Marathon Training

As I near the end of my semester, my marathon draws closer and closer. I don't think I've ever been this excited to do something so physically demanding. As a former swimmer, I've been conditioned to enjoy grueling workouts and I find new physical challenges really fun and exciting. There's no denying how ready I am mentally to run this marathon, but at the same time, I am a little bit nervous.

I have just about four weeks left until the race and I haven't even hit my peak mileage yet. The farthest run that I have to do before the race is 20 miles, which makes me a little nervous. That's adding a whole 6.2 miles onto the actual race distance! But I guess there's power in a plan, and I've been following mine fairly well. True, I do adjust my plan to fit my weekly schedule, which means that if I don't have time to do a 7 mile tempo on Monday, I'll swap it for my Tuesday 4 mile and do the tempo the next day. But no matter matter what, I always make sure that I get in the necessary runs. I'll have to trust that my plan will have me physically prepared to run this race.

Another thing that makes me somewhat apprehensive about running this marathon is that I have absolutely no idea what to expect. What do I eat the night before? The morning of? Afterwards? Am I even going to be hungry afterwards? I really hope that I don't vomit, or worse, get randomly injured. I'll have to know my body, know when I need to walk, when I need to grab some gatorade, know when I should stop and take a gel pack. Should I even take a gel pack or should I do some of those weird running espresso beans or fruit snack things? Again, part of this goes back to the training, experimenting on my training runs so that I know what works for me and what doesn't. But aside from this, I also don't really know what to expect from the course and the race organizers. I can only take comfort in the fact that people organizing it have definitely done this before and know what they're doing. As far as the course goes, I guess I'll find out once I get there.

Pushing aside all of my concerns, I really, truly, am very excited to run this marathon! I can't wait until race day, when all the adrenaline of toeing the starting line and running with the huge crowd will pump me up and allow me to forget all of my worries. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on the remainder of my training, the actual race, and, of course, what I liked and maybe didn't enjoy so much about the whole endeavor. Until then, just keep swimming! :)

This has nothing to do with running but I felt that this post needed a picture.

Olympic Inspired Workout

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of post lately, I've been quite the busy bee. Before I start, let me just preface this post by saying that I am fully aware that the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games have been over for 2+ weeks now and I realize that this post comes a little late. Moving on......

I love, love, love watching sports. The Olympics are always my favorite time of year (during the years that they occur) and so when they start, I'm pretty much glued to the TV. This year I even downloaded the NBC Olympics app on my iPhone. I think we can all agree that the Olympics are a good thing. They bring people around the world together to aim for a common goal, and even those that don't reach their goals can still be happy and celebrate for their fellow athletes'/coaches' athletic success. Aside from just being a uniting event, the Olympics also, for me at least, are extremely motivating. Whenever I watch the Olympic athletes competing in their events and rocking their sports, I automatically get the urge to get up and do something. In fact, I think that watching the Olympics this year even made two weeks of my marathon training go better.

Now, on to the superficial part of this post. Can we take a minute to talk about how pretty much every olympian has a freaking beautiful body? I mean, six pack abs, hugely muscular thighs and legs, seriously toned arms. Who wouldn't want a body like that? Seeing these people's bodies alone motivates me to go workout. So in celebration of the not so recently passed Winter Olympics, I give you my original, Olympic-inspired workout. Try it out and let me know what you think! :)

I intended to have tutorial pictures but my little camera broke. :/

The Breakdown:

Set an interval timer for 24 rounds of 30 seconds of work. Rest for one minute between each completed circuit (all eight moves). Keep track of how many reps you get through in each round and try to beat that number the next time you try the workout!

1. Speed Skaters:  Start in squat position with knees at 90 degrees. Jump to the left landing as softly as possible on left leg, using arms to get momentum. Jump to the right, landing softly on right leg. That's one rep. Continue to jump from one leg to the other, trying to maintain as much balance as you can without putting your other foot on the ground between jumps.
2. Skeleton Plank Pikes: Get in pushup position, arms straight, back and butt flat, body in a straight line. Move your weight to your arms, using your abs to pull your legs feet off the ground, creating an upside down V with your body. Using your core muscles, kick your legs up into the air, keeping your knees as straight as possible. Return to start. That's one rep.
3. Luge Supine Plank: Sit straight up, legs together and extended. Place your hands by your butt, just outside your hips. Using your core, lift your legs, butt and hips off the floor, extending your body in a straight line and keeping your weight in your hands and heels. This should look like a plank only instead of facing the floor, you will be facing the ceiling. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. 
4. Ice Dance Jumping Lunges w/ Twist: From standing, go into a lunge, right leg forward, both knees at 90 without back leg touching the floor. Push off into a jump and while in the air, use your core muscles to twist 180 degrees to the left. Land in a lunge with left leg forward and right leg back, both knees at 90. Repeat, only this time twisting to the right and landing in a lunge w/ right leg forward. That's one rep.
5. Half-pipe Box Jumps: Stand next to a gym box with your left side facing the box. (Don't face the box head on). Jump laterally to left, landing softly and quietly on top of the box. Jump off the box laterally to the left so that your right side is now facing the box and repeat. That's one rep.
6. BOSU Ball Snowboarders: Put a BOSU ball ball-side down, flat-side up. Stand on the flat part and center yourself so that you are balanced in a squat position with legs hip width apart. Using you legs and engaging your core, begin to transfer your weight onto your right leg. Quickly switch your weight to left leg. Keep moving your weight from leg to leg as quickly as possible, tipping the BOSU ball to the side that your weight is on. Hold your hands together in front of your face. Do this for 30 second to a minute.
7. Ski Jump Burpees: From standing, jump back into a pushup position. Do a push up then quickly jump your knees to your chest, feet between you hands. Keeping arms at your side, use your legs to jump yourself up and forward. As you land, jump back immediately into pushup position and repeat. Each time you land back into pushup position is one rep.
8. Figure Skating Fliers: Using two 5-20lb. dumbbells, go into your best arabesque, balancing on your left leg, keeping a soft bend in your knee and letting your arms hang with one dumbbell in each. Using your back and arms, lift your arms out to the side, as if you are flying, maintaining your balance on your left leg. Return your arms to start. This is one rep. Do 10 then switch legs and start over.

