A No-Pressure Blog

So, even though I have no marathon as of yet to look forward to, I still want to keep up this blog. I think it's good for me to keep track of what I'm going through in my life. Kind of like a "thoughts" journal (instead of a food/exercise log). I'm not going to pressure myself to write down everything I eat or every bit of exercise I do, because I think that's part of the reason I'm avoiding updating daily at the moment. It's sooo annoying to try and remember/keep logging on here to update everything I've done throughout the day. But, I don't want to keep feeling guilty for not sticking with my marathon plan either. There's nothing I can do about the fact that I definitely won't make it back to Scotland in time for the Loch Ness Marathon. So, there's no reason for me to feel guilty. If I could go, I would have stuck with the plan. And, I WILL find another marathon and complete in within the next year. As soon as we're settled somewhere, I will focus on training and reaching another goal. In the meantime, I will work on keeping up with my diet and exercise the best I can.

I've been doing pretty well still actually. Been cooking in the house a lot (chicken curries, full breakfasts, roast chickens, homemade soups, veggies, sandwiches, and loads of healthy smoothies). Today I went to an 8am Power Vinyasa yoga class, and walked to and from town, and in the evening I will go on the dog walk. So a pretty active day today.

Food:
10am - smoothie with avocado, blueberries, baby bok choy, fresh mint, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, coarse oatmeal, greek yogurt, ice, almond milk
2 cups coffee
3.30pm - bowl of minestrone leftover from yesterday
4.15pm - 1 red bull
7.30pm - 2 pieces multigrain toast w/ butter
9.30pm - sandwich on multigrain bread w/ roast chicken, avocado, parsley, mayo, cheese

Exercise:
2pm - walked to the store and back, 2 miles total
4.30pm - dog walk, 1 hour
8pm - 2 mile short run on treadmill

blahhhhhh

I have to admit. I'm completely off my training. I'm slacking on my blog, and sporadically exercising without keeping track of anything. I don't know what my plan is from here,  but I need to make another workout plan for myself to stick to, and I need to find another goal to work towards, or else I'll end this feeling like I completed nothing.

More on this later.
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Food:
6.45am - 3 scrambled eggs on toast w/ cheese and ham, 1 glass oj, 1 cup coffee
12.30pm - smoothie with avocado, strawberries, blueberries, kale, ice, almond milk, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds
throughout day - 2 cups coffee
8.45pm - bowl of homemade minestrone veg soup with squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, garlic, thyme, marjoram, parsley, chicken stock, green onions, canned tomatoes

Really bad news. (and a little bit of good news)

I've been pouting again the last couple days, but this time I have a legitimate excuse.

My husband and I have been looking into getting my visa sorted out for the UK so I can go back in September, and it's looking like:

1. It's going to take at least 3 months to complete my visa and
2. I can't go over without Stuart

Obviously while my visa is being processed, I won't have my passport, so this means it's almost certain I won't be able to race in the Loch Ness Marathon. I can't even describe how majorly bummed I am. I skipped my run on Friday, and then postponed my 12-miler today because I've felt like this was all for nothing. Look at this stupid blog with the stupid title and my stupid face on the right. Lame.

However, the bit of good news is that actually applying for my visa should be an easy and streamlined process, meaning I shouldn't have any problems upon my return to the UK. That's what really matters in the long run anyway. Sigh.

And, I have already started to find some races in Barbados I'll be doing, and I'll try and get on finding another one I can set my sights on in the UK. I know it's out of my control, but it still feels like some sort of personal failure that I can't do anything about. More later.

Food:
9.30am - smoothie with mango, banana, baby bok choy, chia seeds, walnuts, almond milk, ice, greek yogurt
2 cups coffee

4th

Happy 4th everyone!

America! Fuck yeah!

