Snowbird and A Lot of other Stuff

I worked and then my weekend began. It has been quite busy so I will try to summarize my workouts and fun-ness.

On Friday I rode 20 miles. It was also back day. I finished it off with manfriend on the couch watching the Informant. 

On Saturday I drove up to Snowbird to work with Wasatach Adaptive Sports (WAS). I started volunteering for them this past winter. They work with veterans with disabilities and all others with disabilities. In the winter we ski, snowshoe, etc. On Saturday I got to work with a bunch of kids and their families. I was stationed at the Alpine Slide.

 We spent some time on the adapted playground that WAS built. They've built a playground that kids with all abilities can enjoy.

We rode the Tram up at the end of the day and I watched two little three year old boys as they collected rocks and tried to get to the construction equipment.

 

I love volunteering. It is a big part of who I am.  It is an amazing program and their website is here.

Saturday night we went to a wedding and saw our dear friends, The Slushwaite-Grushers. Here is an old photo of me and the beautiful Miss SG since I forgot to take any.

Yesterday morning I ran 6 miles and went to the Farmer's Market at Wheeler Farm. There is another big market downtown on Saturdays. but Wheeler Farm is my favorite. 

I bought mixed greens, ginormous tomatoes, some dog treats and THESE!

These are locally made chews for athletes. They are made from coconut water and chia seeds. Remember how I get a stomach ache from gatorade? No. Well, I do. Ever since this whole autoimmune, vegan thing started my stomach is SUPER sensitive. I am going to try these out on my long runs and write a review. Their website is here.

Manfriend and I went to this vegan cafe in Salt Lake yesterday for brunch. They recently moved locations and their new place is bigger and better. Their food is awesome. So here are some yummies.

If you are in Salt Lake, you should go there. It is called Sage's Cafe.

Manfriend built some furniture and then we went downtown again because it was the last day of the Utah Arts Festival. My dad is a painter and I grew up around art. We had an art room in our basement where I spent many hours painting and drawing with my dad. Here is one of my dad's pieces....from 1984?

I haven't been in a few years because in recent years the art has been quite unimpressive. My brother is a sculptor and in his words "This isn't art. This is shit." Perhaps I am biased...or perhaps I have a keen eye for what is shit and what isn't. Let's go with the second one.

I decided to go yesterday because it has been a while and it actually didn't disappoint. Is the Utah Art scene actually getting better?!? Wouldn't that be great.

And of course, we ended the day with homemade vegan enchiladas and movies with this guy

My post with the enchilada recipe can be found here,

The Most Expensive PB&J

I woke up with a headache again....what the hell?

I ate this

That is PB2. It is the bomb.com and you can find it here.

PB2, 2 slices of Ezekiel bread and Eden Apple Butter. I have tried to replicate Eden Apple Butter. I have yet to be successful. If anyone out there has a magical recipe I am all ears, but keep in mind that I am incredibly picky and I won't add any sugar....apples are sweet already.

As predicted, my legs are mush. I ran 4 easy miles and worked my shoulders. My head never felt quite right and I have a history of migraines....wah wah wah. Lame sauce. So I took it easy the rest of the day, hung out with the canines and surfed the web.

My shoulder routine is quite short, but effective. It consists of 4 different exercises.

Upright Rows 4 sets of 6-10 reps which I superset with 4 sets of lateral raises with 6-10 reps.
Front Raise 4 sets of 6 -10 reps
Reverse Fly 3 sets of 6 - 10 reps and then I do one more set with drop sets.

It is all very exciting.

Shoulders consist of several smaller muscles besides the deltoid and that area can get injured easily. I have read that it is often the first place to get hurt when lifting. I do not do any overhead pressing with my shoulders.

 

This isn't to say that you shouldn't ever do overhead presses, but the amount of stress put on your shoulders during all of your other workouts should be considered. I work my shoulders out a lot on chest day as well and there is a lot of conflicting information out on the web regarding overhead press. The best thing anyone can do is educate themselves or hire a well educated trainer. Also, USE GOOD FORM. 

 I have been focusing on stretching a ton and I stretch after every run. I found this today and thought it would appropriate to share.

 

I found this on housewifeglamour.com. I am not a housewife, but thems some good stretches.

 

Lots of Hand Photos and Leg Day

I got home from work last night with a pounding headache and I went straight to bed. No leg day for me last night. Nursing is hard sometimes.