Give it a go and let me know what you think! I hope you guys enjoy it!

What's your favorite Winter Olympic sport?

Quick Update

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of blog post recently. It turns out that being a full time college and training for a marathon takes up a lot of my life that would normally be free. Today's post is just a quick little update and reminder that I'm still alive. I have an Olympic inspired workout heading your way sometime this week.

Speaking of the Olympics, what did everyone think? Personally, the Olympics are my favorite time of year, that is, during the years that they actually happen. I'll go more into that in my next post. For now I just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth. Marathon training is going well and is SUPER fun. Today was actually the first run that felt like a chore, but that's probably just because I'm running on stress and a lack of sleep...oops! But hey, that's college for ya.

To everyone who is going the mid-term season right now, keep on hanging on. You can do it! Just think, it's midterms and then you're pretty darn close to spring break. Yippee!! Is anyone doing anything special for spring break? I know it's weird to think about that coming so soon when there's still snow on the ground. Bleh.

Well, until next time, just keep swimming (or ice skating, at this point).

Rock Climbing and Injury Prevention

Hello again! I had a pretty awesome weekend, what with the Olympics starting and going rock climbing and all. How was your weekend?

So, I'm pretty sure I've talked about rock climbing on the blog before. I love it. So much! At first, making it all the way up a wall can seem a little daunting, but if you don't look down and if you tell yourself to not think about how high you are off the ground, it is so fun! I have a membership at a local climbing gym, Upper Limits, and the majority of the walls at the gym are in silos! It is so cool! I've been working on improving my upper body strength while simultaneously enhancing my strategy skills as I climb. The bottom line is, rock climbing is a super duper fun activity and while it is really difficult, it is so rewarding when you finish a wall. I climbed this weekend and introduced a couple of friends to the sport. We had a pretty great time and even tried some bouldering (low-wall climbing without ropes).

Getting my climb on!

I also had another long run this weekend in preparation for my marathon! Yesterday's run was a treacherous 8 miles in over a half a foot of snow. Yes, I am used to having more snow around than that, but I usually don't have to run in it. Usually people do that thing where they clear the snow off their part of the sidewalk. What's that called again? Oh yeah, shoveling! Well, apparently the good people of central Illinois didn't get the memo, so I got to run 8 miles in this:

The snow went up to my mid-calf!

But, as I've said before, winter running is my favorite! Part of what I like about it, is the challenge of running in difficult conditions, so as inconvenient as it was to run in nine or more inches of snow, it was so fun! And I felt great (and exhausted) afterwards!

In other news, Valentine's day is coming up! Is everyone excited? I don't really care about Valentine's day or anything, but I know that lots of people like it, and if you have a significant other, or even if you don't, Valentine's day is one of those days that we like to use as an excuse to buy (and eat) a lot of chocolate. Now, normally I wouldn't use this blog as a way to promote any sort of political agenda, BUT today is an exception. 

Many chocolate products contain palm oil, which is contributing to the decreasing population of orangutans. In order to grow the plant that produces palm oil, companies are cutting down lots of trees and destroying orangutan habitats. Rainforest Action Network has gone around and talked to many of the big name chocolate brands and tried to persuade them to stop including palm oil in their products. Most of these chocolate companies have agreed to start processing palm oil out of their products and to at least put labels on those products that do contain conflict palm oil. 

Yep, unfortunately even Lindt chocolates contain conflict palm oil.

Now, I don't claim to be any expert on the subject, but if this interests you and you want to get involved in the fight against palm oil and deforestation, visit ran.org to find out more about their Last Stand of the Orangutan campaign and how you can get involved.

....Aaaaaaaaaannddd rant done. For this week's marathon something-or-other installment, I wanted to talk a little bit about injury prevention. I have been prone to knee injuries ever since I sprained my meniscus playing soccer in high school, and my knee pains especially act up when I run A) high mileage, and B) consistently. Since I will be running both high mileage and running consistently in order to train for my first ever marathon, I am pretty nervous about my recurring knee problems flaring up again. I also am hoping to avoid shin splints for as long as humanly possible. I could go on for days about the different ways to prevent injuries and all that jazz, but today I'm just going to give you guys my simple routine that I do at least three times a week. 

When I ran cross country in high school, my coach was really big on avoiding and treating injuries. As part of our injury prevention routine, he had us do a lot of exercises that engaged the glutes, which running doesn't really do, and increased the flexibility, strength and range of motion in the hips. I've started to incorporate these moves into my post-run exercises three to four times a week. I usually do the following routine on workout run days (tempos, hills, fartleks, etc.) and long run days.

 In order to prevent muscle tearing, you should doa dynamic warm-up before every workout, so that you're not going into a super intense workout or run with cold muscles. Lunge matrix and Myrtle should be done on alternating days and I usually pair the push-ups and abs with myrtle. Always make sure to stretch well after your workouts, too, but I probably don't need to tell you guys that.

Another way to prevent injuries like shin splints and various knee problems, is to ice, ice, ice! And heat! Immediately after my long runs, I fill up a mid-thigh-high trash bucket with ice and freezing cold water, and I stand in it for 10-15 minutes. I do this once or twice a week, depending on how much time I have during the week and how sore I am after a particular run/workout. Once I'm done icing, I wrap a heating pad around my knees and sit with that on for about 20 minutes. So far, *knock on wood*, my routine has helped me avoid any recurring knee pain and shin splints. Gosh, I hope it keeps working!

The heating pad is always rewarding!

P.S. NEVER stay in an ice bath for longer than 20 minutes or else your cells will start to die! (I'm sure there is a much less scary, way more scientific way to explain this, but honestly, that's all I know).

