as soon as possible.

So now only the plan for the week.

Planned Food for the Week
Meals:
Polenta/Black Bean Mexican Casserole
Millet & Corn
Veggie patties
Sweet Potato tamales
Oatmeal w/ banana & almonds
Snacks:
Baby Carrots
Jicama w/ hummus
Pear
Trail mix

Planned Exercise for the Week
Sunday: 7 miles
Monday:
Tuesday: 2 miles, weights
Wednesday: 15 minutes easy cardio, weights (lunch)
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday:
Saturday:

Doctor Update

So I went to the doctor. She was super nice and young and listened to me. It was amazing. I am so glad my co-worker suggested her to me. It has been a LONG time since I have had a good doctor. Wait, no, I dont think I ever had a nice doctor who listened to me. One that was sorta nice in huntington beach, but not like this lady. Woo hoo.

So I have no idea what's wrong yet. I have to do a fasting blood test tomorrow. I need to warn them there that I am a fainter.

She thinks it could be a variety of things, but is going to test for everything before she makes me cut out wheat. She knows how hard it is to cut out wheat, in her words, "especially in America".

I am also going to get tested for thyroid problems (I told her how I have been eating better and working out and not losing weight) and get my cholesterol checked again. She was shocked that I had high cholesterol at my age, but did say genetics can have a strong affect on that, even stronger than lifestyle. I knew that, but it's nice to hear from a professional.

I hope it's something simple like an ulcer that can be cured in a few weeks or something.

I took some antacid pill she gave me and will give that a try until we figure out the problem. I could know either next week or not. Wonder how long it will take for the blood test. A few days?

Would love to be cured today. Oh well.

Alright, well I need to head out.

Doctors Appointment Soon

So I decided to make a doctors appt for today. It is with a new doctor. I am really nervous. Not necessarily because of a new doctor, but because i HATE going to the doctor. Last time I was actually at the doctors office I had a full on anxiety attack. It was awesome, as I am sure you could guess.

I always feel stupid on what to say. I feel like a jerk bc I am not an idiot when it comes to health issues, and maybe they think its me being disrespectful diagnosing myself. haha.

I guess I just say, "my stomach has been having this gnawing pain off and on for several months. I mistook it for hunger for awhile but realized it can't be that because I can eat a TON and I will still have the pain 10 minutes later or so. Plus I can't concentrate when I have it, and I sometimes even get a hot flash with it (but not the extreme sweaty kind, etc). I just want to be sure it's nothing serious, and find a way to get rid of it and be normal."

And yes, I have to prep myself for doctors appointments. I usually get there and just blank out. But I am paying $20 for this appt, I better get my money's worth right? I need to NOT blank out.

In other news, I skipped my run last night. Didn't feel good. I have it planned to do tonight though before watching Burn After Reading tonight! :-)

Traffic is awful here bc all the people evacuating from the hurricane areas are all coming here. Okay not ALL but a lot of them are.

I am actually pretty excited for the hurricane weather. It is my first one. I think I mentioned that yesterday though. Oops.

Alright, need to head out. Have a great weekend. I will probably be updating either later today about the doctors appt or this weekend. Peace out.

Hypochondriac?

Yesterday was another day of insatiable hunger. But what I am realizing is that it is probably not hunger. I get this every once in awhile and it lasts for a few months off and on. It is this gnawing pain (that can easily be mistaken for hunger) that burns right below the rib cage. It sometimes goes away with eating, other times not so much. If I don't eat when it starts hurting I start to feel light headed, will sweat, or freeze, and will not be able to concentrate.

I know I often talk about things wrong with me, my friends get on my case about it, but what if something is really wrong? This ins't normal right? Does everyone get this? Doubt it. So annoying. Because they think I am a hypochondriac, is it better to just ignore PAIN and pretend it isn't there and do nothing about it because they will just tell me I am being a hypochondriac? That is what my doctor basically told me when I asked for allergy tests and guess what, I was allergic to chicken and it wasn't all in my head. So this is why I continue to listen to my body, although I do try to not talk about it as much as possible just so i don't get "boy who called wolf" when something really happens. But it all feels like something REAL is happening to me when I say things. That is my inner conflict in me a lot. Is it real? Is it in my head like everyone else thinks it is? Okay thats my rant. I am done with that.

