Hills and Being Sappy

For the love of all that is holy....


Hills are no joke. Frealz. I was able to do 12:30 before I had to do my cool down walk. I alternated 6.5mph at 0% incline for 2 minutes, then upped it to 6.0% incline and decreased it to 5.5 mph for one minute. Repeat. 


I know 12 and a half minutes isn't a long time. At all. But my legs felt like straight up jello, and I was sweating like Lindsey Lohan in rehab. I was wonderful and horrible all at the same time. I have created my psuedo "Start training for Disney" plan, that I will alter as Disney gets closer. For now it goes something like this:


3 runs per week (minimum)
1 hills run
1 speed run (intervals)
1 long run


Hills: Currently I hit 12:30 at the previously mentioned pace. I'm going to shoot for 15 minutes next time, and keep increasing until I can do the entire workout for 30 minutes. Then I'll work on increasing the pace.


Speed: 1 minute regular pace, 1 minute speed. Increase as I improve.


Long run: Self-explanatory.


My goal is to be able to run Disney at a 7.0 mph (8:34) pace. Or faster. I mean, preferably faster, but this is a speed I feel I could be proud of. I will get there. I know my workout today seemed super short and easy, but for me, it wasn't. I was pushing myself and it was hard. Sometimes when I'm reading all your wonderful blogs, I forget I'm not you. I just started running four months ago, and was out of commission on/off for two of those. I used to not be able to hold 6mph for 2 miles, and my first 5K was in the 33 minute time frame. 


You guys are so inspiring, and I just want to get where y'all are, and so fast. But I just have to remind myself, it will take time, and to listen to my body. I know I'm not slacking, because I can feel it. And I'm improving. I realized today, that I'm proud of myself. And I love all of you for supporting me, and pushing me to get better, you guys are amazing. I'll keep working at it, and keep reading about y'alls amazing runs to keep me inspired. :)


Can you tell I'm hyped up on endorphins? Am I being sappy enough?! Lol.

Back in the Game!

Hi y'all!

Woot! I'm back to feeling 100%, and I am so ready for work to be over (only another 11 hours to go...) so I can get this lazy bum back into the gym.

I was talking to my bestie (Ellie) and was like....hmmmm... do I want to do intervals again, or try hills? Of course being the butthead that she is... she chose hills. I've never done hills before... so I'm super nervous, yet excited! I'll be sure to blog the experience, and how much my poor legs are gonna hurt afterwards. ALSO!! Said best friend, and future hubs both agreed to do the 2012 Walt Disney World Half-Marathon with me! It felt like Christmas morning. My two favorite people in the whole universe? YES, PLEASE!

I am so excited. I'm signing the boy and I up on opening day of registration. I have decided that I not only want to run this half, but I want to do well. I mean, barring any injury, I have a year to prepare for this, so I feel if I push myself (within my limits, of course, no injuries!!) I can do pretty well. You guys have to understand, never in my life have I done well at sports. Ever. Ever. I was never competetive because, well, I never tried. I am beginning to see why it's so much fun!!

So even though I know it going to take some work, and there will be lots of days I don't want to... I just have to keep my eye on the end goal, and think of Mickey and Minnie at the finish line. :)

Ooooooh! I restarted my Twitter account! You can follow me, I mean, if you don't get sick of my chitter chatter already.... Lol. I'm @runnin2thealtar. I started (and abandoned) my Twitter account a long time ago, so if you go back too far, there quite a few swear words, so I apologize if you aren't a fan of cursing. It's still something I'm trying to change about myself. :)

Also, Bess is having a give-away of some yummy snacks, so check it out. You can also reach it by my giveaway links on the side of my blog. Ok, well I guess I'd better get back to Kitty Cannon work. See you later with my post-hills run!!

-Katy!

Tummy Aches

So shortly after my post yesterday, I came down with a lightening case of a stomach bug, and spent the majority of my day in the fetal position holding my tummy and hating life. Biggest thing I was not doing was sleeping. And since tonight I had to work, I'm seriously going off fumes tonight.

So, my stomach feels much better now, just a slight nauseated feeling, so I think once I go home and crash out I should be back to 100% tomorrow and ready for some intervals. Ooooh buddy.I'm totally excited about it. As soon as I write this post I'm going to get off my lazy bum and do my lunges and planks.

Anyways, sorry for the brief post, but I seriously don't have anything to talk about, really. I psuedo-watched a movie called "Pirate Radio", though I can't really give an accurate review since I wasn't really paying attention.. Lol.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day, and I'll be back with my normal shenanigans tomorrow.

M-M-M-Money!

Disclaimer: This is not an exercise or food related post. I got caught up in a whole bunch of tasks (mainly surfing the interwebs) and blew the whole night, so I have a lot of cleaning to do in my CLU, since we have room inspections in the morning. You know. When I'm supposed to be sleeping. SO I have my hit-the-gym hardcore workout planned for tomorrow, but it will be tomorrow. :)


So while this deployment has been a total drag and I miss my loverboy and my family and my friends, I miss real food, and clean bathroom, and nice beds, I miss going shopping and celebrating holidays, and pretty much everything I used to take for granted, I will say one thing about being deployed.


