Friday, May 31, 2013

15...err... 12 Thing Friday

1. I'm supposed to run a half marathon tomorrow and feel so incredibly ill-prepared. I may drop down to the 10K. I haven't decided. The "plan" (if you can call it that) is to simply wake up tomorrow and see how I feel. This is SO un-Meagan like I can't even describe.


2. Look I'm obsessed with:
 
I don't know why I love this so much, as I'm usually not a big long skirt kinda person, but it just looks so summery to me. Love the pattern and the color and the sandals and all of it. Love.
 
 
3. Still obsessed with Parenthood.
Seriously though... this show is just GOOD TV. Even the Hubs likes it... and we RARELY agree on TV. If you haven't watched this show, Netflix it. Now. You'll thank me.

 

4. The Hubs and I are making this pizza this Sunday.

I use the term PIZZA loosely, as the Hubs does not count anything other than traditional pizza (oh, and apparently it also MUST have at least 2 meats he just informed me) as PIZZA. Everything else, to him, is "pizza". Crazy man. Anyway-- this looks delicious. I'm pumped.


5. Speaking of food, while we were talking about the above pizza, we started talking about what to have with it. I said a salad, like one of the traditional Italian place salads w/ an Italian dressing and cheese. Anyway-- we got into an argument because I said Italian places use iceberg lettuce and he said romaine. Now, we'll use whatever lettuce we want and obviously romaine is healthier... but, I'm just saying... I'm right... right?!?!


6. This article is SO right.
Seriously. I have seen guys wear this shirt. Someone spent MONEY to buy this shirt. WHHHHHY?!?! Why is this funny? Has anyone ever in life, EVER fallen for this? No. Burn that shirt. Immediately.


7. I took Sadie to get her nails trimmed at PetsMart this week. Turns out, it is NOT easy pushing a cart, trying to put a GINORMOUS bag of dog food (because I had to pick up more since I was there) into said cart, AND not run over Sadie while she pulls her leash like a crazy dog. Oh, and all of that-- IN HEELS. While I have no pics of her nails (b/c that would just be weird) or of me trying not to break a leg or one of her legs in the store, I will put a pic of Sadie. Because she's just too cute not to.


8. Song obsession of the moment:
Forever ago, when my BFF and I went to see Jason Mraz, Christina Perri opened for him. I never really paid that much attention to her, though I did like her "Jar of Hearts" song. Well, after seeing her perform I was HOOKED. I could listen to her CD all day. I'm anxiously awaiting her second CD.


9. The Hubs birthday is next week. I have to make part of my gift today. Yes, MAKE. Yes, it requires the use of markers and construction paper. And, yes-- it's going to be AWESOME.


10. Seriously-- what did I do before I discovered BuzzFeed??? THIS. Who needs to know this?!?! But, yes-- I read (and loved) it.


11. So, this happened this morning...
WTF, spinning teacher? You teach EVERY Friday. This isn't new. How you just gonna NOT show up?? Not cool. So, I did 3.5 miles on the TM and 30 minutes on the elliptical. It was CRAZY hot and gross the cardio area too. I sweat BUCKETS. Bleah. Now, I'm crabby. Aren't workouts supposed to put you in a BETTER mood? Not today, friends. Not today.


12. Speaking of not today, I got nothing else. It'll have to be 12 Thing Friday.

I'm out.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

But, baby it's HOT outside

My brain and I had another rousing game of "Do I REALLY wanna get up and go to the gym at 5am today??" this morning.

Unlike last week, sleep won.

And, ok-- let's be honest... this internal debate happens almost every morning. Some days it's just much longer and a genuine debate for several minutes. Today was one of those days.

(source)
Ok, it's not actually cold at ALL... in fact, it's grossly hot and humid, but this shit cracked me up.

 
So, anyway-- sleep trumped the gym.

Every time sleep wins, when I finally do get outta bed, a mere hour and a half later, I'm mad. I never sleep that great for that short time and I always just KNOW I should have just gotten up. Yet, still. Sleep wins sometimes. What can ya do?

In other news, I'm supposed to run a half marathon in 2 days. WHOOPS. That sucker came outta no where. I ran one 3 weeks ago, so I guess it hasn't been TOO long... but, since that race I haven't run over 8 miles at a time. Again-- WHOOPS. So, now I'm torn. Can I even push 13.1 miles out? Ok, yes. I think I can. Especially with NO time expectations and just running to run, which I PROMISE (for real this time) would be the case. Should I drop down to the 10K? I just don't know!!! Oh, the drama.