Anyway, the pain I am feeling is often associated with ulcers. I have never gotten checked for one. But I would not be surprised if I had one after being sick for litterally 6+ years (at least 3 days a week, often more) with extreme amounts of acid in my stomach due to my allergy to chicken.

Not sure if I want to go to the doctor now that I have health insurance, or if I want to just chug down some mylanta for a few days, which is what usually works when I feel like this. Note: the tablets do not work, the liquid is the only thing that has helped. Boo. The problem with that is ulcers are often caused by bacteria which can be cured by antibiotics, blah blah blah. I should just go see a doctor. Blah.

I am going to get some mylanta at lunch.

In other news there is a hurricane in the area this Saturday and perhaps Sunday that will not hit here, but will cause massive amounts of rain and thunder supposedly. Not sure how I can pull off my 7 miler in this weather unless I do it on a treadmill. Boooooo. 7 miles on a treadmill sounds like torture. I will listen to some Mitch Hedberg and an Audio book probably if I have to. It might make it a little bit better.

I might also want to invest in a flash light today. We have none and all the weather reports say we should prepare for our electricity to go out, etc. Not sure if they are just freaking out like they usually do, or if they are really heeding genuine warning. Never been through a hurricane, or one where it will be about 50 miles away or more. Have any of you been through one, or near one?

I am just used to fires or earthquakes, never had hurricanes, or tornadoes, or even thunder storms often. Should be interesting. :-)

Tonight I am supposed to do 5 miles worth of speed work. Mike is supposed to join me. I hope so!!

Okay time to head out. Have a great day!

Planned Food for Today
B: oatmeal, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: nature valley granola bar
L: pad thai w/ tofu
S: carrots, or peanuts or chocolate milk
D: leftovers

Planned Exercise
5 mile speed work

Return to the Gym

Why am I hungry at 850am when I ate a bowl of oatmeal almost an hour ago? Geesh. Probably just dehydration. Will work on drinking water now.

In other news, I had a great workout at the gym last night. I really challenged myself because I had an easier way to measure time while on the treadmill. Not sure how accurate the treadmills really are in distance, but I ran 2 miles there in about 20 minutes (which is FAST for me). Running on the treadmill I realized how freaking slow I am when I run outside. I was running how I normally do and it said around 13 minute or more miles, and then when I put it to 10 minute miles I felt like I was going to fly off the treadmill. I ended up gradually going faster and faster until I got to 9 minute pace. I cooked down for a bit and then did some upper body weights.

I am already sore from the weights and still sore from all the running. Oh well. No biggie. It definitely makes stretching feel better.

Today I get a catered lunch at work which is pretty cool. I will be having some pseudo pad thai w/ tofu. Mmm.

After work today I am going to pick Mike up after school and then go to Petco (dogs need food really bad). After that perhaps relax a bit and watch some America's Next Top Model if Teddy doesn't have her class tonight. If not, perhaps some 90210. And yes, I love cheesey television.

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal & coffee w/ chocolate soymilk
S: nature valley granola bar
L: pad thai w/ tofu and edamame
S: edamame, apples w/ pb
D: either leftovers or something w/ my polenta

Planned Exercise
Rest day!

Tuesday

I am still sore from my 6 mile run on Sunday, but I am not really surprised. The path I take has a LOT of hills which really increases the intensity.

I was planning on going running this morning at 5 am, but ended up not wanting to get up. Mike often has problems falling asleep, and last night was one where he was up and down and restless all night. Blah. Plus his alarm went off 15 minutes before mine was supposed to go off TWICE. Blah. Anyway... I am going to make up the 2 miles today at the gym, not sure if I am doing it at lunch or after. Probably after so I can get sweaty and not care about being smelly the rest of the day.

I forgot to put my exercise plan for the week up yesterday so here you go:


Plan for the Week
T: 2 mile run. weights (Gym)
W: Rest
TH: 5 miles (speed work)
Fr: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 7 Miles (ahhh!)

It is so hard getting in so many miles a week. It is hard to MAKE the time to do it, when I also want to be social and make friends. I would say I could do it in the morning, but doing 5 miles in the morning means I have to wake up around 4am, and that is not happening. Plus it is extremely humid in the morning and gross.

I think next week I only have to do 10 miles (opposed to the total of 14 I am supposed to do this week). Sounds great to me.

