no half marathon.

At least not any time soon.

I'm pregnant!

this sucks.

GOD I suck at running now. Another two miles done. 2.08 to be exact. Every hundredth of a mile counts, k? Who fucking cares, though. It's still 2 miles done, even if it was slow and painful. At least my dog had a good time. Now she is staring at me longingly, wishing for treats no doubt. Bitch.

The only thing that is keeping me motivated is the fact that I know this will get easier. I just need to dig deep and find the motivation and dedication I had for my first half marathon. I kicked ass back in those days. It didn't matter if I had been out drinking the night before, I still got out of bed by 7:30AM and was out the door for my long runs. Let's find that Nina again, shall we?

Well, I'm going to make a giant salad for dinner because vegetables are apparently good for you, then I'm going to cook down a bunch of tomatoes I got from my coworker so I can freeze that shit for future (zucchini) pasta sauces and whatnot. A hot shower is in order somewhere in there, too.

training begins + I get paid to explore parks (fuck. yes.)

So training has begun. Kind of, I guess. I've been out of town for work  the entire month of April so far, so things have been hectic and exhausting. This past weekend I was in Palo Duro Canyon State Park for an event. Saturday was taken up by said event, but Sunday was our day to explore.

I woke up at the ass crack of dawn and did my first half marathon training run (about a week later than scheduled - oh well). A short two miles, but it was hard because I am fat and out of shape now. I did it on the Rojo Grande trail - a nice trail that was conveniently located within walking distance of my campsite. 

This was the trail. Be very jealous. Also - not my picture, I definitely stole this off the internet.

It had a couple of slopes that I slowed down for so I wouldn't break myself (both uphill and downhill) but it was really pleasant. I wish my park had trails that weren't filled with loose rocks and steep inclines. Oh well. My HRM's watch battery is dead so I couldn't time myself but I imagine it took about 25 minutes. The rock and dirt in much of the park is extremely red and rich in iron. By the end of the run, my shoes and socks were red, as well.

After my run, we went on a short guided hike. It was about .75 mile on the park's CCC trail. I learned a lot about Palo Duro's CCC history (which was great to compare and contrast to Davis Mountains), saw some cool plants and bugs, and enjoyed the views of the canyon. After the hike, we explored the Visitor's Center a bit & then had to head to the stables for our trail ride. It was so nice to be back on a horse. All we did was walk, though my horse decided to break into a trot a few times, but I had a great time. It is seriously beautiful in the canyon & a great way to explore is on horseback.

So clearly, after a 2 mile run, a hike, and horseback riding, we were ready for a nap. And nap we did. It didn't matter that the tent was hot as shit, we passed the fuck out for like 2 hours. We woke up rested and rejuvenated and ready for another hike.

This time we set out on the new Rock Garden trail. I don't know how new it is, but I imagine it's only a few months old. All the other trails in the park have markers at each tenth of a mile. This one had none yet. Those definitely would have been useful for us to monitor our time and daylight, but fuck it. We hiked all the way from the bottom of the damn canyon up to the fucking rim. It was pretty badass - not gonna lie. The view up there was amazing. Especially because we got there right around sunset (not amazing for the way down, though). We putzed around at the overlook for a little while then set out for the 3 mile return trip. About halfway down it got dark, but we weren't complaining. With the sun gone, the heat was gone. We used the flashlight to guide our way while simultaneously using it to find spiders (their eyes reflect the light, it's kind of creepy actually). We finally made it to the bottom around 9PM. 

So, just to remind you how badass I was on Sunday, let's recap:

• 2 mile run
• .75 mile hike
• one hour of horseback riding
• 6 mile hike

We slept like babies, even in a tent in the cold on an incline. 

I head back to FD tomorrow and then it's time to really find a routine with my training schedule. 

getting my ass back in gear.

Hi. Remember me? Nope, me either. I've been living the dream. You know, the dream that you have where work takes up your entire life and leaves you with not much room to breathe? Scratch that - let's label it a nightmare. Or, for all those employed in the recreation industry, we'll refer to it as Spring Break. I said goodbye to my weekends for the month of March and hello to ridiculous amounts of overtime. But I survived & I am coming out if it with a renewed mindset. I'm ready to get my ass back in gear (as the subject line suggests).

