Example for Illiterate Dan

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Warm Weather

Today is a gorgeous day here in Milwaukee. It is only 37 degrees right now, but that’s a heat wave. This weekend it is going to get up to the 40s. You know what this means? This means it’s time to start running outside! Now, I don’t know about you, but this spring is my favorite time of year – it’s not too hot, not too cold. You can still wear a scarf and not sweat and you can run outside! I AM going to run outside today after my class that ends at 4:45. I will keep you posted as to what happened and maybe take some pictures along the way!

Morning or Night?

This morning I was awoken by birds singing outside my window. Now, sure, many people find this to be exciting because birds singing means that spring is almost here. I am very excited that spring is here in 18 days, but at 5 am birds singing is the last thing I want to be hearing! I was able to fall back asleep, but woke up again at 6:45 and decided to go work out. I went with a roommate who is also hoping to run a race in the upcoming months.

While working on the elliptical I realized something: I do not like to work out in the morning. I definitley do like the fact that I get it out of the way and have the time throughout the day to get other tasks completed, but these morning work outs just aren’t as good. I am the type of person that needs to eat something, let it digest and be awake for at least an hour before exercising. This would mean that I would have to wake up at 5:30 am in order to eat, digest food, drink enough water and wake up enough to do a full run. As a college student, there is no way this will ever happen! I was able to be on the elliptical for 20 minutes and then run a mile on the treadmill today, so I am all in all pleased. Even though it wasn’t my greatest work out, I am glad that I did it.

From here on out though, I will be working out in the afternoon or evenings. This is when I have the most time to actually run more than 2 miles – which would never happen at 7 in the morning! I better start working on this, though, because that’s when the race begins. I could run outside at 7 but a treadmill run at that time sucks! I can’t wait for spring!

Decisions, Decisions

Even though I have many months before I actually have to run a little over 13 miles, I need to decide what race to run. I either want to run the Chicago Half-Marathon or the Rock ‘n Roll Chicago Half-Marathon. The Chicago one is in September and the Rock ‘n Roll one is in August. I am thinking that August might just be a little too hot, but it’s all on the lake, which would be awesome! What do you all think?

Here are the links to both:

Rock ‘n Roll:

Chicago Half Marathon:

Whoa, Spinning

This week brought about something new. I wanted to try something different, while still keeping up with my training. My best friend really likes to spin. I’ve done it once but didn’t really like it, but mostly because my teacher wasn’t very good. I decided to give it a try just because. Well, I couldn’t really figure out the bike and I didn’t really like how my legs got the brunt of the work and the rest of my body doesn’t get any sort of work out. I was on the spinnig=ng bike for 37 minutes, biked 12 miles and didn’t feel a thing. Sure, I was sweating a little bit, but nothing great. You know when you are running and your arms get a work out, as well as your abs, well this doesn’t happen with the spinning bike! I know that some people really love the spinning bikes, but it’s not for me. Oh, and I had to ice my knee insanely after that! I think I’ll run tomorrow instead!

Total Soreness

Since my last post about staying dedicated to my work outs and making sure I actually go to the gym. Well, I went for a 4 mile run on Sunday – which I kept pushing back. “I’ll go at 12….I’ll go at 12:30….Okay, no I’m going at 1.” I actually did finally get out of my bed at 12:45 and went to the gym. I told myself that I would run 4 miles, one more than my usual runs. When I finished, I felt fantastic! It just goes to show that when I put my mind to something, I can totally do it!

On Monday, I went to my Cardio Party class – it kicked my butt! (Thanks, Annie!) When we were doing our kickboxing portion, we used dumb bells when we punched. WOW. Even though they were only 2 pounds, when you do hundreds of punches, it starts to add up! Needless to say, I woke up really sore the next morning. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do when I’m sore is go for a run the next day. So I didn’t go for a run on Tuesday. I know, I know. It’s no real “excuse,” but still. I did go to my work out class again yesterday and am going on the treadmill today!

My theory: one day off doesn’t kill anyone – as long as it is deserved!

Dedication

This past week, I did some form of physical activity, either Cardio Party or running in general, 5 days. I feel amazing. I feel light, fit and ready to take on the world. Sometimes I do feel like I have no energy and could pass out on my computer keyboard at work, but then again, I get tired at night and not during the day. It’s a new feeling for me – and I like it. On Thursday, I had a job interview (awesome, I know!) and couldn’t go work out due to the length of the interview and then that night I went out to dinner for one my good friend’s birthdays. And I didn’t work out on Friday, because I never do.

