I Hated Running

Some Nights

2009-12-09T23:42:00.002-06:00

Some nights are definitely lonelier that others. Some nights I wonder why I moved and why I would go so far from my friends and family.

Tonight is one of those nights.

Sometimes I just want to pack it all up and move back to Wisconsin. But I know it'll never be the same as it was in college. We don't all live in the same city anymore. We aren't all in classes and working part time anymore. Most of us have graduated. We've moved on. But I wonder if I have.

I may be 1300+ miles away, but that doesn't mean I've emotionally moved on. And I have to wonder if I want to move on in that way. I know that in certain aspects, I need to. But I miss the way things were. I miss sitting around doing nothing and not having to worry about adult things. It was so much easier when I didn't have that kind of stress. A stress beyond will I get this project done? Will I make it to my class on time? Etc.

I think I'm also feeling lonely because I don't have anyone close by that I can talk with and hang out with. I have my work friends, but that's a work relationship. It's different. I think this is one reason why I'm doubting whether moving was the right choice. Because I haven't met anyone here yet. I don't have those close friendships. But it took me a while to form them in college. So it makes sense that it will take me a while to form them in Austin too.

Gah. Why can't life be simple? I guess that would take away the fun of it. But still.

Same Old Song and Dance

2009-12-04T23:03:00.002-06:00

As I read over the past 4 posts on this blog, most of them sound the same-- "wow, I haven't been writing on this thing in a while" or "I'm going to write on this more often".

Funny. That hasn't happened.

You would think I would learn a lesson and stop making promises because one part of me knows I won't keep them.

Maybe I keep making them because another part of me, knows that I want to.

But which wins? Usually the part that knows I won't. I feel like this is a metaphor for everything I do in my life. I try to be so many things, making so many promises, even though I know I can't keep them all.

I want to be so many things. I want to try so many things. But, as I learned in economics, wants are infinite, and resources are scarce.

So what' important to me? I guess I need to figure that one out.

I've been participating in an online community for young professionals for some time now. I updated my profile there to discuss my goals, both short term and long term. When I wrote those goals, I thought about them and I knew they were what I wanted. But, funny (and sad) enough, when I looked at them tonight, I had completely forgot that I wrote them there. I didn't even remember them! Talk about important goals.

The thing is, I know they're important to me. I really do. But it's the everyday stuff and stress that gets in the way. Or at least, that I LET get in the way. I know what I want. I just don't want to make it priority.

So it comes down to this: How much do I want it?

Until I want it so bad I can taste it, nothing is going to change. I am going to continue living my life in the same gerbil wheel until I decide to stop running. But what's going to make me stop running and start living with a purpose??

Until next time...

My Own Whirlwind.

2009-07-06T14:31:00.003-05:00

So I have been pretty busy the past 6 months or so. First, as I mentioned earlier, I graduated from college. I received my Bachelor's in Personal Finance and I am happy to be done with school for a while! My last semester, was busy and bittersweet. I got to spend time with my friends, but also felt like a chicken with her head cut off because I constantly had to get things done, whether for a group, or school, or work. But I made it through alive and with better grades than I thought! Ha.

But the end of the year was fun, but stressful. A group that I was in made it to the national competition in Philadelphia. I was a speaker for the presentation, so I had to develop my speech, practice and memorize it, plus plan for the trip. Since it was over finals, I had to move one of my finals to a different date. Plus, we were driving, so we needed to plan for a 15 hour journey there and back. But Philadelphia was a blast. the drive was long and tiresome, mostly because there were only two people, of the four who went, who were able to drive. So that was very tiring. But the city is beautiful. I loved it there. The competition was ok. We gave the best presentation, but we up against some really great competition, so we didn't advance. It was kind of a disappointment to drive that far and also present some really great results to not get that far, but it was a good experience. Plus, I got a lot of free stuff from the career fair.

After Philly, I finished my finals, and had my graduation. It was a long ceremony, but Bud Selig, the baseball commissioner, was our commencement speaker, so that was cool. My family came down and took me out to lunch and we took a bunch of pics all over the campus. Then, my sister stayed to help me pack. My last week was very busy. Sunday was filled with packing. Monday I had work. Tuesday I worked my last day at one of my internships. Wednesday was my last day at the other internship. It was sad to leave them because I had been with one for 3 years, knew the people and liked the place, and the other I liked the people and what I was doing. So it was hard to say goodbye. Wednesday night, I moved out of my apartment, drove back home, unpacked all my stuff and went to sleep around 2am. It was a long day. The next day I ran all over town getting things put together and finished up my errands. Plus, I had to pack! Friday I left for a three week trip to Europe with 2 friends.

The trip to Europe was awesome. I loved all the places we went and got to see and do so much. It was a wonderful experience. Tiring though, with all the walking. We flew into Dublin, stayed for a day and a night, then flew to London. We then went to Athens, Rome, Florence, Barcelona and finally Paris. I have to say that Athens was by far my favorite, followed by Barcelona. Athens is just gorgeous, with the Aegean and the temples. Rome was actually a disappointment, the city is quite dirty and the people aren't very nice. At least not to tourists. But we had a great time and I can't wait to go back and explore more.

When I got back to the states, I was exhausted. We got in Friday afternoon, and I made it back to my house around 11pm, which was about 5am Europe time. So I was exhausted!!! That weekend, I had my "Congrats on Graduating, Welcome Back to the States, and Good Luck in Texas" party with my relatives. It was very chill and fun to see them. Then, I began the packing endeavors and getting everything ready to move to Austin.

I also went down to Madison for one more night with my friends and it was great. I have really awesome friends and I am going to miss them a lot. Luckily, I know they are always there for me and only a phone call away.

We left for Austin bright and early Wednesday the 17th. We drove my Grandma's car with a giant trailer attached. The car wasn't used to so much work, so we couldn't have the air on the entire time we drove. It was awful. I was sweating and uncomfortable. Blech. It was a 24 hour drive, but we stopped Wednesday night in Oklahoma to rest. We made it to Austin Thursday afternoon, checked into the hotel and went and looked at apartments. We only saw one and I loved it. It's in a beautiful neighborhood and area of the city. Plus, it is newly renovated and has a pool, a workout gym and an access gate. We moved everything in that day. My parents left the next morning and I was by myself.

To be continued...

Coming Back At Ya!

2009-07-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

Eek. So, a lot has happened since my last post back in JANUARY! Yikes.

But, I am trying to turn over a new leaf. Again. I know, I always start out so well, then something happens and I disappear for a while. I can't say this time will be any different, however, but I'm going to try.

