I Need New Tunes

I have a superfantastic running playlist.  It's been so superfantastic that I haven't updated my iPod in about a year and a half.  The thing is, my music interests and my running music interests don't really overlap.  I'm about a 75% rock/grunge/metal sort of gal while my running playlist is mostly pop and rap -- things that have a strong beat.  Since I don't listen to pop or rap on any sort of regular basis, I don't know what new and awesome songs have come out that should be on my playlist.

Jen's Running Mix
Let's Go -- Trick Daddy
Lose Yourself -- Eminem
Pump It -- Black Eyed Peas
Tainted Love -- Soft Cell
Nookie -- Limp Bizkit
Rollin' (Urban Assualt Vehicle) -- Limp Bizkit
Gimme More -- Britney Spears
One Step Closer -- Linkin Park
Somewhere I Belong -- Linkin Park
Bleed It Out -- Linkin Park
Click Click Boom -- Saliva
Ready to Go -- Republica
Stronger -- Kanye West
Jesus Walks -- Kanye West
Pain -- Jimmy Eat World
Over My Head -- Sum 41
Hip Hip Hooray -- Naughty by Nature
Awake -- Godsmack
I Stand Alone -- Godsmack
Sweet Home Alabama -- Lynard Skynard
4 Minutes -- Madonna (ft. Justin Timberlake)
SexyBack -- Justin Timberlake
Magic Carpet Ride -- The Crystal Method
Party Up -- DMX
Temperature -- Sean Paul
Beverly Hills -- Weezer
California Love -- Tupac (ft. Dr. Dre)
Fighter -- Christina Aguilera

So I need your help.  Give my music, um, interests... what should I add?  (I realize I'm severely lacking in Gaga, but like I said, I haven't updated in a year.)  I like motivating songs.  I like songs that make me want to dance.  I like songs that will take me from mile 20 to mile 26. 

Suggestions?

TGIF!!!

Thank goodness it's Friday!

Well, it's Friday by Navy standards.  Jason has worked everyday for the past two weeks.  They call it "14 Days of Nuclear Power" because even though he technically had a day off, he worked until 1:00 AM and went back to work at 8:00 PM the next day.  So he's been on the boat for two straight weeks.  He has a test tonight, but then he's off for TWO WHOLE DAYS!!!  And next month when he has to work this crazy shift, I'll be on vacation lounging out by the pool.

Photo source: http://randomfunnypicture.com/funny-pictures-motivationals/motivational-submarine-races-not-spectator-sport/

 
I did happen to peek at the scale this morning.  Despite two weeks of eating like crap and not working out nearly enough, I have less than three pounds of baby weight left.  I'm so thrilled to be past the stupid plateau that I was stuck on for the past two months.  I might actually get back to my pre-Harper weight before I see my family in a few weeks.  Yay!

As far as yesterday's question about running goes, I'm just going to have to suck it up and run.  Honestly, it's not like I'm going to go do a 10 mile run in 90 degree weather.  I'm just running around the block.  Next week, Jason works at 8 AM, so I'll do my run before he goes to work.  That's 5 runs; completely no excuses. 

When Do You Run?

I'm struggling. I really am. I want to run; I really do. But I can't seem to find the time. It's not time in the usual sense. You know, the 'I don't have time to workout because ...' excuse.

Rather, I can't find the right time of day to run. Currently, Jason is undergoing some pretty intense Navy training and is working 12 hour days 7 days a week doing rotating shiftwork. Last week was awesome. He worked 12:30 PM to 12:30 AM which gave me plenty of time in the morning to run before he went to work. He even went with me a couple of times. (Note, we might want to invest in a jogging stroller.)

This week, he's working 8:30 PM to 8:30 AM. I had originally planned to run when he got home at 9:00. But I ran into two problems. First, the Navy has a warped sense of time. Several times this week, they wouldn't let the class leave on time because such and such happened or so and so was late. So they punish everyone with push-ups and making them stand at attention for an hour. Meanwhile, I'm sitting by the door in my running clothes wondering if he's in a ditch somewhere because he fell asleep at the wheel. By the time he gets home at 10:00, I've usually gotten wrapped up in something else and don't make it outside.

Or he does make it home at 9:00 and it's already 90 degrees and 125% humidity. I suppose the weather wouldn't be a big issue if I was used to running in it, but being a new (returning?) runner, my stamina is crap. Besides, it's going to get a lot hotter before it starts to cool off again and my runs are only going to get longer.

