Operation Rest!

It seems as if I always over out do myself whenever I am on a mission, why is that? I have yet to find out. So this past Monday I completed a 6 mile run and felt okay. No blood sugar issues whatsoever. Well come Tuesday, I attemped a 2 mile run along with 40 min cross training on elliptical. After my workout (and drinking a full glass of chocolate milk with protien, followed by a bowl of oats with strawberries and yogert) I felt completly drained and beat. I continued to have blood sugar issues throughout the morning. Wednesday I took my usual day of rest and felt a little drained upon waking up this morning but decided on some light cross training. Still not up to par. My legs feel tired, stiff and very bloated (not sore though). After my light workout, I felt drained again and could tell that my sugar levels were not stable. I now what my body is telling me, REST! You are overtrained! Yes, I know this...do I want to listen...NO. I am forcing myself to listen, where as if I continue to work out upon this I know from past experience I am going to dig myself in a bigger much deeper hole. My blood sugar issues will continue to get worse and instead of taking a week off, I might have to take a month or two off. Will I be ready for this 10k come mid May, well I am not trying to think about. How upset I am over this whole ordeal I have to come to terms with how obbessive I have become with running again. It is so easy for it to just take control of my life. When it becomes my focus in everything I do and think about, it becomes to much for my body to handle. Yes, I am upset. I hate dealing with the anxiety of breaking my routine of working out in the mornings, the anxiety of eating just as much and not training and fear of the weight gain (when I know my body needs the nutrients). I love working out/running, but sometimes I think I want my body to do things that it is not capable of or just quite not ready to perform. So this next week will be one brutal challange, no working out. Ick, it will be a long week and I pray that in one week when I jump back into gear my body will feel well rested and ready to start back SLOWLY. Questions: Do any of you deal with becoming obbessive over exercise? Do you get anxiety if you miss a workout?

Why Can't All Weekends Be 3 Days??

Friday I had plans to go out of town with Craig but the plans changed, so I had a personal day all to myself :) Utter disappointment when I woke up to this....I thought it was SPRING!!

So I continued my day with shopping at Target and meeting up with my Mom for Coffee at Scooters. Craig came home later and surprised me with FRESH Trout. I love every kind of fish from salmon, trout, shrimp, tilapia, catfish...if it is sea food it will be in my stomach.

I enjoyed the trout with some green beans and flat bread. Sorry the pic is a little blurry from the steam. We broiled it in the oven and put Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper on it to season it. Yes, that is ketchup...it is my #1 condiment.

Now, I know my last post was all about me reconsidering my race. I think I have put my foot in my mouth too soon. My blood sugars continued to be stable throughout my workouts on Friday and Saturday. I have just worked so hard and I only have about 5 weeks left of training until I taper. I really think I can do this, but if my blood sugars continue to get worse, then I will simmer down to the 10k. A race is just a race, if I am running I will be happy :)

Saturday was one busy day. I woke up and started my morning with yummy oatmeal and some greek yogurt to top it off before my long run of the week. I mapped out on my calender my runs I would like to complete (long run wise) before the half. I figured after this weekend I still have 5 weeks to go so I ran an 8.5 miler on the treadmill. It was a rockin run, I blame it on the trout..those omega 3's do wonders for my legs. I came home, showered at a delicious lunch of cheese and jelly bread with a HUGE plate of chicken and veggies. Craig and I hit the road to drop off Cooper's at my parents for the night. Once we dropped Cooper off we hit up Cabella's for Craig's desire and then evened it out with a trip to Express to find a cute tee to wear to the Kenny Chesney concert. We stopped and crammed Subway into our bellies, checked into our hotel and were on are way to Kenny by 6:30pm.

The concert of course was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! The openers for the show were Uncle Cracker and Billy Currington. I have had an obsession for Billy since forever, I think most of it is because he resembles Craig with the curly scruffy hair. Craig was such an awesome boyfriend, he sat by me through the entire concert and had a blast and he watched me basically worp into my teeny bopper self for a few hours. Afterwords, we hit up downtown Omaha and went to a nearby sport's bar for a few drinks. Now here is some juicy gossip, Craig and I were talking and out of nowhere came the question "Do you want to go look at rings sometime soon?" Do I want to, um HELLO YES! Craig and I often talk about marriage frequently, but it is nice to know now that the ring will be coming soon :) We have only been together for almost two years, but it seems as if the older you are the more people bug you about not being married yet....we are on our own time and I am happy the way things are moving.