I went to bed at 8:30 which worked out well for me because I was able to get up at 5:30 AM and do this.

Yes, those are compression socks. I love them. I used to think that they were a big hoax, similar to barefoot running shoes, however; I got an awesome deal on them this one time and now that I have tried them I can't seem to give them up. I truly believe that they help with my recovery time (even if that is all in my head, I don't care) plus they make me look fast. Looking fast is really important. You can find the brand I have on here.

I didn't want to go back to the nail salon today and have all of the Vietnamese women shame me into getting my eyebrows waxed, a new pedicure, a manicure, eyelash extensions or any other unnecessary thing (they are really good at getting me to buy things). If you don't know what I am talking about, you should watch this Video. It is funny because it is true.

So I researched how to remove shellac nails on my own and then this happened.

Best part is it worked.

I hit legs, biceps and triceps this afternoon. I pushed myself, but not as hard as usual. I still don't feel like my body has fully recovered so I didn't work anything to fatigue today and no supersets. I took some really awesome (aka awkward) photos by myself. Get ready for uncomfortable-ness.

Leg Press

 

Lunges

 

Squats (I apologize in advance)

 

But seriously, lets talk about squats because I like big butts. I get asked about proper squats all of the time. First thing is shoes. I wear different shoes on leg day than any other workout day. Running shoes are not appropriate for squats, lunges etc. Most of these motions involve pushing weight from the heel and a lot of athletic shoes have a high cushioned heel for running, biking, etc. You want a shoe that has an even cushion across the entire base of the shoe.....like Chuck Taylors. I wear a pair of Pumas that have a flat sole and I also have a pair of Nike high tops I wear sometimes. Also..

I didn't get pictures of all of the machines and free weights because I am a lone wolf at the gym. It is hard to take photos with a hundred pounds on your back. I could probably work out with others, but the truth of the matter is that I prefer to work out alone. My gym time is my time to decompress. I really need this sometimes especially when I have days like yesterday. I like to run alone, lift alone, etc. There is nothing I like better than blasting some Def Leppard or Rancid on my Ipod and running out my emotions, stress, etc. It is what keeps me sane. 

Also, I really like books and coffee.

 

I went to the library after the gym. I've chosen to not find out how much sugar is in this. Let's not talk about it. A girl's gotta live!

Recovery and Kite...walking and Lots O' Pics

I worked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night at the hospital. I worked out a couple of times, but mostly I decided to listen to my body. If it told me I needed sleep, then I went to bed and if I went for a run then I would just run until I started to feel some aches and pains again and then I would stop.

I've been living on a foam roller and stretching every day. I've been trying to cross train and focus on what feels right to me. Today I went swimming.

I know. That is a whole lot of sexy sexualness to take in all in one photo. I can't help it. I have dreams of becoming a triathlete one day. Triathlete-ism - you will be mine.

Here are the remnants of my injuries. Pretty, huh? I share so many pretty photos with you. It is what it is...

 

I don't usually blister and I wear slippy, mesh socks when I run and it isn't usually a problem. The type of socks you wear when you run REALLY make a difference. You can read more about it here. Maybe it was the downhill?

I have been running about 4 miles a day since Wednesday and continuing to weight train. This morning I worked my back and chest. Tomorrow is leg day....the first leg day since my race. I imagine it will be something like this

A long time ago (or a few years ago) I was hyper focused on my "plan". I had to run a certain amount of miles each day, lift on certain days, etc. Recently I've started to listen more to what my body has to say and I have been getting injured less and I have been happier. I plan on training like this for the next half marathon....hopefully it works.

Some yummies from the past few days (all greens)

At work....

This weekend.....

 

I ran at the gym this morning because sometimes that is my excuse for watching HGTV. I am NOT the only one who does this. Manfriend and I went swimming and then we drove to Lehi to see my dad and fly a kiteboarding kite.

A few years ago we went to Hawaii and spent a day in Maui kiteboarding. They make you wear helmets and you look super awesome. See.

We fell in love and manfriend has been practicing his skills as a kite-walker ever since so that he will have the kite flying part down the next time we go. Some people look at us like we are weird when we do this. It isn't weird. It's cool.

 

Tia just sat and watched

 

Oh and here are the two photos I meant to share of my brother and Moab....

