Revamp on the way

I've decided that I'm going to revamp the blog a bit. I'm working on how to do it and have a lot of ideas in my head. The revamp should be soon, hopefully.

My 101 in 1001

These are my 101. I am sure some will change as the 1001 days go by. I don't have them categorized. I will, one day. Maybe I should add that to the list...

1. Box
2. Run a marathon
3. Finish a triathlon
4. Go down to a size 8
5. Scuba dive
6. Sky Dive
7. Run a half-marathon, running the whole way
8. Run a mile at a 9:00 minute pace
9. Provo Halloween Half-Marathon
10. Get a 36 on my MCAT
11. Get into a good medical school
12. Read a book a month
1. Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
2. A Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
13. Learn a 3^rd language
1. Portuguese
14. Find a job I love
15. Earn a raise at said job
16. Get published
17. Find a pair of heels that fits without giving me blisters
18. Learn to put on eyeliner
19. Be in a relationship for longer than a month (a real relationship)
20. Watch the top 10 American movies of all-time
21. Send a secret to PostSecret
22. Grow my own garden
23. Attend a cooking class
24. Attend a wine class
25. Bake a cake from scratch
26. Brew beer
27. Oktoberfest (in Germany)
28. Read the Bible
29. Write on my blog every day for a month
30. Learn to knit—baby clothes like they do in Colombia
31. Be able to adopt and take care of a pet
32. Take said animal for 20 long walks a month
33. Find recipes I like and make a cook book to pass down
34. Don’t eat out for 2 weeks
35. Donate blood at least 4 times
36. Re-learn to type without looking
37. Put at least $500 in my IRA a year
38. Save a dollar a day
39. Get business cards
40. Write about my experiences (both good and bad) with men
41. Make a scrapbook
42. Write a book of my favorite quotes
43. Give a 100% tip
44. Wear make-up and do my hair every day for a week.
45. Cook my own Thanksgiving meal from scratch (turkey, pie, stuffing…)
46. Learn to tie a tie
47. Send actual birthday cards (not fb messages, or e-mails) to 5 people
48. Attend an NFL game
49. Get evaluated for Lasik (save money for Lasik)
50. Start a slush fund for races
51. Donate to 5 charities
52. Increase my loan payments by $10 each month
53. Go vegetarian for 1 week (possible increase to 1 month)
54. Go alcohol-free for 1 month
55. Make bed every morning for a month
56. Go through old stuff and sell/donate things I no longer need
57. Buy/Sell one thing on Ebay
58. Volunteer 101 hours
59. Sew a dress for myself and wear it out
60. Finish a New York Times Sunday Crossword in pen
61. Learn to French braid
62. Learn basic car repair
63. Go to the beach and build a sand castle
64. Send Christmas cards to at least 5 close friends
65. Complete a coloring book
66. Make a “ME” box
67. Get my bartenders license
68. Do the 365 day project
69. Do a sponsored run/walk for charity
70. Develop a good skin care routine
71. Certification in CPR
72. First Aid certification
73. Run a relay race
74. Finish warrior dash in less than 30 minutes
75. Take a yoga class
76. Stretch routine at least once a week
77. Go to a gun range
78. Dance in the rain
79. Watch the sun rise
80. Catch a meteor shower
81. Print and frame 20 pictures
82. Get a bike
83. Complete a 3-D puzzle
84. Volunteer at a dog shelter
85. Do 5 free activities where I live (concerts, movies, festivals)
86. Watch the Godfather trilogy
87. Purge everything I haven’t used in 6 months (chances are I don’t need it)
88. Go to the opening of the new Marlins stadium
89. Have a stay-cation
90. Have a spa day, full treatment
91. Keep a food diary for a month, including emotional state
92. Cycle charity ride
93. Hike Nipple (Pilot) Mountain
94. Try 5 local/neighborhood restaurants
95. Take a self-defense class
96. Volunteer at a race
97. Volunteer at a beer festival
98. Krispy Kreme challenge
99. Go camping
100. Find a LBD that I love
101. Donate $5 to a single charity for every unattained goal on this list

