This is just gonna be a quickie (TWSS) but I needed to stop in and say

LAST DAY TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY

so if you haven’t yet done it, step ya game up and send me a photo already! Yes folks, it is really that easy.

I also needed to say that I just bought 48 bags of popcorn for $1.89 because I love Costco and I also happen to love coupons and I’m a boss (warning – mucho profanity ahead with that one). Really though… I am.

(excuse the blurries.. la madre doesn’t have practice taking photos on a cell phone)

Whhoooo does that? I felt like I was holding a child. A child stuffed with three types of meat, cheddar, swiss, and tomato slices. Beast. Or I guess I should say “Big. Overloaded. Sub. Sandwich.”

So basically, you really should go enter the giveaway. And then my friends, life will be complete.

Innn other news – so I told you about the bone growth stimulator. Well, turns out with insurance and the whole the 80/20 deal, my “20%” is $700. Somehow I don’t think that fits in my college budget. BUT!!! Silver lining here.. maybe. Hopefully! As an independent and a student, I qualify for financial assistance. So if everything works out (go find some wood – knock on it!!) then I wouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket. I’m prayin!!

I may not be eating any BOSS sammies, but I definitely am still getting good solid training in, and the appetite is high, in true Sperly fashion. My mom and I made our mother-daughter-tradition venture over to Costco today to get some goodies. As mentioned above, BOSS Orville Redenbacher popcorn – my favorite!! – had a coupon in the biweekly Costco Coupon book. $4 off an already low price of $5.97, making my 48 bags of salty goodness only $1.97. Also included in the purchases were many a produce: broccoli slaw, tomatoes, asparagus, mushroooms, and sugar snap peas, as well as my staple of all staples: egggg beaters a la Kirkland. I really do love Costco.

Wait wasn’t I talking about training? Right. So Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday is SPIN on my schedule, and this morning SPIN I did. It is not running, but at least it makes me sweat and I feel like I’m working. NTM, my Thursday/Saturday instructor is also a BOSS (how convenient) and he makes it that much more appealing to go to class. He had a sub today (as in substitute teacher, not SUB sandwich. I’ve moved on), and she is ALSO really great. My list of I-Like-You-Spin-Instructors is short and selective, but these two are both on the top. If you’re ever venturing into the world of Lifetime Spinning.. lemme know and I’ll hook you up.

I took this photo a long time ago, and have been meaning to post it, because really, I do love my gym. BOSS? Hahha yeah I think so. This is over the railing, going down into the world of cardio/weights. I especially love my gym when I’m injured, as in now. They have so many options, and so many classes! In place of our run workouts on my practice schedule, I have “RSC” – otherwise known as Running Simulating Cardio. My favorite machine isn’t included in that picture, and it’s definitely NOT running (I don’t count it as “x miles” or any of that b.s. business…) but it is good. Good indeed.

Alright kids, that’s about as much random goodness I have time for today. If I didn’t mention it before, I got a research position at school through my kinesiology department and am a co-investigator on an awesome study we are about to start! I have to finish my IRB training, which if you’ve had to do it before, is loooooong, tedious, and did I say long?  I think I need to go pop some popcorn…

Love,
-E

Well, Marathon day has come and gone, and I’m still alive. Not going to lie – it was really, really hard watching everyone run and be so happy (oh my gosh.. that sounds terrible), but there was no way I could NOT be happy to see everyone doing so well. The conditions were perfect – cool (45°-50°ish), dry, little to no wind, even SUN at some points – just perfect. My mom and I formed a pretty solid cheer squad just by ourselves – I swear we were yelling more/louder than anyone around us. We looked pretty cute too – She was wearing her 2000 Boston jacket and I was wearing my 2009 Boston Jacket, and they’re both blue and yellow. Go ahead… awwww

We cheered at mile 6 and at mile 22, and honestly, I felt like we saw so many fewer not-gonna-make-it runners at 22 then we have ever seen before. Mile 22 is at a point where you’re definitely fatigued, and you still have four more miles to go. We kept cheering runners on saying “just break it down – one mile at a time”, “keep that focus”, “you’re looking strong – you can do it” and other stuff that the runners probably laughed once they heard. Lol I’ve said some ridiculous stuff before in a marathon…

(Front runners coming through mile 6)

Funny story: so there’s a runner on Team USA MN that I knew was running the marathon. I’ve met her and talked to her before – super nice girl. All of Team USA MN trains at my gym so I’ve actually gotten to meet a lot of them! Anyways, I saw her at mile 6, and yelled my head off! Then the lady next to me said, “Who is that?” and I told her “Michelle, from Team USA MN.” And my fellow cheer’er said, “Haha, no. That’s Kristen!” So when I saw her again at mile 22, I yelled “You’re doing awesome Kristen!!” or something along those lines. OK.. I thought for sure I knew her name.. I’ve talked to her enough. I felt pretty dumb for having talked to her all this time and called her the wrong name. Turns out I was right the first time.. definitely Michelle. not Mrs. No-You’re-Wrong… so then I just looked dumb at mile 22! She gave me this funny grin at mile 22 too.. so either she thinks I’m nuts or she’ll think it’s hilarious. Lol it’ll be an interesting conversation next time I see her.

