Tag Archive for friday confessionals

The Triathlon Rx | December 10, 2010
4 comments

Friday Confessionals // 12.11.2010

If you’re new, visiting, didn’t grow up in a Catholic church, or just want to know how to play along… please refer to this post for the Friday Confessional breakdown.

I know… it’s been a while since we’ve divulged here. And trust me – taking a four week leave of absence from official workouts – I accumulated plenty of things I should probably be confessing to. But today my friends, today there is only one, and this I share with you:

  1. This morning, upon the 5am blaring of the alarm, I crawled over to the other side of my bed (where my alarm is strategically placed so I don’t just hit OFF and go back to sleep). And then I hit OFF, and then I went back to sleep. (What? Damn..) Intentionally skipping practice.

Several factors influenced this decision. For one, I had not gotten my 8 hours of sleep. (Yep.. you did the math right. That means going to bed at 9. Gotta do what you gotta do.) I can’t say I hold fast to this little 8-hour “rule” 100% of the time – life happens, and lets face it, the rest of the world is not all operating on Grandma’s schedule over here. Movies start at 9pm. The news isn’t even on till 10! Geeez. Secondly, I was having an amazing dream. Not just like flying or something. I mean, keep your heads out of the gutters please, but A. Mazing. And sometimes when you can hold on to just a thread of that dream, you can get it back. I wasn’t really “extra” tired – I didn’t get 8 hours, but I definitely got a functional amount to get my butt out of bed and go to practice. And instead, I got to DREAM for two extra hours, and it was sooo worth it.

Dreaming is amazing. Thinking about dreaming, however, kinda makes my head hurt. It’s like thinking about where the sky ends or the size of the universe. I’ll leave that to NASA. And Freud. Moving on…

Sleeping in this morning meant that my afternoon workout would be LONG. I have doubles on my schedule M/W/F (we can talk about the benefits, thoughts, and ideas about doubles later) so this turned my morning bike and afternoon run into a brick. Not only had I not done a brick since having mono, but I had a workout scheduled for my run… 15×400 to be exact.

The whole time I was on the bike, I wasn’t thinking at all about the run to follow. Through my own experiences, and through watching others in coaching, I feel like a lot of moderating goes on  during brick workouts. Is this a good thing?

Sure. You don’t want to set yourself (or your athletes) up for failure. You don’t want to blow all your energy on leg 1 and then bonk on leg 2. But at the same time… you don’t want to hold too much back. When competitively racing, there are two very unfortunate (but real nonetheless) occurrences that may happen: 1) getting outkicked in the chute 2) finishing with the realization that you have wayyy too much left in the tank. You want to be able to toe that red line, but not actually break it until the very last second. How do you know where that red-line is?

You find it. During practice.

This does include at times hitting failure, because without that, you will never know how hard is too hard or how fast is too fast. It’s also a good time to practice timing of fueling and drinking – something I traditionally FAIL at. But more often than not… it includes success. In a very big way. The feeling you get at the end of a workout when you have nothing left to give is second to none. I wish I could bottle it… put it in a little Nuun tablet and save it for later. Luckily though… it only comes with work. And finally, I’m back at the point where I can work. Hard!

If you want to watch someone find that red-line.. watch this video of Galen Rupp on Flotrack. Lovvvve him. I mean, it.

SO. Was my first structured workout back full of all this magical red-line crap? Not quite. But pretty darn close! :)  Here’s how it broke down:

60 min. spin (“rescheduled” from 6am)
- 4 hills + some rollers
- nothing too crazy…  but it was definitely satisfying to see my HR back up there where it’s “supposed” to be ;)

the workout (done on a treadmill for enhanced brickability)
- 10 min. warm up
- 5 x 400
- 10 min easy
- 5 x 400 (increase TM speed by .2 for each 400)
- 10 min easy
- 5 x 400 (increase TM speed by an additional .2 for each 400)
- .5 mile cool down

Several take-home messages I gathered during this workout:

  1. My left femur felt “neutral”… and my L groin only started to tweak on the last set of 400s. That’s all left-over from my hip surgery, and according to the eyes of my orthopedic surgeon I will always “feel” something, so I’m not too concerned.
  2. This is the first “real” run in the NEW SHOES, and oh my dear Lord THANK YOU. I love them. This post is long enough already without me going into the whole heel-strike business, so I wont. But they felt GREAT.
  3. I ran on a freaking TREADMILL!?!? Who am I?? Pretty sure having mono scrambled my DNA or something, because the TM used to be reserved for tornadoes or hail storms only. And I ran 8+ miles no problem. (Won’t lie.. I had a rapid text distraction which helped immensely during the 10min easy intervals. Thanks amigo!)

Which brings me to now: house sitting on the eve of “Minnesota’s biggest winter storm since the ice age” (or something…). Estimates range from 12-16+ inches, and I say bring it. I’m locked into this house. I have a finals M, W, TH, F, and SA of next week so I have plenty of studying to keep my occupied. My legs are shredded. And it feels perfect.

Reader Qs: Do you like sleeping or are you always ready for the day? I used to hate napping… but ever since mono, I realized how good it is. :D // Do you know where your red-line is? Do you hit that in your races or do you feel like you had “too much” left over? // Hahha do you ever completely blank on something – a name, a place, a song, etc – and come up with the wrong name entirely? For the life of me I couldn’t think of the “Ice Age”… I knew there was the stone age, and was like what the heck?!? And then the lightbulb turned on and I said, “The GLACIER Age!!” Fail. // LEAVE YOUR FRIDAY CONFESSIONS!!

Love you all,

E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: , ,
The Triathlon Rx | October 22, 2010
12 comments

Friday Confessionals: a lot to let out!

Wowww – there are still readers out there!! You guys are amazing. :)

This is a strictly business post… cause’ it’s Friday afternoon and this girl got bidness to attend to! As I’m sure every single one of you does as well. If you’re not familiar with the practice of Friday Confessionals, I suggest you take a quick tutorial, and then come back and let it all out. (Yes… this is where we all get to be the friend holding the hair back while you’re doubled over the porcelain throne.) I feel like I have a lot to get off my chest today, so here is a thanks in advance for the proverbial ponytail holder you all provide.

