Moving Fuel and Long Run

Rather than talk about how crap-tastic moving all weekend was, let's just talk running, ok? Great. But, before we get to that I NEED to say a HUGE thank you to my mother & father-in-laws. OMG. Seriously. Best in-laws ever. They helped with the move SO SO SO much. We couldn't have done it without them. Seriously. I'm SO lucky to have them. THANK YOU!!!

Ok, back to running. Sorta. So, I took a full blown rest day Friday. It wasn't planning. But, after 12am phone calls Thursday night, I just couldn't pull myself out of bed Friday morning. Whatever. I think my body needed it. Then, Saturday we moved. ALL. DAY. I reallllly did think about hitting the gym up before the move started for a quick session, but decided against it so I'd have maximal energy for the move. I needed it. Good decision, Meagan. So, Saturday was mooooooving. Perfect cross training. Oh, and I feel like I should note I started the day with the best fuel for a full day of physical activity/moving ever.

Ice cream for breakfast? SOLD! To be fair, it was pretty much all the food we had left in our apartment. And, it just sounded good. Don't judge.

After the long day of moving, I knew Sunday's long run was questionable. I went to bed Saturday night after laying all my running stuff out just telling myself to get out there and that it wouldn't matter how far I went. Not a great mental attitude, but hey-- I did get up when my alarm buzzed at 7:00am Sunday morning and got out the door. Didn't hurt that I had this amaziness to look forward to...

60s? In July?!?! Yes, please!

So, I Garmin-ed up and was out the door by 7:30am. It was my first run from the new house and felt GREAT to just be able to run and not have to drive somewhere to then run. Best part of the new house for sure. I'm sure the Hubs agrees too. :)

The first few miles were uneventful. My muscles were heavy and tired from all the moving action. I kept telling myself to just make it down this first out and back I was doing, which would bring me to about 7 miles. I told myself if I made it to that, I could stop.

Mile 1: 9:49
Mile 2: 9:52
Mile 3: 9:44
Mile 4: 9:47
Mile 5: 9:34
Mile 6: 9:46
Mile 7: 9:52

I tried to keep it under a 10:00 pace and did, so that felt good. It was taking a little more effort than I would have liked, but given that I spent the whole day before moving and didn't really eat a solid dinner the night before, I thought I felt pretty good.

I made it back to where I started the out and back and decided to just keep pushing til mile 10.

Mile 8: 9:37
Mile 9: 9:41
Mile 10: 9:37

Mile 10 turned into 10.5 due to bad distance estimation. I stopped at 10.5 to fill up my water bottles and since I was already past 10, I figured I mine as well just suck it up and do all 16. So, I downed some sportsbeans and set back out.

Mile 11: 9:31
Mile 12: 9:50
Mile 13: 9:50
Mile 14: 10:00
Mile 15: 9:45
Mile 16: 10:09

9:45 average pace.

Definitely not my fastest average pace for a long run, but I was intentionally trying to just keep it at 10:00s, so I'm happy. I wish that mile 14 was 9:59, just so I didn't hit 10:00 at all til my cooldown mile, but again-- whatever. For all the work I did Saturday I was really happy I was able to do all 16 and keep a decent (for me) pace. It was definitely a confidence boosting run, which makes me feel GREAT. The idea of doing 10 more miles is extremely daunting right now and just feels crazy, but I'm sure that feeling'll go away as I build more mileage.

I spent the rest of my Sunday at a bridal shower and then went to dinner with the Hubs. On the menu? Chicken tacos, but more importantly $.99 margaritas!

Much deserved and a great way to end the weekend. Cheers!

