(Image from Google)
Working out last week was a total bust since basically the entire state of Oregon was (and still mostly is) on fire. It was literally raining ash and I was not going to work out in that. I haven’t had a gym membership for a few months so I could save money so I couldn’t go inside on a treadmill. Hopefully this week is going to be better and I can find my motivation again because it has been about 2.5 weeks since I got out there and ran.
How are your workouts going?
(Image from Google)
Goodbye August and Hello September!!
Wow August flew by.
School: My final ‘opens’ online today and closes on the 6th so lots of studying going on over here. This basically means I can take my final anytime in the next 2 days. It is online, 100 cumulative questions and I have 82 minutes to complete it. Whatever I have done will submit after 82 minutes. After that I am done for a few months! I will think of it as winter vacation hahahahaha.
Food and Fitness: In the next 2 weeks I am trying to get as much food bought, made, frozen and prepped as possible. When I get back from the cruise my budget will be even more restricted. I will by trying to save a bit to go toward my expensive CNA class come January, my BF and I are trying to find a place to move into together which will also cost money and of course I need to continue to work on paying my roommate back as she paid upfront for 95% of my Europe costs so I owe her about 2 grand still. Oh the joys of being poor. But overall in my life I can’t complain too much, my life could be so much worse, so I choose to not stress about my debt and instead slowly chip away at it.
As far as workouts go, if I get a workout in before I finish my final, great, but I am not banking on it so my goal this week is 3-4 workouts.
10 days and counting to europe!!!!!
(Image from Google)
Hello!!!!!
Things are good over here. Did good on workouts this past week. Was about 2 miles under the goal I set but that is ok, those goals are if I have the perfect week (which never really happens hahaha) but I think I am on point to hit my month mile goal. I am a little less than 5 miles from my goal and the last day of the month is Thursday……I got this. Hahahaha!
I am not losing weight as fast as I was when I was doing mostly juice….obviously but I am still toning up and the weight is slowly coming off with the running. I am letting myself splurge and indulge here and there but I am making sure that my running is matching it. I am loving watching my mileage climb. I am also loving the short quick runs where I push it to try and increase my speed. It is a chore sometimes to get myself out the door but I never regret it hahahaha.
What are your workout goals this week?
Did you set one for the month of August? Will you hit it?
Start thinking about goals for September!!!!
(Image from Google)
Happy Monday!!!! (well it is my Wednesday for my work week and like my Friday for school since all my school work for the week is due today hahahaha) My weeks are very discombobulated.
I actually did pretty good on running last week!!! I got in 5 runs, 4 short and 1 long. I am so proud of myself for getting out there and doing it!
I think I may have mentioned once or twice that I am by no means a fast runner (hahaha) here are my fastest miles this week.
8/15- 14:17
8/18- 14:29
8/19- 13:55
I am pretty happy about that 13:55. I want to keep getting my mile time down as well as start adding in a second mile after that fast one. I think this is a good way for me to slowly improve my speed.
I have come to the realization that I am just going to lose sleep on Friday and Saturday nights. I think I have talked about my work schedule being split into 2 different times, Saturday and Sunday I work days then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I work swing and Thursday and Friday I stay up a little late because the bf and I are usually out doing something or watching a movie so 5 out of 7 nights I get to sleep between 11-12:30 then 2 nights a week I am supposed to go to sleep at 9:30? It just isn’t happening. For a few weeks I would try to be in bed Friday night by 9:30-10pm then I would toss and turn and not be able to fall asleep and stress out about then I would toss and turn all night and sleep horribly. Now I turn out the lights around 11pm and fall right to sleep, it is less sleep than I would like but overall it is getting me more sleep and stressing me out less. I think I have finally found a good rhythm.
My long run this week was 5 miles, it’s also my longest run to day since my half marathon 2 weeks ago. I went ok, the bf and I were both pretty tired and sluggish feeling which could be due to several things. It could have been the 10 hours we slept, the sitting on the couch and binge watching the Netflix original series Strange Things or it could have been the McDonald’s and Taco Bell we ate, or it could have been all 3 put together.
