Positivity

I'm working on being more positive with myself, focusing on the things I accomplish instead of the things I didn't. The comment from my dear sister on my last post helped remind me of that. Instead of being frustrated with myself for only running 5 miles, I should be proud that I got out there and did the 5, even though they were difficult. Instead of beating myself up about eating Yogurtland three times last week, I should be proud that it wasn't seven times.

My job is being the assistant to the director of about 15 medical offices in the Salt Lake area, and every other week, we meet with the managers of all of our clinics to discuss issues, present new information, and talk about how things are going. One of the biggest things that my company is promoting is Living Well, both to our employees and our patients. Since we all will have better health if we focus on exercising more and living a healthier lifestyle, it translates to our jobs and how we provide care to patients. With huge changes in the health care system, we are all going to be held responsible for the choices we have control over, and will probably start to see serious consequences if we choose to ignore the issues.

So part of our wellness kickoff was giving presentations about healthy living to our managers. Each person on our admin team took a topic (Eat Well, Sleep Well, Move Well, Stress Well), and mine was Eat Well. I felt a little silly going in front of 35 people who manage employees and run clinics, since I am not the poster child for healthy eating (see paragraph 1, sentence 4). But I did a lot of research and gave a presentation about what had worked for me: never trying to "give up" your favorite foods, looking at healthy eating as a lifestyle instead of a diet, and fads that don't work on a long-term basis. I don't talk a ton about when I lost all my weight, mostly because I feel like it's not relevant to most conversations, and I don't want to be the person who is always talking about weight loss. But it was interesting to give this presentation to people who don't know much about my history or story, and still give information that was useful. It made me feel good when several people came up to me afterwards and thanked me for the information about how to pack a delicious salad for a quick and healthy lunch, without all the lettuce and veggies getting soggy (pack it in a mason jar), or share their own favorite healthy eating tip that can help me as I continue.

My boss gave a presentation in which she mentioned what she calls "drops of awesome." This is a system that her family has initiated, where you focus on all the little successes instead of the big, overwhelming goals. So my drop of awesome last week was cutting out one Diet Coke per day, and substituting water in its place. Oh, and not going to Yogurtland every single day!

6 miles....almost.

I have had a few problems with the last couple of pairs of running shoes I've bought- one pair rubbed my arch and gave me problems, and another pair gave me blisters when I ran more than 6 miles. I haven't been fitted for running shoes since about 2008, and between then and now, I've lost a bunch of weight and really increased my weekly mileage, so I decided to start from scratch and get analyzed.

I found out that I've been running in a stability shoe to correct pronation, when I actually don't pronate at all. From what I've read, I think this is pretty common after weight loss, since bodies will change how they distribute the weight when there is less to carry, so I should have probably done that earlier, but I'm glad I know this now! I tried a few pairs and was amazed at how much more comfortable they were, but I'm always nervous in the running store because I feel like I might pick the wrong one. After many laps around the fitting area, I decided on Mizuno Wave Sayonara, not just because they are cute (which they are) but also because they seem to mold right to the shape of my foot. Most shoes I've worn in the past feel a tiny bit loose on the sides, which is typically where I get blisters, so I thought this might help.

I had a super crazy week at work, so I didn't get to try them out until four days later. I decided to run 6 miles at Liberty Park- since it's a loop, I could run it a couple times to get my distance, plus it has a water fountain and if the new shoes killed my feet, I had a way out. I was really excited, since I hadn't run in awhile and have been doing shorter distances after my eye surgery, and thought it was going to be an awesome run.

So, it wasn't.

Every step felt like a mile, and I could barely get through 5 miles before throwing in the towel. My feet felt awesome, so that definitely wasn't the problem, but I felt sluggish and heavy the entire time. It was really tough and frustrating.

Runs like this make the good runs so worthwhile. The day before I had my eye surgery, I had gone to the gym to run 3.5 on a day that it was about 100 degrees outside. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but as soon as I stepped onto the treadmill, everything clicked. My playlist was perfect, I kept my speed, and I felt great the entire time. I actually went 4.5 and didn't even realize it. Those days are the best, but some runs aren't going to be like that. I get that, and am grateful for the ones that are easy and fun.

What a Week.

So, last week was kind of insane. Last Saturday I woke up with a stomachache that got progressively worse until I was rolling around on the bed in pain and husband took me to Instacare. They couldn't see anything, but it was right lower quadrant pain so they sent me to the ER to rule out appendicitis. Fast forward to eight hours later... One CT scan and two ultrasounds showed very normal organs. So, that was really weird, and a bummer of a Saturday.