Cheers!

Just Keep Swimming...Literally

Hi all! Want to know what I haven't done in a while/ever? Posted a real workout. I may have posted one or two workouts before, but I have a whole inventory of different workouts that are fun and hard and most of which are easy to do at home. Remember when I said I wanted to get more serious about the blog and post workouts with pictures? I am holding true to that resolution, well minus the pictures. I'm still working up to the whole, "let's post picture tutorials instead of writing out how to do the workouts" thing, so I do apologize for my lack of picture/tutorials. I will just try to be extra detailed in my instructions on how to do these exercises.  Maybe the next workout I post will have pictures? Don't hold your breath.

Anyways, today's workout is way different from anything that I have posted/will probably ever post. Why? Because the only pieces of equipment you need are a swimming pool, kick board, and a pull buoy. Yep, that's right folks, today's workout is a pool workout. I thought it was reasonable to post this seeing as yesterday was a cross-training day for my marathon training.

I used to be a swimmer in high school and my blog is called "Just Keep Swimming" so I found it fitting to post this workout for you guys. Now, because this workout is in a pool and because it requires you to swim long distances, please only do this if you are really comfortable, and I mean REALLY comfortable in a pool/swimming at all. This is a distance set and you will repeat the main set twice. The warm-up is broken into two parts. The first part of the warm-up (1x50 and 2x100) will be repeated twice and the second half of the warm-up will be repeated four times. Also, please note that if you don't feel comfortable or know how to do breast or back strokes, just stick with freestyle (your basic front crawl).

Also, just as a reference for those of you who don't know your pool distances:

• 50 yards = 2 lengths
• 100 yards = 4 lengths
• 200 yards = 8 lengths
• 300 yards = 12 lengths
• 400 yards = 16 lengths
• 500 yards = 20 lengths

Here it is:

Only do what you're comfortable with.

So there it is! If you like to swim, give it a go and see what you think! Keep your eyes open for more pool workouts and more dry-land workouts in the near future. Oh! And I'm probably over due for a healthy eating post, too. Until next time, just keep swimming, literally! ;)

Marathon Training and Tortilla Pizzas

Well folks, it's official. I am training for a marathon. My first ever! I am simultaneously really excited and super terrified, but I trust my plan and I know I'll be ready when the time comes. For those of you training for your first marathon or thinking about it, the concept of actually getting through the entire 26.2 miles on foot may be a little daunting. I'm right there with ya. The distance itself isn't what worries me, it's how my body is going to feel during and after the race. Since this marathon, taking place in May, will be my first, I'm not really going for a time goal of any sort. I just want to finish. Ideally I'd be able to that without walking, but I don't want to be unrealistic.

The training plan I'm following came from a special issue of Runner's World magazine. My mom used this plan when she ran her marathons. It's nice because it allows you to start small and gradually increase distance as you build up your endurance, so even total beginners can work up to a marathon. I am still in the first week of real training, but I've already completed two weeks of what is called the "pre-train", the part of the plan that gets you back into the habit of running every day. I plan on doing a post about what I did and did not like about this plan, the marathon I will be running and the things that I did and what I could've done differently after all is said and done. This marathon training is a learning period for me and I will use it as such. Can't wait for the actual event!!

Well, enough about my marathon blabbing, for now, at least. Today I want to share with you guys a healthy-ish take on pizza. Over break, I experimented a bit with the food my family had in the house and I wound up making a lot of tortilla pizzas. They were great! I have two "flatbread" (a.k.a. tortilla) pizza recipes to share with you guys.

The first pizza is pretty festive....in a Christmas-y sort of way, but spinach and tomatoes are good on pizza all year long!

Spinach, Goat-cheese, and Tomato Tortilla Pizza:

Ingredients:

1. Handful of fresh baby spinach leaves
2. Two or three fresh basil leaves
3. 1/2 fresh green bell pepper
4. 1/4 fresh tomato (or 4 cherry tomatoes)
5. 2 tbsp. Montchevre goat cheese (or soft cheese of preference)
6. Sprinkle of Oregano and Rosemary
7. 1 whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

1. Wash all vegetables
2. Dice tomato and green pepper 
3. Spread goat cheese onto entire tortilla
4. Lay down spinach then add rest of vegetables
5. Tear basil leaves and spread around pizza
6. Sprinkle Oregano and Rosemary over top of pizza
7. Broil on top rack in oven for 3-5 minutes

Yummy!

Sunshine Tortilla Pizza:

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 yellow bell pepper
2. 1/3 orange bell pepper
3. 1/3 red bell pepper
4. 4 cherry tomatoes (or 1/4 regular tomato)
5. 2 tbsp. Montchevre goat cheese (or soft cheese of choice)
6. 1 whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

**Same as above**

....aaaaand....VOILA!

In just a few short minutes, you get a delicious tasting, crispy little pizza. Don't let the ultra-thin crust fool you, these little tortilla pizzas are actually quite filling! Next time the cafeteria is closed at school, or if you're home, give one of these a try. It's a quick, easy, tasty, and healthy lunch option. It might even be great for a dinner for nights when you're short on time.

Do any of you guys know how to knit? I'd been trying to teach myself on and off for years but I could never get the hang of it, until recently when one of my friends taught me. Now all I can think about is knitting. Isn't that sad? I think I'm slowly becoming your stereotypical grandma. Don't believe me? Here's some picture evidence:

   

See, knitting cat lady. Oops. Oh well. No shame. Anyways, wish me luck in these next few months of torture  training for my marathon. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted! 

Looking Back on 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, I realize it's a little late.

2013 was no big "year of the blog" for me. I mean, it was the year I started Just Keep Swimming. Does that count? I know I wasn't a super consistent poster, but honestly, I didn't start the blog for other people; I mostly started it as a way to motivate myself to get back into and stay in shape. It's a way for me to record my workout and recipe ideas, and my thoughts on life, health and fitness. For these reasons, I didn't exactly post everyday.....or even every month...awkward. However, just because I wasn't a huge blogger last year, doesn't mean I didn't do anything in other aspects of my life.

