Getting Dirrrrty

      Mud runs are one of my favorite event to participate in.  Notice that I said "participate" and not "compete".  A mud run usually is usually a 3-10 mile course filled with mud pits, tunnels, climbing walls, mud, ropes, jumping over fire, mud, cargo nets, more mud...you get the point.  For me, a mud run is a time to let loose, have fun, and just go crazy and be 10 years old again. Even if you are not athletic or don't consider yourself "in shape" a mud run would be a great time for you.  I love that! I love that people who had no desire to get in shape get hooked on mud runs and do them over and over again.

    Last weekend I participated in the Dirty Girl with some of my blogger friends. Dirty Girl is a mud run for women only (which helps with the intimidation factor) and benefits breast cancer.  In the past year I have lost a friend to breast cancer and watched another friend kick cancer's ass...so this was a special day.  I was so proud of my blogger ladies, The Blogaritas,  because some of them had never participated in an event like this before, and even though they were nervous, they KILLED it!
Here we are before the race:

Awwwwww...aren't we cute.....all sweet smelling...CLEAN.  Just look at those shiny shoes and brand new numbers!

Now let me tell you WHY I love this run.  Besides the fact that I love getting dirty, climbing, and playing in the mud, the women who participate are so supportive of each other.  Amongst all of the squealing, screaming and laughing;  I could hear support, clapping, cheering, and "C'mon, YOU GOT THIS", "YOU can DO this!!!", and "Way to go"!  Nobody was racing to the finish, but rather helping each other along the way.  We were all helping each other through the shoe sucking mud and over the tall slippery walls.  At one point I had trouble getting over one of the tall walls and a woman from another team held my foot so that I could make it down.
We watched as another woman got to the top pf the wall, looked down the other side, and panicked.  The look of fear on her face put tears in my eyes.  We all stopped and cheered words of encouragement while her teammates went on the other side and helped her over.  You KNOW she was proud of herself for doing it.
I LOVE knowing that many women came to the mud run nervous, frightened, and feeling like they would not even finished and they left there feeling proud, empowered, and strong.  Each woman left there different than who they were when they arrived.  I have tears in my eyes as I even type those words.  Yes, I am sap-tastic!

Here are some fun pictures of us during the run:

Now, if you ever plan on doing one of these, let me give you some helpful hints:
1) Bring a towel and a change of clothes
2) Bring extra shoes.  You can either donate your muddy shoes at the end or take them home and wash them. but you don't really want to wear them home.
3) If you don't feel like waiting in the shower line, have a couple of gallons of water waiting in your car...then you can at least rinse off a bit and change in the car.
4) Those Vibram 5 Fingers?   Totally helpful for gripping those slippery walls.
4) Rolling in the mud = wet t-shirt contest, so maybe wear a sports bra (or two) with padding and maybe some under armor boy shorts under your pants.  We did not realize this until we saw the photos and realized some of them had to be censored.  NO WONDER the husbands did not look bored on the sidelines!!!!

I got more muddy during this run than on my previous mud runs because, well, I was acting like a fool...and I have the bruises to prove it.  But, I had FUN!!!

Morena, Neven, Amy, Jen....I had not known you outside of our bloggy internet world before that day, but so happy we did this together.  I feel bonded for life and can't wait to see you ladies again!

If you like reading blogs and want to learn fun new things, laugh, and relax, check out the ladies above by clicking one their names!
If you are looking for a change in your life, a way to get started on a healthier path, or just a way to have some fun, check out a mud run...you will NOT regret it.

You made babies!!! (San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon)

Last year a friend of mine really had it in her heart to run the half marathon at the San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon, but, for various reasons,was not able to do it.  She felt a strong desire to train for it the following year, but felt scared, discouraged, and doubtful that she could fulfill such a task.  We spoke on and off and I tried my best to encourage  her. 
Last night I checked on her via Facebook and my eyes filled with tears when I saw her profile photo:

I had forgotten that I had said that to her.  She said that this had been her mantra for this year of training.  Tomorrow, she will be running her first half marathon and i could not be more proud of her!

This is true...your body created HUMANS! What? Actual HUMANS!  THAT, my friend, is a miracle.  If your body can create miracles, it CAN put one foot infront of the other for a couple of hours. 

For me, any physical activity is a mind game.  Many times, my mind gives up before my body does.  My mind tells me LIES like "You are getting tired", "You'll never do this", "You are just not strong enough", "Stop, this hurts"....my mind is a big fat liar.  So, I call my mind out and challenge it.  I push those negative thoughts out of my head and BELIEVE my body can do whatever it is I am pushing it to do.

