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challenges

Just a short one today!

Nov 10th, 2009
by gazelle.
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I was going to do Brew Review A (I decided to use letters for non-Portland breweries, so as not to mess with my numbering system), but apparently those are the only photos & didn’t upload in my photo uploading extravaganza on Sunday.

SO – instead I am going to urge everyone to head on over to Run to the Finish’s blog & sign up for the 2nd annual Booty Buster Challenge – it’s a great way to stay motivated to move (and eat right!) during the stressful & food-logged holiday season. Also, prizes!

WOO!

You can track my points either in the sidebar OR if you want to see the detailed view, click here.

I Caved to the Peer Pressure

Apr 9th, 2009
by gazelle.
10 comments

And also to my lack of available breakfast foods. I usually have one of three things for breakfast:

1) oatmeal (instant at work, regular at home)

2) frozen waffles (homemade, of course, and then frozen for later toasting)

3) yogurt with cereal (I’m partial to either granola or honey nut cheerios)

Right now, in my house, we are out of instant oatmeal, frozen waffles AND yogurt. Times were so desperate that on Wednesday morning I actually ate my honey nut cheerios with MILK! (vanilla soy milk, but still….)

So, yesterday I thought that maybe I would hop on the smoothie bandwagon and try a breakfast green smoothie. The only problem? I’m also out of bananas AND spinach (although I have spinach in the garden, it’s preemie spinach (not even baby spinach, in fact it might be fetal spinach, it’s barely above ground), so I had to have a mixed green salad with frozen strawberries & pineapple spinach. I also added vanilla soy milk for some more liquid, even though JM says she doesn’t do that, my smoothie wouldn’t SMOOTH without some liquid, and water is boring.

I made it last night & stored it overnight in the fridge (because I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t make it in the morning, and then I’d probably end up with a scone or something from the coffee shop, and I’m currently banning myself from coffee shops). The color was definitely GREEN. But either I need a better blender, or I need to strain my smoothie, because I got some un-smoothed greens while drinking it.

I liked the taste, but I was hungry again by 10 (I drank my smoothie between 8:30 – 9:00). I definitely need to do some experimenting to optimize my smoothie texture & satiety-quotient. But, I have to admit, I think I’m a convert.  I feel so VIRTUOUS. And I really do want to eat more fruits & veggies. I’m still going to be a weekend oatmeal girl, I think. But I’m going to try to incorporate WAAY more of the green smoothies. Probably never with bananas though. I need to EAT the bananas.

So – what are your favorite smoothie ingredients? What kind of a blender do you use to make the smoothie? (My Magic Bullet is so on its last legs….sad.)

***

In other news, I did not run last night. I got slammed with a bunch of work late in the afternoon & missed my running date. I thought about running on my own, but my shins were a bit tender, so I thought it better to take a day. I’m pretty sore today, and I do wish I’d at least done a couple of easy miles last night, but I guess it’s too late now! I can’t run today because I’m running Friday and Saturday, and three days in a row is just not the smart choice for me.

In other fitness news, My push-ups are going very well. I did 57 last night (10, 12, 9, 9, 17) and am almost finished with my 2nd week of week 2. Last night’s were super hard, and I think that’s in part because I’ve been hanging from my pull-up bar every night (last night, I swear I almost moved a fraction of an inch in an upwardly pulling direction).

I am ready for my first 3-day weekend in a LONG time. Tomorrow, in addition to more push-ups, and the constant crunches, I am planning a trail run AND a swim. If I’m going to do a triathlon August 1, common sense would dictate that I maybe swim a couple of times before that. Common sense would also politely suggest that I get my bike off the bike hook from which it’s been hanging since the great injury-fest of July 2008 & see if it still works, and then maybe – just maybe – going for a little spin. Common sense seems to believe that running a lot will not get me through the entire triathlon. Common sense is lame.

Happy weekend!

My new toy

Apr 7th, 2009
by gazelle.
16 comments

Last Friday, Amazon delivered a new toy:

What with one thing and another (friends for dinner, hangover, race), I didn’t put it together until last night. Although I was able to put all the pieces together all by myself (with only 2 occasions where I had to take it apart & put it together – there were NO instructions), I did need the architect’s help to mount it (hee) to the door frame.