Mad money, yo.


For real, my favorite part of being deployed is getting that paycheck on the 1st and 15th and being able to watch my savings account grow. And grow. And grow. I have not always been very good with money. In fact when I was 18, and new to the "Employment Club"  (I count the Navy as my first real job), the first thing I did was get a credit card. And max it out. Fast forward six years and 4 more credit cards.... That was me at the beginning of this deployment. 


Now, I have paid all of those off, and one of the things that I am super looking forward is shopping when I get back to the States! :) I have a list of things to buy, and wanted to share. 


Things Katy Will Spend Deployment Monies On:
+Treadmill. Yes. I want one, and will have one. Shane and I will just have to find a bottom floor apartment. 
+Wedding Dress. And probably various other wedding doo-dahs.
+Clothes/Shoes/etc. I'm not only going to be a new size when I come back to the States, but I have been salivating over magazines/movies/blogs for months. I want fashionable stuff!
+Makeup. All of mine is back in the States, and most of it will be past recommended useage dates when I get back. 
+Food. Groceries. Anything involving food prep. This is a must. :) I've been jealous of everyones recipes for way too long!
+Cell phone. I will finally join the rest of the world and get a smart phone. Usually I'm super cheap when it comes to phones, and never get the best kind, and then it breaks about six months in, and I have to wait for my time to upgrade to come around.... Not this time. I haven't decided on an iPhone or a Droid. Any suggestions?
+Security deposit/Rent for an apartment, so when Shane comes home we have a place to live.... :)
+Car registration and insurance. Ugh. I liked not having those bills.....
+Getting my hair did. Seriously. I'm so excited. 




Anyways. Some of it is fun, "yay shopping with bestie goodness". Others are "boring bills gotta be paid" blah. I'm blessed enough to have the military pay for my school, and a soon to be husband who will still have a job. Sugar Daddy as I like to call him... 


What would you spend your money on, if you had been away from civilization for months earning it?
You just saw it. If I was still gonna be employed (and wasn't trying to pay for a wedding without going into debt).... let's just say there would be less responsible things on there, and more...... trips to Europe/Mexico/the Bahamas.

Calves of Fire

Workout: 7 laps around the soccer field (I'm guessing about 1 mile...) / 20 8-Count Body-builders / 25 squats / 1:00 plank (front and sides) / 60 arm circles


PT was group again today. I hate it so much. I don't know why going to the gym is my favorite time of every day, but department pt is the worst part of my week. I suppose I should have a better attitude about it, but it's so dang annoying. It's not that it's hard, just annoying.


Anyways.


My calves were on fire today. Seriously, it should have been an off-running day, and my calves were proving it. On the last lap I was literally almost in tears. It took everything I had not to cry in front of a hundred other people. I came home and tried to roll them, but even that was excruciating. I was planning on running again tonight (was going to bump it up to every other day) but it will definitely be a cross train night. 


Here's a few photos, and then I'm to dream world. I'm exhausted!!

and

Because I <3 these cookies... Don't worry. I only had 3!

Good night everybody!! :)

Intervals? Yes, please.

Workout: 25 lunges / 30 minutes weights (arms) / 1:45 front plank / 1:00 side planks / 2.5 mi in 26:00


Whew. I did, for the first time ever, intervals on the treadmill!!


Go me!


I ran 2 miles alternating 6.5mph and 7.0 mph each minute for 18:00 minutes. I hit 2 miles at 17:48. Then I walked at 3.5 mph until I hit 2.5 miles. So it looks like I went really slooooooow, but I didn't!!! I promise! I've never gone faster than 6.5 mph, so doing 9 whole minutes at 7.0 mph (even if it was not consecutive) is huge for me. I was sweating my little booty off. Janae, (my in my head BFF) would have been so proud with how many times sweat actually went into my eyeballs!


I had zero pain in my thighs! Yay! I did however have nagging, tight calves the whole time, but it was just sore, not injury painful. More of a nuisance, really. I really need to invest in a foam roller, though for now, the hair spray will have to work... Lol. 


Now I just need to shower, as proven by here:

Eh, maybe later. :)


Anyways, on to the eats. Here was my favorite meal:

I made my oatmeal differently this morning. I realized lately I have been eating a lot of the Apples and Cinnamon kind, which while delicious, has a lot of added sugar, so I shouldn't eat the flavored kind more than once a day at most. SO I used to regular kind, added my usual 2 splendas and teaspoon of flaxseed and found an amazing discovery at the galley that I didn't think existed...


Cinnamon.