Either way we stumbled through our run and made it. We went to a park a few exits away to run in the shade and got 4 of our 5 miles done. The park closed at “Dusk PM” …….what does that even mean? It is sunset, is it when you can’t see your shadow anymore, what? While we should have had time to finish that last mile I didn’t want to risk us having to sprint back to my car or have the gate lock us out and have to get my car the next day so we left at 7:40pmish. Drove home then I dropped the bf off at home, he needed to get rid of the taco bell, and I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Yes I literally ran to the store, then walk/ran back. Carrying a semi-heavy bag while running is a killer bicep workout.
After I got back we had ice cream, watched an old game of thrones episode (I am slowly catching up) then passed out.
Some other news, Thursday is now slow cooker day in my house
By the time dinner rolls around on Thursday i don’t want to cook. I’ve usualy been doing laundry and dishes and the bf and i either go for a run or out to a movie or whatever and i am too tired to cook so slow cooker day it is.
And i got a little extra so i could freeze the rest
All i have to do is take it out of the freezer, throw in the fridge overnight and dump it in the crockpot the next morning.
After our 2 weeks of volunteering we headed back toward San Jose to a little suburb of it called Heredia, here we met up with several other volunteer groups to form a large adventure group of, I would guess 50. Another overnight in a hostel then in the morning our group boarded a bus. Our first day was mostly traveling, we stopped at a souvenir type place then headed to the Pacific coast.
I was pretty good at keeping a journal throughout my trip.
First day of sightseeing and exploring.
Our 2nd day was a free day in Samara Beach, we explored the small town and went on a small hike and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I had what still remains to be the best pizza I have ever had (at least in my head, I could be way over playing it in my mind, maybe I was just starved for pizza hahaha) It was so fresh and delicious and I love pineapple on my pizza and in case you didn’t know, Costa Rica is like the pineapple capitol so it was AMAZING!!! We swam in the bathwater warm ocean and layed out on the beach.
The 3rd day we got up early and went sea kayaking out to a small island. I hadn’t been kayaking in a long time and never on the ocean so I was not sure how this was going to turn out……..apparently I get a little seasick. I was fine in the beginning then it started getting a little choppy and I started feeling it. I started yelling out military like commands to my partner so we rowed in unison and rowed fast to get me to the shore of the island, LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! When we got to the island we all hung out for a few hours, had fresh cut pineapple, of course, and just explored. There were A LOT of lizards on the island. After the return trip, where I pushed my partner just has hard, we all jumped in the back of this crazy truck, standing up, and were driven back to our hostel over crazy bumpy roads where we all wondered if we were going to fall out. Later that day we had a 2 hour surf lesson, yep born and raised in southern California and I surfed for the first time in Costa Rica hahaha. It was really fun, but man is it a workout! No wonder surfers are in such good shape.
Major dork moment.
Day 4 was another mostly travel day, we went from Samara beach to Rincon de la Vieja
Day 5 was a horseback ride, tubing and a mud spa. All great things, but at this point I had been going, going, going for almost 4 weeks, I needed a break. I had a headache and was exhausted so I gave my days adventure to someone who hadn’t purchased the extra adventure stuff and stayed home and read and took a nap all while enjoying the peace and quiet of a nearly empty tropical mini resort. I don’t for a day regret that decision.
Day 6 was travel and adventure, we went from Rincon de la Vieja to the Volcano Arenal area where we stayed for 2 nights in an eco hostel. After our arrival we took a 2 hour hike into the forest past steam vents and boiling mud puddles to a clearing with a beautiful pool of water and an awesome waterfall. We all (well everyone who wanted to) took turns jumping off the rocks into the pool below. At the end of the long hike we came to this volcanic hot springs that was incredible! Right next to the hot spring pool, which was already in the middle of the amazing beautiful rain forest and totally deserted except for our group, was a rushing river with rapids. It was perfect.
See the volcano smoking?
Day 7 today was an adrenaline day. We went to an adventure park. The day consisted of 10 zip lines, some hiking and repelling next to a waterfall. It was pretty amazing. There is nothing like zip lining over the treetops of the rainforest. We also learned about an indigenous tribe called the “Maleku” That was interesting but truthfully dull after all the adrenaline. At the end of the day we went to another hot springs this time a resort though, very commercialized but still cool. There were 10 different pools starting at the top with the hottest water and only being about 6 inches deep all the way down to the bottom which was just luke warm bath water and the size of a pool.
