Finding a school routine, a new challenge, and another loss.

I haven't posted in a few days because the internet has been going down across campus, and then yesterday was a day of morning because I cracked the screen on my iPod. That thing is my baby, and I paid for it myself 3 years ago, and I knew this was probably bound to happen one day but now...I'm just sad. Most of my blog pictures are taken on that and now it's a goner. Actually it's not really a goner it's still usable but I'm very sad about the state it's in.

This is why I like to row/run/cartwheel/yoga

Other than that, I've been finding a new workout routine now that I'm here. I knew I wouldn't be doing the 50-90 minutes of exercise that I was doing at home everyday, but I've done at least 30 minutes every day which is more normal. Today I ran and erged on the school's rowing machine. Tomorrow I'll be going to spin class with my fave roomie (we lived together last year). I'm also going kayaking in the afternoon.

Today I had hoped to be doing a 10-mile run in the morning....but when my alarm went off I REALLY wanted another 1.5 hours of sleep so I just ignored it and did a shorter workout. Hopefully I can squeeze the 10 miles in sometime this weekend, but if not, it's not a big deal. I have tryouts next Thursday or Friday and I want my legs fresh for that.

I'm also going to participate in Swim to Turkey. This is the perfect type of thing that I've been looking for to strengthen my swimming this fall. As it turns out, there are a lot of swimmers in the community I'm living in this semester and I will have more than enough company (and fun) to accomplish this. It's a lot to add into my schedule, but I think I can make it work. Worst case scenario, I spend a few weekends catching up to my goal (68,575 yards by November 20).

YAY hat, and running improvement.

Hi !!! I was so busy with my first day of classes yesterday, and I didn't get time to post! It also didn't help that everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off because wifi was down campus-wide. BUT I have good news! My Head of the Charles regatta hat came in!

Yay! This one's fancy and canvas and not good for head ventilation so I also got a plain white one that is mesh and made by the same makers as my old hat, but it doesn't say Head of the Charles on it. So two=the value of one in this case but this is the best I can do since my old hat is floating somewhere in a lake in Ravenna, OH right now.

In the last few days a lot of developments have taken place as far as our regatta schedule. Our bids for the Head of the Charles will come in on 1 September, and then we'll plan from there! Meanwhile we've established a schedule and have a sort of idea where we're headed this semester. Tryouts are still a week and a half away! I've been putting off doing any erging at the rec, but I've continued to run! Yesterday I did almost 5 miles at "hard" effort in 90 degree heat. I ran a lot faster than normally despite the heat! This has actually happened a few times in the last few weeks, and I've been surprised by my performance. Like I said before, I think my running-less and cross-training-more habits have really helped my personal running progress. I hope that my running is seriously improving and that I can get a new half-marathon PR this fall. I've picked out a new race with a friend of mine...should be a really fun one!

Speaking of which, I'm going to head out for a run now and get showered and cleaned up before my evening class. Toodles!

Finding food and dealing with hotness.

Today was my first full day back on campus. It's been great to run around and see everyone and acclimate myself with everything again! Today I spent the day resting up and going to some meetings, and then later grabbing dinner and then visiting people with my old roomie. It was so good to hang out with her! Everyone here is still really nice and excited, and there's not that feeling of fear and anxiety that clouded the first few days of my freshman year. I'm excited for classes tomorrow although I have a couple nerve-wracking things too (an interview and chasing down a professor for a class).

Today for lunch I made a big, refreshing salad. After weird retreat food for a couple of days it was great to get this yummy pile of greens (with some watermelon on the side).

I also squeezed in a run! I later found out it was 88 degrees while I was running. I think that probably explains why I felt so yucky during the run even though I had taken off a few days. I still got in 30 minutes before I had to meet someone! I might not be able to run tomorrow but on Tuesday I'll get on in during the morning before classes. 

Admiring some of beautiful campus in beautiful weather :)

Tonight I picked out first-day outfits with my old roomie and am just getting a few things together before heading to bed. Hopefully some nice pics to come from tomorrow :)

I'm BACK!