So, I think I'm going to wait a bit and see how the weather is that day. Damn, that sounds SO whiney and like I'm such a wuss. Whatever. I'm OK with it.

Right now, I'd do just about anything for Mother Nature to swap Saturday (race day) and Sunday's forecast. I'm working on. She and I aren't exactly tight though, so I have low hopes.



77* and ran isn't great. It isn't TERRIBLE (I guess), but it isn't great. I'll continue to stalk it until tomorrow night and then decide, I suppose.

So, stay tuned. We'll see what happens. Right now, my money is on the 10K, but the Hubs says his is on me doing the half. He tends to be right on these sorts of things. Every time I say I'm going out for a run "anywhere between 10-13 miles" he always banks on 13-14 miles and tends to be right about 99% of the time. Jerk. :) So, we'll see. Time (and weather b/c I'm a BIG baby in the heat and the idea of running for 2+ hours in the rain sounds AWFUL right now) will tell.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

WIAW: With NO eggs!

This is kinda an odd week in the world of food. Ok... maybe not odd for MOST people, but odd for me. See- we ran out of eggs. DANGER. Extreme danger. I eat eggs just about everyday, so I've had to get creative.

Breakfast: 9:15am
Ok, so this wasn't all that abnormal. In fact, this happens to be my breakfast just about every.single.day. A BIG handful of cereal was added to this yogurt about 2 seconds after the pic. YUUUUM.
 
 
Lunch: 1:00pm
Ok, here's where things get wack-a-doo. I've had a home-made egg-white salad sandwich everyday for lunch for like 2 weeks straight almost. No eggs = back up plan needed. I helped bring food to a baby shower this weekend and there was SO MANY leftovers, so we kinda split things up. I took a HUGE pan of pulled pork home and a BUNCH of fruit. So, lunch was a banana, watermelon, and some of the pork which I put over some brown rice. Random and a little weird? Yup. Delicious? ABSOLUTELY. So good.


Dinner: 6:30pm
Dinner lately has been a quick version of homemade veggie fried rice w/ 2 egg whites... well, clearly that wasn't happening with no eggs (or egg whites for that matter) in the house. Danger, again. The Hubs and I made a chicken spaghetti dish Monday night. I lost the recipe... but, basically it was mix some cooked chicken, a can of FF cream of mushroom soup, can of FF cream of chicken soup, some low-fat sour cream and a can of rotel together. Combine with cooked spaghetti noodles in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Take foil off, sprinkle with any cheese you have in your fridge and then bake 5 more minutes. Serve and EAT. Done and done. It was SOOOOO good. The rotel gives it a good kick though, so be warned.


Dessert: 7:45pm
SkinnyCow Mint Ice Cream Sandwich. So, so, so good. Even better? Eating it while watching another Parenthood episode on Netflix Instant. I'm almost through everything on Instant.... danger.


Snack: 8:30pm
Small, unpictured bowl of air-popped popcorn. Love this snack.


Thus ends my edition of WIAW.... eggless style. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Weekly Workout Recap (5/20-5/26)



Weekly Workout Recap (5/20-5/26):
Monday, 5.20: 50 minute elliptical & 5 mile run

Tuesday, 5.21: 5 mile run & 3 mile walk & 8-minute arms
Wednesday, 5.22: 8-minute arms & 50 minute run/walk intervals

Thursday, 5.23: Signature Strength class & 20 minutes ellitical
Friday, 5.24: Spinning class & 60 minutes elliptical

Saturday, 5.25: 5K Race with my FIL & 2 miles
Sunday, 5.26: 6 mile walk / Rest Day

Totals for Week (5/20-5/26):
15 Miles Run 

1 Spinning Class
1 Signature Strength Class
110 Minutes on the Elliptical
50 minutes run/walk intervals
9 Miles Walked
1 Rest Day



Pretty standard week. Milage back up to double digits, which shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is lately. The 5K race was fun! I ran the whole time with my FIL... can't beat that! Other than that, it was a quiet, low-key week. Nothing exciting. But, hey-- no news is good news!

Friday, May 24, 2013

15 Thing Friday

1. Guess who got up AGAIN at 5am and made it to the gym?? THIS KID DID!!! Seriously-- there was a time, not too long ago, when this was the NORM and not something that needed to be celebrated. Whoops.


