Vacation, Vacation, Vacation!

I am officially off work, no responsibilities, no kids, on vacation for almost 3 weeks (if you include weekends, which I do). And how, you may ask, did I start this vacation? By completing a 1 hour, 4.2 mile work out. Feels good. I ran the whole first mile in 12:10, but then walked a good bit with running thrown in. I did manage to burn 500 calories, which got rid of my breakfast and lunch, so there's that. But before that, when I woke up at 9:30 and weighed myself, I found that I finally dropped another pound making it a total of 10.5 down! I could not have imagined a better way to start this thing out. Slept in, lost weight, had a kick butt work out, and probably a nap in my near future. 

I didn't plan to go for an hour today, but I just felt, after finally seeing a difference on the scale, that I needed to keep the momentum going. I was only planning to do 30 minutes, but I just wanted to keep going. I would have done a full 5 miles again, but it was really hot and my body is pretty exhausted. So yeah. I really don't want to go out there again tomorrow, but I really feel like I gotta get one last good run in before I take these next few days off while I spend some time in Oakland with John and then make the long trek back home. So much awesome in my near future!

I'm pretty much packed with the exception of the things that I need between now and actually leaving. I, of course, have a list ready to be checked off as the day gets closer. I'm a big fan of lists. Keeps me sane and prepared. That doesn't mean that I'm completely sane right now, though. I'm completely anxious and ready to go! Everytime I talk to my mom about all of the things we're going to do while I'm at home, I feel myself getting more and more homesick. I just wanna be there already! I probably won't update again until I'm in Birmingham, so until then, have a wonderful weekend and a good first part of the week! 

Update!
I couldn't leave you without sharing what I just had for dinner. 
THIS was absolutely delicious. I am a huge fan of spaghetti squash, so I always keep my eyes open for new recipes. It's super easy, super cheap, super low-calorie, and suuuper yummy. I did everything in the original recipe, but instead of 1/4 c of cheese, I used 1/2 c because I used Kraft Fat-Free Shredded Mozzarella instead. Also, I cooked the tomato, cut into chunks, in a skillet on the stove first because I like my veggies to have a bit of a crisp on the outside, then added into the rest. I had half of the squash (I'll have the rest for lunch tomorrow), but the whole tomato and I gotta tell ya, I'm so full. It was incredibly filling and for only 250 calories! (for my version, at least) Yay new recipes :)

Can I Just Fast Forward?

It was actually, legitimately hot today, as in about a high of 87, which made for a slightly more difficult work out, but I loved every minute of it. Mostly. I like getting done with my run and being covered in sweat. I know, that sounds cray, but I feel like I really got something done when that happens. Trudy was good to me today and when she told me I'd reached 5 miles, I gave my phone a small high five. FIVE miles. Not entirely run, but enough to burn 584 calories! It took me an hour and fifteen minutes, but hey, it was still 5 miles and I got ish done. I'm not sure that I can do an hour every single day, but I'm thinking every other day could be sufficient. Just thirty minutes on the other days in order to keep my body less tired in order to complete those full hour days. I'm kickin' my own butt and I couldn't be more pleased with myself. 

I had to fight against sore legs today after the adventures in hiking up and down my neighborhood yesterday, but the longer I was out there, the easier it got and the more I felt a slight runner's high kick in. My feet are hurting less and less and I can tell my shoes are about 90% broken in. The knee is still not great, but I can tell the shoes are definitely helping to cushion against the trail. Speaking of the trail, I went all the way to the end today and let me tell ya, it is beautiful:

Also waiting for me at the end of the trail: a bathroom. And lo, the Heavens did then open up and God sent an oasis. In other words, I really had to pee. I drink a lot of coffee in the morning and then a lot of water after that. And I had already had an entire bottle of water on the way out. Then I refilled it and drank another on the way back. Lots of water. That's the key in this heat. Also, I'm finally beginning to establish one singular tan line on my upper body which makes me happy, so I won't look like some weirdly striped animal. Of course, the parts that are tan are realllly tan compared to the covered parts. Oh well, at least only the tan parts will really be seen in regular clothing. I really don't care, a tan is a tan and I've got a runner's tan. Something to definitely be proud of. 

