February In Review

(Picture: UND Fighting Sioux Englstad Hockey Arena)














I can't believe it. February is pretty much over. So, it is time for...

February Stats:

• 24.325 miles running... . ... once again I was hoping for 40, but had to deal with some leg issues in the middle of the month, throwing things off. March will be better, I know it!.
  
• 58.18 miles spin .... this was greater than January's near 22 miles. Hopefully I will be able to pull off 60 miles in March!..
• NO swimming. Again. But, to tell the truth, I don't know when I will get back in the pool. The pool schedule here is rediculous and I don't have much free time in the evenings the way it is.

Looking back on my 3 miles I ran last night, I couldn't believe how smoothly it went. I can really see how this Spin is playing into my running and endurance. If all goes well, I hope to continue spinning twice a week, trying to get an easy 3 miles in before the spin session. It actually works best for me to do this sort of workout, rather than workingout four days in a row, doing the same amount of work. Thus, I can have a rest day between and after those days, and hopefully allow for me to start building some miles on my longer runs. That is what I would like to do.

I believe that I have about 72 days until graduation! That is unbelievably craaazy! I am getting quite excited, but overwhelmed as well. I need to work on some big projects, and really buckle down on applications. Just for giggles, I was looking at some races, which there really isn't much around here, but I was looking. I really think I am going to do the St. Patrick's Day 5K race in Fargo. I haven't participated in a race since New Years Eve and to tell you the truth, I feel as if I am stronger and have made great gains. From there, I don't know what race I plan to do next. It's too hard, especially with moving out of our apartment by May 1st (I think), and finding jobs, graduating, etc... But, I was looking into the Fargo Half Marathon. Which would be in 12 weeks. It's still up in the air. We'll see. I am not going to set my mind to it, but if I can start pumping out some longer runs, I think it could definitely be doable.

On a weather note.. It is starting to snow. They let us out of school today at 2pm to go home and "wait" for the snow to fall. Crazy. That's okay, I attempted to take a nap while watching Walk the Line. Love that movie. But, now it is snowing. I don't know if we are still supposed to get as much snow as forcasted originally, but it is still supposed to snow through Friday night. The temperature right now is 31, which is great, but when you mix it with heavy, wet snow, it gives us nice slippery roads in the morning once the temp drops a few degrees. Lovely.

This picture is from Monday... showing one of the random fog pockets that I drove through that morning!

Maybe I will have a great picture in the morning to post of all the new snow!

Tomorrow, with the proper nutrition and hydration, I hope to do what I did tuesday. Run 3 miles and spin. Hopefully the weather will be okay enough for me to drive across town to get to the gym!

Happy Running, y'all! Spring into March!

Just wonderful....

It's coming. .. ... I don't know when, but it is coming. As I drove home from class tonight (approximately 9:50pm)... I could see it. In the sky. It's definitely there. But is it going to share with us? It's that icky color. The color you get when you mix red and green and maybe a little grey. It's that grey-ish brown color. Why is it that color? From what I have learned, it is that color because it is so abundant and so low(close the the ground). Yes. I know it is coming. Some said that it will either by-pass us or just "fizzle" out. .. .. ... last week they didn't tell us it was coming, until it was too late. Now they have been telling us about is since I cracked open my eyes this morning.... .. . . take a look for yourself...

... Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon...

Snow will spread into the area Wednesday afternoon and could become heavy by evening. Snow totals by Thursday morning may be in excess of 6 inches. Roadways may become snow covered and icy. Visibilities could be reduced due to heavy falling snow.

Light snow will continue through Thursday... with another round of heavy snow returning to the area Thursday night. Additional accumulations could result in storm total snow amounts between 8 and 12 inches... with isolated areas having the potential of seeing up to 18 inches. Gusty north winds are expected to develop on Friday and may reduce visibility in blowing and drifting snow.

A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant snow and wind. This storm has the potential to make travel very hazardous or even impossible for an extended time.

I know it just a Watch, but in this state, you never know. Plus, the driving conditions haven't been the best already this week, especially on the two-lane, 11 miles, near-to-none visibility, pillow-pocketed road of hell... Anyway. Especially that darn wind. Ugly... just plane ugly. And, there are really NO shelter belts along the roads I drive on which makes it worse when it is windy. Any... I am driving alone. My mentor is home with a sick child, and I am driving alone. All. Alone.

Thank God we have friday off.

