i went

And I'm not talking to the bathroom!  Though, I did also go there today...

I went for a run.  When I had 3 things on my chores/to-do list, and 15 reasons why I didn't WANT to go, I went and ran.  I am so proud of myself right now.  (Shameless self-promotion moment) (Insert self back-pat).

Normally I would talk myself out of running.

Example A: "You have chores to do".
I really do actually.  Did you know that when you get married it's no longer acceptable to go and buy new underwear just because you haven't done laundry?!  I didn't get the memo on that.  Apparently you're supposed to clean the bathroom every once and while too. Gross.

Example B: "You have an appointment later".
I mean I've gotta shower and primp.  And that takes roughly 3 hours. #princess

Example C: "You have to feed your husband and you have no food".
Seriously.  You should see our fridge.  We are living like bachelor's right now.  Though Hubs made a killer baked chicken breast dinner the other night!  Thanks Babe!

Example D: "You don't want to".
This is the excuse I battle the most. But today I went. And today I ran!

Dear Little Bad Voice In My Head That Talks Me Out Of Stuff All The Time,

You lost.

Love, Andria

simplify

Lately I have been in the process of simplifying my life.  By "lately" I mean I started this morning. By "started" I mean I went on Pinterest and saw a lot of cool $*#@ that inspired me.  So here goes "Simplification: Andria-Style".  I feel like this project will come in stages.

Andria's stages for a more simple life:
Stage 1 - declutter tangible items
         Stage 1a - ask the Hubs to help with Stage 1
Stage 2 - declutter my mind
Stage 3 - refocus my energy on daily tasks instead of monthly, even yearly goals
         Stage 3a- make a list of daily tasks
Stage 4 - realize that Stage 2 is an enormous undertaking
Stage 5 - get on Pinterest in order to avoid above-mentioned stages

In all seriousness, though, I feeling like simplifying is going to be an important thing to do in order to make it through nursing school and frankly - life!  My sister is a known pack-rat but I have never been much of a hoarder. (I admit it! I throw away birthday cards after they spend the obligatory 60 days on my fridge.  My sister?  She probably still has cards from her 4th birthday).  It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, because I do.  But that's just it! The sentiment means more to me than the actual card. Sentiments and thoughts and fears and judgements take up 95% of the real estate in my head! And therein lies my real struggle - simplifying my emotional clutter and quieting my mind.

If you're wondering about the other 5%? A solid 3% of that is dedicated to not making a decision about dinner and the last 2% is spent wondering why the Hubs glares at me when I tell him I don't know what I want for dinner.

This still hasn't happened for the Hubs. #sorry #sorrynotsorry

So, in the spirit of Stage 3 I am going to start with the daily task of simplifying my tangible clutter.  And in the spirit of Stage 3a I am going to make a daily task list. Obviously I want to add tasks that do not change from day to day (like showering) but I really want to add tasks that challenge me.  I like being comfortable. (Hello! Why do you think I'm picking a profession where the required uniform is basically pajamas?!).  I want to start liking being a little UNcomfortable; I want to push myself a little harder.  It is the only way I'll grow.

These are the couple things I know I need to add to my day that, currently, are unacceptably left out:
1 - bible study with Hubs
2 - exercise and/or yoga
3 - washing the dishes/no dishes in the sink before bed

Please stop making fun of me.  I hate dirty sink water.  I wipe people's butts for a living but dirty sink water is too much...

Here's to making myself a little more uncomfortable everyday!

SIDE NOTE: I actually did start simplifying my life before this morning because a few weeks ago I deleted facebook from my phone. It was very uncomfortable but honestly one of the best things I've ever done.  Now I only check it on my computer and even that happens rarely.  So please PLEASE do not think that I don't care about what's happening in your life - I do! I just couldn't stand the noise that is created by facebook. (My marketing executive/social media strategist/internet guru/basically-runs-google bestie taught me that word - "noise".  It is so appropriate.)

Listen Jerk - I have a lot more time for Pinterest now.  How do you think I found your picture?! #showedhim

Funny Picture of the Day (FPotD):

yolo

I have found myself confused and stuck lately between living a healthy lifestyle and subscribing to the YOLO way of life.

If you've been living under a rock, YOLO stands for You Only Live Once

Jack Black said that YOLO is "Carpe Diem" for idiots.  But really, you DO only live once so you SHOULD carpe your diems!  But when my goal is to stay away from processed food and hit the gym 4 times a week and that bad "little voice" inside my head keeps encouraging me to eat sugar and not exercise, I find that an equally bad but perhaps louder "little voice" uses YOLO as the excuse to justify my actions.

