Running and Cookies

I'm getting so FRUSTRATED! I'm six weeks into my half marathon training- which is still in the prelim 5K training stages, if you remember... yes, I am THAT out of shape. But that's not the frustrating part...

Being the glass half full kinda gal that I am, let's start with some positivity. Check out how my 5K training schedule has been shaping up!

If I have the ability to "cross things off", you better believe diligence quickly becomes my middle NAME! (That one week had to be ENTIRELY crossed off in order to bump my training schedules up one week in order to finish in time for the Chicago half marathon on 9/11/11).

So hooray! I've gotten up to 3 miles already! Trust me, I was on a total high about this fact on Tuesday, when I ran my first 3 mile leg (at like 5:30 AM, because please- I was SO not going to be running at ANY other time of that day of like 95 degree heat and humidity... gag me).

So I figured today's 2 mile interim run would be a piece of cake. And I was actually secretly a little thrilled that it was F'ING cold outside (for June, at least!)... that was all the excuse I needed to traipse on over to my secret, free gym (shady, sure... let's think of it more as "economical") to run on the treadmill. I know, I know, I was wimping out because it's a lot easier to run on the treadmill than outside, but in my (weak) defense- it was COLD outside!

Yeah right. SO not the workout that I was expecting. It was one of the hardest runs so far! I have absolutely no idea why. All I know is that I could NOT keep my eyes away from the treadmill's darn indicator screen every, oh, 0.10 miles... I know, right? Do you know how LONG 2 miles feels when you're checking the treadmill screen THAT frequently? The Kardashians were playing on the gym TV for some solid distraction and everything! I simply DON'T KNOW what my problem was.

Maybe it was the fact that my my left earphone has busted out, so my music was like BLARING in my right ear... a little painfully, actually. Or maybe it was the fact that I really don't have all that MUCH music on my Ipod as it is (what? I'm not the biggest music person!)... but a girl can apparently only listen to Lady Gaga (the only music on my Ipod that totally pumps me UP enough for running!) for so long before it starts getting old...

Or maybe it was the fact that I was all congested because I'm more than likely getting sick... yet again this year... because of this DARN WEATHER. Dear Chicago, I love you dearly, but I SWEAR, if your weather doesn't STOP fluctuating 40 degrees per day, I am going to have a FIT.

Sigh. I know, I know- woe is me. I'm just frustrated today! I can't help it! What's a girl going to do?

When in doubt...

Bake some cookies! Hahaha. How the act of baking (not to mention the act of EATING) cookies wouldn't cheer up any old soul is beyond my realm of understanding. SO, after I got home from my fine Thursday Dinner Club Mexican feast (XO, Cheryl and Alma!), I took the liberty of whipping up a batch of...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies... I know - YUM! Lunchtime snack for the next couple of weeks, that is for DARN CERTAIN.

Running and cookies... I can't think of a better combination, can you?? Hahaha. I know, I know- after going for a long, hard workout, most people are craving a glass of water or something. But you know me and my sentiments on THAT whole idea (please refer to my blog entry: "The... List of Things I Don't Like that Most Normal People Do... but I'm not picky!!" http://bit.ly/lbvis3).

Darn straight. Cookies it is!

eating and sleeping

have you ever had those days... or weeks... or months... where you cant stop overindulging? welcome to my weekend. im actually already bracing myself for my own embarrassed reaction when people ask me what i did this weekend.

because my weekend can literally be summed up in three words: eating and sleeping.

it's actually been kind of disgusting, yet delightful, all at the same time.

as is readily apparent to most individuals upon eating with me on a regular basis, i have a small appetite. a warm cup of chai will suffice for breakfast for me (i dont know. does milk NOT fill everyone up?). my idea of a pb&j sandwich is to have the pb&j on one slice of bread, folded in half... and that would be lunch. and dinner can range from like pita chips to a bowl of cereal. as you can see, my diet is pretty fulfilling and healthy, clearly covering all of the basic food groups (particularly those green things... what do you guys like to call them? oh, yes. vegetables. BLECH. i just gagged as i typed out the word. anyway).

this is all sufficient background necessary to understand just how much of a food coma i feel like i have perpetually been in since last thursday.

Thursday, March 10

the downward spiral actually began earlier in the week, when our gourmet cafeteria (im not kidding. it's one of the best cafeterias ive witnessed) decided to serve up some ridiculous burrito special (on monday) and some even more ridiculously delicous gyros (on wednesday). lunch is actually one of those meals i typically CANT "eat large" because i will inevitably be sleepy for the rest of the afternoon. oh well, i guess last week was different because i had no problems just gorging away. and GOD, it was so worth it. so tasty and delicious. anyway, that doesnt really explain thursday, now does it?

well, okay, thursday was the formal introduction of this thursday dinner club that a couple of my inner circle of friends instituted. so how could i turn down dinner at the suggested spot, cumin? omg, im so glad i DIDNT turn it down. this place was an AMAZING find- indian/nepalese tasty deliciousness at its finest. i went in to dinner, all prepared to eat lightly since i wasnt all that hungry to begin with. but... well, YOU try that curry and tell me there is NOT crack in it. i dare you, really. anyway! haha. so, a samosa, chicken curry, spinach dish, rice, and naan later... yeah. i was well beyond stuffed. but it was so worth it, who am i kidding? the two bottles of wine the three of us shared didn't hurt the delightfulness of our thursday dinner club experience one bit, either.

the ridiculous sleeping habits didnt begin tonight, since i obvi had to work on friday. just an fyi.

