Finally Back on Track!

Finally.  I'm starting to feel like my normal self.  If y'all haven't been able to tell, I've been in a bit of a slump.  Sure, I've been Death Gymming regularly, and running and biking sporadically, but well.....I just haven't been into it.

Plus, I've been drinking waaaay too much.  Damn softball.  Don't get me wrong, I'm loving playing softball.  But all this beer drinking had to stop.  I was feeling gross and bloated, and waking up the day after drinking way too much is just, well, most of us have been there.

Anyways, this week it stopped.  My eating has been a billion times better, and aside from a little bit of a rum (and fruit) smoothie the hubs made today, I haven't had a drink since my Birthday.  (I know, it was only a week ago.....that just goes to show how much drinking has been done.)

Back on track, bitches.

Monday, I did Week 3, Day 1 of C25K (two rounds in a row) and Death Gym.  Tuesday, the hubbs and I hit the batting cages, and I hit a billion rounds.  I alternated between rounds of  slowpitch with the softball, and the slowest speed (40 mph!) with the baseball.  See, in our coed league, the girls hit a smaller ball.  I hate the small ball, but gotta work on getting better at hitting it.  Wednesday I did Week 4, Day 1 of C25K (two rounds in a row).  Thursday was two games of softball.  In the heat wave.  In left field.  Friday was a 17 mile bike ride, and today was 4 miles of Week 5, Day 1 of C25K (two rounds in a row), followed by 6 miles on the bike, helping some good running friends finish out a long ass 14 mile run.

Can you tell, I'm feeling much more myself?

After my run, bike ride, and breakfast with BCR, the hubbs and I went to the farmers' market.  We scored all this yumminess, plus a dozen ears of corn.

Swiss Chard, three kinds of squash, fennel, and torpedo red onions.

We wandered around a bit, and this trail bread caught my eye.  It was a little pricey, but I couldn't say no.....it was just too interesting!

It was marketed as a cross between bread and granola.....looks like they got it right!

I was nervous about cutting off a slice of it; I thought it would crumble apart.  But it sliced like a piece of bread.  I tried a bite of the slice I cut.  Initially, I thought it would be sweeter, because it looks so much like granola, but it actually had more of a bread taste....not sweet at all.  I smeared a little raw honey on that bad boy (also bout at the farmers' market, but a few weeks ago), and bam.....complete tastiness!

The rest of the day was spent grilling/sauteeing veggies and catching up on laundry.  (Yep, boring ole domestic crap.)  Later on tonight, if the storms hold off, we're heading to the burrah of Nazareth for some fireworks.  Tomorrow, the end of season tourney for Sunday Softball.  Should be interesting.

C25K & the Nutribullet (Finally!)

As you know from my last blog, I presented to the Wellness Committee the idea of running a Couch to 5k (C25K) program at work.  Why, I don't know.  Ok, really I do.  I need something to get MY bum in gear.  I've been lazy.  I figure if other people need to depend on me, well....I won't let them down.

Of course, I didn't present it to the Wellness Committee in that light.

Anyways.  Today, we went over my flyers, and I sent the final copies to the head of the Wellness Committee so she can email them to the world.  (That's what I call emailing something to "All County Users".)  I already put copies of all the flyers in the mailboxes for the different departments at Gracedale.

I wanted to post my pretty little flyers, but I can't hook up pdf's to this blog.  Lame.

Next step, I wait.  Fingers crossed that I have some people interested.  Fingers crossed that I don't have a million people interested.  I'm moderately terrified.

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Now, on to more exciting things.  I've had the Nutribullet for a while now.  (I know, I know, you've all been wondering about it!)

First, a little background.  I had the Magic Bullet forever.  (Minds out of the gutter.  Not that magic bullet.  The one that blends stuff.)  It worked well enough, but I'd always have unblended chunks of ice/strawberries/bananas in the bottom of the cup.  I really wanted to try green smoothies, but the thought of chunks of spinach floating around in my smoothie....well....vomit.  Seriously.

My verdict on the Nutribullet....I LOVE it.  No chunks of ice.  Or strawberries.  Or bananas.  Spinach is completely blended.  This piece of machinery takes all the ingredients and pulverizes them into an awesomely homogeneous mixture.

It comes with a very sturdy base, three blending cups (one large, 2 small), two different blades, and some lids.  Honestly, I think it could have came with more of the bigger cups, and less of the smaller ones.  The cups have a max fill line, and keeping everything under that line helps it all blend smoothly.  But, then you can't fill the cup all the way.  I find that if I mix stuff in the big cup, by the time it blends, it fits in the smaller cup.

I also don't think it is terribly loud when I blend:

My first venture with the Nutribullet ended up being an epic fail.  Spinach, banana, kiwi and apples.  I was hell bent on making a green smoothie.  I mixed it all up, but it seemed kind of runny.  I like my smoothies on the thick side.  Instead of adding ice (duh), I added more of the apple.  

Epic fail.  It tasted really good, but texturally, it was watered down applesauce.  Truly nasty.  But, I guess I can make homemade applesauce now....