Eventually here I am going to get off my lazy being and go do some light cross training at the gym and the rest of the evening will be spent blogging and catching up on the Teen Mom marathon on tv. I can say this 3 day weekend was just a tease for me, keeps me pumping through the weeks till summer when I can have...wait I won't have weekends because my whole week is the weekend! So I hope you are enjoying your either productive or lazy Sunday and I will leave you with this (blurry sorry) but sexy pic of Kenny.

Questions: Do you like rushed weekends being productive and knocking things off your to do list, or do you prefer to be lazy and do your productive errands on during the week?

I enjoy knocking things out on the weekends, so during the week I can come home and enjoy myself after a long day of work and working out.

What is your favorite kind of seafood?

Every kind for me!!

Rethinking my Race

So as all of you know, I have my half planned on the 15th of May. One of the main reasons why I signed up for a half is because I love to run and I love a challange. But...for some reason this training has taken the fun out of the run for me. I have dealt in the past with issues of becoming obbessed with exercise. It is still something today that I struggle with. For the past month or so I have been so determined to hit my miles that I have skipping out on weekend events, and in return dreading the long run that holds before me.

I love running, but for me I love the 7-8 miler as oppossed to the 10-11 miler. So I ask myself again, why am I doing this half if I hate running longer distances, to prove something? Well that could be the case, but who do I have this to prove to besides myself. My friends and family are going to love me no matter if I run a Half Marathon or a 10k. They know my desire to run is high, and that I am dedicated to running. So yes, you can see where this is going....I think I am going to be changing my race to a 10k.

Another factor that has played into this decision is that I have dealt with low blood sugar for many years. My blood sugar levels have been very well for the past year up until most recently. I have started to notice a drop in the mornings after and during my workouts. I become shakey and very fatigued. I know there are ways around this, finding different foods that might work, or I might just not be eating enough to fuel my training, or my body is telling me "This is too much!" Having these blood sugar attacks scares the heck out of me and causes me to become very anxious during my workouts. I have dealt with this several times when training for a long distance event, and to be honest each time it has caused me to quit training. This is something I would just not rather deal with.

So yes, my decision is to stick to 10ks. Improve my 10ks and enjoy my weekend 7-8 miler runs. My runs will probably stay the same each week, just decrease my long run on the weekend. Maby one day, I will decide to attempt the half again. I think I just need some time to adapt to increasing my miles itself and move on from there. I love racing and the challange, so this is not considered the end but the beginning.
If anything I feel a little like I did not accomplish what I had set out to do, but than again I have learned in my past to put my health and myself first and then let running come into play.

Made it Outdoors

So yesterday was my first outdoor run since October, I know PATHETIC...but what can I say, when it comes to cold weather I am a big baby. It was a nice 50 degrees outside Saturday Morning. I decided to scale down and not do an 11 miler this weekend, the 10 miler really took a toll on my body last week. I figured I still have about 6 weeks until my half, so I have a some time to get in a 11 miler and a 12 miler. Of course I still have yet to figure out my dang running watch. I purchased a Tech 4 0 Running watch from Amazon. The watch came with no directions and go figure the ones online totally confuse me. So I mapped out one run from my apartment complex to the Blair golf course which is 5.20 miles and then I ran for about another half hour just around the neighborhoods. I have no idea how many miles I ran, I am guessing somewhere around 8 because I ran for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Like I said, I from the city and have moved to a small town. Running on country roads are AMAZING. The view is pretty and it is so peacefull. I could have ran for another half hour or so. Needless to say, my shins feel it today. I knew they would. I am hoping the more I run outside, my shins will get used to running on cement. I did notice that my pace seemed a little slower outside, I don't have the treadmill to tell me how fast or slow I am going. I know I run harder on the treadmill because I set it at a pace and keep it there. Running at the pace I was running reassures me that I can do this half marathon, it was a good slow and steady-could talk to myself pace.

Yummy Rice Cakes that I devored after my run

topped with yogurt, jelly and peanut butter. I also devored a

chocolate protien shake!

