Marathon Monday (on a Tuesday) - 4th Edition

I think this dog enjoys mocking me sometimes. I mean...I am supposed to be shaming him and he acts all bored and yawns. 

He's all like 'whatevs Mom. I'll vomit all over your favorite yoga pants and then proceed to rub it into the mattress because I do what I want.'

Well besides cleaning up puppy vomit, I spent the day doing chores because we have been little piggies lately and this place needs a deep cleaning. I was *almost* half way done and then that little guy set me back a few hours with his added mess (by the way...that mound of laundry in the background was what was on the bed that I washed today and was trying to put away).

Have I talked about vomit enough for you yet? Yeah? Good. Let's move on. 

I haven't done any sort of marathon training update in a bit, so I thought that I would fill you in on where I am at with my training, how it is going and whether or not I have pooped myself yet on a long run (hint: I haven't). 

Last week was an 'easy' week meaning that I had four runs total and they were 4, 7, 3.5 and 11 miles in length. Every few weeks is considered an 'easy' week on our plan. Basically the long run for that week is a few miles less than the previous weeks so your body can do a little bit of recovery. In other words, three weeks ago my long run was 13 miles, two weeks ago it was 15 miles, last week it was 11 miles and this upcoming week's long run is 16 miles.

This week is week 8 of the 17 week training plan. I have only missed one run (I think) that I didn't make up the next day so on that front, I am doing WAY better than the last marathon training plan. I think only running four days a week is perfect for me. Giving myself three non-running days a week really makes me happy and seems to push me to actually get out and run. Knowing that once I run I get the next off is a lovely and motivating thought. 

My running time is getting a bit better thanks to the cooler temperatures. I had a few long runs a month ago where I ended up at a 13:00 minute mile pace due to lots of walking and water drinking, but with my 8 mile and 11 mile long run last week where it was 70 degrees out when I ran, I averaged a 10:30 mile. I am curious to see how the 16 mile long run goes this week. I don't expect a 10:30 pace, but am shooting for an 11:30. 

On the weight loss front, I have been hovering between 149 and 150 lbs still. I've been around this for about three weeks now and haven't really noticed any changes in my body. I did get into a bad habit of eating way too much for about two weeks when I was PMSing, so this week I am working on fueling my body, but trying to not overeat. I have set a goal of trying to get to 145 pounds by September 26th (our 4 year wedding anniversary). Hopefully with eating better and this increased mileage, I can get through this weight loss plateau with a healthy 1 pound a week loss.

Also, something that I need to work on is drinking a lot more water. I did great for a few weeks and was consuming over 100 ounces a day, but with the poor eating habits came poor water consumption. I didn't drink enough water yesterday on my 11 mile run and got so insanely dehydrated afterwards. I had to work at one of the boutiques I sell at and actually ended up vomiting (a green smoothie no less!) while working because I had such a bad dehydration headache/nausea. Drink your water kids!!

And that's the last time I talk about vomit in this blog post. Promise!!

I am getting back on track though and am right around 70 ounces for the day. I have to chug some water soon to help me reach my daily quota!

Can I just interject and say that I am so happy that I work from home because when you drink so much water, I love just being able to walk 10 feet to pee. How do you office workers do it? Does everyone just think you have a bladder infection or something? I would be so self-conscious about it and imagine that I would always talk about how much water I drink to my co-workers so they didn't think I was ill or something. 

Back to running...

This week I am running 4 miles on Wednesday, 7 miles on Thursday, 4 miles on Friday, resting on Saturday with my long run of 16 miles being on Sunday. My long runs are usually on Saturday but I didn't do last week's long run until yesterday due to traveling so I am slowly moving my schedule around to get back to Saturday runs.

Along with that running schedule, I plan on adding strength training to my schedule twice this week on my 4 mile run days. I love the Jillian Michaels DVD, 'No More Trouble Zones' and will be doing that 45 minute DVD both days. I am hoping to get a little bit of muscle definition going and if I can handle the two times a week strength training sessions, I am going to add a third one in on one of my rest days. 

So .... that's about it! I was thinking about doing a blog post in a week or two about what I am eating during this training period as a vegan. Just in case you were interested in how the heck I get my calories.