Oh I forgot to mention yesterday. I actually did my measurements (updated on the side bar) and actually lost .7 inches in each thigh. WOW. I gained a bit in the hip area, but I am pretty happy about the lost inches in the thighs. I owe that all to running. I owe the increase in the hip area to cervesza. So even with the weight gain, my legs are at least getting smaller. Never thought that would happen.

So the plan: keep exercising, and stop drinking beer and eating ice cream. haha.

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: granola bar
L: black beans w/ tofu
S: apples w/ pb, luna bar
D: Leftovers (beans & sausage) or some sort of salad.

Two Exciting Things

1st and Foremost, yesterday I finished a 6 miler!! I actually did not make wrong turns on the path and officially completed a 6 miler!! Woo hoo!!! I am beyond proud of myself. This time last year I was barely doing 3 miles (if that even) and now here i am completing a 6 miler. Love it. If you asked me a a year or two ago I would never believe that I could finish 6 miles. But now I can imagine doing even more. :-)

The run started out where I was pretty hot (it was 91 degrees at 6pm)and my right head phone stopped working just as I started. But after awhile I started to forget I was even running and just got lost in thought and the beauty of the lake I was running by (for most of the time, some parts of it you run on street, boo).

The only problem with this path is the fact that I have to run on the street and deal with the douches who like to make cat calls from their cars while I am running. Do they not realiZe I just get ridiculously annoyed and pissed when they do that to me? I am doing a physical athletic thing that takes a lot of strength (for me) and am hot and sweaty and all they can say is "hey baby" to me? Grrr. It is not a compliment it is an offensive insult to me. I would NOT like to be looked at as a sex object, but rather as a person who is running. If you said "good job" or "you're kicking ass" or something along those lines I would not mind, but being referred to as a sex object is not cool in my book.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Overall, fantastic run yesterday. I am pretty sore today, but typical soreness, not injured soreness.

So the other exciting thing is that my work started a kickball team, and I am on it! We start practice soon and the official first game is on the 17th. Woo hoo. Although not incredibly physical, it is still fun. I have always wanted to be on a kickball team, ever since they become popular a few years ago.

Today I have to go home for lunch, even though I would rather just pick up some headphones for my run on tuesday. I guess I can do it after work today. I need to take the pups out, which is why I need to go home. I am glad that I can actually do it though. Aside from the cost of gas, doesn't seem too bad.

Alright I need to head out. Work is crazy right now.

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal w/ glazed walnuts, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: fage w/ glazed walnuts
L: pad thai
S: apples w/ pb
D: salad

Planned Workout
Definitely a rest day

Snapping Out of It

So here is an idea for running in the dark: go with one of my dogs. I know I fired them back in the day from running with me, but if they can protect me maybe I will reconsider. Even though my dogs are little, no one wants to attack a girl with a dog right? Dogs bark, they bite, they get people's attention. This seems like a really bad situation for someoen who wants to attack me while running outside in the dark right? I hope so.

That idea makes me feel better about the fall and winter. I am not a fall or winter lover. They depress me. Not sure if it is the cold weather (which I hate), the fact it gets dark REALLY EARLY, or the fact that there are a million obligations mostly dealing with family and family drama. So anything to make the holiday's better sounds good to me. :-)

This whole not eating wheat, or not supposed to be eating wheat thing has put me in a funk. I feel bad for Mike and Teddy. I keep going back and forth on the idea and complaining about it, and saying I am giving up. Wheat IS in everything pretty much. Also I am not deathly allergic to it, or even to the point where i feel forced to want to avoid it forever like chicken. Chicken causes some pretty bad side affects, but wheat not entirely sure what it causes except being bloated sometimes and apparently not losing weight and making me excessively hungry. I am just planning to avoid it because MAYBE it is the reason I get excessively hungry and can NOT for the life of me lose weight.

Also this whole not having a moment to myself is not fun. I could take the fact I sometimes eat lunch alone as alone time, but I want my alone time at home in my own space where I can do whatever. i don't feel lunch counts unless I can just do whatever I want and I definitely can't outside on the picnic table outside of work.

I am going to try to get out of this bad mood that has been lingering on and off for the past few weeks. The only way I can do that is to come up with viable solutions.

1) cut back on wheat, don't have to entirely cut it out... yet
2) stick to eating less and running
3) wake up real early on Sunday and just chill out.