On a lighter note, tonight I hit up the gym. I had a little bit of a headache this afternoon and felt that it was due to dehydration, so I attempted to drink as much as possible between noon and 3... Once I got to the gym, I had plenty of time before the 530 spin class so I decided to do some running, figuring out how far I would go after a few minutes on the thrillmill. Well, to my surprise all was wonderful and I kept it up. I had just enough time to do 3.1 miles (in 35:15) before hitting the bike. Yeah! Then I was a little apprehensive. I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it on the bike for a near 50 minutes after 35 minutes on the thrillmill. I wish I would have brought in some powerade or something. I got on the bike and boy I felt great! I went all out ... as usual .. until the last 5 minutes. I was just getting tired and couldn't put much effort forward. Total bike miles = 10.2! But, all and all, the overall workout was great. Unfortunately I had to hurry, shower, grab something to eat, and head to class. The only option for dinner was subway and lets just say that gave me some pretty bad stomach cramps.

Does anyone have a good ideas as to what I should be eating before and after a workout like the such? I felt as if I could have used some more pre- and post- "fuel"!

Happy running, y'all!

*UPDATE* Got out of school, at about 2ish, but by the time I packed up and was ready to go, it was already 230. Roads were okay and it is beautiful back here in GF. I don't know what is going to happen with this so-called "storm"... we'll just have to wait and see. I am going to go and pop in a movie and take a nap... not feeling to hot. Darn stomach crampage goin' on...

Reason #624 ...

.... why not to wear cream pants when you work in a school....












It was a wonderful Monday!

Late Start

I didn't get out of bed this morning until 7:45! That is two hours later than usual on a Monday! Talk about a late start! But that is okay, because I knew that I didn't have to be to school until 10am! School and buses are running 2 hours late! Gotta love 6+ inches of snow along with working at a rural school!

I did have my alarm set for 6am though, hoping to go to the gym for an easy 3 miles or something. When I crawled out of bed to head for the bathroom, I felt it.. .. . my body was sore . ... . from my butt to my calves (along with my arms and pecs). I guess 40 minutes of lunges in every direction all while holding 3 pound weights and doing arm exercises can really have an effect on a body!

Now, I haven't had chocolates for 5 days now, but it is sure hard to say no when you got these sitting in your apartment! There is also a bag sitting in the kitchen more than half full! Maybe I will have to send some home to Mom and Dad....
Happy Monday, y'all!

Winter Wonderland

It's still snowing here, but it is beautiful. I left my apartment just before, heading for the gym, and realized how nice it was outside. If the sidewalks were cleared, I would have ran outside. It is 25 degrees with really no wind. Which is rare for this city.

Gym opens at noon on sunday's and I arrived shortly after noon. There were a dozen people standing outside and a few still sitting in their cars. Gym wasn't open yet. Waited. Waited. Waited. Then the dozen people standing at the doors headed back towards their cars and left. What the heck?! So, I left. I guess the gym wasn't meant to be today. So I headed home.

On the way home, I was thinking about how I have lived here for almost 8 years and it will be weird to leave. Leave GF and leave ND. I have only applied for one job, but still plan on leaving the state. Atleast for a year. Like I told my mother last night on the phone, if I don't like it, I can always come back. I still have a lot of applying to do. I want to give myself a world of options.

To the right ... campus ... with the dorm I lived in my freshman and sophomore year being on the bottom left side of the picture. Memories...

Wannabe5ker asked me if I am still able to drink coffee with the BestLife lifestyle change...

.... well, Mr Greene doesn't say that you have to cut coffee, juices, and others out completely, but you still need to drink at least 6 1/2 glasses of water a day for these important reasons:

• those who drink 6 1/2 glasses of water a day consume close to 200 fewer calories per day.
• caffiene dehydrates the body
  
• water is good for the muscles with recovery
• water keeps us from grabbing unecessary snacks

I don't drink much coffee. Maybe once or twice a week. But, I do know that when I do drink it, I can see how it dehydrates the body.

Today's workout: 40 minutes of Turbo Jam, consisting of free weights, lunges, and other nasty moves...

Happy running, y'all!

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates....

...you never know what you're gonna get.

So true, so true.

I love the movie Forest Gump. I love the music. I tell some that I am the reincarnation of John Lennon...since I was born the day after his death.... I love John Lennon...and the Beatles too!