These little buddies helped me through my run. They are all natural and 100 calories per pack with 24 grams of carbs. I found them at Walmart for 50 cents. They also had cute little gel packs of applesauce I almost grabbed.

Enter the new running socks. I have been doing some reading on Compression Socks and can't quite afford the full sixty dollars for CEP socks, so I opted for Under Armour ones I found for 15 bucks. They were in an issue of Runner's World and were recommened as a type of Compression sock so I thought why not, plus I am a fool for name brand.
A little crazy I was after my run....still coming down from my endorphin high, ha!

The week ahead of me sounds pretty good. Now that the weather is nicer, getting up early and going to school is more pleasurable. The kids love recess, as do I. Friday I am taking a personal day and plan to get a good 10.5 or 11 miler in. Saturday Craig and I are going to see KENNY CHESNEY! I am so pumped. I have now seen him three times, but it never gets old. Craig surprised me with tickets for a Valentine's Gift. I love concerts, and the drinks that come with them :)

Who is your favorite person to see in concert?

Do you do all your runs inside or stick to outside only?

Excited for What Is To Come

Days like these I can get discouraged, my run was HORRIBLE. Yesterday I stuck to some light cross training work and today I hoped on the treadmill for my usual 5 1/2 miler. The first three miles, great. Then, my legs soon started to feel so heavy and I felt as if I had weights on them holding them down. I finished off the run at 5 miles and jumped on the bike for a five minute cycle. I really think my 10 miler through my body out of whack this weekend, and I need more rest from running than just a day of cross training. After my workout I felt tired, hungry, crabby and sore. This just means:
1. Increase my calorie intake
2. Take a rest day
3. Take a second look at how much running I am doing
So that is exactly what I am going to do. I ate about three extra peices of fruit today added into my breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am taking a rest day tomorrow other than walking Cooper after work. Also, not pushing myself to complete two six milers, a three miler and a 10 miler in one week. Don't think my body is quite ready for it yet.
Depending on how I feel on Thursday, I would like to try an outside run for five miles. I am pretty nervous about this because I am seem to always get shin splints when first starting to run outside, and two because I run at 4:30 in the morning, still dark and scary out. Errrrr....we may just have to wait until Saturday when I can run when the sun is out.
In other news SPRING is finally here. 50 degrees today, 60 tomorrow...woot woot I have got spring fever.
This is why I love spring:
-Baseball games
-Running outside in shorts/t-shirts
-My Birthday (April 27th)
-Spring Break (he he he)
-2 1/2 months until summer (he he he)
-Spring cleaning (yes I do enjoy cleaning when it is nice out)
-Being able to take Cooper out and not have to dress for the artic
-Starting to see the green of the world again

What do you like best about Spring?

Just a Quick Brag

So....I hit my 10 miler this morning. Yes, it was on the treadmill, once the weather gets up to the 50's I am going to force myself to go out and run. I just heart my dear treadmill runs. I was quite surprised, walking into the gym and starting my run...I just did not have it in me. Just thinking of the hour and a half or longer I had ahead of me was dragging my legs. Somewhere around 4 miles my mood upped and the easier my legs began to move. I told myself I could always stop at 9, once I hit 9 I said 9.5 then once I was there, hey why not finish off the 10 miler I am so dying to just say I accomplished.
Sometimes runs at the start make me think "what type of crazy person am I to put myself through this, nobody is telling me I have to do this." After the run, I remember why I run. How much clearer my mind feels, how great I feel that I accomplished something I set out to do. Running is my sanity, and as hard as it may be sometimes I don't think I could ever let it go.
Chels!

A Lazy Day Well Needed

What a lazy Saturday this has been, but a well needed one indeed. For some reason this week my sleep has been horrible. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night I awoke around 3 in the morning and was not able to fall back asleep. Thank goodness Friday was a staff development day and no kids. My training this week:

Monday-6 mile run TM

Tuesday-x train 60 minutes elliptical/bike

Wednesday-6 mile TM run
Thursday-X train 50 minutes elliptical/bike

Friday-3 mile run/20 minute cycle

Saturday-REST!!

Sunday (tomorrow)-want to plan on either repeating my 9 miler or jumping up to 9.5-10 depending on how I feel.

