Keep on Chasin'

It's that time again, folks! First, let me review my goals from last week. I wanted to stick to my training schedule and cater to my injured wrist. Well, first of all, my tendons are smiling once again! I really took it easy last week with the wrist. I probably babied it a little more than I should have, but hey. Anything to get it feeling better!

As far as sticking to my training plan, I actually changed it! I think I was going to be doing too much too fast and nobody wants to deal with those after effects. So I shimmied some stuff around and I'm ready to bang it out this week!

Speaking of.

Goal #1: A month or so ago I purchased the Tone It Up program because I was very, very curious about the umpteen million people talking about it. Well, I'm headed to the beach this Friday and so I thought this would be a good time to do the 5 Day Slim Down on the plan. I've done it once before, so I think I should be okay. I don't have measurements and I didn't weigh myself, I'm just interested in feeling confident and energized by the time the weekend comes! So my goal is to stick to it!

Side note, if you're doing it this week too, definitely contact me on Twitter and we can be supportive and all that jazz. :)

Goal #2: Vlog once this week! Last Friday I did my first ever vlog! I was really nervous about it for some reason, but I'm trying to get comfortable with the fact that everybody can watch me! Therefore, I am challenging myself to do more! Baby steps here, people!

But Wait! There's More!

That about wraps it up for goals, but I've got one more thing to share before I leave! I was recently chosen to be a new Sweat Pink Ambassador! Inspiring you all to be healthy and happy. ;) I was going to wait until everything was in order to blog about it, but Fit Approach has come out with a Race Program and I really want to share!

Basically, you can enter any race and represent your pink! You get some AWESOME swag when you sign up. You get your choice of a t-shirt or a tank top, a nifty wine glass, and some pink shoelaces. It's really very exciting and I think you should all sign up!

Have I baited you?? If so, head on over to this link to sign up. You want something more out of me? I see. Enter the code SPAAmandaF to grab a 10% discount. I better see everybody sporting some pink! Or at least some sweat. ;)

What are your goals for the week?

Avocado Bana-na-za!

Happy Friday!! Yesterday I left you with a list of things I wanted to talk about today. But now I don't feel like talking about a lot of them. Don't you hate when that happens? I'm going to leave one or two off today because I don't want to overwhelm you with a random blog post.

Let's talk about some running first. I did my first speedwork session on Wednesday. I waited until it was dark outside and Paul and I ran together so I was safe and all that jazz. And it was AWESOME. It was nice and cool and 4 repeats felt like cake. I guess it was just one of those days!

I've been stretching like a very good girl. But not so wonderful is that my knee is NOT taking to this training thing very well. Therefore, I've had to change my plan. Which is fine, because it's the first week. And it's better to know now than figure it out halfway through training and have a busted knee. So I'm cutting a weekly run! And I'm okay with it! Go figure.

[pinterest]

My apartment still smells amazing. You wanna know why? Banana bread. But why is there a picture of avocados, you ask? This week I put out a call for banana bread recipes and got three that I was seriously considering. But it was a comment I received mentioning avocados that won out. So thank you Teamarcia for inspiring me! :)

I took to the web and found a recipe for banana bread made with avocado. And it did not disappoint. It's so moist and delicious and wonderful. DO IT. You will not regret it!

Avocanana Bread

 Thanks to the California Avocado Commission

• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats (I used Cinnamon KIND granola because I didn't have enough oats)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 ripe, Fresh California Avocado, seeded
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 very ripe bananas (I had three!)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (I left these out)
• ¼ cup buttermilk (I used coconut milk...because that's all I had. Haha.)

1. Line a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with nonstick foil and lightly grease the bottom only.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine dry ingredients: oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Scoop the avocado into a large bowl and mash lightly.
5. Add oil and brown sugar to the avocado. Cream together using an electric mixer, until light and creamy.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Stir in bananas, then walnuts and dry ingredients.
8. Stir in buttermilk and beat just until buttermilk is incorporated.
9. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Avocanana bread is quite moist and may not pass the "toothpick" test at this point. If you prefer a drier bread, bake a little longer.