This post is for all of my friends who are running tomorrow. You can do this! You have done harder things.  Your mind will lie to you and tell you to quit. Don't listen to that liar!  Keep pushing! Your body is capable of miracles!

Salmon "Stir Fry" (Clean Recipe)

I posted this on my FB page, but then realized that some of you might not be 'fans' so I thought I'd post here too...you know, since I blog SOOOO MUCH. (They really need to invent a sarcasm font).

I was not sure what to cook tonight, but we had salmon and veggies, so I threw this together.  It's sort of a 'stir fry', but not really in the Asian sense.

So sorry for the craptastic iPhone photo....

Please remember that I made this on the fly, so there are no measurements. 

Ingredients:
salmon (cubed)
red and yellow cherry tomatoes (halved)
asparagus (chopped)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Heat your wok or a large saute' pan.  Add olive oil. Cook salmon.  Remove salmon from pan. Saute' the veggies with a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.  When veggies are cooked, add salmon back in.

I served this over brown rice with avocado sauce.

Avocado sauce:

In a blender combine :

4 avocado
greek yogurt
2 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
lime

Enjoy!

What Most People Won't Tell You About Running (and taking a sneaky pee)

This post is dedicated to my friend and food blogger Emily at Defining Delicious
When I was a new runner I pictured myself effortlessly running my races looking beautiful, long legged, and glistening with a healthy pink flush on my face.  To my new runner self I say "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I had several misconceptions about what running would be like. Although I do love running and the high, freedom, and feeling of accomplishment I have when I'm finished; it is not pretty! I SWEAT, not glisten. My face is RED, not pink. Instead of a beautiful long legged glide I have this kind of shuffle, limp, stumble, trip thing going on when I run.  Besides all of that, there were a couple of things nobody told me about: Peeing and Runner's Trots.  I'm proud to say I have experienced both.

Let's start with the more disgusting one first : Runner's Trots. If you are not familiar with Runner's Trots, it is a cramping and diarrhea that some people get when exerting a lot of physical efforts.  For me it happened any time I ran over 12 miles. It happened to me a lot when I first started running, but once my body got used to running, it stopped happening. My first half marathon ended  with me doubled over with cramps and spending the rest of the day close to the bathroom. To prevent this, I just took a couple of Immodium on race day. Immodium could cause problems if taken too often, so I never took them during my training runs. ONLY ON RACE DAY.  I am not saying you should do this, but if you plan on doing it, check with your doctor first. Here is a great article I found on the trots: http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/How-to-Avoid-Runners-Trots.htm

Okay. Peeing. There have been several, yes, several times I have peed myself during runs. One main reason is because I have had 3 kids.  Sometimes there are just no bathrooms around, the port-a potty lines are too long, or I just don't want to stop and add minutes to my finishing time.  Sometimes, during super long runs, I just don't even realize it's happening until I feel the warmness running down my leg.
True story.  Peeing happens all the time.  Many of the cyclists and triathletes I know pee right on there bike because who wants to stop, unclip, get off the bike, pee, get back on, start again...no one, that's who.  Peeing in your pants doesn't make you gross, it makes you hard core!

My friend and I have a strategy for peeing if we are just on a training run and there are no bathrooms around.  I also use it during races when I don't want to wait for a bathroom, but I'm not ready to pee in my pants yet.  We just pretend we are stretching and let it flow.  Like this:

"I'm just stretching...and looking off into the distance, while I ponder my run...not peeing at all. Nothing to see here. Just stretching"

  What you have to do is pull the lining of your running shorts over while getting into your lunge position. While lunging, discreetly pull the corner of you shorts over  while still covering up and pee.  The cars are moving too fast to tell what you are doing and the rest of the runners are focusing on themselves.  You just look like your stretching.  I'm not gonna lie, this takes some practice, but once you get it down, your GOLDEN!  Haha! I love puns!

So...what did we learn today? Some people do get runners trots and it is normal to pee in your pants when you run. You are welcome! If you have any other sneaky peeing techniques you'd like to share, leave them in the comments below!

Zits, Zits, Zits....

The universe has played a cruel joke on my when it decided to give me grey hair and acne at the same time.  Seriously???
The other morning I woke up with a pimple so huge that my husband said it deserved a name...so I called her Estrogeena.  Later that day, her sister Hormonia decided to join the party on my face.  So, YAY...at the age of 39, I get to walk around with gray hair, crows feet, and some big a$$ pimples on my chin. Awesome.

This morning I discovered this little gem on Pinterest.  Its a chart that tells you why you have acne in certain areas of your face!

