What Week of P90X is this?!

The title of this post should tell you where I'm at with P90X. I know last week I wrote about my increasing desire to add some running in place of some of the cardio DVDs. The first day of running I covered 3.6 miles, which was pretty awesome considering I haven't run much in the last 3-4 months. The next day the outdoors, sunshine, and Vibrams were all calling my name again, and somehow I ended up going long enough to cover 4.5 miles.

Then Tuesday arrived which is a work day so I decided to do one of the weights DVDs (Legs & Back was on the docket) which also meant it was an Ab Ripper X day. Then I felt like I wanted some sort of cardio, so I added about 35 minutes of the Kenpo X DVD also. I was really surprised I had the desire to do the back-to-back DVDs but it seriously was awesome!

Wednesday was my off day and then Thursday I half-assed my way through the Core Synergistics DVD. I did it but I just wasn't into it. It'd been a long week, I'd skipped lunch, and hub and I were ready for some hang-out time, but I went out in the garage and worked my way through 95% of the exercises.

I had every intention of working out Friday and Saturday BUT for the first time since New Year's I let myself be flexible with what the day brought me rather than worry about rushing home to get my work-out done. So needless to say....no work-outs occurred, but ironically the 8 miles of running last week definitely has made me feel slimmer than the first six weeks of P90X ever did.

I wanted to make sure to get a run in today if the weather cooperated. Hub and his new buddy hiked to the summit of a nearby mountain, and I'd thought about tagging along but wanted to get the house organized better. My old running partner in Louisiana (Heather) and I finally decided to try to set up some motivation/accountability across the distance starting this week.  Somehow I made it to a 10k today and I seriously was shocked when I came home to double check all the mileage from my different routes! Not to say I wasn't sucking by the end, but I'm still seriously impressed.

We'll see what I end up doing tomorrow but I'll definitely be getting in the weights DVDs for this week sometime in the next few days. I'm really liking the flexibility of having the DVD program and running both as options. It's nice to know I have a way to work-out easily in the evenings when it's dark and it's been a long day at work. And I do have to say again that I'm pretty sure I'm only jumping into running these distances because the P90X program has done a great job of building my stamina to work-out for longer periods of time than I was previously used to doing.

So here we go....moving into Week 7?! Well, sort of. 

Add Some Running to that P90X

Taken from Pinterest.

So I'm not going to lie to you---yesterday on day #39 I totally skipped over my P90X YogaX work-out and the reality is that I don't even really care. The push-up & arm routine from the evening before had somewhat tweaked some muscles just north of my trouble spot within the first five minutes of the 50 minute work-out. I stubbornly made it through the next 45 minutes, but I still woke up sore the next morning and wasn't too thrilled about the idea of multiple arm/back yoga moves.

Plus here's the other truth: Week 6 has been the absolute worst to motivate myself to do. The first five weeks I was totally into it.....and then it dawned on me that in 5 weeks while my muscles had gotten stronger and leaner, my pudge areas weren't that much slimmer than they were when I started. I'm still in the same size jeans in fact and I almost always see a difference within four weeks of a new work-out plan, especially when I've been so mindful about watching what I'm eating. In fact, my entire day is pretty much spent interspersed with mindfulness on both eating well (& enough protein) and on completing my P90X work-out. And I'm not going to lie either when I say that I've been missing my Louisiana running routine, where I ran every day, pretty much enjoyed whatever I wanted to eat, and as long as I ran consistently I still fit into my ideal jeans.....(Ahem, Heather, how can we do some accountability running from afar?! Twice a week mileage to tackle? Are you game???!!!)

Add onto all that the ab-so-lutely gorgeous last two days we've had and all I've been wanting to do is run and go on some long hikes. Hub was at a conference all day Saturday and Sunday was the super bowl so hiking wasn't an option. (Hiking alone in the woods, even with the dogs, is one thing I'm not too keen on doing.) But yesterday, I was desperate to get outside and to do something different, so I decided to replace the YogaX with some running cardio!

And let me tell you, it felt amazing! It's probably been about three weeks since I'd gone on a run and I'll be additionally honest and tell you that the 3.6 miles was more like a jog, but IT FELT GREAT and it was exactly the change of pace I needed. The sun was out, I had enjoyable tunes playing on my Iphone, traffic was light due to the game, I was able to release a lot of withheld junk on my mind, and I felt my hips and upper legs working in ways they haven't had the opportunity to in weeks (thank you Vibrams!). My breathing was right on par with where it needed to be and I honestly probably could have jogged farther---maybe a half for my 30th this summer wouldn't be so far-fetched after all. ;)

But anyway what this probably means is that I'll start swapping out some of the p90x cardio days for actual cardio outside--whether those are runs, jogs, or hikes. I recognize that the cardio in the program is also based on increasing strength, but the program's cardio has been my biggest complaint overall. There will be some nights that I'll have to do the cardio on the DVD due to it being late & dark outside or raining & miserable (hello, springtime in Oregon!). But at least this lets me add in some freedom for flexibility while still staying committed, which is so much more my style.

Guess I'll have to report to my students that yes, I'm sticking with P90X but with modifications to my behavior change that are more likely to improve my overall success and commitment to the program---I love when real life goes hand-in-hand with theories and lectures taught!

It's Been a Week....and Now it's the End.

First week down, ten to go......and I hate feeling like that already.

First week back into the term was a mix of emotions. It started out great and ended with tears. Yes, folks, you heard that right, I cried. I felt great about the schedule I'd set up on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. But by the time Thursday morning arrived, I was already wiped. In one of my positions, there's a lot that I'm micro-managing and responding to right now, and on top of it we also saw record numbers this week. My class that particular night included a major mistake on my part that while it was a total accident and not-really-a-major-detail of the night, I still made someone else's night incredibly difficult.....and in the type of way that is exactly against the prevention I attempt to assist with in my other position. I don't like to share details of that type on here, but let's just say that my two positions over-lapped in a sense....and in a way that made me realize that I'd made a mistake that completely saddened my heart. Two days later and it's still on my mind and heart. Additionally, I'm realizing that working with the population that I do can sometimes make me less patient to deal with the member of that population that resides in my own home...and I don't like feeling that way.  I'm seriously contemplating putting in a resignation.....even though I feel bad about it for other reasons.