YAY I'm back from the retreat that I went on and I'm happily getting adjusted to life back at school! I've already made so many new friends...maybe even friends for life!

The move generally went very well but the car-ride took 1.5 hours longer than it was supposed to. IronSister and I had plenty of time to take some last pics in the car!

My parents stayed until I was pretty much all completely unpacked and content and then we said our good byes! Don't worry, we'll be reunited very soon thanks to rowing :)

Thanks, people!

I decorated more when they left, and this is pretty much how my room turned out! I like it a lot, it's nice to have my own space although I really miss my roommate (she's living downstairs). 

I made a little rowing/Head of the Charles shrine, as well!

Like I said, I was taking a few days off of running and exercise but this morning at the retreat someone wanted to go running and I said YEAH COUNT ME IN and then one other girl came as well! We did a pretty slow, easy pace that we could all keep up with and be very comfortable talking during. I think we probably covered about 3 miles but it could've been less! Tomorrow morning I plan to go for a longer run before my officer's retreat/meeting for rowing in the afternoon. Can't wait to explore our beautiful campus again!

I think this semester is off to a great start (hopefully I don't jinx it!!!). 

Quick Post and lobster roll!

Today was my last day at home before packing up and leaving for school again. The next few days are definitely going to be hectic... I tried to prepare a little (mentally) by going to yoga. Today was another great class! I'm sad that I won't be able to continue my progress when I get to school (no Bikram there!) but excited for a new semester! Four months at home is a long time, and though I'm sad to leave I feel almost ready for a change. 

Today my sister and I "celebrated" (or mourned?? acknowledged?) my leaving by going downtown to meet my mom for lunch. Every Wednesday in summer the streets downtown fill with food carts with all sorts of yummy foods. My sister and I both ordered lobster rolls, which I haven't had since I was in Boston for the Head of the Charles regatta. That was actually the first time I'd tried one, and I didn't know they even made these in the Midwest! This lobster roll was great--it was on some nice, grilled bread and had spicy mayo and corn mixed into it. I had a picture of my sister eating hers but I think she'd never speak to me again if I posted it. So this food pic will have to suffice. 

Time for me to unwind with a little SYTTD ("Say Yes to the Dress") before bed and then I'll turn in. Very early start tomorrow and it's going to be just BONKERS when I move in, I know it! I have to go on an overnight retreat this weekend so my blogging might be a little spotty but I'll take as many pictures as I can!!! Wish me luck ! :)

Last evening of boating.

Today was a "scrambled" day. I woke up kind of late (been going to sleep late!) and packed for several hours before I finally got on the erg and bike and did

20 min erg
25 min spin
5-minute abs.

I had trouble getting motivated today; I feel burnt out, which isn't surprising because I've been working hard! But I know I'll have Thursday and Friday off and possibly either Saturday or Sunday as well, so I'm just trying to plan so I can keep working hard. I know that inevitably I will have to spend less time being active after crew tryouts, but I'd like to keep it up until then because I really want to do well. Then I'll have crew practices every day, so it'll be a trade off! I'm excited for the start of our season!
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Firstly, I ate some super-foods today: blackberries! They're locally grown and were very pretty and delicious.

Then I went on one last boating excursion for the summer! Even though now I have a love-hate thing with boating due to the loss of my hat... but time is helping me get over that loss and the evening was still fun :)

The moon was beautiful tonight:

I always find the industrial riverside views in Cleveland to be really pretty. This river actually looks a lot like the Cuyahoga (it's not). 

Salt piles in the distance!

...and finally, blackness :)

Progression run, yeah!

