Take that, winter!

My running buddy and I are back in full force, and have kicked the horrible weather in the face the past couple of days by going for a run anyway. Freezing cold rain? No problem! (I say no problem, but what I really mean is lots of complaining and wishing for sunlight. No one is perfect)

I'm glad my running buddy and I are running buddies again, as I find it much more enjoyable to run with a pal. It gives me someone to chat with, and we tend to go a lot farther and faster when running together. We ran together last spring when I first moved back to town, but things got in the way, we both got busy with work, she started dating a new boy, and we faded away from our running routine.

I'm hoping we stick with it this time. I've been a running machine lately.

But can a girl get a little sunshine? Seriously!

Ouch.

So, I'm playing football yesterday, and

...

Done laughing yet? Okay. So I'm playing "football" which is really just a matter of playing catch WITH a football with two of my favorite ladies (because we are very hardcore and awesome and feminine). It turns out that I fail at games where balls fly at me, because I panic and move out of the way. I was just getting good at catching the ball, and throwing it far enough that it reached the person I was throwing it to, when I went to catch and something horrific happened.

Currently my finger is so swollen that I cannot bend it (which makes typing interesting) and is turning purple. I have been told that it is jammed, and to "quit being a vagina" but holy heck it hurts! Shawna tried to pop it by pulling on it, which made it a little better.

Moral of this story: Football + Leslie = pain. However, it is also terribly entertaining.

Dear blog, I miss you. This seems like deja vu, I believe.

I am boring. Often I can't think of what to write about on this blog, but still I want to write something, because I miss it so and I always look forward to reading Leslie's hilarious stories. She's a fun roommate.

So, here I am with nothing particularly important to say except hello. Yes, it did snow this morning, but Leslie and I managed to go for a lovely bike ride this evening despite the earache inducing cold. Bike riding is a good bonding and shared experience for us, maybe more so than Leslie would like it to be. I have no internal monitor for the things that pop out of my mouth sometimes, but she's pretty understanding of that. Anyways, she shouldn't be shocked by anything I say anymore.

My 26th birthday is this upcoming Wednesday, and my sweet 26 birthday party extravaganza is next Saturday! I'm so excited and can't wait to see all of my friends dressed up in their prom-worthy attire. I don't think anyone is going to be able to handle how awesome we are. It's going to blow some minds for sure.

Good morning, winter. Did you know it is March?

I woke up today to SNOW. What the heck is with that? It's supposed to snow all day, but hopefully melt this afternoon.

Part of why I love spring so much is because the weather improves, and the sunshine does wonders for my disposition. I really have a difficult time getting outside to run during winter, and staying active.

I had grand plans to run tonight and go for a bike ride with Shawna, followed by gardening, a run, and a bike ride tomorrow with another friend. This will undoubtedly still happen, as I have decided to say "Suck it!" to the storm clouds and white powder covering the ground.

In one month I leave for Hawaii. Today it is 80 degrees there. Suck it, snow!

P.S. I bought a new swim suit online last night, because Shawna was on a date and I have a horrible problem with online shopping when left to my own devices. What can I say, I was waiting up to hear how it went, and the internet was right there! But really, who buys a swimsuit online? I really hope it doesn't look horrible, but that is probably the worst item to ever buy online. It's really a matter of trying things on to make sure that things are not squished where they shouldn't be, and nothing is popping out where it shouldn't be. Silliness, plain and simple.

Yes, I am a freak.

Yesterday I ran almost two hours without meaning to. How does this happen, you ask? Well, my running buddy is out of town, so I set off on my own. I decided to do about 30 minutes, as we had been running pretty hard and pretty long distances the past few days. It was super nice out, and I got distracted while running alongside the river.

I was on a new part of the trail yesterday, and kept saying, "Oh, just one more song and I'll turn around. I'll just sprint up this next hill and I'll turn around. Oh look, now it's downhill, so I'll go down the hill and turn around."

...

Next thing I knew it was getting dark, so I ran pretty darn fast back to my house. I have no idea how far I went, but I know I was gone almost two hours, completely on accident. I was having a good time, and it was nice and relaxing, so I just kept going!

Who am I? I blame this on my broken ipod, and lack of watch. When I got home I called Jason and said, "I just ran like two hours without meaning to."