Yields: 1 loaf

Make it. Love it. Make it again because it's gone.

And lastly, I leave you with my challenging thing. A few days ago, Heather from Better With Veggies put out a video challenge. And I'm taking it! I've never done a vlog before. So be nice. Or something. For some reason, it freaks me out that people I know could be watching this. I'M TRYING NOT TO CARE. SO THERE. HERE IT GOES.

Challenge. Accepted.

And please excuse my beautiful nature. I've been biking all day. Which means sweating. :)

This was the most attractive still option. That's when you know it's bad.

Have you ever vlogged before? Do you like it?

Just Another Hump Day

Happy Wednesday! I don't have anything super substantial to speak about today, so I'm going to do a quick post about my life! Which means, my friends, it may be all over the place. And I'm not apologizing, ya hear?

I've been a big, big Maroon 5 fan for a while now, so I bought this yesterday in a crazily excited state. I've listened to it a couple times now and I like it! I'm not sure it's my favorite CD of theirs, but we'll see. We'll see. "One More Night" passed the run test yesterday! So that's always a good thing! I think it just got released recently. So this is probably old news already. But give it a try!

On a completely unrelated note: I need a great banana bread recipe. I took a picture with instagram but I'm pretty dysfunctional when it comes to that app. Is there a way to get those pictures on your computer so you can (for example) put them on your blog? I can only get them when I tweet them. And I don't want to tweet everything!

...Then I tweet about it anyway.

BUT YES. THIS IS A CALL FOR BANANA BREAD!

[pinterest]

Lately I've been wearing skirts on my bike when I commute. I wear a pair of booty shorts underneath every time unless I forget. I think for the most part it's fine, until the wind blows and people stare. SOMETIMES I WANT TO DRESS UP, OKAY!? I should be able to do both.

My plan for today.

Speedwork confuses me. I've never done it before. I'm new at this. I feel so dumb but I really don't know how to do it. I don't have a track available to me that I know of. But I'm on the hunt, trust me. Good old Hal Higdon says this:

If you want to run at a fast pace, you need to train at a fast pace several days a week. This training schedule for intermediate runners alternates interval running with Tempo Runs..An interval workout usually consists of fast repeats separated by walking or jogging...Walk or jog between each repeat. The best place to run 400-meter repeats is on a track, although you can also use an accurately-measured road course. Run the 400s at about your pace for 5-K, or 10-K. (from here)

This just intimidates the pants off of me. Which is bad because people are already staring because I don't wear them on my bike.

So much to discuss. Sorry for making you work. :)

On the Chase

I'm BACK. After a short Thursday post, I went to the doctor and found out that I had overuse tendonitis in my right wrist. Lame. So I was on heavy wrist-rest this weekend which included no blogging and minimal tweeting. But I'm feeling better and I really want to participate in this new-fangled thing crafted by Melissa at Live, Love, & Run.




I just talked about goal setting in my Motor Behavior class this morning, so I am pumped to set me some goals. Most people who talk goals talk about setting Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-based goals. But in class today, I saw something that really stuck with me. Challenging Attainable Realistic Specific. It's always good to remind yourself that goals are here for a reason: to push yourself.

Goal #1: Stick to my training schedule for the week. Today starts the first day of half marathon training and I am DEDICATING myself to it this time. I want it. I want it badly. And so I will train my butt off.

I'm going to a Phillies game tonight, as you can see! Sunday asks for five miles.

There isn't any cross training on the schedule. That's a topic for another day. So I'm going to see how the speed work goes. If I have to cut back to not injure myself, those will be the first days to go. After that, I'd cut the Saturday short runs and move the long runs to Saturday. I'm challenging myself with this plan, but I refuse to challenge myself to the point of injury!

Also, stretching/yoga/foam rolling/whatever gets me limber will happen EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. EVERYDAY.

Goal #2: Don't do anything to ruin the wrist! As you can see, today is a strength day. I need to modify, modify, modify. Sure, I can run without my wrist. But can I function in every day life without my wrist? Don't I sound like a brat. Yes, Amanda. You can if you need to.

I'm just sick of trying to wipe my butt with my left hand. Just saying.