1 // A girl walking up the stairs in front of me this morning was listening to her ipod AND texting… and she completely ate it. Like face first into the stairs. I would like to say my first inclination was to say “oh my gosh are you OK?” but I totally laughed as that came out. And I couldn’t stop!! What an @ss. Sorry chicky… :(

Multitasking FAIL

2 // That human physio exam? Killed. It. That’s not the confession though… in my next class – Motor Development, I went to see my exam grade after class since I had been at a doctors appointment the day we reviewed the test. My TA said, “You don’t need to check it….” and I was thinking… Watchu talkin about Willis?! Then he says allowed that I was the only one in the class that got 100 on the test. At first I was almost embarrassed. But then I realized how dumb that was, and that quickly changed to a #%(& yeah!! So my hate to be the smart ass confession… I kinda like throwing off the curve.

Love this textbook!

3 // My running is KILLING ME!! Don’t get me wrong – any running is forward motion – better than no running, better than being booted and pool running ’till your eyes fall out. But seriously… the pace and my PRE are making me want to cry. A) my rehab/training/come-back plan is way less miles than I have ever attempted to race on in my life. So I am definitely not expecting any sort of PR. Not that I could even if I wanted to, because in the three+ months that I took off, I think I lost ALL of my fast. Not even kidding. I had a easy recovery run yesterday (which btw, pretty sure all my runs feel the same. Kinda hard. My anterior tibialis is starting from square one. Julia – strengthening tips?? Please?!) and this guy passed me along the river. He was wearing basketball shorts and a hoodie!! COME ON ERIKA. I feel like I want a shirt that says “please don’t judge – I’m rehabbing” on the back. Which all of this essentially leads to the confession that running has a huge impact on my mental stability.

Any running is better than no running!

4 // I guess #3 was a two-fer’. I wasn’t going to put it out there that I actually am training.. for a race. Something about the verbal (or written in this case) commitment makes me feel more vulnerable to injury. Totally not logical, but that’s what these confessions are for…

Time to get that race face back on…

5 // I busted out the sweats for the first time today. The running attire that I wear ~70% of the time is not considered sweats by any means. It’s form fitting… it usually even matches… I’ll go out on a limb and even call it cute. Today was a day for legit sweatpants. Not only did I take 11 solid days of 5am wake up calls, and today I decided it was a day to sleep in. So sleep in until a whopping seven am I did before the morning Peace Coffee finally won me over. (Currently drinking their Mexican Dark Roast. LOVE it.) And then I checked the weather and it was all of 30° or something unnecessarily chilly along those lines. AND then I realized I only had two short classes, the last being a midterm review for Monday’s exam. Sleeping in + chilly mornings + study sessions = sweatpants. Big. Comfy. Sweatpants. I say this only as a confession because it is alllll too easy for me to get into the habit of not really caring what I wear to school. Believe it or not I actually do wear jeans. Occasionally. ;)

I know. My cell phone photos are gallery quality.

Hahaha I actually looked through my iPhoto to give proof of this jean-wearing I speak of. I think the last picture I have of me in jeans is from my last trip to Philadelphia to visit my dad in AUGUST of 2009. Wow. I promise I have worn jeans in the mean time.

Reader Qs: What are you Friday Confessin’ this week? No judgements – promise! From my other runners perspective… what’s your “athletic” wear to “real” clothes ratio? I think I’m somewhere like 6:4. Haha… 7:3?

Oh wow look at the time. I’M OUT chiquitos!! My pops is visiting and he gets prime time up until the second he leaves for the airport!!
-E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: , , , , , ,
The Triathlon Rx | September 3, 2010
18 comments

Fair Game Friday Confessionals

Fair, because those are the photos you get, and Fair Game, because it’s barely “fair” to still call it Friday, but hey, posting two days in a row? Take it or leave it amigo. ;)

And for the second part of today’s title, I want to set the precedent for THESE right now, until forevermore.

FRIDAY CONFESSIONALS 101

If you’re new to my practice of Friday Confessionals, well, I don’t blame you. HOLY CATS my last one was on April 9th?!?! No wonder this has been such a rough summer!! The “rules” are that there are no rules. You can fess up to whatever you want – I promise, I won’t judge! :)

This sacred practice of divulgence here at Dr.TriRunner dates back all the way to November 7th, 2008. At that time I was living in Boston, on crutches, 5 weeks run-fasted, and on the more “angry” end of the red-headed-emotional-spectrum.

This edition of Friday Confessionals will be a bit of a twist on the regular – a “then and now” if you will. Isn’t that a category on Wheel of Fortune? C’mon….. what am I trying to think of?!? Before & After!! Anyways… my first confessions (the then’s) on November 7th, 2008 were as follows:

  • I’ve become rather spiteful without running. I’ve seen other people running outside or hearing them talk about running and wished they couldn’t run too. It’s like if I can’t run, no one else should. :(
  • I stole my roommates pack of Cinnamon Spice gum off her desk. Sorry Laur – I owe you.
  • I ODed on Cinnamon Toast Crunch one night in the beginning of the week. I literally had FIVE bowls. Just dry. Back to back.  And I felt sick as hell afterwards/the next morning. It was completely emotional and very delicious. But I don’t need to do that again.
  • I paid $55 for unlimited group fitness at the Marino. And I’m yet to take ONE class. I signed up for abs tonight and spinning tomorrow morning.
  • I accidentally brought home a pool belt from the Y. And it is sitting under my bed. And it’s mine.

