Oh hi

So yikes, I haven't posted since February!  Well that's probably because I was majorly slacking on my top ten.  But in the month of April I've really turned things around.

Running: Since it's been getting a little warmer outside every week, I've really stepped up my running.  I try to run four times a week and this past weekend I ran almost 2.5 miles both Saturday and Sunday and it felt great.  Running hasn't felt so good since I was training for a 5K three years ago.  I decided that if I can get up to running 3 miles consistently I'm going to buy myself a new running watch.  Yeah that's super dorky but when you're timing your runs by the songs on your iPod...it's time to get a running watch.

Weight Training: I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is very well-versed in the art of lifting weights so he put together a pretty kick-ass routine for me and I've been following it consistently for three weeks.  He broke it out into two 20 minute sessions (one in the morning and one at night) three times a week.  This idea was genius since I'm way more inclined to get out of bed to work out when I know I only have to do it for 20 minutes.  And 20 minutes after work is nothing. 

Yoga: I joined a yoga basics class for the month of April and had my last class yesterday.  After four classes, I have to say I'm officially hooked.  It's great for meditation and relaxation, it's the perfect way to cross-train and recover from running and weight lifting, and it's allowed me to challenge myself athletically.  I will definitely be taking more classes in the future.

So health wise, I think I'm on the right track.  I've cut down my drinking a lot and my diet has been extremely clean with the occasional slice of pizza and glass of wine.  I'm hoping to see some pretty big changes by Memorial Day weekend so that gives me another month to go full throttle.  2011 will be the year I finally get a summer body I can really be proud of!

When did everyone get so negative?

So it's not part of my original top ten in 2011 but because of what I've been through in the past couple months I decided it was time to add another goal into the mix: staying optimistic in the face of adversity.  Being positive is difficult when your life is filled with hardships, mishaps, and the woes of a Wisconsin winter.  I welcome the challenge though because this is the year I stop getting everything my heart desires and learn to love and accept my life as it is.  When you're young, you feel like you should be entitled to only good things and feel slighted every time you experience a setback.  But life is not fair and will never be kind to you because you think you deserve it.  Every single person on the planet faces obstacles, some more harrowing than others.  I think the more obstacles you face, the easier it becomes to be positive because you learn how much you can handle and still come out unscathed.  

So when I look around and see people complaining about the tiniest things and spinning whatever they can into something negative, I just don't get it.  I understand that venting can be healthy and we all need to do that when we have a bad day.  But when you're life is consumed with bitching about all the world's problems, that is a problem.  If you have the time to get on your soapbox and preach about what you feel is unfair, you have the time to do something about it.  I'm not sure why but I think maybe there are people in the world that are truly happier when they have something to be angry about.  If everything was okay, they would probably shut down.  I wish we could all just take a step back and realize that life is too short to find fault in everything.  And at any time, when you least expect it, a real disaster could strike.  We should never take for granted the good things we have in life because they could be taken away at any time.

Now I will get off my soapbox and start practicing what I'm preaching.  It would be very easy for me to spend all day complaining about people who complain but that's the kind of thing I'm trying to avoid.  I can't control others' opinions and actions and at the end of the day, it's best to just live and let live.  I only hope that positivity makes a comeback soon.  Maybe all it will take is an 80 degree day, an outdoor patio and a mojito. 

Back at it

I'm happy to say my workout routine has been reinstated.  Took awhile but after a week filled with four sessions of biking and two sessions of weight-lifting (for the first time in over two months), I can say that I am feeling better than ever and I never want to go back to my inactive ways.  Now the challenge becomes choosing workouts that will be the most beneficial.  I need to be organized and strict.  Running, biking, yoga, pilates, weights, there are so many options.  If I don't have a set plan, it will be more difficult to stick with it.  So here's how I would like to break it down.

Leg: deadlifts, squats, lunges, leg extensions, calf raises, decline crunches, stretching

Shoulders/Back: bench press, dumbbell shoulder press, pull-ups, push-ups

Bi's/Tri's: dumbbell curls, rows, seated cable curls, overhead tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns

Cardio with weights: 25 minutes biking/3x week, 20 minutes running/2x week

Cardio without weights: 30-40 minutes running

Yoga: 90 minutes/once a week

I'll be posting periodically throughout the month to stay on top of my progress.  I'm hoping to start seeing some real results by May.  Summer body, here I come!

Lamb meatball pitas with tzatziki sauce

One of my resolutions for the year is to not only cook more, but cook outside my comfort zone.  Usually that translates to making ethnic food: foods I love to eat when I go out but am usually too afraid to attempt myself.  For Christmas, my sister got me a lovely gift basket filled with a variety of culinary delights including four different spice mixes.  One of those mixes was a Greek seasoning.  The other day it caught my eye and the first thing I thought of was gyros.  And once the idea was planted, it could no longer be removed, even by the Inception crew.  The only problem was how to tackle the protein.  Lamb in such an iconic dish needs to be prepared perfectly in order for the dish to be successful and I wasn't feeling THAT ambitious.  Instead I decided to dumb it down and create something even the most amateur cook is capable of doing: meatballs.  And really, who doesn't love a meatball sandwich in any context?  The result, well, it was spectacular.  The lamb meatballs were moist and flavorful and went perfectly with the warm pita, crunchy red onions and zesty tzatziki sauce. If you're a gyro fan, there's no reason not to make this dish for yourself.  It's quick, easy, and will satisfy just like the real thing.  

