Rate: Team Jillian Michaels

Alright, I'm going to go out on a limb here and defend Jillian Michaels. This "controversy" has been blown way out of proportion. I'm not blogging about it as if it is news, because it happened a few days ago, but rather just because it really urks me. First of all, it sounded to me like Michaels was trying to convey how much she believes in adoption, not how much she is "against" pregnancy. I totally relate to that. Reasons why I would rather adopt than become pregnant:  1) I have a long list of small, but annoying, conditions including asthma, bad eye sight and endometriosis-- I don't want to pass that on to anyone. 2) There's a good possibility I'm not able to. 3) I don't want to get fat and I don't want to go through such physical trauma. That's right. I am just as shallow as Jillian Michaels. Sew me. Here's the thing, if you don't really want to have a kid in the first place, then the fear of a pregnant body is probably one reason on the list of many.


Second of all, having a great body is a major part of Jillian Michaels career--  more so even than an actress or singer. Women choose careers over child-bearing all the time, and no one seems to complain. We're a progressive, non-sexist, post-liberation culture right? Then why is it any different for Michaels? Are we still so appalled by a woman making a choice about pregnancy?  Besides, have these people even seen The Biggest Loser? I watch it every Tuesday-- that girl is extremely intelligent and ballsy. Self-esteem issue? I don't think so.

Run: Personal record alert... again. Too soon?

I don't mean to brag but, I'm pretty much on fire. Kidding. But, I ran 3 miles in 31:30 minutes. That's two personal records in one week, and I haven't even been training hard, like, at all.  So here's my thought process.  I have been running 3 miles every work out, but I barely ever increase my mileage, even though I have been getting faster without much effort. I want my goal marathon to be Arizona's Rock N Roll marathon which is January 16th, 2011. I should realistically start on a structured marathon training plan on September 1st, or even a little earlier. That means I have four full months to build a lot of mileage and endurance. So I am setting some new goals for myself.

By June 1st

New base mileage of 5 miles every work out

Long Runs: 10 miles or more

Join a freaking running club already

By July 1st

Add interval and track training into my workout

Lose 5 pounds (because it will make me faster) 

Run a 5k

By August 1st

Run a 10k

Run more 5ks

Run 3 miles in under 29 minutes

By September 1st

Sign up for Arizona's Rock N Roll Marathon

Start training

Okay make-believe readers, you better hold me to it!

Work Out Recap:

Run: I ran 4 out of 7 days this week. It would have been five, but I rolled my ankle on Friday, so I had to take a few days off. I ran three times with my Oregonian buddy which is awesome, but she is still working on her base and getting in shape, so my workouts were easier with a lot run/walk intervals.

Strength: abs, arms


Thoughts/emotions/concerns: This was my first week working 9-5, and it was pretty tiring. No excuses though, I've got to continue training hard. I also wish I had more time to ride my bike. sigh. 

Run: Personal record alert

This whole nine to five thing is exhausting, and it doesn't help that I'm obsessive about making sure all my work is fabulous and ahead of schedule even when I'm at home. So until I get used to my new job, and until I can effortlessly excel at my internship, my posts may be a little short. However, if you haven't noticed, lately I've been a little off topic (or off my training schedule to be specific) anyway. You're probably sick of my ramblings, huh? Oh you'll miss them soon, I know you will. But until you do, cheers to me! I have a new personal record!

Sunday 4.18.2010
Run: 30:54 minutes, 3 miles
Strength: crunches and arms
Thoughts/Emotions/Concerns: I just ran an 10:18 min/mile average, and it wasn't even that hard. I'm so proud!


Monday 4.19.2010
Run: 33 minutes, 3 miles
Strength: If I muster up the strength, I might do a few crunches... but probably not
Thoughts/Emotions/Concerns: I don't know if I should be disgusted or thoroughly impressed with myself, but after a long day of work (two different jobs, mind you), I came home to a decadent home-made and healthy meal made by my wonderful boyfriend. How, then, could I possibly deny a glass of wine...or two. Normally, even one glass of wine would be the end of any running aspirations for the night, however I conquered that feat tonight. Impressive? yes. Somewhat embarrassing? most definitely.