HAHAHA. Dang. I wish I still had that pool belt, but it was left behind in Boston. Let’s look at the now, as I find myself once again in a state of non-running, on September 3rd, 2010:

  • I am still semi-spiteful of other runners, although definitely to a lesser degree. I’m not about to steal your running shoes or anything… and I promise I wont  bite if you tell me about your next race!
  • I don’t think my “flatmate” chews gum, but I did a brownie that I gave her. I brought it home from work because I know she really likes chocolate, and I ended up eating it two days later. Who does that?!
  • I have possibly ODed on not fantastic food from time to time (coughpulledbbqchickencough), but I haven’t touched Cinnamon Toast Crunch since I left the dining hall in Boston.
  • My gym membership is almost $80 a month. You better believe I take advantage of group fitness!! I’m a cycle regular during the winter, and used to double up on classes on the weekend. But for the “confession” part, I haven’t been to a spin class since March 25th. Gotta take advantage of the Minnesota summers and ride outside… (gentle nudge my friend, gentle.)
  • I’m back to pool running, and using the craptastic belts offered by my $80/month gym. Like I said, I wish I still had that belt….

And there you have it. If you want one more now confessional, try this on for size:

I have taken more “rest days” or days off of training this summer than I did in the entire last three years combined. I had this little epiphany while in the shower the other day, haha doing my physical therapy exercises. (Calf raises – while conditioning. WOW this “one” confession is giving up way more than I intended…) Mostly just due to stress, and/or stressed for time. Mmmm yep, this summer was rough.

YOUR TURN!! (in the comments)

Crap!! Wasn’t half of this post supposed to be about the MN State Fair? Alright, photos and captions only. I’m all worded out now!!

A [slightly slow :( ] start to a grrrreat day!

You know how we roll Park n’ Ride.

My first clinical rotation of Med School.

Trust me… you can fry/put anything on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair.

Sweet Martha’s. One of the state fair items I just “don’t get”. They’re just plain chocochip cookies!!

My mom has a minor panic attack just watching this. And then proceeds to take 5 photos in horror. :)

Full blown panic did not ensue until I told her I went on it just the year before…

“Oh God.. just get me past the smell!” – Mama D.T.R.

My grill is attractive, I know. Taken exclusively for my dental school cousin!

You know what they say: the family that brushes together… has good teeth. Knock on wood – 21 years and cavity free!!

Was so dang determined to find my PEACE COFFEE! Heads up: Information Services was saying you didn’t exist. My favorite part of the whole fair.

Ok… get real. This kid was my favorite part. ;) Think he looks familiar?

My favorite lady in the world, about to try the ostritch. It was GOOD!

Another item I “don’t get” why it’s so special at the fair. But we both agreed, it hit the spot!


Tobogán Gigantica.

A sweet ending to a SWEET day.

Phew! I’m tired again just thinking about it!! READER QUESTIONS: Do you go to your state’s fair? My Minnesota amigos – what’s your favorite thing at the MN State Fair? Don’t forget your Friday Confessions!!

That’s all for now folks! Buenas noches.

-E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: ,
The Triathlon Rx | April 9, 2010
9 comments

Friday Confessional 04.09.10

Proof that I am indeed still alive. :) You know the drill… please do indeed throw yours in in the comments!

  1. I missed all strength training workouts last week because the UniversitarioDeMinnesota Monster swallowed me whole. Got one in on Wednesday and one today.. and getting back on track.
  2. I ate not one but TWO things out of your mystery box. Needed something to grab for practice. I promise, it has been replaced.
  3. I ran 17 with the guys last weekend and hip felt good. Biked the next day and could feel it. FML.

Many many  questions have been coming in about when does this mystery box giveaway end.. and I say to that…

ITS A MYSTERY!

Like the airhead.. it would be 100% no fun if you knew when it ended.. what is in it.. how much this sonofawhoaa is costing me to send… All I’m sayin is, if you’re thinking about entering still, get it crackin.

[ETA] Big shoutout to my U of MN TRI TEAM!! We’re on Minnesota Tri News today. Shameless self plug, and written by me. Check it out!!

Off to take my hopefully last medical terminology exam of the semester. Only if I absolutely bomb this will I have to take the final, so here’s fingers crossed for me!

Oh p.s. I need a roommate. My current rommy may or may not soon be a military lady, which leaves me solo. Add that to the list of life-changing-decisions that I need to figure out. If you are a student/grad-student/athlete/CLEAN/understands the going-to-sleep-at-10-race-in-the-morning mentality… want to live in the lakes area, and are looking for fall 2010, shoot me an email.

Outtt!
-E

p.p.s. I also need $50 from iHerb!!

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags:
The Triathlon Rx | April 4, 2010
9 comments

¡Feliz Pascua – Happy Easter – Happy Sunday!

No real post today, other than to say I hope that all of you celebrating Easter today have a blessed day filled with family, friends, laughs, and sunny weather! Today is a day of all things new – new beginnings, new journeys, and of “alleluia” – a feeling that can’t be expressed with words, but simply with joy! And for all of you not celebrating Easter today, I hope I didn’t just scare you away from Dr.TriRunner. Haha and I ALSO I hope you have a wonderful SUNDAY – we all know I like those. :D

Counting my blessings today and off to St. Cloud to spend the day with the fam. If you’re stickin’ around, enter my Mystery Box Giveaway! You guys are  seriously cracking me up with these. Since I missed Friday Confessionals this week, I will give you one on Sunday:

I literally dropped cereal out of my mouth while laughing, in public, at the coffee shop yesterday when I read one of these.

Classy. I hope you have a good friends – I know I will!

-E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: ,
The Triathlon Rx | March 5, 2010
7 comments

Feelin’ better – Friday Confessionals!

This post is solely dedicated to Friday Confessionals of this week, mostly because I am getting ready for date night with el chico guapo, and a little bit because I have a BIG post about one thing, and I don’t want it to have to share. ;) Hinnnnt #1:

Friday Confessional – 03.05.10

The rules: (Wait.. didn’t I used to say.. like just last week.. there are no rules? This has been amended.)

  1. Fess up. Anything  goes.
  2. You will not judge me nor hold me accountable for any terrible mean embarrassing thing I say…
  3. On second thought.. you can do what you want. It’s your life! Maybe there really are no rules?!