Friday morning hub and I slept in......and slept in...and slept in. When we finally got up, we picked up the yard, cleaned out the make-shift coop, and picked up the house. Then for the first time since we married, hub and I completed a weights routine together, as he completed the Shoulders & Arms DVD with me and then the Ab Ripper X DVD too. It was interesting working out together but good too, as it made me push myself a bit more. Hub is loving his conditioning class he's taking through his college, but he enjoyed the additional "weekend" work-out yesterday. After working out, we ran separate errands that needed to get done, and then we relaxed while we waited for our weekend guests.

One of hub's Army friends from his deployment lives a couple hours north of us, and they hadn't seen each other in three years until this weekend. His friend and the girlfriend came down for the night and it was really nice listening to our guys catch up. I heard several stories I'd never heard before and it was nice to know that hub has someone who holds him in such high regard who is living within a day's drive from us. It actually was a pretty low-key night as we ordered pizzas, lit a fire in the fireplace, and just sat around the living room eating, indulging in much drinking, and chatting. Today we fixed waffles and espresso for everyone, and then we took them on a drive around downtown. It was raining so we didn't feel too much like walking around in the rain, but we did make two stops. One at Voodoo Donuts and the other at Stumptown Coffee---both are very local and/or funky Portland places. When they left late this afternoon, we made tentative plans to try to spend a day up in Seattle together and/or do some hikes around Mt. Rainer this summer.

After a late night last night though, hub and I were ready for some naps this afternoon. Rather than nap, I put in my Yoga X DVD which was on the docket for today, and which actually was much needed to stretch and restore my tired body from last night and my still-emotionally-saddened-from-Thursday self. A hot shower and left-overs to complete the evening, and then I dove into catching up on blogs and finding new things to "pin" on Pinterest (yes, I caved.....sigh). Snow dusts are on call for tonight and tomorrow---and I'm oh so hopeful that we'll get some dustings, and some rain, and some freezing...to extend this long weekend into an even longer and restoring weekend.

I've got some prepping/note reviewing to do this weekend still, a few emails from students and work to respond to, and some major reading to attempt to get through for book club the end of this month. But I plan to not do much of anything except to do nothing but prepare my soul for the week ahead.

I hope each of you had a fulfilling week just passed and that you are indulging in a restoring weekend. Best to each of you!

PS Tonight while hub was watching some of his DVR'd shows, this song was on one of them and there was just something about it that I loved:

Day 6 & Overall P90X Impressions

Waking up this morning, nothing felt worked or sore, which only reinforces that I need to figure out how to up the ante a bit more with the pull-up/chin-up thing.

Now I've already shared that I was totally looking forward to Kenpo-X today, as I've always loved kickboxing moves and absolutely adored the Tae-Bo class I took when I lived in Argentina. A few of the other P90X DVDs have incorporated some of the Kenpo X moves into them, so I totally expected it to literally be awesome AND kick my a$$. I have to say though that my old Tae-Bo workout classes definitely use to leave me sweating much more than the 45 minutes of Kenpo X. Honestly the first 5 minutes of warm-up were some of the most challenging movements today as I had to stretch out my strengthening yet tired leg muscles. The punching & kicking movements throughout today's DVD were fun and I pushed it more in the cardio-break periods in order to up the ante & sweat a bit more. I wouldn't say it's a bad work-out, I just expected to feel it more.

.....and I had enough energy left after the 45 minutes that I pulled on my Vibrams and went for a 2 mile jog around the neighborhood. (Which was also great as I got to watch the beautiful sunset gracing the sky!)

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest/X Stretch day at the end of my first P90X week and part of me wants to just jump into starting the next week. The next work-out is the original one that kicked my butt (as the next two weeks will be a repeat of what I did this week), so I think I'm also excited to see if my body still gets kicked to the curb the same way as it did for the first go around. The nice thing about the current schedule though is that the Rest Day now falls onto Wednesday which is perfect, as Wednesdays will be the most difficult ones for me to complete due to teaching until nine at night this term. Yet I also feel that by taking the wedding day off that I've already had a break this week, SO maybe I'll just due Cardio X tomorrow and jump into Week 2 as planned on Thursday.

I have to say that in some ways I'm still a little disappointed that so much of the Lean plan is going to be repetitive and I also expected my rear to be struggling much more than it currently is. Granted I recognize I'm not truly able to complete ALL the movements so there's definitely much room for improvement on my part. I guess I just expected to be "feeling it" more. I do have to say that my legs are already stronger though and I'm definitely feeling more solid and moving toward being in better shape.

In other news, hub started the Classic plan this evening with his first work-out of Chest & Arms w/ Ab Ripper X to wrap up, and reports that he's definitely feeling it! ;)

Today's food choices:
Breakfast:
Two egg omelet w/ spinach & cheese
Two pieces wheat toast w/ marionberry jam
1/4 cantaloupe
Espresso w/ pumpkin creamer
Surprise work lunch:
1/2 Massamun curry (potatoes, onions, tofu, & peanuts) over rice
Mixed green side salad
One cup English tea w/ sugar
One dinner peppermint
Afternoon:
Cup of mate
Evening meal:
Smoothie of mixed berries, spinach, banana & coconut milk
Spanish rice & red bean soup w/ an open-faced cheese sandwich

The other thing I haven't mentioned yet is that hub and I have discussed trying to do the Clean cleanse again and in its entirety in order to decrease toxins and increase energy, but we don't want to try to do it while we're also doing P90X. Instead I'm trying to incorporate elements of the Clean diet back into my days, although I'm still allowing coffee, cheese, wheat, alcohol, and some sugar. Overall though I feel that my dietary choices have been fairly decent, and I'm enjoying having less sugar, coconut milk, and smoothies back in my diet. Since starting P90X I've also started doing a shortened version of the whole hot-cold shower detox therapy again that tends to be part of most cleanse programs. It's a great way to increase detoxification of the body system, although the way I've been doing it this week is to just take a really hot shower and then as I'm finished with the cleaning parts, I turn off the hot and blast myself with just cold all over.

