Resolution

Chris and I went on a 3 mile run yesterday afternoon to work off some of our New Year's Eve celebrations and I had a bit of a personal revelation which has led me to make a resolution of sorts. I don't make resolutions, but I think this one is key and something I'd like to really incorporate into my everyday life.

When we started our run I was in a bit of pain. My chest hurt a little - too much Twister?, my knee was bothering me in a spot that doesn't usually hurt, and it was cold. To top it off, I sort of felt like I was going to vomit mimosas and french toast. So naturally I was thinking about all of those things that were bothering me. But as we got into the run I started thinking, "No, self.. this is a great run!". The air was refreshing, we were running at a great pace, I was running with the man I love who just so happens to love running as much as (if not more than) I do, we were getting exercise.. I was smiling and enjoying myself.

Basically I started to think about how great I felt rather than the pain I was feeling.

And that's the resolution.

I'm not a negative person by any means, but we all allow ourselves to let our inner voice be a little jerk sometimes. Mine comes out to play when my body starts to fail me. So in those moments I am going to consciously  make the effort to remind myself what is good in that moment rather than focus on what hurts. It might be difficult, but I think it will be a good, healthy change!

Year-End Review

It's been a hot minute.

Sometime around now one year ago, I was setting goals to leave yet another city, find another new job, travel, save, pay off credit cards.. basically wipe the slate of adulthood clean and start fresh.

I am super proud to say that I have more or less done ALL of the above! In the first week of March I accepted a bomb job that I just love which incidentally made moving back to Phoenix actually make sense. It allowed for me to save enough to pay off both of my credit cards in full in under a year and gave me the opportunity to take a few small trips. One of which was definitely my last Vegas trip and I am pleased to report that I went out with a bang.

 I met this ridiculously wonderful man with whom, despite me freaking out about it (ha!), I have fallen obnoxiously in love. Didn't see that one coming.

And I only got in one non-injury (not my fault) car accident.

To say 2012 was a good year for me would probably be an undersell.

People, I am saving for a HOUSE.

Twenty-thirteen looks pretty shiny and bright too. I've already set some legit goals that I can't back out of: Ragnar Relay in Feb and Rock N Roll San Diego Half Marathon in June. When you pay over $100 for a race, it really motivates you to keep running and actually show up! Since I'm feeling ambitious, maybe this year I'll try some of those recipes I found on Pinterest?

I should probably update this as well...

Hello to all of our loyal, non-existent readers! A great way to sum up the time from my last blog post to now would be the following (represented metaphorically by Alpacas):

All periods of time when I was not at work:

Times when I was at work:

Well, see ya later!

Carb Me Baby

Hello, my name is Kristen, and I am a carbo-vore. Bread, pizza, crackers? Anything carby, savory, and fluffy? Yes please. Fact: I've been known to eat half my weight in pasta from time to time. So imagine my dismay when I came to the realization that there's a high probability that I have a (wait for it) gluten intolerance. UGH. I won't get into the nasty, but it's not pleasant. For the past year or so, I've been a little suspicious of the aftermath which follows consuming a yummy carbolicious meal, but it wasn't until our intern, whose sister has Celiac, suggested I maybe-perhaps-might possibly-if you squint and tilt your head to the right have a gluten intolerance. Wah!

Okay, it's not that dramatic. I just really enjoyed my whole wheat toast with peanut butter and sliced bananas everyday for breakfast. But you'd be amazed at all the things you can do with oatmeal! People, do you know how many foods contain wheat gluten? Pretty much everything. Fortunately, I don't have to eliminate everything. Just the good stuff.. like bread.

And thus we come to the real issue at hand. I want to shove my face in a fresh hot loaf of French bread right now. Maybe with a side order of pizza. And mac and cheese for dessert. Yeah, I said it. I am having a major carb craving of epic proportions (said as I sit here eating a pile of M&M's for lunch.. calories canceled out by this morning's run, duh).

I knew it would happen eventually. The minimalist approach to carb consumption is making me sad, in a way that all the fruit in the world just can't console me right now. Although there's definitely something to be said for gluten free goods. I've had a VERY tasty GF roll at Tryst Cafe and majorly yummy shrimp pasta at North Fattoria Italiana, so all is not lost. But alas, I don't have any of these things right now. Just a plum and a banana and the hopes that my mom made something really satisfying for dinner. Enjoy your potatoes.

The Winds of Change

I went out for a run a few days ago and the wind was just insane; with gusts up to 24 mph. As a runner, I have such a love/hate relationship with those wind "gusts". I love running into the breeze because it keeps me cool and makes me feel like I'm really working, but at the same time too much wind offers so much resistance that it can feel damn near impossible to get any forward progress. But once I turned the corner to head in the other direction, it was at my back. It was like being carried down a lazy river; I still had to propel myself forward, but I didn't have to work against the grain to get there. And it made me start to think: you don't truly appreciate and realize how easy it is to cruise with the wind at your back until you've tried to run for miles on end with the resistance in your face.

