BFF: Better Food and Fitness

That Sh*t Cray

2012-02-14T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hi. My name is Maddie, and I think I've lost my mind.

On Saturday I ran four. No just four miles, but four miles in the snow.

Yup. It wasn't terribly cold, but it was wet and snowy. They were some decent miles though.

sweaty and snowy. #hot

This made me feel like I rock, so I decided to sign up for a half marathon. Yeah. Me. The girl who has never run more than 6 miles (and that barely counts because it was a terrible run). The girls who has confessed to not love running completely. It definitely seems like I've lost it.

Well. A lot went into me deciding on a half marathon, actually. First, I've been in need of a goal. I am planning on doing a tri again, but probably not until September. And I cannot for the life of me do the NROLFW...it's just not happening.

So I've been thinking about it for a while. But I never really was set on it. I had a possible half marathon goal for the May 2013 Zoo Run when my running friend Lou is back in the states, but even that was only a pipe dream. Until this weekend.

On Friday I had dinner with my awesome friend Emma. She's signed up to run the Chicago marathon in October! We talked about how training is crazy, but it's exciting. And it got me thinking some more about my own running plans. And the on Saturday I ended up wearing my sister's old BAA 1/2 Marathon shirt around my gma's house all day because I was doing my own laundry. And then at family dinner on Saturday night I mentioned to my sister that I was thinking about doing a half marathon. She said she wouldn't suggest the BAA because it's hilly, but that the Run to Remember was around the city and in May.

And that was it. I signed up.

So now I've worked out a training plan...and it leaves room for my crazy travel schedule coming this spring, and basically it will get me through so I can finish the race. I am going to work on goals for it eventually....but right now I'm still kind of in shock that I'm even signed up. I needed to be able to push myself and I'm actually really excited about this, so I think it's going to be just what I need.

We'll see in a couple of weeks though when I have to run more than 4 miles at a time...

Outside

2012-02-10T08:55:00.001-05:00

I am endlessly thanking the weather gods for this winter. It has barely been a winter compared to what New England is usually like, and I could not be happier. I do not live here because I love the weather. I do not live here because I like seasons and I look forward to each one. Nope. I live here because it's my home and I love my family. But if we had winters like this for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly happy.

Because it's been so mild, I've been able to run outside. And I love it. It took me a LONG time to be ok with running in public. The bff had to drag me out onto the streets in college. I didn't want people to see me or see how horrible a job I was doing. But I've gotten over that. Mostly because I don't care what people think anymore...at least I'm out there, right? And because it's worth it for the scenery.

On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of catching this sunset on my run.

And last night, I had this view of the city on a quick (read: not quick) three miler.

I know it's blurry, but you get the point.

I'm not a good cold weather runner at all, but maybe I can use this to convince myself to run tomorrow when the winter actually hits and we get snow...but maybe I'll just wait since this is the 10 Day forecast...

Can't complain.

It's That Time Again

2012-02-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

The time where I say it's been TOO long. And that I'm sorry. And that I've been so busy. And that I've not done any thing super exciting, but I'll catch you up on a couple things again. We have these times a lot. I'd probably say you might as well get used to it.

So what has happened since I went skiing? Well first, I did some bowling with my family, and I watched the Pats beat the Broncos and win the AFC championship.

Then, I went to Baltimore.

I visited my dear non-Welsh friend from Wales. We had a great time catching up, having some drinks, and stalking Charm City Cakes (I love Ace of Cakes, so I had to do it).

please excuse my pale legs. it's winter and i never actually get a tan anyway.

Then, I spent a weekend at home alone. The hubs had a boys weekend of sorts, and after being busy the last couple weeks it was great to not do a whole lot of anything. I had dinner with my uncles, went for a run outside (I love that this winter has not forced me onto the treadmill all the often), locked myself out of my apartment, got let back into my apartment, and watched the Super Bowl. I don't want to talk about that part.

I also cooked and watched a lot of Mad Men (I'm just finishing up season one, so PLEASE do not ruin anything for me).

Yes, I cooked. I chopped veggies. I know. It's crazy. I pretty much never do either one of those things, but we had chicken sausage that needed to get cooked, so I made sausage, peppers, and onions to have for lunch this week.

It was exhausting. Well...it probably wasn't the cooking that made me tired. It was probably the run and the staying up to late watching TV. But Sunday (before I went out to watch my team get robbed), I enjoyed my Dunkin' Donuts coffee on the floor with my Mad Men, which I had to watch on my work computer because my beloved Mac is old school and cannot handle the software update required to stream Netflix. It was a depressing realization.

I knew if I sat on the couch I would be too comfortable to finish cleaning the apartment, and would watch too many more episodes, so the floor it was. It worked. The apartment is spotless.

Anyway, that about sums up the kind of interesting parts of life. Work is busy busy busy, which I love, but it doesn't leave much time for exciting dinners or workouts. I am starting the New Rules of Lifting this week though (about time, I've had the book forever), so stay tuned. That could make for some more juicy posts...

Still Here!

2012-01-22T19:01:00.004-05:00

Happy (belated) new year!!

Once again, it has been far too long since my last update. The days have been long and busy and I'm hoping that some upcoming changes at work will help me leave there at a decent hour and free up some of my at home time so I can update here more often.

Despite my schedule, I've been doing my best to keep up with healthy eating and exercising. I owe a lot of the exercising I've been doing to Jay and my friend, V. Jay and I have a running schedule that he has been great at holding me accountable for, it really is a great thing to have a 30-60 minute block of time 2-3 times a week where we can run off the day's stresses and spend some time together. My friend V and I have set up a schedule to go lift weights at the gym 3 days a week, knowing she is busy too and is still going to the gym to meet me keeps me going - I just won't bail on a friend. And the in-between sets chats are fun and definitely a motivator to show up! I really don't think I'd be exercising as much if it weren't for these two.

I'm going to the grocery store today so I can have all the ingredients I need to make healthy meals all week. Jay and used to do this every week but with such hectic weeks it seems that all we want to do Sunday is relax and clean house. It's time for some changes!

We're getting closer and closer to the big day! Jay and I took some time this weekend to register. Jay was a pretty good sport about it - he took a bad fall off his bike during a ride earlier in the day and was cut up, sore and limping around but didn't seem to mind my lengthy discussions about which silverware really fit our lifestyle. What a keeper!

I hope you're having a good weekend! Now it's time to do some meal planning and grocery shopping. Have a great week!

Snow Patrol

2012-01-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I did something I've been wanting to do since last winter. I WENT SKIING!

On Wednesday, my sister texted me and asked if I wanted to join her on a ski trip this weekend. I've been talking about how I want to go skiing this winter, since I never went last year, and there was really no reason NOT to go. She found out about a ski club that has buses that leave from her neighborhood and you get a deal on the whole ski package. So of course, I jumped at the chance!

Let me preface. I have not skied since I was in the fourth grade. And that was only one time. My sister on the other hand, used to ski all the time and actually owned her own skis. Knee surgery in high school side-lined her for a while, but in the past few years she's gone at least a couple times a winter. She knows how to ski. I do not. But she promised me she'd show me the ropes and ride the easy trails with me.

We got up at 4:30 on Saturday morning and took the bus to Jay Peak in Vermont. It was COLD out, but we were properly bundled, so it wasn't so bad. It snowed at the beginning of the day, but that just made for some pretty chairlift rides.

I had SUCH a good time. I fell a couple times, but way less than I thought I would. And only once did it actually hurt (I fell right on my knee...the same knee I bashed into the coffee table last week, so it was just not going to feel good no matter what). We got ourselves into a blue square situation which was NOT pretty, but that was the only time during the day that I was completely enjoying myself!

By the end of the day my toes were FROZEN and my legs were pretty tired, but it was a great experience (my awesome $20 snow pants kept me super warm, even if they were SO unflattering). I happen to love my sister a whole lot, so spending the day together was an added bonus to the whole thing.

Today I am incredibly sore. My arms and back more than my legs, but I can definitely feel it all over. There are some bruises and even a bump (on my knee, of course), but I would do it again in a heart beat. It was great to get out of the city and try something new (and get a great workout in), and my sister and I are already planning our next trip. :)

Any suggestions for good beginner mountains in the MA/VT/NH area?

Stuffed Peppers Sunday

2012-01-15T20:49:00.000-05:00

It is absolutely freezing here in Boston. The high today was somewhere around 15 degrees, and because of the wind chill, the "feels like" temp has hovered in the negatives all day. NOT pleasant. I avoided going outside for most of the day by deep cleaning my apartment, but eventually I had to venture out. I met my sister to get our nails done, and then I hit the grocery store. I hate shopping on Sundays because it's always crowded, but it needed to get done! The hubs and I did some meal planning for the week (I have a CRAZY busy week with events Tues, Weds, and Thurs night), and I had to get all the fixings.

On the menu tonight is stuffed peppers. The hubs (the chef of our apartment) makes amazing stuffed peppers, as I have mentioned before, so this time, I documented the process and wrote down the recipe! So without further ado, here it is!

Johnny O's Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
   - 6 large bell peppers (we used yellow tonight, any color will do though)
     - 10 oz ground turkey
     - 1 large can of diced tomatoes (28oz can)
     - 1 large onion - diced
   - 2 Tbsp brown sugar
     - 1 Tbsp Goya Adobo seasoning
     - 1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
     - 2 tsp paprika
   - 1 tsp chipotle powder (chili powder can be substituted)
   - 2 cups cooked rice
   - 12 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Cook the rice. We have a rice cooker, so we make a whole batch of it, but if you make it on the stove it can take a while, so it's always good to start with the rice first! And pre-heat the over. 350 degrees!

2. Chop up the onion, and add it to a hot skillet with the ground turkey. Brown the onion and meat.

3. Drain the can of diced tomatoes, and add to the skillet.


giant can from Trader Joe's

4. Add brown sugar to the mix, and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

5. While the good stuff is simmering, cut and clean the peppers. We chose to cut the peppers in half. Not only does it make it WAY easy to clean them out, it almost makes for more stuffing area. Use a non-stick sheet, or spray the bottom of each pepper (rather than the whole sheet) for easy removal later.

a few rouge seeds in there...

6. Now that the tomatoes and meat are all nice and juicy, shut off the heat and add the cooked rice to the skillet and mix it all together.

7. Once everything is good and mixed up, add a heaping 1/2 cup of the mix to each half pepper.

8. Add a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella to each pepper, and then put them in the oven! They should be in for about 10-15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

Once the peppers are tender, turn the oven to broil for about 3 minutes. This will brown the cheese and crisp up the tops of the peppers!

9. ENJOY!!!

These puppies are DELICIOUS. They have the tiniest kick to them and are so flavorful (although you can make them spicier by adding more chipotle/chili powder). They're healthy, filling, and super easy (pretty sure that's the trifecta of cooking). I obviously did the watching, not the cooking, but IF I ever wanted to cook, I'm sure I could make these no problemo. Maybe. I wouldn't trust my cooking though...

Off to watch the Golden Globes!

Triple Tangent Tuesday

2012-01-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not great at remembering to do the triple tangents on Tuesdays, but since Hunger Runner Girl posted hers, it reminded me, and I figured I'd join in on the fun.

1. I generally do something stupid everyday. I like to refer to it as my "daily dumb" because it's a moment of the day where I do not know where my brain went. It's usually extremely amusing.

Yesterday, for example, I went to the pool at the gym, and I followed some people into the locker room. I wasn't paying much attention, but I hung up my coat, changed, and headed to the pool. When I was done with my swim, I went back to the locker room and couldn't get back in! It wasn't until then that I realized I had followed some ladies into the staff locker room and I didn't have the special pass code to get in. Oops!

source

Luckily, I had my bag with me (since I lost my padlock when we moved and I haven't gotten a new one yet), so I could change in the student locker room, but I then had to stand around outside the staff locker room for a while waiting for someone to come out so I could get in and get my jacket. Yeah, genius.

2. I'm a fairly adventerous eater. I'll try anything once, and I like most foods. The one thing I cannot stand, will not eat, sorry, but no? Eggplant.

source

I really really really cannot stomach it. Even things I don't really care for, I will eat at other people's houses, but not eggplant. Sorry, but I just can't.

3. I don't like dogs. This, however, is my Twitter profile picture.

The hubs says it makes me look like a dog person. But I am not. I have never owned a dog. That giant one there is my dad's. There are certain dogs here and there that I can stand, but in general, I am not a fan. Maybe I should find a new profile picture?

So those are my random fact for this week! I just wolfed down some soup (I was SO hungry after the gym tonight) and now my stomach hurts. I need to work on not eating so quickly when I'm so hungry...it never ends well.

Any one else got a good random fact? :)

2012 (Just a Little Late)

2012-01-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

So I know I said last week that I'd be back with an update, and here I am! It just took me a little longer than I anticipated. But what can you expect around here, right? I'm a self-proclaimed slacker. Oh well.

Thus far, 2012 has been a pretty good year. I know we're only 9 days into it, but why not enjoy those good 9 days, right?

I started the year by drinking too much (again, no big surprise here) and then going to the zoo. Yes, I am 26 years old and on my day off from work, I went to the zoo. No big deal. It was awesome. A friend of mine and I really needed an adventure, so off we went! The weather was nice, and Rhode Island is close enough, but far enough, so we spent the day at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. I made a new friend too.

This weekend I went home to see my gma. I had to get some work done on my car (the one thing making 2012 NOT so great), and so the hubs, the siblings, and I piled into the car and drove down. My uncles came down on Saturday night for dinner too, and we played a few rounds of Scattergories. All I have to say is, HILARIOUS. My 9 year old cousin was there, so it stayed pretty clean, but it was still so funny.

Sunday, my brother and sister and I took advantage of YET ANOTHER weekend with awesome weather (keep 'em coming, universe) and went for a walk around our hometown, which is on the water and gorgeous. It was a nice brisk walk, and we chatted about old memories the whole time. And my brother is quite possibly the funniest person alive, so I pretty much laughed the entire time. Great ab workout.

Last night we also all went to a BU hockey game. It was really fun! They played the US Men's Under 18 team, and it was a great game. It ended in a tie, which is fine by me, because how do you really root against a national team?

That's what I've been doing so far in 2012. I've also been working (duh), getting workouts in, and tracking my eating.

2011 turned out to be a pretty rough year for me mentally...adjusting to my new job and the changes it brought to my everyday life, and the last 6 months have not been what I wanted them to be on my journey to a healthier life. I don't generally like New Years Resolutions, but this year I took the changing of the calendar as a new start. I do actually KNOW how to live a healthy life and lose weight, but I wasn't doing it. So now, I'm working back to that. Did I take a couple steps back in my habits and what the scale says? Yes. More than I care to admit (especially on the scale part). But it ends now. I know how to do this, and I am going to. The end.

And to that point...this is supposed to be a blog about eating better food and being fit. So I should probably start doing that. In 2012 I plan to blog A LOT more about my workouts and hopefully a lot more about food. I am NOT a cook by any means, and I don't plan on documenting everything I eat, but hopefully I'll have some good recipes and tips to share!

I'm still trying to decide my fitness goals for the year. I know I want to do at least one tri this year (I think I'll be doing the same one I did last year because my mom is going to do it too!), but I'm thinking a second tri, a 10k, and maybe a 10 miler? It's still in the works because I feel pretty out of shape right now, but as it comes together, it will get posted here!

Here's to a new year, a new attitude, and lots and lots of fun!! :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T15:55:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Hard to believe it's 2012 already! I'll have a new years appropriate post for you tomorrow, but I really wanted to share this article today.

20 New Years Resolutions for 20-somethings

It's hilariously true and made me laugh out loud. Enjoy!!

Again?

2011-12-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

Here I am, playing catch-up again! Life has settled down, so I should be able to get back into the regularly scheduled blogging, but for now, I'll tell you about the last two weeks.

Oh wait, there isn't much to say. I have been working like crazy and traveling. What's new? Nothing.

We celebrated Christmas with my family, then we went to New Mexico for real Christmas with the in-laws. They had a Charlie Brown tree. I'm more of a full and fat tree kind of girl, but it held lights and ornaments,s o I guess I can't complain (or take pictures that aren't blurry).

The BEST part about the trip was seeing my very bestest BFF! Did we take any pictures together? No, of course not. That would be a good idea, and we rarely have those. But it was fantastic to see her, and I really really wish NM was closer to MA so it could happen more often.

I only worked out once...and it wasn't a run or anything good like that. It was fun though! I went rock climbing with my brother-in-law. He belongs to a climbing gym, so he let me tag along (I think it was so he could laugh at my lack of upper body strength). I managed to hold my own, but mostly just on the kindergarten wall. Anything 1st grade or above was a little tough for me. And today (three days later) my forearms are KILLING me. Opening doors and squeezing bottles is nearly impossible (and yet surprisingly important to be able to do. Get into work? ouch. Contact solution bottle? Ouch. Toothpaste? Ouch). It was WELL worth the pain though. This has been the year of trying new things, and I really enjoyed myself and hanging out with my BIL. Wouldn't you want to hang with us too?

We got home Tuesday, and now it's back to the grind. But not without a cold! Thank you to all the children who also traveled this week and left their germs all over the airplanes. You're the best! I love being sick right after vacation!

Not really at all. But I did catch a cold and felt pretty nasty yesterday. Today is better, so I'll be hitting the gym post-work and will hopefully start to feel normal. Vacation in New Mexico is always filled with amazingly good food, but now I feel like I need a dry salad and Tab lunch more than ever.

Also, not really. But a good, healthy salad and a Diet Coke are on the menu :)

Playing Catch-Up

2011-12-16T16:55:00.000-05:00

It has been FAR too long since I updated. Sorry about that. Being on the road for a week, and then being home for just three days before company shows up and I'm packing to go out of town again is stressful!

So let's go back two weeks. TWO WEEKS. Yikes.

I set a goal of running a 10k the first Saturday in December. Why? Just because I needed to push myself. I did my 5-miler the weekend of Thanksgiving, and this was up next. Did it happen on that Saturday? No. Of course not. Life gets in the way, and sometimes things don't work quite as planned (and sometimes I need to reschedule my life so I can get my hair done). But did I do it on Sunday instead? Absolutely. Unlike my 5-miler, where I had no music or Garmin, this time I was full prepared. But also unlike my 5-miler, this run SUCKED. Hard.

I started on the same route I did last weekend, planning to take WAY better pictures. Here's the view of Boston at the half mile mark.

It's probably my favorite view. Unfortunately, I was already feeling pretty rough. I thought maybe I just needed to "get the lead out" aka work out the heavy legs, but by mile 1, I was hurting badly. I took one of the Shot Bloks I brought along, and actually sat down for a minute. I was feeling too hot (too many layers for the weather) and a little light headed. I took off a layer and calmed myself down before I set off again. I knew that I could head home around mile 2 if I was really not feeling, but I wanted to give it a college try before I just threw in the towel.

Once I was down a layer, I felt a lot better. I knew I was going SLOWLY, but I didn't feel sick anymore, so that was a major bonus. I did walk run intervals for the next 3 miles because I could not get it together. My pace was all over the place and my legs still felt really heavy. I didn't feel good until mile 4.5ish when my stint along the river was gone and I was in the Public Garden.

At this point I ate my second Shot Blok and was starting to feel kind of good. Not great, but based on what I had done up to this point, I was happy to feel even a little better about the run. That lasted about a mile, and then I wanted to die again. My last half mile was in my old neighborhood, so I know the distances between things and I kept psyching myself out. It was rough. When mile 6 hit I was so happy. I did not feel the excitement I felt when I went 5 miles for the first time, but rather I was SO HAPPY it was over. I ended right in front of my old apartment (and no, I did not run the .2 required to make it a 10k, and no, I don't care).

After my run, I did not take a picture of myself in a mirror because I went to meet Johnny and my sister for brunch and the place we went to had no mirror in the bathroom. Weird. We had great brunch though. I was really hungry (no surprise there). After brunch, my sister and I went to get our nails done, and then I went home to pack!