By the way, sorry for the lack of photos in this post. I look pretty bad whenever I am done running, so those sorts of photographs don't happen often, but here is a random photo of me in running clothes with my husband and mother-in-law at the end of June. 

 Kind of related to the post right? 

Have a great night everyone!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Marathon Monday - 3rd Edition

Alright...well....let's just start this post off by saying that I don't want to come across as too negative....but I am not too sure how that goal is going to be achieved.

I'm kinda feeling like this...

(Sidenote: My husband is trying to cheer me up by periodically running into the room while I type this out and perhaps pretending to be Elmo? I am not too sure what he is doing, but I appreciate the effort).

I had a hard run this past week and it's shadow is still hanging over my head. My weight also creeped back up two pounds above the 'arbitrary' line that I set. Instead of actually gaining two pounds....I feel like I have gained ten.

I know that I am way too negative and hard on myself about my diet and exercise. This destructive thinking ultimately leads to unhealthy habits again.

 

So yeah.... my 13 mile run on Saturday wasn't too much fun. It was around 87 when I finished and it took me much longer than anticipated. I ended up doing a 12 minute pace (which was 2 hours and 38 minutes total) and my goal was around 10:30. 

This is about where I was mentally, emotionally and physically when I finished. 

So for the next week, I have to run 28 miles total and my mental goal is as follows....

I need to be proud of what I've accomplished thus far and instead of thinking ...'geez...I was a bit slow on that 13 miles and gained two pounds back,' I need to think...'holy heck....I just ran 13 miles and I've lost 13 pounds since March!

So that's where I am right now.  A little bit all over the place...but ultimately good.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!
 

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Marathon Monday - 2nd Edition

So I am officially done with month one of marathon training and so far, so good.

No injuries, no heat stroke in the Georgia summer sun and I am still enjoying my training.

I don't know what it is about this round of marathon training, but it feels so different from the training I did last fall.

I am just enjoying it more I guess and I am doing better. I am only running four days a week this time (I did five days a week last time) and I haven't missed a day yet whereas last time, I made up a lot of excuses for missing days and got really behind on my schedule making for a terrible marathon experience.

In some related news....I finally saw a number on the scale that I haven't seen in a few years which was pretty darn exciting. I have been below this number for four days straight now and I am hoping that by the weekend I might be down even another pound. Right now, I am under the weight I was when I graduated college and when I lose another eight pounds, I will be at the weight I was when I graduated high school/when I was a fitness instructor in college.

Some photos of me from sophomore & junior year in college. That right there is the physique I am trying to get back.

I think that the vegan diet, eating clean and eating as cheaply as possible (lots of beans, grains, greens, fruits & no wine, chocolate or extra treats) have really helped me lose a few pounds this past month.

I do lose weight veryyyyyyyyy slowly (go away saddlebags!)....but here's hoping that by eating better and moving more, things will come together in a few months.

(Sidenote: we just had an impromptu dance party to Ice Cube in my house thanks to the Sublime pandora station).

I was talking to my mom last week about running and she mentioned that I must get terribly bored when I go for my 2-3 hour runs.

I do sometimes, but I am an avid podcast listener, so I thought that I would share some of my favorite podcasts (which you can download for free from the Itunes store) in case you needed some good listening material while you exercise, do some household chores or work from home making jewelry :)

/1\
RISK

 

This is hands down my favorite podcast in the world. The best way to describe it is a combination of story-telling, spoken word & stand up. The stories are real, sometimes heart breaking, other times a bit raunchy, usually funny and are well told. Episodes either have one long story (40 minutes) or 3-5 shorter stories (10-20 minutes per story) and the story tellers range from ordinary people who have a crazy story to share and then there are comedians like Sarah Silverman or Lisa Lampanelli or Michael Ian Black.

This past week I listened to a story that actually had me crying while I was running along and other weeks I have been laughing my head off like a crazy person while running because the story is so funny and I can't contain my excitement. 

Check out RISK in the Itunes store or on their website and just look for a title that interests you. I started listening to this podcast when it first started four years ago and have listened to every episode. You will not be disappointed. 

(Any of the stories with Elena Baker are pure gold).