His response? "You're a freak."

It's true, ladies and gentleman. I should just break down and buy a new ipod, probably, but then I would have to pay attention to silly things like time and distance again.

Aloha?

So, I forgot to mention, but in 35 days I'm going to Hawaii for a week. The boyfriend's best friend and I plotted together and bought plane tickets for the three of us to go on vacation for the boyfriend's 30th birthday. It happens to be on April 30, so he turns 30 on the 30th--cool, huh? Anyway, we'll be gone April 26 through May 1.

I also forgot to mention that I've gained 15 pounds since the marathon. Whoops! I really took my winter padding seriously this year. It's not the worst thing that's ever happened to someone, but I do have one minor problem.... My bathing suit does not fit. And I am going to go play in a warm, tropical ocean.

Damn.

As such, I have 35 days to try to step up my game and make the damn thing fit. I'm feeling more like myself lately, and more hardcore, and running far more often than I did all winter... So that's a good sign. I still feel just as attractive and awesome while 15 pounds heavier, but I'd really like to conserve money and not buy a new bathing suit. I'm very thrifty.

It's also about five months until Hood to Coast. Woo!

Today I went for an extremely rain-soaked hike with my sister. I'm so rugged.

Resolution fail.

The results of my February resolutions are as follows:

1. To exercise at least 30 minutes/day. Oops--fail. I blame part of this on catching the plague, and part of it on sheer laziness. Seriously, I have a really hard time staying motivated in the winter, and for some reason this winter was particularly bad. The good news is that I plan to turn this around for March, and so far I have. I realize it is only March 2, but come on!

2. Drink 64 ounces of water per day. Mostly, this went okay.

3. Cut back on spending in order to save for impending vacations. This one went pretty well, I think.

4. Eat at least 5 servings of fruit/veggies per day. I did pretty well here, but I think I can do better. I struggle mostly on weekends with remember to eat well, drink water, and not sit on the couch so much.

5. Run a 15k and participate in Polar Plunge--check, and check. Not an official 15k, but I did run over a 15k once so I count that. Polar Plunge was a success!

I also wanted to do 30 day of the 30 Day Shred, but that didn't work out--also due to the plague. I have high hopes for March though!!!

I have no idea why I have such a difficult time with sticking with healthy habits in winter. During spring and summer, I think I do awesome at this. I read pre-marathon that a lot of times people will gain weight and struggle after their first marathon and I thought, "Pshaw, that won't happen to me." Well, guess what, it has. I am currently not friends with the scale, and for some reason have lately been sort of "blah." The sunshine is coming back, which is helping, and I think I'll get my mojo back...but sometimes I just have a hard time and I can't really explain why. It's difficult having lost a lot of weight and then gaining it back--I worry that I'll see family I haven't seen in awhile and they'll judge me, or that someone will tell me I'm getting fat again, or that people won't love me as much. Which is stupid, and I would yell at me if I were my friend. It's apparently always going to be a battle to keep weight off, and be healthy, but it is a battle I plan to win.

I haven't been able to figure out what is keeping me from putting on my running shoes lately, and not eating as healthy, and just generally struggling. I know that I should, because it improves my mood and overall mental well-being, but I just let myself get too overwhelmed with stress and sadness for no apparent reason.

I did receive some exciting news today that I think will help: an old friend has a Hood to Coast Relay team, and had a runner drop out, so they asked me to join! It is at the end of August and I need to improve my running time to a 9:30 mile or better--I think I can do this. I also think it will give me something to work towards. Once I conquered the marathon, I wasn't as interested in doing distance races... I had already done them and know that I can. Speed is always a challenge for me, so I'm planning to get back into the swing of things and add some tempo/interval runs. I'm really excited!

So, this August, I'll be joining Team Speedy Turtles and running a few legs from the top of Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean. Jealous?



It's a multi-day event, and called "the mother of all relays." I never back down from a challenge...

So suck it February--here are my March resolutions:

1. Run regularly, and as much as I want to. Work on improving speed.

2. Eat mostly healthy, but don't beat myself up if I don't.

3. Enjoy the sunshine.

4. Avoid getting stressed out by work and other life factors.

5. Be happy.