Time to get serious.

Ok was this really my idea? Half marathon? 13.1 miles. Scary.

Oops!

So I was working in the file room today, bending over picking up a pile of folders, when I heard this zrpppp noise. Not a good sound! In my defense I wear these pants all the time, so they have been washed at least six times a month for the past year, and they were very thin material to start with... And I did turn down the birthday cake after lunch (albeit because I had just eaten at the mexican restaurant).

So, I got on the treadmill after my workout today. And signed up for a half marathon in April. So thanks to my wonderful sisters for posting about running, the gym, and losing weight... now I have been suckered in as well.

MudRun

I apologize for the wait to see these pictures (although if you have FB, these will be a repeat). Thank you to all of you who donated to our team. We raised over $1000 for LLS. I think all four of us were very nervous on the day of the event, but once we made it through the first obstacle, all of the nerves were quickly forgotten. The very first obstacle was a set of logs over about two feet of mud. We were instructed to crawl under the logs and as I watched the team in front of us, I realized that thinking about the mud would only make things worse. The logs were at the same level of the mud, so there was no option but to fully immerse my head in the mud. Did I mention I hate mud?? That was probably my second to least favorite obstacle. My least favorite was the very last one which I think was only added for optimum dirt coverage at the finish line. After walking through a stream and crawling over logs, we were actually relatively clean until we came across this trench - full of thick, black mud - that smelled horrible. Tar pit would be a good description. My teammate started to slow down towards the end of the trench, because it was so thick, and I had to tell her not to stop. I thought I was going to be sick! But other than that, the rest of the mud throughout the course was more liquid-like and not black either. The only two our team was unable to complete was the Tarzan-like rope swing (which was pretty much impossible in my opinion anyways- 6 or 7 ropes across a mud pit that required you to swing from one to the next without falling - which requires an enormous amount of upper body strength without even taking into account that you are already covered in slippery mud) and the arm walk (which apparently not many females completed - using your arms to travel the length of two parallel bars without touching the ground. Sounded easy enough, until I tried it). The rest of the obstacles were a mix of mud, more logs, ropes, and walls, plus running up and down several mounds of slick mud (did I mention it was raining while we were on the course). The total distance was over 5 miles and we finished in 1 hr 40 minutes which seemed to be the average time for non-serious competitors. The results are all posted on the website along with links to pictures through the course. Luckily our TNT trainer was able to take some action shots along the course, plus some before and after pictures as well. And yes, Team Skirts N Dirt is signed up for the fall MudRun!

Team Jorts happily posed for a picture with the TNT group.

Nice and clean...

Ready, set, go

This mud - not so bad.

Tar mud - blech!

I got the easiest job!

At the finish!

These didn't make it home!

Thanks to our coach Cliff!

By popular demand

So to answer Just Jenn’s question, “Who are you?” I have been running (yes running) at least two to three times a week for the past month. I also lift weights with a trainer at least one day a week and do Zumba another day. After the Mud Run, I will be able to go back to my Body Pump class too that I really like. So with all of these exercising, I still have free time here. Working only 40 hours a week, plus my 5 minute commute really has changed my lifestyle! Since January, I have really tried to make an effort to eat at home for lunch and dinner as often as possible. For someone who used to only keep frozen dinners at home because everything else would go bad before I got around to eating it, this is a big change. I have really always like to cook, just not to do dishes, or eat the same thing four days in a row. I have found now that eating the same thing isn’t that bad as there are less dishes to do and prep time for lunch is easy. So I cook lunch and dinner on Sundays now. I also am trying to eat less cheese, meat, and bad carbs, but add more veggies. So if anyone has more recipes I would love to try them! (Oh, but without kale, I have tried to like it but just can’t do it). And yes I am even trying to eat new things... such as avocados and even tomatoes (well as long as they are very tiny and not fresh!) Some of my recipes are from magazines and a couple of books, but most are from the internet. I just search for an ingredient (such as edamame) that I am looking to make a meal with and try that. Or I search for vegetarian meals. Here are the recipes for the previous post...

Black Bean Burger: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/homemade-black-bean-veggie-burgers/Detail.aspx (I really like these for lunch, but I still haven’t found the exact consistency to keep them from crumbling too much) Today I used less egg (well I use egg whites anyways) and a little more whole wheat panko and that worked better.