Weekly Workout Recap (7/23-7/29)- Marathon Training Week 9

"Relish the bad training runs. Without them it's difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones." -Pat Teske

Weekly Workout Recap (7/23-7/29)- Marathon Training Week 9:
(reminder: actual in red, plan in blue)
Monday (7/23): 6 miles & 4.15 mile walk {Spinning & 5 miles}
Tuesday (7/24):  6 miles (oh, and 2 hours of new house cleaning too!) {Signature Strength}
Wednesday (7/25): Spinning & 2.5 miles (and another 2 hours of new house cleaning too!) {Spinning & 5 miles}
Thursday (7/26): 7 miles  (and ANOTHER 2 hours of new house cleaning!){8 miles}
Friday (7/27): Rest {Rest}
Saturday (7/28): Rest (spent ALL DAY moving... I feel like that's quality cross training!) {16 mile LR}
Sunday (7/29): 16 mile LR {Cross Train- 60 min.}

Totals for Week 9:

37.5 Miles Run {27 Miles}
1 Spinning Classes {2 Spinning Classes}
0 Signature Strength Class {1 Signature Strength Class}
0 Minutes on Elliptical {90 min. Cross Train}
4.15 Miles Walked {None on plan}
2 Rest Days {1 Rest Day}

Week 9 of 19, DONE and DONE! 10 weeks to go!! Wooooah-- almost single digit number of weeks left! CRAZY!!

How I felt:

Body- Not too bad most of the week. Crazy sore right now due to Sunday's LR, but most of the week I was OK.  

Energy Level- FUNK, FUNK, FUNK!! What else can I say? You'd think because of the funk and me not working out as much I'd be a big ball of energy. Nope. Not even a little. F the funk. Yup, I said it.

Hunger- Actually, not bad. Could this be a direction cause of not having two-a-days everyday? Is this proof of the whole working out too much can definitely NOT help you lose weight b/c you EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT? Woah. Turns out all those articles and stuff are right. Crazy talk.

Mental- FUUUUUNK. Did I mention funk? Yeah, I was in a hard core, unshakeable funk for most of the week. I simply did not want to workout. At all. No sweat action. No two-a-days. Hell, no one-a-days. I just didn't want to workout. FUUUUUNK.

Other- Though I did less workouts this week, I feel like the move has upped the calorie burning activing considerably. We spent over 2 hours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night cleaning and moving. Then, all day Saturday finishing it up. To say I am tired of cleaning and moving would be an extreme understatment. Anyway-- might not seem like it'd be a lot of a workout, but trust me-- cleaning walls, window shades, etc. and moving crazy heavy boxes and furniture is quite the workout... especially for at least 2 straight hours, several days in a row.

Bad Night

Last night the Hubs and I went back to our new house to continue cleaning. Again. For the third night in a row. Ugh. Whatever. It's clean now. We literally scrubbed every wall, floor, blind, window... pretty much everything in that whole house. I feel a million times better about the cleanliness about the house now, even if it doesn't LOOK all that different. Whatever.

Anyway- after 2 hours of scrubbing, we get ready to leave. We go to set the alarm for the first time and, of course, somehow set the stupid thing off. We punch in the code our landlord gave us again and again and again and nothing happens. We call the alarm company and try to tell them it's false alarm by giving them the code. Turns out, it's the wrong code. Of course. So, they and we try to call our landlord. Oh-- yeaaaah-- that's right-- they're in EUROPE on VACATION. Of course they are. So, the alarm company can't turn off the stupid alarm because we don't have the right info, so they can't ensure we're not crazy burglars. OF COURSE. 

Ugh. So, the police come out and we have to show them our lease (which thank GOODNESS the Hubs happened to have) to prove we weren't random thieves. Great. They approved us or whatever so the alarm company would silence the alarm, but couldn't turn it off-off because we still didn't have the code and no one could get a hold of our Realtor, despite us calling the 24-HOUR EMERGENCY NUMBER. Tell me, what's more of an emergency? And, what exactly does 24-hour mean???
 
Well, our landlord FINALLY called us back at MIDNIGHT. They were actually really nice and apologetic. They never gave us the security WORD/PHRASE that clears things, which we now have. Turns out their entire family is in Italy for their son's wedding, the first grandchild, big deal kinda shin-dig. It's a family-run company and right now, because it's between school years and almost all their tenants are students, they don't have many tenants so they all went to Italy, which is why the 24-hour number didn't pick up. 

