This afternoon I hopped on a treadmill at the gym to do my 6 mile run (it was 20* outside, too cold for me to run!).  All the TVs at my gym are always tuned to the news channels and the occasional ESPN.  Lucky for me, the 2009 UCA National College Cheerleading Championship was on!  I love watching national cheer and dance competitions because they’re fun (obviously) and because these cheerleaders and dancers are truly athletes.  This is a sport that they train vigorously for to perfect each and every movement.

Of course, this got me thinking about my high school dance team days.  I wasn’t a cheerleader, but at my high school the cheerleaders and dance team were part of one big group called the spirit squad – cue the spirit fingers!  We had the same sponsor/coach and she pushed our high school to accept us as an official sport.  Officially, all this really meant was that we could get a varsity letter in cheer or dance.  Unofficially, it taught us all so much more.  Our coach made sure that if we were going to be considered a “sport”, then we needed to be athletes just like any other sport. 

Our coach Becky was a gym teacher at the high school and had started the school’s first all-female weight-lifting class a few years before I started high school.  She put her knowledge to good use and set-up a training plan for all of us that including running, strength-training and aerobics.  She was also a Jazzercise instructor.  Remember Jazzercise?!?!  Yup, leotard and all

In the summers, we were all encouraged to participate in our school’s “Power Club”, which was basically the summer training program that all the football players did.  We would show up each afternoon and warm-up with the football boys- stretching and doing their warm-up drills.  We often went our separate way for the cardio portion of Power Club- the boys would do things like pull each other in harnesses (!) and we would run up and down the stairs of the football stadium, run on the track, run a route around the neighborhood or Jazzercise our hearts out.  After this was done, we headed inside for strength training.  We each had a workout mapped out for us and this is where I think I learned a very helpful lesson- the weight room isn’t scary.  Even when it’s full of high school boys.  Even when you hope one of them will ask you to Homecoming. 

So, thanks, Becky, for encouraging me to get in shape and for teaching me skills and lessons that have certainly made me healthier in the long run.  Of all the things you taught me, kicking my fear of the weight room is actually pretty low on the list.

I guess I should have clarified more about my last post…on Monday I was very ill and basically got rid of everything in my system.  I couldn’t eat anything.  On Tuesday, I was able to eat a few saltines.  Tuesday evening, I knew I needed nutrients to get my strength back, so I made a smoothie using a banana, frozen fruit and milk.  That upset my stomach again and led to a very rough night (the culprit was likely milk).  My system just couldn’t handle much at all.  On Wednesday, I decided to eat only the bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast I mentioned in my last post because I needed to start getting SOMETHING in my system and those things are very easily digested.  This “diet” is often recommended by doctors for patients recovering from gastro-intestinal problems.  Yes, it is very bland and does not contain many nutrients and it’s VERY different than what I typically eat, but it was literally all that my body could handle.  It allowed me to slowly re-build my system and my stomach until I could handle real foods, which I was able to do on Friday- YAY!

Saturday was really busy – I finally got my wedding album and also picked out some things for our new house.  My stomach behaved well (on normal foods), but I ran out of energy after a couple hours of shopping and had to take a nap! 

I felt a little ‘off’ all day today and I started to wonder if it was a lack of exercise.  I haven’t worked out for over a week due to the stomach flu, which is very out of the norm for me.  I didn’t have a ton of energy, so I walked on the treadmill for a while, which made me feel a little better.  I start my second-to-last MBA class tomorrow evening, so I did a little reading for class and took it easy for most of the day.

At least I had a pretty view while I worked…this is the view from my favorite room in my parents’ house, the sun room.  We got 6.5” of snow on Friday and the sunroom gives a beautiful view of all the snow:

Can you spot my visitors in this picture?

Thanks so much for your well wishes on my last post!  I ended up staying home from work for three days this week (I’ve never missed 3 days in a row before, it was weird) and going in today.  I did ok today, but definitely ran out of steam during the second half of the day.  That’s what having pretty much nothing in your system will do for you, I guess. 

