I can trust no more

Something has happened to me.

Something big.

Like, I-don’t-even-know-if-I-can-ever-trust-the-world-again big.

Intense.

I have an office job in higher education. I’ve worked here for 8 years (3 in my current position, 5 in Financial Aid Office – yeah, I was that person you loved to hate as an Undergrad) and I love a lot of things about my job but one of the main things I’m grateful for - that the summer is so laid-back. Most of the students and faculty are gone, which means it’s a lot quieter, parking is easier and there’s not as many distractions when it comes to getting my work done. There are some days when no one even walks into my office.

Those are glorious, glorious days my friends.

One of the other great things about no students is I don’t have to time my bathroom breaks. I refuse to go at certain times when classes get out in the fall & spring because it’s a madhouse out there in the halls. Like a bunch of gazelles being chased by lions madhouse. Especially in the first few weeks of fall as the incoming freshman are figuring everything out. But the summer is bathroom freedom on my bladders will.

Again, glorious, glorious days my friends.

One of the things that I get pumped up about is when going to the bathroom I’ll luck out and see the toilet seat raised up. This is a wonderful indication that housekeeping has cleaned the bathroom and I am the first, the first, to sit on a newly cleaned toilet seat (it’s the small things in life).

I don’t know why I get so excited about this but it makes me feel better for not being one of those people that insist they hover over every public toilet and never sit on the seat.

If that’s you, you’re a dirty filthy liar. We all know you sit on the seat. WE ALL DO. 

Anyway, I walked into the restroom and as I turned to the right a small, dark-haired woman was coming out of the first bathroom stall. I glanced over (this is typically my stall because I had read once somewhere that the first bathroom stall is usually filled with less germs) and you know what I saw?

She put the toilet seat back up – like she never used it at all!! The toilet was still flushing and the door was open, and she was standing there with her back to me and, and, and…

WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO ME?

My glorious, glorious summer days have forever been lost. I will never be able to trust a raised toilet lid again. That dark-haired woman took that from me. She.took.it.from.me.

Training Tuesday 8.13.13

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This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

My Training

I did Insanity a couple times last week and then Lillie had – get this – a 104.5 fever at daycare and the remainder of my week was focused on nestling her back into her sweet-natured self. You know, the self that chases the cat around, somehow manages to catch her & then force her to lay still underneath a blanket on the recliner. You can just see the love in Smokey’s face.

I started working on marathon plans, but was getting stupid overwhelmed. So I’ve decided that I will just focus on each upcoming race that I have already in the books and base my plan(s) off that. I have a pretty strong base already when it comes to 5ks since I’ve been running fairly consistently for the past year at that distance. So I haven’t created a 5k plan, I just jumped right into the 10k.

Last year when I created a 10k plan I was just focused on the miles to put in. I wasn’t concerning myself with time since no matter what I did I was going to PR (the joy of racing a distance for the first time!) But this year, I want to be faster so I’ve actually incorporated tempo runs. This is totally new to me, so I’m excited to jump in and complain about it all to whoever will listen. (Read: You guys)

You’ll also notice Manic Moj Monday – if you’re new here you’ll hear me talk about Mojgan on occasion. She is a beast in the gym and has been an amazing inspiration to me when it comes to working out and (trying) to eat better. She loves running stairs & I think it will only help me be stronger when it comes to to the hills of the 10k I’m running (and for the half in January that follows a similar course – HILLS & MORE HILLS). 

If you have any suggestions on the plan above or just want to say hello, comment below!

Polish Pickle Run 5k

Back in June I signed up for this (fairly local) 5k knowing full well it was probably going to be miserable. You know, with Texas heat & humidity and all.

And guess what? Hot diggity dog it was.

I think it was already 80 degrees by the time the race started and even though I managed to sport my Chub Rub loophole, I was still a sweaty mess. Things I won’t complain about: it was overcast and I think that made a huge difference.

I knew with the heat situation that the odds of be PRing (Personal Record) on the 5k were slim to none, so I went in with the attitude of finishing and enjoying some of the great post-race food celebration they had going on. It included sausage (Of course, I mean it is a Polish festival, right?) and a huge abundance of fruit. There was also a free beer at the end where you drank from your Polish 5k Mason Jar you received in your race bag.

Speaking of race bag – ours did not include the timing chips. We pre-registered, got everything else, but come the day of we didn’t have chips. I assumed they were on the bibs, but as we were crossing the finish line we realized they were the kind you tied to your shoes. So, I have no official time. But my Garmin told me:

So, taking the heat into consideration not that much of a change from my previous 5k time of 36:11. I’m good with it. I was definitely feeling it by the end – if you couldn’t tell by my pace changes.

