Stalled Out... what now??

The good news: I completed my first two half marathons with only 14 days apart, and in decent time too! Victoria half was 2hours 26 min, Vancouver Rock n' Roll in 2hours 25 min. YES!! rocked it all!!

Victoria half marathon

Vancouver Rock N' Roll half marathon

The bad news: it has now been a month since I have completed the Vancouver half and have spent the time moving to a new basement suite, involving lots of cleaning, heavy lifting, etc. Between the move and the half marathons, I managed to hurt my lower back and my right hip a bit. Due to this I have not run or worked out since the last run, which has left me rather... listless is the best way to describe it I guess. I have recovered mostly, injury wise, but all this time has got my mind wandering and wondering about all the things I want to change in life, but am lost as to the direction...

I am stalled out, stuck and stuttering...

I like my job, mostly, but I cannot/do not want to do it long term. I am doing it right now chiefly for the purpose of funding my husband's schooling, that he may do the job he loves: Veterinary technician. He absolutely loves it. I see him beam when he gets home. I want that. I need that.

How do I get that??

I'll start with a list (yup list lady right here, slightly obsessive with them)

Good Qualities:

- People person: good at reading people/communication/enjoy engaging people

- Reliable: show up to work early, hate letting people down

- Love the outdoors, and green things in general

- Love animals (allergic to cats unfortunately)

- Creative: poetry, cooking, baking, love music (useless at making any)

- Love dogs in particular but have also cared for sheep and chickens as a kid

- Good work ethic (work hard but sometimes have issue with chronic tendonitis in wrist)

- generally good-natured

Bad Qualities:

- Anxious to please/fear of failure/fear of confrontation (getting better on these three!)

- Am an introvert with extrovert tendencies (it can confuse people a lot: I am naturally introverted but work happily in very interactive environment, love socializing with a small group of friends but need down time between events to recuperate)

- Can be forgetful, especially when anxious

- willing to do some schooling for new job, but not lots. (already did about 3ish years in general studies and then 1 year to get the job I have now = student debt!!).

- etc. can't think of anything else in particular right now (sure there is more)

 

Any ideas people??

 

Some dream jobs for me are:

 

1. Freelance Gardener - no idea if I'd be any good at it, only pays well if you own your own business and have a degree (generally speaking).

2. Own/run a bookstore - no idea where to start, start up cost would be substantial (product cost and store rent) - I just really love books and would love to share them with others (old/new books and fun nick knacks).

3. Dog walker/runner -  Now that I have realized a love for running/exercise, and have always had a love for all breeds of dog, I would love to follow in the footsteps of one lady who started her own business running dogs. my problem: I live in a area where 99% of of people walk their own dogs, and have no desire to move downtown where people would actually need a dog walker (My hubby and I want to move further into the countryside).

 

I know that these are each radically different from each other, and the only thing that connects them is creativity and freedom. How do I get that? ugh. 

 

I cannot pinpoint one single job or one single skill that I have that points me in one direction.

I need to run again

Fuel me up Scottie!!!

What have I been fueling with lately? here you go!

1. Banana and some instant oatmeal (easy to digest) - pre run
2. Hummus, avocado and sprouts on toast (great source of protein and carbohydrate)s - pre and post run
3. Smoothie (I usually throw a lot of stuff in them: everything from lettuce, avocado, sprouts to mango, strawberries, banana, flax, and hemp seeds) - Pre-run and post run (I add protein powder to post run smoothies.
4. Bagel (easy to digest) - Pre-run (slap a little butter or margerine on there, good to go).
5. 2 hard boiled eggs, steamed broccoli and some strawberries - post run

*FYI: There are definitely some days when I'm too pooped to think/make something post run so I just eat a serving size of Kraft Dinner. You win some, you lose some ;).

"It's the soul that needs the surgery..."

After my 16 km run I was stretching while watching the M3 channel music countdown, and Beyonce's "Pretty Hurts" song comes on. Story of my life, not as bad as some, but bad enough for me. Just about every girl to some degree knows what it is like to only feel worth based on her appearance, eventually the self-hate creeps in and clogs up the soul and like a clogged artery, confidence and love are slow and too small to feed you properly. What I'm trying to say is that girls (and boys too nowadays) live in confidence and love malnourishment. It's terrible but true. There were too many days in the past when my skin crawled with self loathing because of what people told me I should be, why I am not enough and probably never will be. Show more skin, eat less, put on more makeup, sound less smart...