My brother and his girlfriend, Sammi-pants

 

Moab

You Must Do the Thing That You Think You Cannot

Two posts in one day. Whoop whoop!

I got to thinking this afternoon about my training. I am always training. Training for a race. Training for bigger muscles. Training for a comp. Training. Training. Training. I like it that way.

When asked what I am training for, my response is often 'Life'. This got me thinking.

I have always had the desire to bigger and better things. No matter how fast I am, I want to be faster. No matter how strong I am, I always want to be stronger. I have been competitive with myself my whole life.

In 2006, I ran the Salt Lake Marathon. It was the first long race I had ever done. Prior to those 26.2 miles, my longest race had actually been a 5k. I had loved running and I had been thinking about running a marathon for a while. I had mentioned it to a few people, but the one comment that got me to register for a marathon was this particular response.

"I don't think you could do that."

That was all it took.

So, I trained and I ran and I finished and at the end of the race something changed. I knew I could do anything. I could push through anything that I wanted, if I wanted it bad enough.

To this day, I have never looked at any sort of competition (be it bodybuilding, running, etc) and thought to myself 'I cannot do that'. It is merely a matter of whether I want to do it or not and being honest with myself about the amount of training it will take.

Are some of the things that I do hard? Yes, but anyone can do them. Anyone with the desire to do so. The truth is, training for something exciting is one of the things that makes my world go round. I like trying and failing and picking myself back up knowing that I will get there eventually, even if eventually is more than 4 years later.

When we go out and we do the things that scare us, something grows within us. We get to know ourselves better and we gain the realization that we can do so much more than we think we can.

People often tell me they do not have the time, nutritional food is too expensive, they don't know how, etc. Time is relative. Nutrition is imperative to living long and we should all be doing it anyway. Education is everywhere. Excuses get you nowhere. They only cover up the truth which is not wanting it bad enough.

Whatever it is that you want to do, you can do it. 

A Massage in a Basement and Some Awesome Photography

I ran this morning. A short and easy 5k. It felt really good, except I do still have some soreness in my right hip. I went for a massage around noon (my life is horrible, right?)

 

The flash on my camera makes this room look super creepy, but be assured that I did not get a massage in a molester's basement. This was actually at a local massage school that manfriend and I go to that was recommended to me years ago by a doctor friend of mine. 

The best part is the school is close to Trader Joe's. So I picked up some of my favorite liquid crack and these babies.

 

These are the best, but I could only eat one of the wraps. I gave the other one to manfriend. My stomach has been a bit off since the race. I am sure you wanted to know that, but I am a nurse and this is my life so we're keepin' it real.

 

Another photo from the weekend

This beautiful photo was taken by my sister-in-law. She is a world famous photographer. By world famous, I mean famous in my world but that counts. She is truly amazing. If you want to see more of her stuff looky here. She runs this operation out of Utah and Kentucky. She is so good that she can actually take this photo and still be IN the photo.

I am heading to the gym before work tonight. It is chest and shoulder day!

Weekend Wedding and Picking up Heavy Things

Sunday my dad got married to the love of his life and I got to see my sister that I don't get to see very often.

 

My oldest brother was the minister for the love birds.

The wedding was super fun and my family has just officially gotten this big (with one on the way).

I couldn't have asked to be related to better people. They are all amazing. That woman in the pink next to manfriend is actually his nana, but Nana gets included too because she is the best.

I've been taking it easy this weekend. I have been lifting heavy things, taking it easy on the cardio and my legs are feeling better everyday. 

My little brother is in town and yesterday I took him and his girlfriend to Moab. If my phone ever saves photos again I will post some more pictures on the matter.

I also just registered for this.

Let the training begin....again.

4.5 years later......

This was me four and a half years ago when I ran my last 1/2 Marathon. It was a bitter sweet run. I received a PR (1:58) on a bum leg that I injured on mile 7 and I have spent the last 4 years trying to fix it. This was taken right before the finish line.

This was me yesterday.

I finished in 1:48. No bum knees and no injuries. I haven't told anyone this yet, but at mile 11 I started to cry because I suddenly realized that not only was I going to finish, but I was going to do so 10 minutes faster than my best time. This may seem a little dramatic, but some people go to church. I run. It has always meant much more to me than fitness.

At mile 12, a woman in pink capris and a hat touch my right shoulder and said "I want to finish with you." So we did.