 

So, after far too long on the phone at midnight where they kept asking me ALL these questions I had NO answer for and that I had NO idea what they were freaking talking about, I finally got a LITTLE sleep. Oh yeah, didn't help that the power went out all over our city at 9pm from a crazy strong storm. No power + all our flashlights and candles packed away and at our new house = NO LIGHTS. Luckily, it was already 9, so I could deal because I just got into bed, but then tossed and turned because no power means no A/C and it was HOT.

THEN, this morning I went back over to our new house before work to enter in this stupid code to the panel to turn off the stupid alarm because the stupid company couldn't remote turn it off (WHYYYY NOT?!?!?! STUPID!). STUPID. Did I mention this was all STUPID? Even MORE stupid-- IT STILL DIDN'T WORK. Of course it didn't. I mean, of COURSE. Why would I have expected that it would?!?! NOTHING WITH THIS HOUSE IS WORKING (clearly I'm not a drama queen and not exaggerating at ALL).

So, I call the stupid alarm company AGAIN. They, AGAIN, can't help because apparently now they think it's a panel/system malfunction. So, I have to call their corporate office when they open. So I do. Turns out--- THE PANEL WAS NEVER PROGRAMED WITH A CODE. So the code the landlord gave us? Great. It was never programmed into the panel, which is why it didn't work to turn the stupid thing off. Freaking fabulous. Just the icing on the cake.

So, now, FINALLY, the alarm is deactivated and off and we can finish moving without hourly visits from the cops. Cherry on the icing on the cake? The Hubs thinks we're going to be billed for the cops visit. HELL NO. I will freaking pitch a fit. No way am I paying for that. Not a freaking chance. I'll LOSE it. So, that's TBD, I suppose. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Ok, ok. I know I'm being melodramatic. As the Hubs says, nothing ever goes completely smoothly, especially when moving. I'm a perfectionist and that is HARD for me. I know it'll all work out. I know I'm being the world's biggest baby and drama queen. OK. Life's really not that bad. If this was the worst thing that ever happened to me, I'd be in pretty good shape. Hell, if this was the worst thing that happened to me this month, I'll call that a win. I'm ready to stop bitching, finish the move, and move on.

Two Thing Thursday, 7/26

Two Thing Thursday...

Two Foods I Can't Get Enough Of:
1. Apples and Peanut Butter. I know that's technically 2 things right there, but because I'm obsessed with eating them together, I feel like they count as 1.
2. Almonds. Maybe it's since hearing they're even healthier than people thought, I can't get enough of them.

(source)

Two Songs I'm Obsessed With:
1. Fall Apart Today by Schuyler Fisk
2. Part of Me by Katy Perry


Two Shows I'm Watching:
1. Pretty Little Liars

 

(source)

2. Big Brother


Two Things I Hope I Never See Again:
1. Cleaning supplies. OMG! I never knew you could spend SO much time cleaning such a small space. I am beyond over cleaning. If I never see another sponge, it's too soon.
2. The Check Engine light in my car. This didn't come on this week (knock on wood), but it's never a good thing when it does.


Two Funny E-Cards That Kinda Sum Up My Week:

Two of My Favorite Candy Bars:
1. Twix
2. 100 Grand


Two Things I'm Looking Forward To This Weekend:
1. BEING DONE MOVING.
2. Fro yo. Much deserved weekend fro yo. Massive, obscene amounts of fro yo.

WIAW - Boring Edition

While I'd love to say that this What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) is going to be mind-blowing-ly different and exciting, it's not. Not even a little bit. In fact, this might be one of the most boring WIAW's ever. Ever. Here goes nothing. Don't say you weren't warned.

Breakfast: Peach Chobani enjoyed in the car (don't worry-- I was at a red light when I snapped this pic-- I promise!) on the way to a off-campus meeting. Told you, SO exciting. For the record, this flavor is one of my FAVORITES. Delicious. Real peaches? Gross. Chobani Peach? Amazingly yummy. You heard it here first.

Little did I know, there would be DOUGHNUTS at the meeting I was attending. Oh so many delicious looking, doughy, yummy doughnuts. Ready to be impressed? I didn't have a SINGLE one. Yup. Mark your calendar because I'm pretty sure that's the MOST self restraint I've ever had and it will likely never, ever happen again. Ever. Like, ever.