What a weekend it has been. Did I mention it has been snowing like crazy here? I actually don't mind it. The weather today has been an "ideal" North Dakota winter snow fall. 25 degrees and it looks like a snow globe out there!

Last night I spent some time doing some paperwork and then some pleasure reading for my own health. Today I spent most of the day doing paperwork for school and did some reading for one of my classes. I have spent the past couple of hours completing an application for the next school year. ONE application. Oh, how I don't miss the application process. It is so much work...so much work.

Mmmm ... chocolate! I haven't had chocolate for 4 days now! I think I gave it up for Lent. Along with alchohol. Yeah. Go me. I figured this was going to be the busiest time of the semester and what a better excuse to keep me from partying too hard than to give up alchohol for Lent. Now, I don't know how well that will work, but I am going to try my hardest! I can do it!

I have been doing a little reading of Bob Greene's "The Best Life Diet". Very interesting. I think I am going to try it. Although I do not look at it as a diet. I look at it as a life style change. I have seen so many people jump on and off the diet band wagon that I refuse to go on a diet. I don't want to be on a diet, never have I before. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some succeed from diets, such as Weight Watchers and South Beach Diet, but I have seen so many quit or get burned out as well. Of course, I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds, especially to feel better, but I am not going to go on some crash diet to lose a few pounds. Bob Greene breaks his guide into three phases. And during the first phase (minimum of four weeks) you have to do a multiple of things, a few of which I am already doing, and then a few that I am attempting to do now, consisting of: cutting out alchohol for now, stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime, and bolster my diet with daily supplements. Another thing Bob Greene stresses is you weigh in the first day of Phase One and not again until the end of Phase One.... that way you do stress about the weight loss/weight gain as your body is adjusting to your new habits. Also, on his website you can figure out your BMI...eeks! Mine is at 26.2 when it should be at 24. I guess I still have a little work to do...which is fine with me! Something to work for!

Anyways, I just thought I would share that. Check it out if you are interested!

On a workout note, I didn't do anything again today. My workout thursday royally wore me out and I wanted another rest day before tomorrow! I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow, but I feel as if my body will tell me when I get there!

Happy Saturday, y'all!

Grounded

First of all, when I mentioned the girl wearing the speedo in the gym yesterday... the reason I thought it was kind of weird was becuase our Campus pool is in a separate building from the wellness center...now is it kinda weird? And about the couple, I think it is perfectly fine to show PDA's... it just seemed odd to see that at the gym... I guess there is really nothing wrong with it...just out of the ordinary...

Friday is here and there is nothing more that I would rather do than relax and have a few beers with some friends. But, I have officially grounded myself. Yah. I have plenty of paperwork to do from work and MUST get started on some of my projects for class, and finish up some paperwork for my final project for graduation. It is also a goal of mine this weekend to find 5 locations that I would like to apply for jobs. With that I need to update my resume and type up a beautiful cover letter. Grounded. Oh well. The weather is going to be icky and my sister has left me all alone this weekend. Sniff...sniff..

Now, I am going to do some laundry and get some reading out of the way. Maybe I will find a B-ball game on tv to half-listen to....

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

running crazy

My workout today wore me out. Royally. I am not even kidding. I felt great afterwards and as if I could have ran another mile, but I quit. I had to run an errand before Grey's Anatomy was on. Anyway. My PLAN was to run atleast 2 miles, and then head to Spin class. I know, I know...crazy. But, I didn't get to the gym in time to do 2 miles, so I did 1.25 and then went to Spin. Once again, Spin was an awesome workout. Who would have known holding your arms in the air and moving them as if you are lifting 5 lb weights would actually be a hard workout while peddling?! My quads were burning through most of the workout, especially when she would make us freeze...thus only moving our legs, none of the upper body. Ouch! When I was done with Spin, I actually still had more in me ... Here is where crazy enters the picture. I got back on the thrillmill! I was just planning on doing .75 to make my 2 miles for the night, but I did 1.25, again. Oofdah! In a nutshell, my workout tonight consisted of 2.5 miles running and 9.8 miles of spinning! Yeah!

Every once and a while when I am at the gym, I notice things that appear out of place to me. I thought I would share a couple and see what others think. When I was on the thrillmill for the second time tonight, I noticed a girl wearing something unusual on the eliptical. She was wearing a speedo swimsuit with those "swish, swish" kind of pants. Weird? or Just me? And another thing that I noticed tonight that I have noticed before was this: A couple holding hands. Is that really necessary in the gym? I find that really odd. Don't get me wrong, I love holding hands, but do you really need to hold hands when walking through the weight lifting room? Now that takes a real man!