Picking a major:
When I first entered college, I had really no idea what I wanted to do with my life - I still don't. I started out thinking I might want to do something with physical therapy, but quickly found out that science is NOT my forte. I've always been good at English and for a while I even thought I would major in it, but I guess college is about experiencing different things, and in my case, I needed to struggle through some science classes to reassure myself that English is definitely the right choice for me. The end of 2013 marked the end of my first semester as an official English major.

Getting (back) in shape:
I spent most of 2013 gaining back the fitness I lost in 2012. Over the summer and throughout the new school year I've been more active then ever and I've been making an effort to eat pretty healthy. I definitely think the blog has helped with that, but so have other blogs like Pumps and Iron and Strong Like My Coffee, both of which post great workouts and recipes to help you live a healthy lifestyle. I also started using Map My Run to record the foods I eat and the workouts out I do daily. I'm still not in high school shape, and I may never be again, but I'm ok with that because I'm getting back to a level of health that I'm comfortable with, and that makes all the difference.

Being social
Usually I'm pretty quiet around people that I don't know, but over the past year I've stepped outside of my comfort zone. I've joined clubs and gone to shows and made a lot of new friends. Of course, I still keep in contact with all of my old high school friends and we had a blast being reunited over winter break, but it's still nice to have new friends to go back to at school.

Basically 2013 was a great year. It may have been one long, bumpy ride on the struggle bus that is my life, but it was fun and fantastic nonetheless. And now that we've said goodbye to 2013 let's look forward to 2014:

The blog:
I plan to actually get more serious about this blog...I know, woah! I'm not going to call this a resolution or anything, but I'd like to start posting more workouts and recipes, and maybe even some picture tutorials to go along with my workout posts. Hopefully I'll also manage to get at least one post in every week, but hey, I'm not dreaming big or anything, we need to start small, here.

Dat young fitness life:
I am officially registered to run the 2014 Wisconsin marathon in May. Eep! Boy am I excited! BUT! That does mean that I will have to start training....now. In fact, I have a four mile "pre-train" run on the agenda for tonight and since it's a solid 11 degrees and dark, I guess I'll be hopping on the treadmill for that one. I hope to add some sort of marathon installment on the blog. Can't exactly say what that will be or that it will be very consistent, but the key word in that sentence is hope.

Other important things:
For my French major, it is required that I study abroad for at least a semester in a French-speaking country. I'm not even going to pretend that this doesn't excite me. I am currently applying for a program in Paris! I won't know if I've been accepted for quite some time, but hopefully I'll get to spend my entire junior year gallivanting around France studying in cafés and art museums. ;)

I can't pretend that this post actually qualifies as something to do with health and/or fitness, but I promise that I will get in a good number of posts that do throughout this year of the big 2014.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

When it's 10 degrees and snowing, running is LAST thing I want to do. Winter weather may be my favorite kind to run in, but I'm more of a 20-35 degree kind of girl. However, I absolutely HATE treadmills, so even if it's negative 2 degrees outside, I'll probably still opt for the outdoor run...or no run at all. ;) Being from Wisconsin pretty much has me conditioned to love winter and cold things, so typically a nice chilly run in the snow is a breeze, or at the very least something fun to do. Yesterday, however, wasn't exactly the easiest run I've ever had. It was snowing pretty hard, it was windy and SO COLD! Now, I can handle the cold, but we're talking borderline single digits here.

I had checked the weather before I left, so I was mentally prepared to face the frigid Wisconsin winter, but that didn't mean I was looking forward to it. In fact, I'd been debating with myself over whether or not to run for about a half an hour. But, I'd told myself the night before that no matter the conditions, I had to run the next day, so I suited up and braved the cold for a short, twenty minute run. I felt so good afterwards. Even though it was a shorter run than usual and was, in truth, a lot more difficult than I thought, I felt refreshed and remembered why I love running in the winter.

For those of you who don't like to run at all, let alone in the winter, and for the others that do like running but resort to treadmills and ellipticals after October, here are some reasons why I like winter running and feel that you should give it a try ;) :

1. Your legs go numb after about 5 minutes of being outside (i.e. they don't hurt as much in the cold)
2. Running in snow makes your legs work harder giving you more bang for your buck (a better workout).
3. Yeah the cold air might hurt a little at first, but personally, my lungs feel better after a cold weather run than a warm weather one. 
4. Target has really cute cold weather running gear. ;)
5. Running on ice gives you more excuses to walk and/or stop when want need to. ;)
6. You don't feel as sweaty and gross at the end
7. Any workout after a challenging winter run feels a thousand times more conquerable! 

I know that the cold isn't everyone's cup of tea, but maybe these  reasons will make getting out there and running in the snow and cool temps a little more appealing. Give it a try and let me know what you think! :)

Moving on, I recently purchased one of those ab roller wheel thingies. Oh my gosh does it work! I've used it several times now and each time, my abs have felt insanely sore (in a good way) the next day! My ab wheel is just a simple one, a peg through two wheels, so I can really only use it for one exercise. But there are others that have straps on the handles so that you can fasten them to your feet and do other exercises with your wheel as well. No matter which wheel you use, you're still getting an excellent workout. Just be careful that you only go as far as your body feels comfortable, otherwise you run the risk of pulling a muscle.

My post run workout yesterday consisted of as many ab rollouts as I could stand, a lunge set, squat jumps, hip strengthening exercises and about twenty minutes of stretching. I'll post the exact workout next time (maybe with pictures?). Until then, just keep swimming (or winter running ;) ).

Back to December

Hello All!

It's that time of year again! Yep, it's December and that means that finals are upon us. Cue the panic. For most, finals entail long nights of studying, writing papers, crying, stress-eating, coffee, and frantically trying to cram in those last assignments you forgot to do or the extra credit you need to bump your grade from a B to an A. There's no question about it, finals are stressful.

