all about me

part of me can't believe i didn't ever blog about christmas - sort of a shame because i had about seven billion written in my head i just couldn't find the time or energy to sit down and actually write them (good news is that the extreme fatigue has disappeared).  so, instead i'm moving on and just giving a quick synopsis of life at the moment:

what i'm doing now: after being being grounded for most of december and january (due to holidays and then client issues), i'm going to start traveling again for almost all of february and march.  it was kind of nice to have a break for a while but i'm ready to hit the road again.  

i'm still loving my job.  i have a supportive manager (seriously, love her - night and day from my former boss), great co-workers (abbreviated side story: had a slight issue with someone senior to me who i work with a lot and was really worried about our relationship but God is amazing and things have done a total 180 and we get along great and work well together now-- the power of prayer and relinquishing a  situation to Him), a wonderful environment in which to work, and i really truly (on most days) enjoy what i'm doing.  i have a sense of autonomy because people trust me, i feel smart/useful because i'm always learning things and then teaching others.  my worst days at athena (usually when i'm tired/run down and making a mountain out of a mole hill) don't even begin to compare to the misery of my former employment.  Another bonus is that i've been able to go back to Texas to see my family on a regular basis (and even got to see Jon, Brooke, Braden a few times in Ohio) which makes the miles of separation more tolerable.  God is good and i am so thankful. 

What I'm eating now:

nothing too much has changed here...my goal with eating right now is to fuel myself so i can have quality runs/workouts (as opposed to losing weight) so i'm more concerned with quality of food.  i did realize that i was eating a whole lot of carbs and not a whole lot of protein so i've been trying to be more conscious of inserting higher protein foods so that i have a good balance.  if you were to go look in my fridge right now you'd find:

1. egg muffins -- super easy (if you're lazy like me and don't want to mess with chopping veggies, for a dozen: 4 eggs, 8 egg whites, 2 boxes frozen spinach, can of rotel, reduced fat mexican cheese) and have high protein but low calorie component to breakfast that you can make in advance and grab n go.  each one has around 50 calories so i take two of them and throw in a tortilla or eat along side oatmeal.  

i've also been eating hard boiled eggs as a snack since they have really good cholesterol

2. quinoa -- most people consider it a grain,but it is technically a seed and a relative to spinach.  not only is it high in protein, it is a complete protein (meaning it includes all nine amino acids). it doesn't really have a taste (which is why meg doesn't like it) so it is very versatile. i either throw it in the rice cooker with brown rice and add spices such as garlic, chili powder, red pepper flakes or in my crock pot with black beans, brown rice, and stewed mexican tomatoes (are you getting the point that these days i'm all about things that are quick, simple, and can be made ahead of time and stored?).  my friend, barbara, has been eating for breakfast with cinnamon, similar to oatmeal.

3. pomodoro sauce -  i'm a creature of habit and so i eat whole wheat pasta with red sauce the night before a long run or a race.  i like homemade sauce much better than jar sauce and since it is super easy i have no excuse not to make it myself: olive oil, garlic, canned italian plum tomatoes, pepper, basil or italian seasoning.  

4. turkey chili -- spicy, delicious, and hearty it is perfect for winter (not that we've had much of a winter).  and since i use a weight watcher recipe it has lots of veggies and isn't loaded with fat or sodium.  

5. wholly guacamole - to say i love avocado is an understatement (until weight watchers taught me portion control, i used to eat an entire one with a spoon in a single setting).  guacamole is a great topper for pretty much anything from sweet potatoes (with salsa and mexican cheese = yum!) to rice and beans to breakfast burritos (refer to eggs above). while the 100 calorie packs may be more expensive, they are totally worth it for me because they provide a single portion, i don't have to worry about my avocados going bad before i can eat them, and they are easy to throw in  my lunch bag.

What I'm running now:

can't remember if i told this story or not so here is a quick recap:  flash back to memorial day... i ran a marathon.  qualified for boston.  then, just a couple weeks later in june i got injured.  spent two months in excruciating pain while the orthopedist went through a series of misdiagnosis.  finally went to an amazing podiatrist who legitimized my pain and i finally found out in august that i had completely ruptured my plantar fascia (words like "bomb exploded in your heel" "never seen anything like this", etc).  spent the next 8 weeks in a boot full time (airport security didn't appreciate it but no surgery and no cast: i am sooo thankful!).  then two weeks or so transitioning back to shoes.  then i was released to do some light jogging for a month (low and slow to test it out as my foot wasn't completely healed yet) before getting released to run again just prior to thanksgiving.  All told, i took five months off.  mid june to mid november.  FIVE MONTHS!! 

My comeback was frightening for a couple reasons.  1. i knew i had lost my cardiovascular fitness but wasn't sure how much i had been set back and wasn't sure i could regain it in time for boston 2. i didn't want to get re-injured by doing too much too soon.

But, as always, God is good.  The road back has been painful at times - literally, i don't think i've ever been so sore after short runs as i was the first few and there were days my legs felt like jello and my lungs were on fire no matter how slow my pace - but I really tried to listen to my body (new concept for me) and not push it too hard.  I started out with short runs and mixed in a lot of cardio cross training (elliptical, stairmaster, spin class) so that I could re-build my fitness and leg strength without killing my foot.  

I'm not quite to where I was pre-injury, but slowly but surely I'm getting there.  My speed is finally picking back up and I'm adding in some longer runs.  

 

This week's workouts: Monday - 4 miles on the treadmill at a constant pace but bumping incline every mile, 30  minutes stairmaster, 30 minutes weights (i would have preferred elliptical but i'm trying to be better about lifting cause i know i need to build my strength); Tuesday - 9 mile tempo; Wednesday - 4 miles outside, weights; Thursday - 10 miles on hilly course; Friday - spin class; Today - 16 miles easy pace.  Tomorrow: REST! 

What I'm reading now:

Allison once jokingly made the comment that on days I'm not a type A personality i'm type double A.  haha.  needless to say, sometimes i struggle with being a little too strict with myself.  Over Christmas I bought the book "Eat the Cookie Buy the Shoes: Giving Yourself Permission to Lighten Up" by Joyce Meyer.  It's an easy read (I read the entire thing on my plane flight back to Boston) and one I highly recommend.  It was really good at talking about it being okay to lighten up a bit (every so often we need to treat ourselves), finding joy in the little things, and not letting others steal our joy.

I also got Beth Moore's "Praying God's Word" devotional journal and love it (thanks nate and ry for the giftcard!!).  It gives a verse, some commentary, a place for you to write your thoughts and then it starts a prayer based on the given scripture with space for you to complete it.  Since it doesn't have structured days I can pick it up and set it down without feeling pressured by time lines and use it as a supplement to my Bible study.  

I just started a Bible study based on "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss with my friend, Amber.  We are doing it through Bible Cafe for Women - an online Bible study forum since we both have work schedules that don't allow us to attend a class on a regular basis.  

I'm only on chapter 2 so I can't give a yay or nay yet but I'll keep you updated (at least I intend to).

I am so thankful that I have great Christian friends like Allison and Amber who provide accountability and support.  We are able to trade Bible verses, talk candidly about life, and pray for one another.  I am truly blessed. 

"As we grow up we realize it is less important to have lots of friends and more important to have real ones."