So maybe some of you have heard this before, but on Wednesday morning my mom informed me I needed to go on the BRAT diet.  Thanks, Mom, you call me a brat and you put me on a diet?  Sheesh.  Just kiddin

The BRAT diet is this:

Bananas

Rice

Applesauce

Toast

Apparently it is often used for babies with gastro-intestinal issues, but can work for anyone.  You can also eat saltines and drink clear liquids, but no dairy products.  (I had some milk in a smoothie on Tuesday night and suspect that did me in for another day.)  So, these things are all I have eaten for the past few days and I think it helped to get some food in my system without overwhelming it.  This afternoon, however, I was craving actual food, so I got some Panera chicken noodle soup for dinner.  It immediately made my stomach hurt, but now, 2 hours later, I’m feeling fine!  Maybe someday soon I’ll be able to eat vegetables again

Did anyone else watch The Office and 30 Rock tonight?  I thought both were very funny

Without going into too much detail, I woke up Monday morning with the stomach flu.  YUCK.  I don’t think I have been this sick in many years and yesterday it was a little scary when I passed out a couple times.  My dad came home from work mid-morning with the stomach flu as well and he had to help me back to bed a couple times – we were quite a sight, I’m sure!  I wish my hubby could have been here to take care of me, but mom and dad are definitely second best!  Mom came home from work early and kicked into full nurse mode – delivering ice chips, cleaning, and following me every time I got out of bed.

I guess my body decided it needed to “detox” everything in my system yesterday.  Late in the day I was able to keep down a cup of Sprite and a few saltines.  I stayed home from work again today to give my body a chance to fully recover.  So far I’ve kept down a piece of toast and a few more saltines…maybe later today I’ll graduate to a food group other than carbs!  I’m happy that I was able to relocate to the couch today and have the strength to watch TV and play on the computer (who knew that took strength?).  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m ready to read food blogs just yet, you can imagine that looking at all those pictures of food wouldn’t be the best idea! 

Hope you’ve had a better start to your week

Today I joined in the virtual 7 mile race hosted by Amanda!  Lucky for me, Mother Nature fully cooperated and gave me a sunny 60* day today!  After playing with my niece and nephew this morning, I set out for my run around 2 pm.  I headed to a trail near my parents house since even though its warm today and most of the snow here is melted (the huge piles will just be a big dirty lump until April or so), the sidewalks and roads tend to be covered in sand and salt. 

So, I’m going to be perfectly honest, it was a pretty rough run today.  From the trailhead I parked at, there are 3 different choices of trails and I accidentally picked the most boring route of all.  It’s wonderful that Omaha has a lot of trails all over the area, but being Nebraska and all, a lot of them go through cornfields.  BO-RING.  As soon as I got out of the car I noticed that it was pretty windy and I ran straight into the wind for the first half of my run.  Cornfields = no break from the wind.  I just kept telling myself that if I pushed this first half, I would practically float back once I turned around and had this wind at my back.  The way back was great and I was able to pick up my speed a little.

Here’s another issue – I assumed this trail would be better marked, but it was not.  Once I realized there was not going to be a mile marker to tell me to turn around after 3.5 miles I decided to just wing it and turn around after 35 minutes, since 10 minute miles are my slowest pace (I need a Garmin!!).  I thought I would be able to figure out the distance once I got home, but the Internet has failed me on this one!  I’m pretty positive that I ran over 7 miles and my time was 65 minutes.  I’ll go ahead and call 65 minutes my official time, since I don’t have any way to figure out how far I actually ran today.  And if I ran extra, it just made me that much stronger, right?!

Thanks for organizing this Amanda, I don’t think I would have ran 7 miles today – especially in that wind- if I didn’t know others were out there doing the same!

~

I’m also having a pretty fantastic weekend, I’ll report more later!

Don’t forget to wear red tomorrow, Feb. 6!  It’s the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women day, to raise awareness about the importance of heart health for women.

The American Heart Association’s goal is to reduce coronary heart disease and stroke risk by at least 25% by 2010.

Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, so here are some things you can do to reduce your risk:

• Eat a heart-healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, unrefined whole grains, and fish high in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week.  Avoid nutrient-poor foods like fatty meats, partially hydrogenated oils, added sugars and salt.
• Don’t smoke and avoid being around smoke.  (I’m so thankful the city I just moved to has NO SMOKING in bars.)
• Drink alcohol in moderation.
• Stay active!  Regular exercise is one of the most important things to keep your heart healthy.
• Encourage those around you to live a healthier lifestyle, especially children.  Establishing a healthy lifestyle early on will greatly reduce their heart disease risk in the future.

So pull out your favorite red tee or red sweater and wear it tomorrow! 