Can hardly believe Week 1 of P90X is over however! Since the rest of the Lean plan is similar to this week, I don't intend to blog about the subsequent days, except for the days that are different. I will post some updates on any transformations however!

Hope y'all are doing and sweating well!

Time for A New Work-out Plan

Image from here.

So here's a confession folks: in recent months I have pretty much stopped working out. I can blame it on a crazy schedule, I can blame it on the weather, I can blame it on the lack of good sidewalks to run on in my neighborhood....but regardless of what I want to blame it on, the fact of the matter is that I've joined the hundreds of thousands of Americans who do not exercise. And that fact is one I have a problem with for two major reasons.

Reason #1: I'm a HEALTH teacher. While not every health teacher feels the need to practice what s/he preaches, it's something that I want and need to do for my own health and for the authenticity of my instruction.

Reason #2: I'm genetically "blessed" with a crappy metabolism.....and I also happen to have developed a taste via Granny and marriage for amazingly flavored foods (read: full fat, real butter, cream, etc). What this means is that if I don't work out, it doesn't take longer than about two weeks for the fat to start packing on...and that's even when I'm eating a much more balanced diet.

So these facts aside, over the course of the last term...I've started to pack on some fat. I won't use the word "pounds" because my weight hasn't really changed, but I've officially inched past my regular & ideal pant size. I still feel like I look okay, but it's not where I like to be on a regular basis.

Two of my past coworkers swore up and down on the P90X program (a series of 12 HIGH-intensity workout DVDs about an hour in length each one) and both looked fabulous because of the program, but until recently I'd barely considered it very seriously. In the last month however, I'd started thinking about other routine work-out options besides a gym membership or purchasing a treadmill, which led to my researching P90X and reading the reviews online. And after much thought I finally took the plunge the day after Christmas and ordered a used (read: reduced cost) set online.

The used dealer was a Portland location, so the package/program arrived today. I still have to get some basic free weights but we already have a pull up bar in the garage, and the other "extras" I'm going to do without. Amazingly the boxed set looks like it's brand new and has all the booklets still included.

Not wanting to wait around, I skimmed through the introduction booklet this evening and estimated that I should be able to pass the fitness test. (Hub on the other hand kept saying he wants us to follow the program to a T, which would mean actual body measurements & before/after photos......I personally just want my pants to fit correctly again and to feel like I'm in better shape.......) There are three different set ways/plans to navigate through the 12 DVDS and I decided to start with P90X Lean, which is more cardio based. Any of the plans run for 90 days and if we stick with it, I might consider doing the P90X Classic plan (read: more muscle) after completion of the Lean plan. There are a lot of things I like about the concept behind P90X, especially since many of it's foundational pieces are part of what I frequently lecture on when we talk about fitness (read: cross training for reduced plateaus/injuries; increasing intensity for better results; including cardio, muscle endurance & strength, stretching, and body composition into any fitness plan....).

So jumping right in with Day 1 today, I pulled out the first DVD for my "Lean" plan and turned it on.........and about 25-30 high intensity minutes later I pushed pause on the player and seriously almost lost my "cookies." (Although I was saved by the lack of food in my stomach due to not eating enough today.....Read: Not smart start....) After getting my heart rate stabilized and myself slightly cooled down, I pushed play and more or less completed the rest of today's DVD, which was a mix of muscle work & cardio....and way more push-ups than I've done in a while.

While the work-out totally kicked my butt (in a way it hasn't been kicked since my high school swim team days).......let me tell you, it also feels AWESOME. Even ten minutes after completing the DVD, my body & brain were on their own natural highs....and I was already reading up on tomorrow's work-out. We'll see how it turns out, but I haven't been this excited about a new work-out plan in a really long time......

PS. Heather M......you totally need to get a copy and be my Southern work-out partner :)

Backcountry Camping Time

An almost week away was amazing, and we traveled from the city to the woods to the mountains to the desert badlands to the coast and back to the city. We saw several friends, spent time with family on both sides, and became incredibly reacquainted with nature. The dogs had a blast and hub and I returned back home today with smiles from ear to ear. A great week indeed.

First day we arrived at our location in Central Oregon about 2pm and backpacked 9 miles up the trail until we hit snow prior to our desired camp location for the night. Hiked 3 miles back down the trail until we found the good spot we remembered passing and hub set up the tent and made us and the dogs some grub. It'd taken a while for me to get used to carrying a larger and heavier backpack and after 12 miles in about six hours, we were more than ready to get into bed.

Morning two we headed the six or so miles back down to where we'd left the truck. Going down never takes as long as going up, especially when its in the 30s and the faster one walks, the faster one warms! ;) It was great to sit alongside the creek where we'd started and wash my feet to put on a different pair of socks and comfy shoes.

 Along the trail we saw vibrant green moss, lizards, elk and bear hair, flowering bushes, chipmunks, and the occasional flash of a bird.

 Once we were ready to move on, we drove up to the top where there was too much snow for us to hike, and came to Paulina Lake.

 The dogs had a great time playing in the snow again.

 A view from along the road up near the top of this section.

We hope to get back there later this summer when the snow has retreated as it'd make a great 2-3 day backcountry camping trip. It's about 10 miles up to the first lake and then there's a 20 mile rim trail along the edge of the crater and lava fields. Hopefully we'll at least get back to see the obsidian flow area once the snow has melted.

More pictures from the rest of the week to come tomorrow......

Hub's Coastal Hike

Last week hub, his buddy, and our two lady dogs started out on their 90 mile hike. I dropped them off at Ft Stevens where they set up camp for the night.