What are your goals for the week? Link up if you have a post about it here!

Pretty Freaking Rad

I'm currently waiting for my post race breakfast to be done cooking. And I thought I'd tell you all a little bit about my morning. It started pretty plain. If you ignore the tutu that I'm wearing, it could have just been a normal day.

Actually, even if you bring the tutu into account, it's still a very normal day.

Check it.

He decided not to wear one. Unfortunately.

We were up bright and early to head over to the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park to participate in the Philly Color Me Rad 5k!

After the race, a lot of people were commenting on how there was no way it was a 5k. But I just mapped it and it looks like it was. Unless my mapping skills are subpar. Which they very well may be.

BUT ANYWAY. 5K.

There isn't too much to report about this race, I guess! It was a lot, lot, lot of fun! I didn't keep track of any time or distance and it was awesome to get blasted with color. A lot of kids were running and I think they were absolutely adorable! I got a lot of compliments on my tutu as well.

And then Paul and I got into a color fight, just to make sure we were thoroughly coated. This picture was before the big color explosion celebration at the end. Also. Somehow I got a 'stache that looks very similar to Hitler's. That's embarrassing. But mine's blue and purple. So it's way better.

SO MUCH COLOR!

And then we took more pictures. Because it seemed like a picture moment. You know?

But no matter how many pictures I show you, you won't understand the amount of color on you until you do it yourself. And then try to shower it all out. It took a good half hour shower. At least. Can't wait to see the water bill this month.

So before I go, I need to make a confession. This was the first time I ran since the Broad Street Run. That was on May 6th. One month and eleven days hiatus. I feel guilty, because running is one of my "things." But I'm back. And I am ready to go! This morning felt great, and these miles FLEW by. Like. Completely. I don't know if it's the color or I'm actually a better runner...but something is working. I never thought I'd roll out of bed and go run an easy 3.1 miles in the morning and not even bat an eyelash. (Note: I think it was the G Series Chews that I won from Bess Be Fit. :))

Awesome!

And it's a good thing because half marathon training starts in a week. :D

Have you ever done a color run?

National Running Day

I wish I could show you my twitter feed and just how many hashtag-national-running-day tweets I've seen today. It makes me so happy to see. :)

Not a bad logo either!

Somehow, I've forgotten to mention on the blog that I've been signed up for a half marathon for a little while now. And I want to remind/tell everybody out there that they are offering a $20 discount on marathon/half-marathon registration today!

Why yes, I am talking about the Rock n' Roll race series.

Logos everywhere!

I wanted to save the Philadelphia Marathon Series for when I run a marathon for the first time, so this was the race that won out for the fall! I'm excited to race again in Philadelphia! And I'm also really excited to be training for something again (June 25th, not like I'm counting down). I kind of bobble all over the place in terms of my running when I don't have a specific goal to work towards. I got rejected by my training buddy for this one because he wants to run by himself (even though he wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for me--I digress), so that sure lights a fire under my competitive butt.

But I was nice enough to remind him to register! I may be a good un-affected by competition girlfriend after all. :)

But yes!! Have a wonderful run today, please! I've got an interview that I don't want to be late/sweaty for, so I won't be doing mine until later. And if the interview runs long, I'll be running on the treadmill downstairs at 11:30 at night. But I gotta celebrate somehow!

Where are you running today?

Running Down Broad

Spoiler Alert: We finished. :)

THE BROAD STREET RUN WAS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS IN MY LIFE.

It was my very first race, you know. I've been pretty pumped about it for a while, as you might recall. And today, the day was finally here! :)

I found some friends! :)

I don't have any fancy splits. Or intricate details. But I can tell you all about it if you'd like!

Mile One

I had some pretty intense nervous jitters. I think I drove Paul a little crazy. I had underestimated my speed way back when we started training and I was all paranoid about starting in a different corral. WHATEVER. But this mile was just unforgettable. The feeling to finally be racing after all I've put into it? Brilliant.

Mile Two

I knew my friend Emma was coming up at a water station so Paul and I desperately tried to look for her. I spotted her face and literally flew up in the air and called her name so I could wave. It was wonderful. And I'm so thankful for her (and the rest of the volunteers)!