While I didn't touch the doughnuts, I definitely did enjoy a nice, hot cup of coffee. 1 pack of Sweet and Low, 1/2 a small little single cup of vanilla creamer. Delicious.

Lunch: Old pic, same lunch. Exact same lunch (pretzel thins, special K chips, hummus, carrotts, low-fat cheese stick, diet pepsi), acutally. Told you-- SO exciting. Oh! Actually, there WAS a differnce. I packed a banana too, but I didn't eat it here (see snack #1).

Snack #1: To be fair, I didn't eat the above  mentioned, unpictured (does that even make sense??) banana at lunch, I ate it an hour and a half later as a snack. There. I AM SO EXCITING AND DIFFERENT! (editors note: I just looked back to last week and this is EXACTLY what I did last week. WOAH. Mind blown. I really am boring.)

 

 

Dinner: Pasta. Nothing really exciting. I sauteed a garlic clove in 1/2 tbsp of EVOO while the pasta cooked, the mixed it together with a little of the water the pasta cooked in. I added a sprinkle of goat cheese and mixed it together til it was melted. I'm obsessed with goat cheese-- just a little pinch adds soooo much flavor. Some salt and pepper, and the meal was done. 15 minutes, done and done. We're between our apartment and our new rental house right now so the pickings are limited because I'm an idiot and have moved too much stuff to the new place, but not enough either. It's a hard life. Anyway- dinner was easy and tasty!

Dessert #1: Yup, you read right. #1. Get over it.

The Hubs and I split one of these 90-calorie FibeOne Chocolate Chip Cookie bars right after dinner. These were an impulse buy at the grocery store last week. I've tried the brownies and they're disappointing, but these looked good. They're OK. Not as bad as the brownies, but not as good as an actual cookie either. I'd get them again if they were on sale.

Dessert #2: Several hours of cleaning the new rental house later, my sweet tooth was screaming for something. Enter my favorite ice cream treat (after fro yo-- duh): Dark Chocolate Raspberry ice cream pops. So, so, soooo good.

Snack #2: About 10 seconds after inhaling that ice cream bar, I decided I still wasn't quite satisfied. Plus, I knew I needed a few more calories for the day, since it was a lighter day than normal and than I like with the amount of physical activity I get right now.

Small bowl of raw almond (about 1/4-1/3 cup) and chocolate chips (about 1-2 tbsp). I'm obsessed with this snack. It's SO satisfying and keeps me full. Try it. You'll thank me.

Workouts:

Tuesday- 6 sloooow (9:55 averages) miles on indoor track at lunch. And, yes-- for the record, the funk was still here. Alive and well.

Wednesday- Spinning and 2.5 SPEEDY (19:47!!!! My fastest ever!!) miles on the treadmill. Boring. Over it. Slump/funk/whatever you want to call it-- STILL F-ING HERE. Even with the speedy miles, I'm still knee deep in funk. I kinda decided to give it a week. Let myself wallow in funk for ONE WEEK. Then, get over it and snap outta it. We'll see how that startegy goes.

Let's funk this up! (aka- best email advice ever)

This afternoon I get an email from one of my very best friends with the subject like "Let's funk this up!" I knew immediately that this would help pull me out of my funk and put a huge smile on my face. So, I decided to share in with you (with a few small changes, to avoid inside joke confusion and such) in case anyone else is combating a funk. So, below is her amazing email. If you'd like to be friends with her too because she's just THAT awesome, let me know. I'll hook you up. Actually, I won't. I'm way possessive of my friends and she's all mine. Hear that, MH?? You are mine. And I mean that in the least creepy way possible. :)
_____________________________________________________________


EMAIL: All is written by my friend MH to me, so the thoughts are hers. I take no responsibility.

To: Me (duh)
From: MH
Subject: Let's funk this up!
Date: Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 9:21 AM

So, as you already know I'm obsessed with you so I just got done reading your blog and saw that you are in a funk, so I did some googling and this is what I found, also you I've added some of my personal thoughts (you can find those in the italics) ......

Go for a walk - I'm not talking about a marathon here. If you can only manage a walk around the block you'll be better for it.  (I personally like this one. It's simple easy to do and doesn't take a lot of time, plus you can do some of the other things below while walking!)