“My” runners did SUPERB – every fricking one of them! I think they’re ok with first names on the blog, so here are my runners’ results:

• Sue – 3:47 – qualified for her first Boston!
• Jim – 3:37 – his FIRST marathon!
• Jackie – 3:37 – a PR!
• Jeanie – 3:53 – another PR!
• Josue – 3:12 – a PR and a crazy amazing time!
• Julie – 3:42 – another PR!
• Tzivia – 4:08, and a great race!
• Julie A – 3:53 and I think a PR for her too. Her chip fell off.. bummer!
• Mark – 3:24, and other Boston Qualifier!
• Mark O – 3:36 – just a couple minutes off of a PR, but a great race nonetheless, and NO cramping!
• Bill – 3:33 – a HUGE PR, and a BQ!
• Jaimie – 3:37, and another trip to Boston!

I just can’t say how proud of everyone I am!! If you want to check results of your runners, you  can look up the RACE RESULTS HERE.

One of the ladies from my Dashers training group who wasn’t running the marathon put together a huge volunteer team to man the mile 22 water stop. It was great to see everyone and their kids/husbands/friends working so hard. I have worked the mile 7 water stop for many years, and it’s a hard job! This photo below is of myself and the coach of that group. She’s running Whistlestop this weekend! She is honestly the best coach I have ever had, and couldn’t ask for anything more.. she is the one who got me into triathlons, got me back in the pool, she is just a fantastic lady.. that’s as much as I can say!

Big up to these guys coming through – the two front runners at mile 22. So. Fast!

Like I said, watching all these runners.. there was no way I couldn’t feel happy for them. True confession though.. pretty much every runner I see out there when I’m on my bike or just walking.. I want to run you down and grab you and make you stop. Haha steal your shoes or something! Not at the marathon though!! Hahah if you’ve ever been injured and had to take serious time off, you know how I feel, and if you haven’t been there, just consider yourself lucky.

Despite the ?? look on my face.. I am SO glad I went out to cheer. When I’m running races, I appreciate the crowd support SO MUCH. And despite hearing dumb funny stuff sometimes.. it all helps.

So what’s this teaser? Well… I am doing my first GIVEAWAY! Stay tuned for details!! There will be a couple winners… I’m excited!

One last big congrats to all you Twin Cities Marathon finishers, and anyone else who raced this weekend! Good luck to my Whistlestop runners this coming Sunday! Nighty night yall.

-E

Hope no one is asking “Where’d she go?” In traditional Sperly style.. I had to take a bit of a break, but rest assured, I’m still here! This last week has been very busy with my sister and her boyfriend here, Christmas up at my Grandma’s house, my “mini-christmas”es with friends, some Lifetime action, and loooots of sleep! Amen on that last one!

Like I said, my sister and her boy friend came here to spend Christmas with us and the family. This was the first time either my mom or I met her boyfriend, and we both love him! He is the most optimistic, up-beat, and happy person you’d ever meet. He is from Singapore, but ethnically Chinese, graduated from UMich with his M.A. in Public Health, super smart, super funny, super interesting. We like him! Obviously who my sister choses to be with is her choice, but we (read: my mom, all my family, my friends) can see that my sister is SO happy with him, and if she’s out  there reading.. I just want her to know, he gets my thumbs up. 

We typically go up to Albany to my Grandparents house on Christmas eve, but both my sister and I wanted more time at home this year, so we decided to drive up on Christmas day. My mom and I went to church on Christmas eve, and it was STANDING ROOM ONLY. We didn’t mind too much, and I actually hopped up on a heater so I didn’t have to stand on my hip the whole time. (The hip is doing very well btw! Week two update to come soon!) There was this ADORABLE  baby next to us being held by her dad.. I can’t wait to be a mom!!

