Good Day... Rough Run

Well, I had a very productive day.  I got up and did a bunch of "regular" house work around the house.  Then I spent the entire afternoon cleaning our upstairs.  I haven't cleaned up there since I moved in in August 2008 and man, was it dirty!!  It always feels so good to have a clean house.  After Jerod got home from work we went out and did some digging in the garden.  I'm telling you- I don't think I was built to use a shovel.  Maybe all the push ups I am doing will give me some extra arm strength so that I can run a shovel correctly.  While we were working outside, we found an unhatched robin's egg that had blown out of its nest (there was some pretty strong wind here today).  Well, Jerod and I walked down to Shauna's (that's Jerod's sister for those of you who don't know) to see if she would know what to do with it.  Shauna is an animal lover and probably has the knowledge of how to take care of every animal there is.  Funny thing: Parker (Shauna's son) had found a robin's egg as well the day before.  Well, we all weren't too sure what to do, so Jerod and I took Herbert (the name I gave to the egg) back home with us.  Well, Herbert was short lived because Jerod rolled him to me very gently and Herbert busted open.  I almost cried.  We thought that this would be a great time to go for our runs.  Since the wind was really strong like I said before, we went into town to run.  What an awful run.  The wind wasn't as bad, which was a blessing.  But from the very beginning my legs were killing me.  They continued to kill me for the next three miles until I was finished running.  I ran all three miles in the twelve minute range.  Now, for a reward, I'm enjoying a large mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows :)

Sometimes... life just sucks

That sums up my day so far.  Apparently I made just about the worst mistake of my life 3 1/2 years ago when I decided to go to college to become a teacher.  THERE ARE NO JOBS FOR TEACHERS AVAILABLE.  I have applied to the four open jobs that I have stalked out on the Internet.  One was in a perfect location- only about 8 miles from my house.  I PERSONALLY took my resume and packet in and talked with the principal for about an hour.  He wrote on my packet that I was to be called if I ever fell out of the running for that particular job.  Well, application deadline was a month ago.  I got advice from my fiance's parents that calling would probably be an okay thing to do.  Did it this morning... The position has been filled for some time.  I am so bummed.  Not only did they not call me, but I didn't even get an interview.  My resume and packet was apparently so un-impressive that I didn't even warrant an interview.  Go me.  Well, I called my fiance and told him between sobs that now I am down to the other job that I applied for recently as well.  We'll see what happens.

So, after my horrible morning, it turned into a pretty horrible afternoon.  I let my dog outside to potty, and when she came back up to the door she had poop smeared all over the right side of her head.  Now, I have a very weak stomach for this stuff... any time that I try to clean up Sadie's puke or poop I gag.  I couldn't even get near her to clean her neck off because my mouth would start watering like it does before you puke.  So, I stuck her in her cage and she has stayed there for the past hour.  Jerod gets home in about 30 minutes, and we'll have to tackle the never fun task of giving her a bath.  Oh boy.  Joy has overwhelmed me.

So, the only good thing that came from this day is that I have a clean house.  When I get super upset about things I tend to do one of two things: binge eat or clean/organize.  I am so thankful that I chose the second one!  I've been working on cleaning and laundry all day.  Jerod and I are going to lift my spirits by eating Ice Cream from Dairy Queen for supper and go watch our nephew Parker's baseball game tonight.  That should be exciting... we haven't made it to a single game. 

I weighed myself in this morning.  Last week I lost 1.5 pounds.  YEAH!  I'm trying to decide still if I am going to run tonight.  I kind of want to, but then again I kind of just want to relax.  I'm kind of afraid that after my horrendous day that I'll get ran over by a car or something.  Probably more like a semi knowing my luck.

Something cool:  apparently 4 people have read my blog in Germany.  Pretty neat, huh?

Oh Boy

Well, I will tell you right off that four miles did not happen today... but it's not really my fault.  At .8 miles I was about to poop my pants... so I knew that going any farther than 2 was out of the questions.  That is okay though because I had Thursday as my two mile day this week, so I just switched them. 

Tomorrow morning I weigh in again... I'm anxious to see how I did this week! 

Jerod and I were talking about our honeymoon a little bit tonight, and that has got me super excited. I really can't wait.  I think one of the things I am most excited about is that I'll be Jerod's WIFE.... WIFE.  Crazy to think about.  Today has been one of those days where Jerod and I have just been laughing all day at stupid things.  We'll tease each other and laugh our heads off.  Then we'll poke each other or something along those lines and we'll laugh our heads off.  Then one of us will say something... and we'll laugh our heads off.  We've both just been in a goofy mood, I guess. 

I worked outside in the landscaping this afternoon for about 3 hours or so.  I only got a small section done, but that small section looks pretty darn awesome.

I'm thinking tomorrow might be an off day... but we'll see.  UNLIKE the last off day though, I'll be doing some crunches, push ups, and oblique bends. 

It's been a while..

Hola!  It's been a while since I've posted a blog... Jerod and I have had a busy past few days.  I have to say that unfortunately my past few days haven't included running.  Good thing I didn't challenge myself to run every day for a year, haha.  Jerod ran his half marathon this morning... his goal was to break 90 minutes and he did... he ran it in 89!  YA!  He improved his time from his first half by four minutes.  Amazing!  I am thinking that tonight I am going to not run since we have been up since 5:30 and I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night.  But, I'll be jumping right back into it tomorrow.  The past couple of times that I have ran three miles... I've been feeling like I could do more.  So, maybe a four miler tomorrow or though the week?  I'll keep you posted!