2. Song of the moment:


3. There's a high school directly across the street from the college I work at and they just started marching band practice. All day. Drums. BANGING. All. Freaking. Day.


4. My Father-in-Law and I are running this 5K race this weekend together! I'm pretty pumped! I'm just doing it for fun... not really "racing" it or anything. it's supposed to be a great course with views of Lake Michigan and some BRUTAL hills. Can't wait!!!!
My FIL at our last race!
 
5. Speaking of the weekend-- the weather is supposed to be AMAZING this weekend!
Some people are bitching that it's too cold for late May. NOT ME. I LOVE it. That's my favorite kind of weather. Love, love, love.


6. I just started watching Parenthood on Netflix Instant and I'm OBSESSED. Seriously. This show is good. You should check it out.
Not only is the show just plain great... but, it has Loralei from Gilmore Girls. SOLD.


7. Speaking of Netflix Instant-- seriously... what did people do before it?!?!?


8. The Hubs and I have been all about the long walks with Sadie lately.
The weather's been pretty good... though it's already hot and that makes me reallllllly worried about the rest of the summer when the LOWS are 80s. Wah wah. It's such a tough life, I know.


9. I legit did not realize until 10:30am on Thursday that it was THURSDAY and not FRIDAY. Talk about a bummer. Seriously.


10. I started my day off in the best possible way. Ok, well waking up at 5am wasn't the best way. But, after the gym-- this happened.
Ginormous skinny vanilla latte. LOOOOOOVE. Even better? It was FREE because I won a gift card a long time ago.


11. Just a reminder:
Thanks, Dove. Both for the chocolate and the inspiration.


12. My nephew graduated kindergarten.
He's SO big. I can't handle it. I can remember when he was just a few days old and so tiny. CRAZY how fast he's grown up. He's too cute for words.  


13. This article actually doesn't have almost ANYTHING that I would say HAS to go together.... but, #5 is SOLID.


14. Last night I was flipping through the TV channels and saw a kid eating fruit loops on something in passing and now ALL I can think about is FRUIT LOOPS. Omg. I was BEYOND tempted to get up and drive to the store just to buy a box and some milk. I resisted. However, this happened instead:
Seemed like a good idea at the time.


15. IT'S A LONG WEEKEND!!! WOOOOOWOOOO!!!! 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Internal Conversation

Here's how my internal conversation went this morning when my alarm went off at 5am.


"Ok, Meagan. You got this! Get up!"

"Meh... ok, but give me like 1 more minute just to lay here."

"Deal."

"Ok, maybe I don't got this. Do I HAVE to go to the gym?"

"Well, you COULD go to the 6pm Spinning instead."

"Oh! I could! Yeah. That sounds good."

"But, will you really go? Plus, then you won't be home til 7:30pm and you hate that."

"Yeah... maybe I just should just skip the gym today."

"But yesterday you skipped!"

"Yeaaaaah... I so don't care."

"Ok. Deal. No gym."

{5 minutes pass with me just laying there telling myself it was OK and I could go back to sleep, but really just continuing to argue with myself.}

"Ok... FINE. I'll get up and go. You suck."

"Agreed."

Funny Confession Ecard: My mother always said only crazy people talk to themselves. C'mon dolly...speak up, I can't hear you.



And, so I went. I 100% did NOT want to go. No part of me wanted to do strength. No part of me wanted to get up. No part of me wanted to sweat.

But, I did.

5:30am Strength Class and 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Feels good to be done. I'll even admit... I'm SEMI-glad I went.

Remind me about this tomorrow when my alarm goes off again at 5am.