Tomorrow is a rest day. I was going to do an easy 3, but since I 2.5 tonight, tomorrow I will take it easy!

Happy running, y'all!

Building Self-Esteem

Today was my long day of the week. I think sometimes I make it longer. I teach all day. Head to the gym to workout and then go to class until about 10pm. By the time I get home and settle down, I am so wound up from the day, that it takes me quite a while to fall asleep, so I usually do some blog reading to tire my eyes.

Tonight was Spin night. I like doing Spin on tuesdays rather than wednesday. It gives me a better chance of getting it in two times a week. This way, I can spin on thursday too. So, tonight I met my sister at the gym. I somewhat wanted to lift first but remembered last tuesday's spin session and the resistance band. Nope. Wasn't going to lift. So we warmed up with a nice 1 mile jog and then went to spin. It felt great. I took Jodi's advice and lowered my seat a bit. I asked my sister if my knee was somewhat bent and she said "barely". Huh? I was only able to lower the seat about a 1/2 inch more before it was all the way down! But, I lowered it a little more and began peddling. What a wonderful workout! 8.68 miles later, I was feeling it all...the running and spinning! Doing both really works all parts of the legs! I can see why triathletes love what they do!

On an educational note, in class tonight we talked about building self-esteem in our students. We did an activity where we had to put our name on top of a piece of paper, pass it around and everyone had to write something about us on that paper. Yes people, these are the kind of things we do in class.... don't make fun! So, on an ending note... here is the list that was written beneath my name:

• kind hearted
• great friend
• I like your hair color - is it natural? - - > is this for real?
  
• I enjoy your outgoing personality
• funny
• you rock girl! I love your energy and enthusiasm!
• cute
• I love the way you are always punctual! :)
• Sincere and honest!
• always willing to help and know what's going on.
• ambitious (where do you find time to workout?)
• I love your obnoxious laugh - I heart you! - - > This could only come from my obnoxious laughing partner!
  

Happy running, y'all! Tomorrow is a rest day!

I'm BAAACKKK!

We didn't have school today, so after a long weekend of bachelorette party fun, I got back on the horse and went for a run. I was going to try 2-3 miles on friday morning, but my sister and I just weren't feeling it. So, we did a little over a mile around the track and then went to shoot some hoops.

Today I was hoping to get up at a decent time, around 7ish and head to the gym. I didn't get there until after 10, mostly due to being extremely tired from the weekend. Yesterday I had a really sore throat, so I wanted to get as much sleep as I could last night... and I did.

Well, ladies and gentleman....Teacherwoman is back and at full-force! I think. I went to the gym, lifted weights for a while and then hopped onto that wonderful thrillmill (not). My plan was to be on there for 40 minutes, whether I ran most of it, walked most of it, or did a lot of both. I was just hoping that would give me enough time to do 3 miles if I had to do a lot of walking. Results? 40 minutes...and 3.4 miles. Yippee! I did some walking but not too much! My running wasn't too speedy, but that is a-okay with this girl! I stretched afterwards and felt fine! Ahh, how good it feels to be back!

Those of you who have President's Day off...enjoy it!

Happy Running, y'all!

Work hard...play hard...

Okay, so I caved to peer pressure last night and went out with a couple guys from class for a few drinks! Ahh. It was fun but a late night. I actually got to see a couple girls I haven't seen in ages, so that was nice. I haven't gone out on a weeknight this school year, so I wasn't too excited about the idea. But, I did it anyway and today was our friday because we don't have school tomorrow. Gotta love the compensation for evening parent teacher conferences!

Tomorrow, I plan on hitting the gym. For what, one might ask? To run. Yep, all is good here and I plan to try a very easy 2-3 miles. I make sure to let y'all know how it goes. I haven't gotten to spin yet since Jodi gave me the idea that my injury could be due to my seat being too high, resulting in hyper-extending my legs, according to Lance... But, when I do get back on the bike, I plan to lower my seat a little more and see how it goes!

After that, my sis and I are headin' out of town! Yep, we are going to a nice cabin in MN for the weekend to meet up with some girlfriends and cousins for my sis' bachelorette party! Wahoo! So, until then, have a wonderful weekend! Remember, work hard...play hard!

