Sore Throats and Smoothies

Just when I think I am on track I get thrown a curve ball.  This time in the form of Strep Throat.  Saturday I spent the day in PJ's huddled under a blanket fighting a fever and chills along with a terrible sore throat.  Sunday when I woke up and my throat felt worse I knew it was time for a trip to the doctor. I always second guess myself when it comes to going to the doctor.  Am I being silly?  Am I really sick enough to go?  Is he just going to look at me and say you wasted an hour of your day sitting here because there is nothing I can do?  Well this time was no different until he pointed that light in my mouth and said "Oh goodness that is bad".  So off I went with a prescription for some antibiotics and instructions to take acetaminophen and ibuprofen (alternating between the two) for the pain and swelling.  Great I thought, I'll get these drugs started and be ready to go to work tomorrow.  Since I am sitting here writing this when I should be at work it is clear that I was wrong.  I feel somewhat better today but it still hurts right up to my ear when I swallow and feels tight and dry all the time.  So I called in sick today (except for one meeting late in the day that I can't miss) and will spend the rest of the day on the couch relaxing.

This weekend wasn't all bad though!  I started a 30 day smoothie challenge on Saturday which is fun.   They send me 5 recipes a week for the month and the idea is that you will then repeat two of them.  I have tried three so far and they have been great!  Smoothies are nothing new to me.  I have been drinking them for breakfast nearly everyday for a couple of years but never try anything new so I thought this might be a way to add a little variety.  Some of the recipes look kind of scary, some I am really excited to try and one is almost exactly the  same as the one I normally drink.  Today was "Great Ginger Zinger"  I thought it would be a good one for my throat.  I has spinach, ginger, pear, oranges and avocado.  I don't have the greatest blender on the planet so the texture wasn't as smooth as it could have been but it still tasted great.  I'm hoping the ginger and all the vitamin C will help to blast this throat thing out the window.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to start weekly weighins again.  I was going to do this on the weekend but decided it would be better to do Mondays since that is generally when I weigh myself anyway. I had to look way back in my posts to see what the last weight I posted was.  I don't remember the exact number but it was 235.something:)  I said my hope was that I would be about the same as I was then and I was so happy to see that I was less!!  Today when I hopped on the scale I was 231.2 which is wonderful!  I have been weighing myself semi regularly but it has been a couple of weeks so this number was quite a surprise.  My first thought was that it was just because I have been sick but then I realized that being sick has nothing to do with it because I have still been eating regularly, soft foods but still a normal amount of food.  So I will take this number as what it is and go with it.  I would love it if by next week I can record a number in the 220's!!!  I haven't been there in a very long time.

Happy, Healthy and Back on Track!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful so naturally I have been working out more.  I do that when things get stressful, it's my favorite way to let go and forget about things for a little while.  I shut everything else out and focus on me. This week has been a great eating week too considering it was Halloween and the candy was flowing!  I have been very careful to make sure I have been eating healthy so that I don't ruin all the work I do while exercising.  All in all it's just been a good week despite the stress.

I try really hard not to let things beyond my control freak me out but sometimes they just get to me.  Things like feeling questioned or not trusted, not being chosen for something I really wanted to do or people freaking out around me.  That gets to me the most especially at work.  I work in a very small office with 4 other lovely ladies.  Most times it's great, sometimes it's hard.  When someone else gets negative I have to work very hard not to become negative too.  This week I haven't done the best job of it but my workouts have been better because of it so that is the silver lining I guess.

I'm excited for the next few weeks.  I signed up for a 30 day smoothie challenge that a friend did a while back.  She posted pictures of her smoothies everyday on instagram and they all sounded so good that I thought I would try it.  I recieved all the recipes and bought all the ingredients for the first week.  I have a smoothie most mornings but it is always the same so this will be a nice change.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and share them:)

I think I will get back to sharing my weekly weigh ins too.  The nice thing is that while I haven't been working out or running as much as I once was I have pretty well maintained all the weight I lost.  I'll have to look back to see what the last weight I posted was but I think it is about the same as what I will post.  I will start tomorrow:)

Snack time:)

Old habits die hard but when the do they need to stay dead!  I have always been a snacker.  I grew up in a home where we had good meals and lots of snacks.  Now as an adult I find myself every evening looking for that "bedtime snack" like I had as a kid.  This is my undoing.  I can eat fantastic all day but as soon as the kids are in bed the rails fall off and the eating starts.  

For some reason this last few days something has clicked though.  I still grab the snack but it has been healthy. I have been working out more again and finding that I want nutrient dense good for my body foods.  Stuff like homemade granola and yogurt or apples and natural peanut butter.  The peanut butter itself is a huge thing!  I love it but have always bought the sugar and junk filled kind.  In the summer I discovered a natural one that had honey in it that I love.  Then I ran out and bought just regular natural peanut butter.  It is so much better!!  I love it!  

The more healthy food I eat the better I feel and the better I feel the more I want to do what is right.  I need to bottle this new inspiration and keep it going!  Unhealthy snacking needs to stay dead!