I have begun on #1 already. No bread in 2 weeks is difficult. Makes me grumpy. No weight loss yet for more than 2 days.

#2 I have been doing it, but excessive hunger creeped up yesterday and destroyed that.

I did the #3 thing last weekend, everyday. I got to spend about 20 minutes alone in front of my computer with no one but the dogs in the same room as me. It was marvelous.

In other news, last night I went to the Alamo Drafthouse for a special screening of Heavy Metal in Baghdad. It was a free screening with free drinks and free popcorn. It was awesome. The movie was really great and one of the guys who worked on the film was there and did a Q&A. I love Austin, and especially Alamo Drafthouse for hosting events like this all the time ;-)

I got no sleep last night though, and am tired today.

I guess there is a happy hour after work today. Not sure if I am going. But should. Too bad I am BROKE like a joke. And I need to run 5 miles tonight. Although my ankle hurts pretty bad (no idea why) so not sure that is a good idea. Ehhh. My running plan was messed up this week as well. Oh well. I am stopping on the complaint route. STOPPING. I am in control, and being grumpy is not fun, so why do I let myself get that way? Gotta stop it, now.

Anyone have any good weekend plans?

All I know that I am doing is going on a 6 miler on Sunday, probably watching the UT football game on Saturday and uhhhh sleeping a lot tomorrow morning, although not as late as everyone else so I can get some alone time. haha.

Planned Food for Today
B: Oatmeal w/ walnuts, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: 1/2 cliff bar
L: leftover greek food, although might pass on it since it made me excessively hungry afterwards yesterday
S: almonds
D: no idea

Planned Workout
since the sore ankle, prob not much. Gotta prepare for the 6 miler on Sunday.

2 Miler Tonight

Normally I would do a morning run for my 2 miler but Mike was too busy studying and I didn't feel like running in the dark without him. I am going to do it after work. No problemo.

I decided that it is officially impossible for me to completely avoid wheat, especially since I don't even really want to do it. I have officially cut out a lot of things. No more pita bread. BOOOOOOOOO. And have definitely been avoiding most breads.

Today for our catered lunch it is pizza (hello wheat in the crust) so I am eating that. Otherwise I think my plan is pretty wheat free for the day. Maybe I will just have one thing max of wheat a day.

Yesterday we had a birthday celebration at the office. Geesh. I was starving when it started too so I ate more than I should have, but not more than I wanted. haha.

Oh yeah America's Next Top Model tonight! Woo hoo! Can't wait.

Planned Food for the Day
B: oatmeal w/ walnuts, coffee w/ chocolate soymilk
S: 1/2 lara bar
L: 2 pieces of pizza
S: apples & almond butter
D: salad w/ turkey, cranberries (dried), bleu cheese, walnuts, etc
D: treating teddy to ice cream for 1st day of school

Planned Exercise today
2 miler

Summer Please Stay

So I just realized this morning that pretty soon I can't do my runs outside during the week so a garmin would not be very beneficial right now. It would be nice for when I run on the weekend, but not sure I want to invest that much money just yet. Too bad I really want it still.

I also am already getting sad that I have to start running on the treadmill pretty soon like a hamster a few days a week. I really have enjoyed my summer and being able to come home from work and go for a run even after relaxing at home for 30 minutes.

Do any of you run outdoors when it is dark? I am a little afraid of it, since I am addicted to law and order. haha. Also there seems to be more bugs out at night and they love to suck my blood, which I HATE. Maybe I am wrong? Let me know.

Also it is actually not too bad yet coming back to work after 3 days off. I feel much more relaxed and got a LOT of sleep last night.

After finishing some excel class for work yesterday Mike and I took a break with the dogs at the local high school. We took a soccer ball and played with them a bit. One of my dogs LOVES to play soccer so it was a lot of fun. Also we got to stretch out out muscles after the run and get in some speed work. I want to do this more often with the dogs, but unfortunately they decided that it was a great idea to chase some other dogs into the street while playing and then being complete jerks to the other dogs. Gah! They have been really bad the last few days and it makes me not want to take them out for fun things. I think they just need more exercise and more training. But I hate when they ruin what is supposed to be a good time for them like that. Boo. Oh well. I can still try to remember it as being fun BEFORE they tried to kill themselves.

After that we all relaxed back at the house, not doing much. I ended up going to bed to watch a movie at 930 and I think I fell asleep within about 15 minutes of it.