First off, let me wish a very happy MONDAY to everyone, especially some of my friends that read the blog!!! Congrats to either finishing or beginning your first week of school this week! You know who you are :)

Secondly, some exciting news!!! I did my first progression run today. Usually, I work out by minutes. Recently, I've liked to try to be active from anywhere between 50 to 90 minutes a day. I've been keeping record of that more for the past 2 weeks, just because I wanted to do a running cleanse for awhile and cut back from long runs, but still benefit from long-term cardio and endurance. I didn't want to lose the endurance that I've built up from doing longer races, and I'd like to stay in shape to do longer races (maybe squeeze in another half-marathon this fall???!). Today, however, I went back to running after pretty much taking a complete break from it for about 2 weeks (with a couple exceptions including my long run and a couple quick outings that were just for fun like with my sister and new shoes). I thought for a change, I could focus on miles and a fixed distance rather than minutes. I decided to do a 5-mile progression run, but I didn't decide this until I got out running and felt how it was! I never know how long I'm going to run for until I've been running for 4-5 minutes. I usually know if it'll be a long day, a medium day, or a short day before I leave, and today I knew I'd be medium, which is anywhere between 4-6 miles for me.

YES my bright pink socks still match the insides of my shoes! 

The insides of my new and old shoes are twins :)

I used the first mile to warm up, and then I hit it! I did miles 2-3 at the same speedier "effort" pace, and then mile 4 was 10 seconds faster and miles 5-5.75(it was actually almost 6 miles, not 5, but I thought I was on my 5 route...guess not) were each 10 seconds faster and faster per mile. I finished feeling pretty beat. It was 80-degrees and I was VERY under-hydrated and certainly not well-fueled (it was 3 in the afternoon and all I'd had was a waffle at 9:30AM...let's just say I procrastinated this run for awhile today...). Anyways, I LOVED the idea of a progression run and it felt great today. Considering my PR on the erg yesterday, my legs were not fresh and this was not full-out to my complete ability. With all of this in consideration, I'm really excited about how my running's come along this summer. I think I'm a less-is-more runner...I don't need to run 7 days a week to improve, and in fact my running suffers when I try to do so. I make a lot more progress when I do 3-4 runs a week and make those COUNT in addition to cross-training, strengthening, and stretching. I'd go as far to say that my body wasn't really designed for running (which surprises a lot of people that take a look at me and my parents, I come from a light-speedy-running-efficient-looking family) and I'm easily injured and my legs suffer if I do too many miles per week. I'm really glad I've taken the time this summer to really come to terms with myself as an athlete, and to research and grow on that front.

Me saying hi in my new mirror for my new room!

(sorry for the bad quality...)

That being said, I must admit I'm already plotting how I can get a run/erg in on Saturday when I arrive back on campus following a 2-day retreat... I realized that it's less about getting in the activity and exercise, but more about keeping my sanity and keeping routine. My problems melt away when I'm pounding on the pavement, pushing on an erg, or pedaling on a bike. I lose myself, and my thoughts sort of simplify in a way. This summer, I had a lot of free-time when I wasn't working, and to avoid getting lonely and bored, exercise is what I did! I am ADDICTED to the feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of sweat, and the pride that every run, row, and bike gives me. It kept me positive, happy, and gave me the sense that I was doing something. In some way, sport has helped me find myself this summer. I've learned how deep I can dig, how far I can go, and how hard I'm willing to work. This all applies athletically and otherwise. I feel confident moving into the new semester with this mindset. :)

Getting on the saddle...(or seat).

Today was one of those unmotivated days...it was cloudy and I was tired and sore from waterskiing yesterday (yes, I know, what a very hard life I lead!). Finally, at about 7PM (I had plans with a friend during the day) I got myself together and popped on the erg for what I've known was coming...another 5k benchmark...

A daunting sight...

I came out of it with a new 5k PR!!!!! YES! I have tryouts in 3 weeks and this is right where I want to be. I should be able to come down a few more seconds as long as I rest and get the right nutrition before tryouts. I was a little nervous but this is right where I wanna be at and I'm HAPPY.

Yummy fresh post-PR tomatoes...

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Today I spent the day with a friend who actually goes to school with me, so I'll see her later in the week, but we just couldn't wait to hang out! I wanted to show her my neighborhood and go out to to my favorite crêpe eatery. Today I had the egg and mushroom crêpe, perf! Lemonade sounded good too, so I had some with my lunch. Usually I don't drink anything other than water (or sometimes water+Gatorade) so it was pretty wild! 