We drove up early on Christmas morning so we could help my grandma set table and get all the food ready for the rest of our family coming. It was a pretty small group this year – only 17 in all. We were missing three cousins, one aunt, one uncle, and a few “extra” people that usually come. It was still a blast, and the greatest part was just being able to sit and talk and catch up with my family.  I haven’t seen most of them since July.. and I won’t see them again until the spring semester is over and I’m back in MN. Ahh I have so many great pictures from Christmas, but they’re on my mom’s camera and she’s out and has it with her right now. I promise I’ll put some up later!

There are only a few of my old high school friends that I still keep in touch with.. and to be honest, I love it that way. One of my favorite things about college is you don’t really have those “obligatory” friends anymore. You know – “I have to invite her because she’s friends with Liz and …” or someone who’s on the team but you were never close with. Haha, I know, I’m a terrible person. :/ Anyways, the friends that I have kept in touch with are solid quality friends – people I know I can count on at any time, even from half way across the country. These are the only friends that I do gift exchanges with over the holiday season. (Plus, lets be honest.. I def. do not have $$ to give to EVERYONE. Sorry!) With one of my friends, I made this adorable little “spa day” basket + a Panera gift card. We’re going to the gym and making a whole day out of it – work out a little, sauna, hot tub, freshly shaved legs – all the girly stuff.. followed by lunch at Panera (of course)! She gave me a gorrgeous photo of her because I don’t have ANY out in Boston (except some in a collage), a homemade tye-dye shirt, and this year’s Cities 97 Sampler!! My other great friend and I usually just write each other a letter, and that’s sort of what we did this year. It always means so much to read, and they’re infused with photos and jokes.. plus I gave her a coffee outting on me. LOL.. it ensures we’ll make another date while I’m home on break! My dad and I also do a “mini-Christmas”, and we did that last Monday! Twas fabulous.

Since I can’t put up any photos from this Christmas, I’ll leave you with one from one day over my never ending x-mas break last year. It was an official snow day, and my mom took this of me in our back alley as we were walking down to Dunn Bros Coffee shop. Props to them for even staying open.. there was soo much snow! 

And in the photo – my favorite bag ever. If I ever lose that thing, I’d be devastated. It was the first “nice” bag I ever got, and by nice, I mean.. like over $25. It’s just Fossil.. and I love it. I’m definitely one of those girls who can’t even fathom spending $$$ on a Coach bag or something. It’s a purse! Hahah.. what a goof. Anyways, I’ll be back tomorrow with a full “Week TWO” update. I GET TO SWIM TOMORROW!!

I realized I better post this sooner rather than later – I don’t want anyone thinking something went wrong!

Because it didn’t.. my surgeon said everything went just like they planned. I actually have a very strong femur and very strong bones.. it just happens to be that the femoral neck, while strong, is not normal. They did biopsy the area that they are thinking is FD, but until the biopsy results come back, it is just the working diagnosis. 

I asked my mom to help with photos, and she definitely had no problem with that! My mom takes more pictures than anyone I know. LOL – I’m sure you’ve seen someone retake the SAME photo about 30 times to get it just right.. well, she’s one of those someones. I’ll take you from start to finish in Sperly style..

Packing up my overnight bag. For once, I didn’t forget anything major! Btw.. you guys like the haircut? This isn’t the greatest photo of it.. but I LOVE having short hair again!

Please ignore the rather large smudge taking over the table. As you can see.. my mom and I came prepared. I actually didn’t bring that much.. most of what’s filling my bag is my pillow and teddy. (Yes.. I am in college. And I sleep with a Teddy bear.) We left the house at 5:00 am because we had to be there by 6:00, hence the face on my face. 

Oh the joy of the self timer. Haha I think we took 10 of these. This is pre-op, after I got my IV in and everything. I’ve had blood drawn plenty of times, and have never been told my veins were too small. Wellll judging by the multiple attempts to get an IV in me, I guess I’ll agree.. my veins are small! The guy gave up on trying to get it in my hand, and just put it in my forearm.

Talking to my dad and sister right before I went in to surgery. They were driving back from Michigan, and roads were TERRIBLE. My sister graduated the night before from U of Michigan.. and now she’s home!

Post-op.. after I had moved from the recovery room up to the 8th floor. Room 828.. which I didn’t leave for a solid 24 hours! I was so curious about what was out there, since my mom kept coming and going and I could hear other people or their machines beeping away.. I did eventually get to leave thank goodness

Uuuugh gross picture. But I was in the hospital, so what  can you do. I said I’d blog from there since I’d have so much free time, but honestly, I just slept.. a LOT. Plus the wireless was really shotty there so I couldn’t even connect the majority of the time. Sorry!