In high school my problem area was 1 and 2...makes sense...I did eat a lot of junk food, but I think that the 36 oz can of aqua-net a day to acheive these rockin  4 inch high bangs probably had a lot to do with the forehead acne too:

These days the pimples like to hang out in zone 11...which makes TOTAL sense.  (Warning: TMI Alert).  According to the chart, chin pimples are hormonal and happen when you are ovulating.  And guess what?  I'm ovulating.  Interestingly enough, the side you are ovulating on is the side you get the pimple on.  And guess what again?  i only have one ovary...on that side...the side where I always get a chin pimple.  I thought this was pretty cool.

This year, in order to try to get better skin, I have been testing out new products.  I am currently using the skincare line from Beauty Society.  I have only been using the products for a little over a week now, but am already noticing a difference in the softness and firmness of my skin.  I'll let you all know if I notice a big difference as the weeks progress.   *Just so you know, I do not sell or get kickbacks from Beauty Society for posting this.  It's just a product that I am enjoying and thought you might like to know about it :)

Anyway, hope you find the pimple chart helpful!

Spin-gina Pain

Oh how I love my spin class.  A sweaty, tough cardio workout that also shapes your legs and butt like nothing else.  After class, my legs are sore jello, but as any woman can tell you, that's not all that was sore.  The spin-gina pain was so bad that I almost stopped going. It not only hurt during class, but my entire underwear area felt badly bruised for days after a spin class.  I didn't want to give up spinning, so I researched my options.  First I tried one of those gel filled seats, but it didn't work out very well for me:

These gel seats are nice and squishy, but I felt like maybe they were too squishy.  Since it was so super padded, it offered no support and I would sink my entire body into the seat instead of sitting up on my sit bones.  I keep it in my gym bag in case I forget my padded shorts, but otherwise, I don't use it anymore.

These padded bike shorts really work for me.

 

These bike shorts look good on no one!  They are tight and make you look (and feel) like you are wearing an adult diaper under spandex, but they WORK! The padding is placed in just the right places to make you more comfortable in the saddle.  Since the padding is not as thick as the seat cushion, I have better form because I can still feel the solid seat under me.

Having correct form on your bike helps immensely with that darn spin-gina pain.  Engaging your core and making sure your seat and handle bars are at the correct height help make you more comfortable.  Any good spin instructor will help you figure out what that is when you go to class.  Don't be afraid to ask for help if you are not sure about how high/low to adjust everything.

One last item that has helped me in spin class are a pair of shoes that clip into the pedals: 

 

Obviously, mine have never been outside.  The drivers here in San Antonio are morons and I refuse to be on the road with them.

These shoes force you to have good form.  They help create a nice circular motion that make me utilize my quads and my hamstrings. When I was just using regular shoes, I overused my quads and when they got tired, I would bounce in the saddle...which was a pain in the butt, for real! The stiff soles help keep my feet from hurting and the curve of the shoes force me to keep my knees in on the bike when a lot of times, people want their knees to fly out while riding. 

People seem to think you need to be a cycling pro to wear the shorts and the shoes...and I am FAR from being an expert.  I just do it because I think it's a fun way to get my cardio in. I bought the shoes and shorts because I believe paying the money for the right equipment, is better than paying the money to see a doctor when you are injured later.  Also, I'm cheap, so if my brain tries to make excuses for why I shouldn't go to spin class, I think about the money I invested in the shoes and the shorts and tell my brain to stop wasting my money.  

Thanks to my shorts, my shoes, good form, and a tight core, I don't have the pain I used to have from spin class.

If you have any questions about spinning (or preventing the hurt) feel free to ask and I will help to the best of my ability.  If I can't help you, I know a lot of people who can. Hope you give it a try.

Black-Bean Scramble

I find typical breakfast food BORING and I like to try to mix it up.  Many times I eat non-breakfast things for breakfast.  I recently started making this black bean scramble for breakfast.  It's quick, easy, full of protein and I love it.  It's even easier if you have your veggies pre-cut.

Now, if you have been reading this blog, you know I don't really use measurements.  honestly, I'm just too lazy.  I just eyeball everything according to my appetite or how many people are eating.

Ingredients:
black-beans
green peppers
green onions
egg-whites
salsa

First I spray a bot of cooking spray in a pan  to heat the black beans and green peppers.

When those are heated through I add my liquid egg whites and chopped green onions:

When that's cooked, I plate it and top it with salsa.  I don't even know if salsa is considered "clean", but I don't even care.  I can't quit salsa!

Like I said.  Simple. Quick. Delicious!