I read some up on some reasons why you may have trouble falling asleep at night. My problem has not been falling asleep, it has been waking up and not being able to get back to sleep. I read that sometimes it could be because of stress, anxiety or overtraining. I have to admit, I did bump up my weekly milage more this week, but besides being tired from no sleep, my body did not feel sore or overtrained. I think the no sleep has more to due with anxiety, waking up and then getting worked up because I can't fall back asleep.

Last night, Craig had a wedding reception so we packed up and left right after work. It was a good but LONG night, receptions always are. The reception had a live band and open bar. They had the cutest set up of mini cupcakes. We spent most of the night socializing with Craig's college friends and enjoying probably too many drinks...ahhh but that is life :)

Today we were suppossed to head to Columbus to attend another party for a friend, thankfully Craig and I worked ourselves out of it because are both too exhausted from last night.

Today here have been some of my naughty habits:

Eating too much of my sugar free jello

Watching session 3 of weeds (I am on the marathon) and watching Kardashians for part of the day.

I did manage to do some laundry, pick up some yummy asparagus at the store and take my good old Cooper out for a LONG walk. I will admit, it was hard to stay away from the Treadmill today, but I know rest is important for my body to recover. Wish me luck on my long run tomorrow!

Question: Do you ever have sleeping issues, if so what cures to you have?

What are some of your lazy day activities?

All About Chels

The ABC's of Chelsea



A-Always on time or at least 15 minutes early for everything, TYPE A, Attemping a Half Marathon now

B-Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day (I eat three times in the morning-before I work out, afterwords, and right when I get to school) Born in Iowa, Blair is where I live now

C-Craig is my wonderful loving boyfriend, country music lover

D-dishes have to be done before I leave the house at all time

E-enjoys wasting away my evening with blogging and reading

F-first running race was a 5 mile run for Charity

G-Great at giving advice, not well at taking it

H-Hope to one day complete a marathon

I-Ice Cream favorite is Cold Stone Cookie Dough

J-Junk food favorites consist of ice cream blizzards, pizza and wine

K-Karaoke, love it but horrible at it

L-Loves four wheeling on the river

M-Morning person as opposed to night

N-Never wears heels to work, too lazy from the gym , Nike Tempo short lover (I want all the colors) Neon color lover

O-Out of bed every morning of the week to start my workouts by 4:30am, Oatmeal obsessed

P-Pet named Cooper, Golden and very cute :) , Peanut butter a must

Q-Question my hair sometimes when it is left curly, looks like a afro

R-Remembers memories by taking pictures

S-Students are my number one priority, hence I am an Elementary Teacher, Sea food lover, shop aholic, sushi obsessed, shoe fetish

T-Top Gun is my favorite movie

U-Uses a computer to keep a dairy, goes back several years

V-Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday

W-Wine Nights=Saturday nights :)

X-X Ray I have never had, knock on wood

Y-Yellowfin Tuna I can eat always

Z-Zero degrees to 100 degrees, Nebraska weather

Just thought you would like to know a little bit about me!!

Well March is here, but the March weather sure is not. They are talking 1-4 inches of snow tonight, really??? I started the week off with a stellar 6 mile run on the treadmill yesterday morning. The run was hard to start, legs stiff, but somewhere near mile four my legs kicked in. That is one thing I have noticed about my running, I am always slow and stiff to start but around 3 or 4 miles, my legs FINALLY start to warm up.

Some things irked me this past weekend....

1. Craig and I went out to a fancy dinner in downtown Omaha. Well I had ordered a main salad along with Ahi Tuna added on it. Craig ordered Prime Rib. About an hour later, the manager comes up to tell us that they are out of the Prime Rib and they could substitute it for the steak. Craig agrees. Another 1/2 hour goes by and finally are meal comes. I kid you not, I had tuna with like three pieces of lettuce. Usually we are not the couple to complain, but we paid 12 bucks for a salad plus the cost of tuna. If I would have never ordered the tuna, I would have just had the three pieces of lettuce. It was pretty ridiculous, it taught us why we prefer Applebee's and Panara to restaurants like this!