My first stop was San Antonio, TX! It was a cool little city, but it was COLD. The first night we went to the mall (I forgot to back a belt) and I considered buying another winter coat! My down vest was not cutting it, but I sucked it up and went to visit the Alamo.

I had great plans to run by the Alamo while I was there. I even got a fancy running map from the hotel. But Tuesday morning my legs were still sore from Sunday, and Wednesday morning I was SO tired from work. When I travel I go to conventions and I'm on my feet ALL DAY. On concrete floors. So I couldn't pull it together (especially because I had a few margaritas the night before too...oops). Then Thursday morning I had a 6am flight to San Diego, so the run never happened! Oh well. I did get to see a friend from college for dinner, AND I got to go up in a private plane to see the city from the air.

It was such a cool experience and I was not at all scared or motion-sick, which is HUGE for me. I'm ALWAYS feeling sick while traveling, so I was so pleased to not embarrass myself and barf in the tiny plane.

From San Antonio I went to San Diego, and I have zero pictures or stories of almost fitness for this part of my trip. It was four more days on my feet at another convention and too many late nights. I've heard San Diego is a GORGEOUS place to run, but I just never had the chance. I carried my sneakers all the way from Massachusetts for nothing. OH WELL. Some times that just happens. And I felt REALLY GOOD about how I ate during the week (even if I did drink a little more than usual) so I think it balances out!

Now my brother is in town, and I'm off to New Mexico on Wednesday! We have Christmas with my family this weekend, and as long as I can get some shopping done tonight (I have purchased exactly one gift so far), then I'll be at the gym working up a sweat (for the first time in two weeks) tomorrow morning. I cannot wait for some vacation time! This running around like crazy is getting old!

Alive!

2011-12-11T16:26:00.002-05:00

Hi there! Just wanted to check-in and let you all know that I'm most definitely still alive. I've been on the road since last Monday and I'm just finally headed home (after my 5.5hr flight from San Francisco).

I did get my 10k in before I left, so I've got updates to report! But until then, I'm off to fly the friendly skies!

Oops I Did It Again

2011-12-05T19:40:00.003-05:00

I'm hooked on a new-ish breakfast! I was getting a little bored with the brand of greek yogurt we've been buying lately and took the opportunity to try a new brand that was on sale at the store last week, Athenos. Their honey flavor is ah-mazing (there is actual honey to scoop into the yogurt). Oh, I didn't stop there I even tried a new cereal, Fiber One Squares - together they have made breakfast delicious and more like dessert (always a plus in my book). Sometimes I just have to remember that it's good to change it up a little so that I don't get stuck in a food rut.

It is so cold in NM right now!! The whole state is under Winter Weather Advisory which may not be too big of a deal for those of you who live(d) in cold states but for the majority of our state, it means we are out of our comfort zone and not so certain what to do. The roads were nasty and icy this morning and afternoon so after a 2 hour delay I actually ended up staying home all day. Thankfully, I had Jay and Chaca to keep me company.

This past weekend we took some time to decorate our Christmas tree and house!

We didn't want Chaca to be left out of the holiday spirit so we bought her some holiday bling at this past week's Nob Hill Shop & Stroll (it was so windy and cold but totally worth it to support our local stores/restaurants/artists).

I did it again - I managed to get another blister on my foot. I did quite a bit of walking around on Sunday and before I knew it I had that sharp pain near my Achilles' tendon. I was supposed to go on an easy jog today but figured I might as well avoid the terrible weather and let my blister heal. This is actually the second blister I've had since the one I wrote about in November. The second one was completely my fault- I thought it'd be a great idea to wear that same pair of shoes I wore in the Dallas airport during a 5k walk I did with this pretty lady, "N".

I seriously love her neon workout clothes! The walk was for St. Jude's and it took place inside the mall, exercise+ a great cause = sign me up anytime!

I ran a new distance this past Friday, 4.8! It was not fun and because it was dark and snowing the run took place on a treadmill. But it is completed and I'm so ready to move on to 5.2 this week.

It's time to watch a little Ridiculousness and eat some dinner, have a good week!

A Short At Home Upper Body Workout

2011-11-29T00:05:00.005-05:00

I received a few requests for some workouts and the recipients of said workouts haven't hated them, so I thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy and if you hate them, I'm sorry.

A Short At Home Upper Body Workout

1) Push Ups - 20

2) Overhead Raises - 20 (I use a kettle bell or a bag full of can goods/laundry/etc.)

3) Tricep Dips - 15 (A chair, couch or bed works just fine)

4) Basic Bicep Curls - 15 each arm (that kettle bell and bag-o-stuff works again!)

And repeat exercises #1-4 two or three times! I like this workout on days when I just don't have a full hour to get to the gym or just need a short pick-me-up workout.

The 10% Rule Rules!!!!!

2011-11-28T23:28:00.005-05:00

Back in February when I first found out about my ankle injury I wasn't sure I'd ever be feel the same about running and feel like me again. I know that sounds a bit drastic, but running has been such a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. It's been my celebration when things are great and my fix for when things aren't so great. In February, my doctor told me that once my ankle was healed I'd have to start from scratch (I was marathon ready!) increasing each week's long run by no more than 10% and that felt a bit discouraging. I've been down this road before (see: previous ankle injury and minor knee surgery) so I wasn't sure I'd have what it takes to make a come back. I enjoyed the experience of training and competing in a fitness competition but just knew that one day I'd have to return to the sport that I've loved for so long. I'll be honest, I started out with 1/4 mile and increase by 10% up to a mile and then I skipped all the way to 3 miles - bad, I know but I was just anxious. I realized my error and decided a few months ago to start with my comfortable base of 3 miles and increase only by 10% from there. It has been a slow rebuild but I've been sticking to it. Uncertain of just how well this plan was working I signed up for a 5k with no intention but to have fun. I felt great the entire race- legs were strong, ankle was keeping up and my form felt better than ever. I ran a 27+ 5k and though I know it's not where I used to be, it is the healthiest 27 minute 5k I've run in a very long time. Better yet-

I finally feel like me again.

Now I know this 10% rule really is great and even though I'm eager to run those long distances again, I'll get there. I can almost taste that sub 2 hour half-marathon!!!!!

5 Mile Recap

2011-11-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday, as you know, I ran five miles. And I survived. And I kind of liked it, even though nothing really went as planned. But let's start from the beginning.

A few weeks ago, I declared that I would run five miles on Thanksgiving. Obviously, Friday was not Thanksgiving. Explanation? My family was beginning their celebration in Connecticut at 1pm. To get up, run 5 miles, get ready in nice clothes, sit in traffic on the Mass Pike, AND make it to my grandparents on time would have required an extremely early wake-up call, and no offense to running and goals, but it wasn't going to happen. So I pushed it to Friday. It was actually a fantastic idea too because I didn't drink nearly as much as I would have if I'd not had to get up.

So Friday, I got up bright and early (we have to leave for VT by 9am, so I still had to get up early, but not AS early) for a solo 5 miles. Remember how my sister was going to run with me? Well that didn't happen either. She wasn't feeling well, but I knew I couldn't use her as an excuse, so I suited up and headed out the door. But without my iPod, since it was dead. And I only got as far as my front steps when my Garmin died. Poor planning, Maddie. I'd mapped the route before hand, so I didn't really need my Garmin for distance, so I ditched it and grabbed my phone instead. The phone would serve as a safety measure, music and picture device.

But, it takes crappy pictures, like this one.

Crappy picture or not, that view definitely got me pumped up. It was so still and quiet in the city, and it felt so good to be pounding the pavement instead of nursing a hang over (not that I don't do that my fair share...it just wasn't the case on Friday.

As I said, I'd mapped out the miles already, and it was broken up pretty nicely. The first mile and a little took me along the river, and I'd round out mile two after crossing the Mass Ave bridge. It's kind of a beast (although nothing compared to the Longfellow), but I tackled it once last week so I knew I could handle it.

I felt great through mile two, and was happy to round into mile three. Mile three and four were my old running route I used to do almost daily last summer from my old apartment. One mile to the Public Garden. One mile back. I miss that route a lot because it's SO pretty, and I actually love running on the brick sidewalks. I've yet to eat it, although I'm sure some day I will.

When I got to the garden, I stopped for about three minutes. At this point, I had not actually had any music for about two miles. My phone was being really annoying and was not streaming music. Fail number 6234 for the morning. I hadn't wanted to stop before, being afraid that I'd throw myself off my game, but I really knew I needed music to power through the last two miles, despite the gorgeous scenery.

The music lasted for all of like 4 minutes before it wouldn't stream again, but I just wanted to be done. Mile 4-4.5ish was rough. Like I was going a snails pace rough. But I hadn't walked yet, and I wasn't about it. So I busted it out and finished! Mile 4.5-5 was awesome. I was on cloud 9. I still wasn't going fast, BUT I was doing it! And I did it! It took me few minutes long than I'd hoped for, but like I said, I am just so proud of myself! I did stop to stretch my legs 4 different times (about 30 seconds each time, except for the big stop near the garden), but I didn't walk once. I ran all five of those miles. Boo. Yah.

I know that lots of people run 5 miles all the time. Or more than 5 miles all the time. But this was a big one for me. Mentally, I wasn't sure I could do it, but now it doesn't seem so bad. I've done it once, and I didn't even come close to dying, so I know I can do it again. I'm ready for a 10k on Saturday, and I'm just hoping I feel as good...and I'll have a full charged Garmin and iPod before I even think about leaving the house...

A Cupcake Crawl

2011-11-26T17:18:00.011-05:00

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!

During my sister's visit a few weeks ago, we took care of some wedding planning. One of the important tasks I wanted her help on was finding a great bakery to bake the wedding cake. We thought it'd be fun to write up reviews of each bakery we visited in my wedding book and to share them here. I feel badly putting the names of the not-so-great places on here so I'll just share the name of the winning bakery.

Bakery #1
The first bakery we visited is known for using local, organic ingredients so walking in our hopes were very high! After we ordered, I was overly excited and swiped a fingerful of frosting while my sister was in the bathroom, I didn't want to jump to conclusions so I waited to give my opinion until we both ate a full bite but it turns out my first taste was the apparent "highlight". The cupcakes (chocolate and red velvet) were so dry and the frosting was greasy.

"Worst cupcake I've ever eaten" - My Sister
"I never met a cupcake I didn't like, til this one" - Me

They look so good, don't they? The cake also had a weird acidy after taste and we felt bad leaving uneaten cupcakes on our plates but hurried out of there. We felt a little defeated but were hopeful that we could only go up from here.

Bakery #2
Our second bakery stop took us to a very popular bakery (it was even featured on The Food Network). I've eaten at their restaurant previously but had not tried any cake. Thankfully, they didn't disappoint- the cupcakes were fluffy and subtly sweet.

"More buttercream puh-lease" - My Sister

Initially, I ordered a slice of cake but found it to have a little too much liqueur in it.

"I could get drunk off this cake" - Me

Yes, that is what I look like when I drink excessively. Though it would be a plus for our budget to have drink and cake in one, I think we'll leave this idea behind.

This bakery was good but we felt that there was something else out there that would be just right. And we were right.

Bakery #3
After doing some more SF wedding activities we were finally ready to try just one more bakery, Ducle Bakery. Wedding planning has been funny as we've hit so many bumps in the road and nothing has been exactly as I've always wanted but for some reason we've been totally okay with it all - the most important thing is that I'm marrying an amazing/funny/smart/sweet/handsome/perfect-for-me guy and we'll always make the best of everything; so I wasn't surprised to find out this fantastic bakery doesn't make wedding cakes, but we're going to make it work!! Our red velvet and chocolate cupcakes were beyond perfection.

"I'd even eat that chocolate cake" - Me (I'm not big on chocolate cake but seriously, I would order a dozen of these and every single bite)

"A whimsical experience. Never liked a red velvet cupcake til this moment" - My Sister

We picked up a chocolate on chocolate cupcake for Jay to enjoy when we got home and made him give us a review too.
"Moist. I taste chocolate, not ingredients" - Jay

I'll be posting again (very soon) on what I've been up to outside of wedding planning. Have a happy Saturday!

BAM!

2011-11-25T08:36:00.000-05:00

5 miles. Done and done!

I did it! I'm so happy and my legs are so dead! :)

Full recap later this weekend. We're off to VT to for Thanksgiving #2 with the hubs' side of the family.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! :D

Southern Hospitality

2011-11-17T22:16:00.001-05:00

I'm posting tonight from the comfort of a giant Hampton Inn bed. I'm down south, just outside Atlanta, Georgia, where much to my dismay, it does not live up to it's nickname, Hotlanta. It was chilly and windy today!

I'm down here for work. My company has an office down here and I have some biz to take care of, so I'm down just until tomorrow. It will be a fast trip, but a good one, I hope! I started out pretty exhausted this morning, because I went to a Foo Fighters concert last night! A friend of mine couldn't go due to an impromptu business trip, so he offered me the ticket. I only took junky pictures with my phone, but it was at the Boston Garden and it was LOUD. My right ear is still ringing, but it was wonderful.

Needless to say, I was asleep before we even took off from Boston this morning (I had a 7am flight)!

This week has been a good one already though. On Monday, I took advantage of the warm weather and went for a run outside. It's hard to believe it was 60 degrees! I did 3 miles and was pretty happy with it.

Don't mind the booze in the background, the mirror just happens to be next to the bar.

And tonight I busted out four miles on the treadmill! It was a TERRIBLE UGLY SAD four miles. I almost quit after 2.5. I even stopped the janky hotel treadmill, but I knew I'd be disappointed with myself if I didn't finish what I set out to do. I haven't run on the treadmill in a while and I think I was just bored. I took a picture of the tiny hotel gym, but apparently I deleted it. Instead I have this awkward hotel lobby picture!

hey there crazy eyes. And yes, I am wearing the same t-shirt as Monday, but I had long sleeves under it before :)

After my terrible run/walk (at least it happened, right?) I needed dinner stat. There are quite a few places around my hotel, but I had something in mind.

I've heard so much about Publix and their awesome subs, when I passed it on the way into the hotel, I knew it would be my dinner (plus, it's less weird to have a sub to go for dinner than to sit at a restaurant by myself). I was only moderately impressed with the sub though. It was pretty generic, and they had no more wheat bread. But I did get an apple to go with it, which was good and crunchy!

I'm exhausted and very much enjoying this comfy bed. And, Overboard is on TV! I love this movie. But I'm quiet happy with the week and am really looking forward to the weekend! :)

Sunday, Plan Day

2011-11-13T22:11:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday night, so that means it's time to get ready for the new week! I'm going to Atlanta Thursday and Friday for work, so it's short week planning, which is nice, but also annoying. I haven't fully unpacked from Pittsburgh last weekend (because I hate unpacking. And putting away laundry or dishes), so I am kind of just repacking. Luckily, Johnny was good enough to go to the grocery store so I could stay in my pjs and think about planning for the week. I came up with a new plan for myself too, which is exciting, but first...

This weekend was an at-home weekend for the first time in a while, which was really nice. The VT cousins came down with their adorable baby to spend the weekend with us, and we had a grand old time. Yesterday, we went to the aquarium!

I haven't been to the aquarium in a long time, so it was actually pretty fun to check it out again. I bought a LivingSocial deal a couple weeks ago, so admission was only $8 an adult instead of $23! We always talk about going when the VTers are in town, but we've never really been interested in spending $50 a couple to go. This deal popped up and I jumped right on it, and it was well worth it! I was most excited about the newly added shark and ray touch tank! I couldn't wait to get my hands in the tanks. No sharks came my way, but I touched a bunch of rays and it was SO cool. (Obviously I am a dork sometimes).

Much to our pleasure, the weather yesterday and today was absolutely wonderful. It's hard to believe that it's the middle of November right now. We walked a whole lot over the weekend, adding a few miles to my Pile on the Miles total for this week! (We did walk back and forth from a new fro-yo place, but it still counts!)

SO back to my new plan. Remember how I said I'm going to run 5 miles on Thanksgiving? Yup? Ok. Well I still absolutely plan on doing it. But I've one-upped myself. Not only will I be doing 5 miles on Thanksgiving, but I'll be going a 10k the first weekend in December! I know it might seem slightly crazy, but I KNOW I can do it, it's just a matter of making myself do it.

I got on this kick to do a 10k after I got an email from my dear friend who lives on the other other side of the world asking me if my 5 mile plans meant I had 10k plans. Well, at first it definitely didn't. But as soon as she mentioned it, I got it stuck in my head. So I decided to commit to it. First, I looked up a training plan through Runner's World.

I wanted to make sure it was even reasonable. I know it's going to be pushing myself, but that's definitely the point. Seeing what Runner's World spit out, I definitely feel confident. My pace is a bit faster than what they've got me training at, so I know it won't kill me. And, I recruited my sister to run with me. She's great about running at my pace with me and pushing me a little harder, so right after I looked up this plan I texted her to make sure I'd have a partner in crime.

So it's done! It's happening, and I just hope I'm ready in a few short weeks!

A New Month!

2011-11-08T13:59:00.001-05:00

This post is so so long overdue. I actually started it a couple times already, but I've been so busy that I never got finished and never made it up.

First, I was going to post about how it snowed on Halloween and how I dressed up like Johnny.

Then I was going to post about how I got coupons in the mail for Target, and how I used the coupon to buy a large bag of apple, which I baked in the Crock Pot and how I used them for breakfast and dessert the next day.

AND THEN, I was going to post about how I went to Pittsburgh this weekend with my sister and my gma. And how was toured the city and my gma showed us all the places she used to live and told us wonderful stories about her life (which was not easy at all, by the way). We took her for her birthday present. We wanted to have a trip with my gma while she's healthy and able (and 81).

I was going to post about how my uncles joined us (as a surprise to my gma) and how we went to church on Sunday at St. Andrew's...the same church where my gma was married to my father's father 59 years ago). And I was going to post about how we went to Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house outside of the city.

But instead, I'll post about my gym efforts this week.

I signed up to take part in Pile on the Miles. It's headed up by Monica, over at Run Eat Repeat. The goal is to pile on the miles during the holiday season instead of the pounds. Since I've been doing a little bit of the pound piling myself, I figured this was a great way to stay on track. The first week was only three days, and probably the three busiest days of my life, so I didn't get my five miles in, but THIS WEEK. This week, I'm golden. It's only Tuesday (the week starts Friday at 8am), and I've already finished my required five miles!

I went to the gym in Pittsburgh with my sister (after attempting a run, but failing to find a good route and getting too cold), and last night I WENT FOR A RUN. This is a big deal because a) it's been a while. Like way too long. And 2) I did it after work and in the dark! I'm really not good at getting back out the door once I get home, but when the weather was still 60 degrees, I knew I had to take advantage! It actually wasn't terrible either.

Which leads me to my five miles goal...I'm definitely not any closer right now, so the goal is Thanksgiving. I thought I'd be able to do it before that, but I've got to be realistic. SO folks, you heard it here first. On Thanksgiving 2011, I will run 5 miles. (yikes!)

Whoa - It's Already November

2011-11-03T21:53:00.005-04:00

Clearly my goal for November will be to post 2-3 times a week!! I'm sorry I haven't written in such a long while.

Here's what's been going on:

1) I did go visit the BFF and it was amazing! Seriously if we could do some rearranging of the states and put MA much closer to NM I would be one happy camper!! I felt so special all weekend and this really made me feel like my wedding is SO soon!!!!!

2) Jay and I celebrated our dating anniversary. We didn't actually do anything the day of our anniversary but that Thursday we enjoyed some Melting Pot. 3) Jay, Chaca and I went to Texas! We attended a tailgate with my family where the main entree was this delicious morsel of meat...Totally kidding. But my dad did hide that in the ice chest and asked me to go grab something from it. Here's the story on this family rat: When I was in high school my dad would hide this rat in the garage (and other parts of the house and my car) and while I was so sleepy and trying to get ready for school he'd ask me to go get something from the garage and then I'd find that thing and would always get scared because I was half-asleep but it always cracked me up. He's seriously such a funny guy!!