They covered 26 miles the next day, including ship wreck remains, an eagle sighting, and miles of enjoying the dogs running like crazies along the shores.

Camp spot #2 was a preconstructed shelter with log bunks inside and canvas door closures.

And shortly after this the trail ended up primarily being on Hwy 101 (which can have a very narrow shoulder---no good with two dogs), the guys had incredibly sore feet, and there were strong winds and side driving rains, so they bunked down after 45 miles in a pretty basic hotel and I went and got them the next day.

We spent two days, one night at Granny's beach cabin relaxing, stoking fires, taking strolls on the beach, playing games of Uno, reading, and the like. It was a great time for them to relax and restore before bringing them back to the city. Am sure they will head out for another long hike within the next few months with even more entertaining tales and smiles to share. Glad they had a great time (and I didn't mind a few days of peaceful solitude either)! ;)

A Summit Day

I'm almost beginning to think I should rewrite the purpose of this blog to be: Hiking. ;) Seems like we're doing a lot of it, but its so enjoyable, it burns a ton of calories, and we're trying to soak up as much of the beautiful Oregon outdoors as possible now that we're back!

Yesterday was intended to be a long hike day, but instead we did one of the jaunts we've done before through Forest Park--which was 8.5 miles and we ran the last mile decline back to the car. We then had enough time to get home, shower, and grab some grub to run over to my aunt's for a BBQ with my extended family since Granny's been up here in town for the weekend!

So today we got up, grabbed our bags and headed out to Elk Creek Campground, which was where we'd intended to go yesterday. The guidebook (60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Portland) that I recently got the hub had said that Elk Mountain Summit was difficult, but since we've been doing some inclines and other "moderate" hikes, we thought it might be do-able. Ha! It was like a deer trail straight up--gorgeous views, but after 1/2 mile and with encroaching rain clouds hub decided it might be too dangerous for us today. (He might go back to do it again later, but I'm passing...)

These pictures are from the first part of today's hike, attempting Elk Mtn.

Since we still wanted a decent hike, we decided to hike along the Wilson River Trail (20.8 miles in length total, but just 3.5 miles to where the Kings Mtn Summit trail met it). Along the way it started raining and hub dug a poncho out of his pack for me and a coat for him. We crossed mini-waterfalls, bouncy log bridges, and enjoyed the scenery.

Wilson River Trail from Elks Creek Campground to Kings Mtn Summit trail:

This was a large meadow/clearing in the middle of the forest. It appeared to have a natural spring and some ponds--the type of site where you usually find old homesteads, but we didn't see any indications of any here at all.

Once we made it to the Kings Mtn Summit Trail hub decided we should go up it a bit to get in some extra mileage.....and between the two of us encouraging each other on, up was what we ended up doing for the next 2.5 miles. Luckily hub and I make great hiking partners, when one of us wants to quit the other encourages and we make sure to look out for each other on the trail. At one point, I definitely had to encourage myself to keep going as I have a partial fear of heights that seems to hit most frequently on rocky areas, but I'd seen some kids and older couples coming down the trail so I pulled together my stubborn nature and told myself that I could make it too. With hub's encouragement and just focusing on my feet, we kept going until we made it to the top where we signed the summit registry (approx 3300 ft).

Kings Mtn Summit Trail:

Then we got to turn around and head back down both the summit and the Wilson River Trail, although we ran about 2 miles total of this today. Altogether we made it 13.9 miles and the views were gorgeous! We're hoping to eventually go back to overnight backpack the entire 20 miles of the Wilson River Trail.

Not too bad for two days on a long weekend together. Hope each one of you had a great weekend too!

Multnomah Falls

Last week we covered 17 miles on hikes: 11 miles with the dogs in Forest Park and then a 6 mile waterfall loop at Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in Oregon and grants gorgeous views of the Columbia Gorge.

The main fall: Multnomah.

First 1.25 miles is constant incline with 11 switchbacks. It may have been 44 degrees when we started, but at switchback 7 I was taking off layers and switching out my beanie for a bandana!

Views of the Gorge. The highest part of this hike was 3x the highest elevation of the entire state of Louisiana! ;)

We hopped over mini falls crossing the back trails, crossed bridges, and enjoyed the amazing beauty!

We hope to go back to do the even larger loop that is available there and we're continuing to scout out more hiking options. Definitely beautiful and makes us so glad to be back in Oregon!

Saturday Afternoon Hike

Just a few photos from our great afternoon hike today. Based on the map of the trails we found, we probably covered between 9-10 miles in just around 3 hours--definitely not too bad of a pace and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. The trail we were on is actually 27 miles in length and is the longest in Forest Park, which has a total of 70 miles of free hiking trails. The hub's hopeful he'll be able to complete all 27 miles on a long day's hike to gear up for the 8 day hike in Southern Oregon he hopes to complete this spring. The weather while hiking today was pretty perfect---not too overcast, no rain, not really hot either but with a few sun breaks throughout the afternoon. The type of day that leaves you rolling back your shirt leaves but not overheating.

Hub had started his pulled pork recipe in the crock pot before we left and by the time we got back it just had another hour or so to go. Hub mowed the lawn and I weeded the rest of the front beds. I ate Thai left overs from dinner with the gals and hub enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich, and then we spent the evening watching a great romantic comedy (Life as We Know It).  Hub's finishing up part of his online coursework and I'm leaving the rest of my work til tomorrow in order to complete an actual work-free day! Altogether, definitely not a bad way to spend a Saturday -- Hope yours was productive, comfortable, and fulfilling too! :)

Monday Perks

Yesterday was one of those slow starting days. I'd stayed up late the night before (partially to attempt to help me with adjusting back to the Pacific time zone) and so remained zonked out until late in the morning. The hub adjusted many of our accounts to reflect our new location and made several other calls to make sure utilities were set up correctly. We still need to set up garbage and recycling service, but intend to just do a monthly pick up...and when we called we needed more information than we had in that moment.