Do a Random Act of Kindness - Stop feeling sorry for yourself and make someone else's day special. Afterwards, you will both feel better. (This is great! I suggest putting change in a soda machine, so that someone thinks they got a free soda when they buy one. I often do this, people love thinking that the cheated "the man" aka the soda machine, plus everyone loves new things.)

Clear out clutter - One of the quickest ways to generate new and fresh energy moving into my space is to clear away stagnant energies by throwing out useless materials. Tossing out trash may seem like work, but it is totally energizing once you get the hang of it. (I really don't agree with this, I hate cleaning, but what do I know? Maybe it will help, or maybe you'll find something you forgot you had, I do that often. That's always fun.)

Try a new recipe - We all get in ruts eating and preparing the same foods again and again. Maybe you won't like it... so what! Where's your adventuresome spirit? The whole idea is to get you out of a funk, right? (Matt will love this one too, if he's like me and likes to eat. I recently made a jello cake, it might change your life.)

Volunteer at a food pantry - Put yourself in a position of service to those who are less fortunate than you are. Your own worries will seem less troubling when you see firsthand the plight of others. (This sounds great though the description they provided makes it seem like you're just helping to make yourself feel better than them cause their life sucks.)

Hug a Tree - Spending time with nature is my favorite way to feel better. Put on your hiking boots and get lost for a couple hours near a babbling brook. If you can't get out of town, at least go for a barefoot run through the grasses in your yard. (Ok this one is weird, just straight up weird. But, I've never done it so who knows, it might be amazing.)

Change your bed sheets - Better yet, go out and purchase a new set of colorful bed linens to brighten up your bedroom. When is the last time you changed your linens anyway? If you let your routine weekly sheet change slip by then you're certainly in FUNK territory. Crisp, clean, and colorful bed linens to curl up inside at bedtime will offer comfort when you most need it. (Since being with the boy, I have realized that this is an obsession of mine, I change my sheets 3 times a week and make my bed before I sleep in it. It's super weird, but great at the same time.)

Spend quality time with a child - Take your niece/nephew or a neighbor's child out on a special outing to a zoo or playtime at a nearby park. Even a quick trip to get corn dogs and a root beer float will be appreciated. Children love it when adults give them special attention. Plus, you'll get the satisfaction of not only bringing about a joyful smile on a child's face, you'll be smiling too! (Kids are great! I'm not saying you should go kidnap one, but I'm sure there is one you can get access to, or maybe just go to a park or a chucky cheese?? Second thought, that might be creepy too.)

Pamper yourself - Do whatever it is that brings you the most joy. It might be indulging in a bubble bath, reading a saucy romance novel, or breaking out of your routine to go inline skating. Don't tell yourself that you don't deserve it. BECAUSE YOU DO. (This is a must!! No questions asked. DO IT!!!)

I hope this helps I miss you terribly!!! Love you!!!!!!!


_____________________________________________________________

Hope this helps any of you that might also be in a funk. I know it's gonna help me! Now, if you'll excuse me-- I'm off to hug a tree. :)

Funk

I'm in a funk. There, I said it. And, I realize it's crazy talk-- but, let me explain.

I mean-- first it is extremely important to realize I'm crazy. Otherwise none of this'll make sense. So, that's clear now, right? Good. Great.

This weekend, the Hubs and I (with the help of my in-laws van and my BIL-- thank you!!) started our big move Saturday morning. We're renting a house in a college-student-filled part of town. Not a great part of town, but hey-- it's a HOUSE. Not a big house, but a house. No sharing walls with other people. No quarters for laundry (b/c-- this house has a washer and dryer! YAY!!). No vomit on our doorstep (hopefully). The Hubs and I saw this place twice before we signed the lease and yet still, when we walked in on Saturday-- we were both taken aback. It simply wasn't what we remembered. It was much smaller than we remembered and much more... hmm... how can I say this.... crappy. Beat up walls, non-touched up paint, scuffed floors, etc. I had a slight breakdown and freaked out. Then (ok, after several more minutes of freak out, tears included), I sucked it up and we started moving stuff in and now I think it's going to look just fine. Want a sneak peak? Here's the new kitchen:

So, I'm done panicking for now. The Hubs and I area spending a good chunk of the evenings this week over at the new place cleaning and fixing a few odds and ends. I guess when you live in a major college town and decide to rent from a college-land-lord you have to kinda expect to live like a college student. I'm not entirely OK with that, so we're going to try to fix some stuff to move to at least the grad-student level. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Backing up a smidge from the weekend, Friday night we drove 2+ hours to Grand Rapids, MI to visit some very good friends, 2 of which just had a baby! Ok, well-- the woman HAD the baby. But, her and her Hubs are now new parents! Their baby is the CUTEST thing ever. Adorable! Teeny tiny hands and feet and the smallest, most perfect little nose! She's adorable. It was love at first sight. I'm obsessed.

We didn't get home Friday til after midnight. Luckily the Hubs drove so I napped for about half the drive. I crashed right when we got home and was up Saturday morning by 6am to get my long run in. Now, most people might say doing a long run the morning before moving all day is a lil' crazy. Most people would be right. Hindsight is always a bitch.

I did 11 GLORIOUS miles. I had 10 on the schedule. It was a cutback week. From my first steps I knew it was going to be an amazing run. Maybe it was just knowing I only (told you I'm crazy) had to do 10. Maybe it was the cooler temps. Maybe it was the fact that Friday was a total and complete rest day. I have no idea. Whatever it was, I'll take it. I loved every step of this run. If I had more time, I would have done next weeks LR today and taken next week as the step back week. You just never know when you're going to have one of these runs again. I soaked up every second I could. 11 wonderful miles in 9:40s, with a ginormous smile plastered to my face the whole time.

The rest of Saturday was spend moving, moving, and moving. I was exhausted, beat, warn down, and OVER the day by dinner time. I would have loved to just taken a hot bath and hit the hay... buuuut, no! I promised the Hubs we'd see BATMAN! One of his friends came into town, so the Hubs, his friend, my BIL, and I were off for dinner, fro yo and Batman.

I'll admit it... fro yo was definitely the best part of the night. 100x better than Batman. Don't tell the Hubs I said that.

Now, you might not know this-- but, my Hubs is a pretty big nerd. Like, huge, huge nerd. He made us get to the theatre an HOUR early so we could get good seats. And, we even already had our tickets! Whatever. It's why I love him. And, we weren't even the first people in line, so I guess I can't judge too much. I did almost fall asleep while waiting in line, but whatever. So, we Batman-ed. It was a great movie, but I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the 3-ish hour event. We got home around 11:30 and I was out like a light by midnight.

Sunday morning I got up and reluctantly went to the gym. I was beat. I didn't want to go. I did 60 lame minutes on the elliptical and called it, even though my plan said 90 minutes. Enter, funk. I just did NOT want to workout that day. Sunday we ran some errands, did lots of work on the new house, then went back to our apartment for dinner and a redbox.

 (source)

Movie and dinner were both great. Homemade chicken stir-fry with brown rice and Friends with Kids. Definitely worth the $1.28 to see it. Thanks for the recommendation, Kara!

I forgot Monday I had a doctor's appointment, so no spinning for me. Which worked great for me because I just did NOT WANT TO WORKOUT. I did go to the gym and did 6 miles on the TM in 9:40s, but-- MAN! I did not want to go! Again-- FUNK. Who thinks they're in a funk when they still get 6 miles in?? THIS KID. I'm a freak. 6 miles is just not a lot these days, so I felt like I didn't even workout yesterday. CRAZY BRAIN.

This morning, my alarm went off at 5am and I turned that shit off in 2.2 seconds. No way was I getting outta bed. Again FUNK, party of 1. Right here. UGH! I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm going to go this afternoon and hope to get 6 miles in, but uuuugh. I don't want to!!!!!! I hope this funk passes soon! I really can't afford to slack on training. I know that. My head knows that. But, ugh! The idea of working out right now just sounds terrible. WHO AM I!?!?! I love to sweat. What's going on?? Maybe all the moving stress? Maybe just a regular run of the mill funk that'll pass soon? Ugh. Whatever it is... I hope it's on its way out and I'll be back to my normal two-a-day, sweat-tasitc self ASAP. A girl can dream, right?!? :)

Weekly Workout Recap (7/16-7/22)- Marathon Training Week 8

"Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles, however if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up, things will turn out for the best."