I made popcorn balls for the tailgate and was a bit nervous because I thought this would require some skill. Nope, it sure didn't. I melted sugar, marshmallows and some butter and drizzled it over fresh unsalted popcorn and viola! They were delish.

4) It was Halloween - my favorite holiday! Jay and I carved pumpkins, ate candy (the year we buy a lot of candy is the year we get very few trick-or-treaters) and of course dressed up!

Why yes, that is a poodle in a poodle skirt!! My sister bought this for her last year and I just knew I had to dress up with her! Jay even dressed up 50s style too!! Chaca typically hates wearing clothes but as soon as I brought this dress out she wouldn't stop jumping at me until I put her in it. She wouldn't lie down all night, she sat very nicely and was on excellent behavior when all of the trick-or-treaters came out - such a lady!

5) I haven't exercised in a while. While I was in the Dallas airport I noticed my shoe rubbing against my foot. I had checked my bag in so I didn't have another pair of shoes to change into so by the time I made it back to NM, I had a huge blister (gross I know, I'm sorry). For whatever reason I decided that it wouldn't be that bad to go run on Tuesday even though I could hardly put my foot in any shoe. I ran 3 quick miles and when I made it home that blister had become much, much worse. Oops. It was a great run. I knew that this wouldn't heal unless I gave it time. So I did and now that it's nice and healed I have been having long, intense days at work and haven't made time to go do anything. I need to make changes.

6) I have a fantastic visitor coming in tomorrow! My little sister!! I'm so excited and I know we'll have a great weekend visiting. I can't wait to update you on her visit!!

Have a great weekend!

Look Who Came to Visit!

2011-10-26T10:58:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I had a special visitor here in Boston...you all know her. She's the other half of this blog and my own personal BFF!! :)

This picture is most definitely NOT from this weekend...it's from our sophomore year in college, I think? But it's hilarious, so why not share it! :)

Mari arrive Thursday night, and just hours before that, I won free Bruins tickets! Some times our vendors offer tickets to our company, and we can enter ourselves into the drawings. I always enter, but this was the first time I've won! And such good timing. Even though I'm not a HUGE hockey fan, I do love all Boston sports. We had awesome seats and had a blast taking in the whole experience.

Having the BFF in town is pretty much the best thing ever. We are so ridiculously goofy together and laugh non-stop. There's nothing better than feeling 100% comfortable around someone and knowing they're not judging you...because they've done/think something equally as silly.

The main reason for Mari coming to visit (other than we cannot live without each other for very long) was wedding dress shopping! Her big event is less than a year away now (yay!) so it was time to put the petal to the metal and see what was out there. We had a little help from (one of) my other bride-to-be friends!

We've already talked about how awesome a photographer I am, so no need to comment on my skills

The dress shopping was amazing. I won't tell you the outcome because it's Mari's story to tell, but we had so much fun. We did other wedding related things this weekend, like talk about the little details and watch Bridezillas (it's important to know how NOT to act). In the end, Mari's visit was way too short, as always, but it was still wonderful!

This week has been insanely busy (what's new?) so I don't have much else to report. But I can say that the hubs made the MOST AMAZING stuffed peppers last night and I'm seriously looking forward to the left-overs for lunch today (maybe I can have him give me the recipe to post here)! I'm so glad he loves cooking because after being at work until 6pm and then driving an hour home, it's the LAST thing I want to do. I'd eat eggs and salad with tuna every night if I didn't live with Johnny. :)

Busy Bee

2011-10-19T17:14:00.001-04:00

I had no intentions of being a once-a-week blogger. When the BFF and I started this blog, I thought I'd be a daily blogger, or at least once every two days. But it turns out I'm really busy. And finding time (after sitting on a computer at work all day) to post is harder than I thought. I'm going to work on it though. I'll work on making life a bit more interesting too.

The weekend was fun.

We went to Maine again, and spent a windy weekend with our favorite Vermonters and their little one. It was chilly, but at least it wasn't rainy!

We spent a lot of time outside (as much as we could stand, although Saturday was much sunnier than Sunday), and had some great seafood.

We also stopped by our new house. It's a work in progress, and hopefully it won't be too small once it's all done. I'm really excited to get into a bigger place though ;)

Even though the weekend was fun...

Last week, I had a good, hard slap in the face. When I went to the gym, I decided to get on the scale. I've been uber slack about going to WW, so I figured I'd see where I stood. WELL. Let me tell you. I stood a few more pounds up than I'd like to be. Ouch.

Let me back track, when I posted about needing motivation to keep working hard back in July, people said some really nice things to me that should have helped. I should have taken their words to heart, and gotten back on track. But, I didn't. I continued to slack in my food and exercise, and now it's caught up to me. I knew it was bound to happen, but I wanted to believe I was just taking time to "maintain." My clothes never stopped fitting, and I didn't really notice it, but I was most definitely gaining.

As depressing as this is to me, I know it's not the end of the world. It's a few pounds in the grand scheme of a lot of pounds. It's a little detour on a long trip. I don't like it, but I can deal with it.

So how am I going to deal with it? Well, first I cried about it, naturally. Then I decided to go back to the source of my success:

It was a little brutal to walk in and see my summer faults on the scale and printed in my book, but it's a step in the right direction. It's where I know I need to go to be successful. This week back has been far from perfect, but hopefully the few more steps in the right direction will help me to work it all out.

Work is busy, in a really great way, but it's HARD to balance the rest of my life. With longer hours of work and shorter hours of day light, I'm going to have to push a lot more than I ever have before. Here's to hoping *this time* is the last time I start again.

EDIT: I thought a lot about this post last night, and there are a couple things I wanted to touch on. First, I want to explain that it's not the number on the scale that matters. It's that the number is a reflection of how I feel. I do not have the strength, happiness, or confidence that I have had before, and will have when I'm making the right choices and losing. And second, there is no shame in starting a million and one times. And if I find myself in a place that I have to start over, even just to kick a few pounds I gained in the summer, it's perfectly fine. It's doing something about it that matters. And I hope that I always have the courage and determination to better myself, as many times as it takes.

Working Woman

2011-10-18T20:35:00.002-04:00

I'm back in the working world. I was a little sad to leave the pup at home the first day but I did it and I'm really excited about my new career opportunity. I like the company, the people and so far, the work - and to me, that's a pretty good mix!

In other exciting news, we are officially less than a year away from my wedding!! I'm excitedly nervous (you know the happy butterflies in your stomach kind) and just can't wait to have our family and closest friends together as we get married!!!

Last night I worked my back and biceps and they are feeling it today! I was supposed to go run today but 1) my ankle is still sore from Saturday's run so I'm not certain if this is just normal rebuilding or if I should be alarmed 2) I'm being lazy (honesty is the best policy...). I'm trying run one day, lift the next but I'm wondering if maybe I'm neglecting some beneficial cross training (spin, swim, yoga) and how I can work those into the hectic week too. Any ideas?

I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner- we're going to bake chicken in some bbq sauce and then on the grill for a few minutes. Yum!

The Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-16T14:20:00.004-04:00

I was able to increase my running distance this week by 10% and it felt so good! After being woken up to Jay making me pancakes for breakfast, we set out to conquer the 3.9 miles. The path was mostly uphill and it was so warm outside but I was so happy knowing I was about to run further than I had in months. What a great way to start a day! After a quick shower and taking in a lot of water we set out for a trip to the McCall's Pumpkin Patch. We started our visit with the corn maze (which this year had a Looney Toons theme). I love the numbered "Cornundrums" that you find along the way. Any guesses on the answer to this one?Answer: a lame duck. Maybe not the most clever one out there but still so fun. After running through the maze (there was a small child and his parents that decided instead of working his own way through the maze that he'd wait to watch us go down the wrong paths and just follow us so we HAD to do some running to lose him, we're very mature...) we took the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and picked up some Jack-O-Lanterns-to-be. We found ourselves sneezing like mad after the hayride, but it was so worth it.

Today I'm resting my sore legs (and ankle) but will be going on a walk later - and by going on a walk I mean going shopping. Hope you had a great weekend!!

Tuesday of Meetings

2011-10-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

It's been an exciting couple days here in Boston! Well, at least in my life, which is what this is all about right? :)

Monday I went to the gym and FINALLY got my ID. I had to wait for the office to be open and blah blah, but now I have it! And, it's a terrible picture! Remember how I got sunburned on Sunday? Yeah, well it will show in an ID picture taken on Monday. Trust me.

Shiny and red! Just like I want to be in all my pictures! Just kidding. I feel like most people think ID pictures will always be bad, but I actually have an awesome license picture, so I thought this would be good, but no such luck. Oh well. The college kids swiping me into the gym can enjoy the awesomeness every time.

Monday was about looking awesome, and yesterday was about meetings and meeting new people.

First, I went to my first meeting for the Men's Event committee. I LOVE love love working with Fenway and I'm so excited to kick off another year of planning for the big day. I didn't stay long, but I did a quick introduction and got my materials to start spreading the word! March 3rd is not all that far away.

With my name tag still on, I ran down the street to Eastern Standard for meet-up with some other Boston area bloggers! It was my first real blog event, so I was pretty nervous. And I was late, so that always adds to my nerves, but once I sat down and started chatting, I felt at ease. The ladies who attended were really great, and it was nice to meet other people who've put themselves into the blog world. We all seem to be at very different places blog wise (some have been doing it for while, some are super newbies like me), and it was great to get more perspective.

Alli, Erin, Samantha, MB, Sara, Sarah, and me. Picture courtesy of Erin!

We sat around and chatted for quite a while, and I really enjoyed the company. And Erin couldn't have picked a better place. I've been to Eastern Standard several times before, and I love the atmosphere and the decor (and I love that they take reservations at the bar. I much prefer to sit at the bar than a table in most places, and it's great to know that you don't have to wander in just hoping someone will get up from their seats). Not to mention, the staff is great, and the food isn't bad either (read: it's awesome). I had some wine and their grilled flat bread appetizer.

It was fun to be at a table of people all taking pictures of their food. Makes you feel like slightly less of a weirdo when every one is doing it. :)

Meeting these ladies was a big deal to me. I've never really put our blog out there all that much. Sure we tweet about our posts, and I actually posted on Facebook after the tri, but we're pretty small time in the world of healthy living blogs. It was nice to feel like a part of the "in-crowd", and to get some inspiration from real live people (blogs are great, but they're even better when you can put a real person to a name). I really appreciate being including in this group, and I'm looking forward to the next meet-up. A big thank you to Erin for pulling it all together!

You'd Think It Was Summer...

2011-10-09T18:22:00.001-04:00

Although the BFF just posted that there's snow in Albuquerque, there's no such weather here in New England (how does that make sense?) We had some chilly fall temps this past week, but this weekend was GORGEOUS. It was in the 80s both yesterday and today and I spent the majority of the weekend outside. Today, I even got a sunburn. Oops!

Today I started with a half marathon. I mean, I ran four miles last weekend, so what's 13.1?? Just kidding. I didn't run at all today. I was a spectator at the B.A.A. Half Marathon. My sister, her friend, and a few other friends of mine were running, so the hubs and I went out to cheer them on.

This picture doesn't actually have anyone I know in it. They all ran by really quickly, and it was a HUGE race, so I didn't get any pictures. I saw our friend at the five mile mark, but I didn't see my sister, so I hopped on my bike and rode to the finish line. I stood at mile 13, and I saw my sister's friend, but I never saw my sister. I was totally bummed about it because I wanted to push her like she pushed me in my tri, but no such luck. I ran down to the finish line and luckily I found her there!

They kicked butt, even though it was HOT and HILLY (what a horrible combo). It was not my sister's first 1/2, but I'm still super proud of her for doing ANOTHER ONE. Crazy? It runs in the family.

Since I was out in Jamaica Plain anyway, I met up with a friend of mine who just moved out there for a walk. Her new place is right by the Arnold Arboretum, so we figure it'd be a nice place for a walk. Well, it's more than a nice place. It's a beautiful place that's great for walks. I didn't take my camera with me, but it's really a sight to see. It's hard to believe it's in the city!

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We ended up walking just about 5 miles through the hilly park, and it felt so good. I really don't love running, but long walks and challenging walks I love love love. You get to see so much without feeling like dying, so I think it's great.

I rode my bike home after our walk, but the seat broke some how, so I had to stop every few minutes to adjust it and it was VERY annoying...and pretty much the most uncomfortable thing ever. Regardless, I got A LOT of walking/biking in today and it was wonderful. Just how a weekend should be.

Some people in Boston have tomorrow off (cough::thehubs::cough), but I have to go to work. Good thing I like my job. Time to prep for the week...it should be a great one, I even have a blogger event! Exciting! :)

Not So Fall After All

2011-10-09T09:12:00.003-04:00

I love, love, love fall. It makes me so happy that our house is decorated for Halloween, there are apple cider K-Cups in our jar and the leaves are starting to change colors. But do you know what I saw when I was driving around yesterday?? Snow on the mountains. Seriously.

This week I increased my running distance by 10%. I had to run the 3.6 miles on the treadmill but I didn't mind it so much because Sabrina was on and I haven't seen it in such a long time. When I was getting close to finishing my run I made the mistake of looking at the timer and started to get upset about not running as fast as I was months ago. Thankfully my good sense kicked in and I remembered that it is going to take time to rebuild my running, it's not going to happen overnight and the focus is rebuilding endurance not just speed.

I had some other great workouts this week - yoga, weight training on legs, back and bicep and am planning an ab workout for this afternoon. Overall, it was a week of quality workouts but not a lot of workouts.

E! is showing the Kim Kardashian wedding tonight and I'm looking forward to watching it! Happy Sunday!

A Lengthy Update

2011-10-03T23:26:00.007-04:00

I was out of town last week and then had family visiting for the weekend so my post is a bit lengthy!

Jay had a work conference in Colorado and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to tag along. While he was in meetings I was able to explore the gigantic resort property, run laps around the beautiful property, work out in their fully equipped gym (seriously, it might have even been nicer than my regular gym!) and relax.

I loved the fresh Colorado air and really enjoyed sitting by the fire at night. During the afternoons when Jay didn't have meetings we checked out the local sites that included a scenic drive up to Pike's Peak. Fall is my favorite season and seeing the yellow, orange and red leaves on our drive made me so happy!! About an hour later, we made it to the top. Can you believe there was snow and ice up there?!
Yes, Jay did not pack a jacket and I did offer to share my hoodie and zebra scarf but for whatever reason he chose to freeze instead.

We also took an afternoon to visit the 7 Falls, aside from having to climb the 200+ stairs to get to the top (hello fear of heights) it was great! The drive to the waterfalls included landmark points that made sure to check out, can you see the profile of George Washington in this photo?
Our favorite meal was at an English style pub called The Golden Bee. Everyone at the conference had recommended it and it did live up to the high expectations- the beer was cold and the lamb burgers were delicious! It is apparently their tradition to throw a sticky, embroidered bee on the guests when the sit down; I wonder if I can sew or iron on my bee to a sweater? There was a little fashion mishap (I actually underpacked!) that sent us to a nearby Ross in search of an outfit to wear to a cocktail hour. I thought looking like a bat would be a good look so I went with this outfit...Totally kidding, I did find a cute pencil skirt though.

While we were in Colorado a certain somebody turned 3 years old! She spent the day hanging out with me, eating hotel puppy cookies and you know relaxing in bed. This was her first stay in a hotel and she did so well!! This dog seriously keeps amazing me.

This past weekend my parents and sister came up to attend the annual Balloon Fiesta (and to watch the Lobos get their butts kicked)! It's the one day of the year that waking up at 4:30 a.m. is okay with everyone.

Yay a Halloween balloon!

Jay received an invite via work to attend a dinner balloon glow on Sunday evening; despite being tired we were excited to go again!! This particular event is where a lot of the balloons are set up on the large field and they pilots light them up so they glow and you can walk around on the field and see the balloons up close.

Honestly, I got dressed this evening to go to the gym and didn't go! I know I need to but I just had zero motivation. To prevent me from making up an excuse tomorrow, I've made plans with a friend to go to a yoga class. I'll update again soon!

Wedding Weekend

2011-10-02T22:28:00.000-04:00

This weekend was absolutely wonderful. We went to Maine to celebrate my uncle and his partner being legally married. I have always referred to them collectively as "my uncles" but now it's legal and has been rightfully celebrated!

On Friday, after my nice morning off (read: after starting out late and running a bunch of errands for other people including buying shoes for the hubs), I met my gma at the bus stations, picked up the hubs, picked up my sister and headed north. We were stuck in some annoying traffic for the middle of the day, but the company was good. We made the mistake of leaving right at lunch time, so we had to stop almost right away. We picked a random exit with nothing but McDonalds for fast food, so we ended up going to Trader Joe's instead to piece together lunch. Good thing I love TJ's!

source

Once we finally got back on the road and out of traffic, we got to Maine around 3pm. We took my gma over to her hotel (where the wedding was being held) and hung out at the bar for a bit while people checked in. Eventually my mom and my brother showed up and we checked into our hotel down the street. Usually, when we're in Maine, we stay at my uncles' place, but they were a little busy this time, so the hotel it was. My mom was generous enough to book the room for us, and since it was not cheap, 5 of us shared one room. Oh yeah. It was like an episode of Modern Family, but without the cleverly written jokes or the Spanish lady.

The rehearsal dinner/welcome to Maine party was so much fun. It was really nice to see people I haven't seen in a while, and catch-up without the formalities of the wedding going on just yet. I used to work for my uncle's husband (so fun to say that now!), so a few of my old coworkers were there, and I work for my uncle now, so a few of my current coworkers were there, and it made for a fun night. There was even a gayke.

(A little back story on the gayke. Three years ago when Johnny and I had just moved to Boston, we went over to my uncles' place for a Pride Party in Boston. It was the day before my uncle's birthday, so it was a multipurpose party, and I thought a cake would be perfect. But since it was Pride, I couldn't make just anyway, so I made a rainbow cake! It was a hit and it was affectionately named the gayke...gay+cake=gayke. The one above was made by a pro with fondant, but my gayke was the original, and I'm honored that my uncles' loved the idea so much that not only have I made it for the last three years for Pride, but they had one for the wedding!)

I had a little too much fun Friday night and woke up a little sluggish on Saturday morning, but luckily I have an amazing sister. If you happen to follow me on Twitter (@MaddieOgren) you would have seen this:

OH HECK YES! I ran four miles with my sister! I wasn't planning on doing a whole lot of anything Saturday morning, but when I my sister asked if I wanted to run with her, I decided I couldn't pass up the chance. She's running a half marathon next weekend, and had done her last long run Thursday night, so she just needed to shake-out her legs. Running at my pace would be fine with her, so why not? It was not a fast four miles, and there were four very short, unmeasured walk breaks involved, but there was also four miles of running! Forget the hangover, I felt amazing! I love having a new distance record and already feeling closer to my five mile goal!

I've been having pretty bad runs lately, so this felt so good. Sometimes the good ones come when you least expect it!

We jumped in the shower, went to get our hair done, and were at the wedding by 2:30pm. We had to take some family pictures, so we were nice and early to the main event. Unfortunately, it was raining most of the weekend, but everything was in a BEAUTIFUL glass sunroom that was constructed for the event (think a regular wedding tent on crack). To save this from being the longest post ever, I won't give you the play-by-play, but here are some pictures to recap a lavish and wonderful event.

the ceremony

mirrored tables!

my daddy and me <3

gorgeous place settings

amazing food...6 courses total with wine pairings for each

dressed to kill

all the details were so beautiful

The affair was absolutely fantastic. The setting was beautiful and the company couldn't have been better. There were also fireworks! Really? Yes, really. I'm telling you, this was the party of the century. I danced my butt off and was one of the last people to leave. It was a BLAST. This morning, getting to brunch was tough. I didn't drink all that much (since I had my fair share on Friday), but sharing a hotel room with 4 other people and sleeping on a slightly deflated blow-up bed two nights in a row made me TIRED. The drive back was long and exhausting (not really...it was like 2 hours, but it felt like forever) and I passed out on the couch for a good two hours right after we got home. Johnny was the responsible adult and went to the grocery store and heated up chicken soup for dinner, so I'll at least be starting the week on the right foot. It was an incredible weekend, but it feels so good to be home! The grind is going to come far to early tomorrow...