At that exact moment, I was thinking immediately of running. But this analogy can be directly applied to my job search over the years. Resumes sent, applications filled out, hours on end spent sifting through job postings, phone screenings, phone interviews, office interviews, meetings in hotels (?), volunteer work, and shitty (some fun) jobs. And all for what. The moment when I can finally turn that corner and have the wind at my back. When I can look back at all the leg work I put in to get to where I want to be and feel proud and satisfied to have made it to the place where I belong.

Finally, I feel the winds of change upon me. This week I have received three calls regarding my resume, inviting me to come in interviews. This is HUGE. A year ago this was not happening. Two months ago this wasn't happening. Perhaps this long road is coming to an end and I can start running with the wind rather than against it.

Contact: Misc.

In an effort to totally procrastinate getting started on my taxes, I started scrolling through my phone book and editing my contacts. And every once in awhile I actually bother deleting people. For the record, of the 330-some odd contacts I have, I actually CONTACT about 15 (give or take 10) of them on a semi-regular basis.

But in my years of college-induced frat hopping, bar bouncing, shot taking, beer chugging haze I managed to collect a LOT of numbers from a LOT of people whom I just can't seem to identify by the little labels I've given them. It's a familiar system: first name of guy and location where you met him. This works for like, a week, and then you couldn't pick them out of a line up. Unless of course you actually form some sort of relationship with them, in which case proper name identification is advised. For me, this usually takes a year to do because I find it amusing that I'm legit friends with "Brad Dbags" and "Matt O'Malleys".

I don't know why I don't just delete these people. Obviously I'll never contact them, ever. I doubt I ever contacted them in the first place. I think it's more of a nostalgia thing. Like, "Australia Will, I totally remember drinking with him at Bisons on Thursdays. He had a sweet accent." Plus, I love to laugh at the ones who I truly have no memory of meeting.

Some of my personal faves:

• Brian Neighbor (whose neighbor?)
• Chris Navy
• Chris Twin
• David BFF Whitehouse (honestly.)
• Eric AT&T
• Eric Navy (noticing a Navy thing going on here)
• Eric Vegas
• Jared/Braaden (I recall one being hot and one not having a phone, so they became the same person in my book)
• Mike Twin (I can only assume he is Chris Twin's brother?)
• MISSING LINK (this one is from HS!)
• Spooning Jason

ABSOLUTE BEST:

• Kelly Ass Compton. True story. Ben and I met this girl in Scottsdale sprinting from one bar to another just to make it to last call, she wanted to hang out with us, and we ended our night eating pizza with her. Also true, we used to call each other when we were in Old Town to go out and party. WHO AM I.

30 Day Challenge Fitness Midterm

I promised results, so here they are:

Fitness test 1:
Squat jumps: 30
Push ups: 30
Burpees: 15
High knees: 101
Switch lunges: 35
Tuck jumps: 29
Straight abs: 29

Two weeks later, we have fitness test 2:
Squat jumps: 40
Push ups: 36
Burpees: 15
High knees: 142
Switch lunges: 45
Tuck jumps: 26
Straight abs: 31

So, we see a pretty sizable improvement here! No change in burpees, which I somewhat attribute to the nature of the exercise. It seems biomechanically difficult to do them much faster, but I will certainly concentrate on that next time through. They aren't extremely strenuous, and the Bodyrock girl gets into the mid 20's, so I'm sure I can speed it up some.

The decrease in tuck jumps I attribute completely to being able to do significantly more reps in the prior squat jumps, high knees, and (especially) switch lunges. My quads were absolutely murderous by the time I got to the tuck jumps, I was sucking mega air, and I had to rest a few seconds after every couple of jumps. Pain.

So, on to the rest of week three for me. I guess I take this test again on the last day, and shall post results accordingly then. I don't think I'll see as big of an improvement the next time around, but hopefully there will be some.

Overall thoughts: I am really liking the short, at-home style of these. I don't feel like I have to rush home from work to get to the gym before it gets crowded. I'm definitely getting more quad and core work than before, and most certainly much more 90%+ heart rate cardio work. Upper body is a different animal. This is much more high repetition, lower weight than what I was doing before. More effective? I'm not sure yet, but I do feel like I was somewhat plateauing with my previous workouts, and this is a great way to change things up. I also could stand to raise the weight of the "sandbag" I'm using. Alas, I've run out of magazines to stuff inside my backpack, and it's already cumbersome as it is. If I continue this past the 30 days, I'll probably end up investing in the legit sandbag. It would make these workouts so much easier, form-wise.

Hmm, what else? Ah! The most important thing: Vanity! The mirror test is inconclusive at this point. I feel like I'm still recovering from the annual Winter Holiday Festival of Gluttony, so more data is needed. Recovery is going well, though, so we're certainly not anywhere close to ineffective in this regard.

I'm tired of typing. BYE!