The first step is the most difficult
Then it is smooth sailing
Day 8 Travel day from the Volcano Arenal area to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica
Day 9 Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge. This place was pretty cool it was an eco reserve. Our hostel rooms had thatch roofing and tent-like siding with wood floors. But inside they had four-poster beds with mosquito netting draped over it and hot tub in the rooms! When you left each room there was a switch at the bottom that you could put your room key in and you turned off all the electricity to the room to save electric waste while you were gone. There were howler monkeys all around which was really cool. We went on a hike in the morning and had the afternoon to just relax. And I got to relax in the Caribbean ocean! We also took a boat ride to a little island village that we got to explore in the late afternoon.
Day 10 was a relaxing morning then we were given the option to go scuba diving if we wanted. For a mere $60 we could scuba dive in the ocean, I remember the cost very well because I had to call my mom on a phone card to send me more money because I was running low on funds and still had almost 2 weeks left. This seemed like such a great opportunity though, scuba diving in the ocean for $60! I was in! We watched an informational video then they loaded us in a car and drove to the beach were we strapped in and wadded into the water. We got to scuba dive for an hour or 2 and it was pretty cool, I would definitely do it again.
We stopped along the way for swimming and jumping off rocks. Yep, that is me mid-air.
Day 11 Gandoca Manzanillo wildlife refuge to the Rio Pacuare. White water rafting!!!! This was awesome!! We drove to the river in the morning and were on the river by the afternoon. This river was class 3 and 4 rapids so it was a workout hahahaha. After a few hours of rafting we arrived at another eco hostel in the jungle, though where the other hostel was eco-luxurious, this was eco-basic hahaha. It was just wood bunk beds in a room…..with bugs and spiders. Thankfully small spiders. The hostel provided us with dinner but the dining room was overrun with a fire ant migration, these things bit and stung, most of us opted to eat standing up in a corner, a few of us made quick dashes across the floor to the tables. I made the dash and survived with only being bitten/stung by 2 ants. The next morning we got up early and it was back to the river for another day of rafting. In the afternoon we boarded the bus tired and happy and headed back to Heredia where the adventure tour would end.
Day 12 Heredia. Everyone had arrived back from their various adventure tours and was set about to take care of last minute business before leaving for home or other adventures. It was a day of saying goodbye, getting packed, exploring Heredia for the last time, or in my and one other girls case getting a new needed vaccine to travel to Peru the next day. Getting a vaccine is a simple enough process until you don’t really know what vaccine you are getting hahaha. This girl, Laura and I, were herded off with our adventure tour guide to a Costa Rican version of Rite Aid/Health department and stood in a white room while a nurse who spoke no English gave us a shot. This is one of those moments where you just have to trust people. But I didn’t get Yellow fever and I still have an official card in Spanish saying I am vaccinated for another few years hahaha.
Thus was the end of our adventure tour, the next day I was off to Peru to start a whole new adventure. Stay tuned next month for that adventure and so much more!!!!
*It has been 7 years since I took this trip (wow time has flown) everything I have written happened but the order might be slightly out of sequence as I tried to remember it all.
Today was a smoothie day instead of juicing and I got in just over 3 miles on the treadmill.
I am still so excited for dinner though!!!! It is amazing how excited about food I am. Dinner is the same as the last two days but tomorrow starts 4 days of just trying to do healthy non-processed food and I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am already salivating over dinner tomorrow night and Thursday night. I am feeling good though, there is still some bloat but overall I am starting to feel much better. Can’t wait to see how this keeps going!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Hola, como estas? Bien, Bein.
How is everyone?
So my cleanse is of course unique to me, I do what works for me as should everyone. My plan is/was to juice until dinner then have a simple soup for dinner 3 days a week, the other 4 days I would eat regular meals but would try and make them as clean as possible while still being delicious so I don’t break the cleanse.
We are already off to a rip-roaring start hahahaha. I got 3 out of 5 juices made yesterday before I was tired and gave up. It is definitely time for a new juicer. After 2 moves I don’t know where the plunger is to show the food down into the juicing part so I am using a wooden spoon that gets caught sometimes and I have to do a single piece at a time as well as stuff is flying back out at me and hit me in the eye yesterday but I am doing it! and will make do this weekend until I can get another juicer.