Recipe (makes 4)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground lamb
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons of Greek seasoning (or 1 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin and cinnamon)
1 egg
1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs
pinch of salt & pepper

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for five minutes.  Let cool then add onion mixture to food processor and blend.  Add mixture to a large bowl along with all other ingredients and form into 1-1.5 inch meatballs.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked through.

Tzatziki sauce

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup light sour cream
1 English cucumber, peeled and grated (once grated, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over cucumber, let sit in colander for 10 minutes, then put it in cloth or paper towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano or thyme
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh mint
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor.  Adjust seasonings if needed.

Extras:

4 pitas
sliced red onion
sliced tomato
mint leaves for garnish

Spread a layer of tzatziki sauce onto pita then add meatballs, extra toppings, and more sauce.

...and if you're like me, you'll slather the final product with ketchup. Yep.

Weights, weights, weights

You know you were successful at a workout when two days later you're still feeling the burn.  Sunday morning I went full throttle with a bicep and tricep routine that kicked my ass but also inspired me to want to keep at it.  It's funny how pain like that can actually be addicting.  I took a long break from weight training and every passing day I went without it made it harder and harder to start up again.  Finally something in me just snapped and said, dude, you've gotta just push yourself and do this thing.  Now I hope I've arrived at a place where I can't imagine more than a few days going by without a tough workout.  Getting up in the morning when it's cold and dark makes it very difficult to want to exercise but I think overcoming that kind of challenge is something that is going to give me the pride and satisfaction I really need.  Because this whole thing is about more than just staying active and molding myself a summer body.  It's about defeating those demons I like to call laziness and lack of discipline.  I know I can beat them but it's going to have to start with getting out of bed when the alarm clock goes off.  If I can do that one simple thing, life can only get better for me.

The winter doldrums

So I guess it's about that time.  It's early February which means I've had just about enough of winter.  I guess the two feet of snow Milwaukee got hit with last week didn't help the cause but I'm sure I'd be feeling this way regardless.  January was a stressful month with moving to a new house and starting a new job.  I lost touch with a lot of my routines and am only recently beginning to reinstate them into my life.  So maybe I should give myself a break.  Perhaps it's too much to ask to be 100% happy with my life and my outlook when the streets are covered with mountains of frozen snow.  I just wish I could shake the irritability and pessimism and tell myself in a few months it will be beautiful outside and I can finally start living again.  That is truly something to look forward to.  I think I must be in denial though because telling myself those things isn't doing the trick.  When I look outside, I just can't envision green grass, flowers or a sun that stays out past 5 o'clock.  I'm not sure why it's so difficult this time around but I need to find a miracle cure to this bout of S.A.D. I've recently caught or I fear I won't make it through the next two months alive.  Yes, winter sucks but dwelling on it only makes it worse.  I need to stick to my indoor exercise regiment, plan fun indoor activities with friends & family, and most importantly not let these winter doldrums affect my goals.  And when the first really nice day rolls around, I'll be out on a patio drinking a mojito with the rest of the city.

A meditation on running

One of my resolutions is to start running again and not just run but race.  I would like to run in three races this year - Superun 5K in June, Al's Run 8K in September and Lakefront Discovery 5K in October.  I've run four times in the past week so that's a positive thing.  It hasn't been easy, however, picking something up that I've neglected for months.  Running is a tough gig and it requires gentle coaxing of the body.  What I have learned is that I'm navigating toward the way I ran a few years ago when I was training for a 5K and that's running interspersed with walking.  I always thought having to walk meant I sucked at running or I was too weak or lazy to run for a full 15 or 20 minutes straight.  But remembering how much the walking actually helped me train for longer distances has convinced me that that's the way to go.  At this point in my life, running isn't about ego.  It's about setting a goal and reaching it by whatever means necessary. 

The other challenge I've always had is running in winter.  Roads are slippery and the lungs and ears don't respond well to single-digit temps.  So my solution to that is the stationary bike.  In the past, I thought biking inside was a cop-out and if I was a real runner I would just get out there and brave the elements.  But again, this isn't about ego.  Biking, if done in a challenging way, can have real results.  I have found that my runs are much easier after I've been training on the bike for awhile so why look at it negatively?  Running in the cold isn't impossible, but it does have the tendency to turn me off to running in general.  I think it's important to distinguish between when it's a good idea to get out there and challenge myself and when it's better to stay inside and work on training my body in different but equally effective ways.

So here we go: another reboot of my running career.  Part of me is skeptical and wonders if I'll return to that all too familiar mid-year frame of mind.  I'm not cut out for this.  I don't enjoy running so I might as well stop.  There's no point in doing something when my heart isn't in it.  I have to find a way to ignore those little voices.  If running wasn't my thing, I wouldn't return to it year after year to take another crack.  Plus, this year it has to be about more than just running.  I need to become a more disciplined person who embraces discomfort and struggle with open arms.  When I go full throttle with that attitude, the possibilities are endless.