Happy Running, y'all!

I HEART life

Before I get into the main purpose of this post, I want to quick make a comment about my injury. I have to give my Mom some credit here (and Wes) for putting in my head that my difficulties with my leg could possibly be stemming from Spin. Oddly enough. My Mom had mentioned to me that she struggles with bicycling becuase it bothers her knees (but she is able to run half marathons)... and then Wes had mentioned how when one gets on their bike, you use different muscles and can also injure different parts of the body. So, tonight I went to the gym hoping to get in a Spin class at 430 but didn't get there in time. So I had an hour to kill before the next class and chose to do some walking. I walked a little over a mile and then decided to test the running. I will admit, I was scared, but I did it. I went a mile and decided to stop. I didn't want to push it and knew I was going to Spin so I didn't want to wear myself out. All and all, I put on 2.25 miles on the thrillmill. Afterwards I grabbed a bike, adjusted everything to meet my needs and started moving. Yep. Kinda felt it. That feeling behind the back of my knee on the outside. Not pain. Just tightness. What the heck! I pushed through and did 8.6 miles. Tuesday night Spin is a whole lot different then Wednesday night (besides the different instructor). Tonight I knew it was going to be difficult when she passed out those elastic stretch bands. Oh boy. We used those to strengthen our arms while cycling slower a couple times throughout the session. Hence the reason why I only put on 8.6 miles. But, it was wonderful and I am already feeling the soreness in my arms! So, I came home tonight after class, stretched, iced and will be looking further into why my leg is bothering me. I am almost sure it is Spin now... but I don't want to quit that either!


Once again...Valentine's Day is pretty much here. Ah, the over-commercialized big day of the year! Don't get me wrong, I love the big Valentine's Day, but sometimes it can be too overrated! And I am not just saying that becuase I am single... Even when dating, it wasn't that great. With being single this year (first time in 5 years) I am going to make the most of it with a couple friends...I think! Dinner and a glass of wine? In honor of Valentine's Day, I made a list of things I love...to remind me of what is important in life!

1. LIFE!
2. My parents - they have given me so much and I must say they did a wonderful job on molding me into the superb adult I am today! ;)
   
3. My sistas! Oh how I have learned so much from them as they are both so different...as we all three have our differences...and similarities as well!
4. The rest of my family... sometimes we all take for granted how lucky we are to be so close!
   
5. My lovely friends.. Those near and far.... Those who support me in my running ups and downs, ins and outs (RBFer's, family and other friends)... Those who are there to wind down with after a long and stressful week, especially my "shaken' on the dancefloor partner, k-dog".... Those who I can vent to, because they know exactly what I am going through...
6. Did I mention LIFE???
7. I HEART learning... Education was probably the best field for me to go into... I will be required to constantly educate myself to become the best teacher I can be... next on my list of education: work towards my ASD credential (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
   
8. My students...oh how I have learned so much from them and hope that they learn a little in return!
9. I love watching my sports... especially basketball... I HEART my Tarheels!
10. I love being active. Running... cycling (spinning)... swimming... (basketbal, volleyball, etc.) ... Is there a possibility of a Tri in the future???

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

What Goes Around...

For it being Sunday, I was quite busy. I did homework from the moment I got up at 8am, until 3ish in the afternoon. Then I went to the gym to do a really good lift session before Spin. Spin went really well, I cranked the tension up hard during some drills and boy could I feel the burn.

All and all it was really good and I was able to complete 9 miles. I felt a slight pain that appears a few minutes before finishing. Today, the pain was coming from the outer-back of the knee down to the outer ankle area. Weird. So, I went home and iced, and iced, and iced. Is this nonsense ever going to stop??

Now, I am going to have a pitty party for myself and enjoy the Grammy's while doing some IEP paperwork. Did I mention that I "secretly" heart JT....Justin Timberlake?! Yep. Hey, if anyone can write their own music, sing, dance, AND play the piano...they've got my heart!


Tomorrow will be another rest day and then I will spin Tuesday night.

Keep on, keeeping on!

P.S. Congrats to Maryland for defeating Duke! Hip Hip Hooray! Now Duke is faced with their longest losing streak in 11 years!

Subtle Pain

I went to the gym tonight with a mindset that I was going to try 3 easy miles and not push myself hard. It was planned to be just 3 very very easy, slow miles and nothing more, unless there was no pain what-so-ever.