Rest: Moving on up

Things are looking up! Two great things happened this week (and really made up for my fairly crummy prior week). 1. I got a new job! woot woot. Okay, so it’s not a career or anything, so I shouldn’t be too excited, but it is a step in the right direction.  I’m officially the editorial and administrative assistant for an executive magazine company. I work for the lady who runs the entire thing (it’s a small company), and I get to close every issue, upload and organize the content, write and pretty much do everything that involves publishing a magazine. I also answer phones. It’s part-time, and she completely worked around my internship, so that’s cool. So if for some tragic reason, they don’t hire me at the end of my internship (but gee, I hope they do), then at least I have something to fall back on that also looks good on my resume. The best part is… I WILL NEVER SERVE TABLES AGAIN (god willing).

Exciting fact number two is that I have a new running buddy. Boyfriend and I’s good friends, who also happen to be a couple, moved back to Arizona from Oregon this week.  Miss Oregonian friend wants to start running with me.  Ahhh, [big, nerdy smile].  So we ran, and it was fun, and we made a running schedule for the week. I just hope we stick to it.

Wednesday

Run: 28 minutes.

Strength: crunches, arm exercises with strength band

Emotions/Thoughts/Concerns: My asthma is still acting up. It must be the pollen count that is affecting it, but this is starting to get really annoying. Plus, it’s giving me a cough for the next few hours after my run.

Thursday

Run: 25 minutes

Strength: abs, arm exercises with strength band and medicine ball

Emotions/Thoughts/Concerns: I love having a running buddy, I just can't wait until she's in good shape and we can start running faster and for longer distances. 

Friday

Run: none

Strength/other: We went camping! So I went hiking Friday and Saturday. I also put up the tent all by myself! 

Emotions/Thoughts/Concerns: I love camping! And fishing! However I hate being dirty.
What a conundrum. 

Regalia: Heel insoles

I’m not going to lie, I kind of have a WebMD addiction. The tiniest pain or ailment, and I’m looking it up on the symptom checker and self-diagnosing. I’m assuming my doctor’s hate this. So it was no surprise a few weeks ago when I diagnosed myself with an Achilles heel strain, and came up with a recovery regiment consisting of ice and massage, that I had hit the nail a bit too far from the head.

A few days ago I finally gave into the reoccurring pain, and took myself back to that little chunk of heaven, Road Runner’s Sports. Ah, the smell of rubber soles and moisture wicking sports bras.

After less than five minutes of analysis, I was told that no, I have not strained, hurt or ruptured my Achilles tendon.  I’m just running incorrectly and it’s hurting my lower Soleus muscle (pretty much my calf muscle). Luckily, I was speaking to a storeowner and he had no interest in making commission. He instructed me to take the original insoles that came with my shoes (I bought specialized ones to wear instead) and cut the heels off. Then place the cut up heels under my new insoles in my running shoes. If that doesn’t work, come back. I walked away with a sly smile attempting to imply “you sure do seem cocky about this little magic trick, but you’ll see, I’ll be back.”

Well folks, it worked. The pain is gone. Better yet, since I’m running on my toes more, my calves actually look better! I swear, they’re growing, and I'm a sucker for a big calve muscle. So the Running Regalia feature today is heel insoles. You can buy them, or just cut them out of some old insoles. If you decide to go the cheap route, make sure to use insoles that didn’t get much running action, otherwise they’ll be too worn down. If that doesn’t work, come back and talk to me. 

Rate: Live to learn

I found a new website that I love. Excited? Check it out here.  In my recharged desire to pursue my passions and honest interests, I would like to be making a more conscientious effort to become more informed with topics that don’t include headline news and TMZ tweets.