I am naturally a bit thin, so when I started working out more seriously I started to gain weight from the increased muscle mass. Freaked out because I felt fat. Ugly. It has taken me over a year to really start to feel good about it. I work in a setting that has a lot of elderly people, and I have found that is one of the best ways exorcise some self hate. All of these lovely people of the older generations say: "Stay healthy. Looks will always fade, but it is your health that keeps you strong well into old age. It keeps you grateful for what you have." And as mother once told me "Gratitude unlocks the Fullness of Life". I want that tattooed on my arm one day.

Gratitude. Gratitude is one of the reasons that I continue to run. I am grateful that I can walk, run, go for long hikes and see amazing views at the top of BC's amazing mountains. I am grateful that I am no longer in pain just about every day. A friend from high school went into liver failure (he had an autoimmune disease that attacked the liver. He was basically left paralyzed and almost blind. My father was diagnosed with parkinson's about a 1.5 years ago, he can still run a little and stays active as best he can but his mobility is ever more and more limited as time goes on.


I run because it is surgery for the soul when I run; I am so humbled that I was blessed with the ability to do so, and it could be taken away from me at any moment. When I come back from a long run and I look at myself in the mirror I am just...so... happy. I smile. Damn I look good! I feel like my soul is in every inch of my skin in that moment.

Pretty may hurt sometimes but beautiful is in my soul when I run. I can be beautiful. Everyone can.

I'm Running!!!

Now that I've completed my first 10 km run, worked through some IT band problems and started training for my first 1/2 marathon which is now only 2 months away!! One book that is really inspiring me right now is called "Running Like a Girl"- by Alexandra Heminsley.

She has a hilarious and frank attitude about her journey and struggles through the learning curve that can inspire anyone to see their ability to run and find passion in the daily struggle to pound the pavement. This book will have you giggling away in harmony with quips and silly witticisms on everything from lactic acid build up, the struggles of squishing your boobs into a sports bra, to runners IBS and finding her passion in her feet. Here is an exerpt:

"My first run in the shock absorber bra was life changing. It felt like home... I felt as if my legs were finally free to create momentum that might push me forward rather than engineer propulsion to encourage my boobs into evermore exciting formations. Similarly my arms were to move my body in the right direction, rather than being on standby as emergency dignity shields. It was liberation like I had never known."

Love her!!! Can't wait to finish the book, I highly recommend it (you can get a great price on Amazon).

If I had the money I would buy this book for everyone I know that is starting to run or even just thinking of running.

Some of the important things I have learned so far:

- Eat at least 1 hour before run: not eating or eating too close to the run (especially if its a long run) makes me nauseous.
- Warm-Up: necessary for my body to do a 5 min brisk walk and some quick exercises to get the ligaments and muscles warmed up
- Stretching Post-Run: I find that I have trouble with my left IT band and that using a foam roller on this as well as doing some great stretches for everything else (hold every stretch for 30 sec each for it to be effective!).
- Cross-Training: my sciatic nerve starts to hurt (among other things) if I do long runs without having done core work and other cross training. I have been doing a lot of hiking this summer (as seen in pic below with my pup Scooter).
- Hydration, hydration, hydration: I have found that my body needs electrolyte replacement on those long runs (especially in the summer heat), or else I feel sick for the next few hours after the run.
- Refuel properly: right after the run you need to refuel protein and carbs. I like eating half a protein bar  and then going in for lunch or dinner or a healthy snack, that way I get the quick refuel and still get the satisfaction of a healthy meal afterwards.
- Give Yourself a Break: Some runs are gunna be crappy. That's just how it is, but remember that you just got your butt off the couch and if you hadn't run at all you would be feeling worse. A bad run is not a failure, it is just a goal that you did not meet that day; it's a goal that remains for tomorrow and today was just a training run.

Have a Great Run Every Body!

I Quit the Gym and started Running...

So there it is! I quit the gym and started running. I wanted to reduce our (hubby and me) monthly expenses as the hubby is going back to school in fall of 2014, but it's hard to get good cardio on my dinky little fold up treadmill. Don't get me wrong, its great for walking when its cold outside. I have a couple of good friends that have inspired me to try running. No excuses, no nonsense. Just push and do it! my general goal is to be able to do 10km by the end of august (on the long weekend) as the aforementioned inspiring friends and I always go to the island for a girls relaxing weekend. There is a great trail there and I just wish I could run it, without getting winded after 30 minutes.