I suppose I could run at 7:00 PM before he goes to work, but usually it's hotter then than it is in the morning. Plus, by 7:00, I have to make dinner, do baths, etc. I *could* go to the gym when he gets home, but I really despise the treadmill and while it's great now and then, it shouldn't make up the bulk of training for anyone who does road races. I also can't afford a running stroller right now, although even if I could, I wouldn't use one. Strollers completely jack with your form.

So any thought? Should I just suck it up and run in the heat? Is there another answer I'm just not seeing?

Got a Little Depressed There...

While working on my P90X results post, I started thinking about how much further I have to go to get back to my goal. I don’t have a specific number in my head, but it’s at least another 40 lbs away.

And that’s really depressing.

I was so upset with myself when I gained 87 lbs in less than a year. (Okay, sure part of that was a baby, but still.) Then I lost it. Yay me! Then I gained it again. Un-freaking-believable.

So I leave you with the few pictures I have of me at a comfortable weight.

November 2002

March 2009

Keep Pushing Play

Sorry about the lack of posting over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been going through a lot of personal stuff and honestly, trying to put my thoughts into coherent sentences just wasn’t happening. I have managed to get a couple of posts up on my other blog in case you are just dying to hear my thoughts and opinions even if they aren’t fitness related.
I’m working on a couple of what I hope will be great posts, but until then, I’ll leave you with a couple of updates.

1. I’m doing Weight Watchers. Again. I have a love/hate relationship with Weight Watchers… which just happens to be one of the posts I’m working on. So, more about that later.

2. I’m on Day 73 of P90X. If you all remember, I decided to repeat Month 1, but since then, I’ve been missing more workouts than I’ve been doing. I promise that the program works, but like Tony says, “You have to keep pushing play.” I haven’t been pushing play enough and it’s my own fault. Sadly, working out while dealing with depression has been tough. At this point, I’m not sure whether to continue until my original 90 days is up or just start over from day 1. I have pictures, but I’m not sure I want to post them since I haven’t been following the program the way it was intended. Now that I’ve started WW and have gotten a bit of control over the PPD, I’m very motivated to give P90X my all.

I have to say that even though I haven’t been following the program as closely as I would like to be, I’m getting stronger. I’m still not doing a pull-up yet, but I’ve more than doubled my push-ups. I’m jumping higher. I’m lifting more. I swear, it really does work.

I pHail at Blogging

I suck. I admit it. I’ve been working on this new weekly feature that I was wanting to unveil today and it’s still not done. I could give excuses like the crying adolescent in her room or the screaming baby downstairs. I could even blame it on the dog, who if he doesn’t stop clawing at the door costing us our security deposit, will be let loose without his collar.

But the truth is, I suck at time management. I get caught on facebook or reading blogs then I realize it’s been 3 hours and I’ve accomplished nothing. Now, the husband will hopefully be home in 30 minutes and I haven’t done a thing. I still have a couple loads of laundry to run, dishes to do, floors to sweep, bathtubs to scrub.

Instead, I’m going to sit here and enjoy a mug of hot cocoa and resist the urge to ask Jason to go get me a Milky Way and a Red Bull. Yes, I’m a stress eater but I know that eating a candy bar will just make me feel worse.

P.S. Bonus points if you enjoyed my attempt at chemistry humor.

Bad Habits

The theory is that it takes 3 weeks to form a habit so it makes sense that it would take 3 weeks to break a bad habit, right?

Oh goodness, do I have some bad habits that need breaking.

Normally, I eat fairly healthy. I don’t care whether or not high fructose corn syrup is bad for you because I don’t eat it. It’s not food. If it has more than 5 ingredients or it has an ingredient I recognize from my chemistry class, I just don’t eat it. Lately, I’ve been slipping though.

I have a small caffeine problem. I am a Red Bull addict. When I got pregnant, I stopped drinking it for a few months, but my OB recommended picking it back up because I was getting the WORST headaches. But now, with a new baby and little sleep, I find myself reaching for 2 or 3 a day. This isn’t good. Red Bull is full of CRAP. I drink the sugar-free stuff but it’s not like that’s any better. Aspartame. Acesulfame potassium. Both of these chemicals have been linked to numerous health problems such as cancer and obesity. (More on that topic later.) Plus, it’s expensive. I can get it at the commissary for about $1.50, but you can pay as much as $2.50 for a small can at other stores. That’s about $100 a month! Man, I can think of a lot better things to spend a hundred bucks on.