I'm preparing for my travels in France by eating here. 

Ode to my favorite (and only) hat.

I was too sad to write yesterday because I tragically lost my favorite white hat from the Head of the Charles regatta. I lost the hat in none other than a boating accident. It was very traumatic. That hat was usually perfect for boating because I could cinch it up super-tight onto my smaller-than-average sized head and it always stayed on. Yesterday we picked up speed right before I was about to cinch it up (I didn't like to permanently keep it cinched because it would hurt my head). I got the hat last year in Boston, and it had the year printed on it and everything! It was perfect and all mesh and white so my head was always cool. I wore it for almost every run and certainly every race, and it let runners everywhere know that I'm actually a rower. I wrote my name in it so if it was lost no one could try to steal it. This hat saved me (and the world) from suffering from my terrible hair days. So I'm really sad about this loss. Especially because I have no hat now and I wore that thing like once a day. Usually I try to keep this blog cheerful but today is a day of morning.

RIP Boston hat...you were even there when I suffered from identity crisis and wore you backwards...

...and of course for my first half-marathon, where you made friends with Sunglasses...

...and when I had bad days an made this face...

...and my second half-marathon...

...and of course all my regattas!

I'll never forget you, Hat!

P.S. Sorry to make this post depressing...catharsis is important...

Favorite Things Friday.

This morning was one of THOSE mornings where, since I had nowhere immediate to be and no deadlines to make, I was extraordinarily unmotivated. I didn't want to do anythinggg. Yesterday I had planned a menacing trifecta of rowing, spinning, and running for today but I procrastinated for FOUR HOURS before starting anything. It was actually afternoon by the time I started my workout. I did laundry, packed a little bit more (of what I could) even though I'm not leaving for six days, I sat and stared at the wall, I did ANYTHING besides start my spin work out. So today ended up being:

60 minutes spin (check out this new longer video done by the same people as the other one I use)
30 minutes run (new shoes still A-OK but I think I need to lace them looser...my toes fell asleep...)

I LOVE ENDORPHINSSSSSSSSSSSS
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That brings me to my favorite things this week!

1. This news. I've mentioned several times that I did the Hot Chocolate race last November (placing second in my age group, alriiiiight!) and now I can finally get Alex one of these hats! He loves running hats. It will be his next present.

2. The feeling after a GREAT hot yoga class. So rejuvenating! 

3. The feeling of showering after a great hot yoga class...

4. This new ab regimen, provided by this year's men's captain on my rowing team:

5. Shopping for dorm stuff with ironSister. 

6. The way I'm going to decorate my new room next week!

7. The spinbike :)

8. The eyelashes on this car...

9. The way my hair feels when I rinse it with olive oil (you should try this! Just make sure to use dish soap to wash out the excess oil and shampoo after so your head doesn't smell like a bowl of pasta! I swear it makes your hair grow faster and it's really healthy either way!).

10. Getting to see my partner in crime this weekend! 

Katz Club and Kona.

Last night, we went to the Katz Club diner for dinner. It was a pretty neat place and had a lot of things on the menu that I would've wanted to try! My sister and I shared a sandwich and chocolate shake and each got a salad. Mine was yummy spinach with balsamic!

Here's some pics of the whole experience:

This morning ironSister picked me up from yoga and brought this pillow cookie for us to share...there was a brownie in the middle!

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some much needed college shopping and other errands.

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Today, as I mentioned, was another 90-minutes of hot yoga. I went at noon, and this was the best and the "easiest" feeling class so far. I don't know if the room was cooler than usual (unlikely), if the time of day suited me better, if it was better having little to no food in my stomach, if I was better hydrated, or if it was a combination of all of these things that made the class amazing. I'm not really improving on any of the 26 postures too much but at no point today did I feel like "uh oh I'm getting light-headed!" I think I was pretty well-hydrated from yesterday but I didn't drink anything all morning leading up to class. Not sure if my frequency of going to class has sent me through a barrier and now things will be easier or what but it was certainly promising! Hopefully I can make it to one more session (at least) before my departure 1 week from today. 

