Something happened today. It was monumental, HUGE. It was everything I’ve ever wanted in my fitness life. I couldn’t believe it happened.
I know as soon as I type the words, and soon as some of you read it you’ll be thinking to yourselves…..that’s it?! Really, but you don’t understand.
I ran two miles today. I ran two miles today, without stopping.
Now before you start clicking onto another site, let me tell you my journey and we’ll see how you think and feel then.
My whole life I have hated running. Hate may not be strong enough, every fiber of my being wanted to simultaneously scream and dissolve into salt whenever I heard words about running the mile or “fun” run, or jogging. I wanted to punch coaches in the face, and scream at them how I just couldn’t do it and bring myself to take one more step. Running made me feel weak, slow, and big. Not only did I have to compete with these short people and their super swift moves, the tall people always passed me too with their gazelle like legs, ug. It made me want to quit everything, go home and live under covers. I hated the days of hell week for volleyball when I would be forced to run a mile under 9 minutes. It was humiliating. It just reminded me again of how weak and slow I was.
You don’t believe me right? How could running ever be that bad? Well I really don’t know how or why. I was told years later that when I was in kindergarten we were required to run around a large grassy area with trees under a certain amount of time. Guess who didn’t make it? And the time we were having club volleyball tryouts and the coach asked us all to raise our hand if we hate running. I was the only one with a hand raised. Guess who didn’t make the team? The under 9 minute mile was a plague over me that Summer. My best friend at the time was one of the better runners on our team. I remember so perfectly when she was asking me if I finally did it this week. After answering no over and over for weeks, and the pure malice behind the question, I took a huge swig of gatorade in my mouth. I pointed my puffed cheeks with liquid at her. And I spit as hard and as far as I could. She didn’t ask me about it again. I wasn’t getting anywhere under 9 minutes. It wasn’t until the assistant coach ran with me, which forced me to do something I never could before. I was never so happy as to hear 8:45 in my life. I was safe from another week.
Believe it or not, I would not run another mile without stopping again until our trip last year to Nashville. That was the craziest feeling, but didn’t stick with it. I think I got too scared of the future, after all how can I continue to conquer me fear if it isn’t in my way anymore? I didn’t run again until a while later when we did The Warrior Dash. That race is fun, but the running was the least of our worries. I’ve always wanted to get back to running running, where I’m actually making progress. Well I guess you could say I made myself do it because I signed myself and the Hulkster up for the Turkey Trot.
At the time, there were 18 weeks to go. 18 loooooong weeks before the race. At first I told myself that I have plenty of time. I don’t need to be so focused on training because I’ve got a while. Well then I got sick, and I got a whole lot of lazy, and then some weeks I forgot or skipped a week. And here I was with 5 weeks to go, realizing the error of my ways. All I could do was just start running again. And so I did. This time with my friend from work. She got me through the longest interval last week- 8 minutes, and corrected my posture. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! So that brings us here today. My moment to shine. I had looked up on my Coach to 5k app to see what the running was today and it said walk 5 minutes, run 20 minutes or 2 miles, I was really nervous. But with the help and encouragement I got from friends and the Hubster- I did it.
Not only did I do it, I hit 20 minutes but wasn’t to 2 miles yet. So I kept going! It’s like a dream I never knew existed.
Now that I’m back down to Earth a little, I feel very proud of myself. Like really proud. I’m usually not proud of myself, so I give myself this one.
I must say, I’ve been really challenging myself with different types of exercises this week. I ditched my crappy gym for a newer prettier one, but alas Murphy’s law kicks in and I was literally stuck. Not only did we have a flat tire from a screw, the car dealership found ANOTHER tire with a screw in it. We ordered new tires, and waited almost a week for them to get here. By the way, we are a one car family so it was a really big deal not to be able to drive. Turns out the tire place sent the tires to the WRONG store! GAH! I had to bum rides off of coworkers and friends all week. I really really hated it. I couldn’t go to the gym at all. I’ve been improvising with a lot of walking. I’m not a huge fan of walking for exercise in general because it’s just so boring so I switched it up a bit and this is what I came up with.