First things first, I know this started as a "running" blog, but I am going to be tweaking that a tad. I will still talk about working out, especially as I begin again. But now, I'm not just going to focus on that.

I've graduated college, moved to Austin, Texas, and I'm working at a new place. A lot of things are changing for me and I wanted a place to write about it. I am slowly starting to piece things together.

So, as I go through these new times in my life, I will share them here.

Here's to a new start!!

So...

2009-01-08T11:01:00.003-06:00

It's been quite a while. Almost 2 months. Wow. My bad. Finals and the end of the year kicked my ass. I was getting maybe 2-3 hours of sleep for two weeks in December. I was also eating very very very poorly, drinking too much caffeine and not really taking care of myself. It was a pretty ugly time. One I don't intend to repeat, ever.

But now that it is over, I hope to get a better grip on things in my life. However, I am having a hard time getting back in the swing of doing anything. I wake up in the morning, go to work, go home and watch tv until I go to bed. I'm still eating pretty poorly, and I'm not working out. I just can't seem to motivate myself to get to the gym, or to do a workout DVD. I've realized that I am no longer in shape. I don't like what my body looks like, at all, but I seem to lack the motivation to make any changes. It's really quite sad. Hopefully, I will start to make some changes in my life. I am meeting with a Health Educator to talk about my nutrition and exercising. She is helping me learn techniques on how to be healthy while being busy. We are taking slow steps and are working on my breakfast right now. I am learning how to eat for energy rather than just to eat. I told her the main reason I don't want to do anything is because I'm too tired and lack the energy. She told me the easiest way to combat this is to eat better in the morning and then work on eating everything for energy. It's not as easy as I thought it would be. I am trying to get the right foods every morning, but I usually just eat cereal and yogurt. I am supposed to get some form of long term carb as well, but I usually forget. I meet with her next week to talk about how I am doing with it and hopefully we'll start to work on other things.

I made some pretty poor choices this past semester. I can only hope I can correct them before its too late. I think my first goal is going to be to try and get at least 30-60 minutes of exercise in 4-5 times a week. I want my workouts to be a part of my schedule rather than something I do when I have time. I think that the info I am getting from the health educator will help with my eating skills. I know I am not the runner I used to be, but I know I can get back to that point and even go beyond it.

live, laugh, love <3

Fear is a Funny Thing

2008-11-18T23:46:00.002-06:00

So I finally got back on the horse today. I went running. It felt good. But I don't know why it took so long to do it. It's been a really long time, like I can't remember long. But I'm a little sore right now, which I expected. I only did 3 miles and I did 3 sets of 10 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. I don't really like the walking breaks because it's hard to get back into the movement of running after breaking the motion. But I guess it's better than going all out and burning out. I am trying to follow this plan to increase my 5K time. I don't have a 5K in mind, but I figured at the end of the plan, I can run one on the treadmill and see if I am any faster. Or maybe I'll find one. I just need a plan to get me motivated I guess.

But like I said, I'm not sure why it took me so long to get running again, it's not like I haven't been to the gym. I think it has something to do with me being afraid of running again. What if I'm not able to do it anymore? What if I can't build up the mileage?

I also think I wanted the perfect running conditions. I don't mean weather wise, I mean I wanted to feel good. I've been so tired lately, overstressed, overworked, I've been getting more and more headaches, and my stomach has been acting up again. So overall I haven't been feeling too great, physically. Emotionally I've been super stressed and kind of down on myself. I've had two incidents where I would just start crying for no reason. I know this isn't a good sign, but I really think that it's stress and lack of sleep causing all of this. And I think the worst part is that I can't do anything about it. I've trimmed out a lot of the extra things I do, which I've found isn't much. I have a hard time saying no and not doing things, whether it's just sitting and talking with my friends for a good hour. Or playing solitare and not quitting until winning (which is very difficult). I really need to learn to better manage my time. But then part of me really wonders if that is the issue. I think when I have so much to do, I just freak out and don't know where to start. It takes me writing a list of what I need to do in order for me to really get going. I did this on Sunday and it seemed to help. I just need to make it to winter break so I can breathe again.

Anyways, I finally got to use my Nike+ tonight. It was pretty cool. I've used it to calibrate before, but not for running. It was nice to plug my iTouch into the computer and have it log my workout onto Nike.com. I need to use it a little more to see if I really like it, but so far so good. Another thing that is pretty awesome right now, the Taylor Swift CD. I LOVE it. All the songs are really good and it really isn't your typical country album. I love her lyrics and really find them empowering and relatable. I think you should check it out. Speaking of music, I'm pretty excited because I am seeing Matt Nathanson in concert tomorrow and then seeing the Dropkick Murphys on Thursday with my dad. I'm pretty excited about both of them. It'll be a good time.

Another thing of note, from my google analytics account, I found it interesting that most people were directed to my other blog (the one about quotes) using the keywords losing hope. Good sign of the times. Hopefully, they just heard a song or read a quote and wanted to find it.

One more thing! Check out Google's Flu Trends. It's a new tool that uses the data about what people type into their search engine to show where people are looking up flu symptoms. So for example, if a lot of people in your state are researching flu symptoms, your state will show a higher likelihood of the flu going around. Pretty sweet huh?

Geez you would think with all these plugs in this post, I would be getting paid something...

Happy running : )

I Am SOOOOO Tired

2008-11-07T13:15:00.002-06:00

It's kind of ridiculous how tired I am. I don't think I have gotten a good night's sleep in over a month. I have been living on caffeine for quite some time now and I think my body is finally immune to it. I am struggling to keep my eyes open in school, at work, while doing homework, etc. I cannot wait for tonight because I am going to bed early. Plus I'm not drinking tonight so I will be able to sleep in. It's going to be awesome. You know what's even better? I'm gonna do it tomorrow night too. I'm so pumped.

Anyway, I only got in one workout this week, and I should have done at least one more. I failed to go last night and I regret it, but the only good thing is that I got a lot of reading done for Business Law. But I still should have gone. Wednesday night I went after a meeting and did 50 minutes on the elliptical. I did the hill climb and it was a great workout. It felt good. I was a little sore the next day, but not too bad.

Other than that, school is blah. Two tests next week, back to back. Good times. Not. But after that I am done til finals. I also register for my final semester of college next Tuesday. It's kind of scary, but kind of exciting too. I get to go to the Badgers hockey game tonight and am looking forward to it. Hopefully they don't suck. Badger football plays Indiana tomorrow. Hopefully they don't suck either. I don't even know what I would do if they would lose. Probably hit any football player I see in classes or walking around campus. Just sayin'.