So far I have started a running program called "C210K" (couch-to-10-km) and started at the 5 week mark after doing a 4.5km test run. Tomorrow I start week 6, and so far it has gone well! I even have my mini-schnauzer running with me (which is great, as we need something to wear his energy down). Although I found a few problems in the act of running with a dog:

1. How crazy i look when i'm jogging in place holding an already half-filled poo bag waiting for him to make his second deposit (but he cant make up his mind where to do it, and he gets distracted by passers-by) and  there I am holding it (the poo) like a parlor maid presenting tea (gotta keep good posture!), until his highness is ready.

2. He barks at people because he is so excited to meet them and really just wants to get closer so that he can turn on his "I'm ridiculously cute and I'm even whining like a puppy so just pet me already!" switch, but people just hear the barking and think he's ferocious. Yup apparently he scared a few people today in his exuberance (that's my ferocious mini-Schnauzer). They practically clung to the other side of the sidewalk in fear. Nice one dog.

The pros, however, are quite simple:

1. I have my favorite fuzzy biddy with me.
2. He gets some well needed exercise.
3. Seeing his wagging tail at the door as I put on my running gear is the best motivation I could imagine!

I have a running playlist on my ipod that I find very motivating:

Here are some of my favorite songs:

Wish me luck tomorrow!

Kitchen on a Budget: tips and trick

1. Growing free green onions: you know that bundle of green onions you get from the store? chop off the ends (the white end with roots) leaving about 3/4 -1 inch of green, plant in a small flower pot, and place in a windowsill that gets plenty of light. water every few days when the soil feels dry, and you have green onions regrowing themselves! free green onions people!!

2. Freeze that fruit: if your fruit is looking like it's on your way out, freeze it! You can throw it in a smoothie or bake it in something like muffins or a quickbread (ie: banana bread, chopped strawberries, blueberries, peaches, etc. can be thrown in a basic muffin recipe or pancakes).

3. Buy food in season and freeze it!: this year I bought 30 lbs of strawberries. You heard me: 30 lbs. I love strawberries and so does my hubby, so the best way to have this fruit all year round is to buy it, wash it, chop of the tops and freeze it. BOOM! huge savings! I also bought 15 lbs of blueberries, and small amounts of other fruits. We will use it to make smoothies, pies and jam (among other things). I also froze rhubarb, beans and basil from my parent's garden (the beans you have to blanch, but the basil you only need wash and dry the basil before freezing! way easier than I thought it would be). I'm excited to make spaghetti sauce and throw in my home grown basil!

4. Paper towels are a waste: just buy a stack of microfiber cloths instead, you can use them over and over again. I use them to dust too instead of using swiffer dusters that you have to replace frequently. They are so multi purpose (I've washed mirrors and windows with them too). The only con is that you should wash them separately from other laundry otherwise they will pick up lint from that laundry. I save the used ones in a bin until I have enough for a small load.

5. Use your crock-pot: You use less dishes with a one pot meal. Simple. Plus you save time and energy.

6. Make your own bread: It's cheaper and healthier for you. I was given a Cuisinart bread machine as a Christmas present and it works like a dream. You put your ingredients in and walk away. Any left over bread can be made into croutons or bread crumbs.

7. Food Prep: I know, I know, I push the food prep a lot. But I have found that the more tasty food I have ready to eat  at home, the less likely I am to buy a bag of chips or some other crap on the way home from work or the gym (that's when the carb cravings get scary!!). Specifically, I find chopping up ginger and onion and saving them in small containers to add to an impromptu omelette, stir fry or whatever also helps alot. I make protein pancakes with fruit in them, chop strawberries, have mini carrots and hummus on hand, bake a couple of yams/sweet potatoes, chop veggies in portioned containers, I could go on and on and on. In fact I should do a separate post for it :).

Healthy Appetizers

Apricot Canapés

Ingredients:
12 whole dried Apricots
2 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
1 tsp fresh Rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh Thyme, chopped
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
1.On each dried apricot sprinkle a little crumbled goat cheese (or roll into a small ball if it is not too crumbly).
2.Top each apricot with a pinch of each of the remaining ingredients.
3.Viola! Serve.

Watermelon Bites

Ingredients:
1 watermelon
150-200 g Prosciutto
a bunch of fresh mint
a log of plain goat cheese
Fresh ground pepper

Directions:
1. Make 1 inch cubes of watermelon.
2. Put a tsp or so of goat cheese on each cube.
3. Roll up a slice of prosciutto, pierce it with a appetizer toothpick (a thick toothpick), and push that toothpick through the cheese and watermelon.
4. Top the appy with a leaf of mint, arrange appies on plate, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and viola! tasty summer appy (recommend refrigerate before serving as they taste best when chilled).

*Many thanks to my good friend Maria Bowden for taking these awesome pics!