Fantastic Friday

2011-09-30T09:05:00.000-04:00

Fridays are always fantastic, but today is extra special because I have the day off! WOO! I love days off (who doesn't, right?), but this day off is special because today I'm headed up to Maine for a wedding! I love weddings too, so double win!

I took advantage of my day off and slept in a little bit. The hubs still had to go to work for a half day, so I was still up early, but not 5:30am, which was a treat. I have a ton of errands to do this morning, so I fit in a quick workout using an OnDemand workout video.

It was a pretty decent kickboxing video that got me nice and sweaty. I chose not to do the jumping quite as intensely as the lady in the video because I have downstairs neighbors and it was 7am. But I still looked a hot mess afterward. It's pretty sticky here these days thanks to random rainstorms, so my hair looked FRIZZY.

Now I'm watching Biggest Loser from Tuesday night and having my pb&j breakfast, yogurt bowl style. Delicious!

Now I'm running really late for my errands (got to get my nails done and pick out shoes for the hubs), but I have two things! Fun things.

1. I am going to run 5 miles. Remember when I agreed to do it back in April? Well obviously it never happened. And I did a half-assed job training for my tri. So now it's game time. 5 miles. When? I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking the first weekend in November. I wanted to say Thanksgiving, but that's way too far away. I KNOW I can do it before that. When I pick the date, I'll let you know.

2. I bought The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It seems like a bit of a bandwagon thing to do, but I need to strength train. And I can no longer go to my awesome body building class, and I need some direction. A lot of people have had success with it, so we'll see how it goes! It should arrive today!

source

Ok...now I'm REALLY late!

Pardon the Interruption

2011-09-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

I'm going to interrupt the regular program of food and fitness just for a moment to show you some pictures of my fantastic weekend. (Not that we ever blog on a regular schedule, but the following has has no fitness involved and is just for fun!)

On Saturday my friends and I took a road trip to Maine. It was only a day trip and we have a specific location in mind.

Oh yes, we got our red neck on and went wedding dress shopping. And it was SO much fun. And my friend bought the most perfect wedding dress ever. And there was hunting gear involved (not in the wedding dress, just in the day).

After the dress fest and some serious amount of orange, we headed back down to the city. We were supposed to have a girly sleepover, but plans changed and we played poker for pennies instead. I did not win. Bummer.

On Sunday, the Pats played the Bills. They also did not win. But we have a good time watching the game with our New York loving friends. I made oatmeal raisin cookies.

And the hubs made bubbly water! Since we drink far too much diet soda/seltzer water, the hubs decided it was best to invest in the contraption that actually makes the bubbles. It's like the soda stream, but my science loving man is more of a DIY kind of guy, so we have an air tank and hoses under our sink now. Totally worth it if you ask me.

And yesterday, I had a very proud moment. Let me preface. I am very independent and self-sufficient, but I cannot cook and I know nothing about my car. I am the kind of girl who has to take a guy with her to the mechanic because I will pay for things that don't exist because I don't know better. And my father replaces my windshield wipers for me because I don't know how to take mine off. BUT. YESTERDAY. Yesterday I changed the headlight in my car all by myself!

Oh heck yes. I clearly got very dirty in the process, but I needed my light replaced so I can pass Massachusetts State inspection, and I was the only one around to do it. So I read my owners manual (which was surprisingly unhelpful) and although it probably took me far longer than it would someone else, I did it. And I'm proud of myself. :)

It's the little things in life, right?

Down for the Count

2011-09-20T14:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend I partied. Nothing super crazy, but I drank more than usual, danced my butt off, and didn't sleep enough. It was a BLAST. I wouldn't trade any moment of it, even though I know I didn't make the healthiest choices. I was celebrating an upcoming wedding of someone that means a lot to me, and I was not about to hold back.

Flattering picture, I know.

Because I partied like a rock star this weekend, I'm paying for it now. My lack of sleep has caused me to be nursing a cold instead of any more vodka sodas.

I took that picture at work this morning, but I didn't make it through the whole day. I'm now at home, in sweats, having more tea. I can count on one hand the number of times I've called in sick or gone home early sick, so it took a lot for my to realize it just had to happen. I share a small office with two other people and it's not fair of me to cough all over the room and spread my germs when I really don't feel up to being in the office anyway.

I left work at lunch time, so when I got in I sat down to my already prepped for today lunch. Salad and corn bread with a side of Vitamin Water and Dimetapp.

I meant to get Vitamin Water Zero (it was right next to this one, so I just grabbed the wrong one) because I don't like to drink calories (unless it's booze, as proven above), but I didn't notice until I was taking a picture of it, and I need the vitamin C, so I'll suck it up for today. And yes, I am taking children's Dimetapp. It says right on the label that adults can take it, and it was the best option for my symptoms.

I also take Flinstone vitamins everyday, so clearly I've come to terms with being an adult.

I wanted to go to the gym today for a work out and to get my new gym ID, but I'm not sure how that's going to work out. I had an awesome 4.5 mile walk last night, which I think helped me sleep well (or as well as one can when they can't breathe out of their nose), but I'm feeling pretty terrible, and I really don't want the "I'm sick and snotty and my nose is red from blowing it so much" look to be the one I sport on my ID. We'll see how I feel after an afternoon of napping/watching Mad Men from the comfort of my bed.

Off To A Good Start

2011-09-20T13:34:00.005-04:00

Don't let that cute face fool ya! Almost every morning for the past two weeks at 3 a.m. our dog has decided that it is time to wake up. She sits in her kennel (yes, she is turning 3 this month and we're still working on potty-training, don't judge) and makes this tiny, high-pitched whimper. We take her outside to potty and she doesn't do anything but once she comes inside she wants to eat/play/lay on our bed. After waking up to her whining it is so hard to fall back asleep and to get her to stop whining. Needless to say this household has been very sleepy and slightly grouchy lately.

Jay has had his vehicle in the shop the past week and with my lack of a real schedule I'm able to drive him to and from work. Aside from the early wake up call, I really enjoy our extra time together that is spent sipping on coffee, listening to sports radio and chatting about the small things. When I return home I have a hard time tackling my to-do list and want to nap. Having been woken up at 3 am this morning by the pup and then waking up at 6:20 am, I was so tired and wanted to climb back into bed but instead I decided to change into workout clothes and hit the gym for a yoga class. I am so glad I did!! The class was taught by a different instructor and she didn't actually do most of the poses but instead walked around the class and called out the different poses. I was surprised at how many of the poses I could recall from the beginning yoga classes I took early this year. And the best part? My trigger points didn't hurt and I was able to do everything! After class I hit the weights to work on shoulders and triceps. I'm wide awake now and working on that to-do list, I think I have more energy after that workout than I do after a nap.

I came home from the gym and was hungry for a hard boiled egg and then I realized a small problem with that plan- we still do not have our range hooked up. I instead opted for a bowl of cereal and then realized I haven't gone to the grocery store yet so I had to work with what we have- Honey Nut Cheerios (seriously one of my all time favorite cereals) and Fage Blueberry Acai Greek Yogurt. Side note: Costco sold packs of Chobani Strawberry/Blueberry/Peach and I was disappointed to find out they don't and had to venture out and try the new brand they sell - Fage.
This flavor was actually delicious, maybe I shouldn't stick to the basic flavors all of the time! My b-fast was complimented by the most delicious cup of Green Mountain Hazelnut served in my awesome travel mug (I'm sure you can guess who gave me this lobstah mug!).Now I'm off to buy groceries and hopefully meet up with a friend for a nice walk (active day, huh?). Have a great Tuesday!!

The Kitchen Tile is Almost Done

2011-09-18T22:16:00.010-04:00

What a week! I've been busy getting cementitous manicures, isn't it fabulous?Just kidding, but we have made some serious progress on the kitchen remodel and we should have our full kitchen back to normal by Tuesday. While Jay and I were grabbing tiles to set a certain someone decided to leave her pawprint in the wet thin-set; I won't mention any names but you can see her mark here.
My workouts this week included a circuit, weight training, sprints and a nice run outside; I'm loving this fall weather! Placing tile has also been one heck of a workout- having to squat for periods at a time, use my core to keep me from falling over on tiles that are setting and using my upper body strength to move and set tiles. It has been exhausting! I'm looking forward to increasing my running distance by 10% this week.

We took a break from the kitchen remodel to visit the NM State Fair. My favorite thing to see at the fair is the gigantic pumpkin that they have behind glass. This year's pumpkin (the one in the back row in the photo) weighed in over 95 pounds!!
While enjoying the fair fun I munched on a green chile batter corn dog. To be honest, I didn't like green chile very much (okay at all) when I first moved to NM but it has snuck its way into my favorite foods and I don't seem to mind it anymore. Yum!
Next month we are finally taking our engagement photos and I've decided to start looking for an outfit now. I went to Anthropologie and surprisingly couldn't find anything I loved. My favorite out of the millions of dresses I tried on was this mustard yellow number shown here:I loved the fit but I'm not quite sure I love that shade of yellow on my olive/tan skin, thoughts?

And I'll leave you with a photo I took while I was running around all of town doing errands last week, seriously this can't be safe!

It's a Bird...it's a Plane...

2011-09-15T21:33:00.001-04:00

It's a GYM!

Seems like forever since I've been in one! Probably because it has been...oops. Oh well! Here I am, back at it! And, it's a new gym!

Remember, back when I was thinking about changing gyms? Well I've finally done it...it just took three months. About a month ago I canceled my membership at my gym in the city, Boston Sports Club. Honestly, I LOVED loved loved BSC since the day I started there in January 2009. There were great classes, nice facilities, but nothing super fancy and over the top. It was a perfect place for me, until I got my new job. Then there wasn't a location I could easily get to on my way home, and the only class I could ever get to was one spin class on Monday nights. It didn't seem like it was a good idea to be spending the money each month on something I wasn't using. And then we moved and there's not even a location close to our new apartment, so that was it. I, VERY SADLY, called and canceled. I will miss it a lot.

But the good news is, I'm signed up again at a new gym! Since the hubs is an awesome grad student, he gets me a sick deal at his university gym. Yes, it's full of undergrads, BUT it's very nice and has a rock climbing wall! Not that I climb...but I could!

Today I went in with the hubs, handed over a copy of our marriage license (had to prove I'm legit, you know) and got my sweat on. It's my first work out since the tri and I wasn't sure how it would feel. I did about 25 minutes on the treadmill, varying the speed between walking, running, and sprints. My hips are still fairly sore (my gma has arthritis in her hips, so I blame it on her already), but it was a nice welcome back into the wold of being a gym rat, and I was bright red at the end...always a good sign.


the sweaty self-shots never capture the true bright red-ness of my face

The new gym is a 10 minute-ish walk from our apartment, which is really not too bad. It took me a little longer than that this evening because I got lost. Lost? Really? YES. We now live in a more residential area with house and tree lined streets...that all look the same...especially when it's night time...and you can't see a street sign. Don't judge, I've only lived here a week.

So my plan is to get to the gym at least four days a week, and do at least one other non-gym workout (run, bike, etc). I'm not sure how this will go, as work is C-R-A-Z-Y right now and I've been staying until 6 several nights, but I'm going to do my best! I know it's a needed thing in my life and I'll feel MUCH better if I just GO. It's worth making the time in my life, so here's to hoping the new change in scenery does me good!

One for the Books

2011-09-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

I don't really know where to start with today, so I'll start from the beginning.

4:25am. I was out of bed. I toasted waffles and turned on the coffee maker. I dressed myself and woke up Johnny. By 5am I'd eaten said waffles with peanut butter, put my coffee in a to-go cup and headed out the door.

We got to the race REALLY early. Before 6am, for a race that didn't start until 8am. I was nervous and it was COLD outside (and still dark!) I picked up packet, put all my numbers on (I was 517) and set-up my transition area. As the sun came up, the lake was SO beautiful.

Having arrived so early, we had a lot of time to kill before the start of the race, so Johnny and I walked around a bit and took some pictures.

this is my nervous face

ohhh shoot. What's a girl to do?

more nervous face

I took a warm-up swim (the water temp was about 72 degrees...and seeing as it was only about 55 out, it felt super nice), and before I knew it, it was time to line up. I was basically shaking as I stood with my swim wave. Partly I was freezing, and partly I was TERRIFIED. The day had come and I was about to start my first tri. All I kept thinking was "HOLY SHIT."

I was the 6th wave of swimmers, so I didn't start until 8:25. Johnny played race photog and he did an awesome job. Here's my wave of swimmers.

The swim was not so bad. I had never done the distance in a straight line before...only back and forth in the pool, so I didn't really know how well I would do. I think I started a little slowly, but I got into my groove. I got tired by the end, but not enough to stop or float, I was close enough to the end to just push through. I came out of the water and Johnny and my aunt, my cousin, and her daughter were there to cheer me on.

My first transition was a little long. I had to change shirts and put socks on, so I didn't get in and out all that quickly, but I remembered my helmet and my Shot Bloks, so I was good. Right out of the gate there was a hill. IT SUCKED. My cheering squad (which now also included my mom and my sister) were on the hill, so I smiled for the camera.

But let me tell you, that was the only time I smiled on the bike. It was SO hilly. Hills like I've never seen before. It was so much up hill I thought I'd never make it. I had to get off my bike and walk one time, and the down hills and flats just did not come often enough. I took a lot longer on the bike that I had expected to and it wore my legs out. I was SERIOUSLY under-trained on hills.

Second transition was much fast...I just had to ditch my helmet, put on a headband, and choke down a lemon-lime Gu.

I took off on the run and had to go back up the SAME bitch of hill that started the bike. Once again my cheering squad was on the hill, so it helped me push through the first part, but I had to walk up the second half. My legs were MUSH. I honestly don't know what my time was on the run, or even was my pace was because my Garmin was in multi-sport mode and just stayed on "Other" the whole time. I felt pretty slow, but I pushed through. I had cheering squad and water at mile 1, and water again just after mile 2. I took three walk breaks before mile 2, and walked half of the hill, until I could power through until the end. I run actually went by MUCH more quickly than I thought it would. The finish line was in my sights and I started to get emotional.

don't be jealous of my form.

I was about to finish a triathlon. I thought about how far I've come, and how I was seriously doing this. A few years ago I couldn't run for 1 minute on the treadmill, and here I am about to cross the finish line. I saw my cheering squad and couldn't keep it inside anymore.

I did it. As I crossed the finish line, my mom was right there waiting for me. I hugged her and burst into tears. It seems cheesy, but what I did today was a HUGE accomplishment for me. I have gone through so much to get where I am, and I'm just extremely proud of myself.

AND, most importantly, I could not have done it without my AWESOME support team. Not only did I have my cheering squad, and my hot husband, but the BFF too! No, she couldn't be there, but she was always encouraging me and giving me tons of tips. Thanks to her tri-loving fiance, she knew some ins and outs that really helped. It pays to have such great people in your life! :)

I've been on a high all day and I kind of want to brag about how awesome I am. Luckily, my mom was in town to hang out after the race and was willing to listen to it. So now that it's done, I'm SUPER sore in the quads, and I'm tired (if I make it to 8:30pm tonight), but I'm so happy.

I AM A TRIATHLETE!

Weekend Catch Up

2011-09-11T13:00:00.007-04:00

First off: CONGRATULATIONS BFF!!!!!!! You are one crazy (in the most inspirational way) triathlete!!!!!!

Though I very much wish I could have been there to watch Maddie race, I've had a pretty great weekend visiting family. I was planning on running yesterday but slept in an opted to take Chaca to the groomer instead. Later that day, I was tasked with making fresh guacamole for a family cookout. With a few avocados peeled and put in a bowl, I added some of our chopped homegrown tomatoes. And viola! We have delicious guacamole, let's hear it for our healthy fats! The onions and seasonings that I'd typically use were left out in order to meet everyone's needs. I love guacamole and hate that I'm allergic to avocados (as is the BFF!) but sometimes I just deal with the allergic reaction and indulge in a few bites. Today I'm going to write down my actual half-marathon training plan, I'm better at sticking to workout plans when I write it on paper.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

I Couldn't Come Up With a Clever Title

2011-09-09T15:17:00.006-04:00

Good news- the pie was delicious and no one got sick! I'd call it a success!

My dentist was able to squeeze me in for an appointment yesterday to check out my problem tooth. I was dreading it (I hate when they have to numb my mouth) and looking forward to it (it was so sensitive) at the same time. Thankfully, there wasn't any real damage just a filling that needed to be replaced. I felt so horrible afterwards being shaky from the medicine, sore from the work and ended up with a bad headache so there was no gym time for me. Wednesday was my first distance run, it was 3 miles and not fast but it feels good knowing I'm working towards something again. I have a busy weekend ahead of me and was planning on running another 3 miles today but I'm still not 100%. I feel like my head is foggy but that might have something to do with the pup deciding that 3 am would be a great time to wake me up this morning and I couldn't fall back asleep. As I write this she is pleasantly napping next to me, isn't it funny how that works?

This week we also purchased our tile! Hooray!! We spent some time laying out a grid to work with and we'll be laying it next week, I can't wait for our kitchen to have a nice floor.

Is it just me or do those hardware/home project stores make you sleepy too?

The Final Countdown

2011-09-09T10:44:00.000-04:00

The day after tomorrow. The triathlon is the day after tomorrow. HOLY COW. I'm really nervous and feeling super under trained, but it's go time, and I've got to put my game face on and love every minute of it.

Life has been crazy. We're moved into the new place, finally, and I'm so happy. It feels so much bigger than our old apartment, and it's so quiet. I'm excited to finish getting everything unpacked and feel like I actually don't live out of boxes any more.

Oh, and remember last week, when I said I was going to do an open water swim? Well it never happened! Not a huge surprise in the life of Maddie, but here's the thing...I tried to go THREE TIMES. The state park where the tri will be held is close to my office, so I was planning on heading over there and testing the waters. Last Thursday was my first attempt. I had to stay late at work finishing up some stuff, so I headed over later than I wanted...turns out, they don't let you swim past 6pm! Bust! So the next day I left work at 3:30 (yay early release Fridays in the summer!) and headed over. Apparently it cost $5 to park there. And they only take cash. And I didn't have any. Some how I missed that the first time, but I convinced the girl at the entrance to let me just drive around to get the lay of the land and see what the course would be like (HOLY HILLS), but did not get to swim. DANG. SO then on Tuesday I decided I'd do it again. Armed with my $5, I was ready. I went online to make sure they were open (it was super rainy here on Tuesday and I wasn't sure the weather would permit swimming), and thankfully I did...because they don't have swimming after Labor Day. Third time was NOT a charm. So Sunday will be my first open water swim. Luckily, I'm a strong swimmer and I'm not at all afraid of open water, but I would have liked to test it out first. OH WELL!

Anyway. That was a long story for a short point! At least it's Friday. And today my company has the "end of summer picnic" so in an hour we'll all be heading to the park down the street for some good old fashion outdoor fun. Best part about it (besides getting paid to go to a picnic)? I get to wear sneakers and capris to work today! Win.