In my opinion, you can never have too much cinnamon. So I poured a whole bunch in, and stirred. I found, you definitely have to add more water with the cinnamon and the flaxseed, but it was yum. :) I'll be trying to do this more than the flavored types, though I will probably still have those every so often as well... Lol.


The rest of the eats of the night were:
+Honey Ginger glazed chicken wing
+Apples and CInnamon oatmeal w/ flaxseed (this was at the beginning of the night)
+Rice with a little soy sauce
+Salad with cucumbers (Literally lettuce and cucumbers.....)
+Diet Coke
+Orange juice
+Oatmeal w/ flaxseed, 2 Splendas, and cinnamon
+2 eggs hard on toasted pumpernickel bread
+Grapes
+3 Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. (I demonstrated portion control. I'm literally so proud.)


Anyways, I'm off to shower and maybe get in a little Scrubs watching. I finished the fourth season of Big Love last night. I love that show. I've gotten two different people addicted since I've been out here in Africa. It's super fun!


Have a great day everyone!! Soon (once I'm back on days, which starts next week) I'm going to go around base and take some pictures and do a post about it. I forget sometimes that just because I hate it here, doesn't mean it's not interesting to others! Lol. 

Vibram FAIL....

Workout: Killer Ab Workout / 25 lunges / 20 minutes weights (chest) / 30 minutes elliptical


I have a few things to talk about today, which is why my post is so late, hehe. First off.


The original plan for today was to run, and to run in these:

My Vibram Five Fingers.

Well, you know the saying, "The road to hell was paved with good intentions"? Yeah. That applied to me today. 

I love these shoes, usually. I mean, LOVE. Today, however was a different story. I put them on an immediately it didn't feel right. My calves were already sore (I think they were just tight from all the boots-on-gravel walking) and I don't know how these shoes affect everyone, but they always seem to work my calves the most. But I said, Oh well. and went about my business. Completed my ab workout, (I seriously love this ab set pretty hardcore) then did my weights, and went to the treadmill fully prepared to run. Pssssh. I didn't make it 1/4 of a mile before I pushed the STOP button. It hurt. Not in a good, this is awesome, way hurt. 

So I moved to the elliptical and decided I'd run tomorrow in my nice cushioned calves lovin' tennis shoes. But about 10 minutes into that, my feet starting hurting. I was seriously annoyed by this time. I mean, I've worn these darn shoes multiple times, so it's not like I was completely new to them. Although I hadn't worn them in quite a while because my base looks like this:

I'm sorry. But walking on those rocks hurts.

So I finished my workout, stretched and started walking home. On that. It's like a 3/4 mile walk. I just made that number up, but it is my guess. :) Luckily, a really nice officer drove by in a Gator and offered me a ride. Um, yes please. Don't worry. In the States I only get in windowless vans with strangers. I have standards.

But, alas, it didn't stop me from developing a very irritating bruise right on the bottom of my heel. So now I'm limping. I'm praying it goes away while I sleep the day away so I can run tonight. Wish me luck.

Now onto more important things. Like cookies.

Yeah, I got this in the mail today.

Let's just say the candy fast ended tonight... And I'm not sorry.

Basically, one of my girlfriends sent me a rocking Valentine's Day package. It had:

+FOUR different kinds of Girl Scout cookies (Thin Mints, Shortbread, Thanks-A-Lots, and Somoans)

+Bag of Sweathearts Conversation Hearts (yum...)

+Little complilation of Ferrerra Rocher truffles

+magazines (Runner's World, Cosmo, Women's Health, Mad Libs, etc.)

+Wedding Book

+Victorias Secret lotion and Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitizer

+Super sweet Card

+Face Mask

So, I wasn't going to insult her by not eating the entire bag of candy. That would be rude, guys. Hehe. I did have some help from my co-workers, and the no candy is back on tomorrow. (I obviously am an all-or-nothing kinda girl...) But seriously, it was wonderful. Wonderful.

I was gonna post my eats, but other than candy and girl scout cookies.... it was pretty healthy. Lol. So I don't feel very guilty, and this post is long enough. So I leave you guys with this:

I wasn't kidding when I said I live in a shipping container...

and

Because I know you guys like to see my sweaty hair and go to sleep now bags...

Have a wonderful day y'all. :)

Awesome Band I Found...

Hey y'all.

Skipping the gym tonight. I'll do my usual lunges and planks, but other than that, I'm just not feeling it tonight. I didn't sleep but like two hours last night (and I'm working tonight, that's a bad mix.) Don't worry. Tomorrow I'll be back in the gym busting my booty from here to Kingdom Come. :)

The Eats of the Night:
+T-Bone steak. I love steak night.
+Broccolli
+Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal with flaxseed
+Portion of rice
+LOTS more broccolli
+Oatmeal with flaxseed and 2 Splendas
+Crisp green apple. Yum.
+Blueberry Green tea with 2 Splendas. Delicious.
+English Breakfast tea with 2 Splendas
+Diet Coke
+Air popped popcorn with a little butter and parmesan.
+Regular Sprite. (My stomach felt really upset after the popcorn, so I had some Sprite to calm it down.)