-Meb Keflezighi, U.S. Oympic marathoner

Weekly Workout Recap (7/16-7/22)- Marathon Training Week 8:

(reminder: actual in red, plan in blue)
Monday (7/16): Spinning & 2 miles & 4 miles & 4.15 mile walk {Spinning & 5miles}
Tuesday (7/17):  Signature Strength & 2.5 miles & 5 miles {Signature Strength}
Wednesday (7/18):  Spinning & 2.5 miles & 5 miles {Spinning & 5 miles}
Thursday (7/19): 6 miles & 10 min. elliptical {7 miles}
Friday (7/20): Rest {Rest}
Saturday (7/21): 11 mile LR {10 mile LR}
Sunday (7/22): 60 min. elliptical {Cross Train- 90 min.}

Totals for Week 8:

38 Miles Run {27 Miles}
2 Spinning Classes {2 Spinning Classes}
1 Signature Strength Class {1 Signature Strength Class}
70 Minutes on Elliptical {90 min. Cross Train}
4.15 Miles Walked {None on plan}
1 Rest Days {1 Rest Day}

Week 8 of 19, DONE and DONE! 11 weeks to go!

How I felt...

Body- I was OK til about Wednesday. Then, Thursday was ROUGH. Friday morning I woke up and felt like I got hit by a truck. I was beyond exhausted. My body just felt WORN DOWN and sore every where. Thank goodness Friday was a rest day. Saturday I felt 100x better. Proof rest days are NECESSARY.  

Energy Level- Pretty much same as body. I was fine til Thursday evening, when I crashed HARD. I was just exhausted. I can't even remember the last time I felt that exhausted and just drained. By Saturday, I felt back to myself. Sadly, I moved all weekend so I started this week off tired already, so something tells me it's going to be a long week.

Hunger- Pretty normal. Saturday it was OUT OF CONTROL though. I did an 11 miler in the morning and then we moved all afternoon. I didn't snack at all, but MAN! I was starving all day. Had I not been busy and distracted all day, I would have eaten evvvverything I could get my hands on.

Mental- Saturday's long run was great. I felt recharged and the temps were great and I felt fast and just amazing. It was a huge mental boost.

Wait... it's NOT Friday?!?!?

This morning was like any other morning.

5AM alarm clock beeps. I grumbled for a bit, but pulled myself out of bed. Peed (TMI??), brushed my teeth, grabbed my crap and headed out the door. I literally have the alarm go off at 5am, get out of bed at about 5:02am, and am about the door at about 5:12-5:13am like clockwork every morning. I'm a create of routine.

Anyway-- I arrived to the gym at 5:25am (like every other morning) and wondered to myself why there were so many cars in the parking lot. Normal Friday mornings at the gym are pretty quiet, since there are no 5:30am group fitness classes like Monday-Thursday. I go inside and head to the locker room. I see the normal Signature Strength crew in the group fitness room. Say WHAAAA? It's FRIDAY. Why are they all in there? Is there a special class going on today that I wasn't invited to? Are there classes on Friday's now? Since when? How did I not know? What the f is going on???

Yeaaaaaaah. 

Turns out-- NOT Friday. Nice, Meagan. Very nice.

I legit thought all of the above and spent the first solid 10 minutes on my workout confused before I realized no, no-- it's not Friday. It's THURSDAY.

(source)

My next thoughts? Somewhere along the lines of: F!!!!!!!!!!! (except many more explicit R-rated words)

Big, fat F.

So, in case any of you think today's Friday. I hate to burst your bubble and be the bearer of bad news... but, it is in fact only Thursday.