It was a little crazy in Madison the past week. Halloween was rockin'. Counted way too many Sarah Palins and Jokers, but I expected it. My sister looked hilarious as Amy Winehouse(see pic). Then the election on Tuesday was great. If you don't know, Madison is quite the liberal city. And when Obama was elected, it was nuts. Over 3000 students marched down State Street on campus. It was kind of cool to see (and hear).

Happy running : )

Road Block

2008-10-31T14:09:00.002-06:00

Last night I went to the gym. It was my first real "free" evening in a while. And I only mean free because I didn't have any meetings, a test the next day or any other obstacle taking up my time. Sure, I have a shit-ton of reading to do and plenty of things to get caught up on, but I like to procrastinate and since I am getting sick of sitting in front of my computer losing solitare, I decided to go workout. Unfortunately, my stomach was not in agreeance with me. On my way, it said a little something to me that went "get to a bathroom quickly or you will regret it". So I listened. This little escapade was enough to keep me from running, but not enough to keep me from working out. Instead of running, I briskly walked on the treadmill on an incline. I was tempted to do a little running, but my stomach was there to warn me of the consequences. Have I mentioned how much I hate my stomach?

Anyway, got a good 45 minutes in on the treadmill. Hopefully I can get there this weekend, or take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a run outside. It is Halloween in Madison and that means CRAZINESS. Saturday night, O.A.R. will be playing on the Capital Square for Freakfest 2008. It should be a good time. My last Halloween in Madison as a college student. Tres Sad. I will be going as the Greek Goddess Athena (Strategy and Wisdom). I was going to go as Sally O'Malley (she's 50 and likes to kick, stretch and KICK), but time contraints and lack of desire to find another costume prevailed. But my favorite part about Halloween is seeing everyone else's costumes. I have a feeling I will be seeing a lot of Sarah Palin, the Joker and Joe the Plumbers/Sixpacks out there. So much for creativity. But I like to try and figure out the more complex costumes.

Happy Halloween and Happy Running : )

VOTE

2008-10-29T14:27:00.001-06:00

No matter what your political affiliation is, make sure you vote on Tuesday (November 4th). This is a pivotal election and every vote counts. As they say in the video, 537 votes decided the past election. That could be you. It's your country. VOTE.

Baby Steps

2008-10-21T21:54:00.002-05:00

Well since hitting my "low point", I continued to fall further. However, I have started to pick myself up and am taking baby steps in the right direction. All I can hope is that I don't take a couple steps forwards only to take even more steps backward. But so far, it's been going ok. Granted, it's only the end of day two, but... still.

This weekend when I was home I decided that I needed a kickstart to get me in the mood to exercise and eat healthy. So I am following an eating plan. If you'vew ever done Weight Watchers, you might have heard of the core plan. Basically, you're given a list of foods you can eat and you can eat as much as you want off that list. Plus you're given a weekly allotment of points to eat or drink whatever you want. The main foods you can't eat are carbs. And the problem I am going to have is finding food that fills me up that isn't carbs. I think protein will be a good option, but I just don't eat a lot of it, so I'll need to start eating more and finding out what all has protein in it. But I don't plan to follow this forever, I just need something to get me started.

Another thing I'm doing is trying out stickk.com. Basically you put a contract out of yourself to do something for a certain amount of time. You can have a referee but I've decided to just do it myself. But I have two contracts right now, weight loss and working out 3 times a week. I am on my second week and will have to report on Friday. I failed the first week on both. The only thing I don't like is that you can't change the contract. I know you're not really supposed to, but I guessed on my starting weight and I need to change it. Plus, I would rather report on Monday than on Friday, but oh well, I guess modifications aren't allowed.

Those are the big things I have done to get myself going. So far it's ok. I'm a little hungry and I don't find the meals or food I eat fills me up, but I think it will require a little retraining of the brain. We'll see.

I did go to the gym yesterday and did 45 minutes on the elliptical. It felt good, but my left leg was a little irritated. I don't know why, it hasn't been doing anything too strenuous lately, so it should just suck it up. I hope to go running tomorrow after my meetings but we'll see. I do have a test Friday, but I'll have all of Thursday to study.

I also have a new toy! I got a second generation iPod touch a couple weeks ago. Besides being awesome, it has the Nike+ already built in. Which means I only need a sensor for my shoe and I don't need to get the thing that plugs into the iPod. Which makes it cheaper. But I'm really excited to test it out. I finally got a pouch for the sensor this weekend. Hopefully tomorrow I can calibrate and use it. But I still need to figure out how it works, so that'll take some getting used to. Plus, I need to come up with a workout playlist because it's much more challenging to change songs than with my old MP3 player. But I LOOOOOVE it.

Happy running : )

Reaching a Low Point

2008-10-10T11:03:00.002-05:00

Yuck. That's how I feel when I look at my body in the mirror, in pictures or in anything. I have reached a point where I am just plain disgusted with how my body looks. I know it's not very healthy to feel this way, but when you have seen what your body can look like, it's hard to go back to something you don't like. Which is where I'm at. I wish I could say that I'm not working out because I don't have the time. I do, I just sit at my computer and play solitaire, or putz around doing other stuff. Yesterday was a prime example. I wanted to go for a walk outside because it was absolutely beautiful. I would've run, but it was my birthday on Wednesday and the one drink I planned on getting turned into a pretty crazy evening... But anyway, the walk turned into going to Olive Garden and eating too much stuff that is bad for me : (

But I think hitting this low point it actually good for me. Because without it, I might not have the motivation to change the way things are. My goals are to make small changes. Currently, I am working out about 1 time a week, pathetic, I know. But I am going to try and change that to 2-3 times a week until I'm comfortable with that and then work my way up to 4-5 times a week. i also want to work on increasing my mileage. Currently I am able to do about 2-3 miles at a time. I want to get my times faster and start running 5-6 miles at a time. I am planning to do this by running everytime I go to workout. Even if it's just a mile, it's something. Also, I desperately need to change my eating habits. I have kind of let myself eat whatever I want without really thinking about what I have put in my mouth. Last night was a good example. Like I said, we went to Olive Garden. I ordered the Portobello Ravioli, I was feel pretty stuffed about half way through and instead of taking it home, I continued to eat. I felt so sick and angry with myself after. Never again. I also need to start watching how much I am drinking. I need to be careful because of the empty calories I am drinking. Also, I usually don't feel good the next day which puts me in the laziest mood ever.