A Delicious Day Trip

2011-09-06T14:28:00.006-04:00

It was a busy weekend. Friday evening, after a tough leg workout (I'm still a little sore!) Jay and I decided to go out to dinner and use a LivingSocial deal we bought a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the food and service were disappointing; I don't think we'll be visiting this particular sushi spot again. Oddly enough it was voted last year as the city's best sushi place - this was our 2nd visit and we didn't like it, maybe it's just us? We did get a giggle out of a garnish, it reminded us of the filler that goes in Easter baskets! I guess it's not as shiny in my photo as it was in real life. While chewing on a bit of rice I felt an uncomfortable "crunch". One of my fillings came out!! Trying to find any dentist on a holiday weekend proved to be quite the task and apparently my dentist does not answer the emergency hotline voicemail box within the hour as promised. Thankfully, Saturday afternoon we found a temporary patch kit at the pharmacy. Jay was amazing in making the painful situation a little funny, check out the set up!

Yes, that is a Kleenex bib. The patch worked and made a huge difference, I was finally able to eat again.

Monday morning we took a long drive up north to visit the Salman Raspberry Ranch.

Their website mentioned the fields had been picked through quite a bit but we were willing to make the drive in the hopes of picking even a few raspberries. It was a bit muddy but there were plenty of raspberries to pick!

With our 2 pounds of raspberries in hand we visited their garden area and stopped by the cafe to enjoy freshly made raspberry soft serve ice cream. It was so delicious and a perfect treat on a warm day. We headed back to Albuquerque with the intent of making an apple-raspberry crumb topped pie. Honestly, I've only made a pie once in my life and that was last year at Maddie's wedding so I was a little nervous to give this a try on my own.

And here's our final product!

It was getting late by the time we pulled this out of the oven and wanting it to cool properly we decided we'd wait until today to eat it. I'm exicted! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Weekend Update

2011-09-05T11:48:00.000-04:00

Since my death-inducing run on Saturday, things have perked up. I did go on a bike ride with my sister, and then we went out for amazing Indian food. I always thought I didn't like Indian, but I think it's because the first time I ever had it was a lunch buffet (at a really nice place...it's not a seafood buffet that's been out all day), and I had no idea what I was eating and it was all too spicy. Now that I know what I'm ordering, I actually really like it.

my sister and our friend, Alan

blurry Maddie and Johnny shot

Our weekend fun continued yesterday as we went down to visit my gram. As I've mentioned before, my gram's is home to me, so it was nice to have a relaxing day and a cookout in a place that feels so comfortable in a weird transition period of notreallyhomelessness.

The hubs grilled up some delicious steak and we played a dramatic game of whiffle ball! Well it was not REALLY dramatic...it's just that my gram lives in a condo complex, so her back yard isn't much of a yard at all. And I may or may not have hit the neighbor's sliding glass door...luckily the whiffle ball is only plastic or we'd be in deep trouble!

my gramma is probably cooler than your gramma. just sayin'.

Today we're back in Boston. I redeemed myself for Saturday and went out on a 3 mile run. It wasn't super speedy, but it was a full 5k and I didn't want to die from heat at any point and time! Win! And I had a coupon for a free smoothie, so I treated myself to some protein in the form of orange-mango-deliciousness at the end.

Today is also our last day in temp housing #1. It's been super nice having the place to ourselves and the use of a washing machine, but tonight my uncles will be home, so we're getting out of their hair and heading over to temp housing #2 until Wednesday. Those digs come with live-in friends! I'm pumped, but for now I'll enjoy the last couple hours of outdoor seating.

yes, that is an ash tray on the table. no, I do not smoke, nor do my uncles. they entertain a lot and don't want butts on their balcony.

I am Full of Bad Ideas

2011-09-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

In general, I like to think of myself as a pretty smart person. I did well in school, I like to read, I have traveled a fair bit, I know how to use computers, and I am socially capable. But, sometimes I don't think things through very well and do stupid things. Nothing drastic, I've never been arrested, unconscious, or even broken a bone (knock on wood), but like I don't always make the best decision.

As the BFF and I have mentioned more than once on the blog, we have a list called "Things Mari and Maddie Should Not have Done." We're often full of great ideas that turn out not so great. Today, I added to that list. Around 12:45pm I decided it was time for a run. It's sunny and gorgeous here in Boston, but there was a breeze coming through the windows of the apartment where we're staying (thanks to my awesome uncles), so I ignored the fact that it is actually 82 degrees and humid out...even though the weather app on my phone told me that...I laced up and went out anyway.

Well I came back thirty minutes later looking like this:

doing my best Zoolander

Even though I was out for 30 minutes, I only did 2.3 miles! Yikes. It was not a good run. I was WAY too hot and took several walk breaks. It was a pretty bad excuse for a work out...and had I gone earlier in the day it may have been better, but oh well. Not every work out is going to be perfect, right?

But since I did sweat profusely, I refueled with some chocolate milk and leftover pizza.

That's a lunch of champions right there! :)

Today we're bumming around and doing several load of laundry. My sister and I will probably go for a bike ride too, so all is not lost in workout today (Boston has a new bike-share program which has been a huge hit. Although I don't think the city should let people rent bikes without helmets, it's great to see so many people using it. Since my sister doesn't have a bike, she'll take advantage of it and ride with me).

And can I get a "heck yes" for the long weekend?? Oh heck yes!

September Goals

2011-09-01T15:07:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

I can't believe that it is already September! I think I spent so much time training, I kind of let the summer just go by. My goals this month are to (again) post an entry at least twice a week and to begin training for a half-marathon. I'm going to take this rebuilding of distance training very slowly. I haven't picked out a race yet and won't until I'm more comfortable running anything past 3 miles (something I haven't done since the ankle injury).

In the spirit of getting excited to start training for a race, I worked up a new treadmill workout. Here it is, enjoy!

Minutes 0-5 Warm Up
Minutes 5-10 Jog
Minute 10-11 Increase Speed by Any Increment & Hold for this Minute
Minute 11-12 Increase Incline by Any Increment & Hold for this Minute
Minute 12-13 Increase Speed Again/Hold
Minute 13-14 Increase Incline Again/Hold
Minute 14-15 Increase Speed Again/Hold
Minutes 15-20 Jog
Minutes 20-30 45second Sprints with 15 Second Recovery in Between Each Sprint
Minutes 30-35 Jog
Minutes 35-40 Repeat Minutes 10-15
Minutes 40-45 Cool Down

Not Really Homeless

2011-09-01T14:46:00.000-04:00

It's done. The move-out process is over. We packed everything cleaned and close the door for the last time last night. It was bittersweet. The hubs and I have lived there for three years. My sister lived with us in that apartment for two months. It's our first Boston apartment. We've been boyfriend and girlfriend, fiances, and husband and wife in that apartment. We rode out a hurricane and multiple blizzards. It was a good run, but it was time. Upgrades were badly needed and we were running out of space. Onward and upward. (And don't worry...we cleaned before we left. The under-the-couch nastiness you can see on the floor did not stay for the next tenant...nor did any of our stuff).

So now we are technically homeless. We don't have a lease. We don't have an address. We have wonderful friends and family to take care of us, which makes us not REALLY homeless and really fortunate...but yeah. It's a weird limbo to be in. Next Wednesday cannot come soon enough!

Before the big move, and in light of the hurricane, we celebrated our anniversary. The hubs took me to a nice seafood place. We've had drinks there before, but never eaten, so I was excited to try it out. Plus, I had a seriously hot date.

This place prints their menus everyday, and date-stamps them. They do this because of all the fresh fish they get and their ever changing menu. I knew this and thought it would be cool to keep the menu since it would have the date of our first anniversary on it. Little did I know, the hubs also thought of this and went one step further!

We had specially printed menus! The hubs and I had a no gifts rule for this year, since moving is NOT cheap, so this was a really sweet way to do something special for me. He also pointed out to me that year 1 is the paper anniversary. I do not give this man enough credit! :)

It was a fun night. We tried to go for fro-yo after dinner, but everything was closed! Apparently the storm kept businesses from opening. And after MORE packing, it was back to the grind on Monday. I worked and went to spin. I also tried fueling for the first time. Sure I make sure I eat enough before I work out (but not too soon before) and I have something for recovery, but I'd never mid-workout fueled before. I know that in the tri I'm going to have to do some of that, so I figured I'd start and see what worked best.

Before spin I had two Shot-Bloks. I didn't hate them, but I HATED how much they got stuck in my teeth! I would not want to be picking them out of my teeth as I ran.

I took a killer 45 minute spin class then hopped on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I downed a Gu at the beginning of the run and I was impressed with my ability to do two things at once! Although I did end up dropping the wrapper under the treadmill...oops!

I liked the Gu...I think? I didn't love the lemon-lime flavor (I got a bag of Gus and shots from the Hubs' coworker who does half Iron Mans. She didn't like these flavors either, but since I don't know what I'd like or works for me, I figured trying out some for free made more sense than buying a bunch of my own). I loved how I felt on the run...really good and fresh...not as wobbly and sluggish as I usually feel during a brick, but the Gu was hard to take down. I think I'll stick with Gu over Shot-Bloks for dental reasons but I'm going to expand my flavor choices.

And I know this is the longest post ever...but big news for tonight: I'm doing an open-water swim! And it's not hot out anymore sooo should be interesting....

The Wedding Post

2011-08-27T21:04:00.001-04:00

It's been one year (officially tomorrow) since I was married. One whole year since I wore a (not really) white dress, stood in front of my friends and family, and said I'd love Johnny forever. So far, so good!

The BFF and I obviously didn't have this blog back then, so I don't have a whole tab just for my wedding like some bloggers, nor do I have lots of post to reference from when we got engaged and my wedding shower and all those fun things. But I figured, in honor of my anniversary, I'd do an official wedding post. So here it is.

August 28th, 2009. Johnny and I went to a James Taylor concert in the pouring rain. We enjoyed the concert, and he nervously asked me to come with him to the concert "every year for forever." Under a wonderful beach umbrella, he asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes, and put the ring on my own finger (classy, I know, but I was excited!)

For a year, we planned, booked, paid-off, and pulled together our wedding. We were to be married exactly a year later. We didn't really do it on purpose, but it sure does make the 28th that much more special.

We had a really laid back wedding. It was in my mom's backyard, and we had bbq. The days leading up to the wedding were some of my favorite. My bachelorette party was the Wednesday before, and the Thursday we headed up to VT. The drive to VT (only three hours) in the car with my bridesmaids, all sporting our Tiffany-blue "Bride" and "Bridesmaids" tank-tops was so much fun. Even though the car was packed and I have no AC. To have all my best friends in one place at the same time was priceless. We got to VT and started prepping for the wedding.

We picked out the flowers to be used for the center pieces and everyone helped cut apples for the homemade apple pie we'd be serving for dessert (hi there bff!)

Friday night we did the rehearsal thing, and then it was time to head to the hotel. In classic wedding tradition, I stayed at the hotel with the girls and Johnny stayed with his family. I wouldn't see him again until I walked down the isle.

Before I knew it, it was August 28th, 2010. The year had gone by so slowly and so quickly all at the same time. But it was time to go, ready or not (yes, I was late to my own wedding...clearly it wasn't going to start without me). Here are some of the pictures (all take by Eve Event Photography...who I cannot recommend enough...they were so wonderful to work with and I was so pleased with the end result).

my studly husband getting ready

getting zipped in!


I held it together all day...until I saw my dad. Then I lost it and didn't stop crying until I said "I do"

lots of people came to see us get married

my dad walked me down the isle (see, still crying)

we said our vows. they were modern, and this poem was read. the man who married us also baptized Johnny and his brother and sister. He's a long time family friend and it meant the world to have him.

the ceremony lasted about 20 minutes. It was perfect, and now time to PARTY!

the boys celebrating

our awesome wedding party in front of my mom's house

we spruced up the place (no one wants boring port-a-potties at their wedding!)

the flowers picked out the day before in their Ball jars (cheapest, prettiest center pieces ever)

our siblings gave speeches that made us cry. i love them so much.

we kissed a lot. people made us. we couldn't help it.

mini maple syrup thank you favors! clearly a good choice for a wedding in VT.

And pie cutting! yes, we fed each other pie. No we didn't save a pie for this year.

There are so many more pictures, and so many more memories, but it's hard to explain it all in a blog post. I loved the day...even the bad parts of it...like when the caterer served the food without us being ready, and when the speakers blew out and we had to play music from the speakers of my in-laws rented Suburban. The weather was absolutely perfect and I have never felt so loved in my life. Cheesy, I know, but oh well. It was my wedding day and I can feel as cheesy as I want :)

The next two days were wonderful too. We still had family in town, and we enjoyed our time with them (under the tent, which was still up, and with lots and lots of left over bbq), before we headed to Maine for our honeymoon. This being a do-it-yourself wedding, we didn't have a huge honeymoon budget. Luckily, my uncles own a GORGEOUS house in Maine that we were able to use for the week. It was hot as heck in ME, but we enjoyed being alone together for the first time in what felt like weeks, and boogie boarding on some pre-hurricane waves.

It's been a wonderful year. And this weekend...even though we're NOT moving like we were supposed to be (thanks Hurricane Irene!)..and we are spending our time packing and scrubbing the kitchen floor, we're still going to be celebrating! We've got dinner reservation tomorrow night, and we have a wonderful bottle of champagne the BFF gave us that we'll finally be popping open tonight. I loved everything about my wedding and I would LOVE to have it all over again. It was the most perfect laid-back party ever. Perfectly Johnny and me. (Did I mention we made all our own wedding invitations on an old-fashion type writer?) But you only get one perfect wedding day, so I'll take my perfect husband and live happily ever after (in a hurricane).

Kitchen and Cupcakes

2011-08-26T19:23:00.007-04:00

This has been a much better workout week!

Today I did not go to the gym but I did have a home project that has me feeling exhausted! We've been talking about renovating our kitchen for a while now and with me not having a job just yet, I finally have some time to tackle it. The previous homeowner did a terrible job of placing tile in the kitchen, check out the before picture.Alright so the original flooring didn't have that missing tile (this photo was taken after Jay showed me how to use the sledgehammer and other tools) but the joints were really thin at some points and really think at others, some tiles were hollow and it was crooked! Today I tore out all of the tile and we'll be putting in some new flooring soon!! Check it out! My wrists, back and biceps are exhausted!! Not a trip to the gym but I sure did work up a sweat.

Jay's co-worker was kind enough to give us tickets to two Isotopes baseball games; we had such a great time. I decided to bake him and his family some festive cupcakes. While buying supplies at the grocery store and I noticed they had these "flag pans" that came with lids, they were on sale but I didn't know why and bought them to send the cupcakes in anyway. It wasn't until I was home and ready to load the cupcakes when I realized why the pans were on sale and what was meant by a "flag pan"...It didn't even cross my mind that these were leftover from 4th of July. I packed them in there anyway and went with it, I mean baseball is America's favorite past time, right? Sorry the picture is a little foggy, I had already put these in the fridge when I remembered to take a picture! Aren't they fun?

Tonight we're going to go do some work on our cars at Jay's parents' house. And by "we're going to do some work" I mean that Jay is going to do all of the hard work and I'll sit there and chat his ear off. Teamwork!

Please Excuse our Appearance...

2011-08-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry my posting has gotten a little off/infrequent this week. My apartment currently looks like this:

We are leaving our apartment one week from today. All of our stuff goes into a storage pod on Sunday. We have approximately 900 boxes packed and 3000000 more to go. Not really, but it feels like it. Since we've both 40-hours-plus-a-week workers, we've had to do bits of packing here and there. It's nice to not have to go balls to the wall, but it makes life very unsettled. It has decreased my ability to find shoes in the morning, and cook dinner. I cannot wait to be moved into our new place (which will not be until Sept 7th, thanks to the wonderful people who decided the apartment needs to be painted and cleaned before they let us in...which is why our stuff will be going to storage on Sunday). It also turns out that there is the possibility of a hurricane hitting Massachusetts on Sunday, which totally screws everything up. I'm not looking forward to what that will mean for us...

In healthiness related things, I got my race information packet yesterday! Not my actual race packet...that will be picked up on September 10th, but rather a PDF will all kinds of good information in it.

Truth be told, when I got this packet I totally freaked out. Like I thought I might puke in my office freaked out. Luckily, I was chatting with the BFF online and she helped talk me off the ledge. These are a few things for the packet that added to my anxiety.

1. I got the packet in the first place, therefore the race is close. REALLY CLOSE.
2. We will have no less than 5 race numbers to display in one form or another and if you mess up them up, you're screwed (not really, but they want you to think that...I think).
3. Most people will be using wet suits.
4. There are no headphones allowed on the course.

UM WHAT? No headphones? I don't run without music unless I"m running with the hubs because we talk to each other (or try to speak while trying to breath and not die all at the same time). And now I have to push myself harder than I ever have WITHOUT MUSIC?! Shit.

I was hoping more of my fears would be calmed when I went to a newbie meeting for the tri last night, and they were and they weren't. I'm less worried about transitions and the race, but now I'm terrified of flat tires and chaffing! I'm feeling totally unprepared wardrobe-wise, and paranoid that I'll get a flat and be screwed because I don't know how to change them and the race officials aren't supposed to help us. Great.

So today I'm going to go for a run without music and without the hubs. We'll see how it goes. I'm feeling like the stress of moving is not helping with the stress of the triathlon, but hopefully by next week I'll be feeling better about both things!

Weak Workout Week

2011-08-19T15:48:00.005-04:00

This week has not been a very one for my workouts.

I spent last weekend in Arizona with Jay celebrating a year since we got engaged, we would much rather have been planning a honeymoon for this year but unfortunately that's not the case. We found an awesome deal online for a stay at a resort- it was sunny, we laid by the pool and enjoyed spending uninterrupted time together. After so many months of both of us training for separate events and my not so positive job situation, this trip was exactly what we needed!

We agreed to not stress about the indulgent food and lack of exercise for the weekend. I was looking forward to a week back on track and it started out great with a walk Monday evening with our little girl.
And then we spent Tuesday evening dealing with my migraine. Those things are so miserable!! I tried ice on my head and neck, sitting in the dark and just couldn't get it to go away; an Excedrin and a back rub later I finally drifted off to sleep but wasn't 100% Wednesday so I didn't work out. Thursday morning I felt fine enough to do a quick leg circuit and in the evening did 15 minutes of cycling followed by weight training on triceps and shoulders. I have job searching to do today and then I need to hit the gym.

What's Better?

2011-08-18T12:11:00.000-04:00

What's better than a 10 mile solo ride on Sunday?

(yes, I know I'm not very fast on the bike. This is a judgement-free zone.)

A Wednesday night ride with friends!

Last night, two of my friends and I took advantage of the nice weather and went for a ride (Don't worry, Lindz has already been yelled at for not having a helmet). It worked out perfectly that the three of us could make it happen, and we rode around South Boston and Castle Island for about an hour (I had issues remembering to start and stop my Garmin so I'm not exactly sure the stats). It was the perfect weather and it was nice to have riding buddies! It wasn't exactly a training ride, but it was fun! And sometimes the most important thing about exercise is making it fun. I kind of hate doing it in the first place, so might as well make it as much better as possible, right? (Yeah I did just say I hate exercising...and yes, I do mean it. Feeling like I'm going to die on a regular basis is not my cup of tea. Do I love how I feel afterwards? Yes, I do. Which is why I keep putting myself through the torture).

Life is a little crazy right now because the hubs and I are getting ready to move! We're just moving to a new apartment a few blocks away, but having lived in our place for three years, we have a lot of stuff. So our current apartment kind of looks like a bomb went off in it. Why do things always have to get messier before they get organized and clean?

I'm hoping to get a run in tonight before heading home to the disaster zone...I'll report on that tomorrow. But before I go, I just have to said that I would move to Maine for the blueberries alone. There is nothing like fresh, organic, Maine blueberries. Nothing.

Work it Girl

2011-08-14T12:59:00.000-04:00

This weekend I've been enjoying some time with my family in Maine. After three weeks with the in-laws, I was a little nervous about three more days with my family, but in Maine life is perfectly relaxed and we've been enjoying it all.