The packing chronicles continue as I experiment and try to figure out how to pack, what to pack, and what to pack all of it in. It ain't easy, guys. As a girl, I'm finding it difficult to decide what I want to wear while I'm at home and keeping my number of choices down. Ugh. Sometimes I hate being a girl. Sometimes life would be easier if I wasn't. But for the rest of the time, I love being a girl. I know, confusing. Which is also very girly. That's what we do; confuse people. Meh. I just want to be in my home. I did have most of today off and will only have to watch the kids for a little while tomorrow while Adele gets her hair cut, so basically only about an hour's worth of work is standing between me and my vacation beginning. Can I fast forward? No? Ah, oh well. Soon enough.

I Think My Legs Have Turned To Jell-O

Today, I was painfully reminded of the reason that I don't run or even walk in my neighborhood, but I had no choice but to do it due to time constraints. I hate hills. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them. There was definitely more walking today than running because of them. I hope with everything in me that I can go back to my beautiful, flat park tomorrow, but I don't know what our schedule is, so we'll have to see....Today's run (walk) was 30 minutes, 2 miles, 237 calories burned. Not bad considering how difficult this freaking neighborood is, but I wish I had been able to do more, especially after my kick-ass work out last night. It's just me and the kids for the rest of day and night as Adele has to work overnight. Luckily, because of this, there's a greater chance for me to be off on Friday. Here's hopin'!

Can I just talk about how hilarious it is that the people around here think they're having muggy, humid weather right now? Just precious. I'm not sure any of them would be able to breathe in the South. The weather here is perfection. I never thought in my life I would have to layer up in the Summer, but being here has completely changed the whole feeling of this season for me. I'm already in the process of packing for my trip and I'm having a hard time deciding what to bring because I'm not used to dressing in just one layer anymore! I'm having to constantly remind myself that I can pack pretty lightly because of this and to keep myself under control with how much I bring. After all, I only get two 50 pound bags to check for free! The main reason I'm already packing is so that I can figure out the best way to pack and in which bags so that I don't exceed the weight limits with the two suitcases. I've never had to pack for a really long trip like this before, not involving flying anyway. The more I do this, the easier it will get. I hope. 

I'm not looking forward to the 8 hour travel day, but it will be so worth it. On the upside, I do have a layover in Chicago that's actually long enough to allow me to leave the airport and find something good to eat. After all, I'll be there for THREE hours. Yeah. I won't land in Birmingham until 10:30 that night, but hey, for me that's only 8:30. It will definitely take a couple of days to become acclimated to the time change, so good thing I'll be able to sleep in! And sleep some more, and get a little more sleep, and oh yeah, I'm gonna sleep a lot. I need this vacation. I need it now. Only 1 or 2 more days. Is it time yet? No? Ok :(

I'm Starting To Click My Heels....

Let's begin with this:

Yep, you read that right. 571 calories burned. I am damn proud of what I did tonight. I don't usually run that late in the day, but I had the kids at home with me all day, so I had to go when I could. I also don't usually go for an entire hour, but I had the time and I had the energy tonight. From now on, if I have the time, I'll be going for at least an hour because seeing those kinds of results is incredibly motivating! I'm gonna be honest here. I felt that I had to do more tonight because I had a bit of a slip up today in my eating. I won't say what I ate, but just trust that it wasn't in the plan. I feel much better about having done more tonight in order to reverse whatever effects could have come from that. These are the kinds of thoughts that I use to have once upon a time last year and I'm so glad that I've gotten back to that kind of mindset. No feeling sorry for myself or feeling incredibly guilty. Just getting out there and working extra hard to run it off and fix my mistake. Now, I didn't run for that entire hour, but I would say that I ran approximately 80-85% and I'm proud of that. I did longer bursts of running with walking in between. The walking intervals were definitely shorter than the running. Yes. So much yes.

When I heard her say "distance: 4 miles", I smiled and I did an imaginary victory dance. Speaking of "her", I'm going to give her a name. She deserves a name. She's my running partner and she keeps me going. I will call her Trudy. I don't know why that was the first name that came to mind, but from now on, when you see me refer to someone as Trudy, you'll know who I'm talking about. So, as I was saying, Trudy's voice was not an annoying reminder of what I was doing tonight, Trudy's voice was keeping me motivated and keeping me on top of my game. I think Trudy and I are going to have a long and happy relationship. Tonight, instead of feeling tired and down on myself, I felt like the farther I was running and the longer I was going, the easier it was getting. I normally stop myself when I've reached the 15 minute mark in one direction then turn around and make my way back. But this time, I kept going until the 30 minute mark and I found that I was getting more done and building more and more stamina. I'm improving, y'all, and that's what I'm the most proud to say. I'm getting better each day and more confident in myself to do work. Despite any pain or discomfort. Pushin' through.