I just hate when I hit these points. But I'm glad I have, otherwise I wouldn't have the guts to change anything. I kind of coasted through the past couple months and am finally starting to see the results. So here's my goals for the next week:

Tonight: I am going out to dinner with my friends for my birthday, but I am planning on having the salmon dinner. However, I am going out to the bars afterward. But I am going to limit my intake so I can actually get things done tomorrow.
Saturday: I want to get a run in. It's supposed to be nice, so maybe a good 2 mile run along the lake would be nice. Get work done. Football game at night, but I don't plan to drink.
Sunday: Sleep in!!! Get a workout in, not sure what, but maybe the elliptical and a quick run on the treadmill. Get work done.
Monday: busy busy busy, meetings until 9:30pm, probably no workout
Tuesday: hopefully getting a run in, but I have a video to shoot and a test the next day
Wednesday: workout after test (run 2-3 miles, maybe lift weights)
Thursday: workout, maybe a walk outside or a run outside depending on weather
Friday: going home, maybe take my puppy on a walk

Now it's written down, so it makes it a little more official. I am only worried about handling it with everything else I have going on this week. Next week is going to be a beeotch and a half. I have an audiotape due on Monday (I have to record an 8 minute convo with someone about a topic I disagree with them on and then analyze it for how well I use my newly acquired counseling psychology skills... good times). Wednesday I have a business law exam (yay!!) and then Thursday I have a 5-7 page paper for my Imperial Russia class. Hopefully I will make it through alive.

Yikes.

Here's to change!

Happy running : )

Still Here...

2008-09-25T22:57:00.002-05:00

So I've been struggling a little on the blogging, but I swear I've just been so busy. I have school, work (2 places), plus leading 2 projects, involved in another and just trying to get all the other regular things in my life done. I'm exhausted every day. I go to bed late, wake up early and keep on going. I need a vacation already. But knock on wood because I'm still going. I'm getting my homework done early, getting things accomplished at work and working hard on my projects. But I can only hope I can keep it up.

But in the midst of all this craziness, I am still trying to workout. Today I went to the gym, did two miles running on the treadmill then did about 30 minutes speedwalking on an incline. I can tell I'm not in the same shape I used to be because that extra walking on an incline was a little difficult. But I did it. Last week I did 2 miles on Tuesday, but struggled the rest of the week. I am trying to make it a priority in my daily life, but I am finding it has been taking a backseat to everything else, sadly. I wish there was more time in a day, or that I could be more productive and not so lazy/tired when I get home at night. One of my roommates and I are supposed to be working out more together, but we aren't very good at motivating each other. I think I am going to need to be the stronger person and start pushing her to workout more, otherwise we probably won't. But I think pushing her will get me there too. I just wish she would push me too. I'm still hoping to do the 5K in October, but I'm not pushing for a new PR. I probably won't run very fast at all. I just want to be able to do it.

When I was working out today, I couldn't help but notice how I wasn't enjoying it like I used to. I wonder if it's because I haven't worked out or pushed my body like that in a while and I'm just used to being lazy? Or did it have something to do with the fact that I was running on the treadmill? Or was it because I was so tired from getting so little sleep this week? Because last week when I went for a run outside, it felt good. I was tired, but once I got past that initial mile, I felt strong again. I pushed myself up a slight incline and sprinted the last block, but today while running, I felt like it was work. It wasn't like I was challenging myself or daring myself to do it. I was just doing it, like a job you have grown comfortable with. Maybe I was just having an off day... I don't know, but I didn't like it. Maybe if I start running more regularly and start running different routes and longer miles I will start to feel the exhiliration I felt before. Maybe that's it, I am just angry at myself because I can only run a miniscule amount compared to what I was running a year ago and I'm just frustrated. I don't know. And I don't have time to really deal with this right now.

Despite all this turmoil, I feel a peace among myself I haven't felt for a long time. I don't know if I've ever felt this way before. But it feels good. I may have a million things floating around in my head and I may sometimes feel like I just want to explode into a billion tiny pieces, I feel at peace with myself. At least for right now. Talk to me in a couple weeks when first exams begin.

Until another time.

Happy running : )

Getting Really Sick of This

2008-09-10T16:38:00.005-05:00

I'm sick again. I am really really REALLY sick of being sick. This is the second time in less than a month that I have been sick. This time no nasty bacterial thing in my throat, but rather a fun and fabulous cold complete with stuffed/runny nose, scratchy throat, coughs that give me a headache and a sexy-sick voice. It's really just AWESOME. Especially during the first couple weeks of school. Especially when I planned to start my 5K training this week. Bah. I am just fed up with it. So what did I do? I emailed my doctor and pretty much said that something isn't right for me to be getting this sick this frequently. I think I have had more colds since January than I had in 2007. And the late fall/early winter is generally even worse for me. I don't know if my allergies are just awful or if my immune system has taken a vacation or what is going on. But it really puts a damper on my life.

Other than being sick, life has been pretty ok. Getting into a groove with school (I'm not behind yet!! knock on wood it stays like that for a while...) But this week marks the start of SIFE so my life should be getting busier now. I went to the past two home football games and let me just say... they are AWESOME. So much better than working. Although, it is a little cramped and the freshies don't know the cheers (for anyone who is a Badger or a Badger fan, section P does NOT row, they start the wave, and they do not make the "O" with their arms during cheering, seriously get it straight). The first game was good, we played Akron (their mascot is the "zips" which transmutates into a kangaroo in physical form...wtf?) it was kind of a blowout, so it got a little boring. And I got sunburnt on my left side of my face so I looked like two-face for a while. After the game, my roommate and I were leaving when I spotted none other than RON DAYNE! So we got our picture with him. It was pretty cool. The next game against Marshall (yes the team from We Are Marshall, sadly Matthew McConaughey was not there) was a little scary at first, but it turned out ok. It was hilarious, because as I mentioned before section P does not row (rowing is when everyone sits down and puts their hands on the person in front of them's shoulders and everybody moves back and forth, it looks cool, and some people stand up pretending to surf). But someone, probably an inexperienced freshman decided they wanted section P to row (section P used to be only upperclassmen, so none of this crap happened before). So the front have was starting to row but the people I was with yelled so loud that "P DOESN'T ROW" that everyone turned around and looked embarressed as the remaining half of P was standing up glaring at them. It was awesome. I know most of you probably don't understand, but just imagine seeing a bunch of people looking like they got caught doing something stupid like dancing around in their underwear. Yeah, it's that funny.

