I noticed some tightness in my left hammy after my back to back weekend runs. As of yesterday I was planning on skipping today’s 4 mile hill workout. But last night I bounced on my trampoline to warm my muscles and then did some stretching and today I felt good. So I packed my gym bag (and didn’t forget anything this time!) and at 11:45 am left the office with my new found excitement for a treadmill workout. Conspiracy theory??

This is what I saw:

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renovations…without major interuption in service!

“Without major interruption in service”….um…I’m sorry but when all treadmills (we’re talking 30+) are unavailable on a day I arrive to do a running workout that IS major interruption in service to me thank you very much.

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it’s an elliptical treadmill pile up!

Ironically I took it very we’ll and immediately conjured up a plan B!

I remembered reading somewhere that the stepmill is the closest in comparison to hill running so I jumped on and climbed 188 floors!! (That’s more than the Empire State Building according to the little computer cues) 25 minutes later and I was soaked.

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I got to put my initials in for one of the best climbs of the week. I guess there aren’t many members of this gym who like to climb…

I finished out my session with 15 min of easy biking to complete a total of 40 min which is what my 4 mile run would have taken me anyway. Sometimes the world emphasizes what decisions we need to make 🙂 (And I’m not just talking about workout swaps…I’m deep!)

And wow did I forget how sweaty a stepmill workout can make me.

I’ve decided I am going to start adding in some mental workouts into my training.

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clear the mind

All kidding aside I want to start a little positive affirmation journal of some sort. I need to keep working on that inner strength. 🙂 UPDATE: I just added this page to the top nav bar of my blog for some visual inspirational quotes. I’ll let you know as I add more. This seems like a good place to start.

I came home to a package of goodies that I ordered. I’ve been treating myself to a lot of goodies lately. Eh, I’m worth it =) Fancy swiss hair care and skin care products. I’ve used most of these before but I did buy a few new items. Can’t wait to try out the hair masque! The cold dry winter air is doing a number on my curls. They need a good quenching. (anyone else think quenching is just such a weird word?).

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product!

Well now that it’s 1am I better go to bed or I’m gonna need toothpicks to keep my eyes open tomorrow. (where do these expressions come from, right??!!)

Happy Hump Day!

Question: What positive quotes help you get through your day or your workout?

Happy Monday everyone!

It was a rough start. Duncan seemed to have a boo boo on his eyelid…I saw some dried blood on his fur and panicked. Luckily it looks like he’ll be just fine and we can avoid a vet visit. I’m NOT good with Duncan boo boos!

Next up was the rain. It was pouring so hard AND the wind was whipping. I stood at the bus stop and battled my umbrella best I could but by the time the bus came my jeans were sopping wet from the knee down as were my feet:( Traffic was bad and I was over a half hour late to work.

But my boss helped me find our little space heater in the office closet! I sat and dried out the sopping wet feet and jeans.

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Dear space heater: I love you!

Within 30 minutes that debacle was a thing of the past. (Well my hair was tragic but when you have naturally curly hair you just learn to accept tragic hair on rainy days).

Then I found out my friend’s dog crossed the rainbow bridge:( She was 15 and I guess we knew her time was near, but it’s never easy to say goodbye to a furry best friend.

So my Monday was definitely starting off on the low end. A friend mentioned later in the day that today is actually called Blue Monday: the most depressing day of the year. I get it.

Thank god I had so much fun at my friend’s Little Christmas party last night. (It’s gotta be at least 10 years that I’ve been going. A few highlights:

  1. The menu. Beer was kept cold in the snow on the back deck (genius!). There were also plenty of beverage options inside. Dinner was a petit filet steak for each person, broccoli, green beans, quinoa, sweet potatoes and jambalaya.
    photo 3
  2. The “Wrapped Crap” exchange: I received a “ZePad”. It was a $20 fake iPad that was actually purchased as a decoy for my friend’s daughter by her boyfriend so that he could eventually surprise her with the real iPad later on. They both knew I would get a kick out of it so they re-wrapped it and ensured that I was given that package.
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    photo 1
    It’s actually like having a very old computer. It plugs in….even takes pictures.

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    archaic group shot

    We tried to connect it to the internet but unsuccessful at the moment. I refuse to throw it out though. This is one wrapped crap gift I’ll be keeping even if it’s just to use the calculator function. LOL! There was also a bottle of French shower gel and in French it is Gel Douche. Yes we giggled like teenage boys.
    photo 3 copy Other wrapped crap classics….a stinky candle, and some mismatched glass coasters and a gaudy holiday coffee mug.
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  3. The conversations: I don’t get to see these girls often so it’s nice to talk about some funny stories of our past. One big topic of discussion was about signs we get from people who have died. Ladybugs, butterflies, feathers, coins, numbers, scents, songs, electronics going haywire. I think we were all in agreement that our loved ones continue to let us know they’re with us once they’ve passed on.
  4. The S’mores Dip: I did it again! I made a stellar dip. Actually I think my ratio of melted chocolate to toasted marshmallow was better this time around.

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    beautiful, perfectly browned toasted marshmallows combined with the right balance of melted chocolate. I approve!