Yeah, yeah...I know. It's been too long

Life has been hectic. I am working my job in Atlanta still but have a job in Durham, NC waiting for me (yay NC!).  I've been busy trying to find a place to live and figuring out how I'm going to move there.  Loads of fun, let me tell you.  Other reasons I haven't kept up with my blog include the World Cup and the Tour de France. But that shouldn't surprise anyone.
I also haven't been able to keep up with my work out routine because of my back.  It would hurt a little after races, but I figured it was due to weak core muscles (partially true).  Then it started hurting more and more without intense running.  So I finally gave in and went to see an orthopedic surgeon who told me to go to physical therapy.
My physical therapist...so hot!  I'm okay going to therapy now haha.  He agrees that I have weak core muscles and weak back muscles, so we're strengthening.  Some of the exercises are a pain (and some cause pain) but I'm making progress.  He thinks I'll be done with 2 or 3 more sessions.  A little sad since he's so pretty to look at.  Guess we'll have to be friends outside of PT.  I successfully played tennis yesterday (Saturday) with minimal pain.  My muscles are sore, but they definitely miss me being active.  I have the okay to start training, which is good since training for my half-marathon in October starts today! I won't be running "Run Like a Diva" because I couldn't start my training on time.  A little sad, but I'll go up to New York soon.  I have plans to play tennis soon and go for a run.  I also have a running date in Durham in 3 weeks.  I can't wait to run in Durham, since I never took advantage of the trails when I lived there. 
I'm working on my 101 in 1001 list, since the official start date is August 11, 2010. I am at 100. Any suggestions are welcome!! I'll post my list soon so y'all can see what I have on it.

WARRIOR DASH

Wow. Just wow. Yesterday, 3 of my friends and I ran Warrior Dash, a crazy 3 mile run with 11 obstacles along the way.  It was up in Mountain City, GA, a small town that doesn't seem to have much going on, so the entire place was crazy for the warriors.  We got there around 10:30 because one of my friends ran at 11. She was our scout.  The race took place at a camp, so there was plenty of open field.  This is where they had the stage set up, packet pick up, beer, food...so much stuff. So 11am rolls around and we go to the Start line to watch Laura take off.  There were about 500 people per wave.  There weren't too many costumes in the first wave.  Some of the costumes we saw while walking around, waiting to watch Laura finish included: cast of Wizard of Oz, a guy in a full suit, Where's Waldo and a lot of people wearing Braveheart gear.  I dressed up as a Hooter's girl and my friend was a Raisins' girl (form the South Park episode).  Our costumes were awesome.

So we watch Laura finish. She did an awesome job, I'd say she finished as one of the top 20 girls in her wave.  The fastest time yesterday was 14:49...insane. She wasn't too muddy when she was done, probably because the course was still pretty clean.  My wave was at 1:30, but between the 3 of us that were running that wave, we decided we wanted to run earlier because we were getting thirsty and hot.  We jumped in the 12:30 wave.  Off we went. First there was a short run to the other side of the lake where we walked over a plank to a little piece of land. From there we tread/swam through the lake to the other side.  Dripping wet, the next obstacle was running through tires.  Really hard trying not to slip when wet. Then there were 3 walls.  They weren't too tall, but it was muddy around them and hard to get a steady footing.  After that we head back into the forest to wait for the next obstacle.  I don't remember the exact order of the next obstacles, but they included climbing up a wall with a rope, climbing up a cargo net, jumping over a car graveyard and crawling through tunnels.  The tunnels had gravel at the bottom so a bunch of us scraped up our knees. Hey, no blood no glory, right? Back through the forest we go, where we just kept going up, which means we had to come back down via a steep-ish slope.  Next came the fun parts.  We slid down a mud slide and into a mud pit.  There was chicken wire and ropes in the mudpit.  I didn't want to get too muddy so I tried walking and ducking, so naturally I got stuck. Awesome.  So I just gave in and went chest deep in the mud.  It was slippery getting out.
Luckily, the next obstacle was in water.  We had to get over 4 logs.  My method was just rolling over the logs face first.  It was a good strategy.  Out of the water and to the last obstacle...jumping over fire.  I was a little worried because I felt tired (this is what happens when you don't run for a month...always train and hydrate properly).  I made it over the 2 fire pits, didn't burn anything and it didn't feel too hot.  Granted, I also found the lowest point of the firewall to jump over. 