I am going to run my second half marathon in November. A few friends and I are going to do Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio together. I am excited and also dreading it. Excited to run another half marathon and pretend like I am a real life runner. Excited for the feeling of accomplishment. Excited to see my friends. Dreading the time and dedication training is going to require. Dreading running 13.1 miles in a row again. Dreading the post-race soreness.

But, it is a calling that I for whatever insane reason feel drawn to. Call it sadistic, self-torture, whatever you will (I mean... really - who willingly decides to run that much at once?! What is wrong with us?!) but I'm setting a goal and I will fucking achieve it. So stay out of my way, suckas.

Also - clean eating. We'll talk about this one a little later. But it needs to happen more often because I cannot live off a diet of chips and salsa any longer.

uhhhh

Hey, remember that time I used to blog and exercise and eat well? Yeah, me too. Things have been hectic. I moved 10 hours away and started a new job in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Fort Davis, to be exact. Population: 1,000. I couldn't ask for better weather compared to the sticky coast, but my skin is drier than, well, something very dry.

I've been walking and hiking, but not as much as I should be. I might start writing in this thing again, but it will be difficult considering my computer is no longer functioning.

But for now, just know I am alive.

God there's nothing like trying on an old pair of pants to make you feel like complete shit. I've got to get my shit together. It was a reality check to try to wiggle into those pants and find that they barely go up over my (now) giant ass. I don't even want to step on the scale. So I won't. But I am going to start counting calories I think, as a means to just keep track of what I'm eating. I'm not so much worried about a number, but more about the quality of food items that I'm putting into my body. I am going to try out more new Paleo recipes and I'll share them here as I make my attempts, bad or good. 

I just want to be able to wear my pants again. Working out starts September 1st, but for now I have a seven day stretch at work that is sucking the life out me. I plan on fitting in at least 20 minutes of walking my little Dottie at least every other day for now.

i suck.

I haven't worked out in two weeks. I have been so unbelievably stressed out. I've been having nightmares, I missed my period (NOT pregnant, no worries), and my body just is exhausted. It sucks. My eating has been pretty great, though. Stickin' to Paleo for the most part.

I've decided to (probably) opt out of the Rock 'N Roll San Antonio half marathon. I'm not where I need to be in terms of my starting point, I don't have enough time to safely get there, and I'm realizing that endurance running, at least this distance, isn't really my thing. Especially right now at this point in my life, I just don't have the time or energy to put toward months of training. I'm still planning on aiming for the 10K in October, though. I hate to feel like I've failed by giving up on my other half, but I just don't see it happening... Ideally I am going to just devote more time to lifting heavy things and dancing and running shorter distances without having to feel completely obliged to not miss a single run or else risk not being ready for some stinky old half marathon. BLECH.

I won a thingymabob from my work that you can wear on your arm and it calculates how many calories you burn throughout the day and shit. I'm curious to give it a whirl. I feel like I burned a bajillion calories at work today.

And I'll leave you with a recipe for the delicious Paleo dinner that I gorged myself on tonight.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of lean ground beef (or turkey! you pick!)
• one jar of organic pasta sauce (check the label for shitty ingredients)
• 2 cups of spinach (and/or any other vegetables you want to add to the sauce)
• four zucchinis
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced 

1.  Pour 1 tbsp. of olive into large sauce pan. Add half of the garlic to the oil and brown.
2. Add whatever ground meat you choose. Cook until browned.
3. Meanwhile, rinse your zucchini and peel each one down, leaving the seedy middle.
4. Add the other tbsp. of olive oil to another pan and brown the remaining garlic in that.
5. Add the thin zucchini slices do the olive oil and sautee until cooked.
6. When the meat is browned, add the pasta sauce, spinach, and whatever else you decide (get creative!) and simmer for a few minutes 'till it's all cooked down and bubbly and delicious.
7. Use the zucchini peels as spaghetti, serve the sauce on top, and voila! Paleo pasta!

Serves 4. Or in my case two because I am a fatty and ate two zucchini's worth of peels. Not a single fuck is given, except that I have a food baby.