Nick Keith, if you are reading this, yes I stole this from your Facebook. :)

Mile Three

We were starting to hit Temple area here. I was SO excited to see some of my girls out there bright and early supporting! I sprinted over to Audrey to hug her and the lady behind me said "I NEED ONE OF THOSE! Where's mine??" It was cute and I was so excited. Then I saw Laura and Alice and their sign and I jumped up and down for them as well. :)

Mile Four

I don't remember this mile specifically, but I remember a WHOLE bunch of people cheering and me smiling my face off like a goof. And I still spilled water all over my face. I hadn't gotten the trick of water stations down yet.

Mile Five

My mom and dad came to cheer us on!! That was our excitement for this mile. :)

Check the excitement. Can you see it?

Mile Six

Chugging along. I wish I had more to say about this mile. But alas, I do not. I think I may have mastered the water coming up though!!!

Mile Seven

We decided to cheers with some sports beans here. I could tell I was getting a little worn out and I knew I was ready to push the last couple of miles. So we swiftly took some beans and water and kept running!

Hey little guys! You did me well. :)

Mile Eight

Halfway through this, somebody shouted "YOU ONLY HAVE A MILE TO GO!" They lied.

Mile Nine

Running past the stadiums was really cool. :) Especially because Paul and I bought tickets to see the Phils play tomorrow night at the last minute. Sort of as a celebration. Sort of because we're addicted to Crab Fries Phillies games. But my mom and dad sped down here so they could see us again!

I was too speedy, clearly. But who's that handsome guy?

Mile Ten: THE END!!!!!

Crossing the finish line was completely unreal. I felt so great the entire race. I never doubted myself for a second. And I ALMOST cried as we approached the finish line. It was so overwhelmingly exciting. And of course Paul and I finished holding hands and screaming our heads off. Can't wait to see a picture of that. :)

FINISH TIME-1:46:00 on the nose :)

Look at our medals, ma!

I want to congratulate every single runner today! I know it was a HUGE race so it was a little crazy, but I absolutely loved it. I know I'm not a crazy fast runner, but I'm really proud of myself for doing this. It was a great, great day!

It also sparked some sign-up interest in me. :)

I also want to thank those who donated to Uplifting Athletes in my name. I got to $300! Could be more, but it's still three hundred smackaroons!

"My" donation is really from my two aunts that sent me checks!

Did you run any races this Sunday? What about Broad Street?

Ya Little Snotnose

Three miles was on my plate for today. So three miles I was going to run. "Allergies aren't going to stop me!" I thought. So I threw on some running clothes and headed out the door with Paul.

Now, I live roundabouts 22nd Street. By the time I got to 16th I was gasping for air and couldn't inhale deeply at all. I was in trouble. My nose was hurting, I felt disgusting, and I wanted so badly to stop.

I also had toilet paper in my shirt because we have no more tissues.

We were running towards the art museum and I was being cranky and whining about how it wasn't fair that Paul felt like going faster than me. So I'd ask to slow down. And then speed up all defiantly. I was a mess. 

My legs, however, were totally good. They were like, "Okay, you do your complaining thing up there and we'll just be down here running, okay?" My legs felt great! And I didn't stop once. Even though I might have had to. I refused. I just kept turning random places so as to distract myself from everything.

I sounded like a twenty-year smoker by the end of it. So I can promise you, if it felt that way, I will never ever smoke a cigarette in my whole entire life. I know I'm one of those lame people. But it was so painful and such a struggle, I could just never do that to myself.

Sorry, I am not falling for the cool factor.

WOAH I'M PREACHING! I will not do that. I'm done, I promise.

So. Sickness. My chest being tight when I was running. Should I have stopped? When don't you run? Maybe I'm just tough. Yeah, that's it.

Success!

I haven't felt this accomplished since I won March Madness.

Yes, this happened, thankyouverymuch.

My training plan over this weekend called for a six mile run. Now, that is longer than I've ever thought of running (although...registering for a 10 miler might negate this statement) and I had doubts that I could do that. I pushed it to Sunday for an Easter run! Prior to our feast, naturally, Paul and I head out around my hometown for a nice little walk in the park.