Good Lord - I just admitted to hearing AND heeding the advice of voices in my head.  There is a psychiatrist out there who will make a lot of money on me someday...

Anywayyyy - my struggle is this: if I work out and eat well how bad is it to have a cookie (or three)?  Where exactly is the line between YOLO and excess?  Every shift I work at the hospital confronts me with obesity and I'm always wondering when that person reached that point of "I just don't care anymore because I'm already obese".  If you know me well you know that is one of my greatest fears in life!  And yet, I justify my bad eating and laziness to myself ALL. THE. TIME.  I have no answer here nor any life changing advice - I am actually wondering where the line is...

In other news, I am just over 6 weeks away from starting nursing school.  Yay!  I have no idea what to expect but based on what my nurse friends tell me it's going to be the hardest, most stressful, and completely all-consuming two years of my life.  To which I say bring it on.  After all, YOLO!!

Here is the IaFPotD for August 14, 2014:

i'm going to have to pee

I ran today.  Well, Christine pulled me through a run today.  4.6 miles for me - more for her.  The student has definitely become the teacher - so proud of her! We have a running date ritual to meet at a centrally located Starbucks to drop off one car and drive to our running route. I wish we could just meet up at either her house or ours, but alas Justin and I live in Idaho Graham.  All you need to know about Graham is that you can't get there quickly and it is nowhere near Christine (waaahhhh).

So there we are in Starbs before our run and she starts reading a blog post that I have been nagging her to read; it's about a big metal chicken named Beyonce. You're intrigued I know - so here's the link.  Fair warning: you may pee your pants from laughing.  Well, and you may not but this could suggest that you have no sense of humor.

This is Beyonce.  It's almost my birthday.  Put it together...

After Christine laughed herself silly and we shared our favorite lines of the blog we looked outside and wouldn't you know it?  Rain.  In Washington.  We were as shocked as you are.  I know that I was a swimmer in the past but I, perhaps surprisingly, HATE getting wet!  Running was temporarily out of the question.  

Instead we decided to catch up.  We hadn't seen each other for approximately 14 hours at this point; goes without saying we had plenty to talk about.  At one point we look up to see our handsome Firefighter/Running Amigo Brent walk into the Starbs we were at.  So much fun!  And to think, if we had just gone running instead of reading about Beyonce and gabbing we wouldn't have seen Brent. The universe was trying to tell us something.

Once we caught a break in the rain we headed out.  I didn't have a lot of thoughts in my head during the run until about mile 3 when the only thought was STOP! YOU (huff) ARE (gasp) KILLING (gulp) ME (lack. of. oxygen.).  At this point I look over at Christine and she's just running so effortlessly with her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down.  

Dammit, I can't stop now.  

Thankfully there was a stoplight up ahead and I used it as the perfect excuse to take a quick break.  It wasn't long until I needed a full-on walk break though.  Being the great sport she is, she obliged and pretended to huff and puff along with me; it did make me feel better though.  I grinded (ground?) out the rest but noticed my breathing rhythm falling apart near the end and just decided to call it quits.  Better to end on a (debatable) high then a low, right?  I basically crawled back to our parking spot.

I grabbed my water bottle out of her car and enjoyed every wet drop as it went down my throat.  In my delirium I suggested we run the stairs at the stadium we were parked at.  

Like, really Andria?  

So we did that too.  Ha.  Me and my hair-brained ideas...

I've analyzed what I think went wrong with today's run and I'm feeling like I was dehydrated to start with and used up my reserves as the run went on.  This week I am going to work on hydrating.  

Gonna get drunk on some wa-wa.  WATCH OUT!  

I've read in several sources that 3 liters is ideal. I have a 750mL water bottle which means I need to drink 4 bottles/day.  

*Side note - I love the metric system.  Is there any reason America cannot get on board with it?  Gosh! 

Kindergartners can do this.  Hell, even I can figure it out. That's how you KNOW it's easy!

This week's goals are: 1) Drinking 3 liters of water per day, 2) 3 runs of at least 3 miles, and 3) throwing a party for the Hubs because he just became a Paramedic!! So stinkin' proud of him!   

