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Weekend Recap

March 5, 2012 · by Ari · 5 Comments

Happy Monday, friends! I’m flying high on about 4 hours of sleep. WHEEEEEEEE!!!!! To be honest, I haven’t gotten a decent night’s sleep since Steve left for LA and I am simultaneously slap happy, grouchy, bitchy, and delirious. I also have a week filled with long days, and my extra grouchy time may or may not be quickly approaching (you’re welcome), so Jason and I basically decided this morning, that I should do the world a favor and just hide out in a cave for a while to avoid offending the masses. Unfortunately, that is entirely impossible, so I’m going to try to focus on the moments of slap happy ridiculousness, because those are the best part of exhaustion!

To be honest, aside from feeling like I want to take a week long nap, the past few days have been pretty fantastic. Saturday I had a super full work day, then Deann came over and we worked on some stuff for her wedding. I am pretty much the least crafty person on earth, but when it’s not super complicated, and I know exactly what to do, I actually find simple craft activities strangely therapeutic. I made us a delicious dinner of cornbread crusted chicken tenders with a creamy maple mustard dipping sauce and kale chips. You better believe that when the fancy camera is back, I will be recreating this because it was AMAZING and I can’t wait to share the recipe! I also made some more donuts for dessert. Let’s just say it’s a good thing Deann took most of the rest home because I probably would have eaten them all that night! Yum!!

Here is a crappy picture from my android. And now I want to eat more donuts.

Yesterday, I met Christina and Diana for my fav spin class! Linda kicked my butt, like usual, but I was especially excited to drip pools of sweat yesterday for some reason. Must be the week off from running ( 🙁 )!

It was so awesome to finally meet Diana too! She is just as hilarious and awesome in person as on her blog, and it totally felt like working out with an old friend! I seriously can’t get over the awesome friendships I have made through blogging!

After spin, Christina came over for brunch. I made my own southwest version of Caitlin’s Spinach and Goat Cheese Cornbread Quiche.

I miss the fancy camera. Waaaahhhh.

It was probably the most delicious non dessert item I have made in a long time. Again, can’t wait to get some actually good pictures of it so I can post the recipe for my version!

This morning, even though I was super exhausted, when my alarm went off at 6 to go run, I was still pretty excited. I have been in quite a bit of pain lately–enough that I actually took KT’s advice to take a week off from running, so I was very anxious to get out there this morning! I got there early and did just under 2 miles on my own at a 9:20 average pace, then Jason arrived and mentioned that he was ready to move up to longer intervals! We had started using the Galloway method, running 3 min, walking 1 min. We were up to a 5:1 ratio, but today he wanted to move up to 1 mile intervals! You don’t have to ask me twice!!

Not only did Jason totally bump up his running time, but his overall pace improved and this was the first run where he had all negative splits!!! I am so proud!!! I never imagined I would be helping anyone with their running! I remember feeling shocked when people started to ask me for food and weight loss advice, but I just never in a million years expected to be pushing others to run and helping them train. I mean I’ve always been one to drag someone to a group fitness class, or suggest a gym date, but I just really can’t believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time!

There is honesty no better feeling than helping someone else achieve their goals. I mean, that’s the entire reason I blog in the first place, because I want to inspire others, and I hope that someday something I write makes a difference in even one person’s life, and that they are better because of me. That would honestly be the greatest gift. Sorry for being so cheesy! I’d like to say it’s temporary, but I was absolutely born this way and intend to stay cheesy and sentimental forever and ever. 😉

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: baking, cooking, donuts, food, friends, phoenix bloggers, quiche, running, spin

Irongirl 10K Race Recap

December 12, 2011 · by Ari · 5 Comments

My very first 10K race!!! I talked myself out of participating in this race about 100 times before finally fully committing and signing up the day before. I mean really I had every reason not to. I had 2 shows + strike and a cast party coming that day. Opening night of Fiddler followed by the GoDaddy holiday party were happening the night before. I had even officially told all of my blogger friends that there was no way I could make it work. Buuuutttt, so many wonderful ladies were doing it! And I’ve never done a 10K! And I really wanted to run! So I finally told Nicole, Carolyn, Emily and Raya that I was done being lame and I was signing up!