Then, two days later, I had surgery on my eye. I had LASIK 5 years ago, and it was super awesome and fab, but my vision has changed enough since then that I had to get a little revision. It was not quite as easy this time around, and I was practically crying on my way to work on Thursday because it was so sensitive to light and I couldn't see anything. But, now it's a lot better, so I'm not quite as dramatic about the whole experience.

This past Saturday, I basically did all the fun activities I'd planned for the last Saturday (which got ruined by the random pain bursts), except we didn't get to go to the water park because I wasn't allowed to get swimming pool water in my eye. But we did go see Jobs (which was medium), then watch football and eat 1.5 large buckets of popcorn, and then I got to have dinner with one of my favorite Provo friends, Ashley! She is due with her first baby (her due date is today, actually!) and it was so fun to catch up and hear all about her life these days.

I couldn't exercise for 5 days after the procedure, but I'm back on the wagon. I went and did an hour on the stationary bike while husband mowed his parents' lawn on Saturday. Then I did a 3 mile run on Monday morning - husband's parents neighborhood does a Labor Day breakfast and fun run every year, so that was really awesome. Kind of like a free 5K (almost).

I signed up for this race so I'm working on getting back to being a long distance runner. The longest I've run since June is 6 miles....so it could be tough. But I'm glad I can use my running schedule as my part-time job, since husband will be gone a LOT this semester!

A Not-So Awesome Run

So, it's pretty normal to have bad runs every now and then. I know that, and I don't beat myself up too much over it. But I'm getting really frustrated because it seems like every Monday, I have a bad run. And I think I know why. During the week, I have a pretty set schedule - I go to work about the same time, eat oatmeal, an apple, and a banana, and then just work at my desk for most of the day. So I'm in a pretty good routine. And then the weekend hits, and I get off early on Friday, and then I exercise at a different time, and I sleep later or do a race or a class at the gym or go somewhere fun on Saturday morning, and my schedule is all thrown off. Then I can't get back to a routine, plus I generally eat a little more (or different foods) than usual, and by the time Sunday night hits, my stomach is a mess.

So then when I try to get up and run Monday morning (which pretty much never happens) my stomach is still all messed up, and I have to wait until after work to run. And this past Monday, it was still feeling super weird so I could only run 3.5, and the last mile felt like 10. So I have tried everything I can think of - eating oatmeal for breakfast on Saturdays, fiber supplements, drinking more water, and nothing is helping. But I also don't want to get so stuck in a routine that I can never do anything other than sit at my house on Saturday mornings.

Ah, first world problems.

This week, I also started trying to cut back a little on Diet Coke. I'm not trying to give it up, but realized I was starting to rely on it a little too much.

Thinking about signing up with my friend for the Haunted Half in October! Looking at the training plan makes me a little nervous....but also excited because having a race on the calendar is the only thing that keeps me motivated to do long runs.

Yogurtland...step one.

So, on Friday night, I decided I needed Yogurtland. Since I have a voucher that lets me get all sorts of deals on my yogurt addiction, it usually doesn't take too much convincing to get Chris to come with me. Plus, I was running a 5K the next morning, and what better way to fuel than 2 pounds of yogurt and toppings + The Cosby Show? Answer: no better way.

So the 5K was okay, it was actually the ending to a USANA (read: multi-level marketing vitamin and supplement company) conference that lasted all week long in SLC. So it makes more sense now why they never sent out a single email with info about where to pick up packets....pretty much every other person running the race had been at the conference and was fully informed. Whoops! I picked this race because my friend and husband decided they both wanted to run a 5K with me, and August 17 was the exact end date of the Couch to 5K program, so we all signed up. It was $25 which is kind of ridiculous for a 5K, but I was being a supportive runner friend, so I shelled out the $50 (!!) for mine and Chris's registrations.

Fast forward to 8 weeks later....both of them bailed, and I ended up running it with my parents. They ran out of shirts so we all got giant sizes, and the course was kind of lame - just an out and back route on a sort of sketchy, very industrial street. But there were probably a few thousand people running it, so it reinstated some of my confidence since I didn't get lost or come in last.

So, after that race, I went to Seven Peaks with my friend (a local water park) and got super sunburned, and also went on this super awesome water slide. It has about 8 slides all lined up, and you race the other people going down at the same time. It was fun until the very end, when a gallon of water shot up my nose. After that, we called it a day and went home. I spent the afternoon napping, putting aloe on my sunburned self, and then babysitting for a church event.