Day 5...Guilty Feelings

Hello!  This blog is titled 'Guilty Feelings' because I feel guilty for last night.  Not because I didn't run... I think that that was a smart decision.  My finace (since he is doing his 365 challenge) had to run in the monsoon we were having and he told me today that that run took a lot out of him... that says a lot since he has been running since 7th grade and I haven't.  I feel guilty because I didn't even do my sit-ups, push-ups, or oblique bends.  Not only that, but today I feel like I should have at least popped in a workout DVD at some point in time.  Oh well, we live and learn, right?

Well, today it's like 30 mph winds.  Gross.  I'm seriously considering either waiting until 7 p.m. to run when the wind is supposed to only be like 12 mph or going to my in-laws and using their treadmill.  The dreadmill as I call it.  I really hate using treadmills.  As you run on your own, you automatically adjust speed according to how your body feels.  So when I run a 12 minute mile, during that mile sometimes I'll run at 14:30 for a little while and 9:50 for a while, or what have you and it averages out to be a 12 minute mile.  Well, on a treadmill, you have to run at that one constant speed (5.0 mph for a 12 minute mile) and it wears on you.  It's not natural.  Not only that but I don't know how to work the tv there so I have to stare at the little blinking dot that makes it feel like a mile takes about an hour instead of 12 minutes.  Plus, I feel like a real runner when I brave the outdoor suckiness from time to time.

Okay... so for today's healthiness challenge: 2 mile run.  Same strength stuff as all this week EXCEPT to *punish* myself and teach myself a lesson... 100 crunches, 20 pushups, and 100 oblique bends.  That's double duty... maybe next time I don't do cardio since it's my off day... I'll remember to atleast do strengthening exercises.

Buh bye!

Day 4: And the soreness settles in

Well, I feel like an old woman today.  My legs are sore to the point where it makes me want to not run today.  Well, that won't be happening.  First I do have some errands to run.  I am taking my rings to get soldered together today!!  YAY!!!  That means it's getting close... which is true... only 24 more days, people!  On to other good news: we think we may know what is making me break out... laundry detergent.  So I'm thankful to have that figured out... NOT thankful to have to get rid of a brand new bottle of laundry detergent.  BOO.  Almost all of the gifts for the wedding people are here... so I will have a busy filled week next week of trying to get them all wrapped up.  Last night my fiance and I actually got to work out in the yard/landscaping and plant some stuff, too.  That has been uncommon for about the past week because living in Central Illinois has been nothing but rainy weather and storms for about seven days.  I'm desperately trying to come up with something to eat tonight for supper... my mind keeps going back to fish tacos... so I might dig out that recipe and see if we have what it takes.  Sounds yummy to me! 

Well, challenge for today is the same that is has been all week: run 3 miles, crunches, situps, push ups, and oblique bends.  I'm super excited about all of this.  I told my fiance that running just makes me feel good.  I feel healthier than I did before.  And I can feel my muscles burning when I do the other exercises, which is a good sign as well... that means my body is changing.  I am going to be one hot beach bod next summer in Turks and Caicos!

Alright, I gotta get some food.  Hope you all have a great day!
Bye!

Well, I kind of lied.  After I got home from running errands yesterday, it poured.  For real. It really didn't stop raining.  So, that means that I didn't get my run in.  BOO.  It's not a huge deal though, because I was saving my two off days this week for Friday and Saturday since Jerod and I will be in Champaign for his half marathon.  So, I just switched my off day to Friday.  We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Day 3... Am I sure this is a GOOD decision?

Wow.  I looked at the weather for today with my fiance last night.  Wind gusts up to 44 miles an hour today.  Really?  That really doesn't sound fun at all.  Today I plan to work on things throughout the house since I'll probably get blown away if I work on stuff outside.  I've been thinking about gifts lately for christmas.  I think that I am going to try and make a majority of the gifts that we give people this year.  Hopefully it turns out okay.  As of last night, I still have hives.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  I know that I am really sick of having them though.

I found this really cool tool in my get healthy challenge.  It's a website called www.myfitnesspal.com.  It's pretty cool.  It lets you decide how much weight you would like to lose, lets you log your food intake, and lets you log your exercise.  Pretty neat.  Speaking of getting fit... check out my fiance's blog... http://the-running-challenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/off-to-running-start.html
Okay,  I'm getting hungry for some breakfast so lets look at my goals for today.  I'm thinking my running goal will be between 2 and 3 miles... I don't want to choose just one since the wind is so horrible and I won't know how I feel until I get out there.  The same strengthening workout as yesterday... crunches, push ups, and oblique bends. 

Also, I have some crafts that I would like to get put up on Etsy... so I am making a week-long goal of getting these items up on my Etsy shop.  I put two tutus up last night and one got no views, boo, but the other got seven views and someone put it in their favorite items list.  Pretty cool, huh!  Alright, I'm getting some breakfast.

OH... and be proud of me guys... I threw away, yes... THREW AWAY... the remaining puppy chow yesterday.  GO ME!!!

Adios

Well, I have done well today.  I decided after watching the wind all day to postpone my run until this evening.  I departed around 7 and ran 3 miles in 37:54.  According to my Garmin watch, I burned 404 calories while running.  My splits were 12:53, 13:10 (a solid half mile of this was into the wind), and 11:51.  I also did 50 crunches, 10 push ups, and 50 oblique bends with 6 pounds. 

According to myfitnesspal, if I keep up the good work I'll lose about 5 pounds in five weeks.  We'll see if things go as planned.  I was worried about not running during our honeymoon but since my soon-to-be-hubby is challenging himself to 365 days of running, that shouldn't be a problem.  When he runs, I'll run.  That was some pretty good news.  Again, you should definitely check out my lovebug's blog here: http://the-running-challenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/off-to-running-start.html

Well, it's time to shower and then relax.  I'm thinking about kicking back and reading some of the book I'm working on.  I'm currently reading James Patterson's The Murder of King Tut.  It's a pretty good read so far.  Day 3...SUCCESS!

Check ya later!