I got smarter for my next recipe.  I started freezing the fruits.  Brilliant!  Frozen nectarines, strawberries and banana, with spinach and flax seed.  

Once I got past the baby poo color (or at least, this is the color I imagine baby poo being, since I've never changed a diaper and have zero plans of doing so), I loved it.  I also started adding almond milk instead of water, which helps with the gross color.

This one was strawberry, kiwi and flax (I think).  I wanted to make something that Chris would enjoy....and wouldn't be freaked out with.  For some reason though, this one was spicy.  I don't know if it was something on the strawberries.....

And this one is a normal ole strawberry, banana and blueberry.  (Again, because I was sharing with Chris.)

After drinking more of my green smoothies, I started to get adventurous.  This recipe was posted by one of my favorite blogs, Thug Kitchen.  (Visit the site.  You'll quickly figure out why I love it.)  Oats, frozen strawberries, half a frozen banana, almond milk, water, and a TON of mint.  So.  Flippin.  Yum.

This whole smoothie kick left me with a slight problem.  I now have a ginormous tub of cottage cheese in the fridge.  Usually, I'd have fruit and cottage cheese for breakfast.  But now....well, that container is pretty lonesome in there.

My next mission was to find a smoothie that used not only cottage cheese, but spinach too!  Yep.  Living on the wild side.  I found what I was looking for on......drumroll.....Pinterest.  (Duh.  Where else would you look?)  I'll give Pinch of Yum the true nod here, and link to that blog for the recipe.

Cottage cheese, frozen banana, spinach, almond milk and flax seed.  Sounds gross, right?  Holy moly....TASTY!  The banana counterbalances the tang of the cottage cheese.  And probably the best part?  It looks just like a shamrock shake.  Ok.  Maybe that's not the best part, but it is pretty cool.  Plus, this one was super filling.  A total keeper.

So.  This blog has gotten long.  I've rambled enough for the evening.  But expect more from me in the near future.  I'll be updating a lot more now, especially with the start of the C25K loveliness!

A New Adventure

Yeah, I know I promised my next post was going to be a review on my Nutri Bullet.  Sorry to disappoint (I promise I'll get to one Melissa....I've taken tons of pictures), but I have some waaay more exciting terrifying exciting (I'm going to stick with exciting) news to share.

I've been toying with the idea of starting a Couch to 5K (C25K) program at work after one of the dudes in my running group talked about offering one at his job.  Since I'm on the Wellness Committee at work and all that.....

I picked the Tim Lambert Memorial 5k, which isn't until October 12.  Since a large portion of county employees work at the courthouse, I thought this 5k was perfect.  Sure, it is on the weekend (read: a non-work day), but it is in downtown Easton, and should be accessible to everyone.  Plus, it is late enough in the day (10:00), that the participants won't have to be up at the bum crack of dawn.

I printed out a blank calendar from August through October, and plotted out the nine weeks of  C25K, having October 12 being the last run date.  Kind of like the "end of season" 5k.  I plan on making informational packets to hand out to employees once they let me know they are interested.  We're going to advertise the program using our work email, and I'm going to make a bunch of fliers to post in the various county buildings to advertise it.

I plan on having the group run with me (and whoever might want to help out....I know Bobifer told me he would) twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then invite them to do the "long run" on Saturdays with the Breakfast Club Runners.  (They can also just do it by themselves whenever they have a chance on the weekend.)  I figure we'll meet after work at either Riverview Park or Penn Pump, since both locations are close to the courthouse.  Plus, since they are paved bike paths, they'll be much safer to run on than trying to have however many people running through the streets of Easton.

Since the program is nine weeks long, the participants would be running a total of 18 times with me.  If they run at least nine of those 18 sessions, the Wellness Committee will pay the 5k entry fee.  Awesome, right?

Here is where I'm nervous.  What if no one signs up?  It seems that sometimes, people are very apathetic when it comes to fitness.  We've had 30 people express interest in a FREE Zumba class, and then only 15 actually show up.  People don't want to commit to something after work.  What if I suck at it?  I'm not a terribly good leader to start off with, and I'm certainly not a terribly good runner.  But then again, maybe that would help people feel less intimidated....who knows.  I'm also kind of nervous about people asking me for advice.  I suck at giving advice, especially about working out.  What I do works for me, which may not work for you.

My theory was this:  I signed up to run a fall half marathon, so I'd be running those days anyway.  Why not attempt incorporating it into something that would be beneficial for my coworkers.  I know when I started running, I never thought I'd be able to finish a 5k, let alone a 10k or half marathon.

I think it would be so cool to see those who sign up realize that they CAN do it too!

Softball & Tats

I'm not a huge fan of bringing attention to myself.  I think that's why the whole running/lifting/solo time at the gym works so well for me.  I'm the only one who has to rely on what I'm doing.  Yes, I know I work with a trainer, and that he's kind of rooting for me....but I am the only one who benefits (or sucks) from the work I do.

I think this is why the whole softball thing is was difficult for me.  I put so much pressure on myself to do well, and then when I suck, I'm pissed at myself, which makes me put even more pressure on myself..... Yeah.  You see where this is going.