Saturday morning I met Nicole and Carolyn for brunch at True Foods and then headed over to the expo. I’d never been to a race expo! There were some cool stands set up and lots of things I wanted to buy, but after spending the money on the race, I decided to try not to empty my bank account on running souvenirs. Sunday morning we arrived back at the race site at 8am for a 9am start time. By this point, I was nervous. I’d gotten about 5 hours of sleep, I had never run a 10K race before and I just had no idea what to expect. Yes, I have run much further than 6.2, but I am learning that a race is a lot different than a normal run. Is that bad that it’s different? I’m new at this and I have no idea if that is normal, but I do know that the 3 times I have crossed the finish line, I’ve felt way more beat than after any other runs.

Ok back to this race! Steve came with me because he is the best husband ever and we quickly met up with Nicole, Carolyn, and Emily (and later Raya–somehow I ended up with no pictures with you in it–laaaame!).

Dear blog friends: you are so amazing!! I feel so lucky to have you ladies in my life!

See that pretty sparkly head band??? I’ve been wanting one and I showed Steve the one I wanted and he bought it for me! Then it fell off somewhere in the middle of the race and I was so focused on not dying that I didn’t even realize it 🙁

While waiting for the race to begin, we posed for some action shots.

Seriously, that’s what we all look like when we run. Don’t be jealous.

My goal for this race was to keep up with Speedy Gonzales Nicole. Actually, that’s a lie. My only real goal was that I really really really wanted to finish in under an hour. The last time I ran 6 miles it took me I think 1:02, but I know I’ve gotten faster since then and I wanted anything under 59:59. My plan to make this goal happen was to try to keep up with Nicole! As soon as we crossed the starting line, Nicole was off weaving and dodging around people and I made her my rabbit and stayed close behind. Right away we started going slightly uphill and I remember thinking “This will be nice coming the other way at the end.” Little did I know. After about mile 2, I started to feel over dressed. The sun was out in full force and the high of the day ended up being about 70. I should have been in shorts and a tank top! Whoops. But for the first 3 miles, I really felt like I was doing awesome. We were flying (for this slow poke) and hitting negative splits.

Mile 1–9:38

Mile2–9:11

Mile 3–8:30

Yup, that is too fast for me for mile 3 of a 6 mile race. I wish it wasn’t so, but at this time it is and I kinda knew it. I just kept hoping I’d be able to keep it up, but after that mile I felt exhausted and the real hills began. I sadly told Nicole to go up ahead and that I was going to fall back.

Mile 4–10:47

Booooo. I felt like my hopes finishing in under an hour were long gone because I had to take way more walking breaks than I would like to admit. I felt kind of like I had blown it, but fortunately I kept checking my garmin and seeing that there was still hope! I just kept forcing myself to run again, and run hard, after every walking break and push onward through what I would call hills of death. Okay, probably for someone who does not live in Phoenix (I mean, if you want to get technical I live in Mesa which literally means FLAT!) these would not be hills of death, but I had never ran on anything like this before!

At one point I stopped to walk and this woman who had to be in her 50s or 60s looked at me and told me “Keep going, you can do it.” I wanted to cry. I wanted to carry her to the finish with me. I had so much love for this woman that I could never explain to her. I didn’t even know how to say thank you. I am someone who thrives on encouragement and positive affirmation and to hear this stranger say she believed in me when I was doubting myself was such an incredible feeling. I just kept pushing forward, allowing myself to walk up steeper hills when I needed to. Finally I got close to mile 6 and I could feel that my goal was still on the tips of my fingers. I ran hard and gave the end of the race every last ounce of speed I had in me. I looked down at my Garmin and realized it hit 6.2 before I crossed the finish and remember feeling so angry! All of the sudden, I was no longer sure if I was going to make it, and I felt so cheated by the system. Yes, I am that dramatic when I’m exhausted. No, I do not actually think the Irongirl team was out to get me and not let me reach my goal. I crossed the finish line and tried soooo hard to have a finish with my arms up and looking strong.

“Dear God, AM I THERE YET?!?!?!?!?!!”

“Okay, look see I did it!!! ARMS ARE UP!!!!” 