So, my shoes are still being broken in and I'm still having some pain in my knee, but I'm doing fine with it all. The only problem I'm having with my shoes is that I have really wide feet and the outer side of my right foot is getting cramped up when I wear them. They're still being stretched to fit my feet's curves and movements and until they're there, I'm going to have to work through the pain. They don't hurt so much while I'm wearing them and moving, but when I take them off at the end, the release of the pressure on that side is somehow keeping a cramp in place until it's loosened back out. It takes a few minutes for those muscles to relax and release that pressure, but it will get better the more I wear them. No worries here. None of this pain is too much to hold me back right now. Even though I haven't lost any more of those pesky pounds, I can see the inches coming off. It would not surprise me to find that I'm gaining muscle back, so I'm not so worried about the scale. I'm working hard and doing the right thing (99% of the time) and I feel that I'm doing my best. 

One week from today, a little bit later in the evening than this, I'll be landing in Birmingham for my two week visit and I just cannot express to you how ready I am for this. I'm not only ready to be home, with my family, and sleep in my old bed, but also because I really, really need a vacation....I'm so over this week, y'all. The past two weeks, as well. I've only worked one evening and all day today, but I'm already ready for this week to be done. There's a good chance that I'm off on Friday, which would begin my vacation, but I might have to work. If I don't, I'd be so incredibly happy...If I only have to work two more days this week, I might cry. It's like having senioritis, but worse. These are the last few days of work before I go home for the first time in 6 months, see my friends for the first time in 6 months, see my family (except Mom, Dad, and Hannah who I saw in May) in 6 months, and the first time being back in the Southeast in 6 months. That's half of a year. I've never been away from home for longer than a few weeks at a time. Half of a year. Wow. Sometimes I still look around me when I'm out driving or running and marvel at the beauty that is California. I still get excited when I go into San Francisco, even though John and I go pretty often. I just still can't get over being here or over doing what I did. Every day is special. Every experience is special. But there is no place like home....And I've already begun packing... :)

Just Another Monday

I decided not to wait to get new running shoes and I do not regret that decision one single bit. They're Nike and they're black and hot pink. I bought them on Saturday and decided to go ahead and try them out in order to break them in as quickly as possible and the verdict? I love them. They are so comfortable, super light weight, snug enough to eliminate any rubbing or blistering I was experiencing before, and they are just so darn cute. They are definitely still in the breaking-in stage, though. They're becoming less stiff as I use them and they're such good quality, so I know they are going to last. I've been walking mostly with a little bit of running thrown in there, but so far I'm absolutely loving them and am so glad I went ahead and got them! Today's workout:
-30:31
-2.17 miles
-267 calories burned
Not bad after taking it easy this weekend and taking yesterday completely off.

On Friday's menu, I said I would be trying this soup recipe. It turned out to be amazing! I used 1 can of diced tomatoes with about half a can's worth of water to make it more soup-like, 1 zucchini chopped into fairly large chunks and grilled in a pan until soft and a little crispy on one side, 1.5 oz beef sirloin tips already cooked and chopped into small pieces, a good bit of garlic powder, salt and pepper, a little bit of cinnamon, thrown all together into a pot and cooked until it simmers a bit. Seriously though, delicious.

On today's menu:
-I was off today, so I slept in- 
Brunch- pancakes: 1/4 c flour, 2 tbsp silk, 1/3 c plain yogurt, cinnamon, sugar sub , the powdery kind in the big bags(about equal to the amount of flour), 1/8 tsp baking soda, 3 tbsp egg beaters, 1/4 tsp vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients in small bowl, combine all wet ingredients in bigger bowl. Pour dry into wet and stir until mixed, leave some clumps. Cooks like regular pancakes in sprayed frying pan. Make sure you spray pan again before you flip. Makes 2 large pancakes. I used a mixture of 1/2 a mashed up banana, 2 tbsp Cary's Sugar-free syrup, and some "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!"
Coffee
-Snack- frozen smoothie- other half of banana, 1/2 c plain yogurt, 1/2 c silk
-Dinner- 4 oz chicken breast cooked with a little garlic powder, salt and pepper, about a 1/4 of a baked potato, and 1/4 white corn (I'm actually having leftovers).
Happy Monday!