2. The second thing that irked me this weekend was Craig mentioned we have a wedding across town on Friday night and a birthday celebration on Saturday night, which means two nights of staying at other places, and two nights probably not making it to bed till after 1. Immediately I thought "What about my scheduled 10 miler for Saturday?' I started to complain and ask Craig if I could get out of the wedding reception so I could do my run. Not the right thing to do! We started to talk about how running should not control my life. There will be next weekend, an he reminded me that I am a head of schedule on my plan anyways. I was very mad at myself. A time ago I always put running in place of my friends, family and other social events. I told myself I would never start that again. Running is a part of me, NOT ME. So I have coaxed myself to death saying that it is not a big deal and I can run my 10 miler next weekend, I find it hard to think that skimping on one long run when I still have about 8 weeks to train is going to set me back.



Questions:

Have you ever had a bad eating experience?



Do you ever let running control your life, if so how do you learn to balance (because I need advice, I am still learning!)

What a Run Can Do

So like I have been saying, mentally this week has been a tough one. With Cooper, moving more junk in and out of apartments, and being a crazy week at school I was mentally burned out when I came home last night.
Yesterday I opted to take my rest day because I had the day off today and wanted to hit my 9 miler. The morning started out a little rough, Craig let the dog out because he was barking so I woke up to about 100 of my pictures thrown on the floor, several chewed to threads and dog do do all over the carpet. Craig walks out and is like "What is all the noise?" Then he sees the mess, whoops. Yeah whoops is right!
Luckily once I hit that treadmill all my worries flew out the door. Starting off I had a great run, I kept my pace at 10:10-10:20 the entire run and finished the 9 miles I had planned. Its amazing how an hour and half of running can just clear your mind of everything and it is a brand new day.
After my run I headed over to get my hair highlighted and now I am about ready to go and eat sushi at Blue with a couple of my friends.
Reading The Hungry Girl's Blog she admitted to a couple of confessions and I thought I would give some a try:
Confession #1: I buy way more than I need. I think sometimes I feel like there might be a depression or something and I have to stock up. Even if I already have 10 cans of tuna at home, I will still feel the need to buy more the next time I am at the store. I am working on this with the help of Craig.

Confession #2: I can wear the same pair of socks for a week straight. I am working on trying to wash them right after I wear them, but if know one can see them....who cares?

Confession #3: Sometimes I waste my time driving just to listen to music and zone out. I can drive for an extra half hour just thinking about things. I try to be more careful about this right now because of the high gas prices.

Confession #4: I re-check out old Runner's World issues monthly that I don't own from the local library. I think they know me by name now.

On another note, I was pretty happy last night when Craig came home and I was searching on my phone maps to run around the area. (Yes we still don't have the internet set up and the running watch I ordered from Amazon is too complicated to figure out at the moment...it came wtih no instructions) Anyways, Craig actually sat down and helped me. Don't get me wrong, Craig is the BEST boyfriend, supports me, takes care of me, and adores me in every possible way. But, when it comes to running he is not so sold on the idea. He ran cross country in highschool and really banged up his knees. He does not see the desire of wanting to run for hours in a day. I don't blame him, I find no desire in standing in a tree stand waiting to hunt deer either...lol. To each it's own. He is also not sold on it because he knows the trouble I had before with running and how it I came down with Mono. He is just weary and does not want it to become an unhealthy obbsession with me.
The fact of the matter is, I was so happy that he sat down with me and tried for about an hour searching for routes for me to run. It just shows that even though he does not agree with the running, he is still going to accept it :) Awww :)

Question: Do you and your signifigant other have opposite hobbies? If so, do you find time to spend on each hobby or stick to doing your own?

Getting Me Through the Day

Yes folks that is right, sadly it has been one of those days where I am sleep deprived and the only thing that seems to be getting me through this day is my beloved Diet Coke. Last night Craig and I continued to move stuff from his apartment to mine. The temparture dropped pretty low last night and the wind was horrible. Because of this, all night I heard gushes of wind on the side of my apartment. I would be asleep for a half hour and than up again. This continued ALL-NIGHT-LONG. I woke up around 4am on my own due to lack of sleep and took Cooper out. Probably my fault, but the wind was so strong I did not take much time in letting him go to the bathroom.