Hahah I am such a coffee snob. I couldn’t have any coffee before surgery obviously, so this was the first coffee I had, a WHOLE DAY later. The coffee they brought on the tray wasn’t even like Folger’s.. it was below Folger’s. (No offense to any Folger’s drinkers.. but that’s what working in a coffee shop does to you!) There was a little Starbucks cart down in the cafe (or so I’m told.. I never got to venture that far) so when my mom went to go get coffee (yes, she’s a coffee snob too), I asked if she would get me one. And get me one she did – it was BIG! I guess I’m just used to splitting it up into two mugs.. but that size looked so big! After this I definitely was in a much better mood..

And here is me, in my better post-coffee mood. It was also nice to be able to put a real shirt on, and underwear (gasp!!). I’m thinking I also had Vicodin a little before this.. because believe me, that smile was not permanent. 

Going over the PT exercises that I have to do. This lady was super nice, and she said I did so well with getting up and getting around that I didn’t have to stay for my 2nd PT appointment. Cleared!

Crutches? Hmm.. where have I seen those before?

Finally! Venturing out of room 828! All of about 30 feet down the hall and back, but still, seeing the “outside” was fabulous. No prob. with the crutches.. I’ve been a master at those for a good minute.

Practicing stairs.. unfortunately we have a whole lot more stairs in our house than these two little dinky ones, but I’ve been managing them alright. These PT rooms remind me of the play rooms in my mom’s school for the little kids – I used to LOVE going to work with her just to play in there!

Before checking out, remember to have your IV removed! And that face is not a yawn, it’s an “oh shit that tape hurts!” Also in that photo are my meds.. I am currently taking Vistaril and Norco (Vicodin), alternating every two hours. The morphine that they had in my IV gave me a KILLER headache, so bad that it made me nauseous, and then they had to give me a nausea medication which just made it worse.. lol it was bad. 

So, like I said, the surgeons said the procedure was very successful. I have three pins screwed through my femoral neck, and those should be good and strong for a long time to come. They had to cut through some of the muscles along the outside of my hip, which they sewed (is that the right word?) back together just fine, but it has made my entire left side of my thigh sore and bruised feeling. I am managing the pain OK by staying on top of my medications, but yesterday and today definitely hurt. The doctor said these would be the worst two days, and then it will get better from here. I’m counting on that because even with medication, it definitely hurts right now.

I can’t take a shower till FRIDAY (uugh) but my mom washed my hair in the sink for me this morning, and finally I feel CLEAN! I am just taking things day by day, knowing that it will get better and easier. Don’t laugh.. but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to ride one of those power carts at the grocery store and Target and stuff. My mom and I are going to CostCo tonight to fulfill my dream. Hopefully I will never again have a legitimate reason to use one, and least not any time soon! 

Annnnd, my sister and her BF and my dad are back! Even though my dad’s not staying here it’s just really good to see him and give him a hug. I’m taking advantage of all this down time – I got some good xmas stuff done yesterday (no details.. family reads!) and am getting more done today. But for now my friends, I feel like I should sign off. The Vistaril makes me super drowzy, and I guess it’s hitting hard. I legit keep closing my eyes like every 3 sentences. 

Thank you everyone for all your support. I am so glad I didn’t delete this blog all the 100 times I have come so close! Thannnk you x 1,000,000!

E

Sundays are seriously the best thing since sliced bread (or with this group, I should probably be saying since Kashi or something.. ). Honestly though, so many things I love come on Sundays:

• Sunday mass
• Long Runs
• all the ads in the newspaper
• the start of a new week (or the end of a long one, depending on how you want to look at it!)
• family time
• free meter parking
• 60 minutes, followed by Extreme Home Makeover
• Easter
• drink specials
• KIDDING! Just checkin if you’re paying attention..

This Sunday was no exception. I finally got to bed before midnight last night (11:30 – yesss!) which means I got 8 hours of sleep, so that already set a good tone for the day. I actually skipped run club :O this morning so I could do part of my run with my madre. And family must have been the theme of the day, because my dad biked the 2nd half with me! Work at the Tin Fish was fabulous (and crazy busy) as usual, and so was our nightly Tin Fish family dinner. Tonight was another one of our cook’s last nights – everyone is slowly leaving one by one to head back to school! I’m one of the last people to leave.. my last day will be Labor Day. I don’t move until the 4th of September, and we don’t start class until the 10th!

yuck! most definitely not my favorite photo! but better than the other one we took..