For me, this semester's finals means six new papers to write (one of which is 7 pages and another is 8-10 pages), two old papers to revise, lots of forum questions to answer, three actual exams to study for, two movies to watch, and a ton of research to do. Bleh. Needless to say, I've got a busy schedule and a hectic week ahead of me. I've already pulled more all-nighters in the last week than I have in my entire college career. Friday night I worked until 7 am on Saturday, slept for three hours then woke up and did more work until 5:30 this morning. My Sunday wasn't exactly as productive as my last two days (i.e. I veg'd out on the couch and watched football until 3:00 this afternoon before grabbing some Starbucks and working on yet another paper), but all in all I'd say I had a pretty successful weekend, homework wise. It's all about crossing things off the list and making sure everything gets done.

Of course, that doesn't mean we can neglect our health. Like I said in my last post, I tend to eat very little when I'm busy and stressed out, but what I do eat, is never good for me. Because I've been running on hardly any sleep for the last two days, my body has been craving sugary and fatty foods, like muffins and ice-cream, which admittedly I've been giving in to. Although, I did manage to fit in a workout today. This stationary bike routine from Self magazine is so great! I really worked up a sweat and felt so good afterwards. The best part? It only takes a half an hour. That's time anyone can fit in to a busy schedule! ;)

I'm not going to go on a long rant about how to snack healthily when studying or how to fit in a workout or eat well with a super stressful, crazy-busy schedule, but I will say this: for the sake of your own sanity, PLEASE TAKE BRAIN BREAKS! Sitting around for hours and hours doing nothing but homework and studying is just asking for a mental breakdown. So do yourself a favor, and give your brain the occasional break. For every hour that you study, give yourself 5-10 minutes of time to relax. Make yourself a cup o' joe; take a power nap; walk around for a bit; do some burpees. No matter what you do in those 5-10 minutes, DON'T think about finals. Just relax your mind. Anywho, you'll all have to bear with me as posts will be, if existent, sparse and very short until finals are over. Hopefully you guys have better finals schedules than I do!

Good luck to all and remember to just keep swimming! :)

Emotional Eating

Today's post is a little bit more serious than usual. Recently, I lost my cat of 12 years to cancer. Since I'm away at college, I wasn't home to see him before he died but I knew that he was sick. When my dad called me to tell me the news, I cried for the longest time. For people that don't have or have never had pets, it might be kind of hard to understand just how heartbreaking it is to lose something that feels so much like a part of the family. It may seem silly to get so upset over an animal, but this cat was my friend, my cuddle buddy, my comic relief, and the one I fed fish to under the dinner table (I really hate the taste of fish). So when he died, I was torn apart emotionally. Don't worry, I'm doing much better now! I think I just needed a solid day to cry about it.

Now, there are many different things that people use as emotional outlets, some of which are healthier than others. Lots of people turn to food in times of stress, depression, anger, etc., but I have discovered that I am an emotional non-eater. When I get stressed or  sad or even super mad, I tend to lose my appetite. Nothing ever looks good enough for me to consume and I never actually feel hungry. I will eat, just not a lot. Emotional eating and non-eating, while different, are very similar and neither are healthy ways to go about handling your emotions.

Ironically enough, the day before I found out about Hunter (my cat), my friends and I had talked about emotional versus bored eating. That was when I made the realization that I'm an emotional non-eater but a bored eater. So when I got the news, I made a conscious effort to make sure I wasn't neglecting my health during my time of sadness and self-pity. It's extremely important to make sure you're at least maintaining your physical health even when you feel like you're mind could explode from emotions or stress. Trust me, I know it's not easy, but it's so worth it. When you take care of your body, even when your feelings are out of control, you can begin to feel better emotionally so much quicker.

I know that I'm not a doctor or anything, but here are some things that I found useful when trying to avoid bad habits I give in to when I'm emotional*:

1. Set a food goal: Aim to eat a certain amount of food during each meal of the day. If you tend to overeat during rough times, try aiming for a smaller, more normal portion size. If you tend to under eat, make it a goal to eat every meal. For example, even though I didn't necessarily feel hungry the morning after my cat died, I forced myself to eat my usual breakfast of fruit and cereal. My lunch and dinner portions were smaller than usual, but something is always better than nothing. 
2. Don't wallow: For an entire day, I was SUPER mopey. I don't think I smiled all day. It was awful. But even allowing yourself to think one happy thought or flash one 50 watt smile can make your day 10 times better. It's difficult to try and force a ray of sun to shine through a thick layer of clouds, but even one ray of sunshine lights up the earth a bit (yeah, yeah, I know that was cliché).
3. Naps are good: Sometimes, all you need is a little nap. As long as your emotions aren't interfering with your ability to face the day and to function, then a short little cat nap can be beneficial and who knows, maybe you'll even wake up feeling better!

Well, hopefully these suggestions can help you out the next time you're having a rough day or even a hard week. I'll be back on to peppier posts soon! 

*Note: These recommendations are just for when you have those occasional bad days that just seem impossible to conquer. Everyone gets them every once in a while, but if you experience feelings of sadness on a regular basis or if you often have difficulty facing the day, you should probably seek professional help. Depression is a serious health problem and if you think you may have it, then you should speak to your doctor.

Tips for Food/Exercise Tracking

If you read pretty much any health magazine article, they will tell you that counting your calories is one of the most important ways to lose weight and keep your health in check. This may be true, but I don't exactly like writing down each calorie that I consume; I find it too tedious. Of course, there are websites that do all the work for you, all you have to do is enter the foods you ate during the day.

For me, it can be pretty hard to be consistent with my food and exercise log, and often times I don't know how accurate the calorie count is for the foods I'm entering, especially because most of my diet comes from the school cafeteria. If you're like me and find food logging boring and/or you just forget to keep up with it, here are some tips to help you keep your calories tracking in check.