/2\

 Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me

 

 If you listen to NPR, you are completely aware of this awesome weekly current events game show, but if not...listen now. 

Each week you have a celebrity panel (hats off to my personal favorites of Paula Poundstone & Alonzo Bodden) and special celebrity guests (last week was Jim Gaffigan, but others include Neil DeGasse Tyson, Martha Stewart & Ed Helms) that answer silly quizzes based on random weekly news. 

It's pretty funny and definitely makes the time go by quick because you can get lost in thought while trying to answer all the questions correctly in the lightening round. 

You can almost forget that you are running 15 miles.

This past year for our wedding anniversary, we actually went and saw the taping of one of their shows when they did a live show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA. It was so fun to see the behind-the-scenes action of this podcast. 

Us last September on our 3rd year wedding anniversary at the Fox Theater

/3\

Stuff You Missed In History Class

 How Stuff Works is an awesome website owned and operated by the Discovery Channel. On it are thousands of well researched and thought out articles on completely random questions/topics. 

Some examples I saw today are...

* Is the Dead Sea really dead?

* 10 Silly Inventions That Became Wildly Famous

* Why Do Men Have Nipples?

How Stuff Works also produces over a dozen separate podcasts a week. I listen to three of them, but my personal favorite is 'Stuff You Missed In History Class.' 

You get to listen for 20-40 minutes on one subject matter and the ladies really break it down for you. It is super interesting and I have learned about things like 'Lizzie Borden and Her Axe,' 'The Disappearance of the Lindbergh Baby,' & 'Who Was The Real Dr. Frankenstein.'

This podcast really makes you stellar at the history questions on Trival Pursuit. 

I hope you found a new podcast or two to listen to, but if you are more of a music fan while sweating, here is my current playlist for when I run. 

Lots of upbeat, fast songs with catchy hooks.

Linking up with Ashley from 'The Domestic Wannabe!'



Have a great Monday everyone!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Running A Marathon - Round Two

Well....it somehow happened again. 

I was on a walk with my husband about a month ago and mentioned that I had been toying around in my head the idea of running another marathon. 

The last one was only one of the worst/best experiences of my life, so I am a sadomastic I guess.

My husband is pretty passionate about running and before I knew it, I had a marathon training plan in my inbox (without even asking for one), courtesy of my handsome runner.

My first run was only three miles, but it was such an emotionally and physically exhausting run. I literally hadn't run...like at all....since the marathon in March. 

Running for the first time in three months in 100% humidity in the beginning of July doesn't add up to the best run of my life.

This was all the smile I could possibly muster.

But after running for three weeks now....it is getting a little bit easier. Just a little bit. 

I have trying to be more positive on my runs and not just focus on how much I dislike running or how tired I am, but on how I am able to physically do this and that I actually put on my shoes and got out of the house. 

I have had some really fun runs these past few weeks (a sentence I never thought I would write in my life).

Two weeks ago on my long run for the week, the sky opened up about two minutes after I left the house and a torrential downpour occurred for 15 minutes. I was running along this crazy busy road, had cars splashing water on me and was absolutely drenched. I could hardly see I had so much water streaming down my face. The rest of the run was spent puddle hopping around the island and slowly drying off. 

It was probably my most enjoyable and fun long run ever (seriously...who have I become?).

This last week on my long run, I had to go 11 miles and I left the house around 11:00am. That is a pretty late time to start running in Georgia in July, but I figured that I would run slow, drink plenty of water and not worry about my pace. 

And maybe....just maybe....I was thinking I could use the heat as an excuse to not run all 11 miles.

By the second mile, I was needing to walk every few minutes, I was pouring sweat and honestly started to become worried about heat stroke. 

After running/walking for the first 7 miles, a big storm started brewing and the temperature started dropping fast. It was such a weird sensation to start running when it was sunny and 90 out and feel the temperature suddenly drop about 15 degrees in 10 minutes. Definitely made the last three miles incredibly enjoyable and I finished up with a decent pace just before the rain started falling despite walking so much the first half. 

I am hoping that with this marathon training, I don't gain weight like last time. 

I may have been the first person in the history of the universe who has gained weight while training for a marathon. 

Since I was running so much, I rationalized to myself that I could eat whatever I want. 