My ankle hasn't bothered me since tuesday night, so I had a positive feeling about this run. I grabbed a towel, hopped on the treadmill, turned the tv channel to watch PTI on ESPN, turned on my tunes, and started a decent walk to warm-up a little bit.

Once I reached a tenth of a mile, I started a very slow jog. 5mph to be exact. There was a bit of a slight pain that wrapped around my ankle each time my heal came into contact with the belt of the thrillmill. It wasn't an excruciating pain, but it was more like an achy pain that was noticiable with each stride. Once I reached 1/3 of a mile, my breathing and strides were insynch and I didn't notice the pain as much anymore. Overall, I was able to fork over 3.3 miles and everything was perfect, except for my leg.

What I have noticed in the past week or so, is that when I start to run, there is a weird pain that a part of me tells me that I should stop. But, as stubborn as I can be, and as hard as I can be on myself, I run through it and it pretty much disappears. It is later, when I am not running anymore, possibly the next day even, when a pain that is worse than it was when I was running, shows up.

I don't know what to do. Many things run through my mind as to what the case is. So, from here, I will just plan to take my ibuprofen and then ice as much as I can over the next couple days. I will continue to stretch, as I have been really good about this over the past couple of weeks. Any ideas, thoughts, or comments would be greatly appreciated and helpful. Tonight I will refer to my Women's Running book to figure this out and decide what I need to do. This is a little frustrating and I don't want to make it worse.

Tomorrow will be a rest day.


On a light note, here is my new favorite snack. I like to call it Stacy's Trail Mix! Roasted peanuts, raisins, some m&m's, the rainbow goldfishes, and the pretzel goldfishes. Mmm.
Happy running, y'all.

Head Spinning

Went to spin last night with a weak stomach. Didn't know how well it was going to go, but all and all it was qutie successful and my quads and glutes were quite sore after a near 12 miles! What a wonderful workout!

Sis and I decided to make a nice dinner of spaghetti with some garlic bread! Mmm. That sure hit the spot. Once dinner was over, I waited patiently.

Patiently.

Patiently for the biggest rivalry game in NCAA basketball.

Yep, it was time for the UNC vs. DUKE game.

Let me just say, the first half was really hard to watch. I couldn't beleive how poor they were playing. But the Heels persevered and pulled through in the second half. They were rebounding better, had more steals, and just darn right played better!

79-73 baby! DUKE is going down!

Tonight I hope to get in an easy three miles. We'll see!

Happy running, y'all!

Wednesday is almost here...

and I am done with class for the week! Ahhhh.....

(ahh...now I have to spend the rest of the week doing paperwork and homework!)

Tonight I went to the gym before my class. I didn't know what I was going to do, especially with my ankle slightly bothering me. But, I felt I could atleast go and get a good lift session in and walk the track to get moving a bit.

So, I lifted my heart out. I really pushed my self hard and can feel it now... what wonderful feeling!

Afterwards, I thought that I would just attempt some *light* running ... yeah... ...only went about 1.3 miles and had to force myself to stop. It wasn't a really bad pain, but it was there and I was afraid I would make it worse.

So I stopped. How frustrating. Oh well. Tomorrow night I will attempt another mile, and do 45 minutes of spin. Then I will try to do a few miles on thursday! If all is well with the ankle that is...

Did I mention it was -36 with the windchill coming home tonight? Brrr. If this isn't more motiviation to really start looking for a job in the Carolina's...I don't know what is! It's so cold that my car didn't get the chance to warm up much between campus and home...which is a good 10 minute drive.. you try icing your legs after being out in these frigid temps! Kind of hard, but you do what you gotta do..

Keep on keeping on!

Looking forward to wednesday....becuase...

....monday's can be disasterous with leaving home at 7am and not getting home until after 9. especially when you realize you didn't have really anything to take for lunch... and you probably won't get to the grocery store before wednesday evening....

.... tuesday I will start the day of with a meeting with the PT, OT, SLP, Strategist, Principal, classroom teacher to discuss assessment results with parents of a struggling student.... and to plan out a new IEP....just...

..... to be followed by.... an observation of my wonderful teaching skills...done my my university mentor....

.....and then another late night of class ...until 10...

Hopefully on wednesday I have time to get to the grocery store... so I will be able to cook a decent meal... so I have left overs to take for lunch thursday... and maybe friday...