1. Find a good calorie tracking website (I like Map My Run, but you can also use My Fitness Pal or another calorie tracking site)

2. Be honest: The most important part of tracking your calories is to be 100% honest about what you eat and the exercise you do during the day. Record everything you ate and how much. The same goes for exercise.

3. Set a reminder: Put a reminder or an alarm on your phone to go off at a certain time everyday to tell you when to record your daily intake. When your reminder goes off, drop whatever you're doing and hop onto your calorie tracking site of choice.

4. Write it down: To help you remember what you ate during the day, carry around a small notebook and write down everything you eat after each meal, then at the end of the day, take everything you wrote down, and put it into a tracking site.

Hopefully you'll find these tips helpful, now I just have to take my own advice! ;) Happy food tracking!

Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie!

Do you like peanut butter? Do you like chocolate? What's better than those two things separately? Putting them together!! The smoothie I'm about to tell you about is the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate blended together into one glass of nutritious deliciousness (even if it is pretty calorie dense)!

Ok, so first things first, I LOVE bananas, so I will pretty much find any excuse to use a banana. That being said, this recipe does involve bananas, but if you aren't as great a banana fan as me, then you really don't need to include them in this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
2 tbsp. all natural peanut butter
1/2 c. ice cubes
1/4 c. skim milk

Directions:

1. Put in ice cubes, milk, and bananas.
2. Add in peanut butter and protein powder.
3. Blend together until smooth.
4. Pour in cup and enjoy! :)

*Makes about two tall smoothies

Of course, if you don't like chocolate or peanut butter, or whey, etc. then this smoothie probably isn't for you, however it's one of my absolute favorites! I make it whenever I get the chance. I love to make it as either a post workout recovery drink or have one in the morning for a nice, protein packed start to my day! Try it and let me know how you like it!

I'd love to hear about your favorite smoothie!

The Benefits of a Workout Buddy

Sometimes it can get pretty difficult to motivate yourself to work out, at least for me, anyways. I always know that I need to get my exercise in, and usually I'm pretty diligent about getting it done, but then there are the days when I just want to be lazy and sit on my bum. One day leads to another, which leads to another, and so on until an entire month has passed since I ran or did any form of activity that didn't involve a remote and a large screen television. I'm proud to say that this has not happened to me since I've arrived at school (knock on wood) and that's partially due to the fact that I have access to a fully equipped gym, complete with a pool and indoor track. But mostly, it's because I have a buddy.

At home, I have several friends that I can run with and I play soccer and ultimate frisbee over the summers, but I'm never very consistent with my workout regimen. At school, however, I have a workout partner that motivates me to get up and exercise even when I don't necessarily want to. Her name is Rachael and she's pretty neat! We run together, swim together, lift weights together, we practically live together. She's in my suite ALL the time! Needless to say, we're pretty close. Exercising is how we bond and boy, have we been doing a lot of bonding this year! :)

Me and Rachael Post-run

What's great about working out with Rachael, aside from just having company and motivation, is that she holds me accountable for exercising. She'll keep my pace in check when we run (so that I don't move like a turtle) and she makes sure I put a solid effort into our circuit/strength training sessions. But most of all, she tells me to get off my butt and stop being a lazy poop on days like today, when I will pretty much try to find any excuse to not go to the gym.

This afternoon, after sitting in the stands for about three hours and playing with Titan pep band at our school's football game, I would've given anything to sit on the couch and play Dots for hours. I was in the midst of a really intense round of Dots when in walks Rachael. She asked me if I wanted to go for a run and I groaned that I didn't really feel like it, but she begged and insisted that I come with her. She told me she was going to change into her running clothes and when she came back, I'd better be in mine. I knew she'd go whether I came along or not, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't run with her, so I reluctantly changed and went along for the jog.

It turned out to not be so bad, which always happens. We had a good life talk during the course of our run and finished up our exercise for the day with a post-run strength workout. We did box jumps and BOSU ball squats and a couple of different ab exercises. The point is, I worked out today, and all because Rachael guilted me into a run.

Having a friend to workout with is great for many reasons. For starters, they can at least get you out the door and moving. They give you a reason to workout, someone to keep up with or compete with and best of all, they give you a wider range of exercises to do. There are plenty of workouts out there that you can do with a partner, and many times, they're harder than exercises that you would do by yourself. Having a partner also gives you a spotter for things like bench presses and hand stand push-ups, which I've never personally tried before. Personally, I love having someone to workout with. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love exercising no matter what, but it's so much better when you have someone you care about to do it with.

What about you? Do you like working out with a buddy?

Quad Day Color Run!

Yesterday, my school had a campus wide "Quad Day" complete with inflatable amusements, free food (Cherry Berry FroYo and Chipotle!) and a Color Run 5k! It was so fun! I ran the 5k with one of my suite mates, Amanda. We ran an 8:17 pace. Not bad for someone who usually runs 9:30 on her own. Since it was more of a fun run than an actual we race, we kept it comfortable and ran it easily. Amanda is a varsity cross country/track athlete on campus, so she definitely had to slow it down for me, but I appreciated her company nonetheless.

The Color Run was so much fun! I'd been wanting to do one for so long and I even thought about doing one over the summer, but I never got the chance. So when I heard that my school was going to be hosting their own color run, naturally I jumped on the opportunity. I showed up about a half an hour early so that I could get a free t-shirt. I didn't even have to pay a registration fee! They didn't throw color around during the race, but we were bombarded with colored powder at the finish. After we finished everyone was given a few bags of the color powder and we just attacked each other with it. It was so much fun! I got so many pictures!

     

My shoes are currently unrecognizable because of all the powder on them. But I Clorox wiped the crap out of them so they're slowly returning to their normal appearance as they dry.