Problem: I didn’t have a car
Problem: It was lunchtime and I forgot to bring my lunch to work
Problem: I couldn’t ask for yet another ride, and I didn’t want to pay anymore than I needed to for lunch, delivery is very slow because of the area as well
Solution: I didn’t need no stinkin’ car
Solution: Lunch was on the way, or at least I was on the way
Solution: I walked myself to the nearest Tim Hortons and back for lunch
Let me be clear: this was not a leisurely stroll, no sir. My legs were flying, my arms were pumping and I was on the move! The walk was 3.4 miles roundtrip and I did it in 40 minutes. With construction, other cars flying passed me, gravel beneath my feet, wind in my hair, and the determination to get it done. And I did! By the time I got back to work I was sweaty and red but I didn’t care, just another tick to the exercise ticker. And that was just one of my workouts! The others included walking dogs and loading boxes, and doing whatever else I could to get it in.
The tires are finally on our car and we are free at last. I will be hitting up my beautiful gym tomorrow! 🙂
How is this challenge going for you?
I am still very excited to continue the Living and Active Challenge over at Peak 313. I had to take it a little easier than planned because I got a sinus infection but I was able to push through. This challenge not only makes me work physically on my body, but I have to mentally work too with memorizing scripture. I have never been good at that! Old Testament in order? New? Tribes of Judah and Fifty Nifty? I have it all in my head, but scripture for some reason is difficult for me. But I haven’t given up- no sir!
In case you’re involved in the challenge too, good luck! And I would love to hear how things are going! If not, it’s never too late to join in and have fun! I’ll blog more details when I’m feeling better!
The Hulkster and I have been slowly working through the couch to 5k program. I’ve found running outside really helps. The distraction of the wind in my face, crunch of leaves and rocks under my feet, and Taylor by my side has been all I need. I was going through my normal blogs today and I was pointed in the direction of the Living and Active 5 week challenge. I am so excited!
As part of the check in portion, there are a couple of things that I need to update:
1. What is my workout plan? Well, I will continue with the C25K program which is 3 days a week. The other day I’m going to try for something new and different. This week will be SWING DANCING! I am so excited because we haven’t gone in years.
2. Who is your accountability partner? So far it’s my husband, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one that can help me out! I would love encouragement and accountability from anyone!
3. Are you excited? YES Ma’am!
Anyone else interested in joining me? I’m looking forward to this challenge, especially since candy and turkey day are right around the corner! 🙂
Warning: This is a random post…I like to remember the small things as much as I can!
It’s been weeks since I took a Sunday afternoon nap. I’m past the point of no return because it’s way too late to take a nap, but way too early to go to bed and sleep through the night. So I’ll just blog away with droopy eyes, how’s that sound?
I’ve been slowly making my way through sharing pictures from Summer on this blog. I feel like time got away from all of us because the weather in Michigan was so crappy. I can count on one hand the number of days it was actually above 90 degrees. As a California girl, this makes me very sad. I long for the sweeping breeze to flow through my hair as I lie sweating on a towel filled with sand and the smell of waved water in the distance. All I can think about come May is eating hot dogs, roasting marshmallows over glowing coals, and letting a sweet Summer wine pass my lips and cool my tongue as I slowly slip away into sunken Summer bliss knowing I can do it all over again very soon. I love Summer.
Needless to say, this has created some rather boring weekends, we couldn’t go outside because of the rain. The rare days we could, we enjoyed kayaking down the river, watching fireworks, and going to a Zoo walk. Kayaking was interesting this time because not only did we go down a cascade backwards, we successfully floated on towards the next cascade, and promptly tipped over. We both recovered our shoes and belongings, got ourselves back in the kayak, and thanked the Lord and our friends that we moved our bag with personals in it to another kayak just moments before. I really wish someone had video recorded or took a picture because we were a sight to see! I’m happy we had life jackets on and the water wasn’t too deep, I might have felt a little more panicked if things went any differently, but they didn’t.