I was so busy bitchin’ about my crappy monday that I forgot to mention I wore my pedometer today for the first time (you can read this post to see how I won it). While the rest of the blog world is testing out FitBits and Polar Loops, I’m going old school =)

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I am actually impressed that I made it to almost 5,500 steps. Duncan and I didn’t do our normal morning walk of 20-30 minutes and I didn’t go far at lunch because of the rain, so I’m guessing most days I probably make it to 7,500. I think they recommend 10,000 steps a day so I’m not far off. Tonight is cross training night so I’ll be bouncing on the trampoline for a bit. Tomorrow i’ve got a plain ole 3 mile run to do. I love week 1 of marathon training =)

I mentioned in this post that I’m getting ready to repaint all the rooms in my house. Well, I have been looking for new bedding for my bedroom. Today, I felt the need to cheer myself up so I finally pulled the trigger and ordered 2 different duvets and a decorative pillow. Here’s a little picture showing the purchases and also I tried to make a little representation of what the final product will look like. I’m painting my bedroom walls gray. My headboard is white and i’m planning on mixing the black and white toile duvet with the teal colored one…shams too. And then I got this cool petal covered pillow too.

bedding-ensembleSo that’s that. I’m off to bounce now. Have a great night.

Question: Do you like your current bedroom bedding or do you feel the need for a change? What are your colors?

Yesterday I hit the gym during my lunch break and did 15 min on the rower and 15 on the stair master. My upper body got a good workout as did my glutes..and my tender foot got a reprieve. Happy to report it is feeling good and I should be just fine to run on it in a day or two.

I had these sourdough pretzel nibblers with my lunch and had a smile when I realized they were from my goodie bag that I received as soon as I crossed the finish line at the NYC Marathon exactly one month ago!

photo 2Then  when I came home I was snacking on some popcorn (theme of the day was carbo snacking-busted!) and happened to notice the “sell by” date is April 27th, 2014 which is the date of my next marathon (the NJ Marathon). I had a chuckle.

popcorndate

Admittedly, I’m a running junkie and running is always on my mind. So even while I’m enjoying being in this non-structured time period right now to let my body rest and focus on cross training, it’s nice to be reminded again of my marathons both past and future! I’m super excited to start training for NJ. Just 5 more weeks until training kicks off. Let’s see if I’m still super excited as I hit the beginning of April. At least I won’t be running my 20 mile long runs in the heat and humidity!

I often get caught up in the frustrations of working in Manhattan—the crowds, the commute, the time lost as I sit in traffic…but last night as all the tourists were busy taking pictures of the decorated holiday windows at Macy’s I grabbed this shot of the Empire State Building. It looked extra specially beautiful with the blue and white lights shining.

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Tonight they’ll be lighting the tree at Rockafeller Center. I could easily walk there from my office to see the tree but let’s not get silly now! WAY TOO CHAOTIC for me. =)

3 more weeks until Christmas day. I’ve got my holiday cards designed, ordered and shipped. As soon as I get them mailed I’ll post the final card here. It’s really cute if I do say so myself.

Happy Hump Day. 

Don’t know what’s going on with me today but I just felt like the bottomless pit. I truly overate! Started and ended my day with a waffle. Yep….the clock struck midnight and I felt it appropriate to make it Midnight Munchies Monday. And of course the dog wanted to partake so he got his own munchy.

midnight munchies

midnight munchies

There was apple pie in the break room at work and I couldn’t resist…twice! (who eats 2 slices of pie before 11am?)

fruit for breakfast

fruit for breakfast

All I know is that there better be some will power for me under the tree this year. Well, Cyber Monday almost came and went without a single online purchase by me…..but……I’ve been eyeing this cool mini-trampoline for a half a second and when I saw it was 20% off with FREE shipping too I pulled the trigger.

fancy shmancy trampoline

fancy shmancy trampoline.

If you’re looking for me I’ll be bouncing on this thing in my living room all winter!

Now it’s time to share some link love. I happen to have 2 very good friends named Lisa…..There’s running Lisa and baking Lisa.

Running Lisa was just featured in this Wall Street Journal article about ultra running.

coldwindy

Cold and windy Montana….

Running Lisa and I met when we worked at the same company about 7 years ago. And then she inspired me to start running. If you’re new to this blog you can see how she inspired me in this video. In the article she talks about her most recent endeavor at the Center of the Nation Series. I was one of the friends who accompanied her on the trip but while she ran an entire full marathon each day for 5 days straight I ran 5 consecutive halfs. It was one of the best trips of my life. I posted a recap for each of the 5 days of the series. If you’re interested in reading more…

Center of the Nation Series Marathon/Half Marathon Day 1 North Dakota

Center of the Nation Series Marathon/Half Marathon Day 1 South Dakota

Center of the Nation Series Marathon/Half Marathon Day 1 Wyoming

Center of the Nation Series Marathon/Half Marathon Day 1 Montana

Center of the Nation Series Marathon/Half Marathon Day 1 Nebraska

 

The Rescue Baker!

The Rescue Baker! Cutest logo ever! I created it =)

Baker Lisa, otherwise known as The Rescue Baker, has been whipping up some amazing “Divine” holiday chocolatey treats while sharing the recipes and an exciting giveaway on her blog. I’ve tasted many of her desserts and she never disappoints.

Well now that it’s 1am, I’m going to try and go to bed. Tomorrow will be another hot date with the rowing machine at the gym. I’d like to say it’s because I’m getting excited about cross-training but in all honesty I hurt the bottom of my foot jumping down from my kitchen counter Sunday night and it’s very tender so I’m trying to keep my weight off it for a couple days. (note to self: 40 years old means it’s time to be smarter about jumping down from kitchen counters. If only I weren’t vertically challenged!)

Hope your week started off on the right (not tender or sore) foot!

 

Question: How do you deal with days when you just can’t get full? Do you just go with it? Anyone have a trampoline/rebounder?Â