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WIAW-SUMMER

Hey guys! Happy WIAW! Thanks a lot to Jenn for posting, as always!

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First, what’s up with this being a running blog now? Haha, I feel like that is all I have been posting about lately! More on that in a minute. Some of you may remember way back in the day when this was more of a rowing blog! I started this blog during rowing training camp, so for the whole 10 days, the posts are pretty much:”We ate. We rowed for 2 hours. We ate again. We rowed again. We ate. We ran 6 miles.” etc…So in that spirit, more on running in a bit! First some delicious food. 

After frying my brain in a 3 hour chem final, an amazing salad and frozen yogurt were necessary fuel to motivate me to study for my next exam.ImageImageI LOVE FROZEN YOGURT.

My last breakfast at the dining hall of the school year!ImageI’m cool and I eat french toast from a bowl. But that way the syrup stays separate and doesn’t drench it.Image

And then, FINALLY SUMMER! Yay!

After my final, it was packing time. It took me about an hour to move out, after I was pretty much already packed. Seeing an empty room was so weird!ImageYeah, I have a lot of stuff…ImageAnd last dining hall meal of the year! Plus, since I had to thaw out the freezer, helping my roommate eat her frozen baked good was kind of a necessity. 

And then….HOME! Home is where the heart is? Pshh. I disagree. Home is where the cats are. Image

And the first thing I do when I get home? I raid the pantry. This is what I found for a snack:ImageThese things are so good! I’ve gotten single serving packs from whole foods before in different flavors, but these are from Costco, so there’s no messing around with a wimpy single serving!

And then it was time to run. Last night I pumped myself up for a really good run today-on the treadmill. First, I want to thank all you guys so much for your advice and encouragement on running! I decided I would go at a good pace on the treadmill and just push through- after all, no matter how bad it was, it could not possibly be as bad as a 6k test (this is a test for rowers-it is 6k as fast as possible and it is basically torture. Like the worst thing ever. Seriously). 

So I went out there today and had a really, really great run. I seriously could not have done it without you guys! I was thinking about you all during the entire run (as well as counting down every .01, and calculating how much I had left-1/50 down, 1/25 down). I busted out 3 miles in 24:27. This went way beyond my hopes- I am sooo happy with this! I can’t remember the last time I ran 3 miles this fast! I guess that’s what a day off, plus ton of foam rolling will do for you! So thank you all SOSOSOSO much, your comments seriously motivated me!

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Post run happiness.

And after my run, it was straight to yoga! This was much needed. It’s been far too long since I’ve gone to yoga. I think it should help my tight legs as well. Image

And now for my first home cooked meal! Turkey burgers in a lettuce wrap, with homemade ketchup from this recipe, sweet potato fries, and brussels sprouts. 
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After dinner, we had some frozen cookie dough we were planning on getting rid of because no one was a huge fan, but I wanted to see if you could microwave frozen cookie dough and get a decent result. The answer? YES.Image

If I have learned anything from this past year of college, it is that you can make anything in the microwave. That and the many varieties of mold found on old food (oops). 

And to celebrate summer, I had a small slice of my frozen birthday cake!Image

Sooo sleeping in on my first morning of summer? I’m still trying to decide how insane I am, and whether or not I want to go to a 5:45 am spin class. 

In other news, my first Crossfit class is on Thursday! SO excited!ImageWhat is your favorite thing about summer?

Crazy Talk

Happy Thursday! I’m going to be in Yosemite this weekend with my dorm, so look for a guest post! There is no Wifi there so…

Guess what? Tomorrow is my birthday. I’m gonna be 19! I like that age. It sounds like a good number. I don’t know, I guess some ages sound weird to me. For example, 12 and 13. Everyone knows it is that horrible pre-teen phase…And 18 sounds…well barely legal. Yeah, 19 is a good number. Since tomorrow begins a new year in my life, I’ve been doing some thinking…But let’s get through my day first. Morning spin…nothing new but still kick butt. Since I had one of these babies last night, I wasn’t terribly hungry.

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This is possibly my favorite cupcake…ever. It was coconut with raspberry frosting. YUM. But it was late at night….and here’s the bad part. I had to stay up late (for me) to finish a paper, and I knew I needed energy…so I turned to food. Yogurt bowl anyone? I would have drunk coffee but I waned to be able to sleep as soon as I was done…but eating at night means stomachache for Aurora. So I went with a light breakfast. Image

Hey, it got the job done! At my 9 am class, we learned how to handle lab mice, which was awesome. And got me thinking about possibly having mice as pets in my dorm next year. Or a guinea pig. Thoughts? To be clear, they’re strictly prohibited. But they have to actually catch you. I’m such a rebel, I know.

Lunch was a veggie scramble with garlic hummus, asparagus, onion, mushrooms, and nutrition yeast, which I topped with pesto after the fact. Image

Plus a million carrots with sunflower seed butter. I’m actually trying to wean myself off of it, given I eat so much of it….

After lunch, I met up with my family for a birthday celebration picnic.

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Devil’s food cake with vanilla buttercream. The best.

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It was really nice to enjoy the weather and chat.

The only other really notable thing from my day was a power yoga class which was really awesome. It was probably my best day at doing the crow pose. Funny story…I’ve had a yoga teacher laugh at me before…by doing a faceplant while doing the crow. Here’s the crow:

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As you can see, if you shift too far forward, you’re in trouble. Because your hands are occupied. And the only thing to break your fall is your face…

But on to the meat of this post….I’ve been doing some thinking. Remember that sugar challenge I talked about about a week ago? Notice how I haven’t mentioned it lately? That’s because I broke it. On like the second day…I am in the habit of not posting snacks and sweets that I eat on the blog, not because I’m trying to deceive you but because I don’t think to take pictures. And let’s just say that my daily sugar intake hasn’t been too great lately…

Yesterday, I went to quidditch conditioning. It felt…kind of awful. I felt heavy. My legs felt heavy. We did a lot of the agility drills I used to do for softball…except last time I did them I was in great shape, and now…it was a bit of a wake up call. And on top of that…

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My half marathon training starts at the end of this month! I seriously need to start treating myself better and be more careful about what I put into my body if I want to stick to a fairly intense running schedule. Especially since I want to keep up some of my other workouts.

Here’s what July looks like:

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The mileage adds up pretty quickly. And I have hardly been running at all lately…

So it’s time for a change. I’ve been really trying to work on intuitive eating lately, but sugar completely throws me off. I cannot feel my body’s signals with sugar. And I’m drawn to more sugar. So. I’m going to attempt something a bit drastic. The daily maximum added sugar intake is recommended to be no more than 25 grams. I’m going to attempt to stick to this. And more drastic and scary…I want to give up sweets for the rest of the school year. This isn’t a permanent situation, I just want to reset my body so that I can actually listen to its cues. And I realize that I have failed on my last sugar challenges, but this time will be different…because I’m going to tell people. That way I won’t be the only one holding me accountable. I truly believe this is something I need to do for my healthy. I’m worried that if my body isn’t prepared for my training, I’m going to get injured. Plus I KNOW I’ll feel better. So that’s what is going on with me. In 1 hour, I will be 19! And I’m pumped for my weekend in Yosemite with some of my awesome friends! And since I had my birthday cake today…I’m good to go to start my sugar challenge as I start my 19th year on this planet!

Have you ever run a half marathon? How was the training?