In the early afternoon we finally headed out for some errands. Hub needed to mail some paperwork into the Army and our old modem back to the company, so we found the local post office. The extra modem that we have wasn't compatible for some reason with the internet hook up here, so hub wanted to go look at new modems (as we're currently renting one from the company here). However in the process of organizing ourselves, we decided to head over to Costco and look into getting a membership there....

If you're wondering what Costco is....it's sort of an oversized discount warehouse. They usually sell bulk items at reduced costs and they have a variety of items. An annual membership is $50. While neither of us has had a Costco membership, we've talked frequently about whether or not it would be to our benefit. One concern I had at first after we purchased the membership and were walking around the store taking it all in, was whether or not they would have organic and/or any more natural products (aka cleaning products, etc). I was happily surprised to see local cheese and bread available, multiple organic options throughout the food areas, and a few greener cleaning alternatives. The biggest perk to our membership so far: 52 pound bags of the dog food we purchase for $24, 20 large bones for $12, and flea treatments at a reduced cost. We purchased toilet paper that will last us for six months and the Ecos brand of laundry detergent (210 loads for $13, the cheapest option on the shelf, and only with understandable ingredients listed). And the one thing we really wanted and of course forgot: 6 pound bags of frozen fruit for smoothies! We also got a new HP (photo) printer/scanner/copier for under $90--something the hub will need for school as he's been battling with the printer we had (and I've greatly missed the availability of my parents photo printer). (And something we used his Iphone barcode scanner to determine if it truly was a better deal than elsewhere.) To be honest, I'm pretty sure that we'll make up the membership fee just in dog food and bones alone this year.

Costco surprisingly did not have modems however so hub went to Best Buy to price check items and then ended up ordering one from Amazon at a cheaper price with his free shipping. While he was in Best Buy, I scurried down to Ross (one of the only stores that the hub greatly despises) to check out their home goods section for my ideal area rugs(FYI if you've never looked....Ross is a great place to get amazingly reduced bedding.....). Our family room is pretty set up but I have this West Elm inspiration for our living room and our entry way that I'm envisioning.....but not willing to spend much on. :) I already have most the items to get the flow I want, but with the older blue carpet in this place another area rug or two wouldn't be bad ideas. ;)

From the shopping center we spied an interesting, quick, and cheap looking food option, as we both were really hungry at this point. The Pita Pit proved to be amazing, fast, and pretty darn healthy! In checking out their website today, I even was able to view the complete nutritional break down of exactly what I ordered for dinner yesterday. We got them to go and brought them home.....

Which allowed me to take a quick lil run around the neighborhood prior to eating. My first run back in Oregon---definitely a bit harder at first after not running for a week, but felt pretty darn good by the end of the 3 miles. Hopefully hub and I will get back into it shortly!

Not too bad of a Monday to start the week off right! Hope y'all had a great Monday too :)

4 Human Feet, 2 Dogs, 8+ Miles

You all have already seen these pictures but I wanted something to demonstrate the awesomeness that was this evening. I've posted lately about the hub joining in on my evening runs and it really has become one of my favorite things of the day. The first year of running I primarily spent covering mileage on my own (although the last 3 months I had my gal pal and then also the neighbor down the road), but throughout the last month the hub's been pretty excited about coming along and the dogs are loving have the two of us leash them up almost every evening.

So after many miles on the last pair of running shoes (Oct, 60+ in Nov, 75 in Dec, and 80 in January) and the last two days being able to feel the gravel through my shoes and the start of shin splints coming on, we went to the local store this afternoon and picked up a replacement pair of the same pair of running shoes I've been using throughout the last year ($30 Asics!). (On a side note: Hub primarily runs in Vibram Five Fingers shoes and he loves them!) I've been covering 15-25 miles a week throughout the last 2-3 months and we'd talked about taking today off.....

However this evening was too nice to just sit inside....so we pulled on the shoes, scrounged semi-clean running gear out of the laundry pile, leashed up the dogs and set off with the intention to take a new side trail today. And take a new route we did.....as we kept going, and forking, and going, and forking, and going, until finally we came out in the direction where we knew we would eventually come out....and then we spent the next four miles running the paved trail and road back home. We ran just about every type of surface you can imagine: gravel, sand, dirt, pavement, grass. We ran through amazing woods and grassy clearings and alongside ponds. We ran across bridges and up hills, hopped around streams, and around corners. We followed the setting sun and made it home about 40 minutes after dark had set....making me very glad indeed to have hub along.

We both hit our groove and probably could have kept on going, especially since even the dogs were doing great, but altogether we landed a new distance Personal Record (PR) for me as we figure we covered at least eight miles today. So maybe a half marathon isn't a too far fetched idea after all.....hmmmm.

Regardless a pretty fun and incredible evening spent together, enjoying a beautiful southern spring evening!

A Year of Running

JANUARY 2010 started off with my no longer fitting into my largest jeans and thus was the start of a new running plan. The plan was to run every day of the month, and the hub got me started off on the first two weeks. Now I will mention that the plan was that he was to stick with me, running at least a couple times a week, but that didn't exactly happen.....although he did continue to be ever present in my head. In fact, I still hear him cutting me a deal that I can go as slow as needed but walking and stopping is not permitted! :)

FEB 2010 included about two weeks of slowing down or decreased activity, but March is when I began working full-time with my skinny coworkers. Nothing says motivation like working with thin, assertive women.

MARCH-JUNE 2010: Pretty much ran at least 5x a week, but only covered about 1-2 miles each outing. When I started thinking about total mileage in early June, it dawned on me that I really hadn't covered all that much ground...somewhere in early April I wore out my shoes and suffered from shin splints. New shoes took care of the splints and the running continued without much of a missed beat. And by mid June I was back in my slimmest pair of jeans.

