playlist thursday: who is on my playlist the most.

I'm realllly looking forward to this blog post, because I have one artist in particular that frequents my running playlist...justin timberlake.

youuu knooowww. i might have a little crush on him. I mean, who really doesn't? let's be honest. also he def. helps me keep my runnin' groove on.

Something Old: Songs that are at least 5 years old. (I know that isn’t too long to be considered old, but music turnover happens quickly.)
Something Current: Songs that have been released within the past year.
Something to Consider: This is the wild card category. Feel free to list any song: old, current, guilty pleasure, underground, whatever.


Something Old
Artist: Justin Timberlake (feat. Timberland)
Title: Sexyback
Sidenote: I'm bringing sexy back ( yeah!) I mean who doesn't this inspire to run??

Something Current
Artist: Justin Timberlake and Timberland
Title: Carry Out
Sidenote:  " You look good, baby, must taste heavenly. I'm pretty sure that you got your own recipe. So pick it up, pick it up, yeah, I like you. I just can't get enough I gotta drive through"

Something to Consider
Artist: N'SYNC (with Justin Timberlake)
Title: Just Got Paid
Sidenote: ok ok...but it still has Justin in it!! back in the good ol' days. plus this is an extra special song to play on payday!

anddd you know you want to check out Brian's Blog to see what his picks are!
Thank you for indulging in my obsession with JT. you may now stop drooling.

 

...try try again...and SUCCEED!

Take that 10 miler! I defeated you with lovely temps, gummy bears, and my head lamp and reflector vest.

annnddd i finished before my goal of 2 hrs. I made it through in 1:51:30 i think? something like that. Shout out to the local Subway for letting me fill up my water bottle 2x. The guy was super nice and cheered me on both times. talk about encouragement!

the gummy bears worked, but were not my fav. I think i liked the GU better. I'm going to have to start stockin' up.

ice was def. nessarily after this run. I shouullld start icing more, but i forget. horrible angle of my legs, but you get the picture.

 

 

soooo i broke down and bought my first pari of compression sleeves yesterday! I think i am a little too excited, because i keep checking the tracking status to see where they are! I just want to wear them!!!

 

I got these babies...look forward to reviewing them when the get here!

 



doing an easy 5 miler tonight! hopefully my legs will be kind...

if at first you don't succeed....

i bet you already know what i'm about to say....but i'm going to be a big girl and say it out loud for accountability purposes.  i didn't do my 10 miler on Sunday.

i even went to bed early! stupid snooze button. stupid wanting to sleep in on a weekend. it happens...

BUTTT. i'm tryin' again. I'm going to go do my 10 miler this evening with my head lamp and all! It's actually probably for the better since it will be a little bit cooler this evening without the harsh sun shining down.

don't worry, i'm very careful when i run in the evenings, and only run in safe neighborhoods. and ALWAYS run with my phone. I know it's not ideal, but it's what i like to do.

I'm going to try these bad boys for fuel this time. because i didn't have time to get any GU.

 

 

I think i'm going to try out some compression socks/sleeves for recovery after doing some long runs.

 

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I went to our local running store, but they didn't have very many options. I'm going to try Fleet Feet later this week.

playlist thursday: never deleted.

sooo in the blogging world, there is usually a theme to write about on certain days. For example, some bloggers do motivational monday, wordless wednesday, friday favs....etc.

I know i usually only do Friday favs, but i think i'm going to start doing this Playlist thursday theme! I'm a big music junkie and always am looking for new music to put on my running playlist, so i thought it would be appropriate to try this out for a bit...and hopefully lots of you like music as well and will join me on commenting! Here's the deal...

This week's theme is Never Deleted. These are songs that you think will always be a part of your running playlist. Ones that you'll never give up and delete for other new music. I look forward to this songs comin' up on my ipod when I'm running and know i did a little " power song" action.  The "rules" of Playlist Thursday:

Something Old: Songs that are at least 5 years old.
Something Current: Songs that have been released in the past year.
Something to Consider: This is the wild card category. Any song goes: old, current, guilty pleasure, whatever floats yer boat.

Something Old
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Title: Go Your Own Way
Side Note: I'm a big classic rock gal and absolutely love this band and Stevie Nicks voice...i secretly wish i had it.

