March Workout Plan

I know March is halfway over so this is a combination post of what I've accomplished and what I plan to accomplish the rest of the month.

So far I've run 15 miles this month (or actually in the last 11 days). My goal is about 25 miles a month to reach my goal of 300 miles a year. I hope I can get closer to 30 miles.

I've also worked out every SINGLE day this week, which is kind of crazy. I always make goals for the week and only do about 3/5 of whatever I plan.  That just means I plan bigger to get more done.  But now, I've decided I don't have to RUN or do a long work out every day for it to count as a workout. This makes it a lot less stressful and I know I have time for a short ab workout or interval training. It's also easy because I can do a lot of these things right in my room rather than depending on the weather or scheduling time to go to the gym.

I've made a schedule for the next 2 weeks that consists of a mix of running, interval training, and short ab or push up workouts.  I've also added a new health habit to the mix: not eating after 9pm on weekdays. So far, it's harder than I thought, but I figured I'd give it a try to see if it had any benefits. I don't really believe in dieting, but I do work to eat mostly healthy foods and no one ever eats anything healthy after 9pm anyway...

Today my short workout was 10 pike-plunge push ups, 15 tricep dips, 20 sec torso twists, cork screw x12, crisscross x20, 30 sec side planks, and 20 sec teasers.  I did it 2.5 times because the new push ups hurt a lot. My plan is to do more abs tomorrow before taking the rest of the weekend off.  But maybe I'll squeeze in hike on Sunday.

What are your fitness goals for this month?
Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!

5k Best

Friday, the day before we flew home from Florida, we discovered a 5k race on the island.  Of course, only my sister Rebecca and I would consider running a 5k while on vacation, just hours before we had to pack up and leave. But we did it! We were up before 7am on Saturday to register and run at 8.  

Here's me crossing the finish line.  Many of
the runners liked to give out high-fives.

It was already getting hot but it was a fairly flat race through a small neighborhood on the island. I had made myself a goal of going sub-30 minutes.  I've run a few 5ks over the past few years but most of them have been trail races, putting my time between 35 and 45 minutes.  I thought this was a challenging enough, but fairly reasonable goal.  Well, I was certainly shocked and extremely happy to see that I finished in 27:22 and came in 27th out of the 70 or so runners there.  Rebecca completed in her own personal record of 39 minutes and some change.  It was a great feeling to beat my goal by so much and it gave me the motivation again to try for longer races. I'm aiming to do a 10k this summer and then train for a half marathon in November here in Roanoke.  

The last day of vacation was great too.  We joined the kids at the pool for one last swim then we packed up and headed home.  Starting with a good, strong run makes the day so much more optimistic.  Plus I felt energized and got to eat anything I wanted for the rest of the day. ;) 

"I love Florida" - Declan

My spring break so far...I'll be sharing more in-depth later, but I'm sleepy and wanted to share some pictures.  1) Our first site of the beach after a long morning of traveling. 2) Everyone having a blast in the pool. 3) The kids playing cars with Pop Pop. 4) A fun (and accurate) notice about the weather. 5) The sunset! 6) Declan's first Klondike bar. 7-9) Attempting to get a picture of Declan in his beach gear...first his eyes were closed, so I said "open your eyes" and so he did...After we giggled for a bit, I finally got a good picture.

New experience in New Orleans

Oh my, it has been too long since I've posted a blog and updated you on my life.  I have a good excuse though, I promise.

A pretty park on Decatur St.

Last Wednesday, I skipped out on class and flew to New Orleans for the 2012 Sigma Tau Delta Convention in New Orleans. What is Sigma Tau Delta? Well, it is the International English Honor Society. It's pretty elite and pretty cool. I happen to be the president of the chapter at Roanoke College and was accepted to read my paper at the convention this year.  I read a 13 minute, 7 page paper along with three other people at panel on vampires (my paper was about gender and reproduction in Dracula). This was a three-day long event in which many, many students-both undergrad and graduate-along with published and respected writers read their original work, participated in workshops and roundtable discussions and, of course, enjoyed the nightlife of downtown New Orleans.

 A pretty sidewalk art piece with
play-on words.

I stayed at hotel on Decatur St. around the corner from the conference on Canal Street at the Marriott. We were blocks from Bourbon St and Cafe Du Monde. I ate, drank and shopped my way through the week, presented my paper on Friday to an accepting and intrigued crowd and flew back home on Saturday.  The French Market was fun and interesting as were the characters on Bourbon St at all hours of the day. The beignets at Cafe Du Monde are as wonderful as everyone says and well-worth the line you find at any time of day (it's open 24/7).  The drunks on the street and the strippers taking their smoke-breaks are well-tattooed and quite a site to see.  In New Orleans, you can carry your drink up and down the street as you barhop, which is quite hard to get used to.

This is my first
(and only) hurricane!