 


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Weekly Workout Recap (5/13-5/19)




Weekly Workout Recap (5/13-5/19):
Monday, 5.13.13: 6 miles & 15 minutes elliptical & 40 minute run/walk intervals
Tuesday, 5.14.13: Signature Strength & 15 minutes elliptical
Wednesday, 5.15.13: 6 mile walk with Sadie

Thursday, 5.16.13: Spinning
Friday, 5.17.13: Spinning & 2 miles
Saturday, 5.18.13: None {out of town for a wedding}
Sunday, 5.19.13: 4 mile walk with Sadie and Hubs {out of town for a wedding}




This was a WEIRD week. I was out of the office sick on Wednesday, so definitely didn't feel up to a workout, but did manage to get two 3-mile walks with Sadie in, totaling to 6 miles on my feet that day, which while it's not RUNNING, it's still covering the distance. I'll take it. I really only ran twice last week... making a grand total of EIGHT miles for the week. LAME, I know. It's just that weird in-between weather here right now... too hot to run outside, but they haven't turned the AC on in the gym, so it's even hotter inside. And, I'm a BABY in the heat. PLUS, I was out of town all weekend for one of my BFF's weddings, which took WAY priority over any sort of workout. So, it is what it is. Not my best week. Not my worst week, either. Still got 2 spinning classes, a signature strength class, a solid run, and 2 long walks in. I'll take it.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

5am, 10K, Wicked and Mother's Day

Guess who got up at 5am and made it to the gym both today and yesterday?!?!? THIS KID!!! Yup, that's right! 2 morning workouts in a row! Am I getting my groove back?? Maybe. We'll see. Too early to tell.

Anyway- Monday was 6 miles on the treadmill (while watching the season finale of Revenge... Nolan!! Whaaat?!?!? Noooo!! Love it!!!) and 15 minutes on the elliptical. Today was Signature Strength and then 15 minutes on the elliptical. Yep, not only am I back on the 5am train, but I even went to Signature Strength class today. WOAH. I'm on a roll.

So, we'll see how long this "roll" lasts. This week my work-gym is closed (we're officially in summer at the college I work for so every year the gym closes for 1 week in the summer to do maintenance and such), so I kinda have that "if you don't get up you won't get a workout in" mentality, which always helps me peel my ass outta bed.

BUT-- I did manage to get a workout in Monday during my lunch hour too! The girl from work that I'm helping with the Couch25K program and I went outside and did our intervals around campus! We covered 2.3ish miles in 35 minutes. She's rocking it! I'm so proud of her!!

Anyway-- so, yeah. Workouts have actually been happening. Solid workouts, even. Feels great! Hopefully I keep this up! We'll see... :)

In other news, this weekend was a whirlwind. Friday night the Hubs and I drove up to Grand Rapids, Michigan (about 2.25 hours away). We stayed with some friends, ate some pizza, and crashed early to prep for the Fifth Third River Bank RunSo, Saturday we were up WAAAAY too early to race! I was signed up for the 25K, but as everyone else in our group ended up doing the 10K, I decided to drop down and just run for fun.
My friend, K, and I celebrating our 10K! It was her very first 10K and she CRUSHED her goal and kicked some serious butt. SO proud of you, K!!!!


I ran easy and finished in 55:41 for about 8:58 min/miles. I was 1322 out of 4190.
 
 
The race was a lot of fun, though chilly! Darn mother nature! It was like 40*. IN MAY. Not ok. Not ok at all. Anyway- the race was a blast.
 
I won't do a full recap, as I've done one before (see it here) and it was essentially the same race, just several miles shorter. I love this race and would highly suggest it to anyone! Only bummer with the 10K is you don't get a medal. BUMMER! I did get a pin, though, so I guess that's something.

 
 
Anyway- after the race we headed back to shower and such and then headed out for a quick lunch before the Hubs and I drove home (aka: the Hubs drove while I napped in the passenger seat). We had to rush back because we had tickets to see Wicked that night!

The show was amazing! Such great music and an amazing set and cast. LOVED it!

The show, while great, was a bit long. It didn't get out til past 11, which is WAAAAAY past my bedtime. I was exhausted from the race and the late night. So, I immediately crashed after we got home. 11pm and I am SPENT. I know, I'm so lame.
 
Sunday we were up early again to take Sadie for a quick walk before heading to Chicago (about 2 hours away) for a Mother's Day celebration. Great way to end the weekend: family, fun, and food! I ate my weight in delicious foods and the napped again in the car on the way back. Poor Hubs! Always stuck driving. He's OK with it... he'd rather me be asleep so he can listen to sports radio than me be awake and force him to listen to Katy Perry and flip the radio stations every 2 minutes. (Not that I would EVER do that)
 
Phew! I'm exhausted again just recapping everything. Hope you had a great weekend too! 