Plus whatever I get at breakfast. My favorite meal of the day. Thank God I love oatmeal, or my meals would get boring quickly.... And the flaxseed is awesome, and I totally reccommend it. Maybe it is the placebo effect, but it's working on this girl. :)

By the way, if you like rock music, and want to hear a totally awesome band with a lead singer who rocks my socks off, try We Are The Fallen. Here is a link to one of their songs on YouTube. I love them pretty hardcore. A few are from the band Evanescence, but it's not Amy Lee as the lead singer, it's Carly Smithson, and I guess she was on American Idol. I never watch it, so I wouldn't know.... This is their official website.

Anways, I hope everyone has an awesome day! :)

Vampire Pale Girl

Workout: 25 lunges / 1:30 front plank / 1:00 side planks / 20 minutes weights (back) / 2mi run in 18:30, 6.5 mph pace 


Whew. That run was awesome. I'm glad I upped the mileage, and if all feels good tomorrow, then I will continue to incorporate more running into my workout regiment. Yippee! After the 18:30, I upped the incline to 5.0 and downed the speed to 3.5 mph and finished out my 30 minutes while jamming and watching the beginning of the Steelers/Jets game. 


Confession: I did not do my lunges/planks yesterday. Whoops. Sorry, El. I got to talking to Patrick on Skype, and the next thing I knew it was three hours later and I was sleepy. Sorry. :(


So I was sorry to see the Bears lose, and it looks like the Jets are not doing so well (the game is still going, so this could change), so both of my picks for the weekend may turn out to lose. I'm just sad to see the season end at all. I love football. Especially college football. Now that is where my heart truly lies. :)


Here is a flash-gone-wrong photo of myself in the gym tonight:

I mean, I'm pale. But even I'm not that pale.

The eats so far today:

+Beef and broccolli

+Small portion of rice

+Wilted salad.

+Diet Coke

I know, not much. I'll make up for it at breakfast, here in a few minutes, promise. :) I slept really late, AGAIN. I have work tonight, so that won't be happening today. It's good, though. I need to get out of my room and actually speak to another person. It's funny, in America I'm super social. But here, in Africa, pssssssh. I'm like the CLU (what we call the shipping containers we live in) version of agoraphobic. Haha.

Anyways, this girl is hungry, so I'm off to fill my belly. Oh, I love breakfast. :) Have a great Monday everybody!

Rest Day

No gym for this girl today. I don't what it is, but I (and my body) just feel exhausted. I slept for ten hours, woke up and went right back to sleep for another two last night.I hope I'm not coming down with something. Either way, I just decided to give myself a day off. 


To make up for my lack of exercise today.... I will be upping my running distance tomorrow, since I haven't felt ANY leg pain in a while. If I still don't feel any after tomorrow, we'll work from there. Still going to knock out my lunges and planks, though. 


I got to talk to the boy! That is exciting news. It means he is safe and unhurt, and I can not worry for a few more days. This deployment may be the death of me. I've never been on this side of one, before. I've always thought of deployments from the military viewpoint, and how difficult it is for the service member. I guess I didn't realize how difficult it is for the families as well. The not knowing, waiting for some form of communication. The prayers and pleadings with God when you haven't had contact with them for a little while. It breaks your heart a little at a time. I'm grateful for the military and all it has provided me. I understand that the military serves a very important purpose, and is needed. But, I have come to realize I will be very glad on the day I can say my boy doesn't have to leave me to put himself at risk every single day.


Sorry for the novel. :)


Anyways. I just chatted with one of best friends and his girlfriend for like 3 hours. So I'm super tired and off to bed. I hope everyone has a great night/day!


FOOTBALL TOMORROW!

Step Away From the Pasta Bar.....

Workout: 30 minutes weights (arms) / 25 lunges / 1:45 front plank / 1:00 side plank / 30 minutes walking on treadmill at 11% - 13% incline and 2.5 - 3.0 mph


Stupid crowded gym. All of the ellipticals were taken, and since I had been arguing with myself the whole time I was doing my lunges and planks whether or not I was going to even do cardio, I was super annoyed. Since I didn't want to run again so soon, I decided to crank the incline up and walk. Wow. My glutes are hurting. And this is coming from the chick who does lunges EVERY SINGLE DAY. 


I deem today: success.


I had another "I don't wanna go to the gym" day, so I promptly put it off until I knew I couldn't anymore and told myself, "I don't care what you wanna, get off your behind, and get there." And as usual, I got there, and felt so much better that I did. It's like I've said before.


I've never regretted an unwanted workout, but always regret an unplanned off day.


I feel so deep right now. It's creeping me out. Back to normal.


Here's some photos of my eats.

Don't you wish you had my frizzy hair and unplucked eyebrows? I know. You're super jealous.

That was my snack.