Break Time

Ugh. My body is so ready for a break over the weekend. I'm physically exhausted, I'm sore, I'm just tired, y'all. I'll take tomorrow off completely, but I am planning to at least go for a walk on Sunday just because that's what I did last weekend and was quite successful. Just tryin' to repeat that. My run today was definitely not my best, but I had to listen to what my body was telling me and that was "hey, calm down". My left knee is still giving me issue, so I didn't overdo it. I know from experience that if you push too hard when something hurts, you're just going to set yourself back with injury. 
So, today's run:
-27:08
-2.02 miles
-252 calories burned
I did interval running the whole time with a lot more walking than normal, basically short bursts of running and long stretches of walking. But hey, if I took it easy and still got that done, I'm completely cool with that. 

I gotta tell ya, I'm rockin' a pretty awesome tan right now on my shoulders, chest, and upper back. It was started during my trips to the beach and lake, but now those parts of my body are getting a lot darker. Yes, I have like 13 different tan lines. Yes, I'm rockin' that racerback line. Yes, only the bottom half of my legs are getting darker. But I'm proud of the runner's tan. I don't mind having the lines if they're the result of spending time outside in the beautifully sunny, Northern California afternoon; if it means that I'm working hard enough for long enough to sustain this lovely golden glow :) 

This weekend is a very welcome break from work and the kids and driving and going, going, going. I need some good sleep, some "me" time, some lounging around and doing nothing. I have Monday off and that is the most exciting news I've gotten in quite some time. Oh, to have no responsibilities for a few days...

On The Menu Today:

• Breakfast- Dannon Light and Fit Greek Vanilla with 3/4 c strawberry halves, coffee with 1 tbsp creamer in each cup
• Lunch- 1 packet Quaker Oatmeal plain, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp raisins
• Snack- Frozen smoothie- 1 whole banana, 1/2 c Silk Original Unsweetened, 1/2 c plain non-fat yogurt
• Dinner- 1 can diced tomatoes, 1.5 oz sirloin beef tips, 1 zucchini, 1/4 c fat-free shredded mozarella. I'm going to make a soup of sorts. This is an experiment, so we'll see....

Pushin' Through

Today's run: 
-2.75 miles, 1st mile was run while remainder was walked with interval running
-36:02
-355 calories burned

I'm having some knee pain, but I'm pushing through. I wrapped that bad boy up and did the damn thing anyway. It's hot outside and I feel ashmatic at times, but I'm pushing through. My sides hurt sometimes during the run, but I'm pushing through. I'm sore and I have blisters, but I'm pushing through. Basically, I'm not letting anything get in my way. I'm not letting myself give in to defeat. My runs are different every single day, but no matter what, I'm pushing through. After two weeks, I'm running longer, farther, and harder and I'm completely exhausted by about 8pm. I'm sleeping, I'm feeling less hungry during the day, and I'm keeping myself more hydrated than ever before. Which results in peeing every half hour (wish I was exaggerating), but I'm pushing through ;)

Speaking of water, here's a little product review: Nestle Pure Life Splash. It's flavored water that doesn't just tasted like a watered down juice. The Berry Splash tastes like blue Powerade, while the Acai Grape tastes like purple Powerade. The good news? No aspertame like Powerade and other artificially sweetened products. It uses natural sweeteners and is full of potassium. It's delicious, hydrating, and the best part is that I don't mind drinking it. I really kind of hate water, but this has become a complete game changer. You should totally try it! 

Alright, guys. I wanted to show you a little bit of what's happening with my body. This was taken last Friday after already having lost 5 pounds:

And this was taken a few minutes ago after my run/9.5 pounds down:

Like I said, the smaller you are, the more difference a few pounds makes....I'm still about 14 pounds from my lowest weight, but I'd say this is already a vast improvement and I feel like Super Woman right now. 

On the menu today:

• Breakfast- 1/2 c Egg Beaters Egg White omelette, 3 tbsp Kraft Fat-Free Shredded Mozarella, coffee with 1 tbsp Coffee-Mate Vanilla Caramel Creamer in each cup
• Lunch- 1 packet Quaker Oatmeal Plain with half a banana mashed up and stirred in with 1 tsp cinnamon
• Snack- frozen smoothie- other half of the banana, 1/2 c Dannon Non-Fat plain yogurt, 1/2 c Silk Original Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Dinner- 1 can tuna over lettuce, 1/4 c Kraft Fat-Free Shredded Mozarella, 2 tbsp light Balsamic dressing