Um....definitely not the case.

My legs got even bigger and I got a belly. 

(Sidenote: after the marathon in March, we went to our favorite burger joint and I gobbled up a cheeseburger with bacon, lots of fries and sweet tea, followed by a BLT with avocado on it at home. 

Home girl don't joke around when it comes to eating). 

Since readopting veganism in March and eating fairly clean, I am down about 10 lbs. I would obviously love to not gain weight while running so I am trying to learn how to balance fueling my body for running long distances while not over eating. 

Gosh darn it though, I just love to eat!!

Since starting running three weeks ago, I notice my legs have gotten tighter and I have lost 2-3 pounds, so here is hoping that I stay along this trajectory. 

Well...I guess that this officially means 'Marathon Monday's' are going to be a frequent occurance on my blog.

Anyone else want to run a marathon with me? 

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Currently....

 
Reading: I just finished reading Lauren Oliver's 'Before I Fall' this past weekend and really enjoyed it. It's kinda like a version of Groundhog Dog minus Bill Murray but with 'the popular' kids, plenty of teenage angst, some self-awareness and growth for the characters, and a little bit of puppy love. I am currently on the waiting list at the library to start Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy. I have heard so many good things about this series and I am trying to use the power of my mind to will everyone in line before me at the library to read faster.

Listening: I have been using spotify more and more and started using their radio stations on it. I have actually discovered a lot of new music this way and have had these three songs on repeat for the past week.







I am the type of person that can listen to one song over a hundred times in a row (hello Lana Del Ray!) when I become obsessed with it. These three songs have been on a constant loop and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. 

Working On: I have been trying out a new jewelry medium the past few weeks and have been getting a lot of great response.

I use knitting needles as the base and then hammer, stamp and mold them into bracelets. I got a whole bunch of needles yesterday and plan on working on them for a few hours today and will have them available in my etsy store on Thursday. 

It's always so satisfying creating something new. This project has been a great burst of creativity and self assurance for me. 

Feeling Thankful For: I have been mentioned it a few times around here lately, but I just need to say it again. My husband's family is really awesome. Here I am, a mountain girl at heart, transplanted to the South and they have been nothing but warm and inviting to me and all have opened up their homes to us whenever we need one. They have taught me to enjoy collard greens and sweet tea, that you should definitely have ice cream and wine every night and that nothing is better than talking and laughing while in recliners.

We lived with his grandmother for eight months when we first arrived in Georgia and now his parents for two months and I have nothing but lots of love for them all. 

Thanks for making me a part of your family.

Loving: We are pet sitting this week for some friends and this dog just so happens to be Cooper's girlfriend, so he is happy to have her around. 

She also is a little cuddle bug so last night I sneaked her on the bed even though we have a new 'only one dog on the bed policy.' 

Shhhh....don't tell John.

Watching: We just started watching the HBO series 'Six Feet Under.' 

John has already seen it, but enjoyed it so we are watching it together.

I am really loving the character development already and can Michael C. Hall be any better of an actor??

Eating: I am about to head out to the grocery store and I have a big kale salad with this vegan cilantro lime dressing planned for lunch today.

Training: So I have commited myself to running another marathon this year. After the one in March, I thought that I wouldn't do it again. I checked it off the list and was not at all wanting to do it ever again.

But as time passed, I found myself thinking about doing another one this fall. After some talking with John, we both decided to do another marathon in late October here in Atlanta. I don't know if training for a marathon during the summer in Georgia is one of my better ideas, but I am sure to lose a little bit of water weight.

 John took this photo two weeks ago after my first run in almost four months. I look pissed off, but I was just exhausted. Promise.

So that's what I have been up to. What about you??

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

High Five For Friday!

For the past few years (ever since I graduated college and became self-employed), Fridays lost a little bit of their appeal.

Their zest if you will.

Without classes and a boss other than myself, along with the husband being incredibly busy with law school, all the days seem to roll into each other, making some sort of week-long blob. 

(how's that for a run-on sentence?)

But ever since John started working a 9-5 this summer (more like a 7:30-6:30) and has weekends mostly off, Fridays are a lot more exciting around these parts.

So I am linking up with Lauren for 'High Five For Friday!'