----Pause for a bit of running history here-----------

I've never been much of a  true long distance runner (although somewhere in my mind I've wanted to do some sort of mini-to-full triathlon). I ran cross country my senior year of high school just to prove to myself that I could in fact do it, but the highest mileage I ever ran in one day was 7 miles. In the last 10 years I've had bouts of becoming enamored with running again (mainly when I wanted a quick drop in fat--nothing slims you down like 1-2 weeks of daily doubles.....well until you turn 26 and your body suddenly doesn't respond quite as fast as it used to.....). When I was teaching high school health, I ran frequently after school to shake off the day but also because I knew I needed to be a healthy role model for my students. However, most of these outings have always been 2 miles or below...

Three other lil' fun running facts about yours truly: 1) I almost always run better WITHOUT headphones 2) I always cover more distance when I run with a friend and 3) Being from a hilly area in rainy Oregon, I have always hated running indoors on treadmills and preferred instead exposure to various weather and terrains....

---------BACK TO PRESENT RUNNING TIME---------------

JUNE-JULY 2010 is when I changed my goal in an effort to increase total mileage. Quickly it went from covering 5-7 total miles, to 7-9, and then on to 7-11. The end of July with these great turn-outs and the fact that running started to feel easy, I decided to take off a week to rest my body.

AUG 2010--getting back into grove after taking a week off was not fun. The month itself was somewhat shot due to the family events that unfolded that particular month, however running definitely still happened just back to 3-5 outings per week with an average of 2 miles each outing. At least two weeks though I still made the overall mileage goal.

SEPT 2010: Back covering original 7-11 miles although occasional treadmill running is getting thrown in more frequently. By this point, have discovered that treadmill running allows me to go farther (5K) which transfers into an easier time and increases road distance to nearer 3 miles also. By this point, I've beat my high school PR (personal record) and the new PR is just under 26 minutes. By end of month, shin splints returned with a vengence.

OCT-NOV 2010: Try to run through shin splints as I start to think it's just because I'm starting to pound out the mileage/outings again. I finally think of overall mileage since the last new shoes and I purchase a replacement set. Within 3 runs, shin splints are gone--amazing what shoes can do! Carrying on with 3-5 outings and about 11 miles a week. Somewhere in the summer I mastered running with one dog/leash per hand, and the gals eagerly look forward to our outings. I'm able to tackle the 2.5 loop I've created pretty easily with the dogs in tow.

AND THEN NOV-DEC 2010: Somehow, someway last week I mastered 20 miles split between 6 treadmill and outdoor runs. While some people get excited about 20 miles in one day, I was pretty stoked that I made 20 miles in a week. And for the first time in a LONG time, I have a committed running buddy who I meet on the gym treadmills after work. While treadmill running might not always be my favorite, I'm much more motivated now that I have a friend. And let me tell you, if you want to be motivated and pushed to go further than you thought you could, take up running with a good gal pal who is trying to get back into shape after having an adorable kiddo! ;)

For someone who can easily become bored with the same work-out plan and who doesn't consider herself an actual runner, I can hardly believe I have stuck with running for just about a full 12 months. I'm not entirely sure I'll stick with just running after our move home, but I'm honestly excited to see what I can accomplish with what's left of our time here. While this might seem a little downerish and I'm not entirely sure how people might perceive this, one of my primary motivating thoughts when I'm struggling to keep going another mile is to think of those individuals I work with or personally know who would love the opportunity to be able to flex their muscles and pound out another mile along the pavement....

So to quote the Gingerbread Man "Run, run, run, just as fast as I can!" :)

Wonderful Moments Amid Exhaustion!

The weekend has arrived!!

I've never wanted to again be someone working each day hoping for the weekend...but right now I am so thankful that the weekend has arrived! Each of us counselors is doing 1-2 daily briefings, paperwork, and then our regular appointments--as August is busier for a reason I'm not really wanting to mention. Ironically I'm actually more efficient the busier I am and work is still incredibly enjoyable, but its also tiring. Some mornings work starts an hour earlier, but even with the busyness its still possible to greet each client with a smile and to look for the beauty in the moments.

My exhaustion leaves me tuckered out in the evenings at home, but luckily the hub is on "leave" these two weeks, although I'm not sure he's enjoying having all house duties-ha! My goal is to have adjusted to the new schedule by mid-point of the month, so that I'm back to efficient home life when he has to return to his crazy schedule.

However there have been some absolutely WONDERFUL things that occurred in this past week:

--On Monday, a $100 gift card arrived on my desk for doing a job well done. I was totally shocked and didn't expect it at all. A client had submitted a positive comment card on me that I guess got passed up the chain to Headquarters...and low and behold this extra bonus landed on my desk on Monday!

--On Monday and Friday I made a new 5K personal record--running in 26 minutes and 40-45 seconds both times. Ten years ago when I ran 5K races in high school, my best time was somewhere in the 27th minute, so it's incredible to me that I'm running faster now. Still need 1.5-3 miles to maintain my overall weekly mileage goal, but it's on the list of things I intend to enjoy today.

--Molly the English Lab has been visiting us since Weds. She'll be here until Monday evening. A solid lil gal who has kept our dogs exhausted and entertained since her arrival! By last night she'd relaxed into our routine and was able to sleep in her kennel next to the other gals without a single bark! She's been a joy to have, but it's also been a great comparison to see how well trained our dogs actually are on some things.

--The hub spent 1.5-2 hours in the kitchen last night making eggplant parmesan, which is one of my favorite restaurant dishes. Sadly he didn't like his end product, but the effort was so greatly appreciated!

---We are now 3 days away from Mom and Granny getting here! It finally dawned on me how quickly they'll be here and we're definitely looking forward to it. :)

--Finally had 10 minutes yesterday to get to the post office and mail off the box of clothes to my Oregon gal. Six or seven different outfits (1 pair of pants, 2 skirts, 1 button-down, 1 cardigan, 3 dresses, 3 tanks, and 2 shirts) all for $14.50 in postage. Hopefully most of it will fit and she'll have some decent work clothes at her disposal now!