Something Current:
Artist: Maroon 5
Title: One More Night
Side Note: def a regular play when i need to get a fast, " i can finish" mile in. plus, it's Adam Levine...extra motivation.

Something to Consider:
Artist: The Wallflowers
Title: Reboot the Mission
Side Note: if you live in Nash they are playing for free on Live on the Green on Sept. 13th. i will def. be there!

Also, here's who started Playlist Thurs, Brian (pavement runner) ...be sure to check out his picks!

So do we vote to keep Playlist Thursday??....let me know what you guys think.

sleepin' in like it's my job

Why can i not EVER wake up early to go for a planned run??
seriously. i have attempted multiple times now and have failed at every one of them.

i think he has something to do with it.

Sunday was no different. remember that planned 6:00 a.m. 9 miler that i was going to run with the running group...yeeaaah def. slept in till 8:30.

I had to suffer the consequences of my actions and start my run at around 9:45 a.m. The first 3 miles were rough. it was already hot. the sun was out. and i was not motivated. If it wasn't for my mom's check in phone pep talks, i don't think i would have made it....but i diiiiddddd. 9 miles in 1:41. i'll take it!

Tried out the Chocolate Gu...not bad at all! I still like the PB one better though. I took it at mile 6ish and didn't really feel like it boosted my run very much, but i'm sure it helped give me a little more energy for the next 3 miles.

special shot out to Panera Bread and Co. for letting me fill my water bottle up 3 times during my run. yes there are that many Panera's in Nash. I'm sure their customers really appreciated my looks and smells.

I'm lookin' forward to some really great runs this week. The weather during the evenings will be in the 60's-70's...which is ideal. PLUS maybe i'll make it to the long run group this sunday as they are pushing back the time to 7:00 a.m. because of the nice weather...surely i can make that right??.....

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday Y'all! here's to hoping this weekend brings Nash some cooler weather like last weekend! I have another long run of 9 miles planned for Sunday at 6:00 am with a running club in Nashville that is training for the Women's Half Marathon as well!

If you remember by past experience with running groups ( the tortoise and marleene) you know I'm a little nervous/anxious about going on another group run. Hopefully though I'm in a bit better running shape than last time. i hope. and that i don't get lost.

This week's edition of friday favorites is focusing on things digital. My co-worker Michael helped me come up with the topic! ( Heeeyyy Michael!)

1. DailyMile.com

Such a great website. if you look to the R of your computer screen you will see an orange outlined square ( you might have to scroll down a bit..) labeled " Training Widget". the helpful folks from the dailymile website provide this widget that let's others know how many miles you have ran during that week! It also will keep track of your pace and times.

If you visit their website ( www.dailymile.com) you can create you own account with them and track not just your running, but any exercise activity! It's a great way to see how much you have accomplished! My fav part is the " results" page.

I have burned 79.45 donuts?!? YES! and powered 52.32 TV's!

does that mean i can have a donut tomorrow morning....? :)


2. MapMyRun App for iphone.

My phone is always attached to my big toned bicep when i run for 3 purposes.

1. Safety
2. Music
3. MapMyRun app.

It is a free app that will map out your course based on where your phone goes! It let's you play music while using the app and also keeps track of miles ran. I have programed mine so that it tells me when I have reached each mile, my pace for that mile, and my total time running. It's also pretty nifty because you can " Start/Stop" your time if you have to wait to cross the street, take a water break, etc.

You can also go to the website ( mapmyrun.com ) and make/record your own course and share it with your friends or running buddies!


3. On-line Running Calendars

I am always on the look out for new 5k's, 10k's, half's in the area, and I have finally found a site that I like and that they keep updated regularly!

www.nashvillestriders.com and irunfortheparty.com are great resources for my Nash peeps who are looking to see if there are any races going on. I believe they even have the 2013 Race Calendar available!

For those of you who do not live in Nash, you should look to see if your city has any type of running website that lists all the races for that year/month/week. It's such a great resources to find new and exciting courses!

GU: an experimental trial.

GU: a packet of flavored gel that is squishy and kind of reminds me of the cheese packets that come in a box of Velveeta mac n' cheese.