That would be six miles. More than six miles.

I have got to tell you, it felt GREAT to finish this. It was super windy but the views of good old S-ville kept us going and it was awesome. We didn't walk at all, which was super exciting. And we were able to converse when we needed it or shut the heck up be quiet when we needed that too! It was wonderful! We had some nice discussions about the mental aspects of running. Apparently it helped us out.

Lesson of the Week: GET A RUNNING PARTNER.

At the beginning of this whole training process I brought up the idea of running the race together. His response was something along the lines of "Well, I think I'll run faster than you because I'm a boy."

And I just proved him wrong and acquired myself a racing partner. So THERE. :D

How was your Easter/Passover weekend? Paul and I hit up both holidays and so we were quite full by the time we returned home, I can tell you that.

Am I Doing This Right?

I have done everything on my training plan this week like a good little girl. Yesterday that included going to a yoga class at my school's fitness center.

This is exactly what it was like, I can assure you.

Guys, I really want to be good at yoga. You know. That whole dancing thing kind of requires some flexibility. And I was REALLY tight after my sunset run on Tuesday. So I know I needed it. I forgot to bring my mat to school, but didn't let that excuse me and used the junky ones at the fitness center that a million other people sweat on.

But whatever.

I liked the instructor for the most part. She had some nice calming music going on in the background, which I fully appreciated. She had us do some balances too, which were super fun. But like. Did we really have to go into Downward Dog four hundred times? Am I missing something? I don't even think I'm doing the freaking thing right and I actually know how to do that one. Second guessing myself is my number one talent.

Somehow I don't think I can do that one.

I know the point of yoga goes way beyond being good at it and being flexible. Am I doing everything wrong? How do I do it right? YOGA BLOWS MY MIND, OFFICIALLY. I can't figure it out.

That being said, I left class feeling very stretchy and calm. So at least I'm doing something right. Or I'm really good at tricking myself.

Today I went for a rough three mile run, did a lot of school work, and cheered the Phils on from afar. Hooray! Happy opening day! I LOVE THE PHILS!

I would wear this around.

I do have something in the works that I might get a tutu for. But that might have to be white. :)

Philadelphia Color Run, YEAH!

How do you do yoga? Help me!

Learning Process

I know that a million runners have discovered these shocking discoveries I am going to tell you about. So many healthy living bloggers could read this and say nothing but, "Duh, Amanda. Anybody can tell you these things."

BUT. I am going to say them anyway. Because sometimes beginning runners need a little loving too. Some of us don't like getting up at the buttcrack of dawn to run. Four miles isn't an easy day for everybody by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes you need some help getting through it.

My (April)Fool('s) Proof Guide to Running

Step One: Sit on the couch on Twitter, contemplating the fact that you could theoretically do a four mile run before your dance performance that evening. Map out some runs, go back and forth about the weather, but eventually get up and go after your boyfriend suggests that you might as well.

Lesson: Hold yourself accountable. You'll feel lousy if you don't listen.

Plus your friends can boost your ego. :)

Step Two: Assemble your running playlist, outfit, and locate a place on your body for your keys. It is important to note that at this point in the process, you should pick a song that really motivates you and start listening to it.

Lesson: Music is your friend.

Step Three: Actually enjoy this running thing as you head out the door. GPS signal found, weather is sunny, awesome.

Lesson: Just do it.

I love you, Nike.

Step Four: Realize about half way into your run (at the turnaround point) that your stomach is ready to explode and you would love to double over in pain. Look at the river instead. Take pictures of said river. It doesn't matter that your phone deleted them. It's the thought that counts.

Lesson: Distractions, distractions, distractions.

Step Five: I NEED TO STOP RUNNING. Put that song back on your iPod. Listen to it four hundred times if you have to. Just keep running. You will be lame if you stop running to this song. This is your jam.

Lesson: I am becoming Young the Giant's biggest fan.