I also ate:

+2 eggs hard on toasted pumpernickel bread (Surprised, I know.)

+Mini blueberry muffin

+One biscuit with grape jelly (I'm southern. To completely take lard out of my diet would be like killing me of heartbreak. )

+Orange Juice

+Asparagus. This, as you will see in the picture, was more like sludge with a hint of asparagus flavoring. I LITERALLY almost threw up a little. But I wolfed it down since it was the ONLY vegetable I had on my plate at dinner.)

+Pear. Really juicy. :)

+Two chicken wings

+Spaghetti. I must have been craving carbs hardcore, because I saw this and almost started foaming at the mouth. It was gonna happen. I had no control over it. Haha

+Diet Coke.

Not the healthiest, but not too bad either. I'm ending Day 4 of zero candy, and that is huge for me. Especially since I didn't compensate with ice cream. Which is what I want to do when there is no candy. I'm beginning to believe exercise is strengthening more than my muscles, but my willpower as well. 

And I'm ok with that.

Have a great night everyone. :)

Sleepy Girl

Workout: Ketllebell workout / New awesome ab workout / 1 mile in 9:13 (6.5 mph) / 30 minutes elliptical / 25 lunges

Totally awkward picture of me running that makes me look like I'm standing still....

I was beat today after my workout. It was an awesome workout, though. My kettlebell workout is like another cardio workout. My heart was pumping. 

By the way, if you have like a minute and want a quick way to get your heart rate up, do 25 lunges each leg. Seriously. It will also get you warm, and I know that most of America is experiencing really cold weather. (We are too. It was like in the 70's, and I had to wear a sweatshirt after nightfall. Brrrrr. Haha.)

And that ab workout? Kicked my trash all the way back to America. (I wish...) Holy cow, that was HARD. Ok, so maybe I just neglect my abs like 98% of the time, and that's why every muscle group on my body is getting beat into submission and I STILL have love handles.... But seriously.  It was tough for me. And my best friend said it was tough for her too. Though she used words like napalm, she's very descriptive. So if you're an abdominal PANSY like myself, try this out and feel the burn. 

Yeah. I took a picture of my sweaty iPod. I'm not weird or anything...

Then I ran my mile, which was heaven, and then hopped on the elliptical. I really got into my episode of Glee! and didn't want to stop, but I was so tired I was afraid of falling asleep on the darn thing, so I called it a day and went home.

What is goin' on with my elbow?!

And promptly slept for like 12 hours. When I had missed two meals, and my stomach was about to pronounce mutiny on the rest of my body, I finally gave in and went and brushed my teeth and made my way to the galley. I kinda doubled up my meal and ate breakfast and lunch together. 

Yummy.

I had:

+Apples and Cinnamon oatmeal with ground flaxseed. I don't put any Splenda because there is already enough sugar in the flavored packets. 

+Roast beef, pepperoni, and American cheese sandwich. They only have the sandwich bar open right now, so my choices were EXTREMELY limited. My bad for sleeping through the regular meal hours.

+Baby carrots.

+Diet Coke

+Peppermint herbal tea with 2 Splendas.

Looks like I'm on my own devices until breakfast. (Or dinner for me.) I have a few Special K bars, so I"ll be good. Tonight is going to be a night of laundry, internet, Scrubs (I just discovered this precious gem of show. Yeah, I know. I just crawled out from under the rock I've been living in.), and putting my movies on my hard drive. 

At some point I'll make my way to the gym. :) I hope everyone has a great day, and a wonderful weekend!!

Oh, and to clarify, I haven't signed up for the race yet, registration doesn't open until March 15. But I will sign up then. I have committed to this. I'm soooooo excited!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Eats of the day. Try not to fall asleep at the boringness of my meals....

P.S. I haven't had my breakfast/dinner yet.

+Grilled BBQ chicken breast
+Green beans
+Cucumbers
+Oatmeal with flaxseed and dried strawberries and 2 packets of Splenda
+Like 5 bowls of popcorn. Maybe seven.
+2 Diet Cokes
+2 cups of English Breakfast Tea w/ 2 Splendas each
+Oatmeal with 2 splendas.

My shop has a popcorn maker, and it is the bomb. I love it because I am a popcorn freak, but microwave popcorn is sooooooo bad for you. So you throw kernals into this machine that uses hot air instead of oil to pop the popcorn and then you can flavor it however you want. We use a little butter and some parmesan. It's super easy and pretty healthy. It's also way cheaper than microwave popcorn, at least if you eat a lot of it.

So, I made a big decision today. I have decided to sign up for the 2012 DisneyWorld Half Marathon. Marathon weekend is Jan 5-8, 2012 and registration opens on March 15, 2011. I'm just going to dive headfirst into it. I figure it's plenty of time for me to heal and train. And I'm obsessed with Disney. Seriously. So. Who's with me?! Haha. But really...