Left Shoe = Cleaned Shoe; Right Shoe = Post Color Run

Anyways, even if you don't like running, I would strongly recommend doing some sort of fun run. There are tons of different theme runs, like the Color Run, various mud and obstacle course runs, not mention costume runs. Many of these types of runs have 5 and 10k options. Participating in fun runs makes running more enjoyable, even for people that don't typically take pleasure in it. They also take away any pressure to run super fast or even to run the entire thing. If you need to walk, that's fine because tons of people are probably walking, just like you. Everyone just does these types of events for fun. It's a great and supportive environment. So if you currently hate running but think you might be interested in trying to get into it or if you just want to participate in a fun run, I'd encourage you to sign up for a Color Run! It's super fun and, of course, crazy colorful!

After all the colorful festivities

What's the most fun race/event you've ever done?

Eating Healthy in the Cafeteria

Four weeks into the semester and I'm already sick of cafeteria food. Everyday is the same old same old; there's always pizza that's WAY too greasy, pasta with fattening sauce, and, of course, the entrée made of mystery meat and pickles. On occasion, the main food bar in my school's cafeteria serves something worthwhile and delicious (well, delicious by Sodexo standards), but for the most part, the food they serve on campus isn't quite up to par, especially when it comes to eating healthy.

Being on a college meal plan doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for pickiness. I try my darnedest to eat healthfully on a regular basis, but I'll admit that I cave to cafeteria pizza and the occasional cone of Froyo. Well, I'm tired of feeling guilty every time I eat in the cafeteria, so today's post is all about to eat healthy on campus.

For starters, when eating in the cafeteria, make sure to look around at ALL the options. I usually go straight to the vegetarian section, but if the vegetarian/vegan entrée doesn't look appetizing, I'll look around at all the other food bars. If all else fails, I'll just have soup (I stay away from the thick, creamy soups) and some hummus with pita bread. That's a pretty safe way to do things. We also have a make-your-own salad and sandwich bar in my school's cafeteria. There's almost always spinach at the salad bar and an abundance of vegetables, dressings (go for a non-fat vinaigrette), and other salad/sandwich toppings, so of course making your own salad or sandwich has the potential to be the healthiest option in the cafeteria.

Most colleges and universities have plenty of dining options outside of the traditional cafeteria. For example, beneath the cafeteria at my school, there's a small restaurant area that has Subway, Starbucks and Chipotle style dining along with an international cuisine line and a separate soup and salad line. So far, I've tried everything except the soup and salad bar. When getting something from a food line that doesn't allow you to serve yourself, it's best to choose an option with a lower fat content and load it up with fruits and/or vegetables and, of course, guacamole and hummus are never bad toppings. :) Of course, you can always choose to stay in and make your own food. When I eat in my dorm, I like to make oatmeal topped with fruit and cinnamon or I'll have some hummus with carrots and wheat thins.

I'll admit that eating on campus or in the dorms, especially when everything is self-serve, makes it harder to control portion sizes. To keep myself in check, I record everything that I eat on Map My Run.  That way I'm less likely to eat to crappy foods or even overeat the healthy stuff, because I hate having to own up to three servings of chips or a large bowl of ice cream. I also track my workouts on so I can compare my calorie intake to the amount of calories I burn.

These are just a few tips to eating healthy on campus, most of which I'm sure you already knew. I'll probably have another post on more healthy campus options in the near (or not so near) future.

What healthy options do you have on campus?

Monday Hits Hard

After a long weekend of sitting around, reading and enjoying the start of the Packer football season, Monday hit me like a brick wall. I woke up this morning feeling as though I could've slept the whole day through. I made my way to my 9 am class sluggishly and felt groggy and spacey throughout the entire period. Now, I'm not really a morning person to begin with, but 9 is a pretty good time for me. I can wake up, eat, brush my teeth and head to class feeling energized and ready for the day, but today I was NOT feeling it.

As soon as I got back to my dorm I headed straight for my bed and crashed for a couple of hours. When I woke up, I felt as though I hadn't gotten any more rest. In my free time after my nap, I just couldn't bring myself to do a workout, even though I knew that I needed one. Instead, I cleaned my room and decided to catch up on some homework readings.

I could go on more about how I was tired and sulked my way through the day, but you guys really don't need to hear me complain. The point is that life happens. Some days (especially Mondays) hit you hard and make you feel like the only thing you can do is sleep and sleep and sleep. Sometimes, you just need those days. Take a nap, give yourself a rest day, eat some ice cream or a slice of pizza, and let the day pan out the way it's supposed to. And you don't have to punish yourself about eating some junk food or not working out. The next day will be better. Nobody can be perfect at all, let alone 100% of the time.

That being said, we can't let everyday get to us. We can't make excuses for our laziness everyday, but it's ok to let that happen every once in a while. So, in short, I did not have the most health happy day today, but I know that tomorrow will be better. I'm not letting my one day setback bother me. I'll just kick my butt into gear tomorrow and just keep swimming. :)

School Year Kickoff

As the regular NFL season begins, so does the academic year. Friday I finished up my second week of my sophomore year of college. Since I've been on campus I've gone on approximately 6 runs, 10 bike rides, 1 swim, and have made several trips to the on campus gym. I have taken only two rest days and I feel better than ever. Thursday, I joined my friends for a bike ride uptown where there was a "Light the  Night" event where everyone biked uptown for free bike tune-ups, LED bike lights, live music and free food. The key word in all of that was "free." I love free things! It was a really fun event and the band was great! I should try and find out who they are.

As you can see, Kirsten and I were the only ones concerned for our safety. ;)

Live Band at Light the Night

While the workout scene at school has been pretty dandy, the cafeteria has not been on a winning streak as far as the food goes so I've mainly been eating my own food. That's not for lack of options, though. Over the summer, my school spent over a million dollars renovating the "Underground" (the area underneath the cafeteria) putting in hardwood floors, granite countertops, a soup and salad bar, sub shop and an international cuisine food bar. There's also a Starbucks-esque café, complete with a Freshens frozen yogurt stand (I treated myself to my favorite peanut butter protein shake the other day). Not to mention the Titan bar and grill on the other side of campus that we can eat at.