Yesterday I spent most of the day laying on the beach reading and getting some sun. It was the kind of sunny, kind of cloudy type day, but I still managed to get a sunburn (I always burn...I apply lots of sunscreen, but I will inevitably miss a spot and burn there...it's unavoidable).

After several hours of simply laying around (it's Maine so it's a little toooo cold for swimming), I decided to get my butt in gear. I didn't really feel like running, so I hoped on this gem of a bike and took off instead.

I was told it needed air in the tires, but I didn't listen. So I rode about 7 miles with low tires. On my way back home I ran into my uncle who was out on a ride as well, so I turned around and joined him. He promptly took me to the gas station and we filled up my tires. The next 3.5 miles were SO much easier. Funny how properly filled tired make such a difference...I ended my ride at 10.5 miles, but I was still itching to go. So I took off running. My legs felt weird for a while, so I kept going until they felt better, and at that point I was on a three mile loop and didn't want to turn around. I took a handful of walk breaks going up some hills (because Maine is seriously hilly), but I did it! I was so proud. Now I'm a little less nervous about my tri that is LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY (yeah I'm freaking out a little). A couple more bricks like this one, and I'll be good to go! I came home a hot sweaty (really proud and happy) mess.

Annnd I spent the rest of the night in terrible pain. My stomach was in complete knots. I think I was dehydrated from being in the sun all day and working out for about an hour and a half. It wasn't fun. I missed out on a dinner of chicken parm made my dad's wife. I couldn't do dinner, but I did manage to stomach half a piece of birthday cake. I can't pass chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting to celebrate my husband, my dad, my gramma and my brother's birthdays. That would just be rude ;)

Today the sun is not out, and my legs are tired, so I'm not sure what's on the agenda, but there will be more celebrations for my gma...she's 81 today!

Another Week on the Books

2011-08-11T12:55:00.000-04:00

I had this post all ready to go yesterday, but things got CRAZY at work, and it never went up. Now Mari and I have both posted in the same day...when it rains it pours I guess!

This week was a great one. It's been a week since I posted, but I was busy busy! My in-laws are all in town and it's taken over my life (in the best way possible). We spent time in VT and have had some fantastic dinners, but I still managed to get in two runs and two spin classes! Although I've had to take the last two days off because of family time, I still feel as though I've gotten a little bit of my workout mojo back!

Last Friday I drove to VT by myself. The in-laws drove from Boston, but since I work in the boonies, I had to make my way up myself after work. I don't mind driving, but driving 5 hours alone didn't sound like too much fun. I stopped at the store to get a Diet Coke and a snack. I was temped by the snack mixes and candy, but I was good and got a bag of cherries instead! Go me! :) They were delicious!

It was a healthy start to a great weekend. We had a family cookout, the hubs turned 26 (!!! old man. Just kidding...I'm older than him lol), we spent time on the lake, and we got to hang out with the most amazingly wonderful baby in the whole world. Check out that face:

She's absolutely perfect. How could you not want to smother her with kisses all the time?

I got in another track run this weekend (just because it happens to have been close to where I was staying...which happens to be a small town with no where to run), and I'll be doing another one tonight (the town I work in is much like the town in VT...no where to run but the track!)

My in-laws are leaving this afternoon and the hubs and I will be sans house guest for the first time in THREE WEEKS. Although the visit was great, and their leaving is bittersweet, I'm excited for life to get back to normal. I went shopping Tuesday night for a few essentials to tide us over/so I could make lunch for work again and stop buying it. Clearly I love produce. Other that this, I got oatmeal, waffles, string cheese and Greek yogurt. I'm exciting, I know.

Tonight after my run, Johnny and I are going couch shopping!!! I'm so excited. We have the most awful couch in the whole wide world and I cannot stand it. It was free from my uncles three years ago, and although it was wonderful of them to pass it on to us, and it has served us well, I'm SO done with it. We're hoping to find a great one tonight because this weekend is tax free weekend in MA and the store is doing a promotion so you can buy the furniture before the crowded weekend, but still get no tax awesomeness! I've for my fingers crossed!

Snack Attack

2011-08-10T23:49:00.003-04:00

I'm having a tough time learning to snack. I've never had a problem before but since going through the competition I find myself feeling incapable of snacking. For 16 weeks I stuck to the show diet which was made up of 4 small meals (mostly protein based) and no snacking, so am I going through a case of "don't use it, you lose it" and I've lost my ability to snack??

Here's the specifics on the situation...Every morning I eat a bowl of bran flakes with a banana or strawberries. A few hours later I am a little hungry, not hungry enough to eat lunch but in need of a little something. And I start to panic. I almost feel guilty for wanting to snack and have found myself convincing myself that I don't need it even though I know that I'm hungry. I don't know how to overcome this inner battle. Is it something I will just get over? Yesterday was probably the best day I've had since completing the competition, I was hungry in between meals and served myself a handful of Wheat Thins and fresh cut watermelon and it was perfect- light, salty, crunchy and sweet; however, today was a different story and I was back to this new found level of insecurity.

Are there maybe some healthy snacks you could recommend? Maybe if I know I have healthy snacks planned, I'll ease up on the guilt? Maybe I should try going back to meal planning but scheduling those snacks so it feels more normal? I know it isn't healthy to feel so badly and I want to make a change before this develops into a bigger issue.

Goal Update

2011-08-10T13:32:00.007-04:00

We kicked off the weekend with a date night! After sharing some apps at Chama River (seriously, they have the best green chilie fondue and I love their blackberry pear mojitos) we watched The Change Up- it was okay, I didn't like some of the jokes at the beginning of the movie and the people next to me kept playing with their phone and talking. Jason had a big run planned for Sunday morning so we had a low key Saturday and cooked up a big pot of spaghetti. We cooked whole wheat pasta and added in Ragu Garden Vegetable sauce, garlic, mushrooms (a natural anti-inflammatory) and some home grown squash! Delish! And guess what else I finally was able to do last weekend?? Go to an Isotopes baseball game!!

I clearly didn't meet my goal of posting 2-3 times last week but I'm going to try again this week, after all, it was a month long goal so I can't give up! I am doing so well with working out an hour each day, I haven't made it 1 full hour each and every day but I'm getting close. Here's what I have done as far as workouts so far:

Sunday - Walked about 2 miles (side note: while on this walk I saw the creepiest creature, it was part spider, part scorpion and part beast!! It stood about 2" tall and was about 5" long the walk became a jog after that sight)

Monday - Completed a 45 minute treadmill run*

Tuesday - 15 minutes of treadmill cardio and a 30 minute leg circuit workout

Wednesday - 10 minutes of treadmill cardio and about 35 minutes of weight lifting on back and biceps

So I thought it'd be fun to share this treadmill workout with you. I do this at least once a week because it changes every few minutes so I don't get bored and it allows me to select the incline and speed so I can challenge myself depending on how I feel that day. I haven't tried it, but I bet this would be even great on a stationary bike or walking.
* I believe this came from here and it looks like this:

Minutes 0-5 Warm Up

Minute 5-6 Increase Speed and Incline 2 Increments Every 15 Seconds

Minute 6-7 Stay at this Level

Minute 7-8 Decrease Speed and Incline 2 Increments Every 15 Seconds

Minutes 8-12 Moderate Run

Minutes 12-13 Increase Speed and Incline 3 Increments Every 20 Seconds

Minute 13-14 Stay at this Level (you can do it!!)

Minute 14-15 Decrease Speed and Incline 3 Increments Every 20 Seconds

Minutes 15-20 Moderate Run

Minutes 20-23 Increase Speed and Incline

Minutes 23-28 Moderate Run

Minute 28-29 Increase Speed and Incline 2 Increments Every 15 Seconds

Minute 29-30 Stay at this Level

Minute 30-31 Decrease Speed and Incline 2 Increments Every 15 Seconds

Minute 31-36 Moderate Run

Minute 36-39 Increase Incline (Feel the burn!)

Minute 39-45 Cool Down

Happy Wednesday!!

Vacay Recap

2011-08-04T15:58:00.009-04:00

For being unemployed I sure haven't posted very much! I actually didn't realize how little I've posted until I read the BFF's post and she mentioned that we posted 7 times in July!

July was definitely a crazy month - training, posing, fittings, workouts, meal planning and trying to keep it all together. The good news is August is going to be a bit more relaxed and full of activities that I've been missing out on. I had read so many times before that training for one of these fitness competitions tends to affect one's social life and I wasn't sure how that would work but I was optimistic. During my experience, I did notice the impact- I no longer wanted to go out to meet with friends for drinks because a) I couldn't drink and b) I was afraid if everyone wanted to munch I would be so tempted to cheat on my strict diet so I didn't go out very often. For the same reasons, I didn't go to the movies (snacking on fish during a movie just didn't seem so appealing) or do very much because i was so afraid I'd mess up my diet. I know that a lot of people have the self control to go and do these things without affecting their diet, but I was so scared that I wouldn't be that strong so I chose to stay at home. I'm happy with results of sticking to my diet and training plan but I am so happy to being catching up with friends over New Mexican food, making plans to grab a glass of wine and scheduling a movie date with my fiance!

The San Diego trip was an overall awesome vacation. We stayed in a condo with my parents and sister just across the street from the beach (Sam Adam's Summer in a blue plastic cup accompanied me on many of these quick walks to the beach). Jay and I nicknamed our room the Butthole Bungalow simply because of this lamp...We ate great seafood, In-N-Out burgers and I finally ate the three things my diet missed so badly: cereal + milk + fruit!! It was delightful!! Clearly I had already eaten most of this serving before I remembered to take a photo.

I didn't think that I would be motivated to get back to exercising right away, surprisingly by Monday morning I was ready for a run. I think the sites had something to do with it!
We also sat on the beach, enjoyed the sunshine and played in the water. I think this sums of the great times on the beach had by all....

My goals this month are to blog at least 2-3 times each week and to do some level of exercise (running, walking, zumba, weight lifting, etc.) for 1 hour each day, with at least 1 day of rest!

Repeat Offender

2011-08-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

Today, I was awesome. (This blog is supposed to be upbeat and motivational right? So I'm just going to throw it out there because I just felt great today).

Today I was planning on going to the gym to run on the treadmill, but after I made a quick trip to the post office during lunch, I decided a run outside was in order. The weather was PERFECT! Warm, but not hot, cloudy and not humid. It had to happen. So, I suited up and went to a track close to work.

It was a pretty painful run (since I haven't actually run in quite a while) BUT I did it! I did a mile, then I walked 100m and sprinted 100m for another half mile. Then I ran the last 1/2 mile. It took longer than I was hoping it would, but like I sai. I DID IT. AND TODAY I'M AWESOME. And sweaty.

The lighting in this picture does not do my redness and sweatness justice. I was GROSS. haha In the best way possible. I had an orange on the way home to refuel and refresh.

So one reason I'm not awesome today: I am a repeat workout clothes wearer. This is generally not bad because honestly I'm not that smelly a person. Today, however, I smelled like fish. Monday night after spin class, Johnny made me fish tacos. And I sat around the house while he cooked them and I ate them, and then I packed those same clothes to run today. And I stank. haha another good reason for running outside today.

And today was awesome because I helped celebrate the birthdays of two friends on mine. It was too hot to bake, so we have Ben and Jerry's frozen yogurt!

The pretty lady on the right is Lindz. She went to school with Mari and me, but she's also from Massachusetts, so I get to hang out with her always :) Today, she got a bike for her birthday. She was as giddy as a little kid!

She's the only member of our gang without a bike, so now she can join in our group rides! The first one will be the week after next. I'm pumped!

Here's to hoping for another awesome day tomorrow!!

How Did It Get to be August?

2011-08-01T22:54:00.001-04:00

Seriously, what happened to July? We only posted 7 times in July and now the month is over. Crazy! Time flies when you're having fun (or when you're not on the healthy living bandwagon and have nothing to post about in my case lol).

August started well today. I got my behind handed to me in spin class and it hurt so good. I haven't been to spin in a while, and it was nice to get back in the saddle (pun totally intended). My mother-in-law is here and she was supposed to come with me. She ended up being too tired from traveling and didn't come which made me feel like an ass because I signed her up for the class, therefore taking a spot someone else could have had. All the spin classes at the gym require early sign-up now, so if I can't make it I always call back and say I won't be there, but I didn't know until just before class this time. Any thoughts on proper gym etiquette when it comes to sign-ups?

Since getting back from New Mexico things have been nutso. My sister-in-law is staying with us all by herself, and although it's been fun, it's been hard. 10 year old require a lot of attention. The little free time I had is even littler! She's been going to work with the hubs in the morning, and then having fun in the afternoon, and this weekend we did a little traveling around New England too.

My grandfather turned 89 yesterday, so we had a party! He broke his hip and (much more recently) his arm this year, but he still wanted to party. And at 89, you get to celebrate for sure!

My cousin was there with her daughter who is now 10 months old! I still love babies, but I still don't want one yet. Sorry folks!

(Doesn't she have awesome hair? And yes I wear that gray dress all the time. It's comfortable and I'm not too much of a shorts fan. Don't judge).

The highlight of this past week was actually on Friday. I took part in something new! I'll give you one hint...

Yup! I went golfing! My company had an annual golf outing, so this year I joined in the fun and played a full 18 holes of golf! I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed getting out of the office and playing for the day. I was TERRIBLE, but it was played in the "Best Ball" style, so there really only had to be one good person on each team. I'm already looking forward to next year! Here are a couple action shots (thanks to the guy in the office who played photographer for the day).

I had a hell of a time finding a light blue polo to match the rest of my team, and I HATED the one I wore (I was pretty uncomfortable/self conscious most of the day), but it was about having fun! And I really did! Plus...not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think my calves look pretty good! (Focus on the good stuff, right?) :)

And here's to a great, happy, healthy month!

Reunited and It Feels So Good

2011-07-26T10:29:00.000-04:00

This past weekend in New Mexico was awesome. I got to see the BFF for the first time since October and I could not have been happier. She looks AMAZING and I'm so proud of her for rocking that competition. Seriously guys, my best friend could totally beat up your best friend.

Please ignore the fact that I look like Casper next to Mari..and she happens to looks like she belongs on the Jersey Shore with that spray tan...not that she doesn't usually make me look pale...

The competition was so interesting. All the women, in all the categories, clearly pushed their bodies to the limit and have been working really hard to get to this point. I'm so impressed with all of it. I could never do it! But like I said, Mari rocked it. It was SO fun to be there and cheer her on and help with the prep process! All her hard work and dedication was amazing and inspiring. So baller.

It was a really great trip over all. We spent lots of time in competition prep, but we managed to make stops at my favorite pizza place, coffee shop, and I got awesome chips and salsa. We also we able to squeeze in a baseball game! I love the Red Sox more than any team, but Albuquerque Isotopes games are cheap and so much fun. Where else do a red chili, a green chili, a taco, and a jar of salsa race around the bases?

I came home on Sunday with my sister-in-law. She's almost 11, but this is her first big trip without her parents, so it's been exciting. We had a long lay-over in Dallas and got into Boston late, but our spirits were high!

It's good to be home and getting back to the grind, even if it's a little off now that there's an extra body in the apartment (getting three people out the door in the morning is WAY harder than two people...especially when one needs a little extra help getting ready).

To report on my goals for last week: I did 2/3. I did not exercise 5 days. With the travel and all the things that had to get done, it just didn't happen. But I'm ok with it. I drank a lot of water and I tracked all my eats, so I'm happy with it. I had a great weigh-in this morning, so I know that if I up the exercise this week, and keep it up with the water and tracking, I'll be right as rain in no time! It's amazing what a visit with the BFF can do for your mental health and motivation. :)

Not to mention, my sneakers just got tricked out.

Oh yeeahhh. That's right. I have a ID tag on my sneaks now. Safety is sexy.

Post Competition!

2011-07-25T00:31:00.009-04:00

The BFF and I had a great visit, like our other visits it felt too short to me. It really is so amazing to me that we can live so far apart but the instant we're in the same room, it's like we've never been apart.

The competition (and prep) is officially over!! I am so happy with my final results- I showed up on stage supported by the most amazing family and friends and felt like the best me that I could be. Seriously, having the BFF in the crowd and visiting during the week made this so much more enjoyable for me!! This transformation may not be so drastic but to me I see a huge difference and the best part is - I feel great! Here is my final picture taken after the show. Can you believe the tan? This was a great experience and I'm so happy to have done it but I'm looking forward to some rest and exercise for fun, not because I have to! I'm actually in CA right now because my dad and fiance competed in a triathlon this morning! They both did so well!!

Before yesterday's flight I consumed these two snacks entirely and in under 5 minutes....
We had an early morning today and after the triathlon was complete we were all more than ready for a warm, delicious breakfast. We hit a local favorite and started off with mimosas and then I consumed my first breakfast carbs...apple crepes!!

Yum!!

I mentioned in my previous post that I was going to share some pretty big job news. Over two weeks ago, I gave my two week notice so as of the end of last week, I'm unemployed. It was a really difficult decision to make and not necessarily the best one to make in this economy but I needed to make this change so I did. When I get back from CA I will be working full-time on finding a new job and will keep you updated. I hope to find something soon!!

These are the trinkets I cleaned out of my desk; what doesn't everyone have Flinstones, a pirate eye patch, metal craft wire and a finger trap in their desk??

I hope you had a great weekend and have a week full of fun and exercise!

Old Habits Die Hard

2011-07-19T20:43:00.000-04:00

It's been another few days of on and off. One day I work out really well and stick to good, healthy foods, and another day I'm all over the place. It's a work in progress. I don't know what caused me to all of a sudden feel/be so out of control. I spent a looongggg time working on making good habits, and to just throw them out makes me REALLY annoyed. BUT I'm working on it...and I'm getting those good habits back. Yesterday I had a great brick workout and I've done a great job tracking my food in the last two days. I have a few mini-goals for the week, but first, I must share about my weekend!

Although it was not exercise-filled, it was really fun. I went to VT for the annual Vermont Brewers Festival. It's our third year going and it did not disappoint! We even had an extra addition to our crew this year, baby Brynn! She's so amazingly perfect and I love her. I'm so glad I finally got to meet her and hold her!

I ended up with a sunburn from the Brew Fest, despite putting sunscreen on THREE TIMES. It wasn't a bad burn, and I think it's probably because I was so sweaty the sunscreen just didn't stay on. Nevertheless, I had a great time. After the brew fest we went down to the water front to see the sunset. It was a perfect night, until the sun went down and we got eaten alive by bugs!

We made it home Sunday night after sticking around to watch the (tragic) Women's World Cup finals and battling traffic in New Hampshire (turns out there was a NASCAR race in NH this weekend and we left at the same time as all the hicks).

ANYWAY. Now that this is the longest post ever, let me get onto my mini-goals for this week. I have three. And I think they are all pretty darn do-able.

1. Track EVERYTHING I eat. No guess, no doing the math in my head (my hubs can do calculus without a calculator, but I need a pen and paper to do my simple addition. And I need to just own that and do it).

2. Exercise at least 5 days. I had a great workout last night, but it doesn't count for this week (because my weigh-ins are on Tuesdays, so life works Tuesday to Tuesday), so 5 days of great workouts.

3. Drink more water! I don't drink enough water. Ever. I drink 1 cup of coffee a day, and 1 can of diet coke. That won't change (I love diet soda, I do not care if you think it's bad for me), but I know I need to add more straight-up water to my life.

These are the small steps I'm going to take to get myself in a better place. Number 2 might be hard since I'm traveling this weekend, but I have a feeling I'll be able to stay on track since I'M GOING TO NEW MEXICO!!!!!! Wooooooo! That's right, the BFF and I will be hanging out this weekend!! We have not seen each other since October! So, for the first time ever, there will be pictures on the blog of us together! Get excited!