I waited until after I ran through with my arms up for just a second before I paused my Garmin, then looked down, hit pause and say this

Seriously??????

As soon as I crossed the finish line, Steve tried to hug me, but I thought I might puke, so I pushed him away and waited for the feeling of death to subside. Luckily, it didn’t last longer than a minute or two and I was quickly reunited with Nicole who had finished 2 and a half minutes before me!

Check out Speedy Gonzales crossing the finish line! Nicole, one day I will be fast like you!

“WE DID IT!!!!!!!”

I got my very first race medal!!!!

And I was also given the most amazing little post race gift bag from Steve! Did I mention that he is THE BEST HUSBAND EVER?! He got me a spibelt, and lots of mileage stickers, not to mention the headband that he had bought me before the race (I miss you already headband. You were so sparkly!) I felt so loved and so happy.

Then a little while later I got a text from Nicole with a picture of my official chip time

59:58

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goal achieved. It feels pretty damn fantastic.

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: 10k, irongirl, phoenix bloggers, running

Blogger meet up & PDR!

October 2, 2011 · by Ari · 4 Comments

First I just need to say that my Salted Caramel Mocha Brownie Cupcakes were a huge hit! Hooray!! Kara even told me she liked them better than the pumpkin canolis that Riga Tony’s brought out 🙂 I really love being the designated birthday baker and I love it so much more now that I am embracing the way I want to make food and not putting myself in a situation where I feel like I “can’t” eat what I’ve made. It’s so interesting discovering that when I embrace who I am and what I need, other people openly embrace it as well. I feel like so many things we do to try to please others could be so easily avoided, because honestly, people just like the real us better anyway.

Anyyyywayyy, moving on 🙂 Yesterday I got the amazing opportunity to meet some other bloggers in the area! I was so excited when I started to find other Phoenix bloggers and even more so when everyone was so nice and welcoming! I was totally nervous about going–would you believe that I actually tend to get pretty significant social anxiety? I have a pretty outgoing personality, so it’s something people are often pretty surprised by, but I nerd out about wanting people to like me. Maybe it’s an actor thing 🙂 Anyway, I met up with the group at Four Peaks after I got done with rehearsal. It was so nice to talk to other people who are as passionate as I am about health and food. These ladies are fabulous and I left feeling inspired by every one of them 🙂

I brought my camera, but then never took it out for some reason, so I’m stealing pictures from Nicole and Emily! For some reason, I look pissed in the first one. What’s up with that? I’m just not a good camera smiler! 🙂

L-R Raya, Carolyn, Dani, Nicole, Me, Emily, Heather

I’m so glad I went and thank you guys so much for making me feel so welcome!

This morning I got up and decided it was time to make this idea that Kara and I have been discussing a reality. The idea being half marathon training. The PF Chang’s Rock and Roll half marathon happening Jan 15th to be precise. I’d been really nervous to announce it in fear that I wouldn’t be able to make it happen. Up until this morning, 5K was my PDR and it is not an easy distance for me by any means. How the hell am I going to add an extra 10 miles to that by January?! So this morning I got up and I new today I had to run 4. So I headed out for a run to Starbucks (what is a better ending location than iced coffee?!) and proved to myself that I will be able to continue to run longer and longer distances because I can do anything I set my mind to.

I even did better time wise than I was expecting! Not that a 10:15 average is exactly fast, but considering it’s my first time and it was just a couple of weeks ago that I decided to get serious about this running thing, I’ll take it! In fact I will take it with excitement and happiness and make this face

F you short achilles tendons!! You just try to keep me from running a half marathon! Actually, please don’t try because the last thing I need is something to make this HARDER. I promise to spend lots of time like this trying to keep you happy

Winston and Clementine don’t mind. They ♥ the lap time 🙂

4 miles in 40:58. I am a happy girl, and I feel ready to take on this new challenge! I am so thankful that Kara is going to be doing it with me! The only thing better than accomplishing life goals is having great friends along the way doing it with you. This has been something I’ve wanted to do since the first day I ever ran a mile a little over 2 years ago and I just always believed that I couldn’t. I can’t wait to prove myself wrong! 🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged: clementine, half marathon training, phoenix bloggers, running, winston

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