Step Six: "You can stop running as soon as you're up this hill." "You might as well go down it now." "You cannot be passed by this girl who has an outfit that you really wish you could afford right now with brighter colors. KEEP RUNNING." "Go to the bridge." "No, not that bridge. The NEXT bridge." "Run up the steps, you ain't done yet!"

Lesson: It is more than okay to talk to yourself. It's all about the mental games my dear.

Step Seven: Walk into your apartment complex with swag and nod at the security guard. He knows you're awesome too. Your red face and sweaty hair definitely show it.

Lesson: Running feels good. And swagtastic?

Thanks for the swag definition, Pinterest.

Step Eight: Go boss out whatever else you need to do for the day. Remember, you've got swag now.

Lesson: Endorphin highs are REAL.

What are your tricks for getting through a run? Any lessons learned that I missed? I'm sure they're out there. :)

When Can it be Spring?

Weather is such a tease, don't you think? You look outside your window at the beautiful sun and then you actually walk outside and get attacked by wind set out to ruin your warmth. Mother Nature, please get your act together.

Looks like she actually might be listening.

Sorry for the lack of posting, millions of blog followers which I'm sure I have somewhere. There was family stuff that needed to be taken care of, and that will always come before this blog. :)

But my Spring Break is over for me because I'm going to be back at work in an hour or so. So now it's back to the blog! Back to the blog in a freshly Spring-cleaned apartment, I might add. I'm putting off laundry for another two days because I found clean underwear. My priorities are the straightest I know.

So, as I've said before, March is National Nutrition Month. My next step to being more nutrition-oriented is to tackle smart grocery shopping. This requires both fresh, natural ingredients and healthy choices as opposed to stacking more Cap'n Crunch on top of my fridge.

I've browsed the Whole Foods blog before, but now I actually want to do something about it. I also have a couple of things I want to try, so we'll see how that turns out as well. And of course, I'll let you know. Because I won't have anything better to do now that I'm back at school, right? Right.

Tomorrow I'm tackling three miles (I know, a whopping three to those hardcore runners out there) and getting back on track with my training. I haven't found the ability to balance training and important family times, and I just felt that I legitimately had more important things to do.

But that just means I have to come back harder! So I'll leave you with some fitspiration. :)

If this isn't inspiration, I dunno what is. LOOK AT THOSE LEGS!

I found this today from Bess over at Bess Be Fit. She does a Fitspiration Friday every week, and I love looking through them and seeing how great the human body is. Because I appreciate it. But definitely go visit her blog if you want to take a look for yourself!

What is YOUR inspiration?

Happy March!

Pinterest. Duh. But I'm sure this is everywhere.

 Hooray! This year is progressing along quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I certainly hope this month does not disappoint, though following February gives it crazy high standards. As long as the weather works with me, I think we'll get along quite nicely?

Isn't there a thing about in like a lion out like a lamb for March? Who knows.

Speaking of March, Happy National Nutrition Month!!

I know, I'm a nerd. But I got really excited about it. For the whole month of March I am going to be entering my eats onto MyFitnessPal and seeing how things are going! I really don't want to lose any weight, I'm just curious as to how the things I eat stack up, you know? So far it's made me drink more water and cut the snacking, which is kind of awesome!

Another thing I'm doing in honor of this month is to go talk to a nutritionist. Because I'm starting this whole running thing and I tend to not eat when I get too stressed, I thought I'd talk to somebody about it and make sure I'm getting the nourishment I need!

BECAUSE NUTRITION IS AWESOME, OKAY!?

I would love to come home to these. Love.

Onto the running front now! Yesterday I played some racquetball and then had two miles on the schedule. I know technically racquetball isn't a strength workout, but because my days were all messed up, I decided to give my muscles a little break.

The run. Oh, the run.

I had absolutely zero motivation to go on this run. It was dark outside, so that meant another tedious session of me staring longingly at the numbers, hoping they would increase just a little faster. Dinner was in the oven and I could smell it's deliciousness creeping through our apartment.

I JUST DID NOT WANT TO RUN!

But alas. I threw on some workout-type clothes and ran downstairs.

It was this shirt. So it would match my face, you know?