We finished and received our medals.  The medals were cool but we really came for the viking helmets.  We also got one free beer.  The ticket was attached to our bibs.  I realized after the first jump in the lake my ticket was coming off.  I was more worried about losing the ticket than the obstacles.  Shows where my priorities lie haha.  We hung out for a little bit.  The event was really well organized.  We went back to Laura's friend's cabin up in the mountains (we had stayed there the night before).  It was beautiful, the view was amazing, great place to rinse off (real shower!).  So much mud and dirt in places there shouldn't have been mud or dirt.  My shirt is now stained orange as is my sports bra.  Which is fine by me.  Battle scars.

It was an amazing experience.  So glad I ran with friends.  I am definitely doing it again next year, with better training and more kick ass costumes. I would recommend this to anyone who has ever wanted to try these things but didn't know where.  Mud is surprisingly relaxing and fun after a nice 3 mile jog.

101 in 1001

101 in 1001

Check out that site.  It's a really cool project. A few friends here decided to start it and one is doing it with a few friends from her college days.  I think it would be something fun for all of us to do.  Why wait till we're too old to write our bucket list? I've decided my end date will be my 27th birthday, which means I will start my list on August 11, 2010, 1001 days before my 27th.  A few things I know will be going on my list: run a marathon, finish a triathlon, get into medical school, read 1-2 books a month...things like that.  What would y'all include on your list? Ideas are welcome.

Freedom!

Well, now that I am done with school and thesis, I have no excuse to not work out (besides a case of the lazies).  I am going back to the basics and starting a Couch to 5K program this week.  I graduate Monday (yep, you can call me Master) so I'm going to try to do my runs Tu, Th and Sat. I've also decided I'm going to create my own podcasts with music set to the intervals.  I found a few good sites that have podcasts already done, but the music isn't my favorite.  What do y'all think? Good idea or no? Who's joining me in the C25K program? Accountability is key. The more people you tell, the likelier you are to follow through. 

Still not done...

Won't be back for a few more days.  I swear I'm close.  On the bright side, I've started Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred.  Pretty good stuff. 

Almost...Almost

Thesis is almost done.  Due date=Monday.  I can do this.  Heck, if I can run a half marathon, I can finish this beast, right?  Once it's done and turned in, I'll be on here on a more regular basis.  I have great pics from 'Dega.  And I want to see how y'all are doing with starting and all. 

How to start

I know some of y'all are wondering how to start this whole running thing.  This month's Runner's World has a section dedicated to a beginner's guide.  You should check it out.  Gives a great intro to running and how to start (walk/run). I also recommend a good sports bra (makes a HUGE difference) and invest in a pair of solid running shoes.  There are plenty of good running stores that can help you find a good fit.  I can ask my friends who just started running how they started (since I basically did a crash course).  Any specific things you want to know, let me know and I can ask around.  Y'all can definitely do it. 

Official

I will be running Talladega Half-Marathon on April 11.  Here's a question I need y'alls help on.  What trucker hat should I wear, to fit in? My friend is wearing a John Deere one.  I'm thinking Coors, Bud Lite or Miller Hi Life (the champagne of beers).  Thoughts?

Silver Comet

Solid 8 mile run today at Silver Comet.  It's a trail here in Georgia that's pretty flat and only for runners and cyclists, so it's nice.  Also where I ran my first half, so it holds a special place in my heart.  Also tried a gel for the first time today.  Powergel Vanilla.  Not bad, interesting though.  More liquid than other gels and had almost a cake frosting taste, but very artificial.  I think it gave me a boost because I did finish strong.  I'll write a post soon on different fuels one can take.  I like Jelly Belly's Sports Beans but they are very chewy and don't get in to your system as fast as gel.

It's been a while

Long time no post.  Been busy with school and writing my thesis, sort of.  I keep distracting myself with different activities, including running and revamping my pantry.  I always have issues with snacking or a quick meal, so my friend Elisabeth helped me out this weekend.  Trader Joe's is definitely one of my favorite places to shop, and of course Publix.  Gotta stay true to my Florida roots with that one.  Got some good stuff.  I'm also going to try almond butter and cottage cheese with fruits.  I'm not a fan of peanut butter, but it's so good for you as a pre-race or post-race snack.  So we decided to give almond butter a go.  And cottage cheese is also really good.  When I try 'em, I'll let y'all know what I think.
Also, still in recovery from Disney Princess Half but have my next race in site.  Talladega, April 11.  I get to run ON the race track.  Awesome, I know.  And also trying to figure out my plans for fall races.  Still hoping to do Run like a Diva in LI but I want to do it with people.  Hope you guys are serious about it.  And also Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll.  Why? Well that's a secret that will be revealed in due time.  Need motivation? I can definitely provide some!!  There are pics of Disney Princess up on facebook now, and also on the official Disney site:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=60735&BIB=6717&S=230&PWD=