I was pretty excited a bunch of events all happened in the same week. Particularly because I could hang out with my friend Jenna. We normally see each other maybe once a week, and this time we saw each other almost everyday for a week! To start, we saw each other at church on Sunday, then we went to trivia on Monday. I was never into trivia before we moved to Michigan, but trivia is like a thing here. There’s all kinds of bars and restaurants that host weekly match ups- and it’s free to play! The bar we went to had specials so we enjoyed burgers and a beer for 8 bucks. You can’t beat that, at least not here.
We were so excited because one of the categories was Disney. Between the two of us, Jenna and I could out-Disney anyone.
This picture just makes me laugh and smile.
The Katie face, the oh you’re still taking pictures face, and the boo no fair face
The next day Jenna and I went to a training at our church for the children’s ministry. We both love kids so it’s a great way to serve, we also help with childcare for a Bible study on Thursdays. I hadn’t had enough of her I guess because I saw her again on Saturday to go kayaking (previous story is from that day) down the river and preparing our outfits for the Zoo Walk. Her husband works for a Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan and the Zoo Walk was to benefit kids so they can go to Summer Camp. We went to Joann’s and picked out a bunch of toile because we wanted to make tutus and wear hats that looked like animals. It was so much fun! This is a very similar tutorial you can use here. What adult woman doesn’t want to make her own colorful tutu? I took one look at that pink sparkly nose on my hat and realized I needed to be the pig!
Please excuse my blindly white legs, I told you the weather was crummy this Summer!
This picture may be a good representation…
but this one sums it up better 🙂
Just a giraffe, pig, and elephant hanging out at the zoo together
We’re crazy!
How is your week going?
To continue with all the craziness going on lately, we went to a wedding for our two friends. Taylor plays in the band with Matt at church and I think it’s really cute how nerdy the two are together. I have since learned that there is a big difference between nerd and geek. Nerds are broadly focused, and geeks are narrowly focused. For example; Taylor is really into gaming or video games so he plays all the games you can think of from Mario to WOW. A geek would play Settlers of Catan, and only SOC. Neither of the two phrases are an insult by the way. I myself am a fashion nerd, or a hipster as the Hubster calls me. Anyway, Matt married Erin and they were so cute!
A selfie is required for all events
I have to say, I was having a really good looks day. What’s a good looks day you say? Well, it’s when my hair corporates, my makeup looks just right, I’m not bloated so a slimming dress doesn’t make me look pregnant, my razor gives a perfect shave, all of that rolled into the excitement of going to a wedding and I was having a good looks day! Given this information, I was feeling good about getting dressed up and fancified. <– I just made that word up. We did have a major issue though with their gift. I searched high and low but the only Target that had the gift we wanted to get them was either a block from the reception, or 20 minutes away. No big deal when you have plenty of time and the ability to wrap said gift at home, but we didn’t have a lot of time and we didn’t have the ability to wrap the gift at home….so we improvised!
Sure, we could have gotten them a gift card. That would have been the easy option. However I am a super sentimental person and I couldn’t bear to think of getting them anything that wasn’t personalized or bought without a specific intention. We decided ahead of time that we wanted to buy them a tent that was on their registry because 1. We love camping. We put a small tent on our registry for our wedding but a family member got us a really cool huge 8 person tent for our wedding, so it was only fitting. 2. We thought it would be a cool idea because we could go camping with them 3. I had a coupon, and a red card so it was a really good deal 4. Since we got money off for the tent, we were able to buy them a cooler as well. All of this including wrapping, a board game, tape, scissors, and a card were purchased in Target, in my heels. I’m sure I was a sight to see with my arms full of camping gear in a dress. People were looking at me like I was walking a pet deer or something in there, one little girl tugged at her dad and said, “Look!”