Homemade Chipotle Mayo: 3 to 1 ratio of fat free sour cream to fat free mayo, add chopped/minced/food processed chipotle peppers in adobe sauce to taste (beware they are hot)

Egyptian Edamame Stew: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/egyptian_edamame_stew.html This recipe was okay, a little too tomatoey for my taste, but good flavor other than that. Also good over plain couscous.

Mayan Couscous: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/mayan-couscous/Detail.aspx (Really yummy, but I would only use 2/3c couscous)

Modern Succotash: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/edamame_succotash_with_shrimp.html (I ate this for dinner one week without the shrimp, really simple, reheats well. Did eat over salmon one night, also very good)

Peppered Pork Tenderloin: This was really easy, I just bought the pre-seasoned tenderloin and stuck it on the oven! Way too much meat for me though, ended up giving some to people at work.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, & Olives: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001963972 (This was very good too, but mainly because I really like all three of those things. It was a little dry though so maybe a tad more oil than called for)

Turkey Chili: this was from a checkout aisle cooking light guide (bad impulse buy). Really basic chili, not enough flavor. I much prefer mom’s version with the mac n cheese!

Happy cooking...

Please...

Every year the Greater Columbia Marine Foundation hosts the largest Mud Run in North America. The race attracts thousands of people from all over the Southeast and beyond. The USMC Ultimate Challenge Mud Run is over 4.5 miles, and has 32 obstacles that have to be crossed by each team requiring team work and a lot of determination. The 4.5-mile course is an all-terrain race conducted on dirt roads, improved and unimproved trails through the training area. These trails include mud holes, walls, trenches and other obstacles that require swimming, crawling, climbing and jumping. Some people come to compete, but many come just to complete!

Sounds a little crazy to me, but yes I have been talked in to joining a team. Please check out my fundraising page and if you can donate, even one dollar helps! And check out the website for pictures of the race. Then you will know how crazy I really am!

And thanks to M&D for helping out already!

My Fundraising Page

On the Couch

So I am sick again! I started feeling a little under the weather yesterday, and a girl in the office had bronchitis, so I was a little concerned. I went to bed at 8:30 last night (a record for me I think!), but still didn’t feel better this morning. I even had a fever! So I went to work for a few hours but couldn’t stay longer. Than I drove to three minute clinics before I could be seen (and it was longer than a minute!). The prognosis was the flu. So no medicine to help, but mom made some home made chicken noodle soup and acai tea for me. Now I am in the best spot to be sick – the comfy couch with more soup and the moxie dog. So I figured blogging would be a good idea. I found a dog walker for moxie – she is coming over tomorrow to meet us. I hope we pass the test. She would come over twice during the week to take Mox for a 30 minute walk. I am sure Moxie would be a lot happier to get out every now and then. My treadmill has been getting a little use, but not as much as I would like. I did get Moxie to run for a few minutes though! I also went to the store to buy healthier food, but eating out is still so easy. So slow going on the lifestyle changes – hopefully being sick won’t keep me down too long!

Only Fifteen

So it has been too long, but I don’t have too much to tell. So taking my cue from the ubiquitous trend circling social network trends, here are my “25 Things” for now…well narrowed down to only fifteen because I have to go to bed. (see http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2009-02-04-facebook-25random_N.htm?csp=usat.me for more information).

1. Moxie likes tofu. So if I could figure out how to cook it maybe I would eat more at home. Any ideas?
2. I bought a treadmill, or as everyone else likes to refer to it – an expensive clothes hanger. So far it is perfect. Running in a climate controlled environment with the tv on is my kind of running!
3. We hired a new person in my office – with no experience. So hopefully she will be a blessing in the long run, but until I can get her somewhat trained, more work for me! Yay! (Please note sarcasm here).
4. I am looking forward to Swiss Days and seeing the whole family, but I have to decide this week what days to fly. My credit with a certain airline expires on Saturday. So I was thinking Wed to Tues?
5. I really hate getting up in the morning – can I pretend tomorrow isn’t Monday?!
6. When I fixed my tv, I had to renew my subscription and now get movie channels free for three months. I have so much stored on my dvr, I don’t know if I will ever catch up! Right now I am watching The Lake House, so far so good.
7. Today was nice – warm and sunny. Moxie and I say on the back porch for awhile – until I got bored reading of reading The Grapes of Wrath.
8. Related to #7, maybe my goal of reading books I should have read already needs to be narrowed to books that are actually interesting!
9. My favorite teacher is retiring this year. Some past and present students are putting together a memory book, so I am attempting to write a letter. That and the eminent ten year reunion this summer have me thinking a lot about the past. Some really funny memories! And maybe some not so good. But I guess that is how we get to the now…
10. I really am ready for summer. I hate cold weather, I love flip flops, and I hate never seeing the sun. I leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark. Maybe I need to live in southern California with the growing Burli family!
11. Lately, I have been hanging out with my friend that lives in the city. It makes me realize how isolated I am in suburbia. I don’t even know my neighbors’ names. I get home late and leave early. I don’t have anything to talk to them about, and when I want to go somewhere, it is usually in the city. So hopefully I can sell my house this year!
12. This week I am going to attempt to exercise in the morning before work – we’ll have to see how I actually do. The snooze button is my friend!
13. I have absolutely no food in my house - and I am not exaggerating. I am trying to make a list of healthy foods I can manage to cook, but than every night it is just easier to stop somewhere. Does anyone have some links to quick, healthy recipes?
14. This Saturday, I am not working! For the first Saturday in four weeks! I am thinking sleeping in and catching up on all those movies!
15. So that’s all I have for now – hopefully my computer stays in good shape and I can update more often!

