Tum ta tum tum TUUMMM

This post was supposed to be about how I did my first training run this morning and that it was great and I'm looking forward to making it a 4-mile run tomorrow morning. But as soon as I lay down in bed last night, i knew it was going to be a long night. My stomach was feeling very un-awesome. I immediately started munching on TUMS, but to no avail.

After tossing around for a while, around midnight I decided the run was going to have to wait until this afternoon, and switched off my alarm. I'm pretty mad at my "system", as I was actually looking forward to getting out and running early. Even now, sitting at work, I'm pretty out-of-it and there's a dull-ish pain in my gut. I'm not really sure what's going on but it needs to find its way out of me, dagnabit!

In other news, my Garmin didn't come this weekend like I was hoping. The USPS is officially on my list. It departed Charlotte at 1am on Saturday morning. How freaking long does it take? The "delivery estimate" isn't until tomorrow. I demand a recount.

And now, I'm just going to share a few pictures because my brain hasn't turned on yet today.

Coming soon to etsy!

A while ago, Alyssa and I were discussing the ridiculous serving sizes of things. Well, I found a serving size package of chocolate chips at Costco. Finally!

She looked so uncomfortable I had to take a picture.

Yes, I'm comfortable. Now let me rest so that I can torture you later.

 This is how you weigh a dog at home.

She's gained 3 pounds.

Officially on my Amazon wishlist.

Is this not the most awesome Nylabone you've ever seen!?

Seven links

Thursday night I was messing around before I hopped in the shower after my workout, and I was able to get an earring in one of my cartilage piercings that I thought had closed up long ago. Yesterday my ear was a work of art :)

And now, since I've been tagged in the "7 links" blogging extravaganza, and because I crack under peer pressure (and we all know I'm always up for a challenge), Here are my seven:

1.  Most Beautiful
I'd say probably my post the day after I adopted Pippi. I couldn't even guess how long I'd been wanting a dog, and I was so happy when I was able to take her home the day I met her. It was just meant to be :)

2.  Most Popular
I'm not sure why, but my post-vacation post earlier this month is my most popular. I'm thinking it's because it has the word "grind" in the title, and features a capybara in a collar. I mean it just doesn't get any better than that.

Where's my collar, Mama?

3.  Most Controversial
I don't like drama (unless I'm watching it on the boob tube), so I don't normally post about controversial topics, but I'd say probably either my Jillian Michaels rant or that one about Guiliana are probably the most "controversial" of my posts.

Fat is evil. That's why I don't drink coffee
or eat full meals.

4. Most Helpful
Uhh...maybe...one of my reviews? I'm not exactly a professional anything that would be helpful to the world, that I know of. I like to pretend sometimes that I know what I'm doing, but let's get real. I hardly ever have more than a slight idea of what's taking place in the world around me at any given moment.

5.  Surprise Success
The fact that I have any followers at all is amazing to me. I was unsuccessful at getting my family to read this here blog, which was the original intended purpose, but you all keep me going.

6. Not Enough Attention
Hmmm...That anyone pays any attention at all is pretty spectacular. Maybe my motivations page? But I'm probably biased because I love that page. We all need a little motivation now and then.

7.  Most Proud
Way back when I switched over to Blogger, my brother, Jeremy, was rebuilding an engine for an older Jeep that he had bought. He worked on it for a while, and when he finally got it going, I think he may have shed a tear :) I was proud.


And now I'm supposed to tag people, but I'm sure everyone I'd tag has already been tagged (and has possibly already done their "7 links" post....helloooo 15 followers :), so no homework for now. But you may not get off so easy next time.

And now, time for me to get up the *umph* to clean the entire house. It wouldn't be such a daunting task if it weren't for my two furry shadows. (Garmin update: He (it has been decided that he's a dude) left Charlotte, NC at 1:30am last night. I hope that means he gets here today!)


Happy Weekend!