Treadmill Affair?

Today I didn't get to run with the two ladies that I have been sort of coaching because I cannot do mornings right now and they could not do evening.  Near the end of the day I was quite hyped up (maybe too much pre-Halloween candy?) and was so excited for my run.  The problem was that I was really cold and dreading the layers.  Then it came to me!!!

I own a treadmill!!  

It is very old and makes a lot of noise but it works great.  So when I got home I changed into my summer running gear, grabbed the laptop and headed downstairs.  I rigged up the laptop so that it was high enough to see, threw on some Netflix and fired up the treadmill.  I have never loved running on the treadmill because I find it boring.  Today I got so involved watching the laptop that the time flew by and before I knew it the time was up and my kids were asking to have a turn.  While I still prefer to run outside with fresh air I think I could enjoy this treadmill when the snow is flying this winter!

Constant Changes!!

It's been a busy week around here!!  My brother and his family came from Florida for the week and we did a lot!!  Well they did a lot, I did some and worked a little.  We took the kids to the Hockey Hall of Fame and Legoland in Toronto one day for our big outing.  They had a blast!!  We did lots of visiting and eating too.  I'm happy to report that I did not miss one run during their visit which is a huge thug for me.  Usually as soon as there is a change running is the first thing to suffer.  Not this time though!  I ran three times and even got up at 5:30am twice to do it.  

Yesterday Drew came to live with us.  He needed a change and some new people around.  He was having a rough go of things and we hope that this will be the place to get the support he needs to succeed.  

Today is Anna's birthday so we spent part of the weekend celebrating that.  She was sick on Friday when we were supposed to have her party but luck was with us and all of her friends were able to come on Saturday.  My favorite gift that she got was a giant moose.  She loves stuffed animals and this one is awesome!

Her sickness on Friday is a little concerning.  It is the second time since her surgery that she has woken up feeling badly, gotten sick and then been fine by noon.  She has complained about headaches a lot lately too.  We have another follow up appointment in December and had mentioned the headaches at her last appointment but they suspected dehydration to be the issue.  I think if they don't stop they will have to be investigated more.  

Things are forever changing in our lives but I wouldn't give it up for anything.  I'm finally in a place where I can cope with them and still keep my exercise routine somewhat intact, I'm eating reasonably well and everyone is happy.  Winter is coming and that is going to be the true test of my new found dedication!!  I hate to be cold!! I can do this though, I have too! 

New Shoes!!

There is nothing better than a run in brand new shoes.  That has been my running for the past couple of weeks.  I love the first runs after getting a new pair.  It's like running on a cloud:)  I got my new shoes on a Friday and while the next day wasn't a planned run I had to get out and test them anyway.  I joked after that they had rocket boosters in them.  My old shoes were past their prime and I was going slower because of it so when I got my new shoes they were so comfy that I was running faster than ever.  I have settled that down thankfully.  That first run with the new shoes had me going so fast that I was out of breath too soon and couldn't go as far!

I posted I posted about my new shoes on Facebook after I got them and got some interesting comments.  Seems some of my running friends aren't sharing that love.  A few have been forced to change brands or styles of shoes for various reasons and are having a rough time adjusting to their new ones.  I felt sad for them.  This sparked some thoughts for me, as well as some others, about how funny runners (or athletes in general) are about their gear. This week I have even come to realize that I am even funny about weather.  Fall is my favorite.  I can get away with capri's and tshirts for most runs and if I need to add a bit of warmth I can throw a long sleeve on. I hate it when it gets so cold that I have to add layers and can't move as freely just as much as I hate when it gets so hot you sweat standing still.   Right now the temperature is perfect for running.  I'm going to take full advantage of this and get as many runs in as I can before it gets ugly out!

Do you have a favorite piece of gear or time of year??

Renewing Passion:)

It has been more than three years since I started running!  My gosh the time has flown by!  The last year has been a little lack luster in the running department but I'm making up for it now.  A friend has been talking about starting running for a while but does not want to run with a group.  She does not want anyone to see her at this point.  I think she is nuts and should show off but she thinks different.  She has asked me more than once if I can "teach" her how to run and I keep telling her there is nothing really to teach but that I would be more than happy to.  Finally she has decided that it's time and in the wee hours of the morning before the sun and birds are up we are out there.  I have started her the way I started with just 10 minutes and adding two minutes at at time.  She will now be up to 14 minutes and is doing wonderfully.  

The bonus to doing this with her is that it has given me a renewed passion for running.  I have a purpose that isn't totally about me and it's great.  I have signed up for one race and plan to sign up for another if there is still space.  I am getting up half an hour earlier than I need to so that I can run before she gets here.  I am enjoying running fully again and it feels great!  I am excited about it again and can't wait to be back to where I was a year ago.  Next summer I am going to run another half marathon, maybe two!!!  I feel great:)

I haven't posted much over the last year because I felt like I fell off the wagon and didn't have anything much to post about.  I have found that more and more posts have been about the kids and anything but my journey.  All that is about to change:)  I think this blog is about to become more active again!