Anyway, school is going good, work is going good, health is pretty shitty, which has affected my working out. I don't think I'd last too long running without hacking up a lung. But tonight I am going to try biking for about 45 min to an hour. Just to get some low-impact cardio in. Tomorrow I am going to try a run, but only 2 miles and see how it goes.

On another running note, I have convinced, some not to willingly, to do the Literacy 5K Run with me. Although I don't really like running with others, I think it will get me out there and once I get the itch again, I can go on my on again. But it should be interesting because they are all hesitant to whether they can do it or not. I told them I have a plan already and not to worry, because I'm not fast. But one of my roommates likes to run fast so we are going to train each other. She is going to get me to go faster while I am going to get her to go longer. It should be interesting to see how this goes. But I'm excited because it will get me running again.

Hopefully this cold goes away fast. It's getting annoying.

Happy running : )

Sitting in the Swing, Not Quite Moving

2008-09-03T16:02:00.002-05:00

I wish I could say I was back in the swing of things with school starting yesterday. But I'm not. I'm close, but I'm not quite moving yet. It is the first week and I haven't had all my classes yet, but I do feel more prepared for this semester than at any point last year. Maybe this will change once I really start to get going, but right now, I think I am doing ok. I've been tired, but that's my own fault...

I worked out on Sunday and it felt good. I did 50 minutes on the elliptical and then lifted weights. Nothing really special. Tonight I'm hoping to do a little running. Once I'm done with work, my roommate and our friend plan to run to another friend's house to watch America's Next Top Model and Project Runway. We are going to run there, order some food and then once the shows are over, hopefully run back. So I'll be getting some exercise in but doing some errands as well.

I also think I will do a 5K in October, the same one I did for my birthday last year, the Literacy Network 5K. I will probably start my training plan next week. My goal isn't necessarily to PR, but to just get all my training runs in and do the race. It's been a while since I did a race. I also think I will do the Turkey Trot I did last year. It's a 5K as well, but that's where I had my best 5K time EVER. Hopefully I can spend the month and a half after the one in October working on increasing my speed. One step at a time though.

Other than that, school is going ok so far. I've got a lot of reading for my classes, but I actually don't mind the topics we are covering. I'm in a business law course which seems interesting. I'm also in a history of Russia course, which I am SUPER excited to be taking. I love history, but I didn't major in it (didn't think it was practical). But I finally have some space in my schedule to take that course. So I'm excited. Work is going good, I've cut my hours a lot for the semester, but I still think I can get a lot done. I just hope I'm not overworking myself with everything I will be doing: school, work, SIFE, working out and friends and family. Plus job hunting, planning a Europe trip and sleeping somewhere in there. It's going to be a crazy mofo of a year. But it's my last one like this. It's sad. But way exciting as well.

Happy running : )

Lazy with a Capital "I Should Really Get Off My Butt"

2008-08-26T22:53:00.002-05:00

Eek. I've been kinda lazy this past week. And by kinda, I mean a lot. I would like to justify this by saying that it's my last week of summer before school starts, but that's a lie (not the part about school starting next week, that's true) but I know that's not the reason. The reason is because I am lazy. I think that I have reached the point where laziness is the norm and working out is just that-- working. It used to be the other way. I used to feel weird not working out. Now I feel weird if I do. And let me tell you, this way of thinking sucks. I know it's wrong to think this way, so there is still hope for me (or so I'd like to think). At least I haven't completely given up on doing something other than going to work, coming home, lounging, maybe going out, reading and then going to bed. Once school starts, my body is going to get a wake up call. I'll need to start processing things and doing even more during the day. It's gonna suck. Big time. But I'm also looking forward to it. With school comes busyness, sometimes so much that I just want to retire to an island and not care about anything. But I love the busyness. I know deep down I perform my best when I am busy. I just really want to have my priorities straight going into this year. Myself, school, work, SIFE, social. I know it will be hard, especially with the two little voices, myself and my friends reminding me that "it's your senior year, have fun" but I hope that I am strong enough to remember what my priorities are and that to play hard, I need to work hard. I can have a lot of fun this year, as long as I get what I need to get done first and then be able to truly enjoy everything else. I think I can do it this time. Until then, it's the last week of summer yo! Roommate one moves in Thursday, first Badger football game Saturday, roommate two moves in Sunday and the school on Tuesday. It's going to be a craaaaaaaaaaaaazy weekend. Hells yeah.

Happy running : )

Better Than I Thought

2008-08-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went to the gym (gasp). And I actually ran on the treadmill (don't fall over). I decided to give running a try and surprisingly, it went decently. I didn't know how long I wanted to run, I had about 45 minutes to workout, so I figured I would just go as long as I could. And I did about 35 minute running. I ran about 3 miles which isn't that great of a speed, but I was running. And I didn't have to stop to walk, or drink water or anything. I just went out and ran three miles. WHA? It's like my body just went into running mode and my mind went with it. Generally the two aren't on the same page. But it felt good. It was kind of embarressing though, I chose a treadmill in front of the MTV TV and next to the Wheel of Fortune TV. So it was awkward to turn my head and watch Wheel of Fortune and continue running in a straight line. So I mostly watched MTV. Which usually isn't that bad. But MTV is known to have some pretty crappy/corny/stupid shows. Enter "Exposed". This is what I was fortunate enough to watch for the entire time I was running. I just want to know where they get the people to do the show. I mean seriously? And do they feed them their lines because I don't know a single person who says that stuff. Basically, Exposed is a show where this one person, either boy or girl, has a friend sit in a undercover van watching the "date" take place. The date is with two other people "competing" to win another "real" date with the first person. But their mics are hooked up to some software that detects when they are lying. They find the trashiest people and make them do the stupidest stuff. I use a lot of air quotes in this post because it's all a load of crap. I cannot believe that any of it is real. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It is one of the worst shows out there. And I'm really not too sorry if I've offended anyone who watches that show. Unless you can give me a valid reason for liking it (doubtful there is any), then I wouldn't even admit that you watch it.

But anyway, I watched it for the time period I was running. And I tried sooooo hard to keep myself from laughing outloud. I even looked around a couple times to see if anyone else was watching. As I was leaving, I could actually see some people's eyes flicking back and forth like they too were trying to hide the fact that they were watching it too. But I knew. I knew they were watching it with the same "what the f is this?" fascination.