I'm really excited about it. Plus I think it would be something fun for Shane and I to do as newlyweds. You know. Me run, and him put up with me talking about nothing but running for the next year. Or so. Haha. I don't know where I found such an easy-going guy, but I'll be danged if I'm ever letting him go. He's out on missions now, and I miss him so.

We just watched Julie and Julia at work, and holy cow do I love that movie. Especially since she's a blogger. :)

Going to work out after shift, and I'm going to do the kettlebell workout, and this ab workout that I wrote about yesterday. Plus the usual lunges, though I am substituting my planks for the ab workout. Ellie, it counts. It SO counts! Then I'm running my mile (woohoo!), and doing the usual Glee marathon elliptical workout. Really looking forward to it. :)

I have decided to continue to add fiber to my diet, my body drastically needs to get used to it. It will be uncomfortable, I know, but I'm hoping as my body grows accustomed to it, the negative side effects will lessen. Hopefully.

Anyways. I hope everyone has a great day! :)

Planks and Cucumbers

Hey ya'll!

I'll start with the rest of the eats of the night (or day....)

For my second meal, there was:
+Pork Adobo w/ a little bit of steamed rice. Yum.
+Another serving of lima beans. Also yum. And yay fiber. Kind of. Haha.
+CUCUMBERS! They are my favorite part of every meal. Except for my egg sandwich...
+Another pear.
+Cinnamon and Spice Oatmeal (sans flaxseed, didn't want my intestines to HATE me.)
+2 eggs fried on toasted pumpernickel bread. Ah. Heaven.
+A few strawberries that looked better than they tasted.
+A green apple. Very crisp. :)
+Sugar free hot chocolate
+2 more cups of tea. Yum.
+Diet Coke.
+Orange Juice.

Now. On to way less boring stuff. First off, The Social Network? Holy cow, that movie was the bomb.com. I now see why Oscar rumors are flying around that movie like mosquitoes in Africa. I think everyone should see it. That Zuckerman kid is HILARIOUS.

So I was perusing the internet this evening and stumbled across (ok. That's totally a lie. Sophia over at Raven Waves sent me the link..) this ab workout. It looks awesome, and all but two, I think, you don't need ANY equipment. I am super excited to try it out. Not tonight though. Tonight is a rest night. You know. Except for my planks and lunges. I was doing my left side plank, thich is usually easier for me, but my darn foot kept sliding on the floor. Anyone else have this problem? Man I hate it. Either my arm or my foot slips ALL THE TIME. I put my feet up against something in the gym usually.

Speaking of left side being easier, I have a question for y'all. I'm right handed, but it seems when it comes to exercise, my left side is stronger. With the exception of that darn upper thigh. My left arm is more toned, and also has an easier time when I'm lifting. It's kind of weird. Hmm. My thigh is feeling better, so I think I will stick to my original plan of a mile run every 3-4 days. I'll increase/decrease/remove that as I go along depending on how my leg feels.

Oh! And I updated my About Me page. :) Anyways, everyone have a great day!!

Flaxseed Anyone?

Workout: 45 minutes weights (chest) / 25 lunges / 1:30 front plank / 1:00 side planks / 30 minutes elliptical

You know those days when you just don't feel like working out? Yeah, that was me yesterday. So I procrastinated all day, and finally drug my booty to the gym. And, like always, I didn't regret a minute of it. I always regret an unscheduled rest day, but never an unwanted workout. Funny how that happens.

Before Shane left for Afghanistan he sent me some ground flaxseed. I just used it for the first time, in my oatmeal, and I couldn't taste it. I guess it's supposed to curb your hunger, and has protein, omega 3, and fiber. So I'll let you guys know how it goes. I try to get a lot of fiber, but I've noticed that with too much I just get a gross bloated stomach and am in pain all day. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

So far I've had to eat (no pictures since I'm at work, and it's super illegal.) lima beans, (really) plain salad of lettuce and cucumbers, one piece of cheese pizza - hey. I'm not a saint!, and a bowl of oatmeal with a tablespoon of flaxseed and 2 Splenda packets. I've also got a pear for a snack later. :)

Plus my tea. I usually drink at least 3 cups at work. We have a HUGE variety here. Right now I'm drinking Bigelow brand English Breakfast with two Splendas. Yum. :)

If you go here, there is a sale on Amazon.com gift cards. You get a $20 card for only $10. It doesn't expire, either. I love free money! :)

We have the movie The Social Network at work tonight, I'm pretty stoked to watch it. Has anybody else seen it? Did you like it?

Well, I'm off to read blogs do work things. Have a great day!!

Cinderella Dress.....

So Day One of blog eating was a success. I had no candy. Yup, that's right, absolutely zero. I'm so dang proud of myself. :)


I'm working nights right now, so I sleep all day, and am up all night. So my meals are backwards. The good news is that I get breakfast for dinner every night! :)


Here was MY breakfast:

Barbecue beef, chicken kabob, corn, and brocoli. Side of cucumbers and my Coke Light (DC)

And my lunch (since the galley closes I'm left up to my own devices...)