Friday, March 11

friday started out just great, considering i woke up STILL feeling full from dinner the night before. oh well, it's all about willpower and stuff, and since i already felt kind of physically sick from how full i was, i knew friday was going to be a light meal kinda day. well... it was all going just fine with a simple bowl of soup for lunch. but then i ended up staying at work later than should ever be normal for a friday night, so my coworker and i went to chipotle for a quick dinner because, quite frankly, if you at lunch like nine hours ago and ARENT hungry, something is seriously wrong with you. well, hello. when you say chipotle, what do you expect? chipotle is not exactly known for its "light fare". i ended up getting a vegetarian bowl (no meat?! i know, i know. but it's friday and it's lent so no meat for catholic me!) and, well... who knew that vegetables could be so FILLING? i guess the rice didnt help the lightness of the meal at all, but whatever. i hadnt had chipotle in SO long and i do so love me some chipotle so i was quite pleased with my clean plate at the end of it all.

anyway, i end up falling asleep around midnight on friday, all set to awaken around like 8 am, since thats what time i usually awake on the weekends (my idea of sleeping in... pathetic, i know).

Saturday, March 12 - 9:10 AM

i awaken

Saturday, March 12 - 9:30 AM

i eat a small bowl of oatmeal squares... breakfast is the most important meal of the day and all that. haha. this coming from the girl who drinks coffee or chai for breakfast usually. but whatever.

Saturday, March 12 - 10:30 AM

i fall asleep. keep in mind i had been awake for a whopping 1 hour and 20 mins. it had been a taxing day.

Saturday, March 12 - 12:45 PM

i wake up. yeah. i dont know what happened. whatever, i had made plans to go to devon to get some shopping done so i had to hurry scurry to get this adventure on the road (have you been to devon via public transit? oh. an adventure, that it is). well, it's not my problem that i go to devon so infrequently, and it's not my problem that devon has some legit indian food. and it's not my problem that my friend who came with me was starving. i mean, what am i supposed to do? politeness is my middle name! haha. so you guessed it. i get my shopping done and then we go to this indian restaurant. now, here's the thing- one would think that i know how perpetually full i am, so i would ration out what i order and eat. but how can you do that if it's like family style? and you really think im going to look at that menu, see the world of naans and parathas and curries and NOT want it all? hello. didn't i tell you? legit. indian. food. PEOPLE! soo... a couple of vegetable curry dishes, puri (OMG I AM STILL SALIVATING THINKING ABOUT IT), parathas, naans, and rice dishes later... oh yeah. and we had rice pudding at the end because... well, how can you not eat dessert at the end of a meal? sigh. whatever.

so there i was, ready to fall asleep because of how overstuffed i was, when we're walking back to the bus and helloo... indian sweets shops are at like every corner in this magical land we call little india. and you know me and my very particular indian sweets (burfi is GOD THE BEST THING EVER... how can you go wrong with sugar and lard?)... anyway, so we go into this indian sweets shop and, of course, im like overcome with the beauty that is indian sweets. so of course, after trying a few and making some executive decisions, i decide to order... well, a POUND of sweets. i didnt realize how much a pound was (which is ironic, considering im probably gaining quite a FEW of them after this week!) until i saw the final product of my order. whoops. i guess that'll be lasting me like a lifetime. haha.

so after spending the afternoon on devon, i end up home by 7:30ish.

Saturday, March 12 - 8 PM

i fall asleep

Sunday, March 13 - 10 AM

i awaken.

dude, trust me, i know. i dont know what went so horribly wrong! i fell asleep on saturday night, thinking it was going to be a brief nap. oops. in my defense, daylight savings totally happened, so TECHNICALLY, i'd only slept till 9 AM.... sigh, whatever.

well, social butterfly that i am, i happened to have brunch plans for 11:30 AM with one of my college friends who was in town. soo... you guessed it...

Sunday, March 13 - 11:30 AM

i eat at mercadito's, this AWESOME mexican place which id just heard about but id never been to. and again, it was all family style so how could i NOT partake in all sorts of festivities? so... some chips and guac and... well, four tacos later...

OMG i want to gag but not really because it was all so tasty and delicious i really cant regret a single food decision ive made thus far. and sadly, that's not the end of that.

Sunday, March 13 - 2 PM

i get home after brunch, pretty much levitating considering how much id eaten, when i decided it was a brilliant time to... bake some cookies. okay, here's my logic for this. i have two VERY ripe bananas sitting in my fruit bowl so of COURSE im not going to eat them straight up... and i cant WASTE them. duh. so... cookies it is. hahaha. well, once i baked them, i had to taste test. OBVI. well, a couple (okay... like four. whatever.) cookies later, i was... well, SLEEPY again. hahaha. and that brings me to...

Sunday, March 13 - 3:15 PM

i fall asleep. yes, friends. again. and please do note- i slept till 5:30ish. a good two hours... all very healthy napping timespans, really.

see? i told you. three words: eating and sleeping.

an epic, raging weekend if you will. good times.