/one\

Tonight we are having a picnic in one of the squares in the historic district of Savannah, followed by a book reading by one of my favorite podcasters/storytellers. We are going to see Dan Kennedy from the Moth Podcast talk about his new book, American Spirit and regal us with tall tales and charming antidotes. 

 via

Sidenote: I have to leave in 45 minutes to go get John and I am still unshowered, in my workout clothes. I may have been caught up in a game show about musical chairs and I lost track of time. Whoops!

Double sidenote: If my mom was here right now, I know that she would say that I got 'tv hypnotized' and then start shouting '45 minutes!!' She likes it when people stay on track and get out the door on time.

/two\

I finally got to pick up a copy of the June issue of Southern Living Magazine. 

 

I found it, in all places, a gas station in the middle of nowhere Georgia.

One of the boutiques that I sell at had a little shout-out in it, so I wanted to purchase it, hoping that my jewelry items would be in the photo. 

No such luck, but still pretty awesome that it was mentioned as one of the best places to shop in Atlanta. 

/three\

Tomorrow I have big plans to go running for the first time in forever. I think I have ran once, maybe twice, since the marathon in mid-march. I'm only going to go for 2-2.5 miles and with the summer humidity and heat, that is already seeming like a lot. 

With all that said though, I am looking forward to starting to run again. 

/four\

Tomorrow morning we have an excursion planned to the Savannah farmer's market again. 

Every Friday they send out an email letting you know what's going to be there and I saw today that someone is going to be there tomorrow selling some watermelon juice. 

My favorite fruit of alllll time and I can eat it in public without looking like a pig. 

/five\ 

I finished the hat that I was knitting for John. 

You know, the totally necessary, completely useful, 100% wool hat for summer. 

 Maybe I can get him to model it before October, but not very likely. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

PS... I now have 25 minutes until I have to walk out the door. Showering might not be an option anymore.

 

I'm Hungry

So one of the things that happens when you run a race is that they have professional photographers all over the course taking your photo.

They have nice cameras which really show a lot of details. 

Too much details. 

We got an email from the race photographer on Monday evening with all the photos that we were in. There were a few dozen and we each went to our separate computer and looked at our individual photos.

Our photos were bad. Real bad. Mine were really really bad. So bad that I cried. 

We both came to the hard conclusion that we could stand to lose a few pounds. It really took the wind out of my sails. I mean 36 hours prior I had finished a marathon, but after seeing those photos, I got really bummed out. 

It also just so happened that Monday night when we received the race photos, we were in the middle of watching the documentary 'Forks Over Knives' on Netflix. 

In case you don't know, this movie highlights the importance of having a plant based diet (veganism) using scientific arguments on the health benefits that occur once you remove dairy and meat from your diet. I won't get into the details at all because I am not an expert but I definitely recommend that you watch the movie to learn more about it. 

It is powerful but not 'in your face.'

When I was in fourth grade I became a vegetarian and did so for about five years (minus the occasional bacon indulgence here and there. I had a weakness!). In tenth grade I started eating meat again. Once I hit college, I went vegetarian for about a year and then turned to veganism. I was a vegan for about a year, ate meat for a year, became vegan again for about two years, went vegetarian for two years, then ate meat for the last 1.5 years. 

To say that my relationship with animal products is off/on again is an understatement. 

After watching the movie 'Forks over Knives' with my husband though on Monday, we both came to the conclusion together that we needed to adopt more of a plant based diet. We need to get healthy, lose weight and get control of our future.

We are doing it together and I am excited about that.

We are slowly easing into this. We have some dairy in the house we need to eat still and some meat in the freezer we need to cook. We are planning on doing one meal a week with the meat until we use it all up and basically limit our dairy intake by a lot as we slowly get rid of our cheese/eggs/butter. I am most likely going to go full-on vegan once we use up all the dairy and meat, while my husband will be fairly plant based, but still enjoy the occasional burger :)

We will see how this goes and we are really excited about doing this together (probably me more than him though. He just got a new grill for his birthday two weeks ago and grilling vegetables on it isn't quite the same as grilling meat).