Last night I spent a great evening watching the 2012 and 2008 Kona Ironman World Championships. The 2013 champs are coming up in October, but watching these people race is seriously one of the most inspiring things ever for me. It's one thing to complete an Ironman, but completely a different thing to do so on Hawaii where it's over 100 degrees for parts of the race and brutally hot and humid.... I think back to those hot and humid 90 degree days where I struggled to complete my trudgingly slow 5-mile runs, and then try to picture how these people did so for a marathon AFTER a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike. Man, oh man! If you want to watch part or all of the 2012 championships, you can do so here. It provides a great idea of what Ironman is and shows the level of work that it takes to get to that level of competition. Even though I was dead-scared by the difficulty of the event as I was watching the championships, it still made me want to do an Ironman 70.3 (Half-Ironman). I don't want to jinx it because there's a pretty fair chance that it won't happen, but I did pick one out for next year that should fall exactly 1 year from my first triathlon a few weeks ago... Besides the training, there's a huge amount of logistics that go into making it to such an event (and it's crazy expensive to be a triathlete) so don't be surprised if it doesn't work out...but stay tuned :) Either way, I'll get there some day (even if it takes a decade to save the money that it'll take to do so!).  

Spin, blizzard, and NEW SHOES!!!

This afternoon was the best. First-off because I went to Dairy Queen again with my sister! I had a mini cookie dough blizzard. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't eat dairy! Ice cream is the best.

Then... I GOT NEW RUNNING SHOES!!!!! This is the greatest news ever. With 400 miles on them, my purple shoes weren't working too well for me and were starting to hurt my joints and give me blisters. Often times runners can get up to 700 miles comfortably on a pair of running shoes, but I certainly fall between the 300 and 500 cut-off for shoe replacement needs. Check these guys out!!!

They're the same as my old ones and are white with pink laces.

Like any loving parent, I buckled them in on the way home:

And put them on right when I got back!

For anyone who was unfamiliar with my very well-loved old shoes, they were Asics GT2000 model (you can take a look here). I LOVED these shoes and have always bounced back to Asics after trying a  new type of shoe. I get them discounted at my local running specialty store and I think Asics were made for me. So this new white shoe is just an updated version of my old ones! I will continue to wear my grape/white/pink GT2000s for cross-training activities, and my new white and pink ones will get me through running! Hopefully my sister has forgiven me for singing songs about my pink shoelaces all afternoon.

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Today's workout was a really fun one! It started with this killer outfit:

...and I found myself here:

My workout was:

25-minute spin class

10-minute erg

25-minute spin

10-minute erg

I took 5-minute breaks in between to fold some laundry (the benefits of having the equipment in the basement where the washer and dryer also live). After I was done I ate an egg sandwich on the floor while I stretched.

Check out my new erg log-card!

That card will save alllllllll my workouts and total meters on there. I think it's awesome! It'll be great to track my progress and monitor my total accomplishments over time. I'm glad my dad got one for me! I'm very lucky to have parents that are very interested in what I do--interested enough to buy an erg, fix it up when it needs, and buy log-cards for the family!

I've been on a running-cleanse for the last few days if you haven't noticed, but that all came crashing to an end when I got my irresistible new shoes. I went for a short run with IronSister to try them out (though there wasn't much to "try" since they're the same as what I just had, but that doesn't matter!). I also hadn't showered yet because the running store is one of the few places that welcomes me with open arms showered or not, and sweat is something they understand. So in my state of residual sweatiness I thought it would be a waste not to run with my new shoes before I showered. Yep, I'm sure I just lost a few friends for those last few sentences regarding my hygiene. 

The necessity of hot chocolate, perfect lunch, and packing...

I always knew there were bigger reasons to always needing to drink hot chocolate....