But anyway, I was super proud of myself for running. And doing 3 miles. I want to try and run at least once more this week, it might be while I'm home and if so, I'll be doing it outside, which will be nice. I'm also going to try and get another cardio workout in this week, maybe Sunday when I get back in town from being home. I'm going to try and start with small steps, no grand plans to workout, just what I know for sure I can do. Maybe, I'll start up my 100 pushups challenge next week. I was doing so good with it until I got sick.

Oh and school starts in like a week and a half. F that. But the first football game is in 9 days. GO BADGERS!

Happy running : )

Transition

2008-08-14T13:13:00.002-05:00

Currently my entire life (well 95%) is sitting in a UHaul and a van in the parking lot of the hotel we are staying at. We have the potential to move in today, but it may not be until tomorrow. So who knows what we'll do until then. I got caught up on my google reader (900+ new items... yikes), have been doing some work from my computer and have just been lounging around watching the olympics on tv all morning. It's been pretty awesome. I should probably shower because I kind of smell.

I am feeling better though. My throat no longer hurts, my cold sore is healing nicely and my canker sore isn't making me too cantakerous (ha). Thank goodness for penicillan.

Other than that, not much to report on this front. Maybe I'll go swimming in the hotel pool tonight, or maybe I'll just lounge in the hot tub. I love hotel living.

Happy running : )

Doctor Doctor, Give Me the News!

2008-08-11T16:01:00.002-05:00

Well after feeling significantly worse this weekend (hurt to swallow ANYTHING, even my own spit, plus I had a really bad fever Friday and Saturday night complete with chills and night sweats and my cold sore had gotten worse) I finally decided to go to the urgent care office on Sunday. Luckily, it wasn't too busy so I wasn't waiting forever. But I went in, explained my symptoms and was asked if I had been in contact with anyone with strep or mono. I hadn't that I'd known of, but they did a strep test. My doctor told me he expected it to come back positive, but to his surprise, it came back negative. He said that it could still be strep, but it could also be a bacterial infection in my throat that was causing the rest of the problems. So I am now on a high dose of penicillan with high hopes to knock it out of my system. I am already feeling better and my throat doesn't hurt to swallow. I can't open my mouth very wide because of the sore in the corner of my mouth and the canker sore is still being a little beeotch by regecting everything that comes in contact with it (most notably, toothpaste, which stings like a mofo). So I am left sucking things down via straw or little bits at a time via spoon and occasionally fork. I have been living on ice cream, yogurt, water and blended coffees the past couple of days. Sometimes I'm feeling risky and I'll suck it up and eat a solid, like cereal that's been sitting in milk for a good 5 minutes or eating macaroni one noodle at a time and very carefully so as to not hit the canker sore or open my too wide. Life is great.

What's even better is that I am moving the whole end of this week. And I had everything ready to go for it. Until this morning when the world decided to take a shit on me. First, I get an email from my landlord saying that the huge items we had sold to the next tenants (a bar and a sectional) need to be taken out of the house or they will charge to have them removed. Which is RIDICULOUS!! The previous tenants left the bar for us without being charged. The bar is way to challenging/heavy/big to get out of the house. We plan to let the new guys know about the sectional and have them come and pick it up before move out. Otherwise we'll just leave it and dare them to move it out. Next, after that lovely email, I get a phone call from Uhaul. Apparently when I made my reservation over a month ago, and they told me I could have the UHaul for 3 days, they were wrong. I could only have it for 4-6 hours. Now I know most of you don't know much about Madison moving days, but being able to move into your new place in 4-6 hours is IMPOSSIBLE. You move out by 9am on the 14th and move in on the 15th. More than likely late in the day on the 15th. So there is NO WAY to move in 4-6 hours unless you are moving into a brand new place, which is highly unlikely. Needless to say, I was extremely pissed off. I called the regional office and yelled at them that this whole thing was ridiculous. I think I am more upset that they wait until two days before we move to tell us this. Luckily, my parents were able to get a UHaul from Fond du Lac, only an hour or so away. This whole thing was bullshit. I hope to never use a UHaul again. They completely take advantage of college students during this time period. The campus UHaul (which isn't the place I originally went through) was charging $150 for a 4-6 hour period. UNBELIEVABLE! That is just plain obnoxious. Like we don't pay enough in rent already. I am just so pissed off with this whole day.

Happily, work eased some of the stress and being able to yell at some of the people on the phone helped, but not a lot. I just need a vacation and unfortunately (or fortunately) I will be off work Wednesday through Friday to move. I'll be off work, but I'll be dealing with people and moving things, MY things a couple blocks away. If I didn't dislike this house so much (and some of the people) I would've just stayed and not dealt with all this bullshit.

I think I need to work out and get this stress out. Too bad I'm sick. GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Positive thoughts, think positive thoughts Kelsey. Deep breaths.

Happy running : )

Falling Apart

2008-08-08T10:58:00.002-05:00

Gahh. That's how I feel. I think I'm starting to get sick. I have a sore throat and it hurts to eat or drink anything. I might just be wearing myself down. Or I'm stressed. It could be a number of things. Plus I have a canker sore that makes it look like I have a snaggle tooth (at least to me, otherwise it's pretty hidden). And I burnt my tongue earlier this week and it's still sore. I feel like I'm just falling apart.

It doesn't help that I'm super exhausted. I stayed up later last night and watched the 300 with some peeps. It's a pretty bad-ass movie. I thought the special effects were what made the movie. Tonight I want to go work out but we'll see with how my throat is feeling. I want to get to the gym tomorrow and Sunday though. I have decided that because I have been out of running for so long, the only place to start is small. My first goal is to get to the gym 3-4 days a week. My second goal is to try and run 1-2 days a week starting small and working my way up in the mileage area. The pushups challenge is still going good, I need to do Week 2 Day 2 today and then Sunday I'll do day three.

This weekend will be filled with packing and cleaning. Next Wednesday I am moving to a new apartment. I always find that when I move I finally realize how much stuff I have but probably don't need. But I take after my grandmother in the fact that I'm kind of a packrat... It's not a good trait sometimes. But with moving, hopefully I'll be able to get rid of some things. (ha)

PLUS the Olympics start tonight!!! I'm so pumped! I love the Olympics. This time I am really excited for volleyball (both beach and regular), swimming, track and field, soccer, gymnastics, etc. etc. Can't wait!! USA!

Happy running : )

Going Batty

2008-08-05T22:43:00.002-05:00

As I type I am holed up in my room. Usually this isn't a problem at quarter to 11 at night. But this time, it's a different story. Our house has a bat. It has dive bombed two of my roommates and is now flying around the second floor waiting to attack it's next victim. But that will not be me. I may have to wash the facial mask off my face and take my contacts out of my eyes because they are burning, but those things can wait. Luckily, our landlord is coming over to take care of the situation, hopefully soon. I am tiiiiired and want to go to bed. Fing bats.