I came to realization today that I don’t want to make excuses for not working out anymore. Sure, on Thursday, I could have woken up earlier and gone to the gym before my classes or run on Friday to balance it out – but I didn’t. It is so easy to just put this off “until tomorrow,” but I do not want to this anymore! This blog has kept me in check so far – I want to work out so I have something to write about. So I went to the gym today, went on the Arc Trainer for 35 minutes and then did some weight training. I feel great and am ready for the Marquette vs. USF basketball game tonight where I will be thankful for my hard work out after my second (or, let’s face it, third) Miller Lite! Ring Out Ahoya!!

Love, Hate Relationship

When I decided to attend Marquette in Milwaukee, I knew that it would entail a snowy winter. What I didn’t expect was how cold those winters would actually be! Today, it snowed all day long with wind chill temperatures in the teens. Absolutely not ideal running weather. My runs have been on the treadmill for three months now and I am getting so sick of it. As I was running on it today, I came to the realization that the Precor treadmill and I have a love, hate relationship.

The Love Relationship: Running on a treadmill offers the cardio I need in order to run my half-marathon. The treadmill allows for a run inside during the cold, Wisconsin winters. I LOVE being able to run to my playlist. I just made a new one, which pushed me today.
The Hate Relationshp: I feel like I have been running forever when, in actuality, I’ve only been running for 10 minutes. At first it didn’t bother me that I was moving in place because the gym at home has personal TVs on each piece of cardio equipment. But at school, I do not have that luxury. It hurts my knees. I know I sound really old, but it’s true. I have a “bad knee” and the pounding on the treadmill really hurts. Yes, I could only use the elliptical, but that doesn’t really help with the training. I also hate the fact that when you run inside, all the machines are really close together. I feel like I am running on top of people. That sucks.

As you can see, the hate part of the relationship is a lot more than the love part. I don’t really have a choice though because the salt on the sidewalks here in Milwaukee keeps me inside. I guess I will have to wait until the end of April to start running outside again. At least my new playlist keeps me going!

Holy Cardio Party

Every Monday and Wednesday I, along with numerous other sorority sisters, go to an aerobic class at our rec center called Cardio Party. Well let me tell you, it is nothing like a party – except maybe for the fact that the music could all be played at a party. The class is a combination of kickboxing, Zumba and toning. Today, we did more Zumba than anything else. This is bad news for me. I may be able to run 6 miles in little over an hour – but I have little coordination when it comes to dancing. I don’t have rhythm and I certainly can’t “drop it like it’s hot.” Needless to say, it was an entertaining 20 minutes of Zumba….for everybody else.

When the class turned over to the kickboxing portion, I loved it! I really like punching and kicking. It helps me get out all my aggression. This work out class takes the place of a run and you might be wondering how I can seriously run half a marathon in less than 9 months with a cardio class called Cardio Party. But if I were to run 5 or 6 days a week, I would be insanely bored!! This class helps pick up my heart rate and keep my muscles guessing. It’s a ton of fun to work muscles that I don’t use when I’m running. This class will help my endurance for my long runs….at least, this is what I’m telling myself. For now, it’s a fun change to my running routine.

As for my new playlist, I made it last night and will get to test it out tomorrow. Hopefully it helps me. Also, for dinner tonight, I had cereal. I had a craving for dairy, just I suspected. Weird, yet delicious!

New Playlist and Chocolate Milk

Today I went to the gym to do my typical 3 mile run and discovered something: I NEED a new running playlist!  I have been listening to the same list for over a year and I know what song is next, and the one after that, and the one after that.  Most of the songs are great running songs, but they just aren’t pumping me up like they used to.  I have been putting my playlist on shuffle for the last couple of months, but still, I just a change.  I am thinking of adding some Aerosmith, Darius Rucker and Beyonce – she’s a must.  I think if I add really fast-paced songs at the times when I know I get tired, like mile 2.5, then it’ll keep me going.  Tomorrow I have my cardio class, Cardio Party, at Marquette’s Rec Center, so I won’t be able to use my new playlist until Tuesday.  I’ll let you know what I decide.

Also, what is it about chocolate milk that tastes so delicious after a run?  Of course I will always be addicted to my G2 strawberry-kiwi, but chocolate milk really does the trick.  It’s funny because after my dad crossed the finish line of his marathon, he drank milk.  I found this to be totally weird and disgusting.  I couldn’t understand why something dairy would hit the spot.  But then again, after a 5K run to start off Bastille Days (it’s this amazing French festival in Milwaukee) I had a Miller Chill, which really seemed to do the trick!  I suppose a nice, cold glass of chocolate milk isn’t too far from beer.  But still.  I was wondering that today because after my shower, all I wanted was a glass of chocolate milk.  Weird!  I don’t know what it is, but it was delicious.  I wonder if this is what I will crave after my intense Cardio Party?  I’ll let you know!