There Will Always Be Someone Better Than You

LDon't care about being harder

Or being Daddy's favorite

Or if you think I'm a mimic

Or if I am a loser

        -Belle Brigade

Dedicated to the muscle bound badass lady who, while I was feeling like a real hero for running four miles and then going to body flow, ran at least seven and then went to body flow. 

This video has been inspiring me for a couple of weeks now. I downloaded the song and it's all I want to listen to ever. 

http://youtu.be/jsP0W7-tEOc

I've got 70 miles in for March!

Ohmmm

You said you'd read me like a book
But the pages are all torn and frayed!!!
I'm not ok I'm not ok
I'm ok now
- my chemical romance

Sitting before yoga listening to this blasting through my headphones is a sweet contrast. I ran to the gym and made it the whole two miles and the second mile is 75% uphill so it's a doozie. I haven't run since Saturday why with Easter and the boozing and trip to Texas with all the boozing and eating. I need to get back to normal. I'm at 48 miles for the month so as long as I do my 3.5 mile route tomorrow I'm good.

Ghosts that I knew

You saw my pain, washed out in the rain
And broken glass, saw the blood run from my veins
But you saw no fault, no cracks in my heart
And you knelt beside, my hope torn apart
But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we'll live a long life
- Mumford & Sons - Ghosts That We Knew

I could quote every word from every Mumford song. They all speak to me at one time or another. I was happy as I managed to run some of a mile home from yoga tonight, because the ghosts that I knew are flickering from view. I ran to yoga for the first time in awhile because it's been so damn hot. And I was reminded that yes, running uphill outside to the gym is much more difficult than running the same 2 miles on the indoor track. It is actually possible to be irritated through an entire yoga class with the mantra "get me the f outta here" repeating in your head - I did that tonight. Im getting tired of yoga I think, which is a real bummer. But maybe it was just tonight and this teacher and the crappy music playing. I had to runnable yoga as much as I loathe doing so because I didn't go yesterday. I was up at 5am and that threw my day off so I was near comatose by the time I quit working at 530. And I'm off to San Fran tomorrow so no telling what the rest of the week will look like. Peace, my friends. 

A bitter 11

I only got 11 miles in this week. And two body flow classes. Friday went very wrong with the stabby pain in my foot that wouldn't leave me be, so I called it after two miles. And then yesterday I didn't go at all because Chris and I were silently fighting and plus I was concerned with the stabby pain, so I went to lunch and a movie instead. 

I'm still ahead for March though and I'm off for the next three days and the weather is supposed to be nice again, so I'll run outside. I'm also thinking of trying this class called Body Combat. It's funny, I had as goals a year or two ago to do classes and I did not meet those goals that year. I just do things when I'm ready, that's all there is to it. There's rarely any point in pushing myself into situations that make me uncomfortable before I am damn good and ready to do it. And sometimes I have to mull it over for an absurdly long time, I have no idea why. 

I did get my A1C down (and got rid of this stupid six pounds that found its way onto me last year) although mostly through the medication I'm on, since I can't say my diet is all that much better, although I do try. I do!

The awfulness

So fuck your dreams

And don't you pick at our seams

Curse the beauty, curse the queen 

Curse the beauty, leave me

 - Monster, Mumford and Sons 

So I did the mountain today because I had to. Also I slept in, which I find is one of the greater joys in life. So needless to say it was pretty goddam hot by the time I got out there at 10:30. And the pollen was saturating the air and the sun was beating down. There's no shade on the mountain at that time. So it was really hard. And my hips and bum felt weak still from yoga yesterday. So afterwards, I went to the gym and soaked in the hot tub and then the steam room. I'm exhausted, now laying on the couch of righteousness. 

Happiness

Happiness, hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
Florence And The Machine - Dog Days Are Over

I decided not to run today. Not for resting or recharging and not even because I was tired, but because I got a mani/pedi this morning and I didn't want to ruin my beautiful toenails by shoving them into running shoes. I did still want to exercise though, so I walked 1.5 miles to yoga and back. If you have t done yoga after a mani/pedi, I don't recommend it. My arms and legs were all greasy and when I started sweating they became very slick. I couldn't keep my position on the mat or do arm balances effectively. But it was a good class nonetheless. I was next to a handsome young man that I enjoyed watching. Now I'm reading by the pool enjoying what remains of the day. Happiness found me despite my best efforts. 