Annywho.. my dad and I always have a great time catching up when we do our bike/run. (Of course my mom and I do too, but this story is leading somewhere. Hah – no worries mom!) We got on the topic of health, and how for people of my parents generation, a “healthy lifestyle” was just not a priority like it is for many (though still not enough!) today. Which brought me to [attempting to] explain this really great article called Timing of Energy and Fluid Intake by Dan Benardot. It’s all about the benefits of an energy balance throughout the day, not just in the day overall. (What? Hah – yes. There’s a difference.) If you’re at all interested, I strongly recommend you read the article yourself, because I am seriously horrible at giving summaries of anything. (Never ask me to tell you what happened in a movie..)

However, I’m pretty damn skilled at copy/paste. So I wanted to post the “Learning Objective” to hopefully entice some of you to dig further and read the whole thing:

People who exercise may fail to meet the increased requirements for energy, resulting in adaptive thermogenesis (i.e. an adaptation to the inadequate provision of energy) that improves metabolic efficiency through an undesirable loss of fat-free mass. In addition, energy and fluid intake are often mistimed, failing to take full advantage of an eating and drinking paradigm that will aid in fatigue resistance and attainment of a desired body composition and weight. It is the objective of this article to help the reader understand how eating small, frequent meals and consuming fluid at regular intervals can sustain the hydration state and avoid systematic shifts in within-day energy balance that could be counterproductive to exercise performance and fitness.

Ok. Interested yet?

So what does the article mean to ME? To YOU maybe, too? Well, I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so here’s my situation: Because of my training schedule and work schedule, my eating pattern throughout the day is all over the place. Tin Fish “dinner” and “lunch” come at 4:00pm, and 10:00pm. (Haha! I know half of your guys’ jaws just dropped. But that’s what I do when I hear someone eats lunch at 11:30!) Also, working in a restaurant and food all day, there’s no real opportunity to just munch (I believe that’s my favorite word. Cereal Straws commercial.. anyone?!) during your shift. In my old job as a barista, you could have something stashed in your pocket or behind the counter and just grab a handful or take a bite whenever there was time. Not the case anymore! If you’re working a double shift you obviously get a break for lunch, but I usually just work 11-4 or 4-close, so you either eat a hella early (and a hella better-be-BIG) lunch.. orrrr.. I donno! Clearly still working on that one.

And don’t get me wrong – we have an amazing “family” dinner after we close. I LOVE the food. But I’m still wayyy hungry at the end of the night when I get home, which usually ends up meaning that I eat about half my day’s fuel after like 9:00. Which is fine, but sometimes uncomfortable. Like other athletes, I feel like I don’t always have the “luxury” of just “listening to my body” about when I’m hungry or not. You’re constantly thinking about fueling for the next practice or tomorrow’s long run or xyz. You don’t always just get to say “I’m tired – I’m going to bed!”

But this talk of “energy balance” really struck a cord with me. What if the way I’m eating fueling is [negatively] affecting my athletic performance? I’ve definitely got the eating enough part down pat, but I could use a course in timing. I’ve told myself I was going to “try” and work on it before, but there’s trying, and then there’s TRYING. It would be really nice though to just come home from work and just crash if I want to. SO…

…if it takes legitimately WRITING OUT a plan for a little while of how to spread things out more evenly throughout the day, I’ll do it. I’m not a fan of meal planning.. but just grouping like “this much by lunch” or “this much by dinner” could be a helpful guideline. I’ll be keeping a mental note of how I feel, if it’s any different than usual, and how my training is (or isn’t) affected.

thank youuuu fickr! credit goes to PetiteFamily93

So then what about YOU. Anyone else with a job like mine? How do you handle it? What do you think about this whole “energy balance” idea. A bunch of BS? Credible? Worth my time to actually make some changes? I’d love to hear all your responses!

OH. So I guess I should explain the angry little redhead part. Some jerk-face stole my bike out of our garage two nights ago after I biked home from work. And my bike is my main transportation to.. EVERYWHERE. I’m looking on CraigsList to replace it.. but c’mon!! Who the hell raises someone to think it’s just OK to take something that’s clearly not yours? I’m still pissed. Grrrr.

[This will be edited to add photos tomorrow, but I'm WAY tired! Night!!]

I’m stealing my post that I wrote on RW, because after writing it, I realized it was basically a novel, and good enough amazing, so I should put on my blog. Not to mention, today is a perfect day for a post because l because I got called off of work!! I woke up this morning to dreary skies, rain, thunder, and lightning. So I apologize if you’re a college RW forumite, and you read my blog, because you’re getting *slightly shortchanged! (*I changed it a bit. PLUS, see end of post!! And pictures!!)