In other news, I was very excited about today's lunch. I had a froached egg on an English muffin, a peach, and some lettuce. I put a little salad dressing on it and it was yummy. I made this for myself before work and after hot yoga. I went and sweated it up for 90 minutes this morning. Compared to last Thursday's class, today was ROUGH. I knew I was still dehydrated from last night's workout but the last 20 minutes of class seemed like an eternity. I was weak, dizzy, and started to lose my marbles. It was a good reminder that I need to be in peak hydration form if I'm going to go to a class! While the instructors often say that it's best for your practice to go several days in a row, but when I go too often I don't feel too great. I'll skip tomorrow and go again later in the week. That'll give me plenty of time for some erging tomorrow! Judging by the quality of this picture, I should totally be a professional food photographer (I'm kidding, if you can't detect my sarcasm). 

This evening I started packing for school. I just packed my winter sweaters and pants. Looks like I don't vary up my color palette too much...

Ice cream on a stick, banana wrap, spin "class," and Girl Scout Crunch bars.

As you may be guessing from the title, today's post is all about the important things in life. First of all, let me talk about these Magnum ice cream bars. If I got to eat one last food before I died, this would DEFINITELY be it. The carmel ones have a thick crunchy chocolatey outside, carmel layer, and thin chocolate layer all on top of creamy vanilla ice cream. I've never seen/tasted anything like it. I could write poetry about this ice cream bar. Ironically, right after my mom went and bought them, ads for these ice cream bars started popping up whenever I read HRG's blog...the interwebs know my life...

I enjoyed one of these babies last night...nom nom nom.

Also, important news. I have found a new way to eat bananas. I don't eat bananas very often because (strange that I should say this) I find them too...sweet. And squishy. Sweet and squishy isn't a good combo for me. Alas, I know I should eat them more so when I DO eat them, I eat them with peanut butter. A few days ago I found a recipe for a "banana wrap" somewhere on the Internet. I don't remember where I found the recipe though, so just know I did NOT make this up myself. Here's what you do:

1. Heat up a plain tortilla in the microwave for 10 seconds

2. Right away smear CREAMY peanut butter all over the tortilla (if you want it meltier, microwave the tortilla for longer)

3. Place banana in the middle of the tortilla and wrap it up and chow down

I added this part though

4. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips in there (never turn down the chance to add chocolate to your life)

   

I guess today is a yummy food post because the other thing I have to tell you as to do with food as well! When I finished my workout today I came up to my room and saw this: 

Last summer my sister and I had a tradition of getting one of the normal sizes of these whenever we went to the drugstore. Each normal-size bar has two of these mini-bars, perfect for splitting. As a surprise, she left me one of the mini ones! How sweet of her!!! And it had a combo of PB and chocolate, YUM.

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Today I saved my workout for late...started at 7:35 PM. I started with 5000 meters on the erg, I used my new "erg card" (there's a more technical name for that but I forget what it is) and saved my workout on there. No more saving my workouts on paper and losing them! I'll have to show it to you tomorrow! The 5k was rough and my legs have not really had chance to recover for a few days... I went from my tough 10k erg on Thursday to my 9-miler on Saturday and then did a 3-mile run yesterday when my legs probably could've used a break. In other words, my legs were heavy heavy heavy. I haven't done a fair "race-pace" 5k where I went all out for awhile, so maybe I'll do yoga for a few days and check out where I'm at. 

After that 5k, I used this video on our spin-bike that sits next to the erg in the basement. I got in a sweat-tastic spin, it was great! Here's the link in case you want to favorite it for a future spin-experience: 

I LOVED this spin video! Usually if I use our spin bike I plug away and watch Netflix for a monotonous and boring 40-or-so minutes. Doing a spin class is SO MUCH MORE FUN! This was one of the most fun workouts I think I've ever done, and I think sometime I might try the 60-minute video. The fact that it was so fun makes me wonder if I was doing it right but I was definitely sweating hard the whole time so that's promising! Part of the deal is that I LOVE doing anything with intervals and that made it go a lot faster. Also, the 20 minutes with a motivational person yelling at you goes a LOT quicker than a happiness-draining 5k on the erg alone. Plus the whole time I pretended I was trying to beat the blonde with floppy hair, that helped a lot too. I HIGHLY suggest trying one of these videos. I never realized how lucky I was to have a spin bike in the basement until today! 

Happy Monday!