So expect some vegan recipes to come your way during the next few months. I actually did a guest post on Kate's blog last week, Scathingly Brillant, about one of my favorite vegan dishes to make (total coinecende). 

Check out Scathingly Brillant (here) to see how I make a yummy Pakistani Dahl.

All in all, I definitely want to eat some bacon right now.

Marathon - Done

Guys....

I did it. I finished a marathon. 

I got to be honest though, I am having some mixed feelings about the whole experience. I actually haven't blogged in a few days because I just didn't know what to say. I am honestly trying to process the whole thing and have been in a weird funk the past few days while trying to decipher my emotions. 

So here are just some ramblings on the training/race/aftermath (in no particular order)...

1) I really loved having my name printed out on my bib because everyone kept cheering 'Go Ashlee' and 'Keep Smiling Ashlee!' It was hard not to be pleased and be sweet to everyone because they made me feel so good by saying my name. 

2) I need to go purchase new running shoes asap. My feet were actually the first thing to give out on me. I walked more than I would have liked just because the bottoms of my feet became extremely bruised and sore.

3) I am so thankful that I didn't have any stomach issues before/during/after the race. I mean, if we are being honest here....one of the key aspects of long distance running is not trying to poop all over yourself. And hooray!!! I didn't poop on myself!! Hooray!!!

4) I accidentally got herded in the beginning of the race with the individuals who were the walkers of the half-marathon portion. I felt like a speed demon passing all these walkers and slow runners for the first six miles of the race though. There were so many people racing and I was literally the very last one of the runners at the beginning to start that it took me 15 minutes of walking from my pre-race starting point to even cross the starting line. 

5) If you are a race director, you really need to hand out peanut butter pretzels to people during the race. My spirit was so lifted for about ten minutes after eating my three little pretzels. 

6) For a bit I ran next to a man who was 80 years old and was competing in his 100th marathon. That man was incredibly inspiring. (and for the record, I beat him....not by much though). 

7) I wish that I had taken my training more serious before the race. I basically did the bare minimum and I know that I could have gotten a better time if I had put more miles into it during training. 

8) I feel happy and satisfied just knowing that I finished. I needed to walk for some miles and I wish that I could have done it faster, but I did it. I need to remember that and feel good knowing that. 

9) When I finished the race I was soooo happy. Happy to be done. Happy to have actually finished it and I swore to everyone who could hear me at the finish line that 'I shall never do this again. That sucked!' But I am gonna do it again. I already have my eyes set on a marathon in the fall. 

10) I was one of the last ones to finish. My husband finished the race before me and was waiting for me about 100 yards from the finish line. He broke through the race barriers and ran the last 100 yards with me. My lovely mother-in-law took this photo of the two of us approaching the finish line together. I honestly can't look at this photo without tearing up. It is one of my favorite photos ever of us. 

Thank you Diane (my mother-in-law) for visiting us this past weekend and meeting us at various points along the race to cheer us on and encourage us. Your presence was definitely appreciated!

 

John's Wet & Muddy Half Marathon

Yesterday we drove about an hour northeast of Atlanta for John to do a trail run half marathon. It has been really rainy here the past few days (2.5 inches since Thursday night) so it made for a wet, muddy, slightly cold run through the woods. 

John loved it. So much. 

I sat the race out yesterday because it didn't fit into my training plan for the Atlanta marathon in a month. I actually need to go run 19 miles today (BOOOOOOOOOOO), so if I ran the 13 miles yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to get my full long run for the week in.

Walking with others about a 1/4 of a mile to the starting line. The race was is Fort Yargo, a Georgia state park. It was really pretty besides the crummy weather. 

 

John was easy to spot on the course with his bright colors and represented Colorado with his socks!

This is what the course was for 13.1 miles. Definitely not possible to stay clean during this race. 

  

Just getting started on the course...

13.1 miles later! And yeah, his nipples bleed a lot when he runs. He has tried a lot of different things to stop it from happening, but he always looks like he got bullet wound when he finishes. 

My husband thought I should end this post with a close-up shot of his bloody nipple, but after seeing it all big and bloody on my blog, I decided that it was a slippery slope that I didn't want to venture down. 

So you are welcome for not including a chaffed nipple shot. 

~ With Love, Ashlee ~