Once we got to the car, the back door was opened and I wrapped everything up in no time. The drive to the wedding was about two hours away so we listened to music and sang really loudly. I knew my bff Sarah and her hubs were going to be there so I had her save us seats and we got there just in the nick of time. The ceremony was short but very sweet. It was really exciting to see a couple share their very first kiss*. Then the bride and groom were off to take pictures, and so were we! Sarah and I decided since we don’t get dressed up very often we should take a million pictures together. It makes sense right? So without further ado…
The glamour shots:
And then the not so glamorous shots. We could not stop laughing when we saw these later…what in the world?!
Stop; make sure you focus the camera
Where you going Amanda?
BTW, that’s the necklace I wore on my wedding day. It was my “something borrowed” from Taylor’s maternal grandmother. I was shocked when she gave it to me a couple years later. I only wear it to weddings, kind of like a good luck charm…even though I don’t believe in luck 🙂
Take a million pictures Taylor!
Derp.
Failed attempted duck faces
This was Taylor’s favorite
We made it to the reception after scoring some gatorade from CVS across the street. I know I know, it’s so bad for you but sometimes you just gotta have red #5 filled gatorade. I may have mentioned this before, but I lurve dancing! I was so excited to get on the dance floor and boogy down. But first, they had a little table set up for everyone to sign a Jenga piece. Cute idea right? They also had a photo booth, which we totally hit up.
We had such a good time, but it was getting late so we had to head home. Not before a picture with the bride and groom!
Congrats to Matt and Erin. Marriage is a burden or a blessing, but only if you let it be one or the other.
Enjoy your life together, and let’s go camping sometime! Hint, hint.
*Since the wedding happened I have talked with many people of different backgrounds about the whole idea of saving a first kiss until marriage. Some have said it’s crazy! Some have said they could never do it, how would you know if you’re attracted to the other person? For me personally, I think it’s very sweet. I didn’t know this type of thing happened before I met Taylor, if I did I might have talked to him about doing the same idea. One say I’ll do a post about saving ourselves but for right now it was great to be there to celebrate such a special couple.
We have been so very busy the last month. I love being busy, it makes the time go by faster and I feel like I’m more productive when things are moving along. Taylor is starting his last year of grad school and we are both breathing a huge sigh of relief. We knew the time would pass quickly, we just didn’t know when quickly felt like quickly. Some of these months have dragged along, especially Summertime. When life is lazy and our brains turn to mush. It’s just one of those things! To give you a quick update, we visited one of our oldest friends a few weeks ago in Athens, Ohio. The city of Athens itself is a lot like where we live. A college town with a cute downtown area with great eats, cool bars, and cheap drinks! A drinker I am not, but I let myself have two. I was only going to drink one but a new friend didn’t like her “ahem” on the beach so I drank it. Never had that before and it was quite tasty! I should start with the beginning shouldn’t I?
The night before we left I had a feeling I should take the day off of work. I knew I needed to leave a bit earlier than usual but I decided I would just go in the morning and get through most of the day. Well…I woke up sick. Ironic isn’t it? I have a feeling it was half a meal I didn’t prepare and I was unsure about while eating it, and half I have no idea what the heck is wrong with me. It was like I had the flu turned way down so my symptoms were there but muted. Dunno, shrug. So I stayed home, which is just what I needed. Bella made me feel better too!
By the time noon rolled around, I was feeling much better and we hit the road shortly after. The drive is only about 3-4 hours so we just sat and talked, and played BOMB. In case you’re wondering, BOMB is like horse in basketball however you come up with an actor or actress and the next person has to say what movie that actor or actress was in, then you say another actor or actress that played in that movie, then you say an actor or actress and so on. We couldn’t believe it but we played for two hours getting lost and then back on the road in Ohio. It’s the little things!