Although I have kept a pithy understanding of global awareness topics, health research and popular and important artists and leaders, I haven’t made quite the dedication to the topics that I would like. So today, after hours of Google searching, tweet reading and profile stalking, I have bookmarked five new websites and attempted to fill my head with all it can handle. I also seem to have the coffee jitters which makes it somewhat difficult to type. Keep your eyes peeled for today’s running update and a new Running Regalia piece is coming soon!

Rate: Running makes you smarter

Holy asthma attack batman! I sound like a dying aardvark, or at least what I think one would sound like if it were dying: raspy, low, deep wheezes accompanied by low congested breathing out the nose.  It sounds more like growling then breathing. I blame the allergy count and pollution, which means I am indirectly blaming the bizarre amount of rain we’ve gotten this year.

Pollen Count Today: High—But I kept running anywayJ

I have a new running motivator that I think the whole world should know about. Running makes you smarter. In Brain Rules, the nonfiction book that I am currently reading, John Medina explains that exercise is our evolutionary instinct and right. If we aren’t exercising we aren’t living up to our full potential. He goes on to scientifically explain the effects that exercise has on neurons, cells, brain waves, glucose consumption and other scientific jibber jabber. Through scientific explanation that I won’t bore you with (and am fairly incompetent at explaining), Medina concludes that exercise actually improves our cognitive functions. “Physical activity is cognitive candy,” Medina states. Cool huh?

Today, I got a little smarter. Here’s my workout recap:

Run:  33 minutes, varying from a slow to moderate pace (varying due to the asthma), 3miles.
Other: I am on the look out for a practical and successful ab work out. I really need to work on my core for a variety of reasons, including vanity. Today however, I am going to lay out by the pool with my sister instead. Tonight’s her baby shower, so I’m sacrificing strength training for her special preggers day ;)
Emotions/Thoughts/Concerns: This is the second time this week that asthma has really affected my run. I am a little bit concerned about spring. However if 33 minutes is my new slowest time for 3 miles, I shouldn’t complain. But I’m excited to get faster! and to stop wheezing. 

Rest: 2..4...6...8... Words are What I Appreciate!

I’ve cussed at my computer for less than this. I’ve rolled my eyes, grunted and ridiculed aspiring writers for similar happenings. So why, dear readers, would I leave my blog stale and static for two entire weeks? Because I’m still learning to manage my time, that’s why. That’s the honest truth, and I'm sorry. I started an internship, I succumbed to the 20-something blues, I rode my bike, I caught up on my reading, and I didn’t write in my blog. However, I DID continue to run. Due to the small injury and a schedule change, I have not been running quite as frequently as I was, but I have been running.

To sum it up, my schedule looked something like this:

March 28-April 2nd:
Biked three times, about 30 miles each
Ran three times, two 30 minute runs, one 55 minute run

April 2nd-present:
ran twice, 30 minutes (I know, tisk, tisk)

So now that we’re caught up, I do have a few little life lessons that I am going to share.

The last few weeks have been emotionally rough. Nothing very dire has really happened, but the post-graduate depression (as they like to call it) has seeped into my starry-eyed blood. It’s not too heavy, it’s just a general malaise. It’s funny, because I absolutely love my internship, you’d think that would put me in a good mindset. However it only reminds me of how badly I want to be past this stage of life, how badly I wish my internship were actually my job. And it’s not only that. I’ve started to feel like I’ve been going through the motions, actively hoping that I will become jaded and give up my impractical desires to write, read, run and be merry. Immediately after graduation, I was inspired, motivated and amped up on collegiate idealism. But after a couple months of no luck and a belittling glance from "the man", things somehow changed.

Well today, I gave my self a good old fashion kick in the arse. It's time to remember the things that I love. I am actively seeking freelancing gigs. I am applying for more internships. I am committing to finishing my short stories and submitting them to publications. I am looking for a day job that will let me have my evenings to write, decompress and cook. I am ardently diving into running and blogging again. I am going to actively make choices to not only make myself happier, but also to ensure that I don’t settle, give in or become jaded. Do I sound like a self-help book yet? Eh, being overly zealous is better than having no zeal at all.