Hope y'all can see them.  So much fun.  Still on a high from it but a little bit of runner's blues.  Which is why a race in April sounds so appealing.  I also have to start training for Warrior Dash (look it up, trust me!).  My friend who I'm doing it with has a waterproof camera so there will be a lot of mud--filled pictures.  Can't wait to have pictures of me drinking out of my Viking helmet.  

Disney Princess!!

Ran Disney's Princess Half-Marathon this past weekend.  It was so much fun.  The costumes were fantastic.  Seeing men wearing princess costumes and fairy wings made me smile the whole way through.  I tried to get in the spirit by wearing pink shorts and a Cinderella blue top with a tiara to match.  Rookie mistake though, I wore my long sleeve shirt under my regular top.  Halfway through Tomorrowland I stopped and managed to take the shirt off.  It made the rest of the race so much better.  It was pretty chilly at the beginning, which is why I had the long sleeve shirt to begin with.  I kind of wish I had just run in shorts and a shirt.  By the time we finished it was really warm.  Amanda had an amazing time. It was great running the race with her.  Our time wasn't spectacular but that didn't matter.  This race was about having fun and enjoying the sights and sounds.  Every mile marker had some sort of Disney movie on it and the characters were nearby.  We took pictures with most of them.  The pirates were my favorite.  We bonded over rum, of course.  Disney put on a spectacular race.  Fireworks at the start for each corral was inspiring.  Great volunteers along the course, yelling out my name (since it was on the bib).  Yup, I am now an official princess; my bib says so. I'll post a pic of it soon.  The finish had a lot of photographers to take our pictures, which we did with medals in hand.  This is def. a race I would run again and recommend others to do with me, as a group.  Now, my focus is turned to Talladega.  And after that Warrior Dash.  Then, who knows.  But I have my eyes set on Running like a diva, for those of you up in NY.

Finally made it

I finally made the casserole.  Pretty good.  I'd probably change a few things, like the amount of each ingredient.  It barely fit in my casserole dish.  I'd also spice the turkey up a little more.  Very filling though.  I recommend it.  Race day is almost here!!  I have an outfit now (I'll post pics of it later) and have started packing.  Can't forget my BodyGlide or anything.  Speaking of...it is AMAZING.  Get some, even if it's for daily use.  We all hate the redness we get from body parts rubbing against each other or clothes.  Ask Courtney.  She tried it.  Or just read about it on the interwebs.  Highly recommend BodyGlide. 
Also, favorite princesses? Let me know.  I'll be sure to get a picture with them haha.  Also taking music recommendations. 

Wedding Weekend

Weekends in Durham=awesome.  Open bars at weddings=more awesome.  Put them together and you get what I was Saturday night.  It was great seeing everyone from Alspaugh.  Julie looked amazing and so did Mike.  The wedding was awesome.  Of course my diet was shot to hell while I was there.  Elmo's...the Joyce...Down Under...Wedding buffet....CookOut.  Yea, all delicious, but so so bad for me.  I saw Stephanie while I was there, and Charlie.  Charlie loved all over me.  I miss him.  At least I have Mia down here to give me love.  I did 0 running this weekend.  As we all know, I have a half on Sunday so I kind of need to get up off my lazy ass.  I have a sore throat so not sure how good it will be for me to run tomorrow.  I'm going to give it a go.  Don't want stiff legs or anything.  As for the rest of you up North, how goes the training? Have we reached a mindset that you want to run? That's an important step, just as important as the actual running.  Hopefully the snow and ice melt soon so you can all get outside.

What not to do

So, most of you don't have this problem.  I know this firsthand.  Don't skip lunch.  I got too involved in my thesis and work (this rarely happens) and by the time my tummy was grumbling, I realized it was 1:30.  I had a banana as a snack earlier but bananas aren't a substitute for my appetite.  I also had almonds on hand.  Always have a snack on hand.  Never know when you might get hungry.  Almonds are great to have on hand.  But yes, don't skip lunch.  Plan ahead.  My plan was to have the casserole leftovers, but my spinach didn't defrost in time last night.  And the line at the sub place in my building had a really long line.  So I'm home now and in the process of making food.