I love running.

I spent the rest of the day waddling a bit because my hips were tight. Stretching them is making it better.  I asked manfriend if he wanted to pretend he was engaged to an old woman who needed hip replacements. He didn't seem amused.

Avcoh-Dads and Some More Marathons

Let's start with the yummies. This morning I had this.

That coffee creamer is from Trader Joe's and it is like crack. Not that I've had crack, but if I did I bet I would say it was similar to Trader Joe's Vanilla Flavored Coffee Creamer. I was at a new Whole Foods yesterday in Draper, Utah. I like to shop at Whole Foods and pretend I'm rich, but then I remember I am not rich because I spend all of my money at Whole Foods....anyway, they had these amazing looking grapefruits and I haven't been able to make it to the Farmer's Market yet so I bought one. I ate all of it this morning because I suck at portion control sometimes.

For lunch I had an avocado sandwich with Vegenaise. Manfriend and I have been eating a lot of these lately and by 'Manfriend and I', I mean I have been eating 2 a day and he maybe had one last week.

I toast Low Sodium Ezekiel bread and spread approximately 5 times the serving size of vegenaise on them then add an avocado (yes, the entire avocado...eating half of an avocado at a time is for quitters) and then I sprinkle it with salt and pepper.Yes, I add sodium to the low sodium.

I didn't get up early today (surprise, surprise) so I am going to run at the gym. I read that running in the heat won't kill you, but I am not convinced. I am trying to keep my workouts lower impact this week so I don't suck at the half marathon this weekend or at least so I am able to finish and not quit due to injuries/pain/etc.

If I complete it injury free I am planning on doing another half marathon in July while I start training for a NPC competition in October. July 12th is the Hobbler Half and the Canyon to Canyon Half Marathon. I would love to run either one of those, but I have to keep my eye on the prize and the prize is being able to run forever. If my legs/knees/hips tell me to take it easy then I will need to listen.

Got My Nails Did Today....

Wow. What is this? Two posts in one day. Who knows? Maybe this will actually become a thing.

Today was quite eventful. I actually went to a Home Depot.....without manfriend.

 

Then I got my nails done for a very exciting wedding coming up this weekend and I got rear ended on my way out of the strip mall, but getting my nails done made up for it.

Today was back day. I ran for one mile for a warm up. My hip flexor wasn't bothering me today, but I am continuing to stretch that bad boy out. I used these machines....and some other ones. I didn't take a picture of them all because I didn't want to seem like a weirdo.

 

and then....

and then....

 

Assisted pullups. I continue to see people at the gym using this machine incorrectly, but I don't want to go up to them and be 'that person'. I will post it on here and then hope by some strange act of the universe they read this. With an assisted pull up, you put the amount of weight that you want to SUBTRACT from your own body weight. So if you weigh 150 lbs and you put the peg in the 50 lb hole, you will be lifting 100 lbs. Get it?

Then this....

Because sometimes this does happen.

Let's Pretend I actually Post Everyday...

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately and, for the time being, would like to pretend that I actually post in this every day. Wouldn't that be exciting?

It is getting warm here in Utah and my running has been coming along quite nicely. I have been trying to focus more on form, stretching and foam rolling and have stepped away from speed work for the time being. This last April, I started some speed work and paid for it for two weeks. Let's be honest. I am happy to just be running, so if that means that I run but I am a little bit slower then that is ok.

Yesterday I started feeling some sharp pain in my left hip flexor and I am pretty sure I spent apprximately 20 hours stretching it. I am supposed to run this race Drop 13 this Saturday and I was having mild anxiety attacks that I won't be able to do it. I will continue to stretch and ice and repeat and we shall see.

I received a discount on some Saucony running shoes so I bought three pairs (I wear Saucony Rides and I am in love with them). A girl can never have enough shoes...I mean, really.

 

I have also been focusing on cross training. Manfriend has pipedreams about me racing mountain bikes with him....I thought it was best to entertain him. Don't tell him, I am actually kind of liking it.

  

I am also trying to run on the treadmill less, which is difficult when it is 10,000,000 degrees outside right now and I have a tendency for sleeping in. I have been getting a lot of my outdoor runs in after my night shifts. Manfriend bought me a Garmin so I can keep track of my mileage and my times since I am not competitive with myself at all. Trying to pace myself and not speed is HARD.