Okay I need to get a start oon the day, so will write more tomorrow.

Planned Food for the Day
B: apple cinnamon oatmeal w/ flax seed, coffee w/ chocolate soy milk
S: 1/2 larabar (banana bread)
L: steak bowl (steak w/ cheese, beans, corn, etc)
S: 1/2 larabar, apples and pb
D: turkey with something

Planned Workout for the Week
Monday: 6 Miler (pretty much done)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 2 miler
Thursday: Dist: 5mi, inc
Warm; 3mi@13:03; Cool
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 6 miles

(i need to fit in weights somewhere...)

What a Weekend!

The ONE extra day that comes with a 3-day weekend makes the weekend a million times better. Why do we not have 3 day weekends EVERY week? geesh. hahah.

On Friday I went out with a few friends from work for a co-worker's birthday. We had tapa's and lots of sangria. I am glad I had some oatmeal before I went out because the tapa's would have left me starving. They were delicious, but just not very filling.

On Saturday I went to Central Market and Borders. I got a book for my book club; The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson. So far it is pretty good. I read it some while laying out by the pool. AMAZING. Later that night Mike, Teddy, and another friend went to a sports bar restuarant type place to watch the UT football game. Football is HUGE here, and everyone seems to wear the UT colors on a regular basis so it was quite the spectacle. The only time I consumed wheat was definitely that night, with some beer. How can you celebrate a football game any other way?

On Sunday Mike and I woke up and attempted to go on our 6 mile run. I thought the area we normally run in was closed down due to a marathon so we went somewhere else. The place we ended up going to ended up actually being a bike trail not an actual running trail. This meant it was waaay too rocky to actually run on unelss we wanted to twist our ankles. We left too late to actually have time to go somewhere else so we just opted to do it on Monday. After the running attempt we instead went grocery shopping. haha. I also did some other types of shopping and ended up getting a camelbak. Woo hoo!!

Today I went on another attempt at a 6 miler. This one was quite an event. Turns out that today was the marathon type thing not yesterday. It was actually a triathalon, going directly through the area we run. Luckily they gave us normal runners a path still :-)

Mike and I planned out a 6 mile route, one we had not taken before. It was actually in the opposite direction than we normally run. It was a beautiful path, absolutely gorgeous. I definitely had a runners high today, maybe because of the new camelbak excitement (?). When I got to what was supposed to be the end point I was wondering why I was not even close to feeling like giving up and then I realized I turned waaay to early on the path and was definitely not close to finishing 6 miles. I still felt magnificent so I went further, but wasn't sure how far I should go because I did not know how early I really turned. Once I finished what could have been 6 miles (in my head) I did not see Mike anywhere near where we normally meet. My first thought, wow I must have REALLY not gone 6 miles because Mike is always 15-25 minutes ahead of me. So I walked about a mile to cool down and thought it may have counted for some of the run. Also maybe by the time I was done Mike would be there. Mike was still not there. So I waited around a bit and did some stretching. After 30 minutes of waiting I decided to walk to the car in case Mike thought we were supposed to meet there. He was not there. I wrote a note on the car telling him to meet me at the normal place in case he ended up deciding to meet me at the car later. Another 15 minutes later he finally showed up. I guess he took a few wrong turns as well yet still managed to run about 6 miles.

After we went home we measured how far we actually ran on mapmyrun.com and it turns out I only did 4.12 miles but with the addition of the extra cool down walks and looking for Mike I ended up running about 6 miles or a little more and Mike did about 6.25 (including the searching for me).

Shortly after I am highly considering getting a garmin forerunner 205 to make sure I complete my goal and stick to the path. Also Mike and I decided on an official meeting spot in case we forget to officially say one before we start the run and part ways.

I am really glad that I had such a fantastic run though, despite not really getting all the mileage in. Also the camelbak was marvelous. I love it!!! Does anyone else use one? I am not really sure on the best maintenance.

I still have the runners high, even have about 5 hours of excel. haha.

Also my wheat free situation is working out alright, although a lot of the official wheat free products are not that great. Things that arent supposed to taste like they have wheat in them are fabulous. But I am still pretty upset if i have to do this completely. I think for right now I am just going to gradually cut it out of my diet and see how it goes. I can already see a difference I think but not officially sure.

Alright, well have a great rest of your weekend!!