Chocolatey Chip Special K Protein Meal Bar

Then my snack:

90 Calorie Peaches 'n Berries Special K snack bar. These things are the bomb.com

Gum. I love gum.

Then dinner. Or breakfast. Whatever.

Fried egg sandwich on toasted pumpernickel bread, mini blueberry muffin, watermelon, slightly green banana, and orange juice.

The blueberry muffin was my splurge. They have some ad big as my fist, but I just get the baby ones. Those things are delicious it hurts. They are the one thing the galley got WAYYYYYY right. Yum.

Haven't made it to the gym yet, still have to go. Lol. Was being lazzzzzzzy on the internet. Going to do chest today. :) 

I was looking online at wedding dresses, and found an entire Disney inspired line. Um, that's probably gonna happen. I am obsessed with Disney, and Shane proposed at Disney World in front of Cinderella's castle....sooooo....yeah. The link is here. I'm in love. :)

Anyways, I'm off. Have a great day everyone, and thanks so much for all the encouraging words yesterday! 

Healthy Eating..... Finally.

So, I came to Africa needing to lose around 25 pounds to get to my goal weight, which is a healthy, slender weight for my height.


I've been here over five months, and have lost six pounds. Now, all is not lost here, guys, I have put on some noticeable muscle, but certainly not 19 pounds of it. 


I think somewhere along the way I convinced myself "dieting" was bad, and I shouldn't do it, in order to lose weight the "healthy" way. Which is true, I should just choose healthier options, limit my sugar intake DRASTICALLY, eat lean meats, and mostly consume fruits and vegetables. That's my theoretical diet.


Reality, however, has a much uglier side. I eat way too much sugar. I eat way too much rice. I don't eat nearly as healthy as I should, and it's taken it's toll on my waistline. Just because I exercise almost every single day should not excuse my poor eating habits. And it's time I put on my big-girl pants and sucked it up. 


Yes, I'm deployed, and my food is intake is completely dependent on the galley's menu. And yes, the healthy options are not always as fresh and delicious and various as I would be able to create in my own kitchen. Actually, the selection really sucks. 


But there IS a selection. And I've just got to suck it up for the LESS THAN TWO MONTHS (can you tell I am BEYOND EXCITED?!) and eat bland food for now. I may not be able to stop them from serving 5 fried options a meal, but so help me, I can stop those options from entering my mouth. 


I CAN do this. I quit smoking after 10 years cold turkey. I can forfeit a little sugar. Angie (check her out, she's pretty inspiring, and I love reading her blog!) suggested blogging what I eat. I haven't done this for two reasons. 1. The food here is so ugh looking nobody wants to see that. and 2. I would then be held accountable, and I'm frightened to see what I eat all day looking back at me. 


So, basically this tells me I really need to change my eating habits. 


So here goes. Please forgive me my pictures of awful looking food. Don't worry, I won't be offended if everyone tells me it looks completely unappetizing. Lol. Plus, in two months, I can start posting yummy non-Navy food as well. :) But from now on, I'm holding myself accountable, and feel free to hold me accountable as well.


I love our blog community, and you guys have NO IDEA how much you have inspired me so far. Your comments and your blogs make my day. I'm going to bed now (hopefully...), I'll start with the food pictures tomorrow. Be prepared to see a lot of Styrofoam containers and paper plates. Only the best for us out here. :) 

Still Hurtin'

Workout: 30 minutes weights (various body parts) / 25 lunges / planks / 30 minutes elliptical


Found out today I am not. pain. free.

Major disappointment. But instead of getting super down about it, I'm going to try to stay positive. Running may not be in my immediate future, but at least I can still do what I've been doing with weights and the elliptical. It does make me sad, though. :(

I was going to try to upload a video my best friend made of her doing her lunges. It's hilarious. But it won't let me download it. I'll keep working the issue. :)

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend!

So, so, so, Tired.

Holy cow.

Power outage messing up sleep. (No power = no air conditioning. This is Africa. You do the Math.)

Twelve hour shift. (On which I did my planks - 1:30 front, 1:00 side; and my lunges - 25 each leg)

Forty-five minute meeting.

Then this:

30 minute weight workout (arms)
1 mile run! in 9:13
30 minutes elliptical

Now I look like this:

See those bags?!

And want to crawl into this:

If I weren't pretty much a zombie right now, I'd tell you guys all about how much my run rocked my socks (disappointingly just boring white socks) off, and how I wanted to go much further than just a measly mile, but stopped myself so I don't re-injure myself.

Kinda like I just did there. :)

I'm off to be in a coma for at least the next 10 hours. I'll be back to stalk your blogs then. :) 

I also have a special video to show you guys. It's awesome. 

Lunges, Anyone?

Um, hi guys! Just checking in from work, so no pictures or anything. Sorry!