National Margarita Day

I didn't get a chance to celebrate with Jose.  This whole school thing got in the way since everyone is busy.  I did have a mix of rum and mango juice though, which was interesting.  If we had had something else on hand, like strawberries and seltzer, the drinks would have been delicious.  I didn't go to the gym (I know, I fail at life) but I did go to the Farmer's Market and get a lot of yummy food.  I'm making the protein casserole tonight.  I'm excited for it.  I'm also going out shopping for my Disney princess outfit.  I have a tiara--it's baby blue, but not Carolina blue, I checked.  I'm hoping to find a pink running skirt or pink running shorts and a light blue top, so I somewhat match. 
I started my food journal, on paper.  I decided I won't actually write everything on here since it's kind of boring.  But it is nice knowing exactly what I have consumed.  Almonds and fruit take the top spots.  I'm ok with that.  How about y'all? Who is doing what--eating wise, or exercise wise?  Couch to 5k...when is the start for that? And Speed Skating? Only you, Courtney.  Only you.  I'll actually get my butt in gear today.  Made out a new weight lifting plan, doing full body workouts 2-3 times a week.  I found a great site to help out with this, if anyone is interested in weightlifting.  I'm always here to help :) (And if there's ever anything I don't know, I have my own running guru to ask questions to haha).

Medals & Shirts

My medals are awesome.  It kind of sucked that the half shirt had a broken heart, but it is cooler than the full marathon shirt. 

First new recipe to try

 I got this recipe from a friend who read it on Runner's World.  It looks tasty and has so much protein, which is awesome since I don't eat nearly enough.  I'll be buying the ingredients tomorrow at the DeKalb Farmer's Market and making it either tomorrow or Tuesday.  I'll let you know how it goes. 


Protein Penne Casserole

This delicious dish delivers 42 grams of protein per serving, along with ample carbs and fiber, all for 425 calories.

3 cups cooked whole-grain penne pasta
1 pound ground turkey, browned with 1 small onion and 2 cloves garlic
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with herbs (plus 1/2 can water)
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup part-skim grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced olives or olive tapenade

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pasta, cooked turkey-onion mixture, tomato, liquid, and spinach in a bowl and put in a two-quart glass casserole dish sprayed with canola cooking spray. Top with grated cheese and sliced olives. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, uncover for another 15 minutes until cheese is browned. Serves four.
(http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-303-307-10362-0,00.html)

A few days late...

But that's kind of how I roll.  Plus, the days from Ash Wednesday to the first Monday after don't really count.  My whole goal is to cook at home at least 5 times a week. Why?
1) Save money (everything they tell you about being a poor grad student is true)
2) Healthier food--better for my training
3) I can learn new recipes to bribe friends with and to attract men, not that that's a priority
I also am trying to follow my work out plan, all of it, not just the long runs.  Granted, I am in recovery mode for the next 2 weeks so work outs are pretty tame.  Then I have my race (yea Disney princess half!!).  And after that, recovery and training for Warrior Dash.  Look it up, it's awesome.
I have a few recipes in mind, trying to keep it simple but fresh.  So suggestions are welcome.
I know I'm not the best motivator when it comes to doing good things (my specialties involve mixing strong drinks that taste like there's no alcohol and encouraging wild and risky adventures, safely,) I'm hoping this blog can help some achieve any goal they may have.  Couch to 5K is an awesome one (you know who you are).  Or even working on other aspects of life not related to the physical body, it's what I'm here for.

To catch up on what I've done since Wednesday:
Haven't eaten out (yay!).  Went to a bar to play Bingo so had a couple drinks--it makes Bingo more fun.
I ran on Thursday for 35 minutes and stretched after.
Ran 4 miles on Saturday at a pace of 15 min/mile.  I usually run faster but it was a training run to stretch my legs out.  I have pics from my half-marathon on Sunday if anyone wants to see them.
Go to: http://www.brightroom.com/view_event.asp?EVENTID=62244 and look up my bib number 2781 or you can search by my last name.  I was smiling through most of those 13.1 miles!