My second bad habit is… diet soda. (Yes, I supposed Red Bull is technically soda, but still.) During my hard-core World of Warcraft days, I was going through about 6 12-packs a week of soda. My desk looked like a recycling center. I don’t remember when, how, or why, but I stopped drinking soda. Ok, maybe I didn’t actually stop because any time I eat out or get fast food, I get a Diet Coke, but I wasn’t drinking 10+ cans a day. Yet, for some reason, I’ve been buying soda at the store again and my desk now looks like a recycling center. Soda is bad! In addition to the chemicals in Red Bull, the acid in soda leeches calcium out of your body. I can only imagine how good that is for a nursing mother with joint problems and a family history of osteoporosis.

Next up — candy. Mmmmm, candy. I have a sweet tooth. If it’s sweet or made of chocolate, I’ll eat it. I got really fussy for a while and wouldn’t eat anything that was less than the most expensive gourmet chocolate (which isn’t bad because you can only afford so much of that stuff), but lately, I’ve been binging on crap. I’ve eaten BAGS of white chocolate truffles over the last few weeks. I haven’t counted, but I would say at least a dozen. I’ve been eating crappy candy bars almost daily. I’ve been picking in Kaelin’s candy stash more than I should. I’ve eaten so many black jelly beans that I felt sick.

Finally, I’m a fast food fiend. I hate this because I don’t even like most of the fast food I eat. McDonald’s is terrible on so many levels, but there I am sitting in the drive-thru. Actually, I’ve been doing much better with fast food recently than I have in the past. I used to eat it 3+ meals a day and my cholesterol levels were scary high for someone in their 20s. Now, I’m only getting it once every couple of days, but that’s still too much considering that I don’t even like how it tastes. Seriously, when I was still married to my first husband, we were spending about $1000 a month on fast food. We NEVER ate at home. Now, Jason and I have a $100 a month limit on eating out, and I would much rather go to a decent restaurant every now and then instead of giving the money to a stupid clown face.

Four bad habits (at least, 4 that I’m focusing on for now). Four bad habits of which I’m getting rid. It’s going to be painful and Jason doubts that I can do it, but for the next three weeks — no Red Bull, no soda, no candy or chocolate and no fast food. Twenty-one days. I know that in moderation, none of my habits are particularly bad, but I’m not a very moderate person. If I have candy, I’m going to eat the whole bag. If I have a case of Red Bull, I’m going to drink it over a couple of days.

Then, after 3 weeks, when I kick this challenge’s ass, Jason will owe me. BIG.

Hello, 5:00 AM

As I was lying in bed this morning, I was mentally writing today’s post. It started something like this:

“I feel like a failure. My workout clothes are neatly laid out, my shoes are at the door, and my iPod is charged, but I just can’t do it. I can’t get dressed and go run. I’m tired. It’s early. I didn’t sleep well. The baby was up less than an hour ago to nurse. It’s cold. It’s dark. I’ll do it tonight.”

Screw that. I got up, put my shoes on, and ran.

It wasn’t long. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t far. But I did it.

The feeling of accomplishing something, something that is hard and that most people don’t do (I mean, really… how many runners are out there at 5:00 AM compared to 5:00 PM?), is so much better than an extra 9 minutes of sleep.

Hello, 5:00 AM. I kicked your ass today. See you Wednesday!

Falling Behind

I’ve been MIA for a bit; Jason’s dad passed away last week and since then, we’ve been… well, let’s just say working out isn’t high on the priority list.

We haven’t done P90X since Thursday, so we need to catch up. We could just pick up where we left off or we could just cross out the workouts we’ve missed and start the regular schedule again tomorrow. However, we decided to do double workouts to make up the few that we missed. Here’s our planned schedule:

Tuesday - Plyo, Chest & Back
Wednesday - Kenpo, Yoga
Thursday - Legs & Back, Shoulders & Arms
Friday - Kenpo, Yoga
Saturday - Legs & Back, Yoga
Sunday - Rest
Monday - Back to Schedule (Recovery)

It looks like it’s going to be a long week, but I’m not going to beat myself up if it doesn’t happen. Life isn’t perfect, and everything doesn’t always fit into a neat schedule. The important thing is that we are continuing on with the program instead of throwing in the towel because we missed a few workouts. Also, Jason will be gone a couple days for the funeral, so I’m not going to have him there pushing me… although, it will be nice to not worry about where I’m kicking. :)

Excuses

It’s after 8:00 and I still haven’t worked out. I had too much fast food today and the baby is cranky. I’m tired. I haven’t had enough water. The Biggest Loser is on. I have so many excuses.

But I’m getting up. I’m going to put my gym clothes on. I’m putting the baby in her playpen. I’m going to push play and do my workout.