Running on Low Fuel

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Blonde on a Mission

So yesterday I went for a full-fledged run. I have dabbled in running before, but I’ve never really made the effort to do it whole-heartedly. But I drove to the trail that I usually rollerblade on, dressed in full lululemon apparel (it’s more motivating if you look cute) and I had my iPod on my armband. Then I thought, well ef, where am I going to put my keys? I had a moment of genius (not really) and fashioned them on to the armband. It worked, sort of. Here are a couple lessons I learned from my first real run.

The music of Journey is amazing and uplifting
Do not, I repeat do not run without socks. I have blisters the size of a cocktail ring on my ankles.
Other runners will wave to you (I was way too excited about this)
When I felt like I couldn’t run anymore, I put on Funk Soul Brother and immediately gained the strength to keep going. Funk Soul Brother is the ULTIMATE song for anything.
That’s about it.. Can anyone offer me some more helpful tips?

I felt exhausted but exhilarated at the same time when I got home. I was very proud of myself.

So this morning, my legs didn’t feel thaaat bad, and it was early, the weather was cool & mellow, so I laced up my running shoes & went for a quiet run around my neighbourhood for about 35 minutes.

It felt amazing, but when I got home, the front of my legs completely locked up and now they are in some pretty ridiculous pain. It hurts to bend down, and to drive. Yay. It’s a bitterly good feeling because that means that some muscles are working it ouuuuut.

I needed some serious fuel when I got back, so oatmeal it was! Naturally. I put a scoop of good ol’ chunky almond butter, some chia seeds, and some freeze dried bananas sprinkled with cinnamon on top. Freeze dried fruit is the jam. It’s way healthier than dried fruit, plus, it’s crunchy.

After breakfast, it was off to a meeting at work. They are ultra casual, so I just wore my lululemon crop pants + a lululemon stride jacket. I was fully equipped with a tumbler of iced coffee, of course.

About halfway to work, my gas light went on. When I left work, I drove past all the gas stations. I always play russian roulette with my gas tank (sorry Dad) and I know I shouldn’t. I should have learned my lesson back in January, when I was driving to a yoga class and ran out of gas on the highway, and was trapped with no heat for half an hour. I was a total drama queen about it while talking to On Star. They said it would take about 40 minutes for roadside assistance and I was like, “40 minutes?! I’ll be dead by then!!” Yeah, I can be a treat. I will get gas later today, but it’s so freaking expensive. I put in about $10 at a time, just incase the prices will go down. They. Never. Do. The newspaper said, “Get used to it!” Pfftttt.

Lunch today was a lazy pizza with spinach, arugula, red peppers & skim mozzarella on a whole wheat pita.

'Zaaa

It rained like crazy this morning, so the dog park is out of the question. But I’ll probably take the dogs on a walk this afternoon. Oh, and no more frolicking in the wildnerness. We found a tick burrowed into Layla’s head yesterday. Poor thing I hear that the ticks are really bad in May, so maybe we’ll just wait a little bit.

I really hope that I can continue to run, because I actually enjoy it and I’ve always wanted to start a running regime. I am on a mission to be as healthy as I can be and I think that running is an amazing exercise. I also want to rock climb so badly, but I think I’d need to join a gym for that and I’m not into paying for a gym right now, so we’ll see. It’s summer though, and that means that I can go kayaking again! It’s a serious arm workout, and it’s soooo much fun.

I have refilled my Sigg waterbottle like 3 times already today. I must be dehydrated or bored.

Well, see ya later!

When [minor personal] Disaster Strikes

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Blonde on a Mission

You know that feeling when you’re in your own little world, rollerblading, walking, driving, whatever, and you have great momentum going, you’re singing your favourite song, and you just feel good?

Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, something happens that just sucks the cool right out of you. You trip, stumble, or, in my case today, a GIANT insect flies into your mouth. Well I was cruising along on my rollerblades, listening to Brad Paisley’s ‘Old Alabama’ & getting really into it. My mouth happened to be open at the exact time that a massive flying insect was hurling towards me & ended up flying right into the back of my throat.

Remember that viral video of the woman who fell off a grape-stomping platform? Well it sounded something like that, mixed with a cat coughing up a fur ball. And of course, it just so happened to be in front of a group of people planting trees. Well, of course! Any time something humiliating like that happens, a crowd just manifests! I had a choking fit, and I tried to cough the bug back up, but alas, it was stuck in the back of my throat. It completely broke my whole ‘free-spirited’ thing & for the next half hour, I was just focused on the unknown insect stuck in my throat. I think I swallowed it. I definitely swallowed it. Protein.

Blech.

I am being haunted by bugs. I’m pretty sure it all started when I found a deadly black widow spider in my grapes some 4 years ago. They just find different ways to taunt me.

When I got back, all I could think about was a delicious lunch to oust my stomach’s memory of eating a bug.

I made one of my Lazy Pizzas.

Chunky medium salsa
Handful of spinach
Skim Mozzarella

Pile it on a whole wheat pita & broil it in the toaster oven/oven for 7-8 minutes. It’s such a staple in my life because it’s a healthy & delicious lunch for under 350 calories.

Miley was clearly interested in my lazy pizza. I gave her a leeeettle slice

I’m so excited for Mother’s Day tomorrow. We’re going shopping at our favourite mall in Michigan, Somerset Collection. We both need some shoes… among other things. Should be a lovely day for a lovely mother

EEEEEEK!

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Blonde on a Mission

Nothing says Suburban life like centipedes everywhere. You can spray your house for spiders, but those centipedes will not go away for anything. They be climbin’ in yo windows, snatchin’ yo people up.

So you better

Hide yo’ kids

Hide yo’ wife

and for the love of god, hide yo’ damn dirty laundry, because those little suckers LOVE to hide in damp towels. I crush them with a bottle of Tide. Either that, or I just set the bottle of Tide on top of them…and never pick it up.

Yesterday, one just happened to gleefully make its way down from the ceiling, or god knows where, on to the floor right in front of me as I was cooking breakfast. They keep you on your toes, and the hair on your arms on end at all times.

So imagine my surprise when I saw one just hanging out, right in the open in my basement.

Yeah I used like 4000x zoom. I have a REALLY GOOD camera. No, not really, but hell if I was getting anywhere near this guy.

Did I kill it? No. Of course not. He was totally out of my reach. Use a vacuum? I challenge anyone to find ANYTHING scarier than trying to VACUUM A RAPID CRAWLING INSECT THAT COULD FLY AT YOUR FACE OR CRAWL DOWN THE VACUUM AND EAT YOU.

It was either he goes, or I go, and so I went.

Took the dogs to the dog park & let that guy come down at his own pace. My dad would later come home to kill it, but for the sake of this blog post, the suspense was definitely there.

I didn’t really realize how difficult it is to walk two dogs. Miley just wants to run constantly and Layla stops and smells and/or picks up anything and everything she sees. And when they both spot a squirrel, I’m powerless to stop them so I just end up flailing behind them.