Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Blue-bee-bears!

Finals week is almost over! Just one more final, tomorrow, and I'm free for summer! I really do love the quarter system, even with the three sets of finals...
So I was REALLYYY sunburned from job training (summer camp!) this past weekend, so it's been a stretch to even sleep on my back, let alone throw a sports bra on! Today was the first day that I've been able to, so I got my booty to the gym!
Started with weights: 12 lb. dumbells for lat. raises, serving trays, bicep curls...the usual routine.
Then on to the elliptical. Now, I cry around 3-5 times a week over my stupid injury, because taking running from me is like taking life from me. YES, I am that dramatic. So today I taped around my foot, hoping it would help (a little...) and printed out the Fitnessista's Boredom Buster elliptical workout. THANK YOU FITNESSISTA, I NEARLY DIED. It was amazing! I've never felt so good from an elliptical workout before! After that, I did a bit of legwork with weighted machines (I don't normally do those, but I was in the mood I guess-I usually use my own body weight). Then 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, as my foot had started to twinge at the end of the elliptical cooldown. 
Headed over to the balance balls and did a few reps of the ab roller & about 13 balance ball jackknives. I WILL get better at them, I swear!

So I took the plunge...I ORDERED INSANITY! I'm totally stoked, when my foot heals I'm going to sweat my way through Shaun T's brutality. Loveee.

Nourishment today...well half a pot of weak coffee, a BUNCH of green tea, and a small protein shake, or drink, because it was RIDICULOUSLY thin, made from 1 scoop Designer Whey Vanilla, a small banana, around a cup of ice, and maybe 3/4 to a cup of skim milk. Very nice :]

Post workout:
In the words of the Fitnessista herself, GLORIOUS!
1.5 liters of water (which I'm still working on), a container of blueberries (goodbye portion control), and an almond & cashew KIND bar. Bars are relatively infrequent, especially after I realized that both CLIF and LUNA have gluten...explains how I felt when I used to eat them as meal replacements. And I ran out of my stock of mini LARABARS from the JDRF walk fall quarter. But this was a treat :]

Oh & to clarify the title, my sister, who is now 234239832x cooler than me, and a few inches taller despite being four years younger, used to say the cutest things! Now she's too cool to be a dork with me...usually :]
But she used to call cigarettes "smokers," and when she wanted to be carried, she'd say "carrot me up." Very direct, to the point. They should have let her write the dictionary...
Anyway, she was always the blueberry fan, it was a texture thing for me. Crazy, now I'm addicted. Somehow in her genius brain she mixed up the syllabic sounds and instead of saying "Blue-berr-ee" said "Blue-bee-bear." Freaking adorable. Oh and strawberries were "Straw-bee-bear." Love her<3

Off to shower and study for my last final of sophomore year! Goodbye half of undergrad, wow.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Happy National Running Day!

Yes, it's National Running Day!
(aka Courtney wants to smack someone because she's still injured :[)
Anyway, this week has been somewhat hectic, but I managed to get two beach runs in over the three day weekend! Ten sets of 1x5 minutes (walkingxrunning). It feels SO good to be running again, my body just knows it and loves it! It's almost a blow to my pride to be running such low mileage, but the interval is there to keep me from getting bored going back and forth, and the sand makes it harder anyway. No pain at least...But since it's barefoot, I have to be careful because my feet get roughed up pretty nastily. In all honesty, I'm a little scared of trying to put on running shoes, because even my XT shoes hurt sometimes. 

So today was my first day at the gym all week, because Saturday & Monday were beach days, and Sunday was a lazy-Courtney-has-bad-habits-and-will-feel-disgusting-tomorrow day, and on Tuesday I had a ten page research paper due for one of my general education classes (six quarters of it one lecture from being DONE!). I should have started it wayyy before Monday night, but since the course requires a prospectus to be turned in week six, I had a good start and copied & pasted much of the structure. From there I just filled it in! My topic was women & family in the Third Reich. Heavy, I know, but I wanted to approach Germany during Hitler's years from an angle I didn't know much about. Well, I finished that at four in the morning, which is TOTALLY not the way I do things, I swear. I need to be in bed by midnight at the latest, and I LOVELOVELOVE days when I crash at ten. I'm a failure of a college kid. Just kidding!

So after turning in the paper, I pretty much slept all day, and didn't make it to work out :[ I HATE rest days, even if I know I need them. This morning I was up for my usual 7:30 gym sesh, which I nearly fell asleep through anyway (thank you sleepytime tea, really). Around ten minutes of lifting 12 lb. weights (heavy for me, but I wasn't getting results with 10 lbs.): side arm raises (lat raises?), bicep curls, serving trays (from Seventeen Magazine, love their small tips!), and a few other moves that are a part of my normal routine. I do about 20 reps of each, and I know I should tweak it, but in the early morning before classes, this routine works! Then hopped on the elliptical for 28 minutes of intervals, followed by an extra 2 minutes to round it out & a 5 minute cooldown. I was studying for my Latin quiz at the same time, while trying not to drool over Supernatural, which was on TV. 
Jensen Ackles=LOVE!
(Feast your eyes!)
Aww yeahhhh. Jensen Ackles, marry me! In a non-stalkery way. Or at least let me work out with you! 

Hopped on the recumbent bike for what was supposed to be 25 minutes, but my foot/injury twinged so I cut it to 20. Not fun. Came back & made a protein shake for breakfast/lunch with a bowl of pineapple, a LOT of mango, 1 scoop Designer Whey, a bit of vanilla extract, and a glass of milk. It was 1%, WAYYY too rich for me but once in a while I can deal. It wasn't my favorite, but fruit servings + protein...works for me!

And lots of pushups.

So off to Latin, hello release from world! Then back for a 30-minute pilates DVD & the rest of my shake. Nothing like a final the week before finals week to add a bit of stress :/.

So I had a bit of a meltdown. I've been dealing with this foot pain for over a month, in fact, I ran the La Jolla Hlaf Marathon with it, and no, it did NOT numb out. Thirteen miles of burning, shooting, horrendous pain. Lovely. Every so often I feel like I've reached my breaking point with it: I miss running! It keeps me sane, focused, and reduces a LOT of anxiety. Not to mention the double-cut quads I used to rock! There were a few tears, unfortunately, because not only am I off running, but the pain can be triggered by a lot of other things as well. No Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, no plyometrics, and the bike and elliptical are left up to fate. So very frustrated. I'm okay now, with the promise of physical therapy once I get home. Maybe looking at pictures of this gorgeous specimen will cheer me up:

(More feasting!)
Hi, I know we don't know each other, but I currently love you. Ahh.