Finally, it was installed. And although the package recommends removing it from the door frame between uses, we probably won’t often – we’re both short enough that we won’t hit our heads, and I’m too short to put it back, meaning I’d be completely dependent on the architect if I ever just wanted to hang from a bar for a while.

Because that’s all I was able to do. I can do 50-60 push-ups (in 5 sets, I’m not a goddess….YET), but I can’t even pull my body weight up a tiny little bit. I hung for awhile. I pulled my legs up & pretended that was somehow affecting the torso lift. It wasn’t.

I am determined that by the end of this year, I will be able to do at least 1 pull-up. And trust me when I say that when that happens, I will share that information with you all. Probably a lot. There may even be pictures.

I didn’t feel QUITE so bad when the architect wasn’t able to do very many (although he’s probably home practicing RIGHT NOW just so he can stay ahead of me).

Do any of you do pull-ups? Do any of you female types do pull-ups? How long do you think it will take before I can crank one out? How else can I train my body to more effectively do a pull-up? More push-ups? More arm weights? Lose some ell-bees? All of the above?

I’m pretty committed to my SBSD crunches, and I’m moving on to week 3 (level 2, bitches) of the push-up challenge after this week, but I really, really want to do a pull-up. (Apparently I’ve decided that I want to relive & then conquer all my elementary school PE humiliations – next up, I’m installing a climbing rope.)

Negative Splits (Or, How to ‘Split’ from Negativity)

Apr 6th, 2009
by gazelle.
18 comments

This has nothing to do with running and everything to do with a personal challenge.

Like almost everyone I know, I much prefer to be happy. And like almost everyone I know, I know some people who just don’t seem to get there. And it bothers me. Negativity around me tends to make me feel more negative myself! I do not want to not see/talk to/interact with my negative people, but I also do not want to go through each conversation getting an ulcer. I tend to let people’s moods affect me more than I should (which is why it’s so awesome to hang out with JM - she’s such a good influence on my moods).

So – from7 Ways to Deal with the Negative People in your life (I picked the ones that meant the most to me) from  selfgrowth.com

Let the Negativity Pass
Whatever you do, do not argue with a negative person. Arguing only adds fuel to the fire. A negative person will feed off any negativity that will strengthen his mood or attitude. I have noticed when [people] are in a crabby mood, it is best to avoid trying to convince them to analyze and adjust their attitude. As soon as I take the approach of being in opposition with them, they seize the opportunity to prove to me that life stinks. Their negativity intensifies and the situation gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes the best thing to do is remain silent and let the negativity pass.

Focus on the Positive
If you try really hard, there is always something positive to be found in any situation. Pretend you are on a treasure hunt and search for any gold or jewels you can emphasize. Even a negative person has positive qualities. When a person is drowning in negativity, it can be difficult for them to see the positive. So often [people] focus on the negative aspects of themselves. They forget about all the great things they are doing. I admit that sometimes a negative person doesn’t want to see the positive. This might require her to shift her outlook. Negativity can become a habit and habits are hard to break. Be patient and gently remind your grumpy friend or family member to look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hopefully, in her down time, she will begin to reflect on what you have said.

Ask Negative People to Elaborate
You may hear a negative person say things like: “Women are fickle.” “You can’t trust doctors.” “My husband makes me miserable.” These kinds of statements are a type of cognitive distortion referred to as generalizations. To help a person sort through her distorted thinking, ask for more specifics. Questions like “Which women are fickle?” or “What specifically about your husband is making you miserable?” forces a person to evaluate what he or she is really trying to say. A negative person will either give up because it takes too much effort to explain himself, or he or she will get to the bottom of the issue.

Keep Your Own Negative Thoughts and Behaviors in Check
If you do nothing else but focus on managing your own negative thoughts and behavior, you will come a long way towards remaining positive. A negative attitude is contagious, but a positive attitude is infectious as well. Hang out with positive people that encourage you to be your best self. Use positive affirmations to overcome negative self-talk. Express your gratitude for all the positive things in your life. Take the time everyday to watch all the beautiful things going on around you. Read inspirational material and listen to joyful music. Take care of yourself spiritually. Do whatever you have to do to remain positive and happy despite the negativity you face. The world will be a better place because of you and your attitude. And you never know, you just might help a negative person make a change to a better way of living.

What do you think, especially in regards to the last point? How do you keep your negative thoughts & behaviors in check? (Ha – I noticed that Michelle at Raw Cool blogged something similar today, too!)