--And speaking of finances: The hub paid off his student loan amount this last week. End of this month, we pay off his last outstanding bill and then we've just got my grad student loans and the new truck (which will just about be paid off in six months). I'm so proud of us: In just over a year of living together and with just 5 months of my own full time employment, we've paid off over $15,000 and spent an additional $5,000 on furnishing and starting up our home. I'm going to admit that it hasn't always been fun pinching pennies at times, but I think the outcome has made it worth it!

While it's been busier and more exhausting---there are always great things going on and great things to look forward to also. And with that I'm off to walk Molly---as she's pulled the leash down and dragged it around the house for the second time this morning! :) Hope you all have an enjoyable and restorative weekend as well!

Personal Enviro and Health Highlights

Just some wonderful environmental and healthy highlights:

1) We got our monthly electricity consumption report today. If you remember, our housing covers all of our utilities, but recently the privatized company has decided to pay up to a certain amount of usage and charge/reward for differences in the average consumption amount. (While I definitely agree with energy conservation, I don't agree with how they are calculating averages on this nor the fact that there's no true baseline amount but rather the rates of usage of some of the other homes like yours. PS Have I mentioned our homes have old, leaky alumnium windows and no insulation?!) The hub and I do a really good job of attempting to conserve energy: keeping lights off in rooms that we're not in, drawing most of the blinds during the day to keep down cooling/heating costs, hanging 60% of our wash on clothes lines to dry, washing in warm/cold, filling the dishwasher to the max before running, turning off the outside porch lights except when needed, recently flipping a power cord switch for the TV some nights, and this summer we're keeping the AC at a much more reasonable temp. While we're definitely major conservers in comparison to most of our friends here, we're still always within a few dollars of the comparison amounts---some months we're over and some we're under. Today we finally broke away from the pack and our consumption difference equalled about $20 less!!!  While I can't guarantee it'll stay low, I'm thrilled to at least finally see some proof in the pudding!

2) It dawned on me the last few weeks that very slight environmental changes have been happening at work. While there's no official recycling program on post for offices, I did drop a recycling container in the kitchen. I've never really mentioned it, but even my coworkers who aren't huge recyclers are dropping their plastic bottles (I haven't exactly lectured on this to all of them! :)) into the bin. There's still a lot of what I consider to be recyclables that end up in the trash, but it's so nice to see the contributions and attempts!  Every other week, I bring home the bag of recyclable plastics and a bag of paper from our shredder. And usage of the real plates and silverware is up too!

3) So far this week, I've ran 7 miles in three days. Not big to some, but a huge step in the right direction toward my newest goal and I'm definitely proving to myself that having a motivational goal is the ticket! I haven't exactly figured out how to approach the working out conversation with my coworkers, but I think I've realized that solo running after work is part of my individual self-care needs. I need the time to be alone, to think and process, to focus and yet meditate, to breath and pace as necessary......and its hard to do that when I'm not running (or swimming) or when I'm trying to meet the work out needs of another.  I'm sure it'll come up sooner rather than later however. ;)

Goals, Gratitudes, & Update

The last few weeks have been all over the place but there is much to be thankful for and much that has been accomplished:

---2 care packages constructed and 2 notes sent off (all of which definitely lifted my mood)

---2 pairs of holey, old running shoes sent to Nike-Reuse-A-Shoe. If they were in better condition I would have sent them to one of the organizations that provides shoes to lower income countries....but they were pretty beat up. So this way their parts can hopefully be reused!

---New furniture is settled: Last weekend we got the king sized bed and yesterday the hub picked up our sectional.  Unfortunately it appears I ordered the wrong lay-out of the sectional, so we'll have to rearrange the furniture yet again to make it all fit correctly, but I suppose flexibility is the key.  And we finally have all the furniture that we need. Might be a couple more shelves/desk but that's it.  It's nice to have those purchases completed!

---Got the discount applied to our car insurance for the state of Louisiana and paid the six month premium in full yesterday. Spent some time yesterday better organizing a calendar of when my paychecks will arrive and which one is designated to my student loan payment.

---This is the first week of my 7-10 mile goal, and I made it!  Even though I didn't necessarily want to run the last two days....the goal got me there. Although I'm pretty sure it wasn't much over 7 miles, but maybe 8. My muscles are tightening in different ways now.

---Am looking forward to visits from friends and family. We purchased tickets for my mom and Granny to come out in August. Granny turns 99 and will finally make it the Big Easy (NOLA: New Orleans). Due to work/conference schedules, I'm going to miss a buddy of mine who is there next week but he's talking about visiting here for a bit in Oct/Nov! Another friend will be presenting at a conference in Austin in Sept, so work schedules presenting we might try to meet up with him again. And lastly one of my MPH gals landed a CDC fellowship in Atlanta (awesome!!) and may be able to stop by on her move in Sept/Oct. Definitely exciting!

--I just discovered Tom's Shoes.....and may be ordering a pair. I'm a lil nervous though as my ankles are really thin and have a tendency to pull out of closed back shoes......I wish there was a pair of mules...

---The dogs continue to keep us occupied with tons of smiles and love! I actually just looked out the back window and saw the two dogs and Major all sitting in a triangle.  I'm also cat-sitting for a coworker who has been on vacation this week.

---The hub has a new road bike and has taken up biking with several of the other guys in his group. This week they covered over 30 some miles in one ride. Its nice to see him working out other than his required physical training, even if this means I'll never get a P90X partner!

---Pulled my first vine-ripened tomato yesterday!!  We have about three more turning. I've picked two jalapenos and there are quite a few just about ready. The bush beans are just about done, but I'm pretty impressed with the handful I was able to get!  And the basil has bolted which I'm not entirely sure why it did that....plan on finally ordering the worms this week. The grass in the backyard continues to spread....and we had glorious rain pours yesterday!!

---I'm also thinking about doing some postings on job searching and resumes.....

---I spent the most amazing solo evening on Thursday: red wine, cheese pizza, dark chocolates, smiling dogs, the second CNN toxin special, and then Its Complicated--a chick flick and very entertaining!  Simple evenings are the ones that replenish my soul and keep me feeling alive.....