They had a photographer at the start/finish but unfortunately I didn’t get any real great shots. Although, I probably do have a few I can save for any future ‘great race photo’ posts.

This is blurry but I like that I’m hovering in the air of awesomeness. I’m like Superman. But you know, not an alien, or a man, or a superhero. Toe-may-toe, tuh-mah-toe.

Overall, I’ll probably race this again. The course wasn’t spectacular (just through an old country town) but the atmosphere and people, definitely made it fun. Also, the food spread was pretty damn scrumptious.

Until we race again!

Spark

A couple weeks ago I told you how I lost 6 lbs in 10 days using the Herbal Cleanse product from Advocare. I’m down 8 lbs (as of this morning!), so it’s stayed off which makes me happy that it wasn’t some “fad fat” that I found after I quit using the product.

(If you’re interested in purchasing, you can find the product here – it’s $31.50 and if you’re local to me, let me know and I can pick it up myself giving you free shipping)

During that post I mentioned another product, Spark.

Here I am wearing red lipstick, eyeliner and showing you the Mandarin Orange flavor. I am fancy.

This is my absolute favorite product so far. It has helped me knock my soda addiction down to practically nothing. I had been drinking from 20 oz to 50 oz a day of carbonated beverage – I’m including Monster Energy Drinks in that as well – and now, I kind of just take a few sips out of the husbands can (he just loves this, let me tell you) to satiate the flavor taste I still crave.

I do not crave the sugar high/rush from sodas/energy drinks anymore. It’s kind of amazing considering Spark contains NO SUGAR. Say whaaa?!

Here’s the nutrition facts with a little comparison of other products you probably have enjoyed a time or two:

Things I noticed immediately – Calories and Sugar. Go ahead, check it out. That’s right 45 calories and 0 grams of sugar, with the exception of coffee, that is ridiculously low in comparison. And with coffee, that’s only if you’re one of those who don’t add any extras (creamers, sugar, etc).

And then of course, it’s also jam packed with vitamins – which is wonderful and more satisfying than say a Flintstone Vitamin. Or at the very least, longer lasting.

It’s branded as an energy drink mix, but keep in mind it’s a slow-release energy drink which means you won’t come down off your sugar high with the jitters and wanting to punch squirrels in the face.

Uh, not that I know anything about that feeling. Stupid Monster.

Personally I love drinking it in the afternoon around 3pm when that feeling of “Where’s my nap time at?” comes. It really helps keep me in focus without adding an extra 100 calories to my diet. I’d rather eat 100 calories than drink it.

I was also surprised that the headaches you can normally associate with dropping sodas were practically non-existent. Like the first day I had none, it was just a slight tinge in the afternoon when my body was used to that pick-me-up but I grabbed a Spark and it went away. Which is crazy because like I said, it has no sugar.

This isn’t sponsored. I’m not being paid or received free product to talk about this. Hell, I’m pretty sure Advocare has no idea who I even am. I sincerely, honestly love this product. My husband does too and is continually dipping his hands into my stash of flavors. That’s considered stealing and I can chop his hand off, right? Totally learned that in Aladdin.

Speaking of flavors, check out what they got.

Watermelon (my personal favorite)
Mango Strawberry (my runner-up)
Fruit Punch (honorable mention)
Mandarin Orange
Cherry
Grape
Pink Lemonade
Citrus

You can buy a box for $22.95 which includes 14 pouches – so about $1.64 or you can go the canister route of $51.95 for 42 servings that comes to $1.23, roughly the price you’d pay from a vending machine.

I haven’t bought a canister (yet) because I’ve been working on trying all the flavors (I’ve tried the first 4 listed) and seriously they all have been great.

If you’re interested in learning MORE about Spark, they have a wonderful product page that you can find HERE. It tells you the benefits, gives you comparisons, and nutrition facts for each flavor (they do vary slightly but sugar & calories do not.)

If you’d like to try it out, CLICK HERE. Shipping is only $7.95 and if you’re local to the Waco area, I can actually offer free shipping and bring it to you personally. And as always, you’ll receive one free high five upon arrival.

There are a number of other products I am currently taking/figuring out and as I use them I’ll be posting reviews.

I’m planning to do the 24 Day Challenge in the next month. I’ve heard wonderful things about it, people losing crazy inches and upwards of 20 lbs, so if you’re interested in doing this with me – that’d be wonderful! More power in numbers, right? I’ll be posting before/after pictures and measurements for your entertainment and my humility.

For more information about the 24 Day Challenge and what it entails – CLICK HERE.

If you have any questions, you can always leave a comment or email me at thesparkrunner@gmail.com