Here's what GU is for those of you who are beginner runners like me:

"GU Energy Gel provides athletes with a dose of 100 calories to deliver high-quality, easily-digested and long-lasting energy for athletes in every sport and at all levels. Everything inside each packet of GU is engineered to do one simple thing: provide your body with the essential nutrition it needs to keep going for miles and miles and hours and hours. It goes down easy, and it goes to work fast so you don't have to slow down."

What's in it?

• Carbohydrates - GU provides athletes with a dose of 100 calories in the form of 70-80% maltodextrin and 30-20% fructose (The ratio depends upon the flavor.). Why the mix? It’s a complex carbohydrate, and studies have shown that some complex carbs are actually digested faster than simple sugars like table sugar and honey.
• Amino Acid Blend - GU features a unique blend of amino acids to combat muscle fatigue, accelerate the conversion of carbohydrates into usable energy, and maintain mental focus.
• Electrolytes - Sodium and potassium to replenish what is lost during strenuous activity.
• Caffeine - Some GU flavors are caffeinated while others are not. We add caffeine for two reasons: It acts as a stimulant and it lowers the perceived effort.

I've become relatively familiar with  GU and other types of energy gels/ bars/ shot blocks from reading other running blogs, but have been hesitate to try them because I know that they are prone to giving runners disgustive issues. I've been hoarding my free sample packet that came with the Country Music Marathon swag to use on a training run that was longer than 5 miles.

I was scheduled to run an 8 miler on Tues, so I thought i'd take the GU with me and try it out. It fit perfectly in the little pouch on my cool new camelback water bottle too!

I was very nervous about these 8 miles. I had not completed a run longer than 6 miles since April!!

Mile 1-3: went pretty smoothly, felt like I was still warming up and trying to get into the zone.

 Mile 4-5: started to get a little tired and felt a little out of energy. i told myself to make it to mile 5 and I would reward myself with a GU and water break.

Mile 5: GU. I LIKE IT. it was like eating a spoon of peanut butter from the jar. plus it gave me a HUGE sugar rush. whatever it was supposed to do, i think it worked.

Mile 6-8: runnnneerrsss highhhhh. i don't know if it was the GU, the perfect weather with a slight cool breeze, or the fact that i was delirious. but whatever it was I hit it. and finished in a pretty good time of 1:30 with an average pace of about 10:30-11:06 per mile. My usual speed that I've been hitting on the treadmill.

thank you GU and thank you great weather!!

What's your fav. flavor of GU?

Any energy gels/shot blocks that I should try?

confessions of a good weekend.

this weekend went too fast my friends. butttt consisted of many fun things! like fried fish!



i can't help myself....my southern roots just come out on friday. I am always either craving fried catfish or fried chicken. i usually can try to ignore these feelings, but i was weak last friday and gave in. it was worth it.

After stuffing myself with fish, i convinced my friend Bieder to hit the YMCA with me on a Friday night...so exciting right? I think she was just excited to use her new HOT PINK sneakers.

they gym was hoppin' at 8 p.m. on Friday night.....not. but I got a good 3 ish mile run and Bieder had fun watching tv with her hot pink shoes. and i also found out she's realllly good at 1 yoga move. i forget what its called though.

i was impressed.

i visited the Y again on Saturday for an excellent cross-training day. 15 min on the stationary bike, 15 min on the elliptical, and 15 min on the cool new water-arm-peddling- machine thing. i'll have to take a pic next time. it is legggitt. and makes you arms really sore.

i also hosted a little shin dig cookout on sat night with some of my bessstt fraannnsss. This pic includes all the goodies we grilled: sliced potatoes, hot dogs, brats, asparagus, and corn on the cob! not included: brownies, cookies, melted chocolate.

it was the perfect weekend weather! low 80's and in the 60's during the evening. we took Tucker on a stroll at the park on Sunday and found out he looovveesss snowcones! his tongue was bright red after it.

ok, time for some confessions. I was supposed to do an 8 mile run on sunday....i didn't. I made the excuse of having friends in town and spending time with them instead. i think that's valid! because let's be honest, running and training is important, but it never should take over one's life to where they don't get to spend quality time with their friends :)

soooo I have to make up the long run. and tonight's the night! it's perfect weather today in Nash. cloudy, low 80's. i'm feelin' a good run tonight. hopefully.



