Down.

I think I have something called the stomach virus. Nine miles on schedule today and none is done. It doesn't help that the tummy feels empty and I'm generally "limpy" and "soft" all over.
Two thoughts dominate my mind as I lay in bed, blogging from my phone.
1) I need to run the 9 miles.
2) Drinking wine should help, right? Wine has alcohol right, and alcohol kills cooties.... See where I am going with this?
Ugh. I'll go sleep.

Fight the Flab and Germs

It's Thursday - just one more week to Thanksgiving!

I drive a lot when I work. And this is one route that I particularly enjoy.

I love how vast the sky is.

And I really like grey days. I find it melancholically beautiful.

People in the other states make fun of Arkansas.

This may not be California redwoods, but there is beauty here too.

 Eating-wise, I am doing much better.

Eating is such a social thing and it is not easy to just eat clean food everyday, every meal.
But it is a choice. If I eat too much greasy food or empty carbs types of food for one meal,
I NEED to balance it with a light, easy, clean meal afterward.
There is absolutely no need to add grease on grease, right?
Also, you can have a choice within a so-called "fatty meal."
For example, the teachers I work with decided to have a pot-luck soup day yesterday. I got assigned to bring Frito corn chips, while two other teachers/aides brought taco soup and creamy potato soup. The others brought all the fixins' for the soups and desserts.  Now, I cannot just have one soup and not the other's (silly school teacher politics) . But instead of filling my bowl up twice for the two different kinds of soup, I spooned half a ladle-ful for each kind. Instead of covering my taco soup with cheese and corn chips, I actually used less than a spoonful of cheese and less than 6 or 7 corn chips. Instead of getting a hunky piece of yummy cake for dessert, I used a fork and got myself a mouthful serving size. This way, you get to enjoy the social aspect of it and no one will label you as the snooty, don't eat/health nut freak girl.  

Today, I had 2 hardboiled eggs and tea with milk for breakfast.
Lunch was just the school's lunch.
And this is dinner - to compensate for the kinda funky lunch I had.
(Greek yogurt with a drizzle of Arkansas honey, grapes, some mango chunks and 1 Asian pear)

If I am hungry later, I will just make some brothy soup with some chunks of chicken breast and vegetables.

Lastly, I know some of you readers are teachers. Tell me what I can do to minimize getting all the nasty germs from those germy kiddos. I work with preschoolers and I have been trying so hard to teach them to cover when they cough/sneeze. I have some kids who like to mouth crayons/my therapy materials. And even though I have been more diligent about washing and disinfecting, I still get sick.
And I am sick of getting sick.

Today's run was only 1 mile because I was coughing non-stop on the treadmill at the Y. I didn't want to worry that old lady next to me, so I quit after 1 mile.

I came home and took Paddy for a walk, and called it quits when it started getting dark.

So, I welcome any suggestions to keep me sick-free.

Solo 6-miler + Random Thoughts

Hey people, I got out for a run today!
I skipped my morning run because I was feeling goofy from self-medicating last night. Cold medication makes me goofy. It's like my body is here but I have no control over it.
Then I got home from work, and I can't resist lacing up those running shoes and going for an easy run.
Ran outside for 6 miles for 1 hr 08 minutes.
And I think I left my lungs at around Mile 1 and Mile 5.

Random thoughts, anyone?

1. My Paddy Wag has grown.  
2. Sang: "Knick Knack Paddy Whack, give a dog a bone, this old man came rollin' home. ..." 
3. I used to be so scared of dogs. I believe it was my first trip to my boyfriend's dad's house and when I arrived, there were some 5 or 6 dogs just barking and running around. I was scared. I wanted my boyfriend to lift me up and carry me into the house. I told him I can't do it. I told him he is mean for wanting me walk past those dogs. He claims that I said I hate him. But I don't remember that part. Now, we just laugh at my irrational fears. 
4. I need to get better at spitting. 
5. A run is actually pretty good upper respiratory therapy. It loosens up all the congestion.
6. Maybe I should just do 3 miles and be done with it.
7. Spring is going to be here. While I enjoy a pretty spring day, I kinda like my cold morning runs. 
8. RnR New Orleans - I'm really running for fun.  I want to be faster, but I am scared to come up with a time goal because I don't want to get disappointed.
9. I haven't done my fartleks like I am supposed to. :( 
10. I haven't been doing yoga like I am supposed to. :( 
11. If I get trapped overnight at an airport, I would hate to not have a change of clean panties. 
12. The sky is pretty - the sun's setting and the sky has a wash of pink and lavender. 
13. Sing: "I see your true colors shining through. I see your true colors, that's why I love you. So don't be afraid, to let me show your true colors, you're beautiful like a rainbow." 
    So, that rounds up today's run. I felt pretty good. And I really enjoyed this solo run. It was my pace, my random thoughts, my random bursts of bad singing, and I get to change directions at any point in time. And when I was quiet, I was quiet and just enjoyed the silence, without feeling the need to spit something out of my mouth.

You Give Me Fever

When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight.


What was supposed to be an 11-miler was cut short to a 4.5 miler (53 minutes)
My right foot feels funny. It feels like it needed to be popped. I can't pin it to a muscle and it felt like it is the bone. My left knee is acting up just slightly.   And I have been feeling like a crud is about to hit me.  So, Ms. M suggested that I take it easy this week. She said I already have my 10 miles in and I have done my training. The only thing I can do now is "get injured."

Fever.
Fever in the morning.
Fever all through the night.

I came home, took a shower and a nap. When the boyfriend woke up, he told me I look sick. Said I was running a fever.

Everybody's got the fever
That is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago

This is half-marathon fever all right.
In my nap, I had a nightmare (Can it be a nightmare when it is a nap during day time?)
I dreamed that I and some friends were inching closer to the start line at RnR Mardi Gras, and when we crossed the start line, I realized that none of us had picked up our race packets, which means, we don't have our timing chips on our shoes! Imagine the manic panic attack!

Fever if you live, you learn
Fever, till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn.
What a lovely way to burn.