Oh and my paper, well I had written it for a class last year, and my teacher (our chapter sponsor who joined us on the trip) helped me edit and rewrite to the point of acceptance and helped me practice.  I was nervous and shaky before (and during) my reading but the crowd was responsive and good, constructive conversation followed the four readings of that panel.  It was such a great experience, especially during my undergraduate career and I am so happy to have been able to learn so much and see New Orleans for the first time. I can't wait to go back!

Love letter from my future

Today I got one of the best phone calls I think I've received in years.  I was accepted into the Communications Graduate Program at Virginia Tech. Even better than that, I was offered the position of Graduate Teaching Assistant which means I'll be teaching Public Speaking courses in return for a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend! I can hardly contain my excitement when I type this. I'll have to double check for typos. Part of me hasn't even realized this is true!

While I'm still waiting to hear from other schools, I'm so relieved to know that I have a great opportunity already for the fall and I don't need to worry too much over the next few weeks. Tech hadn't really been my top choice, but not because of the program. I had been really excited to move to a new, big city and do some exploring, but I think taking it one step at a time would do me some good, too. I can explore Blacksburg, make some money and find some awesome internships for the summers in between! Maybe in one of those big cities. :)

If you want to read about the program and what I *might* be doing (I haven't committed yet) here's a link to the site. While it's a general Communications program (compared to other PR & Advertising programs) there are some great classes pertaining to my career goals and many other interesting things I would love to take advantage of over the next few years.  Plus, teaching  (yes I said teaching!) public speaking will provide me with SO much extra experience and some skills that I wouldn't get in other programs around the country. I've taken that class here at Roanoke and know that it is one of those that has really taught me something. While it was hard and even scary at times, I am a much better speaker for it, and normal, everyday class presentations and speeches are no longer intimidating.  I hope I get the chance to make that impact on some young Hokies!

I'll keep you all posted on any news that comes about my future. Thank you all for your support and love as it has gotten me this close to graduation and what is sure to be an exciting future, no matter where I go.

Coming up next week is my trip to New Orleans to present my critical essay at the Sigma Tau International Convention. I will be blogging and snapping lots of pictures of the event and the city. I hope you have a great week!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

This past weekend I traveled down to High Point, NC to see my boyfriend, Alex. He had a close track meet on Saturday so it was a great time to see him and see him run.  Sunday afternoon, we and two of his friends went to a natural science museum and zoo in Greensboro (only about a 25 minute drive).  I don't think four college students have ever had so much fun on a cold Sunday afternoon.

1-2. The weirdest monkeys ever. I think they're called gibbons. 3. An angry, pacing tiger. He never stood still. 4. A giant snake (reminded me of the one in Harry Potter 1!) 5. A loose turkey in the middle of mating season. He kept puffing himself up and I found it quite intimidating. 5. My silly boyfriend pretending to be a turtle...

After the zoo/museum, we found a nice diner and filled ourselves with eggs and pancakes (I'm always in the mood for breakfast, even at 5:30pm).

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. Mine was just delightful :D

hearts or elephants

I'm not a big Valentine's Day person. I feel that's been said a lot today and I've decided you're usually one extreme or the other. You embrace and adore the day or you ignore it altogether. I just feel that we shouldn't have to be told one day a year to be nice to the people we love.

my new favorite piece of jewelry
from my new favorite online boutique
FrockStock

This is the only heart I wore today. I prefer my tiny elephant necklace and my purple elephant earrings that show not only who I am and what I love, but how amazing the man in my life is.  He knows not to waste time on flowers that die, or chocolate that I can buy myself. Instead, he finds those perfect, one-of-a-kind pieces that make me smile (okay, squeal) when I open it.

Moving on from this lovey-dovey day, I wanted to brag a little bit.  So far, I'm still right on track with my running goal and have missed only one day of my February fitness program. It's hard but so rewarding and I can already feel myself progressing.  I love having a regular workout and a way to out-do myself everyday.  As the Fab Ab Feb program ups the work out each day, it's always a challenge and it shows how easy it is to plateau and not push yourself.

Last week I found a new chocolate chip cookie recipe which I believe (with assurance from my roommates and my boyfriend) is much better than the Nestle Toll House recipe. (Sorry Nestle!)  It makes a lot of cookies, but I promise they'll go quickly. I used about half the chocolate chips and threw in a cup of Heath chips instead. Do you have other suggestions on how to mix up the regular chocolate chip cookie craze? Along with my continued baking obsession, my crafting as continued.  I am in the process of making a leather owl purse (inspired by this blog) and I made some fun reusable wine stoppers from wooden spools and yarn. They're super cute and quick to make. I think they would make good gifts for any wine-lovers.

That's all for today, but keep checking in. For fun daily updates and pictures follow me on Twitter!

Happy Tuesday! Oh fine, happy Valentine's Day!