Yesterday I went to this store called Opitz - it’s sort of like Overstock.com, only you can physically go there. I used to love it in high school because they would get tons of Delia’s clothing and they always had my sizes (for once!), and I actually still really like *some* of their clothes. They get a lot of True Religion and 7s and crazy expensive jeans, but the fantastic thing is – EVERYTHING IS AT LEAST 70% OFF. Wednesdays are like the restocked-secret-mailing-list-members-only day.. and THIS Wednesday was the start of the “Hey you college kids.. come stock your dorms!” advertised in the mailer. So, stock we did! Hah.. actually not that much. I got two pairs of jeans, a sweet shirt, and a 10 piece bakeware set for our suite.

(don’t ask me why I decided to wear a skirt..?)

(World Wildlife Fund!)

(Baileys.. from Delia’s)

(Urban Behavior. Not gonna lie.. I’ve never heard of that brand.)

(hah! “Tools of the Trade”! It will work just fine for me!)

I struggled with this whole suite deal before, because I feel like I’m the only one out of the 6 of us who doesn’t spend (or have money to spend) like crazy on all these name brand things. One girl’s coming with all this William’s Sonoma stuff, and I’m like “Yes! Target!”. But I’m starting to feel better because now I can feel like I’m contributing. I’m also bringing our 2nd Magic Bullet, which we haven’t opened yet. The bake set was new.. but only $10! (YESS 70% off!) And then my mom came home last night with a basically new set of flatware (forks, spoons, knives.. that’s called flatware, right?) from her friend who just got themselves a newer new set. AH! Feeling better.

My mom and I went BACK to Opitz today, and I found the GREATEST pair of jeans.

(Paige. “Premium Denim”. My legs are smiling.)

Can you see that price tag?! $215. And I got them for $65. Hah! And $65 is already a “splurge” for me on jeans! I figure that everyone is entitled to one pair of really good, really nice, feel good jeans. And these will be mine. I haven’t gone shopping for me shopping in what feels like forever, so today I’m a happy camper. I also love good pockets (oh.. cause that makes me unique..) so these ones scored double points. Well maybe not the black pair, but the other two..

(pockets!!)

I would also like to say that I feel stellar about my running and the way things are going right now. Despite the groin injury/tear/pull that I was struggling with (that I would say is about 90% healed right now), I am really enjoying running and life in general. Last week was rough – really rough – but I can look back on it now and say “Erika. Quit crying and T.T.F.U. You only get one life so you better make the most of it!”

(T.T.F.U. is pretty much my favorite acronym, and I suggest you all incorporate it into your daily vernacular. (Is that a proper use of vernacular? Oh boy.))

(both mom and I are devoted Asics-for-lifers. RoadID is a must! Safety first kids.)

So yes. Running. Strong, hard, easy, enjoyable. I ran a few sub 7s on my run yesterday without realizing it, and I’ll be running probably 9:30s when I go with my mom this afternoon. I’m running the Urban Wildland Half Marathon on Saturday.. at 7:00am. Yikes!

I am pretty sure I wont be racing it, just coming off this tear and all, but none the less I am SO EXCITED. From everything I’m heard, it’s a wicked race. (Gotta start incorporating that Boston vocab!) It’s quoted as “Minnesota’s Green Race” which is probably the coolest thing I’ve seen so far. This is quoted from their website:

The Urban Wildland Half Marathon & 5K is a no-waste race! All refuse from the event is either composted, recycled, or reused.

Not only is the no-waste effort kinder to our environment, it helps to meet one of the key goals of the Urban Wildland Half Marathon & 5K: to raise awareness about the environment and to practice the earth-friendly values that are taught through Wood Lake’s environmental education program.

Did I say yet that I love life?

(Anddd it has a built in coffee pot!)

Also on the list of purchases yesterday at Opitz a new coffee/espresso maker. My mom is THRILLED. I’m hoping this was a really good brand, because despite being like 70% off it was still over $100! We tried it out today for the first time and it’s AMAZING.

(hah mom you look surprised. You’re too cute.)

We did a CostCo adventure today, and no joke – every single time we’re there my mom looks to see if they have an espresso machine. She has been waiting and waiting and waiting, and they’ve never carried one (except for online, and it was like $$$). What did they have today? The day after we bought an espresso machine?

Well too bad. We like the one we bought better. Plus, being black and sliver, it matches the rest of our appliances. And I just thought I’d throw this in here, since the blog world seems like it’s just discovering these amazing goodnesses..