Since I only got 3 of the 5 juices made I packed a very small simple salad to bring with me to work as well in case I am knowing my arm off before I get home to dinner and I have some no salt almonds. I did get my sweet potato and lentil stew made last night and poured it over a little brown rice to make it more rib stickin good and filling. My goal is to check in every day and tell you how it goes.
Here is my tentative menu: things will change and adapt though, and I already noticed my date is wrong, that last Monday with the date should be the 7th not the 31st hahaha!
So here we go!!!
My starting weight, before I even started my little pre-cleanse was: gulp…..170.2 lbs. and I am in between a size 10 and 12 (US women’s sizes). I am bloated and tired and my stomach hurts pretty often pre-cleanse. I need more energy and drive. And right now when I run I feel so tired and sluggish and weighed down.
7am- carrot, apple and ginger juice. I sipped on it for about an hour.
A little handful of almonds for a little crunch
A small salad for lunch along with juice
After work i went for a little run
And for dinner Alicia Silverstone’s sweet potato and lentil stew over brown rice
It was a little blander then normal because it was half water, i didnt have enough broth, but it still tasted freaking amazing!!!!!!
So foam rolling
And that is day 1 in the books. It was difficult but not as bad as i thought it would be. Every food in the world sounded good today. Hahahaha.
Anybody else jumping on board for this 28 day change of eating?
If so what are you changing about your diet?
25 days until my half marathon and the longest I have run is 5 miles……..Yesterday and today I did 3 miles and 3.4 miles, both felt pretty good. If I could get a 7 mile run in this Friday, a 9 miler next Friday and 11 miles the Friday after that I will be golden. That is going to be my goal.
It is going to be pushing it a bit for me but I can do it. As long as I don’t try and increase my pace I’ll be fine, but increasing pace and distance at the same time is a recipe for an injury. I also need to make sure I stretch and foam roll if I am going to push it.
My two runs this week have been good so fingers crossed.
I also think I am going to start some kind of juice cleanse/reboot thing. I have been eating like crap ever since I went to California and my body is revolting. I can’t seem to eat almost anything without my stomach/digestive system cramping, not eating leaves me feeling bloated and a little nauseous, though so does eating so its a lose/lose. I am lethargic and having headaches. It is time for a system overhaul.
I watched this on Netflix
image from google
The question is, how do I want to do it?
Should I have a smoothie for breakfast have a healthy solid food lunch and juice for dinner, should I juice all day, should I intermix juicing and smoothies, should I juice with little solid snacks of nuts and seeds and things like celery with peanut butter? What is going to work for me and have the results I would like without driving me crazy or being too extreme so I cannot complete it? I am going to do a little research and set up a plan. I will let you know if a few days what the verdict is.
Please feel free to weigh in with your opinions, comments, and advice in the comments.
Also, does anyone want to join me?
Week 3 of summer semester classes. The weather is heating up over here!!! Well it is heating up then cooling down then heating up then cooling down. Early morning is the best time to run but that is a problem for me on several levels right now. Saturday and Sunday morning I already get up at 5am to make it to work by 7am. I would need to be in bed asleep my 8pm to get up at 4am to run, that is really hard to do especially in the summer and especially when Friday is the only full day I get with my boyfriend currently so that is pretty much a no go. Mon-Wed I work 2:30-11pm. If I am lucky I can be in bed falling asleep by 12:15am, normally it is closer to 1am though. Which gives me a 8:30-9am wakeup, which isn’t too bad except currently my mattress is killing back (I am hoping to have a new one soon) and because of this I have to let my back stretch out in the am before I can run, meaning the earliest I can run is around 10am. I need to find something productive to do that still rests my back between when I wake up and 10-10:30am because right now I just watch TV and a body at rest tends to stay at rest.
That is my current conundrum.
(Image from google)
Workout goal-3 workouts
I made 2 workouts last week. I just had no energy and watched too much TV. Got to get my stuff together again.
What is your workout goal for the week?
What is your biggest workout challenge right now?
Trailing the blonde 