Ohhhh boy. There is a lot I could confess to this week. Not that I have been particularly naughty or anything, but I have literally been just allll over the place mentally, from feeling super goofy, to super judgemental, it’s all in there. But for the sake of saving face my pressing hot date night awaiting, I will keep it to three:

  • On Monday (yes… I really did take note of this on Monday and think, This is going into the Friday Confessionals…) I was busy working hard and doing core. Someone came over to me and we started talking about different core workouts. I’m down on the ground on a Bosu with arms above my head, with this person essentially standing over me. And then I looked to the side and realized I hadn’t shaved under my arms in almost a WEEK. Wowwww wow wow.
  • I went through a carton of eggs in one day. Granted I’m just eating the whites for the most part.. but still. Girls’ gotta get her protein I guess!
  • There’s a girl I used to run against in HS cross country, and I’ve been seeing her out and about the lakes lately. I don’t remember if we were even in close competition or anything, but I passed her on a run yesterday and definitely was smirkin’ once I sped by. :D

OK kidds! Date night awaits, and I am going to soak up every last drop of it because tomorrow is PACKED:

8:00 – 10:30 :: Endurance Ride
12:00 – 3:30 :: Errrrands, CostCo, Laundry x2
4:00 – 5:30 :: JOB interview!! Eeep!
6:30 – 11:00 :: Babysitting. (read: lots of homework while lovely children are sleeeep) :)

We will meet again my friends. Until that time, I leave you with Hint #2…

[EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT]

Since I’m packing up my bag and getting ready to go out, I thought of a perfect QUESTION for all of you! Q: What is your favorite from-home movie snacks? If popcorn and a soda didn’t cost me my kidney, I might feel otherwise, but for now I’m all about packing my own snacks!

Enjoy your Friday – I hopefully it is as gorgeous outside as it is here in Minneapolis!
-E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: ,
The Triathlon Rx | February 26, 2010
9 comments

Reset -> Refresh

Based on the comment’s to yesterday’s post, it sounds like I’m not the only one who wishes they had a reset button some days! Then I got to thinking, there’s no reason that I can’t have a reset button… right? If Staples can have an easy button, then I can most def have a reset button.

And RESET I did.

[EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT]

So I had this big long post all written out yesterday. I wasn’t quite finished with it by the time I had to leave for spin, so I hit save as draft, headed out the door, and planned on finishing up when I got home. After rereading last night and a good conversation with my better half though, I realized I wasn’t really getting across the message I intended. To me it sounded basically like one big vent sesh, instead of just saying what I’m doing to get back on track with my old sound happy heathy habits. Here is my ⌘C and ⌘V (that’s copy/paste for you PC kids) shortened and cut-to-the-chase version.

[EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT -- EDIT]

Long story short compadres, I got a little fed up on Wednesday. Not just with the day itself, but in some patterns I’ve been falling into that are just not in accordance with the way I want to live my life. I’m an adult, and I know better, so there are no excuses here. For no one else but myself (OK, and maybe my main man up top) ;) , starting yesterday I am drawing the line and reigning myself back in to the old me I know and love.

  • sleep: getting myself back on a normal schedule, alarm set for the same time in the a.m. – no excuses
  • diet: if I eat crap, I’m going to feel like crap, and my performance will be… crap.
  • training: there are good reasons to bail on practice, and there are not good reasons. I know the diff.
  • attitude: see quote below.
  • faith: sometimes its funny how you can feel so close to God, yet your actions don’t reflect it.

attitude:

Today is only truly responsible for right this very second. It cannot change the past, nor does it need to determine the future. If you are not satisfied with your today, you have the ability right now to pack it up, ship it off to a far away land, and start anew.
-Yours Truly

And I’m pretty sure that covers all of what I want to say. Real quick before someone pulls the hypocrite card on me, let me beat you to it and do it myself. One of my 2010 Goals was to be less “black and white.” Truthfully, that wasn’t really working for me. Yeah, it’s a tough job being Type A, but someone’s gotta do it. Let’s call it “taking one for the team.” :D

With that team, I’m leaving on a fun (and what seems like flash-back) Friday tradition…

FRIDAY CONFESSIONALS:

You know the rules: there are none! Anything goes, and I promise, I won’t tell a soul ;) Leave em’ in the comments! Here is what I wanna get off my chest for the week:

  1. Looking back through my lent journal so far… on 2/18 I said I was going to turn the computer OFF at 11:00 so it wouldn’t keep me up later than necessary. And under GU: I have written: “FAIL!!” Haha I got sucked into late night Olympics, and was up wayy late. Sorry Olympics, but starting yesterday, you’re just not that important any more!
  2. The other day I walked down to the coffee shop, bought an oatmeal raisin (essentially raw dough) cookie  bigger than my face, and truthfully it tasted like heaven on a plate, but I wasn’t even hungry. Not sayin’ good food like that isn’t going to happen anymore, but I can promise it will be because I really want it, not just eating to eat.
  3. I still love Tiger Woods.

Someone asked what this whole “Lent Journal” business was about… and basically it’s just that – a journal I started on day 1 of Lent… I write a goal in it every morning, and every night jot down some things I’m thankful for. Nothin’ fancy… looks a little somethin’ like this:

Hmmm so I’m pretty sure I’ve written and come back to this post in three different installments. Time. To. Go!
-E

Category: Friday Confessionals | Tags: ,
The Triathlon Rx | January 24, 2010
12 comments

A Long “Run” and a Live Post…

As promised – I’m back on Sunday, my favorite day of the week! And I have a lot to give you, so I’ll get right to it!

Sunday Long “Run”

Poppin (Remix) – Christ Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Juelz Santana

Today, being a Sunday, would mean it’s a long run day. We haven’t discussed my running status much as of late, because well, there really isn’t a status. It’s been constantly changing! For the month of December, running was super minimal. (read: like 30 miles for the entire MONTH maybe?) No – its most def. not because I can’t handle the Minnesota winters – we all know I’ve got that covered. ;) Unfortunately.. it would be the hip. Again. My next “big” Dr. appointment is February 8th. Maybe I’ll know more after that, but at this point, this is what I do know: (words of my lovely sports med doc:) “It’s not going to just break through while you’re out there – if you want to be running, and it isn’t excruciatingly painful, you might as well.”