We had about 40+ kids at the event, so it was a little wild! I was pretty tired by the time I got home, but the whole time I was thinking about how I was going to trick Chris into going with me to Yogurtland for the second time in two days. And here's how I know we are MFEO:

Me: "Chris, I want something sweet."
Chris: "How about Yogurtland?"

Sunday was uneventful, but I did eat many chocolate chip cookies!

Intervals and Million Dollar Bars

Now that my house is finally back to its previous state, (minus the giant puddle on the floor that I stepped in this morning....my cat can't resist playing in his water bowl) I am hoping life will go back to normal! Husband starts school again in a week and a half, but he only got about three weeks off because he went to summer semester. But it'll be a pretty big change because he's taking four classes (so far, the most he's taken since we've been married is two at a time) and one of them is at night on Tue/Thurs. And since I'm gone every Wednesday night to my church youth group, I might forget what he looks like in between.

But it will all be worth it when he's graduated and designing awesome new roads.

Since about May, I've been trying to get up on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to go running. It's too hot to run during the day, and I'm trying to not run so much on the treadmill, since I don't think it really trains me for races. I've put the incline on 0.5, but then I feel like I'm going to die and that doesn't make me feel very good about myself. But....since May, I think I've run in the morning a total of....four times? Maybe three. So that plan isn't really working out so well. I keep trying though, and setting my alarm for 5:30, and trying to go to bed earlier.

But I've tried to stay diligent about getting a workout in, even if it's on the treadmill at 0 incline. I've also been working on my speed because I'm really slow. Which is funny because in every other aspect of my life, I move really fast. I type 100+ WPM, I have a really hard time sitting still, and I'm always thinking ahead and planning out what is coming up next. My mom one time told me, "you do everything really fast" and I said "well, except for running." And that's true. So I did some research on speed training and am currently doing Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon training, and it's totally working! Yesterday I did my first interval workout, and boy was I sweaty. I think I was grossing out the people on the treadmills next to me. But I loved it! 1/4 mile at fast pace, then 1/10 mile at regular pace, repeat 8 times for a total of 3.5 miles with warmup and cooldown.

Now that's a sweaty face. 

But I do love the shirt I'm wearing- the only good thing about that 10K I did a couple weeks ago.

Then I made chicken broccoli casserole for dinner, along with making a million freezer breakfast burritos for husband, and veggie dip for dinner tonight! And then I cleaned my house because it was disgusting and still had sheet rock dust and scraps all over the floor (even though the guy finished on Sunday!). And then I was really tired so I sat on the couch and watched Jeopardy while savoring my post-run treat, which I had been saving since lunch.

Million Dollar Bar from Zupa's. Yes. Giant chocolate chips, coconut, and all kinds of yum on a cookie crust.

Double 10K Recap!

Oh, what a crazy few weeks it's been at my house. About a month ago, our condo ceiling collapsed in the utility room with the furnace and water heater. Mind you, this is the third flood we've had in the condo since May. So we are beyond fed up with it all. Finally getting around to trying to get it fixed (now that husband is done with finals) and no one is calling me back!

Aside from that, some of my family was in town the week before last, which was super fab. My sister and I ran the Deseret Classic (her: half marathon, me: 10K) which is supposed to be a PR course since it's all downhill. It was pretty fun, but it runs on the parade route (24th of July is a big holiday in Utah, with a GIANT parade that people camp out on the streets of downtown SLC to see) so it was interesting to run a race among spectators who are asleep, eating breakfast, smoking, or otherwise ignoring the runners :)

Me:

My sister:

Spent some time in Park City that weekend with Chris's family, then went camping last weekend for one night and rafted the Snake River. Came back for the SheRuns 10K in Midway, which is a fun little Swiss-themed town about 45 minutes north of SLC. Drove up with my running friend, and realized that this is a VERY small race. Maybe about 40 people running the 10K, and about 60 running the 5K. So I was a little worried about being at the back, but they assured us that the course was very well marked, and there would be people at every turn to help guide. Which there were...for the 8 minute mile runners. Those of us bringing up the rear had no signs and no people, so I ended up running about a 7K because I had no idea which way to go. It was really frustrating, because I felt like I was unintentionally cheating. So, until I run 8 minute miles, I guess I'm sticking to bigger races that have longer distances along with them.