Random Thoughts Update

2011-07-19T01:05:00.003-04:00

Here we are 2 days into the final week of prep! To be honest, last week I really thought I was done. I have a trouble area that I have been working so hard to fix and I just wasn't seeing a change. After a good pep talk with my trainer and some amazingly supportive friends (thanks BFF!) I did decide on Thursday evening that I would complete this challenge, get up there on stage and accomplish one of the biggest mental, physical and emotional challenges.

I have a few random thoughts to share with you today:

1) I recently made a BIG career decision. I'll share more in the very near future- I'm excited.

2) I almost made this entire post an ode to carbohydrates. Today, I ate my last serving of carbs for the week in the form of a bowl of oats; as much pain as oats have caused my stomach, I will miss them.

3) Tomorrow is my last workout!! Today's workout was a quick warm-up on the treadmill, weights working out back and chest and then hill sprints. I haven't run this one particular hill since January/February-ish before I injured my ankle. I wasn't very fast and it was really tough but it felt so good to be able to run this hill again, I'm just so thankful to have a healing ankle. I'm already thinking that I'd like to train for a half-marathon for this upcoming winter. Any recommendations?

4) Today Jay and I met with a jewelry designer to look over some of his wedding band designs!!

5) Does anyone else watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager? Love it!

Well those are my thoughts for today, I hope to share more with you soon! Have a great week!!

Getting Back in the Game

2011-07-13T18:15:00.000-04:00

First off, thank you. I really cannot say it enough to those awesome few who reached out to me after my last post. I was definitely feeling down, and reading your words of encouragement meant everything to me. I couldn't be doing this without you, and I really really really appreciate the support.

Second, I went for a run this morning!

I was a hot, sweaty mess, and honestly, I was a sucky run, but I did it! I got out there and I ran. And, the best part is, my husband came too! He knows I've been struggling and he's been SO amazingly awesome. And neither one of us likes to be the one that has to stop or slow down, so it's great motivation to just keep running.

I got to run this morning because I worked from home today. I wasn't actually at home until a little while ago, but I was in Boston and therefore didn't have to drive to work! (My mentor at work also happens to live in the city, and he works from home every Wednesday. We're in the middle of a training session, so my boss said I could stay in the city and work with my mentor instead of having to skip a day!) I only wish I still had the time to get up and run every morning, but OH WELL. I'll take those days I can get.

After my not-so-awesome-but-at-least-I-went run, I made an amazing breakfast of English muffins and sunflower seed butter. I had this stuff for the first time in NY this past weekend and I have completely fallen in love.

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but after a few bites of toast I was in love. It was the first thing on my grocery list yesterday and I've already had it for breakfast and with an apple this afternoon. It's dangerously good.

Although I'm really happy with myself for working out this morning, and for the food choices I've made in the past few days, I know myself well enough to know I'm not completely out of the woods. I'm hoping the runner's high from today with carry me through a pretty brutal brick workout tomorrow, work travel on Friday, and a beer festival this weekend. I'm going to have to be extra attentive to myself, and find lots of motivation. Luckily, today, in seriously good timing, I got an email from the library saying a book I reserved had arrived!

(I'm hugely in favor of buying books, especially when it's newer authors who will enjoy the benefits of people's purchases, but there isn't room in my budget for all the books I read, so I'm a frequent user of the Boston Public Library!)

I'm hoping to get some great ideas from the book that will push me even further out of this mess I seem to have gotten myself into!

Thanks again for the tips! I'm hoping post from here on out will be much more positive!

S.O.S.

2011-07-07T20:56:00.000-04:00

Soooo it’s been a while since I blogged. A week? More? Let me explain.

I’ve been having a hard time. I’ve had a hard time finding the motivation to enjoy what I’m doing, and to enjoy the progress I’ve made. I’ve had a hard time finding the motivation to work out and to make healthy decisions. I’ve chosen to be social over working out, even though I said I wanted to make it a priority.

I feel burnt out. I understand the point of changing things up to make sure this doesn’t happen, but it did. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I want to drink red wine without being concerned with how many points I'm drinking, and I want to sit on the couch and watch TV. I don’t want to be responsible for myself and I want to be lazy.

And so I have done all those things. I haven’t properly hydrated or fueled my body, nor have I exercised more than a few days. My food scale hasn’t been touched in weeks, and my chocolate intake as tripled. It totally sounds like I went on a bender in Vegas a-la Charlie Sheen, but trust me when I say it was far less dramatic. I got lazy and I chose not to fight off that feeling. And I feel awful.

But I can't seem to snap out of it. I LOVE how it feels to get good and sweaty, but for some reason I cannot pull myself together to do it. It may seem ridiculous to some people. I mean how could I just NOT work out when it's easy enough to? Why not say "enough is enough" and move on? Well I've been working so hard for two and a half years and I'm tired. I'm SO close to having lost 100lbs...REALLY close...and it's taken a HUGE amount of energy and effort, and I felt like giving up. I want that for myself really badly...that's a huge milestone for me (for anyone really), but I am not going to get there if I don't get myself out of this rut.

The other part of this is that I'm frustrated. REALLY frustrated. As I said, it's been a two and a half year journey for me thus far AND I'M NOT DONE. I've always been really good at focusing on how far I've come, but this time it's hard. I'm annoyed that I'm not in the physical shape I'd like to be in, and I still don't like the way my jeans fit (even if they're 6 sizes smaller than when I started). I feel like throwing in the towel because some times I can't see it. Sometimes it feels like nothing has changed and I'm still the big girl hiding myself from the world. I know that statement probably sounds crazy too, but you see yourself one way for long enough, it's hard to get past the image later on. I'm all about promoting positive self-talk, but some times we just have those days, or weeks, or in my case, whole month. I WANT to be happy with what I see in the mirror simple because it's so different, even if I have a lot more to do, but I can't seem to get there right now.

So I'm putting this out in public, out on this blog for all four of you BFF followers to read in hopes of making myself more accountable. I do not like feeling this way. I do not like knowing that I'm SO incredibly close to something and I'm the only thing standing in the way. So if you've got any tips on how to help me pull myself up by the boot straps, I'd really appreciate it. I've had ruts before, but this one is a doozie and I could use all the help I can get.

Sorry to be such a downer and to have yet another post with no pictures, but this is a serious issue for me right now, and I needed to lay it all out on the line.

A Hairy Situation

2011-07-07T13:13:00.002-04:00

A couple of months ago I texted my hairstylist and asked her to do my hair and make-up for the show. She agreed and I was happy because I've been going to her for about 5 years and completely trust her work. A few weeks later I texted her to schedule a trim and didn't get a response. Several days after that attempt, I tried emailing her and also received no response. Beginning to feel really needy, I called her salon and found out she moved out of state! I hope that everything is okay with her and the move was for good reasons. I have been in a bit of a panic now trying to schedule someone last minute for hair and make-up but today I received a call that the amazing hair stylist and make-up artist that my trainer recommended are going to be able to squeeze me in! Thank goodness!!

I have an appointment at a new (to me) salon this evening for a hair cut, I hope this place works out!

I also hope that I can find another stylist to do my hair for the wedding. I know it's still a year away but I had been planning my 'do with my former hair stylist since before I even got engaged and was so content knowing she and I were already on the same page- no crazy bridal hair for this girl!

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

2011-06-28T13:42:00.004-04:00

This weekend's camping trip gave me something to add to the list of things Maddie & Mari shouldn't do: Taking your first mountain biking trip at an elevation 2000 ft higher than what you're used to.

Okay, so clearly I didn't get beat up too bad by the mountains but it was not at all easy, especially the breathing! I loved the burn and struggle my body felt while climbing up some good sized hills. It was the downhills that scared me. Thankfully we made it back safe and sound and super sweaty, as you can tell in my picture. After a lunch of deli meats and veggies, we took a nice long nap and woke up recharged and ready to head out for a trail run. Unfortunately, a lot of the trails we wanted to take were closed down due to the fire warnings that were issued this past weekend and we had to make do with private roads that were still open. Sunday morning we woke up and went out for another mountain bike ride and saw a fire in the nearby hills. After chatting with Jay's uncle (who lives in the area where we were camping) we raced back to the camp, packed up and hauled it out of there. We had to forgo the showers we were so looking forward to, but it was better to be safe. It was scary to see such a huge fire up close (even though we were a mile away, it felt too close) and many fire trucks and crews heading up the mountain as we were leaving - I hope they are able to contain it soon!!

Pictures Say it Better

2011-06-27T22:57:00.002-04:00

Sunday included a great bike ride (with a great new route that does not have the possibility of pedestrian carnage), and time with my sister.

Monday I skipped my brick to spend time with my family (it's on the agenda for tomorrow instead).

Here are the pictures to recap.

Too much food and red wine was consumed tonight. It's time for bed.

Stormy Saturday

2011-06-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Today was supposed to be a wash. The weather channel issued a thunderstorm warning and the softballs game I was going to watch was cancelled. I was prepared for a rather annoying day of weather.

Turns out, it's not bad. The sun has not made an appearance, but neither has the rain! I took advantage of it, and did some wandering around the city. I contemplated going to strength class this morning, but in my training plan today is a rest day...and I wanted to lay around with the hubs this morning. So I did. I definitely listened to my body and got the extra hours of sleep :)

I started my wandering at LuluLemon in the Prudential Center. My non-Welsh friend from Wales gave me a gift card for my bday, so I figure it was about time to cash it in! I got a new tanktop and this hoodie I've had my eye on for a while. I love shopping there and only wish I could afford everything in the store. And I always think it would be awesome to work there and wear workout clothes "to the office" everyday.

After a few more stops I hit up the Health and Fitness expo. It was happening at the convention center right next to the Pru, so I figured I'd stop in (I spent the day working at a convention in Boston yesterday, so I might as well go to another on my day off right?)

It was pleasantly crowded, but there wasn't too much to see. There were a lot of free screenings and some interactive booths. It was good to see people taking advantage of these things, especially when health care costs are so high. I didn't wait in line for anything, since I was just kind of browsing, but I did snag myself a free Lara bar, and walk through a giant brain.

Afterward, I wandered over to BerryLine. It's a fro-yo place they just opened on Newbury street. I've been to one of their other location before, but this was the first time I visited the one so conveniently located near my apartment. It's not one of those super amazing places where you add everything yourself and weigh it, but it was deliciously good. It was just the treat I'd been holding out for all week. I got Nutella (HECK YES!) fro-yo with strawberries and s'more bites. AMAZING.

I had a late breakfast (thanks to sleeping in) so this was my later lunch. I'm heading to a friends tonight for dinner and fireworks (some towns apparently don't know that the fourth isn't until next weekend) and I'm sure there will be some wonderful bbq goodness there. I love summer, even when it's not sunny (or warm).

Stayed tuned: tomorrow I'm going on a bike ride with friends! Riding is on my training plan for tomorrow so it worked out perfectly. Hopefully they don't mind that I'm such a novice!

H2O For The B-O-D-Y

2011-06-24T10:11:00.012-04:00

TGIF!

I cannot believe how fast this week went by. So I tried to post 2 times this week and one day forgot my camera and I didn't want to blog another post without photos and the next day I forgot the green plug in to transfer photos from the SD card to the laptop. Fail! Sorry. To make up for it I do have a pretty lengthy and full of photos post for you!

Last Friday's secret date was a picnic + tickets to the Zoo Music. The ABQ Zoo does this amazing event every Friday night in the summer where they have a different band perform and everyone sets up their blankets, lawn chairs, picnics on the beautiful grassy area in front of the stage. Considering I'm on a diet and Jay is not, it was a little tough coming up with a fun picnic menu that we could both enjoy. Eventually, I came up with cool crisp veggies & hummus and adult lunchables (deli sliced turkey breast, roast beef and chicken breast) and some light Havarti. Yum!

Have you tried the La Croix waters? I have been seriously hooked on these things for about a year now, we even have a mini fridge in our garage that has to be restocked weekly! They are delicious, bubbly and have NO sodium, calories, sugar, etc. - just straight up naturally flavored water. I thought the orange and lemon were my favorites, until this week when I found the new flavor...COCONUT!!!! It is beyond amazing. A second trip to Target was made this week to buy more but our Target only had 1 box left!! I was rationing all week until I had time to visit another Target and bought their La Croix coconut water stock.I had an amazing full body circuit workout with my trainer on Wednesday. My legs are SO sore! We did squats, lunges, push-ups, crab walks! I'm still pretty nervous for the show but after an awesome workout like that and a great cardio session yesterday, I'm feeling the motivation that I was missing last week. My diet changed a lot this week- it is pretty tough but I'm holding to it. One of the big changes is that I have to drink 1 gallon of water a day. See this bottle I'm holding in the pic below?One gallon is 4 1/2 of those bottles!! Let me tell you, if I had a penny for every time my bladder sent me racing down the halls- well I'd have a dime (and it's only been one day so far!). By the way, my hair isn't THAT big, that's my pup lounging on the couch behind me.

My current food mission is to add protein to my morning oatmeal without it looking like this:

It tastes as bad as it looks. I'm not sure if it's the "frosty chocolate" protein or what. Maybe I'll eat the oatmeal separate and drink my protein with water?

It's interesting how much my tastes have changed with my diet. In the beginning, I thought organic almond butter tasted like the beach sand stuck in someone's bathing suit bottoms (not that I've eaten that but one could imagine) and now I love it! I actually look forward to eating it everyday and am a little sad my jar is now empty.Please ignore the messy hair- I didn't spend much time on it this morning because I'm going to the gym during lunch!

We're off to do some camping this weekend and I'll be making my first attempt at mountain biking- if I don't break my arms doing so, I'm sure I'll have a great post for you after it!

Triathlon Training Plan: Day 1

2011-06-20T21:13:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned before, I've officially started my triathlon training plan to get ready for my very first tri on September 11th. It was supposed to be 13 weeks, but now it's 12, and today was Day One. It went pretty well. Today on the plan was a run and swim. Even though it's really nice out and an outdoor run would have been wonderful, I have yet to figure out where to run outside by work, and I needed the pool readily available after the run, so to the community center gym it was.

I busted out 25 minutes on the treadmill, then hopped into the pool for 20 minutes. I'm not good at keeping track of how many laps I've done, so I'm really glad this training plan is time based, not distance based. I really do love swimming.

Although I appreciate the convenience of the community center gym, I still don't like it. Mostly, I do not like being in a place where children are allowed. The ones in the locker room today were annoying, loud, and in my way. I prefer adult. So much.

After the gym I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fruit for the week. Today stunk because we were SO short on our fruit supply, so I stocked up. I also grabbed an extra piece and a drink to refuel. I didn't think about how hungry I would be on the hour car ride home, so I'm glad the pit-stop happened. I would have never made it.

I came home to find the hubs had already made dinner, and all I had to do was sit down and enjoy it! It was the perfect end to today. I'm totally wiped out from the weekend. It was so tough.

Not really. :) I did a lot of sunning and spending time with Johnny and my sister. On Saturday (after strength training of course) we waiting with the millions of other people in the streets of Boston to see the Stanley Cup.

(Please note: my sister did not have any official Bruins gear, so she wore her only black and yellow shirt...her Boston Marathon shirt...yeah she's a marathoner. And a pharmacist. Don't worry, I wish I could be her too).

Turns out, I'm not so awesome, and brought the camera with the dead battery. I got one (really bad) picture of the parade/Bruins players/the Stanley Cup before my camera would no longer turn on. Even though this picture doesn't do it justice, it was awesome!

Brilliant photography skills, I know :)

After the parade we went down to see my gma. She took us out to the best place in my hometown for the best fish and chips in the world, and lobster rolls. I was stuffed and happy.

I spent most of the weekend in the sun and I have no tan to show for it. Thanks a lot, Dad, for the fair skin. I slathered on so much sunscreen it's amazing that I even got two more freckles (but I did get more than two I think). Speaking of my dad, I saw him for 15 minutes in the church parking lot on Sunday before he had to go to work. That's Father's Day at it's finest my friends.

And now another week begins. I get to go to another show in Boston on Friday for work, so that's helping me get through!

TGIF

2011-06-17T21:49:00.000-04:00

I'm so happy it's Friday. I know I've posted about my love of Friday before, but today I am especially happy to be done with the work week!

This week has been crazy. I had something to do every night after work, and I chose to put my social life before my fitness and food goals. Although I really enjoyed all the things that I did, I am not happy with all the choices I made.

The hubs and I had a chat about this tonight, and it's been on my mind for a while...basically since I got back from Chicago. I had a week of not being able to eat normally, and then this week, were I went out too much and had little time to exercise. I don't have balance in my life right now, and I need to even myself out. I need to prioritize my life, and honestly, fitness needs to be way at the top.

I have a triathlon in just 12 weeks! That seems like a long way away, but it's really not. Back when I signed up for the triathlon, I chose a 13 week training plan. I knew it would be enough time to get me where I want to be on race day without burning out. Well this was week 13 and I didn't do anything. MAJOR FAIL. So I've changed it to a 12 week training plan and I'm going to rock it.

Today, I did get out for a run. Not surprisingly, it sucked. I haven't booted up the Garmin and run since I was in Chicago. (For those of you counting, it's TWO WEEK AGO). My first mile was AWESOME. Fastest mile I've ever run actually, butttttt that was it. I was done. I managed to bang out another mile and a half, but there were some walk breaks involved, and it was just a hot mess. Here's the proof:

Sexy, I know. You know what else is sexy? This guy:

I bet you're asking, what on earth is that thing? A refrigerator? A car engine? A space ship? Nah...it's our new GIANT air conditioner. We got a sweet deal on this beast, so we couldn't pass it up. It's going to be interesting to get it into our window, but I'm pretty excited to have it. We've never had an AC before and we've dealt with some hot hot days here in Boston.

So here's to a better week, and a better balance!

Challenged

2011-06-17T17:12:00.004-04:00

Boy oh boy! This week has been busy!

There are a lot of things to do in order to get ready for the competition- booking hair, make up, tanning, bikini wax, finalizing outfits, etc. And of course I'm still weight training, doing cardio and prepping meals. I am not complaining, I'm just now realizing the full time committment that this new-to-me challenge requires. Every night this week, I have found myself waking up at night several times just thinking about the stresses at work. This then leads to me being tired and sluggish all day.

I have to be honest, this week has not been very good to me work out wise. I feel as though I've hit a plateau and am finding it hard to keep going. I don't know if it has anything to do with being tired but I didn't feel strong, happy or positive all week. Bummer. Has anyone gone through this with their own workouts? What do I do?? I've been updating my iPod and switching up my cardio routines but nothing has seemed to work just yet. I am challenged by this work out low.

Tonight I have a TOP SECRET date all planned out for Jay! He might read this post so I won't leak any of the details here but I'll share them with you later. I'm also going to visit my family in Texas for a few days, I'm looking forward to some good running, grilling and pool time. I sure hope a nice, relaxing weekend helps me recharge and come back ready to rock and roll.

Twitter, TJ's and an iPhone

2011-06-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

Today I joined Twitter.

It feels so weird. I have avoided Twitter for a really long time. I never wanted to be on it. I understood the appeal of following people, but I never wanted to tweet. I still don't think I do. But having nothing else to read while at work today, I gave in and joined the ranks of the millions of users. You can follow me at @MaddieOgren. I'm sure I won't say anything more interesting that I do here...

Another thing I avoided for ever was an iPhone. I have nothing against iPhones, or Apple (I'm blogging from a Mac right now), but I never wanted a touch screen keyboard. I have an iPod Touch and I just didn't like the idea of having that for a phone. But then I got a second Blackberry for work...and my personal Blackberry started dying...and I started looking into iPhones. And now I want one. I can't get a new one because it's my work phone so I don't have an upgrade and a new iPhone would cost like a million dollars, so I'm currently trying to win some eBay bids on old ones. If anyone has an AT&T 3gs they're looking to get rid of, by all means, send it along my way!