(Amongst other bulk goodness. I actually think that box of Rice Krispys has been down there since I was like a freshman in high school.)

What the heck took you guys so long!? For those of you that have a CostCo.. they sell them in bulk – Clif bars, Lara bars, those nasty coco type Lara Bars, Power bars, Balance bars, the new Trio bars – they’ve got em’ all! Just a heads up!

WOW! What a post for a Thursday! Back to work tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great week!

..and NO, I don’t mean in the way that it seams everyone else has been talking about. I don’t need a diet cleanse after the 4th of July weekend (although, there were some yummy delicious things involved!).. I’m just kind of at the point where I just need a life cleanse.

Hah – wow. Could I sound more dramatic? I’m not trying to be.. but hopefully putting this in writing will be a good step in moving forward. (And because I do everything in photo form.. it will of course be accompanied with pictures. Some of which may be irrelevant.)

Sperly’s Lovin Life Lowdown: Phase 1- Detox

Everyone has bad habits.. whether we admit to them or not. And if you don’t like the words “bad habit”, lets just say there are some things we could all do better at in life – I have my fair share of those things. Maybe this should be Phase 2.. because Phase 1 would have been like recognition and claiming responsibility or something along those lines.. but I didn’t think of that till now, so too bad. Here are the things I’ll be workin on for the next… while.

1. Sleeping. I’ve accomplished all of my new years resolutions, except for getting back on track with a decent sleep schedule. I used to go to bed after the sports on the local news, and ever since 2nd semester last winter I’ve been staying up until like 12:30 or 1:00.. or later. And then waking up still at 7:00 because my body is incapable of sleeping past sunrise. I’ve had to reset/change my sleeping patterns before due to a new job or a different class schedule.. and for some reason this last effort has efficiently FAILED. Work on it.

2. Letting go of my mom’s relationship decision. I have no say in who she dates. Why she dates them. What they do. When they do it. I don’t get to pick if she choses to get married again. My parents aren’t getting back together and I know that. Missing our family 4 and wanting it back are two different things. I can miss it, but they’re not getting back together. I may not love my mom’s boyfriend, but I love my mom. Work on it.

3. Letting go of my own relationship non-relationship stress. After my last relationship ended I was really enjoying being single.. but to be honest I’m not exactly feelin’ that right now. I’m torn because I want a relationship, yet at the same time I only let myself get to a certain point before I close myself off and don’t allow one to develop. My outlook on relationships has been jaded, and I don’t know how to get around that. And especially considering my current situation – I’ll be leaving in two months. That’s not time to start anything serious. But I don’t know that I’m enjoying being on my own. Aah! God knows what’s up, and he’s got a plan, so I need to leave it to him and let life take it’s course. Work on it.

(This photo is from 4th of July 1 year ago when I was up at my bf’s grandparent’s house on Lake Michigan. It was so much fun! We’re still friends. )

4. Stay excited about going out to Boston. I do love the school. I do love the city. I love architecture and I know I’m passionate about it. Every now and then though, I remember that we can’t really afford it, and I’m leaving behind a full ride at the U of MN. And then I remember that I’m going to be hundreds and hundreds of miles away from my home and my family. And then I think about how much I’ll miss the lakes, and how bored I’ll be running the Charles (I clearly have my priorities figured out). I need to find a way to stay excited about this, because if I don’t go now, I never will. Work on it.

5. Being a better person all around, to everyone. I feel like I’ve been more irritable/fake with people than I used to be, and that’s NOT ME. I’ve still kept my promise (to myself) about not talking about people behind their backs, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking just as (if not more) bitchy thoughts them (whoever “them” happens to be at the moment). It didn’t use to (used to?) take a conscious effort to be a legitimately nice person to everyone. Despite how much I gritted my teeth, I could always find the good in someone, and remind myself that God made them too – we’re all human. Maybe I’m just irritable because of the major sleep debt I’ve been in? Maybe more sleep will help? I sure hope so. Work on it.

I’m only going with 5.. because I feel like more than that and I’m being over ambitious.. I like setting goals in smaller steps. Plus, everything is better in odd numbers (flowers, candles, cookies) (OK I lied.. being the 3rd wheel SUCKS).

I honestly have no clue where this post is headed, and what a future follow-up post will be, but there you go.

In Other News..

I’m flying out to Boston on Sunday (wayyyyy early in the AM), and I’ll be there through Thursday. (Or Friday – take your pick. My flight gets in at like 12:08 in the morning on Friday.) I’m SO EXCITED! Sunday/Monday I’ll be staying in the dorms on campus, and Tuesday/Wednesday I’ll be staying at the Colonnade Hotel. I’m not sure which one I’m more excited about – the Colonnade is pretty sweet!! It’s right by campus though, so I’ll be getting used to commuting from “home”.