On the workout/fitness/healthy lifestyle side, I am doing ok. I have been keeping a food journal the past few days with hopes of starting a habit and being able to recognize where my weaknesses are. I have been following the 100 Pushups Challenge and did my first day of the second week. For the last set you are supposed to do the maximum amount of pushups and tonight I reached a new max: 11 pushups in a row!! And this was after doing 14 pushups. I am kind of proud of myself for following this plan and actually seeing results. I think next week is the re-test to see what level you are on. I think I will be moving up from level 1 to level 2. Last week was a bad week for working out, but I was also really busy. But this week I am planning to just do it. I don't have a lot going on so I should be able to get to the gym/workout outside almost everyday. Tonight I did 45 minutes on the elliptical and tomorrow I hope to get some running and weightlifting in.

Also, despite being a college student, I think I am going to take a break from drinking for a while. I am thinking 2-3 weeks should be a good break. This doesn't mean I won't be going out, I will still go out, but I will probably be drinking water. Which I think is the best choice for me. I need to clear my system and just kind of relax. This school year is going to be extra tough on me with two jobs, leading three-plus projects, school, and sleep. I need to go into the school year focused and rested and by not drinking, I think I can get into that mindset. Also, it will be healthier for me. I know it will be tough though, because I am a college student and alcohol is quite plentiful. But it will be a good test for my willpower and self control. And I'm not abstaining forever, just for a couple weeks to clear my system.

Final note: The bat has been taken care of. RIP.

Happy running : )

Insomniac's Post

2008-07-29T00:35:00.002-05:00

I can't sleep. I am tired as shit but can't sleep. I went to bed at 10:15 and over two hours later here I am. Awake, but tired. Listening to Norah Jones and playing mindless games on my computer. I don't have any sleeping medicine otherwise I would've popped a pill a long time ago. I would read, but that just gets my mind going again. I think that's my problem. I can't quiet the voices (not those type of voices) and thoughts that are going on in my mind. I've got a lot going on this week and I am just going over everything in my head. Over and over again. It sucks, but I can't relax my mind. AHHH.

This past week/weekend was pretty good. I worked out last Wednesday and Thursday. I was going to go on Friday, but I was exhausted and instead I went for a walk with a friend. Saturday I went swimming at a local beach which was really nice. I felt cool and relaxed afterwards. Sunday I did absolutely nothing of substance minus cleaning my room. I watched P.S. I Love You in the morning (great movie, a lot different than the book, but still good, make sure you have kleenex, I balled my eyes out) and then watched Definitely, Maybe at night (another good movie, this one though, is a little happier, a great chick flick).

I am hoping to get more than just two days of working out in this week. Tomorrow I am volunteering at the Extreme Home Makeover site in Wisconsin. They are rebuilding a house that is only a short distance outside of Madison so a friend and I have decided to volunteer. The only problem is that she is coming to pick me up in about 5 hours. Which is going to suck. Big time. But hopefully I will get to nap afterwards. But then again, Ty might be so blown away by my beauty and intelligence and humor that he will ask me to stay all day... The rest of the week is pretty busy too, baseball game tomorrow night, coffee on Wednesday, day trip to go cliff diving on Saturday, plus other random events.

Today was my first day of the 100 pushups challenge. It went pretty good. It was a fairly easy day. Except my stomach muscles are still sore from an ab exercise that I did last week. Everytime I lowered as I was doing a pushup, my ab muscles hurt like a mofo. It was not a good feeling. Hopefully it goes away soon... My next day is Wednesday when I get to increase the amount of pushups. Yay. Also on tap for this week: the start of my food journal. Last time I did a food journal, I ate a lot better. Although I have a feeling that it isn't just my eating that is the major culprit, I think it is a combo of drinking (remember though.... I am a college student) and the lack of consistency of exercising. I have been wanting to cut back on my drinking for some time now, but it seems like there is always some reason to be drinking. But after this weekend, I think I will be able to cut back a lot. Not only has drinking been hurting my body, it's also hurting my wallet. It's freaking expensive. I think once I lower my drinking, my working out on the weekends can go up because I won't feel like shit from being hungover. I think the food journal will help me see how much I am actually drinking. I've also been thinking about signing up for the Worth the Weight challenge. I don't know what is stopping me besides the fear of failure. But that's a pretty big barrier. But one I've been able to get over in the past.

Alright, I think I need to go to bed. And I might actually be ready to do so. But we'll see.

Happy running : )

One Ticket for the Bandwagon

2008-07-23T15:44:00.003-05:00

Ok, so it's been a while... my bad. But I have been quite busy the past week. And I have been working out, not necessarily running, but going to the gym for some cardio. I can do more, I know this, but small steps my friends, small steps. This past weekend was just a whirlwind of doing things. Thursday night was the midnight premiere of the Dark Knight. To sum it up in two words: F'ing AMAZING!!!! I highly recommend it and you don't need to see the first one to know what is going on. It's just beyond any other movie that has been out there lately (minus Sex and the City which is on a completely different playing field for me). But see it. It is awesome. Period.

Friday I had a work meeting and then headed up to visit my friend in Minneapolis. It was a long ass car ride, but I was traveling with one of my other friends so it was good. I had a good time in Minneapolis, we had a lot we wanted to do and very little time, but it's a fun city and I really enjoyed my time there. The dance clubs are ridiculous. They are do hot that it isn't even worth it to put makeup on or do your hair because as soon as you walk in it is all shot to hell unless you are a freakin' goddess and don't have to worry about shit like that (I just noticed this post is a little heavy on the profanity, shit, sorry about that).

But we got back later on Sunday and I was exhausted. Monday didn't start out too great as I overslept. I've been busy at work which has been just awesome. I love being busy (and no, there is no sarcasm here, honestly). I really do enjoy being busy. It makes me feel like I am doing something. I really love both of my internships for separate reasons. It's going to be weird going back to school in the fall and having to cut back on hours and not going in everyday. Maybe I should just throw out the past three years and drop out.... HAHAHA not.

Ok, so now onto the main focus of this blog... running, or the lack there of. I haven't been doing much running lately. But... I have been going to the gym. In fact I went tonight and got in a good cardio session and some abs (not a lot because I had to race home for Project Runway). I want to start getting some shorter runs in more frequently during the week. Two miles here, three miles there. I think I can handle that.

