To all of you that read my blog (and let’s be real, it’s really just my family and a few close friends) you may have noticed that I’ve taken a little break. The blogging hiatus unintentionally started with a week of work in Paris. Upon my return, work became increasingly more demanding and time-consuming. Pile on top of that marathon training and trying to find balance and enjoyment in my everyday activities, blogging fell by the wayside. Feeling more pressure from my job has directed my focus when I’m not working to taking care of what needs to be taken care of and spending quality time with the people I love. I’m not ditching the blog, in fact during this break I’ve come up with a lot of ideas and concepts I’d like to roll out. They will happen, it’s just a matter of time.
I’m no longer going to put the pressure on myself to blog 5-6 times a week when sometimes I don’t have much to say. My motivation to blog is not to increase my pageviews or get advertising revenue, but give to people some insight into my two favorite activities: running and cooking. I probably won’t ever be that blogger that comes up with unique and original recipes, but what I will give you are other’s recipes that are tried, tested and recommended. They will be mostly healthy, with a few treats thrown in. I will also continue to try and give some perspective on how live an active lifestyle while dealing with a busy, hectic schedule.
And just to show you I haven’t been totally idle and lazy over the past few weeks, I figured I’d share some of the things I have and haven’t been doing.
What I have been doing:
I’ve been cooking. A hell of a lot. Even working later, more stressful hours, I’ve been coming home wanting to hit up the kitchen. Some of the items on the menu include vegetable and rice burritos, millet and creamed corn, beef and bean enchiladas, orzo and vegetable salad, and miso-glazed salmon. They were all a hit, and I’m sure I’ll be making them again, so look forward to some tasty (and healthy) recipes soon.
I’ve been running. Since the Flying Pig is this coming Sunday I’ve been tapering for a couple weeks. Thankfully I’ve been able to shake off my horrific 2nd 20-mile run and get some quality runs in. The interesting thing is that I haven’t even really thought about the marathon until a couple days ago. I’ve been so busy and focused on other things, that flying to Cincinnati to run a race has been the farthest thing from my mind. I’m getting in the zone though and trying my best to visualize an awesome race, as well as get those positive thoughts running through my brain. It’s going to be a hot race, which is quite concerning, but it is what it is. I’m only asking myself to commit to running smart on Sunday.
I’ve been watching some damn good TV. Thank god Mad Men and The Killing are back. I’ve had some great early morning stretching sessions soaking in the goodness. Nothing like trying t solve a murder before work. We also sucked it up and got HBO this past weekend. Hearing such great things about Game of Thrones, Veep and Girls, I couldn’t resist. Rob and I watched the first episode Game of Thrones on Tuesday night and I’m hooked. However, if “twin”-cest makes you uncomfortable I suggest you look the other way.
I’ve been spoiling my dog. Wonder why all of the Rooney pics? Well May 2 was his adoptionversary. I have no words to explain how much joy this crazy dog has brought into our lives. The first year was a bit rocky with chewed footwear, trips to the emergency vet, 2 calls to Animal Poison Control, ingestion of a dead squirrel and killed chickens, but year 2 was even better. Roo is my running partner and couch snuggler. I’ve come to terms with the fact that he loves his pops more than me, but that doesn’t stop me from confessing my love to him 30 times a day. To celebrate, Rob bought him his favorite bone and dog toy. I took him to the dog park (which we usually don’t do during the week) and baked him a cake. I would have thrown him a party if it meant my friends and family wouldn’t put me in an institution. Try telling your co-workers you have to leave work on time in order to bake your dog a cake. Nope, nothing weird about that.
What I haven’t been doing:
I haven’t been lifting weights. This right here is killing me. I was using my TRX up until I left Paris, but the combination of preparing for a marathon and a nutty work schedule has brought on a level of exhaustion I haven’t experienced in awhile. Given that, I’ve been taking full advantage of rest days, and sleeping in until 6:00-6:15 (how pathetic is that) and focused on core work and stretching. Rather than think about the upcoming race, I’ve been fantasizing for it to be over so I can focus more on strength training. I’m squishy and I don’t like it.
I haven’t been sweating the small stuff. When I get super stressed out I tend to focus on all the little things that haven’t been getting done. That in turn exacerbates my stress and morphs me into a fire-spewing monster. Working at overcapacity the past few weeks I’ve known that I’m not going to be able to do everything I want to and I’ve just rolled with it. Guess what? I’m less stressed out, calmer, happier and actually getting almost everything accomplished. Who knew.
I haven’t been grilling. Rob has been dominating the grill. We bought a charcoal grill over the winter (random I know) and over the past few weeks we’ve used it to grill burgers, hot dogs, vegetables and chicken wings. Chicken wings? Yes my friends, Rob grilled hands down the best buffalo wings I have ever tasted. These will be repeat offenders over the summer so I’ll make sure to pass along the recipe, but note, while I’ll be giving you the recipe, I take none of the credit. I’m drooling just thinking of these…..
So that’s what I’ve been up to. I’ll be sure to fill you in on how the Pig goes.