High Definition – Lupe Fiasco ft. Snoop Dog & Pooh Bear

So since January, I’ve taken that and run with it, literally. My milage is still NOTHING like “normal”, but at least I’m running a few days a week. However, no weekend long run for me. So today’s “long run” is brought to you by my Octane Q47 (or what I refer to typically as my “xRunner”) machine… lookin a little like this:

Dirt Off Your Shoulder – Jay Z

And since I have two hours scheduled with this bad boy, I figured what a better time to give you my ellipti/run/music rundown. What you see in BOLD and PURPLE are the songs that are playing currently while I am typing. Yes. Blogging while working out is pretty much the only way I have time for this right now. And since right now I have, oh… an hour and 44 minutes left, you get lots of songs. ;)  My iTunes is on Shuffle btw, but I’m skipping around a bit if I hit a song I don’t like.

Beggin – Madcon

As you can also see, I’m not writing a ton in between what are anywhere between 4-5 minute songs. That’s because blogging, as I’m sure all of you who have your own site know, takes mucho tiempo.

Track 7 – Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack

(Don’t know the actual name… really not a fan of this song… but it gives you an idea of the eclectness of my iTunes.) Which brings me to the next item on my agenda…

Future Updating Schedule:

Guarantees – Atmosphere

It’s no joke that I am super busy this semester. But this blog is really important to me, and I actually really LIKE doing it! My iCal last week looked a little like this, and this is even just a four day week, with school just having started, so not a ton of homework yet. This also doesn’t show the 6 credits of online classes I have currently going on! Ayyy. Contemplating dropping Physics this semester, but that doesn’t seem like a good plan because I still need to take it at some point. All the classes I’m taking right now are ones I need to eventually take! Thank you God for inventing iCal…

This Is What It’s Made For – Usher

Because of this insanity, my posting schedule will most likely be once or twice a week. It will also probably be a bit more to the point and content driven than all this extra curricular stuff. Actually.. no, it probably wont. That’s just how I roll. :D If you’ve seen some of my tweets lately though, you know I got a lot going on:

  • 20 credits
  • 2 labs
  • 2 jobs
  • boyfriend
  • family/friends
  • the Tri team
  • Dr. TriRunner
  • the Tri team’s website – I just took this one on, but I’m excited about it!

There’s no blame or fingers to be pointed (other than at myself ;) )… this is what I get myself into. Welcome to the life of a Type A (+) overscheduler. Moving on…

Real As It Gets – Jay Z ft. Young Jeezy

On Friday I promised you a gear review, and that’s what I have for you now!

Cycling & Winter Running Socks: Review

You – Atmosphere

First up, my loves of all time: SMARTWOOL. More specifically, their Ultra Light Cushion Women’s Cycling socks:

These were a gift from the boy, and damn, does he know how to pick em’! I love the way these hug my arches in just the right spot, and I don’t have to fold them over because they’re so effing big or have the “heel” be sitting at my ankle! I wear these in spin right now and they are PERFECT! They come up just high enough so my shimano shoes don’t cut into my leg, but they’re still “ankle socks.” Final Grade: A

Dirt Off Your Shoulders Vs. Bittersweet Symphony Remix – Jay Z & The Verve

Next: CRAFT Pro Warm Quarter Running Sock

Alright.. when I told you everything  you’d ever want to know about WINTER RUNNING… I told you how much my feet/hands circulation sucks. Well that post needs a revision: my feet/hand circulation SUCKS when I’m not properly prepared!!

Jesus Walks – Kanye West

This was also included in a x-mas gift from the boy (he’s winning in all corners here!) and DAYYYNG. I. Love. Keep in mind that these were not sent to me by the company – this review is solely based on my usage of said socks and happy warm toes. These. Are. FANTASTIC. On a run where my fingers were frozen solid through… think permafrost frozen… my feet were SO toasty, but not sweaty! Just happy, happy toes. Thankkk you to novio and thank you to Craft! Final Grade: A+

Real World – Match Box Twenty

(Haha! I told you it was on shuffle!)  While were on the subject of SOCKS, I will say that I am yet to wear my supafly Kayano Left and Right specific running socks that my mom gave me for Christmas. I feel like these need to be reserved for races or special occasion / monumental runs only. Q: Do you have any clothes like that? I definitely have a racing only sports bra!

Push It Remix – Camron ft. Jim Jones, Juelz, and Lil Wayne

Annnd that’s one hour down! Love it! What I don’t love is this weekend is “Open House” weekend at my gym. Read: Way super overcrowded!! Un momentitio chicos… bathroom break. :)

OK! Hour two.. start it off with an all time favorite:

I’ll Be Missing You – P. Diddy ft. Faith Evans

This is also where I switch to going backwards and up the resistance a bit! Annnd make sure I’m continuing to hydrate:

Baby It’s Cold Outside – James Taylor ft. Natalie Cole

(Hahaha!! Don’t judge!) Ok so I’m starting to really enjoy this live blogging thing. Pictured above (excuse the blurriness.. I took it one handed and moving) is the new LEMON LIME Powerade Zero! But not only Powerade kids.. that would be Lemon Lime PowerDew. If you haven’t done the PowerDew yet.. hop on it. And make sure to tell me what you think!!! And because we’re talking about beverages and hydrating….

Nilla’ Mint Coffee Recovery Shake:

Hotel California – The Eagles

I also told you last Friday that I had a recipe coming! I fell in love the second this cool, creamy shake of shining glory touched my lips. Not exaggerating.

Always Coming Back Home to You – Atmosphere

Thankfully that was not a 4:26 am photo! Here’s what we got goin’ on:

  • Chocolate Mint Coffee, (.5 – 1 cup, depending on preference of taste and texture) cooled (a la Ghiradelli – sent to my by my absolute fave SwimBuddy Lizzy)
  • 2 scoops Vanilla protein powder
  • Xanthan gum
  • Ice ( I use about 6 regular sized cubes)

If you tragically are not able to find this miraculous mint coffee, as I no longer am because I ran out and apparently this is a seasonal delicacy, I have moved on to using regular coffee (or espresso to be more accurate), dark coco powder, and mint extract. Place all ingredients in blender of choice, and get to town.

