tomatoes, cherries, Coke can, lobster...

All of the above mentioned are the color of my skin. I have an epic sunburn cooking. No, it’s not nearly as bad as it could be. It’s not blistering. It’s not heating me. It is however sore, tight and makes wearing anything with straps uncomfortable. I am the sunblock pusher. I am ALWAYS on everyone about sunblock when we are outside.


Nate and I were off to the lake on Saturday afternoon. About halfway there, in the middle of nowhere South Dakota, I realize we have no sunlock. Crossing my fingers that my bestie will have brought some, we continue on as we have no other option.


You already know the rest of the story based on the title of this post. There was no sunlock to be found and I have the burn to prove it. The one time I let my guard down and don't go through tremendous lengths to secure the protection of SPF and look what happens! Talk about karma.

Overall, the weekend was absolutely fantastic. Incredibly relaxing.

Training is going so-so. Last week was a little rough so I took it 'easy'. Instead of 5 mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday, I opted for a 3.5 mile run on Tues and a 40 minute bike interval session on Thursday. And instead of my usual cross on Wednesday, I ran 3 miles instead. Friday was supposed to be a rest or easy run day, but I did No More Trouble Zones in the morning and then went for a short run in the evening. Saturday remained a rest day and Sunday I did a 10K. Unfortunately, I got my butt handed to me. It started out fine, but right around the half way mark, it got HARD. The sun was beating down on my sunburned body. There were no shaded streets. I was feeling sluggish, tired, thirsty and getting incredibly frustrated. I ended up finishing off the last 3-4km on a walk/run combo.

I'm chalking up my struggle to the sunburn, the heat, and the lack of nutrition. I ran without food OR an energy gel. I'm not worried about this hiccup. I KNOW that it's not an indication of how the race will be nor is it a reflection of my capabilities.

Dripping

TGIF! Hope everyone had a great week! I am SO looking forward to getting the weekend started. I am heading home for the weekend - haven't been back since Christmas. Where in the heck does time go?! I can't wait for time with the family and an afternoon at the lake with my bestie. :)

Last night's dinner gave me a very strange sense of normality. I had ice cream for dinner. Wait, correction, I had a salad, 5 shrimp with sauteed veggies, a bite of chicken and ice cream. Never before, NEVER EVER, have I allowed myself to have ice cream for dinner. Ice cream for dessert, yes. A bite of ice cream while waiting for dinner, yes. But NEVER for dinner.

Let's go back to two months ago. I would have forced myself to eat dinner of some sorts. After that was finished I would have waited anxiously to eat the ice cream that I wanted. In between dinner and the ice cream, I probably would have nibbled on everything around the ice cream, too.

Last night though, I wasn't hungry for anything, I just wanted that ice cream. And I had it. Today I feel no guilt for it. And that my friends, is HUGE for me.

I have been the victim to food for a long, long time and I am finally starting to feel free. It's had me laying on the ground on my back with it's foot on my face and a gun in kill shot position pointed at me. Not so much anymore :)


I have been kicking BUTT in the workout/half-marathon training department! If you are looking for a stellar toning routine, check out Kim Kardashian's featured routine in June's issue of SHAPE. You can find it on their website, too. I did this routine on Tuesday and Thursday after 4.5miles of intervals/steady pace and it rocked! It kept my heart pumping and totally worked my muscles. Both of these workouts left me soaked and DRIPPING with sweat. Something about that really makes me feel accomplished. And...

DRUMROLL....I completed my max training run! 11 MILES BABY!

It felt absolutely AWESOME! So empowering. I am still glowing from my accomplishment. I had the hardest time deciding if I was going to crank it out or not. I knew that I needed to get a long run in, but I debated on how far I would go. I was feeling groggy and sore when I woke up last Sunday morning, but knew I had to run. I got ready, took down an energy gel, and hopped in the car. Since I did the energy gel, I committed myself to a long run.

I decided to run along the river - new territory for me. The week before I ran 8, but I'd been anxious to hit that 10 mile mark (which I had previously decided would be my max). With three busy/out of town weekends before the half (July 10th) I decided to go for the long run when I knew I could commit myself to it. Nike+ was set and off I went!

Something about running with the downtown skyline in front of TOTALLY revs me up. I was pumped, excited, and energized. Once I hit my 10 mile mark at 1hr45min, I still had a little ways to go to my car. I still felt full of energy, so I took my pace down a bit and continued to jog it out. With my Nike+ saying 10.5 miles when I hit my car, I figured I may as well hit 11 and off I went to finish it out. 1hr 57 min = 11 miles completed. I think this is a proud moment that will stick with me for a LONG time.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Have a great weekend!

Revvvvvvvvved up!

Half way there!



Nothing like a new month to get started on new goals - I'm feeling revved up and ambitious! I am in a huge time of change and self awareness in my life and I am LOVING it.





Newest wellness kicks:

• Cutting back on coffee. It's rare that I can drink a cup of it black, so it's always laced with SOMETHING - Stevia, almond milk, anything creamy and sweet. My newest love is iced coffee protein shakes. Talk about delicious! HOWEVER, I hear so many conflicting stories about coffee being good/bad for you, that I think it's just one of those things that I need to limit. I'm working to limit it during the week and allow it on the weekends. Is there ryhme or reason to this? No, none at all.


• Axing alcohol. It's a rarity that I drink during the week. Weekends are a different story though. Usually a drink Friday night, maybe a couple on Saturday and MAYBE one on Sunday. While it's not an issue, it's a waste of calories and money. I also happen to think it has a huge affect on my body - bloat, puffiness, endurance, etc. With my quickly approaching half marathon, I'm kicking it to the curb and seeing what happens. I've cut it out once before, it'll be a breeze to do it again. And I very much dislike that it's a weekend routine of sorts.


• Drinking AT LEAST a gallon of water a day. Today is day 2 and I am for sure going to exceed my goal. 34oz Nalgene with straw have been attached to my hip since yesterday afternoon. 7 hours into my day and I'm closing in on refill number four. On most occasions I get in my reccomended 8 glasses, but I want to kick it up and see what happens.

Learnings:

You don't get the 'oh, I have to go to the bathroom' feeling. You get the 'WHOA! I need to go to the bathroom feeling. Hopefully this subsides...

After drinking a gallon+ of water in a day, you'd think you wouldn't, especially at 10pm, feel thirsty. FALSE. It's possible.

Quickly approaching...

THE HALF MARATHON!

I can't believe that the race is in a little over a month! I've went from the girl who DREADED running a mile for the Presidential Fitness Test in gym, to the girl who is taking on weekly long distance runs... I never, in my wildest dreams, would have imagined that I would be in these shoes. And while it is such an amazing feat, at this moment in time, I think this will be the culmination of my endurance/long distance running. I'm planning on running the same 10K I ran last fall, but aside from that and workout runs, that's a wrap!

I'm really looking forward to shifting my focus to something new. Right now, I'm contemplating between P90X and INSANITY. My drive is to give myself a lean and toned body by my 25th birthday and I am POSITIVE that I can do it! Both of these programs really spark my interest, but I am not sure which will best fit me and my goals.

My mindset has been so focused on cardio for the last few years. I've been frustrated that I'm not seeing the results that I want, but am realizing that I'm not doing EVERYTHING that I need to do to get there and that's stregth training and toning. Since I started my half marathon training, I've been trying hard to get in at least two strength training sessions in every week. If I'm not doing the Power 90 3-4 Strength circuit or Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones, I'm going through my own routines with dumbells or weight machines.

Super excited for the changes to come with a new plan and routine!