With that I leave you with today's Irreverant and Funny Picture of the Day - 

IaFPotD for June 29, 2014:

i just want to be okay with how i look

In exactly three months I will begin nursing school at the University of Washington in Seattle (I still cannot believe I am going to be a husky. Ughh! #gocougs). That means I have three months to make a habit out of clean eating, exercising, and blogging about my journey.  My thought is that if I can make a lifestyle change now, it will be much easier while I'm in school to make smart food choices and incorporate exercise into my daily routine.  I am not going to sell myself short - I have already gotten much better with my food choices and I have found enjoyment in running again (stop laughing, I'm actually serious!).  I just need to carry this forward and keep getting better!  I was thinking of ways to stay motivated and I had this crazy thought that I would take a picture of myself and watch my progress. People do that all the time; they post their pictures on the internet for the world to see and get super positive feedback. Great plan up until the moment that I took a picture of myself.

What. THE HELL. Has happened to me?!

Please PLEASE know that I, in no way, think that I am obese or anything like that.  But for a former college athlete and a girl who used to work at the Y - there is no denying that my body has changed.  Of course I have my excuses: I'm in school while working full-time, I would rather hang out with the Hubs than spend hours at the gym, I think sugary and salty things taste good and I like foods that are not good for me.  I mean, I am human for goodness sakes.

Can't deny it.  I'm 100% an emotional eater!

So what do I do?  Ultimately I just want to be okay with my body.  I want my heart and lungs healthy.  I want my legs to be strong.  A washboard 6-pack stomach wouldn't hurt but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  I think I need to redefine success for my body.  This time last year I was moping around because I had inflamed my IT band and running wasn't even an option.  Isn't that success right there?!  Duh! Of course it is!

Okay so maybe I won't be posting this week's body photo on here but I did take two that I will use as my personal motivation going forward. Someday, when I'm really brave I'll post them. I think it's okay to remember the glory days of college swimming but I cannot keep living in the past.  I have grown up (and a little out) since then. And THAT just needs to be okay.  As long as I stop the bad behavior now and work toward better, cleaner, healthier living. After all, my body has a story.  It's been through a lot.

It's really scary and uncomfortable talking about this stuff.  I am totally a victim of the "I care what others think about me" curse.  It sucks.  I just do not think I am alone out here; I know I'm not.  There are plenty of former college athletes that have let life happen to them just as I have.  My goal is simply to share my experience and hopefully help motivate at least one person along the way.

I'm ready to be okay with how I look...

---

And because we all need to laugh to stay sane, I am introducing the IRREVERENT AND FUNNY PICTURE OF THE DAY (IaFPotD).

IaFPotD for June 25, 2014:

inspiration and motivation

I get a lot of inspiration from other people. In fact, I think lately I ONLY get inspiration from other people.  Fitness inspiration.  Blogging inspiration.  Goal-setting. The list goes on!  Recently I've found myself to be quite unmotivated when it comes to running - and I'm not sure why.  I spend a lot of time THINKING about going running and even more time NOT running.  What is it that scares me from just going outside and logging a few miles?  I know that I'm tired from work, school, marriage, life - but who isn't?!  Why am I being such a baby about this??  I suppose if I had an answer to that question I wouldn't have a blog! So instead I'm going to celebrate the people that do motivate and inspire me to keep going when I don't want to.

I'm acting very much like my pouty baby elephant friend here.  

On Sunday December 15 the most amazing group of friends joined Justin and me for the 12Ks of Christmas in Kirkland.  It's the second year for Justin and I to run as hubby and wifey and the first year for our friends to submit themselves to the misery FUN!  A 12K race is 7.3 miles which is certainly a no-joke distance.  Especially on this course where the first couple miles are an uphill grind!  

(left to right) Suzanne, Toni, Brent, Christine, Yours Truly, Handsome Hubby

I'm not sure how it happened but sometime in late October, early November Toni (the gorgeous tall blonde) suggested we all run the race together.  I was obviously very excited by this since I was going to make Justin do it with me anyway (which, for the record, he was VERY excited about).  Suzanne is Toni's roomie and was in like flynn.  We invited our fire-fighting, hockey-playing, soccer-loving, already-ran-the-disneyland-half-marathon, brother-from-another-mother Brent.  There was only one person left to convince.  Christine.  Now I'm not condoning our actions, but I will say that peer-pressure and relentless begging can actually work wonders.  She signed up.