For how long and tiring the beginning of my week can be, it sure goes by fast. Before I know it, May will be here. Oh how ready I am for May temps. Woke up to -32 this morning. Thankfully my car started.

Did I mention my ankle is bothering me? If it's not one thing, it's another... sometimes I stop and wonder why I do this running stuff... But oh how I LOVE it so much.

Lack of Structure

Friday was quite eventful with the CEC conference and then hitting the gym for a nice long run and some lifting. But, I chose to go out with some friends, some of them whom I haven't seen since July and had a few drinks. That totally throws my weekend out of wack, with me sleeping in and wasting a good portion of my day. Plus, I feel completely icky and mostly dehydrated. I was hoping to hit the gym saturday afternoon but just couldn't do it. Not enough structure what-so-ever.

Workout: Today, I did things a little differently. I did 45 minutes of pilates late this morning, went to the gym and lifted arms and legs...then, I did my 3.1 mile run! I have read that lifting before running helps with weight loss....even though this isn't a huge concern of mine, I wanted to see how well I would be able to run after lifting. Results? I did a total of 3.3 miles, with 3.1 being done in 31:49 minutes! An average 10:15 minute mile! Yeah! I have a feeling I am going to be sore tomorrow...but a good sore.

Now, I am saving my appetite for yummy apps and taps at a friends house for the Superbowl! Yeah! Go Bears...or Colts?!?! I can't decide. I am just looking forward to the commercials, a few drinks, a lot of food...and some football!

Happy running, y'all!

ONE SINGLE(ton) SHOT!

Sports Commentary:
I got home just in time last night to watch the last half of the Duke vs. Virginia game. Let's just say it came down to ONE SINGLE SHOT in overtime, made by Virginia's player, Singleton to win the game! Wahoo! Virginia hasn't been able to beet Duke in 9 games (since 2002)!

Workout related:
A bunch of us RT's left the conference a little early so with that I was able to get to the gym at a decent time. Today was supposed to be my scheduled 3.1 miles, but when I was driving to the gym, I felt like I needed to do more. I had the time, why not. So, I decided I would do the run/walk thing for 60 minutes and then lift. And that is what I did! I pretty much ran 5 or 6 and walked 1.... for 60 minutes. I was able to complete 5.3 miles! That is an average 11:19/mile! How refreshing. My knees were kind of making a weird clicking noises at times, but that went away. So I instantly iced when I got home!

Now it's time to have a wonderful evening.... I plan on meeting up with some friends that I haven't seen since this summer!

Happy running, y'all!

Gym Class Heroes - Cupids Chokehold

Check it out!

Body-numbing, snot-freezing, head-aching....

Random thought:
Cupid's Chokehold...such a weird title for a song. But, I guess I have heard worse! Cupid's Chokehold by GYM CLASS HEROES is my favorite song at the moment! If you are looking for a new song to jog to, try this one! Just saw the video and thought it was weird, but I like the beat!

Tomorrow I will not be going to school. Nope. I quit! No...not really. I will be attending a CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) Conference here in town. I am quite pumped! You can never learn to much, right? With that note, I am so pumped that I don't have to drive all the way to school (35 miles) and park my car out there. I don't have a block heater and the high tomorrow is supposed to be -10 with the windchill reaching a near body-numbing, snot-freezing, head-aching 40 below windchill! Who would want to leave their warm home in that kind of weather? Not this chica! Thanks to my Sis, she will be getting up early to drive me to the conference and pick me up at 4! That way I won't have to worry about my car not starting...becuase it probably wouldn't!

Today was the 100th day of school! In most schools, that is a big day in grades K-2/3! So, most of the kids were walking around with necklaces made of 10 sets of 10 fruitloops. The Kindergarteners got 10 sets of 10 different dot stickers to do what ever they wanted to do with them...on paper that is. The kids were pretty excited! Not as excited as the teachers realizing that we are more than halfway over the hump! I am excited because I only have 99 days until I graduate! Wahoo!

Exercise related..... I did not do anything today. I got into town after school, changed, and headed to the coffee shop on campus. I was there until a little after 9pm working on an assessment report that we are going over in a meeting next tuesday. Eeks. This is the first time I have done one of these, and boy are they a lot of work!

Tomorrow, I hope to go to the gym after my coference for a nice 3.1 mile run! We'll see.