Friday Favorites!

it's FRRIIIIDDAAAYYY. thank goodness for that! and thank goodness that is has finally cooled down a little! hello outside runs. I have 2 left for the week. an easy 4 miler and an 8 mile. yikes. i am looking forward to not having to run them on the treadmill though.

today's Friday favorites are a bit random.

1. My handy dandy camelback water bottle

why did I wait so long to purchase one of these? My fav parts: the top because you can adjust the water flow that you are receiving, the handy little pouch for GU gels or a key, and the amount of water it holds! i would say a good 20-24 oz.

2. Emi-Jay's



ok yes, you can more than likely make this yourself, but don't they look so cute? they have a TON of different colors  HERE. It's a fun accessory to put in your hair at the gym, or makes your pony tail a little more acceptable at the office! Plus I've seen lots of ladies tie them around their wrists and make them double as a bracelet.

3. Usain BOLT

wait a minute....that's not Bolt.

but these are probably some of Bolt's biggest fans. they were talking my head off about him while I was babysitting these two little rascals the other evening. we even played a game where they sprinted down the sidewalk pretending they were Bolt. i'm almost positive i love them more than Bolt. even though he is pretty fast...

don't you see the resemblance?

lesson learned.

As many of you know I have been stuck in a dreaded weight plateau for about 6 ish weeks now. I've been trying to "hurdle" (Olympic pun intended) over this number so I can finally start working on losing the next 10 lbs. It has been frustrating and irritating by seeing the same number on the scale each week. So i thought i would join my co-worker in a little kick-start. change it up a bit.

I'm not one for quick fixes, because i have been down that road mannnyy of times before with the " No Carb diet", " Slim Fast", " 5 small Meals", " No Meals"....well maybe not that last one because i could nevvverrr not eat. nor should anyone else ever feel that they should not eat.

but this time i caved in. and was weak. and tried to do a quick fix kick start.

                                                          Military Diet

it's called the military diet. the diet has your meals planned for 3 days and tells your exactly what to eat. here's what it consisted of:

Day 1:

Breakfast- Half Grapefruit, 1 piece toast, 2 tbsp peanut butter
Lunch- Half cup Tuna, 1 slice toast
Dinner- 2 slices any meat (3oz), 1 cup string beans, 1 cup Vanilla ice cream

Day 2:Breakfast- 1 egg, 1 piece toast, half banana
Lunch- 1 cup cottage cheese, 5 saltine crackers
Dinner- 2 hot dogs, 1 cup broccoli, half cup carrots, half banana, half cup vanilla ice cream

Day 3:
Breakfast- 5 saltine crackers, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 1 apple
Lunch- 1 boiled egg, 1 slice toast
Dinner- 1 cup tuna, half banana, half cup vanilla ice cream

I knew from just reading the menu that I would have to add some vegetables or protein bars in the meal plan, because with running this would NOT be enough. Day 1 wasn't bad, Day 2 lunch was horrible, and then I only made it half-way through Day 3.

Moral of the story: quick fixes do not work and are not worth it, but they do provide opportunities to learn from. For instance, I think i may have found what might help me break my plateau...eating less fruit.

I know this sounds crazy because we are told that fruit is good for us, but on the WW plan all fruits and veggies are 0 points. Which is great!!...buttt fruits still have calories and sugars in them. and if you eat more than 2 half c. servings of them a day (which i def. was doing), they could be holding you back. I found this on the WW website under 5 things NOT to do:

4. Don’t stuff yourself with fruit       Fresh fruits are free because we want to encourage you to eat them. They're filling and nutritious Power Foods and we've factored the caloric impact of even the highest-calorie fruits into our calculations of your daily PointsPlus Target. So go for it! Just make sure to eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed.

      Be particularly aware of day-long grazing. It’s a great habit to have a fruit bowl on your desk or somewhere equally accessible, but be mindful of your portions. While you’ll hear a lot of people saying, “Yeah, I’m not doing Weight Watchers because I ate too much fruit!” there is still a possibility that not listening to your hunger signals can scupper your efforts. If you really think you’re doing everything else right while eating a lot of fruit and you’re still not losing weight, then examine the amount of fruit you’re eating, and why.

I'm going to try this plan in the next couple of weeks and see if it helps! and as always, the goal of trying to lose a little bit of weight is to maintain and live a healthy lifestyle and to learn at an early age the right foods to eat to prevent health problems in the future. That is my goal at least.