Urban Dare

I participated in my own mini Great Race! Everyone should check out the website (urbandare.com) and try it when it is in your city. Team Optimist did not win, but we had a blast… here are some samples of our clues: 1.This Georgian put his John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence. Get your picture with the building at Georgia Tech that bears his name. 2. Get your picture with the statue Emerging by Mark Smith. 3. Go to the park with the statue of Baron Pierre de Coubertin and get your picture with the brick that says Amanda Snyder God Bless All. 4. This animal travels the farthest of any land-based mammal. The North America one can travel as much as 5,000 kilometers a year. Go to the coffee shop of this name near Piedmont Park for your trivia dare.

Bonus. Get your picture with someone wearing a Varsity hat.….There were 13 clues in all, some just involved a picture and others “dares.” Due to the weather, however, some of the dares were replaced with only pictures. The rules included walking/running and public transportation (bus and train only). It took me and P about 4 hours to finish – not first but not last! I was exhausted when we were done, but I would definitely do it again!

Whirlwind

How to tell that you are eating a healthy breakfast... ... and yes that does say Grease Only! I guess that's how you make good southern biscuits.

So I am falling behind in my posts, but hopefully I still have some fans. A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks, and sometimes I feel like I am barely keeping my head up. Right before my car accident, my friend needed an emergency place to stay, so I helped her move all of her things into my house. She settled in and Moxie loved having the extra attention. She decided, however, that she wanted to have her own place, so two weeks later I helped her pack everything back up and move into her apartment. I am happy that she is figuring things out on her own, but I was actually excited to have the company so she will be missed. I did get to have a fun break in the midst of all that moving. “The triplets” went to the Beach for a long weekend and enjoyed some perfect weather. I got to work on my tan and relax.

Of course when I got back, my desk was piled with work and things were pretty hectic. I have been trying to exercise more on top of learning to adjust to the dog, working, traveling, cleaning, commuting, etc. Some weeks are better than others. This week Moxie and I managed to take four 1.5-2 miles walk/runs, so this week was a little better. We also went to the lake Friday night, and she had fun meeting new people and being the center of attention. Besides walking, I have to get back to the gym. I am tentatively scheduled for a sprint triathlon in May, so if anyone has any training tips that would be great! Today I spent the entire day cleaning the house top to bottom and it looks great – I only wish it could stay that way. Having a dog and trying to sell my house at the same time is a lot of work, but I guess that’s what I signed up for when I brought Moxie home. And tomorrow it’s back to work!

Rocks, Foundue, and Octupi

Last Saturday, I spent a couple of hours at an indoor rock climbing facility. It was challenging – my arms definitely are not that strong – but a lot of fun. It was nice to do something a bit out of the ordinary, and I got a chance to meet more people. I joined an outdoor group that does a lot of activities in and around the city. I signed up for caving in a couple of weeks, so that is next!

Later in the weekend, I visited with mom’s visitor, see the pics on her page for all the good food we ate. In honor of JT, we had a choo-choo train at the sushi restaurant and then fondue at my house. Moxie enjoyed having people over just as much as me – and she was pretty well-behaved, too.

It is raining and cold here, so tonight Moxie and I had to forgo our walk and we played our favorite game: fetch with the orange rubber octopus! She seems pretty tired, but so am I!!