Verdict: GU is....guey

First off, I'd like to let you all know that the latest shipping news on my Garmin is that it departed from Hebron, KY last night at 9:30pm. I sure wish Kentucky wasn't so far away (about 9 hours, driving. I just looked it up). Also, I need name suggestions for it (and also, is it a male or female? And no, I refuse to name it Rage).

I may be red, but I'm not angry.

Yesterday I tried GU for the first time. I was planning to have a great run (which didn't happen), but I'm pretty sure the Espresso Love GU wasn't to blame.

Kara's advice to me about consuming the GU:

Squeeze some in your mouth and try to swallow in one clump (like a pill). Don't slosh it around your mouth like a fine wine. Wash it down with a ton of water and you'll be good.

Here's how it went down:

I was scared.

 

...but I had chasers!

Here goes nothin!

This is a whole lot more than a "shot"!
Do I have to swallow it?
(Heh...that's what she said?)

The verdict.

Ok, so it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't awesome. Still, I'll give it another chance. I've got four more flavors to be tortured with try. I'm really curious about the "sports beans". I may have to give them a try as well. There's just something about the amount of stuff in each GU packet that seems daunting to me.

I kept burping up the flavor of it, but really I didn't mind so much because it didn't taste awful.

When I got home from the gym, "dinner" was

A plate full of amazingness

It's all I wanted to eat and when I was done eating it, I wasn't hungry anymore...until I went to bed last night and then I was starving. Coincidentally, I didn't sleep great last night. Sometimes my brain lets me down like that.

And now, a confession. My motivation for getting to the gym today (instead of doing an at-home workout) is that last Friday "hot guy" waved at me and I'm hoping for a reenactment. And also, he's hot and we all need something nice to look at while torturing ourselves, right?

So, Let me know what you think about names for The Garmin and what you'd imagine its gender to be.
It's a very important decision!

The plan

  

On Monday I will *officially* be "training". Wee! I've found a 15k training plan online that seems pretty good. It's ten weeks long and there are 19 weeks until the big 15k, so I've decided I'll do each of the weeks twice, and the last week once. My only thing about this plan is that it has me doing a rest day the day after Thanksgiving. Yeah, we'll be switching that up for sure.

Here's the tentative plan

Can someone explain to me, in simple terms, how you do tempo runs and # x 800 runs? I'm not comprehending it for some reason. (To bring you up to speed, a couple of months ago I had to look up the definition of "PR". Yeah, I'm that far behind).

Today, i will be trying GU for the first time! I'm seriously hoping it isn't the consistency of what I'd imagine an oyster feels like going down. For some reason I imagine that it's going to be slimy and make me want to hurl. I hope not.

Supposedly Espresso Love is the best flavor. We'll see!

This made me laugh. I had to share.

I realized that I never updated everyone on my "dizzies" situation. My MRI was normal (whatever that really means), so I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor on Tuesday. At first, she was going to pass me off to an ENT (which I took to mean she was giving up, which I did not want to hear). I brought up the fact that my mom has Mitral Valve Prolapse, which is a genetic condition, and wondered if by any chance that could be the cause. She checked my heart again and didn't hear a murmur, so she ruled that out...for now. She then checked my ears and there is plenty of fluid in there still (I could have told her that!) So she did that thing where she holds up a finger and says, "follow my finger with your eyes" so I did and on the right side, I got dizzy right away (it's my right ear that's been bothering me). When she did it on my left side, it was ok. Hmmmm..so, I'm currently on Prednisone until Sunday. It's supposed to take care of the fluid. If it doesn't, then she'll refer me to an ENT. Yes, I want to scream right now. Yes, I'm pissed off. Yes, I'm still having problems and if they're not gone before my 5k, someone might die.

Also, the doctor told me that my appetite may increase on Prednisone. You know, because I don't already have the appetite of an elephant.

Now onto the fun things: dog pictures!

Some of the positions she lays in crack me up. The fact that her
butt is on my pillow does NOT crack me up.

A-She's sitting like a person.
B-She's sitting backwards on the couch.
C-She's actually watching Amanda in the kitchen, which is
good because I don't know if I can afford doggie exorcism.

..and the insanity continues.