Hope everyone has had a great week!  Enjoy your weekend!

Increasing the Distance

After starting to run again in January, I finally decided today that it'd be a good idea to alter my running goals. My previous goal focused on running 3-5 times each week, primarily as a means to decrease and regulate my weight. The first several months were a definite struggle, but in the last month or so I've felt my body relax back into running. I'm able to now regulate my breathing and switch up my stride as needed in order to push myself farther and/or longer. Thus rather than just focus on getting myself out there in my running shoes, I'm going to now focus more on increasing my mileage. Initially these thoughts stemmed from a conversation I had with a woman in my neighborhood about two weeks back. She had stopped me in my backyard to ask about my running technique and how long I'd been at it, as she has been hoping to slide into an easier groove like the one I have reached.  It was incredibly nice to just chat with someone over a similar interest, and her questions influenced me to begin to think about how to increase my running distance.

However, as much as I want to increase distance, I also don't want to take the fun out of it all!  The hub and I had measured some neighborhood routes in January. Most of them that I have been running equate to 1.5 to 3 miles, with my most regular two running routes being about 1.5-2 miles. Although when I run on the treadmill (which may be more common during coming hot summer months) I'm averaging slightly over 3 miles (although I never think treadmill running is equal to nor as difficult as running terrain outside). However my apparent motivation with running appears to be the desire to achieve my goal, which up til now has just been 3-5 times a week (equal to 4.5-8 miles a week).  When I started to calculate how far I've run in six months.....well I was less than impressed.  I definitely have the capacity to go farther and push myself more (although probably not too far over an average run of 3-4 miles as even when I ran cross country that was a good day for me). Yet I usually choose not to do more because there's nothing motivating me to go the extra mile--literally! 

Interestingly side notes: I've discovered that I run much better without music & headphones and so for the last two months I have been running mainly just focusing on my breathing, my surroundings, and processing my thoughts from the days activities. Ironically, I also still run best in the middle of the afternoon---something that seems to be ingrained in me from high school practice times, which were always held directly after school. 

So my new goal will be for me to run 7-10 miles a week, in whatever form that entails. I figure this increases my range by about 2 miles on either side, which makes for a good push for the coming month or so until I see how it all pans out. I also recognize that I could choose to run at least twice a week at 3.5 miles or I could run 5 days in a week at 1.5 miles and still make it in my goal range for that week. I like that it still allows for flexibility, while pushing my competitive side to up the ante slightly. 

We'll see how it goes---but always good to readjust those goals!

It's the Weekend! :)

Work this week was incredibly busy so I'll readily admit that this was the first week where I counted down til weekend.  The hub had some long nights out in the field followed by early mornings so he too is enjoying sleeping in and relaxing.  We have a couple things to take care of today: I have a hair trim and he might go fishing with friends, but knowing us we'll probably enjoy the slowness of the day and daydream about our goals.  And speaking of goals:

---Yesterday we sent in the final amount to pay off the car!! :)  It always feels incredibly great to pay off items and to work on paying larger debts back.  The title should arrive in a week and the pay off noted on my credit at end of month.  I ended my student loan deferment and am in repayment which also feels great.  The hub continues to research trucks and by the end of May we should have one purchased.  In my calculations it should be paid off by this time next spring.

---Our tomato has tripled in size and looks awesome.  We brought it in last night due to chillier nights lately, so I'm hopeful it'll continue to do well.  The basil died within the first few days of planting, but the jalapeno and rosemary are surviving fine.  My daffodils have bloomed out, but the star lily is back from winter hibernation.  I hope to get a few more starts this weekend and some additional grass seed. BUT we have little grass starts making a come back! We're just hopeful more seed will encourage additional sprouts rather than waiting for it to spread.  The dogs haven't been too happy about not getting outside as much, but they're surviving.

---The neighbors returned my sander (and did I mention they're not moving now?!) so I'm hopeful I'll sand the end table in the next weekend or two. The hub ordered us a sectional last weekend as we'd discovered a good deal online.  It's not organic by any means, but the size is perfect for my 6'4" husband and contained what we both wanted in a sectional.  It's red which is a change for us, but we needed more color in the living room.  The company said they were willing to deliver to our rural area and within four weeks, so we're just waiting for the call to schedule. Once it arrives the living room will be situated, the futon will move into the dog/office zone and we'll just be budgeting for the King bed.

--Still managing to work out 3-5x a week. Since changing contraception, I finally feel my body responding to exercising and healthier eating.  It's nice to feel the extra hormones purging and the realignment toward my natural body chemistry.  A coworker lives two streets away so we've talked about running together some evenings-- it's always helpful to work out with other people.  I had a personal goal on Weds as the husband had a long day (6am-2am) so I took work-out clothes to work, left the car in our adjoining lot, and proved to myself that it's possible to make the 6 mile trek home (decent weather prevailing).  Truthfully I only made 4 miles before our neighbor made a big UTurn in the main road and ignoring my protesting told me to get in his jeep.  However, being my stubborn self I then walked the dogs two miles just to prove that the total 6 miles could be accomplished. (Must be the Scots-Irish side of my nature!)

And overall things are moving along alright.  Last night we made the hour drive to a nearby little town that we love.  The hub was able to see the gorgeous wildflowers along the highway and we played a little game of "count the Baptist churches along the road." :)  The food is amazing at the restaurant we frequent and the customer service had largely improved in the months since we'd last been there.  We left more than satisfied and then settled into wonderful conversation on the way home.  After a busier than normal week with limited time together, it was the perfect start to our weekend.

I'm looking forward to the next few months ahead of us.  While they'll remain busy, we have two long weekends scheduled together, we'll be taking care of some of our goals, and there's a good chance we'll be spending time with old Oregon friends.  I hope each of you is moving into spring with an open heart and plenty of sunshine.  Hugs and best wishes! :)

Photo Project Day 20: Running