Say Shhh – Atmosphere

(If you’re from MN.. GET that song. Has been a favorite of mine for a lonnnng time!) Depending on the type of protein powder you choose to use, you can get upwards of 20g of protein here! Other variations: you could use chocolate flavored protein powder and nix the cocoa powder. You could do half coffee/half milk (or milk alternative). If you’re lucky enough to have any leftover Girlscout Thinmint cookies stashed in your  freezer… send them all to me one or two blended up in the drink would lead to nilla/choco/mint ecstacy. Caution.

When’s the Last Time – Clipse ft. Pharell

As you can see, I did this in my Magic Bullet and it barely fit. I’m still praying that the folks from VitaMix HQ over in Cleveland, Ohio will find this lil runner/triathlete/future doctor and realize:

Dang – this girl really needs a Vita Mix in her life. Her future depends on it. How can we help?

I have an extra kidney if any of your employees need it. We could work out a deal. KIDDING!!! Kinda… ;)

Bout It – Yung Joc ft. 3LW (Step Up Soundtrack)

Alright – decision time: I have half an hour of this “run” left… and there are still about a billion things I have on my “to post” list. I wanna give you a GU2:10 (or Goal Update for those who haven’t mastered the Dr.TriRunner terminology…) but I think I will wait till January is over and  give you a complete one month perspective.

Maria Maria – Carlos Santana ft. Wyclef Jean

(Yes, I really did only type that much in the time it took to play all of Bout It. Not a short song.. but I’m sweating more liquid than my shower gives on a good water pressure day. Haha what an attractive mental picture..) What I think needs to happen right now, since I neglected it on Friday, is a little guilt relief. That’s right kids – sounds like a…

Sunday Friday Confessional:

What We Talkin’ Bout – Jay Z ft. Luke Steele

You know the rules of the game: there are none. Nothing is off limits. You fess up, I fess up. We all feel better. This is a practice I have very much loved ever since my very first ever Friday Confessional back in November of 2008. One year ago I was fessing up to this:

  1. I’ve become rather spiteful without running. I’ve seen other people running outside or hearing them talk about running and wished they couldn’t run too. It’s like if I can’t run, no one else should. :(
  2. I stole my roommates pack of Cinnamon Spice gum off her desk. Sorry Laur – I owe you.
  3. I ODed on Cinnamon Toast Crunch one night in the beginning of the week. I literally had FIVE bowls. Just dry. Back to back.  And I felt sick as hell afterwards/the next morning. It was completely emotional and very delicious. But I don’t need to do that again.
  4. I paid $55 for unlimited group fitness at the Marino. And I’m yet to take ONE class. I signed up for abs tonight and spinning tomorrow morning.
  5. I accidentally brought home a pool belt from the Y. And it is sitting under my bed. And it’s mine.

Ever The Same – Rob Thomas

Have I changed? Let’s see…
#1 – I am currently running, but nothing like “I used to.” But my thoughts on that one are much more stemming from frustration.. not “spite.” Or at least I’d like to think so.
#2 – No stealing gum. I have a plentiful stock of my Stride favorites.
#3 – No more CTC sadly – I no longer have “the caf,” and therefore no longer have open access to crack this goodness. Probably a good thing.

Nothing Ever Hurt Like You – James Morrison

#4 – $55 seems like a steal when you’re paying $68/month for a gym membership. Nuff said.
#5 – That pool belt fits me perfectly :)

This week I’m going to confess only one thing to you in the blog word, because a) I only have 7 minutes left and I want time to make a song wrap-up, and b) I’ve been pretty darn good this week if I do say so myself. Here we go:

Move If You Wanna – Mims

  1. I have become increasingly reliant on sleep aids. Tylenol PM, Simply Sleep.. the melatonin ain’t doin jack isht. It’s at the point where if I don’t take anything, I just don’t get tired. No matter what. Friday night – took nothing. Fell “asleep” around 4 am. Was already awake when my alarm went off at 8am. I’m fessing up to this one because it’s actually a problem. I plan on talking to my doc about it at my next appointment. Which I am yet to schedule. :/

That’s all I have time for kids! This was a GOOD POST if you ask me! Sorry if I overwhelmed you with all of  this at once though. Here is the…

Long “Run” Song Wrap-up:

Encore – Jay Z (good song to end on!)
Poppin (Remix) – Christ Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Juelz Santana
High Definition – Lupe Fiasco ft. Snoop Dog & Pooh Bear
Dirt Off Your Shoulder – Jay Z
Beggin – Madcon
Track 7 – Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack
Guarantees – Atmosphere
This Is What It’s Made For – Usher
Real As It Gets – Jay Z ft. Young Jeezy
You – Atmosphere
Dirt Off Your Shoulders Vs. Bittersweet Symphony Remix – Jay Z & The Verve
Jesus Walks – Kanye West
Real World – Match Box Twenty
Push It Remix – Camron ft. Jim Jones, Juelz, and Lil Wayne
I’ll Be Missing You – P. Diddy ft. Faith Evans
Baby It’s Cold Outside – James Taylor ft. Natalie Cole
Hotel California – The Eagles
Always Coming Back Home to You – Atmosphere
Say Shhh – Atmosphere
When’s the Last Time – Clipse ft. Pharell
Bout It – Yung Joc ft. 3LW (Step Up Soundtrack)
Maria Maria – Carlos Santana ft. Wyclef Jean
What We Talkin’ Bout – Jay Z ft. Luke Steele
Ever The Same – Rob Thomas
Nothing Ever Hurt Like You – James Morrison
Move If You Wanna – Mims

[Change of location - the workout went wonderfully! No pain, sweated my a$$ off, and feel good. At home now.] Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did! I have two pages that should be up and running soon: music, and the return of my blogroll (finally)! There are more layout/style changes to come too. For now, if you’re looking for music (like the Reader’s Choice Ultimate Mix) just click on the “music” tag in the right column! Gotta go for now peeps – my VIKES are playing tonight!