Alright. I read running blogs fairly regularly. I love hearing about peoples' times, how they felt, what they ate, etc. And for the most part I read them and it goes something like this:

"I didn't want to do eight miles but I did anyway....it was great!!...The first mile sucked...But the rest were awesome!"

Guys, what if I can't run ten miles? Two miles and I was STRUGGLING. I just felt awful and I couldn't breathe right and it just was not my night. I felt like such a failure and was seriously doubting ever being able to run ten miles. I keep telling myself that it's just the mentality of staring at the wall on the treadmill but I don't know, man.

But I did it anyway. Just so I could cross it off. Then I came back upstairs and ate delicious ziti. And that was that.

LAME.

Something not lame? Spring Break. I wish I were going somewhere nice and warm, but catching up on sleep might actually be in the forecast for me. I approve of this message.

How do I fix this little running problem I have here? Or how are you celebrating Spring Break?

Burning Out

Today I'm going to whine about rant/muse/discuss burning out. It's a topic I am all too familiar with, to be perfectly honest. I know that's an awful relationship to have with the concept but it's true.

Eventually they'll burn out. I like to think this is my candle style.

So far, school has been pretty awesome. Some of my classes are tough or have a lot of work, but I'm totally managing them this far. Which is pretty impressive, as far as I'm concerned. I think it's because I've finally found the perfect balance of enjoyment and what I'm going to do. I love it. I'm a nerd. Get over it.

Finally went through! IT FINALLY WENT THROUGH! :D

Speaking of balancing those things that I love to do, dance is NOT out of the picture. FINALLY. No more whining about how I'm never dancing on this blog. I'm dancing with InMotion (obviously) and I'm in an admin position. So that sucks up a lot of my thinking time. And eating time. And time. BUT I LOVE IT. And there's a show in the works for that and some performances coming up, so AWESOME.

My lovely captain and friend Laura is also being an AMAZING person and directing a dance show for undergrad theater students. Which is awesome because there aren't really that many opportunities for dancing in the department. At least not the kind of dancing that we're looking for. But I digress. I'm dancing/choreographing/involved in what feels like 32059732057 pieces. Again, AWESOME. But that means a lot of dance rehearsal. (Not that I'm complaining.)

This is related, I swear. We were dancing on Liacouras.

But wait! There's more! I got a job! They want me to work eighteen hours a weekend. At first I was like "AW YEAH, MONEY! I guess I'll try to have no life and at least pay my rent!" But now I'm realizing that I'll have to drop a day. It won't be nearly as much money, but I'll hopefully stay on staff for the summer time when I can work lots of hours. And hopefully get lots of tips because, let me tell you, the pay is NOT great.

The more I think about how great this stuff is, the happier I am.

That's pretty hectic as is. But naturally, I think it's perfectly acceptable to do some more!

Training for this little number, for instance.

BROAD STREET RUN, YEAH! First off, this takes up a lot of my worry time because I don't think I could run ten miles if somebody had a gun pointed to my head (And Lord knows Philly is the place to find that. ;) Love you, Philly). But I really want to do it, and I know I'll kick my butt if I don't. Plus a lot of my friends want to do it as well. So I think it's going to be really, really fun. So yeah. Training for that comes in soon.

Plus I really like taking classes and keeping up with my exercise in general.

Throw in commuting, maintaining my friendships (Well, that's a given. Otherwise I would whine and complain about my life more), cooking, eating, sleeping (Yes. I sleep. Not sleeping will NOT solve this problem), and random other stuff that pops up. That does not equate to a lot of time. Even that one guy I live with and I don't see each other for twenty-four hours sometimes. NUTS!

So I guess my point is. I was supposed to go running this morning but I was dead and felt like throwing up when I woke up. So I slept in. And I'm being lazy until class at 12:30 because otherwise I'm going to get sick. I'm trying so hard to keep a balance. BUT IT IS SO HARD. But I'm going to continue doing it anyway. Because I'm like that.

I look just like that too.

What do you have to balance in your life before your candle reaches it's end? How do you do it??

*Most pictures are from Pinterest, except for the one with my face in it or the one with my name in it. But I thought those were pretty clearly mine. :)