Little Miss Runner Pants

i just spent very many moneys at my LBS (local bike shop).

and for the record, i just want you all to know that it had nothing to do with Gorgeous Bike Guy, or his five o'clock shadow.

his brilliant smile.

his delicious voice.

or his i have got to stop staring and get a hold of myself really just what i imagine to be flawless body.

nope.
nothing at all.

there was a sale. the entire thing was planned, and in no way is my shopping influenced by the male species.

none what-so-ever.

i just wanted to make that clear. thats all.

carry on....

Posted by a.maria at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)

i just made the find of the CENTURY.

gluten-free donuts --- and they taste good too!!!!

i haven't had a baked good in ages, and until about a week ago... no problem! but suddenly, with the on-set of um... that special week of the month... i need dough. and fast.

i've just spent a week trying to find someting, anything, to quell my need to feed. something to take the place of dough. that texture.. that taste. i've had candy bars (which actually i'm not a huge fan of.) i've downed peanut m&m's (which actually i could probably live on) and nut-thin/potato crackers aplenty.

they just don't get the job done. and i always feel a little sick after, so...

finally last night.. i caved! gluten free baked goods, some store's gotta have 'em -- and have them they did!

KINNIKINNICK CHOCOLATE GLAZED DONUTS.

i bought.
i ate.
i smiled.

i might of even felt a little weak in the knees.

mmmmmmmm!!!

and if i get a run in before crossfit... i might even have another tonight!

Posted by a.maria at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

well THAT sucked.

apparently the jayhawks missed that very important memo that went out this morning... that one about putting the ball in the basket...

cuz that was ugly.

*sigh*

i have a headache. i'm pissed. and i just lost a really good bet.
i'm going to bed.

maybe i'll wake up tomorrow and this will have all been a dream......

Posted by a.maria at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

ok well, quite obviously i think one thing needs to be said...

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, bitches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that game had me outta my seat for sure. and this morning my throat hurts a wee bit (i best not be gettin sick!) but damn if we ain't headin to the ELITE EIGHT!

kurt, m'dear. UNC best bring their game face cuz we ain't goin down without a fight!

(and yes. i just used the word "ain't" twice already. its just that kinda day folks, its just that kinda day!)

in other news...

i'm seriously considering getting a dog.

and thats about all i got for today. have a great weekend folks, and i'll catch ya on the flip side!

Posted by a.maria at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

i don't know how you people do it.
i really dont.

a few months ago, back in the dead of winter, i slowly.... s-l-o-w-l-y started easing myself into a wanna-be triathlete train-up. every once in a while i'd swim. even less frequently i'd run and on days where God was shining down upon me i'd even find my way onto a bike and spin.

though the frequency with which i did any of those things was... well. it wasn't.

triathlon gave me somewhat of a yeah right. like i'm really going to have the follow-through for THAT! pfffft!!! reaction and although i did want to BE a triathlete, i wasn't all that sure i'd be in it for the long haul.

fortunately for me, however, i'm surrounded by endurance-athlete-health-freak-maniacs that are professionals when it comes to peer pressure and... i was weak.

they had me at "sprint distance".

once i decided to get serious, sometime after new years, i knew there were things in my life that would have to change. none of which more so than my diet.

and change it has.

since Lent i've given up flour. i've actually gone virutally Gluten Free and have, for the most part, loved it. my body has responded relatively quickly, i've lost weight, my energy has gone up and i'm feeling healthier than i think i ever have in my life.
quite literally.

and about two weeks ago.. i turned it up a notch. i sort of remembered i have this half-marathon to train for, at the same time the weather took a turn towards warm, and my run/bike/swim/crossfit became an almost 7 days a week thing.

since then?

i've been hungry.

i mean i've been hungry.

healthy eating, wise nutritional choices... yeah they're great and all, but my God people. i am just always hungry. and its not for lack of food, because along with just always being hungry??

i am always eating.

my days can be broken up into three parts.... preparing food to be eaten. eating said food. thinking of what food i will next prepare.

and thats it. those are my days.

i've virtually given up perusing the middle aisles of the grocery store. i stay on the outer edge, buying fruits vegetables and meats aplenty and its been great. its been fantastic. but ya know what? its been expensive!
and damn if i'm not continually surprised by the amount of food i'm capable of eating while still getting on that scale once a week and seeing the numbers go down.

now i know my body will adapt. i know this will all become the norm, in a month or so it won't be like this, but right now.. i'm hungry.

i am always hungry.

and at 1:24pm... my current time... the only thing on my mind is damn. i've gotta run/swim tonight. and huh. i wonder what's for dinner...

Posted by a.maria at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBacks (0)

i'm busy and scatterbrained this week. i have a lot going on, a lot under the surface. a lot on top of the surface. i'm kind of everywhere right now and some might say i'm on the cusp of having too many balls in the air...

but i have two things to say.

one.... i'm loving it.

and two.... thank you.

i had a really good run this week. wednesday i got my garmin out for the first time in... a long time. figured it was about time i figured out how slow i'm actually running, so i can stop convincing myself i'm still running's next big thing, and...

turns out maybe how slow was the wrong choice of words. i ran pretty fast.

for me, i ran pretty damn fast. and somewhere, right around the 2.5 mile mark, i started to get all kinda dorky mushy proud of myself.

i was running to crossfit. its just over 3 miles away and on nice warm days.. i like to run there. and its exhausting, crossfit after running, but...i try my best not to miss it. i try, not just because its a good work out. not just because i am so close to that damn pull up, because i desperately want to have visible triceps or i might have found something i'm actually better than other people at... (balance. i might be better than some at balance. which isn't saying much but damn if i won't take it!)

i like to go there because of all the other people that go there.