-E

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The Triathlon Rx | January 7, 2010
18 comments

Confessionals return in O-Ten, goals, and changes!

Hello my runners, triathletes, cross trainers, yoga mastahs, and anyone else who may have found there way to my blog! I want to give you a fair warning of the randomness that is about to ensue, as this is sort of a “housekeeping post” – a chance for me to purge some old photos from the camera/phone, and just catch up on the little bits and pieces of daily life! And since I just confessed my love for VitaMuffins, I thought it was timely to get on to some other confessions, namely of the Friday variety:

Friday Confessionals: 01/08/2010

And the first ones of the new year too! I like it. Aright – you kids know the drill. Time to let go your guilt, admit to the MeanyThoughts, fess up to the xy&z of the week, and mooove on!

  1. I drove around on a basically-flat tire for a couple of days. Knowingly. It was either an “inconvenient” time to go get it fixed, or I had “more important” things to do. And then the boy scared the hell outta me by saying it could blow out on the highway. And it took all of 10 minutes to fix and now my baby jellydonut is filled again. :)
  2. My hip HURT yesterday. Like a mofo. I cried in the shower.
  3. I blog/watch movies/use the McMac while I’m at the gym. ON the elliptical. Or stairs. Or xRunner. I am on a Life Fitness ellip right now. I would get photobooth happy if there were not people on the stair steppers behind me. It has led to some pretty interesting conversations though (and possibly new readers – HI!!) When I was writing my VitaMuffin Review, someone next to me laughed and asked “What’s a ‘Love Muffin’?” Hahahah!!

Oh, I’m sure there are other things I could confess to, but I already told you guys about my 7 oz. cinnamon roll, and as you know, I like to do things in three’s. Anyways, here’s your invitation to confess away and join in on the fun! Ok, next!

2010 Goal Updates: aka 2:10GU

Time for me to check in on my 2010 goals and see how they’ve been going. I know, we’ve only had 9 days of 2010, but if something’s not working (or I’m not even making an effort – coughswimmingcough) then it’s time to make a change! You will [hopefully] see this as a semi-regular feature here on Dr.TriRunner.. and for those of you who set goals in a similar fashion, I encourage you to do the same! (I’ll even let ya’ use my SupaFlyGoalUpdatesGingerman! ;) ) I’ve gotta keep reminding myself, ”yo Sperly.. these are things you’re supposed to be working on!!” or I can’t expect any real progress to be made!  Here’s how things have been going so far:

  1. SLEEP: Mmmm will continue to need work. I’ve been going to bed still later than I’m comfortable with, and in turn, I’ve been “making” myself sleep in later. I guess because I’m on break, that’s “fine”, but personally, it’s not. I have ALWAYS hated sleeping in… ever since I was like 5 and up at 5am watching Martha Stewart. I love my morning time with a cup of coffee… I love getting things accomplished early on in the day. When I wake up late, I feel like my day is basically half wasted, not to mention it just sets your body up to go to bed later/sleep in later again the next day. I think I might start jotting down the hours of sleep I’m getting in my 2010 Minnesota Training Log I got for xmas from the madre.

  1. SWIMMING+CYCLING: Spinning = check! Swimming = FAIL! And I feel sooo dang hypocritical! I know said in my Train On Top Volume on SWIMMING that I feel sooo good when I get out, and blah blah blah. And especially since I admitted to my hip hurting.. that’s the biggest red flag to say go get in the pool. (Although unfortunately I can’t say my hip was hurting because I’ve been rocking so many runs lately :( ) Anyways, I got the spin part down. And I actually may have it even “down-er” in the near  future… Keep reading!! :D
  2. LESS B-N’-DUB: I’m still working on a way to “measure” this goal… but even that seems pretty type A thinking to me! Haha I just can’t win! In terms of “going with the flow” I feel like that’s been pretty good in the whole nine days of 2010 we’ve had so far. Plans change.. you don’t know where your friends want to go ahead of time.. I’ve made it work. It’s probably also true though that I only think of the times that I am being flexible, and the times that I’m not get overlooked. :)

Hahaha shoot guys – I really want a photobooth photo right now! But the hombre on the stairs behind me looks like he’s dripping up a storm working hard and not going anywhere anytime soon! Ohhh wandering thoughts. Back on track:

Cha-Cha-Changes!

I know… I feel like I just said that. (Oh wait, I did!) But changes are good for you, and apparently very good for me if I’m trying to work on being less black & white! This goes back to my Swimming and Cycling goal….

One thing some of you guys might not know about me is that am/was a certified spin instructor! I say am, because… well, I am. I say was because I’m not currently teaching, and I haven’t for a while now. After talking with a guy at my gym back in November, my little flame for teaching was re-ignited, and I’m trying to get myself a spot back on the schedule! I’ve been spending probably too much time making up new playlists and putting together new hill/spring/base workouts. This isn’t something I mentioned before because I don’t want to get my hopes up about getting a spot teaching if it’s not actually going to happen – don’t want to jynx myself, ya know? But at the same time, I’m sure I’ll be teaching SOME DAY, whether it’s at the club I’m currently at or elsewhere.

True story: when I’m driving alone with the music pumpin, I definitely talk aloud like I’m teaching a spin class. Throwin’ in jumps and sprints and everything. Ohh the dumb things I say sometimes. Haha maybe that should have been part of my Friday Confessional!

I’ll need your help on this next one!

I know there are some awesome bloggies out there who are either beasts on the bike or they know how to rock a good playlist – Spin Lives the Good Life, The Fitnessista, & Tina over at Carrots N’ Cake. I could go on and on! So, in addition to throwin in your own Friday Confessions, I got one more favor to ask ya! Whether it be for spin, running, an elliptical workout, a pre-meet/race/game pump-up mix, what is the ONE SONG you would have to include? One thing that I did for spin was have a “spinner’s choice” day where I played songs that they chose, and this is sort of like a “reader’s choice”! I will post up once I have a good list of songs, and you never know, it might end up being played in a spin class not to long from now!