I had my highest mileage week.. um, ever.. last week. 72! Unintentional, but felt fine. (And please [do I even need to say this?] – no anonymous “you shouldn’t run that much” comments. It won’t get posted, and you’ll be wasting your time.)

(There’s a ME in there.. running at Harriet. I love these photos.)

My mom’s BF is coming.. TOMORROW. For 2.5 weeks. Please see above for my feelings on that.

(bahhaaha.. kidding. Hope mom can take the joke.)

Well, I’m gonna have to sign off here folks. Time for a shower and my bathroom cleaning/laundry duties for the night. I apologize for posting so infrequently, but I’ve been working every day (look forward to a very photographic TF post coming soon!), + running, + friends and family, + prepping for Boston, and I just don’t have a ton of free time. Be back soon!

I have been getting several questions/comments lately that have started to bother me. Having gotten questions like this my entire life, I’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring them. But those are at least questions from real people I know, and they are talked (as in out loud, face to face) about with me. Tone of voice can say a lot, so when I get comments/questions on here, I have no clue if you’re saying it with a tone of concern, or of its an accusation. So instead of answering comment after comment.. I’m just gonna lay this out here:

1. if you’re going to leave a comment/question, and you’re going to post as “anonymous”, AT LEAST LEAVE A LEGITIMATE EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE! Someone left a comment that I was very much so not going to publish, but I took like 20 minutes to write out a response to her. And the next time I checked my email, I had one of those dang “delivery service notifications” saying that the email didn’t exist.
2. Yes. I am aware that I am “small”, and you don’t need to point that out to me. If I ever say “oh.. I feel fat” or “I couldn’t eat that!” then by all means, stop by and smack me in the face. I have been “small” my entire life, and so has my mom (who is also a marathoner btw).
3. This is not a “food blog”. Some of my favorite readers do have food blogs and I love them (the readers and the blogs both) but that’s just not my thing. I post snacks and stuff every once in a while for fun.. but that about it.
4. If you’re going to post a “mean” comment (and by that I’m not referring to anyone who’s actually gotten their comments published) .. I’m just going to delete it! Don’t waste your time. And don’t read for that matter.. no one’s making you.

To address Allison’s question’s (I’m not trying to target you, but I’ve been getting a few of these):

“why do you use Splenda at all?” – You really can’t say “You’re skinny enough that eating extra sugar would be good for you.” without knowing my health history, and you don’t know what I’m eating throughout the day. I’m not the only person in my house who uses Splenda, so that’s why we have it around in the first place. “Don’t you need a ton of calories for how much exercise you do?” Yep, darn right I do! And I make sure I get those calories. Every. Single. Day. It is actually not that hard to eat ~3,000 calories if you know what you’re doing. “and drinking non-caloric beverages” .. haha I have NO idea where you got that.. but I do drink caloric beverages..? I also drink diet soda, but I go out for starbucks and smoothies and shakes all the time.

A couple other people have asked “do you count calories?” For a while after I saw my sports nutritionist, I did just to make sure I was getting up to the number I needed. Now it’s just so normal to me that I don’t need to. Every once in a while at the end of the day I can do a quick add up to make sure I’m on track, but once it becomes a habit it’s really not hard. Consistency is the key.

AHHH. OK.. with that off my chest..

It was SO NICE to be back at work yesterday! Not just because of the sweet tips I made in only 3 hours (one guy gave me $9 bucks!! (we are not a fancy restaurant.. that’s a lot from one person)), but because I got to be with my Tin Fish Family again I’m working today from noon till ? because the weather man said it’s supposed to rain. Well let me tell you something, our weather men have not been batting 300 lately, and they’ve been wrong about the weather almost every single day. I have no clue when I’ll be going home.

I’m about to head out the door for a quick loop around the lake with my madre (biking.. this is like the only time I get to see her!). Speaking of mothers.. don’t forget TOMORROW IS MOTHERS DAY! Get your cards/gifts/surprises ready! In the spirit of motherly love, I leave you with me & momma post race.

[EDIT - EDIT - EDIT]

I was only at work for a little more than an hour before I got sent home since the weather is so gross. It was raining and really slow.. but it’s fine with me because now I’m working on my drawings. I’ll be doing this pretty much all day until mass tonight.. so hopefully I can finish up!

Oh one more question.. why does like everyone have some sort of tribal design as their picture? Did I miss something??