my crossfit people. my kcm people. my friends, fellow athletes, amazing inspiring really supportive people that i like to surround myself with. people i feel i finally belong with... i like to go there to be with them.

but on my 2.5 mile run... looking down at my garmin, checking my pace and seeing it still, still hovered around 10:30, i knew they wouldn't get it. i knew being proud of a 10:30 run, the kind of proud i was, the kind of disbelief sappy proud... i knew they wouldn't get it.

because they didn't know me then.

they wouldn't know what it means. they wouldn't understand how far i've come. how much i've worked to be a better athlete... a better person.

and for a split second i thought... damn. if only i had someone to share this with.

and thats when i thought of you. my RBFamily. my friends, fellow athletes, amazing, inspiring, supportive people that would get it. that have been there, and that will understand my pride in a 31:27 3-mile run.

and i just felt thanks.

i felt thanks. and i didn't know how to say it then, and i guess i don't really know how to say it now... besides just saying... thank you. for inspiring me. supporting me. listening to me rant and rave and coming back for more.

regardless of how amazing and fantastic the people in my life are right now... you've been there from the beginning.

and i just wanted to say thanks.

Posted by a.maria at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by a.maria at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

if you ever wonder what i do while at work (besides... work. obviously) let me clue you in.

i love this guy.

and if you love college basketball (or.. just basketball in general) and don't know who bill simmons is... get yourself to readin', cuz its some good stuff.

now, i don't always agree (because obviously durant is my team's arch nemesis and must be squashed like a bug) but damn if the man don't make me laugh!

in other news.. i've got an afternoon bike ride lined up and... i'm not gunna lie... i'm gettin' kinda nervous. its been a few months since i was out on the roads and although i've been spinning all winter.. mostly.. its just not the same.

this is the real thing.

actual hills. actual wind.

cars to not run into, curbs to not run off of.

its the real. thing.

when i get tired i can't just stop.
when i stop, i can't just leave my feet in the clips.
when i clip in and out, i have to actually balance my bike.

i'm not sure, but i think there's a good chance i might forget one or more of those things. which could very possibly lead to a somewhat unfortunate experience.

so we'll see. but i have a funny feeling there's something about biking i might be forgetting.. and that doesn't bode so well for me!

Posted by a.maria at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

crossfit workout of the day...

four rounds for time:
400m row
400m run

i mean really. seems a little overboard on the cardio side to me, don'cha think?!?! jeez....

Posted by a.maria at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

in all the time i've been running.. which is something like 21 months now (wow sad. i really am still the newbie!).. i've never been one to run with someone.

i mean, i've done it. and sometimes i've enjoyed it... but to be perfectly honest, i've just never really.. i dunno. needed it. i'm just a loner! i like running by myself, its kinda nice. i can clear my head out, enjoy some music and be on my merry way.

i don't need someone to run with... i'm with me! and i like it that way!

but ya know what?!?

that's a load of crap.
i mean really.

and proof of that, for me, came yesterday. in the shape of Bank Girl, and our after-work run.

Bank Girl is somewhat new to running. a lover of all things bike, Bank Girl has recently shown some interest in the sport and seems to have this idea in her head that i might be someone fun to run with.

i dunno where she got that idea from, but.. being that i'm "training for a half-marathon" this month, i need all the reasons to run i can get!

so yesterday, around 5:15pm, i met up with Bank Girl at her all too lovely home for a "slow jog". slow being a relative term as i had a definite fear that the run would consist of me sucking wind just trying to keep up.

but.. surprisingly enough... it didn't!

bank girl and i seemed to have been a perfect match. right from the get-go our pace was exact. i never once felt like she was holding back just so i could keep up, nor did i feel like she was holding me back from my regular speed-demon-esque ways.

or lack there of...*ahem*

it was actually a perfect run. we chatted, we laughed. we ran up hills, we ran down them. we stopped at crosswalks and sped through intersections...

we were little running partners. and i loved it.

on the way back to her house sometime after our turn-around, bank girl needed to slow down. and then later... she needed to stop. and to me? that was no big deal.

i could have kept going, sure. i kinda wanted to keep going just to enjoy the company and get a few more miles in... but she needed to rest, and i was fine with that.

and thats when i got to thinking...
maybe i've been giving this whole running partner thing a bad wrap. maybe i've been scared of a situation i just created in my head... maybe before, i was just too proud to say "when". too embarrassed to admit i needed a break or that i couldn't keep up. i told myself i didn't like running partners as a way to just avoid the situation completely.

to me... i never knew. i never knew it was no big deal. slowing down, speeding up.. thats part of it. that's the together part of running together... and...

that's a good thing! that's something to look forward to.

running partners might just be brilliant. running partners might put a whole new fun spin on things and... i don't know about you, but..

i could get used to that!

Posted by a.maria at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)

i know, i know. a little overboard with the header.

but you know i love my hawks!! i just had to!

BEAK 'EM hawks, BEAK 'EM!
and bring on the madness, baby.

MARCH madness!! yahoooooooooooooo!!!!

Posted by a.maria at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

a convo with bold, after thursday night spin...

a.maria: i changed my mind.
lvglrg: on what?
a.maria: i hate spin.
a.maria: more than run.
lvglrg: WHAT?
lvglrg: what happened
a.maria: i think my legs are going to fall off.
a.maria: my car got hit in the parking lot 3 weeks ago. so i couldn't go to spin. then i was out of town. then last week my car was in the shop... so i haven't been for 3 weeks.
a.maria: i went back today.
a.maria: i almost died.
lvglrg: well, there's a message in there for you

...low grumble.....

a.maria: shut up. i hate you.
lvglrg: hehe

hmpf.

if i had any energy what-so-ever, i'd find the inventor of the bike
... and punch him in his no-no parts.

Posted by a.maria at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)