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And it’s hump day:

I had a pretty lousy run last night, but I will make up for it with a 4 miler tonight. I am running with my friend who is going to run the Cleveland Marathon with me, which always helps make a run better. After that, I am heading to the gym for some strength training.

Life has been good though, other than getting over being sick (yet again). I have officially started studying for the GRE, work is going well, and things in general are just good. I feel great about my decision to return to veganism, and have had a great time doing some experimenting in the kitchen, and I will post any fun recipes I find.

I can’t help but stop and think sometimes, “is life supposed to be this fun?”…. OF COURSE IT IS! I am so blessed because I go to bed every night laughing and smiling with Paul, and we just ALWAYS have fun. I know it won’t always be perfect, and we have our bumps, but dear lord I am lucky. It feels good to find happiness. I still have an uphill battle with my weight and my fitness, but I feel like I’m in a better mindset about it. I have fewer days where I hate myself, and it is more about acceptance. As long as I feel good about the steps I am taking, I feel like that is not a bad place to be.

Happy Wednesday, and I hope you are all in a good place too 🙂

Potato, cauliflower and cabbage soup compliments of www.theveganstoner.com. Not bad. My run last night was ok, until about a mile in when I blinked and my frozen eyelashes froze together… Tonight I shall be on a treadmill.

3 mile run tonight

In the single digit weather…. LOVE IT… actually I am totally lying…

I will tell you how it goes. (w2d2 marathon training)

Best Website Ever?

http://theveganstoner.com/

The Vegan Stoner! Amazing and easy recipes!

Day one did not go so well…

I ended up attempting my 3 miles on a treadmill on Monday night… Now let me just say that I have no doubt that I can do 3 miles no problem outside, but for some reason I HATE running on treadmills. I am sure at this point it is all in my head, but I just hate it. One mile seems like 5, two miles seems like 20, and three miles is an ultra marathon as far as I’m concerned. But, it being January and Mid-Michigan, I know that I have a few more treadmill runs in my future if icy conditions occur.

The moral of the story is, I did it, and training has officially kicked off. AND, today I registered for my first race of the season: The Martian Half-Marathon in Dearborn 🙂 http://martian.runningfitsites.com/

To follow will be the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon and the Cleveland Marathon.

Monday was also a very very sad day because I had to sign up for a new gym and leave State of Fitness :(. State of Fitness is hands down the best gym in Mid-Michigan, if not the entire state. The training is second to none, led by head trainer and co-owner, Justin Grinnell. His blog is a great one to follow if you are into lifting or training at all. http://grinnelltraining.com/. But the most heart breaking part, was that after working there for 2 years, I got to know all of the members, and my co-workers became family. It was home there (not to mention a kick-ass facility that is clean and has EVERY piece of equipment you could ask for).

But, I have to save money, and I have to pay off debt, and Paul and I have to plan for our future…being a certified personal trainer and having all of the knowledge that I learned at SoF, I am capable of working out by myself, but still… I do very poorly with change… especially this one.

On the plus side, I have someplace closer to home that I can go to with Paul, and we can save money at the same time. But, I will still up most of the night with my mind running about what equipment I forgot to ask for at the new gym, why didn’t they have, was there really enough room for functional training…. any fitblr should understand the anxiety.

It is on to a new chapter, and a new race season.

Happy Hump Day kids! Be sure to hump a friend.

Happy Monday! Training Starts Today!

Welcome to all of my new followers! I am very excited to have you tag along on my crazy journey that is life, staying healthy, and training for my second marathon!

Today, training officially starts. An easy 3, but it went from being 60 degrees on Saturday to a blizzard last night, but I am excited for the crisp run tonight.

I had a pretty amazing weekend, spending time with friends and family. It was one of those weekends when you just sort of get a glimpse of life and what it is all about.

Friday night we went out for a drink to celebrate the birthday of a close friend. I was welcomed into a pretty close-knit group of people when I began dating Paul, and I am constantly reminded how lucky we are. These people quickly went from being “my boyfriend’s friends” to my friends as well. The women are intelligent, funny, beautiful inside and out, and supportive. The men are just as wonderful. I know they aren’t brothers to me, but they would do anything to help or protect any of us if we needed it. I don’t know how I got so blessed to have such amazing people in my life, but I am pretty happy that it has turned out that way.

Saturday, I went to a funeral for one of the dearest, most wonderful men I have ever known. I didn’t know him very well, and often only saw him once a year, but he was just one of those people. He was genuine, caring, and lived and loved life to the fullest. I actually knew him through my aunt. I have gotten to know her good friend over the years, Karen, who was in a 13 year, committed, loving relationship with Larry (the deceased). Karen is one of those people who instantly became one of my favorite people upon meeting her. She is spunky, hilarious, and just beams with energy and joy. She and Larry were phenomenal together, just a wonderful example of how to love and enjoy life.

I am not a crier, but I sobbed my way through the service. It was honest, heart-felt, and beautiful, and Karen was a beacon of strength, smiling through tears, delivering a beautiful eulogy, but still beaming with love and positive energy. I am so thankful that I was able to meet Larry and have people like Karen in my life as examples of “how it is done”.

Saturday concluded with drinks with a dear friend of mine, Krista, (before I took her to her surprise party 🙂 ). It was her 30th birthday, so we had some girl time to properly send off her 20’s and kick off her 30’s. Krista is another amazing person. She is one of the most genuine, loyal, honest people I know. She has no agenda, loves you for you, and will tell it to you like it is without any sharp edges at all. It is fun seeing a friend start a new “phase” in their life, not to mention it is watching them stumble into their living room only to realize that 20 of their nearest and dearest are there ready to scare the shit out of them :).

All in all, a pretty great weekend. I hope everyone has friends like I do, because at the end of the day, I can’t help but think that that is really what it is all about.