 
 

Monday, May 13, 2013

Weekly Workout Recap (5/6-5/12)

 (source)

Weekly Workout Recap (5/6-5/12):
Monday, 5.6.13: 60 minutes elliptical
Tuesday, 5.7.13: 8-Minute Arms & 4 mile walk with Sadie and Hubs
Wednesday, 5.8.13: Spinning & 40 minutes run/walk intervals

Thursday, 5.9.13: 8-Minute Arms & 40 minute run/walk intervals
Friday, 5.10.13: 30 minutes run/walk intervals & 35 minute elliptical
Saturday, 5.11.13: 5/3 River Bank 10K Race
Sunday, 5.12.13: Rest Day (1 mile walk w/ Sadie)





Totals for Week (4/29-5/5):
6.2 Miles Run
5 Miles Walked
100 Minutes Elliptical
110 Minutes Run/Walk Intervals
1 Spinning Class



Yeaaaaah. So, about this week. Just wasn't happening. Nothing else really to say. I legit didn't run a single mile all week til the 10K Race Saturday. It was a busy week and I wasn't sleeping great so getting up at 5am just wasn't happening. It certainly wasn't ideal, but I did still manage to do SOMETHING most days. Meh. It is what it is. Next week'll be better.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Kalamazoo Half Marathon Race Recap

So, it's totally normal to have a friend text you the day before a half marathon and offer you a free bib, right?
 
No? Just me?? Amy registered for the KZoo half forever ago, but sadly she wasn't feeling great and couldn't run. Well, if you know me you know I couldn't very well say no so after some schedule re-arranging and a WAAAAAY to early alarm wake up call, I was off to Kalamazoo, Michigan to run the Kalamazoo Half Marathon.

Like I said-- WAY too early for the WEEKEND.
I got to Kalamazoo after about an hour and twenty minutes with plenty of time to grab my free bib (thanks again, Amy!!) and head to the start line.

I had to park about 1/2 a mile away, but it was easy to find. The porta potty lines weren't crazy long and before I knew it I was in line near the 2:00 pace group and we were off!
 
At the start line...
The race was overall pretty good, though it looks like I basically fell apart at the end (spoiler: I only kinda did). I stuck with the 2:00 pace group for the first 8 miles with no real problems. My legs were noticeably heavy and still sore from all those damn walking lunges I did earlier that week, but beyond that I felt pretty good.

Mile 1: 9:05
Mile 2: 8:49
Mile 3: 9:00
 
 
 
Mile 4: 9:03
Mile 5: 9:03
Mile 6: 9:02
Mile 7: 8:58
Mile 8: 9:01 (took a few sports beans here)

Then, the 2nd half of the race hit. And, the elevation and hills REALLY hit.


Yeah, about that hill. WOWZA. And, it didn't get any easier from there. I recovered a bit at mile 10, but my legs were pretty shot and the ENTIRE UPHILL second half did not help. I tried to hang on to the 2:00 pace group, but just couldn't.

Mile 9: 9:38 (huuuuuuuge hill... uggggh)
Mile 10: 9:28 (took a freezer pop from the crowd here)
Mile 11: 9:32
Mile 12: 9:51
 


Mile 13: 9:41
Mile .18: 1:40
 
 
Hand of heart finish for Boston
 
Official Time: 2:02:02
 
So, I let the 2:00 pace group go on and ran MY race. I was comfortable, but my legs were crazy heavy and sore.
 
I crossed the finish line and it read 2:02:02, which is my official time (forgot to turn the Garmin off forever after I crossed. Whoops.) but I don't really think that's 100% accurate as there's NO WAY I crossed the start line right at 0:00 on the clock. I think my time was likely more like 2:01:40ish. But, whatever. What does a few seconds matter. Obviously I'm not breaking world records over here. Though, I did break a PR (with no real training and a last minute race) so that's pretty sweet.
 
I could have been pissy with myself for kinda losing it at the end, but given the hills and the complete uphill finish and my lack of "training" I was 100% OK with the race. In fact, I'm REALLY proud I managed to stay so consistent (though totally different "consistent" the first and second halfs). One thing I wasn't SUPER happy with was my fueling. I really need to figure out what works for me and be more intentional about fueling during 10+ runs. Bleah. Working on it.
 
The race was fun! Super organized. Good crowd support. CRAZY hilly course, but had I actually looked at the elevation chart before hand I would have known that. I'd definitely run it again!
 
Thanks again for the free bib, Amy!! Sorry you were sick and couldn't run. Glad I could PR in your honor! :)