Our friend Tommy is the same friend that was the best man in our wedding and ran in the Warrior Dash with us last year. He’s a really cool guy and a good friend! He just bought a house so we were oooing and aahhing over all the details. A garage? Nice kitchen! Oh you have a walk in closet! How cool!I am so thankful to be an adult because guest bedrooms that have their own bathrooms are awesome. We were so tired from the drive that we decided to hang out and watch a movie; Mystery Men. I never saw it before and I’m sure I would have liked it when it came out but since that movie is kind of “old” now and cheesy, it wasn’t my favorite. I did enjoy watching the boys watch it though- very nostalgic for them. Then it was off to bed, I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!
The next day we had a delicious breakfast of chocolate Special K (oh, it was so good!) and took a tour of Tommy’s job and some of the downtown area. It’s such a beautiful place because it’s literally next to and in the University of Oho campus. I had no requests for the whole weekend other than going to Bagel Street Deli. I crave this place every once in a while and since I had it last over a year ago- it was time to go again!
It’s such a cute little place, they have bricks on the wall that everyone writes their names on, I always get a blt because I’m not adventurous and I like what I like, what I like!
On top you’ll see Taylor’s Pfeiffer’s choice on asiago and below that is my blt. They are served piping hot in foil, best eaten with copious amounts of chips. We rolled ourselves out of there to look out and about for some jewelry for me. I didn’t find any but I was super impressed with how crazy weird some people were. Even more were the oddest shops, mostly vintage, and I wanted to buy everything. I tried on a super cute dress but I didn’t get it because 1. It was U of M colors (I would look like a student) and 2. It looked like a dress a student would wear. I was hesitant at first but as soon as I walked out and saw at least 5 students wearing similar dresses, I knew I was right. Along the way we stopped at Fluff- the cutest little bakery that lets you have your own China tea plate if you eat there.
Up top is a butterfinger cupcake and Taylor had a red velvet cupcake. They were so good but I was still full from lunch so I took half home. We came back to the house for a bit to get ready for the night. Tommy has a bunch of really cool friends that we had been dying to meet so we got washed up and hit the town!
On the patio of Jackie O’s, I had the melt my pesto sandwich and Taylor had a rueben. We both swore they were life changing sandwiches, I’ll have to recreate both soon! It was so nice to just sit outside and relax and talk without the stupid mosquitos eating us alive. They must be especially annoying in Michigan because we are magnets, and allergic to boot! The rest of the evening was filled with meeting new people, dancing, bar hopping, and what we call the Katie face. The Katie face is a face that a new friend named Katie makes in every picture. I love it and I wish I did it sooner because it makes pictures more fun and less awkward….by acting awkward.
It starts like this; hey we’re all cool
And then you do the Katie face; it’s awesome!
This is the dance we’ve done since high school, brings back memories!
I have no idea, haha
It was so much fun! I love going out with friends and meeting new people so this is just what I needed. What made it better was Tommy’s friends were so nice to us and welcoming, I really felt comfortable enough to be myself. Plus, how much fun is dancing amIright?!
We ended up going to bed sometime after 2am. We had hot dogs around midnight and saw a girl passed out drunk on her deck, which was only entertaining because we saw the police waking her up. The next morning we knew we were heading to the diner for breakfast. Tommy’s Egg’s Benedict, Taylor’s Huevos Ranchero’s scramble, and my pancakes. I think all of these were clearly larger than my face. I vowed to never eat again.
Ok here come’s the Katie face…
It’s our new favorite thing!
We played our traditional games of Smash Brothers and Mario Party, and then it was time to go. I couldn’t believe how quickly it went by! We had a blast and can’t wait to come back again. There’s a bunch of comedians doing shows so we might check one out soon, we’ll see. Thanks for being an awesome host Tommy- miss you already!
In the meantime, this is just one stop in the craziness that’s been happening in our lives. What’s up in your world? 🙂
{She-Hulk-Out} 