Luck O the Irish (or curse, whichever you celebrate)

And now I just can't take no more
I've had it up to here
- Weezer

This song came on during mile 3 of my Shamrock run tonight and it was perfectly timed. I felt pretty good but in mile 3 it got tough. But I felt good enough that I knew I could run the whole way if I battened down the hatches, which is what I do in my mind when I know I've got a tough road coming and I just need to hold tight. And I did it! It was a beautiful cool evening running along the canal. I hit 3 miles in 35:50 which was awesome, and I finished in 48:30 which I was quite happy with. It was a little disappointing that there weren't crowds cheering for me as I crossed the finish line but there were only a couple hundred people who did this run. I then proceeded to fall down these ridiculous stairs that were cut into the hard dirt leading up to the canal, and I took a little girl with me. She was probably 8 and was walking up as I was going down. I'm pretty sure I grasped for her head and hair as I fell. I brought her right down. I was apologizing all over myself and asking if she was ok, and she just looked at the ground and didn't speak, even when her mom asked her, which means she wasn't ok. I think I may have poked her in the eye. I apologized profusely to her mom and then went to the bar and had a celebratory and humble-pie beer. I actually chatted with a young guy at the bar too, which was cool. This girl even came up to him and he was getting her drink, so I started to ignore him and he kept chatting, which I found odd but then I realized that maybe this is the way normal people behave. Maybe normal people aren't threatened by a casual conversation while ordering a drink and watching the game. So all in all a very good night and I'm so glad I went.

This is dedicated to my boss

Tiny curtains open
And we heard the tiny clap of little hands
A tiny man would tell a little joke
And get a tiny laugh from all the folks

- Modest Mouse - Missed The Boat

Dedicated to the little man in little jeans who left me eating lunch alone so he could take his little call. This song made me laugh yesterday when it reminded me of him. He's totally missing the boat. I did 3.5 around the neighborhood yesterday and the first half went well, I made it to the top of the very long hill without stopping. But the way back I was spent and took some walk breaks and walked most of the last mile. It was warm, like 80, before I got out but still. Now I'm in Starbucks eating pumpkin bread. So you can see how all that is working!  Although I have been very good about getting more protein. I registered for a shamrock run in old town this evening so hopefully that will be more fun than yoga. I will probably get my yoga in at the losers club tomorrow. 

Wherein banana bread was declared the root of all evil

So, I had my annual "wellness" visit last week. It did not go well. I weighed more than I have in years, and my triglycerides are twice what they were last year. I've always struggled with the triglycerides, because I have a sweet tooth and I eat like shit. And the older I get, the less the exercise bails me out. I do blame the yoga, however, for my current predicament. This grunting sweating class makes me absolutely ravenously hungry all the time. And I pretty much always feel like I can treat myself, because I just worked out. My weekly treat of pumpkin bread or a doughnut for breakfast has become a daily habit for the last couple months. And when you start the day that way, the rest goes to hell. So I was sharing this grievance with my doctor and she asked me what I eat after I work out. Head bowed, face burning with shame, I muttered "banana bread". She laughed in surprise and then proceeded to tell me that that is the absolute worst thing I could possibly eat after muscle building exercise, and that I need to have a high protein meal and if I do eat carbs they must be complex carbs. So. Sigh. I know I need to do better. I'm a lazy eater. Cooking for one sucks, and I never know when the boy will be home. So dinner has been fast food or nachos or pasta. So anyway, I'm committed to eating better. I actually packed my lunch for work Friday and today. And this was my dinner tonight. As for running - I'm on schedule. Did the mountain yesterday, yoga and two miles tonight.

Body Flow then three miles, it's been a good week and I'm killing it in March so far. 

Something I noticed, I was having a lot of this really weird foot pain. Like shooting pain in my foot that would sometimes cause me to have to stop running and walk until it would pass. I have no idea what it is, but I've noticed I don't get it anymore since I started with the yoga/body flow. So I'm wondering if it was an ankle strength thing or something.  Good stuff, though.