I have come to the realization that I probably will not be partaking in a half marathon this fall. It was a great idea and I really really really want to do one soon, but with school, work and life in general, I cannot devote the time needed to getting ready for the race. But, I do want to build my running up again and start doing some 10Ks. I know there is the Nike Human Race coming up on August 31st that I am going to start "training" for. And I use training in quotes because I won't actually be going to a city that is holding a race. Instead I will pick a fun route and run the race by myself, against myself.

Also, I have decided to jump on the 100 Pushups Challenge bandwagon. I never saw myself as the pushup type, but what the hell, I'll give it a whirl. Plus it's something easy I can do from home before I go to bed or when I get up in the morning (hahaha, I made myself laugh on that one). I did my initial test today at the gym and found myself able to do a lousy 5 pushups. I CANNOT imagine doing another 95. Maybe over the course of 2 weeks, but not in one sitting. But we'll see. Hopefully I'll get some kick butt sculpting for my arms.

Other than that, nothing really exciting is happening in my life. I'm busy as usual and trying to do too many things at once. My current obsession (well really one that has resurfaced) is reading, a lot. I have so many books that I am starting to collect books because I don't want other people to read them. I have a list that I swear is like almost 60 books long. It's a little ridiculous. Plus, lately I have been obsessed with listening to classical music. It's really nice to listen to at work, especially with the magic and awesomeness that is Pandora. Oh and being a Wisconsinite and all, I am following the Brett Favre debacle with a passion. I'm not sure how I feel on the subject and I think that could take up an entire post of its own (to sum: Love Favre, never wanted him to retire, but he is being a little selfish in this whole thing, granted the Packers aren't being too great either, oh well, we'll see what happens).

Ok I think I've rambled enough for one evening...

Happy running : )

Sorta Success

2008-07-15T12:27:00.002-05:00

Well last Friday's run was a success in the fact that I went out and did it. But it was a sorta success because I didn't run the whole thing. I had to walk a good portion of it because of my stomach. But I've talked with the doc so hopefully that will all be sorted out soon. I did about three miles total with about 2 of them being running and the other mile walking. I was a little disappointed, but I didn't know what else I could do. But Saturday I was super proud of myself for going to the gym and doing 60 minutes on the elliptical. Now I need to get there more often during the week. Sunday's run didn't happen. I had a massive headache all day and struggled doing anything except watching TV and reading. But I did watch American Gangster and it was pretty good. A little long, but overall good. Nothing I'd watch again though.

Tonight I have a two mile run scheduled and I am going to try and get it in. I haven't been feeling that well the past two days so I'm not sure if I'll be getting out there. But it might make me feel better just to get out there so we'll see. I also have to get my friend's birthday present today and we are watching Batman Begins tonight as prep for the Dark Knight midnight premiere we are going to on Thursday.

Happy running : )

Avoidance

2008-07-11T10:46:00.002-05:00

I have been purposely avoiding my blog for the week. I have nothing to report mostly because I haven't done anything worth writing about. I have taken about a week vacation from running. Except it is going to end tonight. Whether I run one mile or the goal of 5, I am going to run tonight. This past week has been filled with convenient excuses not to run. Going out to dinner, sickness, laziness, rain, thunder, lightening, card games, going to the terrace, etc. Don't get me wrong, it was a really fun week, but I just wasn't working out.

I think I need to realize that I can get in a workout no matter how much time I have. I have weights and a stability ball in my room so I can easily get in a strength or core session before bed or when I wake up in the morning. I know that I like to run for cardio, but I think just getting something in every day is more important that not doing anything. I have been doing pretty good on my eating, minus an occasional slip with the candy bag at work (why we have it, I don't even know). But my breakfast is usually oatmeal and some strawberries and raspberries. My mid-morning snack is cherry yogurt, lunch is a turkey sandwich, pretzels/baked cheetos/reduced fat cheezits, carrots and 100 cal fudge shoppe cookies, then a mid afternoon snack is some almonds. For dinner it varies on what I eat, but I try to include some protein and a vegetable with each meal. I'm also drinking 32-64oz or more of water each day. I do drink too much alcohol, I acknowledge this and so I have been cutting back on how much I drink at a time and watching how fast I drink and what I am drinking. Now if only I can get my cardio back on track I think I will be much happier. I need to just come home from work, go work out and then come home and socialize. I stay up later now that I don't work out in the morning so I can get more things in at night. I know I can do it, it's just a matter of wanting to do it.

I really want to run this half-marathon in the fall, but I really really really need to get out and train. I need to want to train. I need to feel the desire again. I know that I want it, but I'm not sure how bad I want it over other things in my life. I need to make it a priority which is hard because I like to consider everything in my life as a priority and I know that is the wrong way to go about it.

This weekend is pretty mundane. Probably going to watch a movie tonight (I've had American Gangster and P.S. I Love You from Netflix for some time now, I should probably get on watchign them...). Tomorrow is Art Fair on the Square as well as the Farmer's Market so I'm hoping to hit that up. I also want to go to the library to get a library card, I need to stop spending money on books... Saturday night my roommates and I plan to go out for some drinks. Sunday I head home for a doctor appointment on Monday. So nothing too exciting. Running 1-5 miles tonight and 6 on Sunday. Yay!

Happy running : )

Fail

2008-07-07T13:43:00.002-05:00

I love Facebook bumper stickers. Some of my favorites are when there is a picture of someone doing something wrong, not on purpose, but they tried and it just went bad. An example you may ask, well, one of them is (and this may sound really cruel, but it's just a drawn image, not an actual picture) a baby with his head in one of the leg openings on a stroller instead of with his feet through it. And written in big red letters is the word: "FAIL".

Cut to the relevance. Take a picture of me this past weekend laying around, getting sunburned, swimming, having a campfire, going out downtown, etc. and put FAIL over all of them. While it was a really great weekend and I got to relax and see my friends, I failed in the exercise department missing both of my runs at the end of the week. My 5 mile tempo run was skipped due to Thursday being a hectic day and sleeping in and visiting my Grandma on Friday. Then my long run on Sunday was skipped due to being incredibly hung over from having a great evening on Saturday. Also on Sunday I drove back to Madison and was really tired.

I know, what other excuse do I have?? Like I said: "FAIL". And while it might sound like I am just beating myself up, I am. Because I had no reason not to do at least one of the runs. Now this week is going to be an even bigger bitch because I haven't had a long run in a long time. But this weekend I want to take it easy and get my runs in. My body needs it.

Hope you all had a FABULOUS Fourth of July!

Happy running : )