Has anyone ever had any luck with quick fixes? the answer should be no! haha

Think eating less fruit will help?

finallllllyyyyy.

I finally had a great long run that was outside! I've been waiting and waiting for this moment. Sunday morning it was raining here in Nash and i did not want to miss running in it. I quickly changed into my new running clothes, grabbed a quick breakfast, and my gracious roommate agreed to drop me off at the starting point.

I was able to run in a little bit of the rain, but it was mostly overcast weather the majority of the time. I got a great 6.2 ish miles in, and ended at the perfect time because it just started to get real humid. I ran the first 6 mi. of the Women's Half Marathon course and its very do-able and flat! I think I'm really going to like this course a lot better than the Country Music Marathon's. ...which involved lots of hills.

I made a trip down to Academy and finally found a few work out shirts that fit great! longer, not too tight, and looks good on women who are not sticks. I also picked up another pair of work out Capri's and a new camelback water bottle that fits perfectly in your hand when you run. it was a lifesaver on Sunday.

and its anti-odor!! don't know how much that really works though, because i was pretty stinky after the run. but i guess it's the thought that counts.

On Saturday I enjoyed a lovely outing with my girls to Arrington Vineyards. If your not familiar with it, its the vineyard owned and operated  by Kix Brooks from Brooks and Dunn. It's about 30 miles from Nashville and is beautiful! They have a free wine tasting and encourage customers to buy a bottle of wine and relax with their own picnic style lunch/dinner. We brought cheese, crackers, grapes, and some sweets. so much fun. and so pretty and relaxing!

                                               we tried the Raspberry one...

                                        and a white mix. Both very good.

Friday Favorites!

So thankful that this week has gone by pretty quickly compared to last week's slllloowww week. I think watching the Olympics 24/7 has helped!

 I've been addicted to the NBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports channels. it's pretty bad. I'll watched Swimming, badminton, water polo, gymnastics, soccer, table tennis. I'll watch it all! love me some Olympic action. hey, it only happens every 4 years!

This week's Friday favorites theme is dance.

because i love to dance. foolishly.

1.  Dancing while running

fortunately I do not have a picture or video of me running while singing/dancing/talking to myself because i look a fool. when i'm tired of running/bored, i'll turn on my new fav jam on the iphone and start pointing and fist pumping. I'm imagining that i look like this...

or that's how i feel like i look. y'all should really try it sometime! It helps especially when you emphasis certain words in the song. " boom, boom, BOOM' gimme dat boom boom BOOM"

2. Me dancing in 50+ years

my roommate showed me this video today and I looovvvee it. this is what i aspire to be in my years to come.

pure awesomeness.

3.  Dancing accessories.

inspired directly from the Olympics...the ultimate dancing accessory is...the scrunchie.

I remember wearing these in like 3rd grade, but now...in 2012? really girls? we can do better. this pretty much sums it up.

http://olympicscrunchies.tumblr.com/



tight tops and cute shoes

You know those ladies at the gym...the ones that have on full make-up, hair is always in the perfect ponytail, fashionable gym top, and cute colored shoes....yeahhh i don't like them.

I have never been able to pull off  lookin' cute at the gym.

1. because i sweat a lot
2. those tight/cute tanks don't work with my curvy body shape
3. cute shoes does NOT = the right shoes.

Let's focus on #2 today.

This is me after going to the gym last night:

Pretty standard gym wear of an old college t-shirt, and some Capri spandex leggings.
Tucker photobomed the pic because he was trying to lick my sweat. gross dog.

Here's what I wish I was wearing/looked liked:

see: cute workout top that is not baggy, no muffin top on tight pants, half-zip matches her shoes, overall cuteness.

This weekend I'm going on a mission....to get new work-out clothes. The Zumba mom's are making me look bad with their cute tops and matching capris, while i'm rocking my Hanes white v-neck tee. It's time to invest.

However, it's going to a a struggle finding some tops I like that fit correctly. i.e. don't ride up, fit in the shoulders and chest, work on a petite frame, and made for women who have hips.

I wish Staci and Clinton had a What Not To Wear gym edition.

Here's some stores I'm going to check out: Athleta, Sports Authority, Academy, REI, Lululemon....any other suggestions?