Food:
10am - smoothie with banana, pineapple, mixed berries, baby bok choy, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, brown rice protein powder, ice, almond milk, greek yogurt
2 cups coffee
throughout day - pineapple, oj, tortilla chips + homemade salsa
7pm - 10pm - bbq - hamburger, chips, salsa, 3 beers

Exercise:
3.30pm - Fartlek training, 30mins, 354 calories
4.45pm - 30 min dog walk

Crap on the internet

God, there is so much bullshit on the internet. In trying to research stuff about nutrition, running, etc, I have found that most people with blogs think they are an expert and just pull words and theories out their asses. I literally just read a woman's blog post about smoothies who said that blending fruit and vegetables "oxidizes" them and removes all the nutrients. Wow. I mean firstly, she doesn't know what oxidizes means. Why would oxidizing something remove nutrients?

This house looks like Hitler:

Heil House?

Food:
5.45am -  1 piece multigrain toast w/ butter
10.15am - smoothie with banana, pineapple, baby bok choy, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, oatmeal, greek yogurt, ice, almond milk, brown rice protein powder
2 cups coffee
1.30pm - eggs benedict, 1 glass oj
3.45pm - 1 apple
5.30pm - a few bites of potato salad
9.30pm - half a steak, carrots roasted w/ honey, balsamic, salt n pepper, small green salad w/ olive oil, balsamic, goats cheese

Exercise:
6am - 1 hour morning yoga class (easy)
4.30pm - 1 hour dog walk
8pm - 3-mile "Short Run" on treadmill, 377 calories, 33mins (yay!),

Green Smoothies and Motivation

I've been throwing greens into my smoothies lately... spinach, broccoli stems, and today baby bok choi. It's working out, I swear with all the fruit and other stuff I throw in there, I can't even taste it at all. Stuart says he can, but I think he's just being a baby and is also influenced by the fact that it turns the smoothie green. It's a good thing though, because although I don't mind eating greens, I can't really get into eating them raw, and of course cooking them takes out tons of nutrients.

Smoothies are the way forward.

I haven't written about it in awhile, so I thought I'd write an update about how my marathon training is going. It sucks lately! I am still totally sticking with it, which I'm proud of, but I'm just not motivated at all. Every step is a struggle. Compared to the beginning when I couldn't wait to get out the door or get on to the treadmill, it doesn't feel great. I've gone through mini-slumps like this before though, the key is to just suffer through it and I'm sure it will get better.

I've officially passed the 3-month mark as of yesterday, which means I have 3 more to go until my marathon. 3 months is usually when people start training for a marathon, so now is when the essential training really kicks in. Everything before now was just like "training for my training". I can't wait to start doing my runs in cool, fresh Scotland air! Struggling through the intense heat here is good for me I'm sure, but I think cooler weather will be more motivation for me to get out there and train (not to mention a country that has sidewalks on every road). I am very limited here in where I can train, and although I feel very lucky to have this beautiful golf course right next to me to train on, I am freaking sick of it! I wish I could jog to Bridgetown and back - but alas, I'd be roadkill in seconds. Then there's always running on the beach, but beaches don't stretch for very long here. Okay enough rambling.

Food:
10.30am - 1 piece multigrain toast w/ butter
10.45am - smoothie with banana, mango, greek yogurt, ice, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, baby bok choi, cinnamon, almond milk
2 cups coffee
3pm - sandwich on multigrain bread with ham, cheese, romaine lettuce, mayo, mustard, a few sips of ginger ale

Food update from yesterday (July 1st, 2013)

Food:
10.45am - smoothie with mixed berries (frozen), bananas, broccoli stems, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almond milk, greek yogurt
12noon - 2 cups coffee
3.30pm - sandwich on multigrain bread with ham, cheddar, lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, chutney, 1 glass white wine
7.30pm - 1 red bull
9pm - bbq chicken, brussel sprouts with lime + olive oil + peanuts, potato salad w/ onion, mayo, mustard, curry powder, 1 glass white wine
10.30pm - cup of earl grey w/ lemon