The hubbs and I have been doing some serious sleuthing to figure out why I've been sucking so bad in the batter's box, but hitting the piss out of the ball at the cages.  And he figured it out.  My feet need to be offset.  In the box, in a game, I grip the bat like I'm going to club someone to death with it, line my feet up with the plate, and swing like I want to kill something.  I'm like Frankenstein....all stiff.  I'm so freaking tense.  In the cages, I stand with my feet offset, which is a much more relaxed (for me, anyway) stance.  It allows my hips to open up, I can take a big step, and I'm much more mobile (read: able to better hit slightly outside or inside balls).

We tested out this theory on the field today.  Not at an actual game, but he pitched to me and I swung away.  And holy moly....I need to relax and remember to keep my feet offset.  I actually put a whole bucket's worth of balls in play!

Another problem of mine is that when I'm catcher, I suck at throwing.  I can never get the ball back to the pitcher without him having to scoop it off the ground.  So I wanted the hubbs and I to work on some throwing.  He stood at home, and I stood at third.  And almost every single ball I threw to him was money.  Seriously.

Why can't I do that shit in a game?

I know why.  Because I hate calling attention to myself.  So I just kinda of "short throw" the ball back to the pitcher.  Not step or anything.  When I'm getting the ball back, the next batter is usually already in the box, and the umpire is there, and I feel bad taking the time to properly set up, take a step, and get the ball back to the pitcher.

Chris said I gotta slow down the game and make it mine.  I'm finally starting to believe him.

In other news, I went back to the Tattoo Factory on Monday evening to get my new tattoo fixed.

This is how it looked:

I really loved the design.  I gotta thank my buddy Barry for that.  But, when the tattoo artist was doing his thing, we obviously had some issues.  Notice the top part of it, where there is all that shading around the paw prints?  At first, he thought it might be bruising, or some of the stencil that was being stubborn and refusing to wash off.  But after a week, the stubborn smudges stayed.  And me, being the perfectionist freak I am, couldn't deal with that.  

I went back, and we decided that he would put shading behind the whole thing.  (Trust me, there was a lot more discussion involved, and I am totally convinced that the tattoo artist completely knows what he is doing.  He is more than competent, and that's why I went back to him.)

I was super nervous, because even though it looked good, I was worried the shading was way too dark. But he said it would lighten up after a couple of days.  In fact, he had said that I might even have to come in one or two more times, just to get the right shade in there.  He can always shade in and make it darker later, but once he goes dark and it is too dark, I'm fucked.    

Plus, I bled like a mofo.  I didn't have that problem with either of my other tattoos, or even this one on the original go at it, but the shading...yikes.  He wanted to use a certain type of needle, but after trying that one I bled waaaay too much, so he had to switch to a different one. What a trainwreck.  Luckily, it still didn't really hurt all that much.  

By today (Wednesday afternoon), the shading has already lightened a bunch.  And actually, looking at the original tattoo in comparison to this one with the shading, I actually do prefer the shading.  

It might continue to lighten as it heals, but I'm supposed to stop in tomorrow evening so he can check it out and see how it is doing.

Next blog.....the NutriBullet has arrived!  

Running in the Rain...Just Running in the Rain!

I think about all kinds of things when I run.  All these awesome thoughts go through my head, and I'm like, "Oh....that would be an awesome blog topic."

Then I stop running, go to Death Gym, go home, shower, eat, blah, blah, blah....and my mind is a blank.

Luckily, I do remember one thing from my run today.

I'm going to stop saying I'm slow.  Sure, I'm slower than other runners.  And I'm definitely much slower than I was a couple years ago.  But, I am where I am.  I'm not slow.  I'm running the perfect pace for me, at this moment.  Most of my runs are averaging the same-ish pace.  And eventually, I'll start throwing in some speedwork (probably fartlek-type running, b/c I can't wrap my head around a track) and hills.  But for now, I'm just running to run.  To get back into it.

But damn it.  For me, right now, I AM NOT SLOW.  I am just running.  So there.  :)

Other things I learned/remembered during my run today:

• Running gets easier if you keep doing it regularly.  I had forgotten that.  Duh.
• Running in the rain is probably the best feeling ever.  While I was at work, I was almost dreading my run.  I kept watching the rain pour down.  I told myself to suck it up.  Then, when I started running, the ran had stopped and I was sad inside.  Halfway through, it started misting, and by the time I was done, it was pouring.  And it was glorious.  Simply. Glorious.  There is something cleansing, renewing, whatever, about running in the rain.
• I love the feeling of having to breathe deep while running....makes me feel like a machine.
• All the lifting I've been doing.....yeah.  Helps with the running.  (See....all this shit is connected.)  Even though I started to feel tired-ish towards the end, my back/shoulders/core kept me upright, stopped me from hunching over, and kept my form (mostly) in check.  Seriously.  Never realized how awesome that could be.  I bet I looked strong, even if I didn't feel it.

I'm not too big on "selfies" while running/working out, but I just felt so "in the moment" (if that makes any sense).  And yes....I listen to music.  That way, I don't have to listen to myself breathe.