Damn the man. (bonus points if you can name that movie)

WIAW - Round 13 (& How to Score Good-Wife Points)

You know what day it is!! WEDNESDAY!!!! As always, here's a dose of WIAW. Also as a reminder, thanks to the brains behind this concept. Below is what I ate/drank Tuesday. Not the most exciting day for my tummy. Sorry in advance! :)

Breakfast: 9:30am

Peach Chobani. Delicious! And, an unpictured big cup of coffee. Fun Fact #1: I don't like peaches (the fruit), but I LOVE this flavor of yogurt. YUM!

 

 

Snack: 11:30am

Fun size Skittles. Best decision I had made all day up to this point. Little bite size pieces of pure bliss right there. Fun Fact #2: I don't like the orange ones, so I HAVE to eat those with another color, but it can't be with red. I'm WEIRD.


Lunch: 1:30pm

Pretzel Crisps, Diet Pepsi, carrots, string cheese, and hummus. I actually didn't eat the banana right then. I was SURPRISING (trust me, no one is more surprised than me!) full so I decided to save the banana for an afternoon snack. Fun fact #3: I used to not like cheese. I'm still weird about it and only like certain kinds and in small-ish quantities. This specific string cheese, fresh mozz, and colby. I seem to like cheese more and more as I get older. Give me a year and I'll probably be a fanatic.



Snack: 4pm

Banana from lunch and a bottle of water. Look at me NOT drinking a mid-afternoon diet soda. I feel like I get a bonus point for that, right?!?! Fun Fact #4: I think people who say they "don't like the taste of water" are full of BS. Yup. I'm saying it. FULL OF BULL.  Weirdos. It's WATER. What's not to like about the taste? Seriously.

Dinner: 6pm 

The Hubs and I went to Bar Louie for $2 burger/fries, but they had a crazy long wait and no tables open in the bar, so we went next door to Granite City. I got the grilled chicken sandwhich. I didn't have the bun, but did have about a pound of BBQ sauce on the side. And, I only had about 1/2 the fries. Meh. It was nothing to write home about. Oh, but that pickle was the BOMB. So good. Random Fact #5: I almost never eat the bun on a sandwich like this at a resturant. I think it's just added empty calories. It doesn't ADD anything taste wise for me, so what's the point? If I'm with other people (not counting the Hubs), sometimes I'll eat it just so I don't look like a weirdo. I feel like that makes me an even bigger weirdo.  

Snack: 7:30pm

The Hubs and I went to see a movie, so movie snacks were a requirement. Honey Nut Sweet and Salty Chex Mix and a diet 7-Up. I legit had a TON... likely 3 servings. I couldn't stop eating. Maybe it was just being in a movie theater that makes me wanna munch, maybe it was just that I was still starving. Whatever. It was good and better than movie theatre popcorn would have been-- both on my wallet and on my waist! Random Fact #6: The Hubs and I went to Wal-Mart between dinner and the movie to get a few more moving boxes, packing tape, and these snacks. It took FOREVER to find a diet caffeine free soda at the checkouts. That's not really all that random, but it is a fact. Also a fact? Wal-Mart is one of the most depressing places. Ever.

So, that concludes WIAW. Fun times.

Now, I know you're just DYING to know what movie we saw! Well, it was the Hubs choice. He's been waiting and waiting for this movie to get to the cheap theatre (because we're too cheap to see sub-excellent movies at the regular theatre).

Snow White and the Huntsman (aka the Snow White movie w/o Julia Roberts). It was OK. Entertaining, but not great.

You KNOW I'm trying to score good-wife points when I agreed to see a movie ON A WEEK NIGHT (gasp!) when it didn't get out til (you might want to sit for this) 1 minute AFTER MY BEDTIME!

Hey, they say marriage is all about compermise and sacerfice, right?? :) 

Don't worry too much. Movie got out at 9:01pm. We were home by 9:10pm. Flights were bought for our cruise in October (woowoo!), the Hubs volunteered to make lunches, and I was in bed by 9:30pm. Fabulous mid-week date night. And, I didn't even get to bed that late. Even if I would have, date night trumps early-bedtime-for-a-workout any day. And, I did still get my workout in this morning! 60 minute spinning class and 2.5 miles on the TM in 20:02 (my fastest ever!). I'm gonna go ahead and say today's gonna be a great day! Happy Wednesady!!