I took a rest day yesterday because all those lunges made me walk like an old man, and I needed it. Then I remembered that this morning, after work, there is going to be a base-wide power outage.

Whoops.

Looks like 2 rest days. I'm not excited about it.

BUT.

I made a deal with the bestie, and we have decided to do 25 (per leg) lunges EVERY DAY. Plus, we're doing front and side planks. Starting at one minute, working up to three. I can do a minute thirty front plank, and one minute side planks. But they HURT. Lol. Today is day one of the challenge. I'll keep tabs on here, just to keep me honest.

She reads this......

:) Ok, well I'm off to watch more football and drink more sugar-free hot chocolate! Have a GREAT day!

January Playlists... Late, I know!!

Hey y'all!!!


So I decided to share my playlists, and I'll be switching things up, hopefully monthly. I'm even going to start a page, for easy reference. Maybe nobody but myself will use it, but what the heck, right?!

First off, I make 3 separate playlists. One for strength training, one for cardio, and then a final one for stretching. I have three different mindsets, and three different paces, so one playlist just doesn't work out for me! Here goes!

Strength Training Playlist
+ Circle the Drain by Katy Perry
+What the Hell by Avril Lavigne
+ Dolphin's Cry by Live
+ Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
+ Black and Yellow by Wiz Khalifa
+ Heartless by The Fray
+ Raise Your Glass by P!nk
+ It's Not Me, It's You by Skillet




Cardio Playlist
+ Untouched by The Veronicas
+ Seventy Times Seven by Brand New
+ War by Sick Puppies
+ Umbrella by Rihanna
+ Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel
+ Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
+ Naturally by Selena Gomez
+ Almost Everything by Wakey Wakey
+ Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood




Stretch Playlist
+ Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt
+ Faithfully by Journey
+ Cry Little Sister by Sister Mercy
+ The Boys of Summer by Don Henley
+ Young Forever by Jay-Z


So... Yup. That's it for January. :) Have a great day all!

Hairspray and Military PT

Workout: Department PT. Ugh. 


If there is one thing I dislike about the military it is group pt. Seriously. It sucks. It's supposed to be team building, and help keep you fit. Instead they spend an hour making you do the SAME calisthenics over and over, yelling at you the whole. They treat it like it's a punishment, and it sucks. I workout because I think it's fun. I enjoy it. They manage to suck all the fun out of it.

For example, they choose an exercise, and then decide how many you are supposed to do. I don't know whose level of fitness they are operating at, but I literally CANNOT do 40 pushups as quickly as they count them out. So if you take a break, they yell at you. I'm not kidding. Like I said, it's not about fitness. It's a punishment.

Not to mention completely uncreative and boring. Perhaps these exercises work if done on a regular basis might work (but I doubt with all the amazing workout opportunities out there, anyone CHOSE these lame exercises.) but we do them once a week. So, it effectively wastes time for everyone.

Anyways, I'm trying to be more positive, so I'll stop hating. Maybe. :) Here's how pt went this morning.

I started out wearing this SUPA FINE outfit.

Yes. The Navy on the shirt is made of reflective material. Just in case you couldn't see the BLINDINGLY yellow shirt. You know. If you were actually blind. 

Obligatory fuzzy mirror picture. :)

This stuff is a life-saver. The mosquitoes in Africa are like birds. And yes. They bite through clothes. 

+Stretching. The same stretches as always, for 10 seconds. Because 10 seconds is long enough to get a good stretch in....
+ 2 warm up laps around the soccer field.
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 20 4-count pushups (for those of us that are normal, that equals 40 pushups)
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 15 4-count leg lifts. (so 30.)
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 15 4-count squats. (30 again)
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 20 4-count flutterkicks (You lie on your back and scissor your legs up and down.) (Oh. 40)
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 20 4-count diamond pushups. (40, out of which I successfully achieved one.)
+ Sprint across the soccer field. 
+ 20 4-count Hello Dollys (You lie on your back, legs six inches from the ground, and open and close your legs. Yes. It is VERY inappropriate) (40, also)
+ Lunge across the soccer field. (This one HURT.)
+ 30 4-count arm circles. (60, for normal people)
+ Sprint across the soccer field.
+ 10 Dirty Dogs each leg (Get down on all fours and pretend to pee on a fire hydrant. I wish I were kidding.)
+ Bear crawl halfway across the soccer field. (I still don't really know how to do this..) Sprint the other half.
+ Cool down lap around the soccer field.
+ More 10 second stretches.


Now, on to the positivity. You notice all those words ups there? The ones in red? Yeah. I did those. Pain-free.

CELEBRATION!!

So... if I still am pain-free tomorrow, I will slowly start to incorporate running into my schedule again. I'm so excited!!!! :)

Also, I leave you with this. I don't have a foam roller. But I really want one. I know if I ordered one offline, by the time it got here, it'd be time to ship it home. SO I use this:

Yes. That's hairspray. :)

I've got a playlist post coming soon. :) Toodles.