The last few days and the weekend seemed to slip away from me, but I’m getting back on track now!  I headed back to St. Louis last weekend to celebrate my husband’s birthday.  After living in separate cities for almost a month, I’m definitely ready to get back to our regularly-scheduled lives, ya know, like living together and spending time together.  One of our favorite things to do together is to just run errands.  It might sound silly, but we both enjoy getting up on a weekend morning, getting some coffee, and hitting the stores on our To Do list.  What’s your favorite “little” thing to do with your significant other?

This transition time certainly hasn’t been as bad as it could have been and I’m thankful that I am able to stay with my family and that my husband has our dog and our St Louis friends to keep him company.  The end is in sight, though: we close on our new house in Omaha on Feb. 27 and move-in that weekend.  We have a contract on our house in St. Louis, so we just need to tie that up and we’ll move on.

Until then, I’ll just keep chugging along.  My days consist of work (I like the new job- hooray!!), exercising, eating, and hanging out with my family.

I just finished a yogadownload.com class – Power Vinyasa Flow #2.  I really enjoyed this one and can tell I have improved since I started taking hot yoga classes a few weeks ago.  I set-up my mat in the warmest room in my parents’ house, which happens to be my old bedroom, now my niece and nephew’s room.  I’m still sitting in here because it’s so warm and cozy!

So, I’ll end this random post with some pics from my weekend.  Happy Birthday, Zach!!

I think it’s officially the dead of winter, at least here in the Midwest it is.  In case you don’t want to play soccer in the snowy backyard like my dog, here are some things that have worked for me lately to get myself to the gym/working out on days when it’s tempting to lay on the couch under a blanket.

• Plan your workouts.  I write mine in my planner and “schedule” them just like I would schedule something else important like a dentist appointment or haircut.
• Try something new!  Add a new element or activity to your workout that you’ve been wanting to try, such as spinning, yoga, bootcamp or new machines at the gym.  I recently added hot yoga classes to my workout plan and they keep me excited because it’s something new and different.
• If the weather breaks, DON’T go to the gym!  When you get that 50* day like the one I had here last week, get out and go for a walk or run.  A break from the gym will make you re-energized to go back the next day and some fresh air and sunshine does amazing things for your body physically and mentally.
• Set a goal.  Research spring races and sign up for one now so that you have a goal to train for during the last few cold months.
• Remember: working out = sweating.  No matter how cozy you might be under that blanket, you won’t be as warm (hot, even!!) as you will be in the middle of a great workout.  I think working out has been the only time lately that I’ve actually been warm all the way through.

What gets you to the gym in the winter?  If it’s not cold where you live (lucky you!), what gets you motivated to workout when the weather is bad or you just don’t want to go?

See that??  There — through the trees:

It’s the sun!!  And not the deceiving winter it-looks-so-pretty-and-bright-outside-but-really-it’s-still-freakin-freezing sun, but actual sunshine complete with 45* weather.  It has been very very cold here, so this warmer sunny day was a very welcome change.  I work in a building with no windows, so I was super excited to see the sun and realize I didn’t need a scarf and gloves on the way to my car after work.  I ditched my plan to go to the gym since it also has no windows (I work on an Air Force base and go to the base gym…both my work building and the gym are old airplane hangars, therefore no windows).  Instead, I headed home, changed clothes, and drove to my mom’s work to meet her for a walk on the path around their campus.  We walked 3 miles and absorbed all the fresh air and Vitamin D that we could.  Glorious!!

I think I am finally over my sickness of the past week.  It started with a sore throat, took about a 1.5 day break where I thought I was all better, then turned into a lot of sinus congestion and pressure.  I still had a sinusy headache today, but it was much better than the past few days.  Because of this, I have spent even more time indoors lately than I usually do in the winter- even more reason that the fresh air felt so great today!

Hope it was a beautiful day wherever you are!

P.S. Don’t forget to head to Meghann’s blog to help her reach her fundraising goal for the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon!

Today was an emotional day for a lot of Americans.  I didn’t get to watch the inauguration coverage during the day, but watched the DVR-ed version after work.  What a great day to be an American.  I feel full of hope and proud of our country, what we have achieved, and what we will do to pull ourselves back onto our feet.  President Obama is one heck of a public speaker!!

As I was watching the coverage my cute parents came home from work- Mom in a red jacket with a flag pin and Dad in a flag tie, they are just too cute! 

On a less emotional note- what did you think of Michelle Obama’s inauguration day outfit??  I thought it was beautiful and classy and I’m excited to see what she wears to the balls tonight!