Aside from the food, though, the first couple of weeks on campus have been pretty good. I love all of my classes so far, though I'm still waiting for a couple of books to arrive. My teacher's aid job has started as well and working with all the little children makes me so happy! I just know that this is going to be a great year!

More pictures, posts, and stuff about health and fitness to come, but for now, I'm going to watch the first regular season Packers' game of the season! Go Pack Go! ;)

Thirsty Thursday IS a Thing.

For all of you who haven't started college yet or for those of you who have but have not yet had the pleasure of living across the street from a frat house, I can tell you that "Thirsty Thursdays" are officially, a real thing. At about midnight last night, raging music started blaring from the Sigma Chi house across the street. People were yelling, or at least talking really loudly, and there were lights shining all over the house. Lucky for me, I was laying in bed, listening, before giving up any hope of sleep and writing this post.

Not to be a cynic or a party pooper or anything, but I've never understood the appeal of "Thirsty Thursday". Don't you have homework to do? Don't you still have another day of classes, and lectures, and paying attention and taking notes? Why would you want to get trashed the night before only to feel hungover and sluggish during your classes the next day? Maybe it's okay on the weekends when you can spend the rest of your time lounging around and sleeping in. I don't know. I'm definitely not judging anyone that partakes in this weekly "holiday." I just don't get it. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Who says you can't have fun before the weekend? And for those of you who can get through a full day of classes like a pro the day after a night of drinking, I take my hat off to you. I know I definitely couldn't.

I hoping tomorrow's post will be more upbeat, once I've had about twice as much sleep.

Home Suite Home

Well, school has officially started now and I am finally completely moved in and readjusted to on campus living. This year I'm living in a suite with seven other girls. There's no kitchenette but there is a nice living area where we all hang out, have [health] food parties ;), girls nights, and watch football on our big screen TV. It's a pretty good arrangement.

Reunited...at Cornfest. (I'm not in the picture)

Several of the girls living in my suite are varsity student athletes and had to arrive to campus a few weeks early to begin training with their respective sports teams. A couple of other girls are theatre majors and needed to be here a few days early for the semester's auditions. Everyone else moved on the first available move in day for normal students...except for me. I waited until the last possible day to move in because, although I tried to make it otherwise, I was not prepared to head back. The week leading up to move in day was hectic. Just when I thought I had gotten everything packed and bought everything I needed for my new living arrangements, I would remember something else that I had forgotten and still had to get. So naturally, I waited until there could be no more waiting before I shoved all my belongings into the back of my van and headed off for campus.

My van was stuffed nearly to the ceiling!

Since I was the last one to arrive to my new university home, I was bombarded with excited, girly, greetings from all my friends/suite mates. I walked in to find my room already set up nicely (courtesy of Kara, the best roommate ever!), a "welcome home" sign scribbled on the suite whiteboard, and several pieces of my artwork from my May term class hanging in the living room.

Suite (sweet) friends!

After my parents and I unloaded the van and got my room somewhat organized, we headed to dinner at  Tobin's, a local pizza joint near campus that has been around since the 60's! It still serves it's original pizza and has that old town, close community feel to it. When we finished up, my parents took me to Target to grab a few last minute groceries, then we said our goodbyes and I returned to my suite to relax and finish my unpacking.

Dorm room kitchen, complete w/ the Easy Mac essentials.

I'm really looking forward to this year and the new experiences and healthy inspiration it will bring me. Hopefully I'll be a more consistent blogger, too. I guess only time will tell. For now, though, just keep swimming. :)

What Time is it? School Time!

It's getting to be that time of year again. You know what mean.  The time when kids spend as much time as humanly possible out of the house and when you can find frantic moms desperately digging in the one cent notebook and folders bins at Staples. Yup, it's back to school time, and for some of us that means it's time to pack up all of our favorite belongings and move into a small, cramped dorm room. Come next Saturday, I'll be packing my stuff into my minivan and starting my sophomore year of college. Woohoo!

Whether it's your first year at college or you're a returning student, packing up and moving out of your home and into a dorm (or apartment) can be a pretty stressful time.  As I'm sure many of us can agree, when our schedules are packed it can get kind of difficult to fit in a workout and grabbing a McDonald's hamburger always seems so much more convenient than making a meal. However, it's still important to make sure that we're fueling our bodies with the proper nutrition and getting in at least 10-15 minutes of exercise a day.

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely a list maker. On a busy day, I like to write down all the things I need to do so that I know what has to get done. That way, I can see exactly what I need to do for the day and check off the things I've already accomplished. And I ALWAYS make sure to include a workout on that list. Even if I don't have to time to go for a run or make a trip to the gym, I know that I can still do my own workouts at home. There are plenty of quick, no equipment workouts that you can do in your home and are available online. I like to find some on Pinterest, but I also like to make up my own. When I only have ten minutes to spare, I give the following workout a quick go and carry on with the rest of my day:

2:00 High Knees
1:30 Plié Squat Jumps
1:00 Alternating Forward Lunges
0:30 Wall Sit

2:00 Jumping Jacks
1:30 Burpees (w/ tricep pushup and jump)
1:00 Plank
0:30 Boat/ V-sit

Even when I'm crunched for time, I still like to make sure that I'm eating properly, so I always keep my cupboards stocked with quick and healthy food options. When you have a full day ahead of you, plan your meals out beforehand. Try a simple menu, something like this:

Breakfast:

1 serving Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and fresh fruit
Glass of water

Lunch:

1 Morning Star Black Bean Burger on whole wheat bun
1 serving hummus w/ carrots and cucumber
Glass of Water

Dinner:

Strawberry Mango Salad
Glass of water

Hopefully your back to school shopping and moving experience won't be too hectic. I sure hope mine won't be! But with a positive attitude (and a nice, stress relieving workout) ;) I think it'll be just fine. Good luck to everyone in the 2013/14 school year!