Adios muchachos!
-E

p.s. HAHAH GOT IT!! I was checking over my shoulder the entire time. Ready? Aim, Fire! Ignore the blur + the crazy look on my face… yo girl was working, and about to crack up!

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The Triathlon Rx | December 5, 2009
6 comments

MIA

Ten days?! It feels like it’s been a month since I posted! And for that mis amigos, I am very, very sorry. 50% of my excuse is school, which is legit, and the other 50% of my excuse is life, which is “legit-er”. I feel like HOLLY’s recent post was very timely.

I can’t give my full attention to everything and expect it to be my best, which is truly what I expect of myself. So, as much as I love reading all your blogs and attempting to write humorous comments to brighten your day, I just can’t keep up.  Life is meant to be lived…like in the outside world, not just in the blog world of healthy living. -Mama Holly

Anywho, I’m here now, and I’m ready to catch up with you all! First things first:

FRIDAY CONFESSIONAL

If you are unfamiliar with my practice of Friday Confessional (which occasionally happens on a Sunday… or Tuesday.. you know how I do ;) ), it’s just something I do to get out all the little things that have accumulated over the week. “Things” may come in a variety of forms or flavors – admitting to the meanass thoughts you had about that chick “running” at school, admitting to eating an entire 8 serving bag of popcorn in one day, whatever. Ish happens. Here we go:

  1. I just finally dragged my butt back to the pool today after a 9-day hiatus. It. Was. Rough.
  2. I completely ignored the pain I was feeling in my foot and ran on it anyways on Wednesday. I’m 97% sure it’s a tendon strain from wearing a pair of Uggs that are 3 sizes too large. P.s. Does anyone want to buy a pair of tall chocolate Uggs?
  3. I am finally being real with myself and admitting to how astronomically high my grocery bill really is. One person. $400+ dollars / month. Definitely could use some help with that!

Hah hopefully my mom is in one of her “forgetting to check the blog” phases, because if she sees how much I’m spending on groceries, she’d flip! Here’s the thing though – I save more money through sales and coupons than almost anyone I know. I don’t buy prepackaged meals (with the exception of my beloved eggrolls.. but that’s a different story) or fancy brand stuff… I don’t shop at Whole Foods or the traditionally “more expensive” stores, I don’t let anything go bad in my fridge. What’s the deal? If any of you have had to put yourself on a grocery budget, and did so successfully, please clue me in!

RUNNING NEWS:

My slow return to running seems to be going well. I say “seems” because without any pain receptors* in my femoral neck area.. it’s sort of hard to tell. (*Please note that that is an extreme exaggeration. I know I have pain receptors to some extent – they’re just kinda fried.) I was feeling a “sensation”, which seems to be the word of choice, about a week or so ago. I talked to my PT and explained what I was feeling, and when I was feeling it, and she didn’t seem overly concerned. She asked me to keep note of when/where the “sensation” was happening to make sure there wasn’t a pattern of always-when-running or always-during-impact-activities. That would be a bad sign. Luckily, that’s not the case right now. And since I talked to the PT and got that off my chest, it seems like those “sensations” have all but disappeared. So much of this game is mental. (If you’re new to the blog and don’t have a clue about my hip, THIS is the last post when I got cleared to start running again, and you can definitely click on “surgery” “recovery” or “doctors” in the tag cloud, or enter “fibrous dysplasia” in the search box.)

I’m at 6 miles right now.. and I think I’ll just hold it there for a while. My doctor gave me clearance to return to 10ish when I feel ready, but at this point, I guess I’d rather be slightly over-cautions than do anything dumb. I had plans of doing the Securian Frozen Half, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

I AM doing my first “organized” run since the fracture though.. TOMORROW! I’ll be trottin along for the Reindeer Run 5K at Lake Harriet. It is very critical that we note here – this is a “fun run”.. no racing involved. Haha even though I just tagged this post with “race”. Really though, they’re not even keeping times, there’s a costume contest, a stroller walk, there is no race involved. And if you know me.. you know I really just wanted the shirt anyways.

SCHOOL:

Because I do a lil of that too. :) Holy 15 days man… how did that happen? That’s all I have left before I am FREE for a month+ winter break! It definitely crept up on me, which can partially explain my lack of posting this last week. There was definitely a day when I skipped going to a party to sit on my butt for 6 straight hours and just pour out on this paper. Skipping a party.. for a PAPER.. that I found out on Monday with said paper in hand wasn’t even due until Wednesday. Ayyyy. Anyways, I have loved my classes this semester, but I’m really looking forward to the classes I’m taking next semester too! Here’s what Spring 09 looks like for a particular redheaded kinesiology premed major:

  • Physics w/ Lab – 4 credits
  • Statistics – 4 credits
  • Directed Study/Research – 4 credits
  • Measurement & Evaluation in Kinesiology – 3 credits
  • Sport in a Diverse Society – 3 credits
  • Medical Terminology – 2 credits

TOTAL: 20 credits.

Yikes!! I may or may not be dropping one of those classes… it’s just that anything over 15 is free here at the U of MN, and if you can handle the stress, it’s definitely worth it financially to take extra credits.

[EEDDIITT: Location / day change. Now @ home, post Reindeer Run.. I guess "life happened!"]

Umm aright, this is very representative of how my blogging has been lately. I’ll have a post all ready and set to go, say I’m going to get it up when I get home, and then…? Ohh life. To be fair, I had a lot of fun last night AND managed to get a lot done!

The Reindeer Run was FUN.. but woa dang – super cold! And I did everything with NO coffee this morning. AND a smile on my face. First time for everything! Although I think my life would have been a little brighter with some of this:

P1000061

I need to wrap this here, complete or not, because my mamacita and I are headed to Farmer’s Market to go get a christmas tree! While the big decorating will be goin’ on at mom’s house… I was given a little som’n myself to bring in some christmas cheer:

P1000064

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