Other than changing my mind on things today, I also went on a little date with my husband. It was super romantic. First, we went to the library to return one overdue book and pick up a book that was on hold for me. Then we went to the Apple store, then the AT&T store, and then the Verizon store. Like I said, super romantic. :)

We did have a great dinner at our favorite Thai place (I am obsessed with their beef noodle soup) and made a trip to Trader Joe's before coming home. I definitely had the most handsome shopping partner in the store (even if he wasn't excited to have his picture taken in the store).

It was a nice night, and I enjoyed walking around the city for a while...even though I was really limping...since I'm even more sore than I was yesterday...but right...it was great. And I came home to a new issue of Triathlete magazine in my mailbox! The BFF got me the subscription for my bday and it's definitely the gift that keeps on giving! I'm excited to read this one...once I tear myself away from eBay and bidding on iPhones...

Or maybe I should just go to bed since it's almost 11pm...

Sore Legs and Gummy Bears

2011-06-12T17:09:00.000-04:00

This weekend has been go go go! Friday after work, I got home, did a quick change, and was out the door for dinner. We were hoping to find seats at a place with outdoor seating, but since it was such a nice day we didn't have any luck. We ended up inside, but the food was still good! After waiting for the bus home for what felt like forever, the hubs and I made it home and crashed hard.

Saturday I was up and at 'em right away. I hit strength class followed by a 60 minute spin class. I brought my camera to document the sweaty event, but I of course didn't actually take any pictures. That's the theme for the weekend, fyi.

After the mega gym sessions, I shopped with my sister for a while, before coming home for a late lunch and making a cake for Pride. For the last three years, I've made a fabulous rainbow cake as my contribution to the party. I didn't take a picture, but this is the one I made last year...same idea this year :)

I went right from the party, over to the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK/BACKSTREET BOYS CONCERT!!!!! Although I didn't want to leave the party, the concert was amazing! Mark Walbergh introduced the bands, and I sang at the top of my lungs to all the sounds. I felt like I was 15 and swoony over boy bands all over again.

It ended up POURING rain, so I was soaked with a hoarse voice by the end of the night. I'm so glad I got the chance to go!

I was up again this morning for the NStar Walk for Children's Hospital. This is my third year participating in the event, and the third year that it has been raining! This year was a little rough because I dropped my keys, ID, and bank card at one point. Once I noticed I started back in the other direction. I found my keys and someone found my bank card and gave it to one of the volunteers, but my ID is gone. Oh well! That's the least important in my mind! It was a long 7+ miles, but I was happy to have been able to be a part of it again.

This weekend I asked my body to do a lot. I pushed myself hard, and now I'm enjoying some time relaxing with tea and gummy bears. I think at this point my body deserves it! I think I'll update iTunes while I'm at it too :)

I wish Monday wasn't tomorrow!

Colorado

2011-06-11T11:47:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Colorado!

I'm on a mini-vacay while Jay is up here for business (read: he is at meetings, I've been lounging by the pool). I thought it was going to be very difficult keeping up with my training program and diet while away from home but it hasn't been too bad. I typically find the gym at a resort to have one universal weight machine and a few treadmills, however, the gym at our resort is actually great! They have several cardio machines, a ton of free weights, machines, benches and exercise balls. It has been so nice being able to wake up late, do some morning cardio, eat my first meal and then go back to do my weight routine- no rushing like my usual routine at home. Jay and I have been able to go running before he sets out for his day of work stuff, I just love being able to sight-see while running. As for the diet, I have been so relieved to find items that fall into my eating plan- grilled chicken, fish, lean cuts of meat all with simple spices and little to no sauce. Thank goodness! To be safe, I did pack some of my go-to meals.

Time to go do some more exploring and cardio! Hope you are having a great weekend!

It's Friday, Friday, Friday!!

2011-06-10T08:50:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Rebecca Black, for that inspiring title...

But yeah, obviously it's Friday! I'm excited for that. Really excited. After being away last weekend, and traveling almost every weekend for four weeks before that, I'm ready for a weekend at home. I've got a lot in the mix, including a pride party (it's Gay Pride Week here in Boston!) and a concert. No big deal...just the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - BACKSTREET BOYS!!!! yayyyy. You know you're jealous.

In all honesty, I am an *NSync girl at heart. I saw them in concert three times and I still have all their songs on my ipod. But that does not mean I'm not super excited for some throwback boy band fun! Plus, it's an Fenway, so it doesn't get a whole lot better! (Well...it could only be better if the likes of Justin, Lance, JC, Joey and Chris were taking the stage instead....)

Annywayyyy. Back to the stuff this blog is really about. Food and fitness. My week since coming back from Chicago has not really consisted of either one. I went to spin class on Monday night, but I haven't worked out since. Not a good thing, I know, but I also haven't been eating much. I think the weird work/eat/sleep schedule I made in Chicago threw me off. My stomach has not been right, and I just haven't felt like eating much at all. (It's also disgustingly hot in Massachusetts right now, so that doesn't help). I'm hoping the cooler weather and a little more sleep this weekend helps straighten things out. I've also got a lot of exercise planned...strength class (yay!), spinning, a 7 mile walk for Children's Hospital, and yoga, so I should be right again in no time...hopefully...

Despite the weird habits this week, I did manage to eat some ice cream on Wednesday night! I went with my friends to the Scooper Bowl! It's a giant ice cream party that benefits the Jimmy Fund. It's $8 to get in, and you get as many ice cream samples as you want. It's wonderfully crowded and sticky, but we had fun.

Happy Friday y'all! :D

Posing Results

2011-06-06T22:30:00.004-04:00

I survived my first posing class! I wobbled a few times but I did manage to stay off the ground for the entire hour long class. Whew! Our trainer showed us how to walk and pose, I'm so glad to know what exactly I need to work on (aside from just staying up on my two feet). I was so nervous on my drive to the gym but felt so much better once we started learning.

This weekend I needed to shop for a nice but not too fancy dress for a work dinner I'm going to be attending with Jay this week. This was such a chore! I did finally find this beauty...Not really... I did find two dresses at TJ Max but I'm not quite sure which one I'll wear.

Their is a fire burning in Arizona and we've actually been seeing a lot of the smoke here in Albuquerque the past few days. On Thursday evening after a trigger point massage Jay and I couldn't see very far ahead of us outside, we actually thought the fire was just a few miles from where were were! I hope they're able to get this fire put out soon.

I'm Back and June Goals

2011-06-06T22:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I arrived home from Chicago. It was four days of working hard and playing hard. I was on my feet more and drank more since Wednesday than I have in the last three months (well...maybe not exactly, but it sure felt like it!)

I was delayed getting in to Chicago Wednesday night because there were tornadoes in Mass! So scary. They didn't come close to Boston (or the airplane I was stuck sitting on for two hours), but it was very close to my office, so I was worried for the people at my office. The storm was nasty, and we arrive two hours late to Chi-town.

Friday morning was the only time I got any real exercise. I found out that my hotel was just a few blocks from Lake Michigan, so I made my way over to their awesome bike path. I heard about it for the first time after so many bloggers mentioned running there during the Healthy Living Summit, and I couldn't wait to check it out myself. It was amazing! So many people were out and it was a really nice path. I'm not sure exactly how far I went because I couldn't get my Garmin to pick up satelites in the city, so I ran down to the water without turning it on. Then on my way back, I had to run under the highway and that threw everything off again. I think it was just over three miles though! I also wish I had some pictures! I cannot run with things in my hands, so I need to get a fanny pack or something cool like that so that I can run with my camera.

The next few days were kind of a blur. I was at the convention center a lot. I didn't eat for hours at a time (which is NOT how I usually roll), ate really late at night, and found myself drinking the stress of the day away. It was an AMAZING learning experience and I had an great time, but I was ready to come home and get back to my normal habits...like Monday night spin class!

June Goals

In May, I posted a few goals for the month. How did I do? Well, I did great with the first one...I did eat something different everyday for breakfast! It got interesting some days, but I managed to not repeat the same breakfast two days in a row! As for the other two goals...welllllll I didn't do as well. I only went to yoga twice all month. Both classes were great, but it only happened two times. And my TV was low for a while, but has spiked again. I blame it on season finales!

So what about June?

Well, first off, I will be trying again with yoga and TV. I missed the first Sunday yoga class because I was not functioning after getting back from Chicago, but the rest of the Sundays this month, I'm going to try to get to the community class. And I'm going to try with the TV...it's WAY too nice outside to spend it inside on the couch!

And my new goal for the month? Bring back the weights! I miss my strength training class and my defined muscles so much! I know how to fix the problem of sloppy looking muscles, so I need to get at it! It's going to take A LOT more work that I used to have to put in (aka I can't make it to the weight lifting class two times a week anymore, and therefore I may have to lifts weights on my own outside of a class), but I REALLY want my muscles back and better than ever, so let's hope for the best!

Now I'm off to bed. Sorry for the lack of pictures. The only pics I have from Chicago are from the exhibits, and legally I can't post those! Oh well!

Posing Practice

2011-06-03T17:14:00.003-04:00

I have my first competition posing practice tomorrow. I'm so nervous, I really hope I don't remind everyone of Bambi learning to walk. I took a few laps around the house (don't worry, just indoors) in the heels yesterday. The last time I attempted to wear heels my dog barked and growled at me- I think I scared her. But this time, she was very patient and quietly trotted along my side as I practiced walking. This week I've also booked my spray tan appointment for the show and have started looking at competition outfits. This is all becoming so real, I love it!!

I snuck in a quick mid-day cardio break today. I was tried this morning and that workout was the perfect boost. Isn't it amazing how just 20-30 minutes of being active can completley change your mood? I was very excited to run today because our abroad reader, Lou, sent me some great songs for a workout playlist- I was so pumped and had a hard time controlling myself from dancing on the treadmill.

Happy Friday!!

Heading Out!

2011-06-01T14:16:00.001-04:00

Today I'm working from home because in a few hours I'm leaving to go to Chicago. I'm headed there for a business trip, and I'm really excited! I've only really been on one trip for work before (several years ago), so this should be fun. Apparently it's really hot there already, and it will be tons of work, but I'm ready for it!

Since I was granted the luxury of working from home today, I took my lunch hour to take spin class (no one at the home office cares if I come back to my desk all smelly). I went in my new shoes again, and turns out, they're not going to cut it for spin. Almost the entire class was in 3rd position and my foot hurt SO much. I had to stay seated for the last song and a half because my foot just couldn't take it any more. I came home and added peas right away (we don't do ice in this house!) since I'll be on my feet the next couple days, and I really don't want my arch to bother me then.

I whipped up a huge salad before I sat back down (to quickly write this and get a few things finished for work before I head out). I have to say, I really love eating salad for lunch, but it tastes better on a plate than in a Tupperware. I basically had the same ingredients I have every other day of the week, but it tastes better fresh from the fridge than having been pre-made.

My side is Trader Joes Crunchy Curls. They're potato and lentil curls and they made fantastic croutons. I could eat them by the bag full though.

Well I'm off. I'm hoping things will quiet down outside (I live on a busy street+construction+a million people moving because it's June 1st=LOUD office), so I can concentrate and bang this out before I head out! Happy trails!

Whine About the Wine Results

2011-05-31T22:58:00.005-04:00

This weekend was nice and easy! Saturday morning we ran the Will Run for Wine 5k except that it turned out not to be a 5k and was instead 2.6 miles!! It was a little deflating knowing we didn't run the full 3.1 but it felt great to run fast. The ankle took about .75 of a mile to warm up and was a little sore during Monday's jog/walk. I did finally pick up my new orthotics- they are a bit awkward in my shoe but I'm told this is normal and they'll be comfy with time.

I'm trying to be more creative when it comes to doing cardio. So far I've tried bootcamp and zumba, today I worked up a sweat swimming laps! I'm not new to swimming but I don't rely on it in my usual cardio routine. I swam for about an hour and really did feel my heart rate rise. It was also a great way to spend some much needed time with the ol' fiance- we shared a lane and he totally kicks my butt swimming but with his triathlon training and my competition training we are so busy and have learned to appreciate even a few seconds in between laps to catch up and share a laugh.

Guess who, for the third week in a row, was able to curl 20 pound dumbbells all on her own??
Accomplishing this has really motivated me- I didn't think I could possibly curl more than 10 pounds and now I'm able to do so much more! I still have a long way to go before I'm ready for the competition but these steps along the way are good reminders to keep going!!

100th Post!

2011-05-28T23:13:00.001-04:00

HAPPY 100TH POST! Between the BFF and me, we've managed to get 100 posts into the last couple months! Pretty awesome, if you ask me!

I am quite happily enjoying the long weekend. I got to jet out of work a little early yesterday afternoon, and had a surprisingly traffic-free ride. It was a GORGEOUS day. I didn't get out during lunch, but when I got to the car, the thermometer told me just how wonderful the day had been.

(yes I was driving when I took this, and yes I have a lot of thousands of miles on my car. Oh well).

I got home just in time to change and head out for a double date. We went with Johnny's bff Dave (although he tells me boys don't have bffs...so maybe his bromantic friend?) and Dave's girlfriend. We met up for a fancy drink at The Liberty Hotel. I used to work right by this hotel and have been a few times for drinks and I love it. It used to be a jail, so the architecture of the building is awesome. It's a little pricey, so I've never eaten here, but I love going!

After a drink, we walked over to the Museum of Science.

Like MY bff, I enjoy going to Museums sans children. We weren't there for the exhibits though, we were there to FINALLY see the tornado movie at the Omni Theatre! It was SO cool. It seems to be a little too real these days, with the many tornadoes touching down around the country, but it was really neat to see things from that perspective. We luckily don't deal with them here in New England, but it was fascinating all the same!

After the movie (which was only about 45 minutes long), we walked back to have dinner near the hotel. We settled on Antonio's, an Italian place with an extremely reasonably priced menu. I don't generally like going out for Italian for two reasons:

1. I can make Italian food. I know it's not nearly as good as resturant stuff, but I can make pasta and meatballs, so why spend so much money on it?
2. It's not very healthy. It's high in ww points and the portions are HUGE. I'd generally go for a lighter, healthier options, but every once and while, it's a good treat!

Dinner was amazing. I ended up getting the mussels and they did not disappoint. And the place itself was so cute and homey. There are only about 15 tables and it feels like Italy (I can say that because I lived there). It was worth the extra calories!

Today was another gorgeous day. After my carbo loading last night, I was pleased to get out for a bike ride! It was my first ride since I got my bike 2 weeks ago (bad weather caused that delay) and it was great. Unfortunately, it being a nice day, there were SO many people out and very much in the way, preventing me from ever really picking up much speed. I ended up covering 7 miles in about 50 minutes. It made me realize just how different real biking is from spin class! I'm going to need a lot of work on that for the tri!

I took my bike back to Johnny's office (that's where it lives since our apartment is small and up three flights of stairs), and headed home for a quick shower before an afternoon of errands! I have ZERO in terms of summer clothes, so my sister and I went shopping. I ended up with a few things, but I sill need a lot more! I did also buy 14 new pairs of underwear (Victoria Secret awesome sale!). This may be TMI, but in the 2+ years of losing weight, I've gone through SO many clothes. I frequently get rid of pants and shirts that are just not working any more. The one thing that I've kept the whole time? My underwear. I guess it continued to fit for quite some time, so I never needed to replace it. Lately, I've noticed that it really no longer fits. I bought a few new pairs a couple months ago, but now it's out of control. Tomorrow the underwear drawer will be purged and my buns will be happy!!

I hope everyone is having an awesome long weekend! I'm SO happy to have a day off!!

Are You Some Kind of Hippie Girl or What?

2011-05-26T22:16:00.014-04:00

My sister is on summer break and was able to take a few days off work to come up and visit this past weekend. I always enjoy having her around. I made us a couple of appointments to get feather highlights- she chose a hot pink and green (so cute on her!) and I opted for a blue and blackish/white one. I am totally loving this look because I've always wanted blue highlights but have been too nervous about how it'd look and this is a perfect way to just have 1 blue strand. Which of course prompted the question from one of the guys at work "are you some kind of hippie girl or what??". Aren't guys funny? Speaking of my sister, she is an amazing zumba-er and convinced me to try a class- oh my awkward! Unlike my sister, I have two left feet (anyone seen that movie Dog Show- you can totally picture what I'm thinking, right?) and no rhythm. While my sis was able to step out of the room to take a sip of water and jump right back in without missing a beat, I had to study every move and tried to follow it exactly and looked goofy. I did work up a good sweat!

Explora is a local museum that teaches children about science through hands on experiments and once a month they host an event that we just couldn't miss out on! That's right, no kids allowed!! We had so much fun playing and learning without having to be patient and wait in line with a ton of kids. Can we discuss this photo below?
Yes, I took a creepy picture of strangers' behinds, but more importantly do you see their cartoon like tails? There were a ton of people wearing tails and ears and we just had to ask why. We were told that they are part of a club of furry fanatics and one can choose their furry character and join... Yeah, I still don't get it. There was also a group of ladies with fake mustaches and we also had to ask them. Now their answer I understood- it was a 21st birthday and the b-day girl wanted to have a fun, mustache 21st birthday bash. Cute!

Explora has an amazing craft section- there are buckets and cabinets of recycled materials, glue and kid-friendly scissors. I love this section! Jay made me a coconut bra- you can't see the straps of ribbon and the paper clip clasp he created. My sis made a cute flower in a ribbon filled flower pot. Using a graham cracker box, a stencil and a piece of material I made Jay an awesome hat... The weather here has been so much nicer! We took advantage of it by taking a walk through the aquarium and the botanical gardens. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be inside of a pumpkin??
They have such beautiful flowers there!

It was a great weekend full of trips to the gym, walking around sight-seeing and shopping and visiting. I'll try to not wait as long to update you on the upcoming weekend!

Why Today Sucked

2011-05-26T21:07:00.000-04:00

Right now, I am not loving today. Yesterday evening I felt similarly. You see, traffic seems to have ruined my life. Much like last week, the Wednesday and Thursday traffic was horrible, and yesterday I missed seeing Bridesmaids with my friends, and tonight I missed spin class. I'm really really really OVER the traffic. Yes, I knew I was getting into this when I took my job, but I never knew it could take me nearly two hours to get home on a regular basis.

One of the redeeming factors about today is that our James Taylor tickets came in the mail! We're going to see JT at Tanglewood over Fourth of July weekend. This will be our fourth time seeing him there. The first time we went we were in high school. Then we went in 2009...when we got engaged. And it rained and rained all night long.

Then we went July 4th weekend last year. And it was HOT and sunny! But we had the same handy-dandy umbrella that kept us dry the year before.

Both concerts were AMAZING and I'm really excited to again. And this year, my Dad and his wife are coming too! It should be another amazing concert, and hopefully we'll get to use the umbrella for sun again instead of rain! It's much better that way!

As frustrating as the traffic is, I'm doing my best to focus on the positive. The tickets came, tomorrow is Friday, and we have a long weekend!

Mini Update

2011-05-26T12:00:00.002-04:00

Just a mini update with some random thoughts (sans photos unfortunately):

1. I do not enjoy egg whites. I know that they are a great source of protein but they are so rubbery. I've tried adding flavorful, fresh pico de gallo but I cannot get over that texture. Is there something healthy I can add to help me eat them??

2. I should have taken a photo of me after eating another batch of those pumpkin-oatmeal pancakes. I'm sure the miserable feeling I was experiencing would have been very apparent in the photo and then serve as an excellent reminder that oatmeal does not like me.

3. My trainer is amazing. She put me through a tough, full-body, circuit work out and was nothing but encouraging and helpful.

4. I have my first post-ankle injury race this weekend- the "Will Run for Wine" 5k. It won't be my fastest race and I probably won't run every step of it but that's okay.

5. I have to drink 3 glasses of water at each meal. After my 12 pm meal I filled a 24 oz water bottle and sipped on it on my way to my work. I ended up having 3 meetings back to back with not a minute left to use the restroom. I thought I was going to pee in the car (that was not mine).

I'll blog more later, hope you're having a great Thursday!