Oh, you know, just snappin' selfies after the race had started

Here's where my inspiration and motivation come in.  Toni and Suzanne are training for the San Diego Rock and Roll in June.  Brent is super active and texts me in the mornings to let me know he just did an "easy 6-miler" (whatever dude).  Justin runs races mostly to shut me up (out of love of course).  And Christine?  Well, she runs now because she knows she can.  I believe I saw a quote on her Facebook once saying something like "if you ever see me running, it's because I'm being chased".  She SWORE she wasn't a runner. Well sister. Sorry. You are.

Finishers!!

Run. Walk. Crawl.  Just do something.  Crossing the finish line is so rewarding.  

Maybe I need to remind myself of that the next time I think about running instead of running.

gettin' ready for race day

I'm so excited for this Sunday - it's the 12Ks of Christmas in Kirkland (check it out here).  I have been running this race since 2008 (though I must be honest, in 2008 we drove all the way to Kirkland only to find out the race had been cancelled due to ice...so I guess I've been running this race since 2009).  This year will be different though because some of my closest friends and the hubs are running it with me.  Yay!!  And while I'm not in the shape I used to be in nor am I as healthy as I have been in past years, this race still gets me equally as excited as prior years.  Nothing compares to standing at the start line with thousands of other "crazy" people in freezing temps waiting for the announcer to count down to the start of our race.  Then there is the cattle heard for the first 2 miles.  Seriously, why do some people insist on running in a line of friends six people across and not letting anyone by?!  Once that finally settles out, its all about staying focused, listening to music, and enjoying the good I'm doing for my heart, my muscles, and my mind.  I. LOVE. RACES.

Here are some of my pre-race and race day tips.  Please share yours with me too!

• The Pre-race Carbo Load
• There is a lot of great literature on this but here's what I've experienced through all my years of swimming and running.  The idea is that if you eat a big meal of pasta (and other delicious simple carbohydrates) the day before an important race you'll improve your performance because you'll have this "store" of energy that your body can use.  This is incorrect for a couple reasons.  
• First, simple carbohydrates are those that are found in enriched flour and they don't pack a huge nutritional punch.  Instead they add to those adorable love handles we're carrying around because, well let's face it, simple carbohydrates are yummy. Here's a great article that breaks this down if you're interested in more.  
• Second, I've found that when I've made this mistake I feel this "load" just sitting in my stomach.  Our bodies take time to digest and move food through our digestive system and 12 hours just isn't enough to make this happen.  So instead of giving us that boost of energy, the opposite happens and we're slowed down and slogging through our races.
• I've found that eating cleanly the day and night before makes me feel the best; think all fruit and yogurt smoothies, steamed edemame, chicken - you know the stuff I should be eating more of all the time. The morning of the race toast a half of a bagel, top it with peanut butter, and a drink a cup of black coffee.  If you don't normally drink black coffee DO NOT START NOW...it will tear up your gut.  Grab something non-carbonated with caffeine.  Trust me.  You do not need anything more than that for your race.  I do concede that marathon running is a different beast - and a different blog entry!
• Getting dressed
• The night before the race I love to lay out my "race pile".  This pile consists of my shoes, socks, shorts (or capri leggings), sports bra, tech shirt, iPhone armband, headphones, my bib, and my chip.  For a cold race like this I always wear my trusty LIVESTRONG fleece headband.  I get cold ear headaches and if you're susceptible to the cold you might want to invest in a headband too.  
• The morning of the race I take a hot shower to help wake me up, put on mascara (don't judge me), dress in my bottom layers (leggings/shorts, tech tank/shirt), and put on comfy sweat pants and a sweatshirt on top of my running clothes.  I don't put my running shoes on yet...this probably comes from my swimming days but it's a superstition that you don't wear your race gear until the race starts.  I'm weird, I know.  If it's a warmer run, I love bringing my flipflops with me because post-race NOTHING feels better than slipping on those plastic sandals.
• I also have to drive to the race with a blanket on my lap in the car.  I just love being as snuggly as long as possible.
• Music
• I have a pretty standard playlist of high-energy pop hits.  I use iTunes and go the Fitness and Workout category.  My favorite songs to download are made by Power Music.  I usually run to songs that have been remixed to 130bpm or faster.  You can find most of your favorite current songs and older ones you forgot about but love running to.  The high tempo gives you something to pace your footfalls on and the high energy keeps your mind from wandering as the miles tick by.

Wish me luck on Sunday!  I've been battling an achy hip lately, and an IT band injury for over 6 months.  This year has really challenged my running and I'm hoping 2014 will have healthy joints in store for me.

Comment here or on FB and give me some of your race tips!  I need help too!