Headed to the gym and still managed to pull out a 3 mile run, 2 miles on the elliptical and a cool down for a mile on the bike. When I returned home I entered to an apartment smelling of POOH! Cooper had decided not to wait for me to return to the gym and emptied himself in my room. So a couple of minutes later, and three paper towels shoved down the toliet I turn around and there he is peeing on my kitchen floor. Give me a break Coop! Then only, this is the best, to discover he had gotten a-hold of one of my bras and chewed it to shreads :(

So with about three hours of sleep, two potty accidents, a torn up bra I headed to work. Sometimes when your mornings start out this way, the only way the day can go is up. Sleep deprived and all I made it through this afternoon. I had an observation while teaching math that went fairly well. If I have learned anything when it comes to teaching kids, using food as manipulatives keeps their minds busy. We had fun making fractions with M&Ms.

Tonight will consist of moving more boxes from Craig's place to mine and then I am placing my bum on the sofa for some relaxation.

3 Things I Wish for this Wednesday

1. I had a lifetime supply of Diet Coke

2. That my legs recovered better after runs, it is so hard for me to run several days in a row without my legs feeling so fatigued.

3. That I had enough money to pay someone to move and clean for me

Share with me some of your horrific "bad day," experiences

Chels

Tuesday Already?

Do the days just ever fly by and you wonder where they go? For me that is exactly what has been happening!

This past weekend most of the time was spent by moving into our new apartment and cleaning out the old one....man this is such a process. I did find some time to throw in some wine on Friday night, my bestie came into town to visit :)

Jane and I Friday night

Jane and I have been friends since high school. The nice thing about her is that we can go months without seeing each other and just pick up where we left off. We had a wonderful night out catching up over some wine.

Saturday was spent recovering a little in the morning from wine (luckily an off day from my running) and my parents came over to help me move. My Mom spent more time with Cooper than she did helping me.

My Mom and Cooper on the couch having fun

Sunday I got up and started my day out with an 8 1/2 mile long run. Cooper woke me up at 6am barking his head off so I figured I would get my run in before church. On Friday I was not feeling quite up to par, my throat hurt a little and I thought I might be overdoing things a little. I thought I would take it easy and if my body could do the run than I would let it. I did not increase it to 9, which I know I could have finished but I was running low on time and I really wanted to shower before lunch. The run went awesome! No pain in my hip and my energy seemed to restored-might have been from all the extra wine and popcorn I had Friday night he he he.

After church Craig and I headed out for some basic needs for our apartment. Given that I on my own can fill up my fridge and freezer, we went seeking for a portable freezer.

My small stuffed Freezer and overloaded cabinets

We ended up going to Nebraska Furniture Mart and found are portable freezer! I am happy I don't have to sacrificee all my veggies or chicken.

Our new portable mini freezer :)

After finding our freezer we both have been meaning to check out what everyone is so worked up over, Costco. I feel in love instantly. I mean who wouldn't when you can buy huge bags of peppers, boxes of oats, bags of salad. This was my dream come true. I am always complaining because it seems like every other day I am running to the store to pick up lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc. The value packs are just what I need. Sign me up, and that is what we did!

My love, mini peppers...YUM!!

So yes, much accomplished this weekend. Now, like I said I have never lived with anyone before so all my selfish vices are kind of having to go. For example, taking up all the cupboard space with all of my protein powder and canned veggies, and taking up two full closets for all of my clothes. I feel a little sorry for Craig, but come on what do you expect moving in with a girl.

Friday we have off for school...yeah!! My friend just found out she is prego so we are headed for dinner to celebrate. I have a long run of 9 miles scheduled for Friday. I am positive that I can accomplish this. Is it sad when I have a day off from work that I get excited to have a long run?? Todays workout consisted of a good strong 5 miler and a 5 minute cool down on the bike. My goal was to hit two 5.5 milers this week, but completing my long run on Sunday kind of messed with my schedule this week. I needed yesterday as a recovery day x training instead of a running day. That is the thing, with my weekly milage I have kind of just been tweaking my runs to whatever day works. As of now I am still hitting about 20 miles a week (30-35 if you count the elliptical work and bike work) and I have hit all my long runs.

Questions to Ponder...

When living with your significant other, who takes up more space?

What do you do on your days off?

If you go to Costco, what is your favorite item to buy?