The Terrors of the Night

For as long as I can remember I have had this awful fear of the dark.

Most children grow out of this silly fear, but not me.

It has gotten better over the years.  I no longer sleep with a nightlight

(which I’m pretty sure I still did all through high school…embarrassing, ugh.)

I still do not like to be alone in the dark, it is what it is…

So, it makes sense that I do not run in the dark.

My marathon training schedule tells me that I must go

10 miles for my long run this week.

Which is just fine and dandy except for the fact that I am so busy this weekend

that it is impossible for me to squeeze it in.

I came to terms with the fact that I would just have to do it Friday morning before work.

Which means I would have to head out at 5:00am and it doesn’t start to get light until about 5:45am. 

45 minutes running in the dark!  Eeek!

I pushed the fear of being abducted out of my mind

and went for it!

It actually wasn’t too bad and I actually learned a few things along the way!

Here is what I learned.

1. Our town needs more street lights!  If it were up to me, the sidewalks would be lit up like a Christmas tree.

2. I am more paranoid in the dark than I had originally thought.  I almost assaulted an innocent bush with my pepper spray thinking it was a potential attacker LOL.  I’m still laughing about that!  Though, I am happy to say that I did not accidentally spray myself in the face like I had originally feared…

3.  90% humidity is no joke even if the sun is not out!  At the end of my run I resembled something close to a wet dog.  Not a good look…

4. The side walk becomes the enemy!  I once thought we were friends, but after stumbling over its rough terrain in the dark this morning, I realized it was trying to do me in!

5. I normally welcome a light spray from random sprinklers to cool me off, but when you don’t see them coming it can be quite startling.  I may have looked like I was punched in the face by an invisible fist to people driving by…

6.  I didn’t know that my town had such a plethora of active wildlife so early in the morning.  Things like bunnies darting out of nowhere at my feet, bats swooping down from the sky at me and GIANT man eating raccoons who obviously were not afraid of me.  It was like running trough a damn video game with the goal “don’t get eaten!”  One good thing though was that the geese in the park who normally harass me, were nowhere to be found!  I must have thrown them off by not going out at my usual time.  Take that geese!

7. I had no idea, but there are tons of active people in my town!  While it was still dark out I saw numerous hospital workers riding their bikes to work.  And once the sun came out, giant groups of speed walking women seemed to appear out of nowhere!  They were speed walking about as fast as I was running LOL! (shame L)  Then all the other runners appeared!  I even put my hand up to a passing lady and she responded with a high-five!  Woop woop!

8. Watching the sunrise was my favorite part.  Not just because it meant that I made it though the dark alive (which I’m not going to lie, was definitely part of it), but because it was so beautiful.  It is so peaceful watching nature wake up.  I would have taken a picture, but I was afraid if I stopped running, my legs wouldn't start up again haha.

What things have you learned from your runs?

What time of day is your favorite time to head out for a run?

The Bachelorette Party

Busy.  Busy.  Busy.

My life has been a blur over the past few weeks!

Between 4^th of July weekend, my friend’s bachelorette party this past weekend

and now her wedding this coming weekend, July has disappeared before my eyes!

…Along with my good eating habits…ugh!

I have still been getting my runs in,

but my inner fat girl has been in charge when it comes to what has

been going in my mouth.

The day of the bachelorette party started out great!

I got my 9 mile run in bright and early and had a

super healthy smoothie for breakfast (thanks to

my awesome sister Emma!)

The itinerary for the day was to meet at the bride’s sister’s house

and take a party bus to a Detroit Tiger’s game.

Any time there is a party bus involved,

you know you’re in trouble!

After the 2 hour drive to the maid of honor’s house

I was starving!

I don’t know how it is for everyone else, but on long run days,

I feel like I am constantly hungry!

This unfortunately, was one of those days.

Lucky for me, Libby had a very healthy spread of food laid out

and she is also gluten free, so she actually had food I could eat!

There was a wonderful berry salad,

A veggie tray with hummus and a delicious herbed cheese,

and a cheese platter with yummy hard cheeses.

The signature drinks were Moscow Mules.

If you have never had one, you best be trying them this weekend!

I will put the recipe at the bottom of the page.

There were also panty shaped cookies with pink icing…

I avoided the cookies obviously because being gluten challenged like I am,

I cannot eat anything yummy.

I was eyeing the cookies all afternoon thinking to myself,

“just one cookie won’t hurt, right?”

Then my better sense would kick in…

“of course one cookie will hurt you, idiot!”

UGH!

But then someone made the mistake of informing me that the cookies were

GLUTEN FREE!

That’s when everything went to hell.

I probably ate 10 cookies!

I’ve never been that person who can just eat one cookie.

For those of you who can, I hate you!

But apparently when I am denied cookies for so long

I eat them in excess….

My friend even put cookies in her purse so I would not be tempted

by gluten at the game.

I’m still laughing about this!

Well her plan didn’t work.

I don’t know what inning it was, but I was so hungry I was about to eat my arm off!

After numerous adult beverages,

all logical judgment went out the window…

I grabbed a friend who was not very aware of my gluten situation,

and we snuck off in search of food.

All I wanted all day was a hot dog.

Yuck, I know, but a hot dog is a must at a baseball game!

I ate the hot dog, bun and all!

It was glorious!

The feeling of a rock sitting in my stomach,

that I am still experiencing 3 days later,

is not glorious... ugh…

Being gluten free is hard work!

Everyone has some hiccups like this right?

I just have to learn from my mistakes

and remember how crappy I feel after making them.

I must remember this when they bring out the cake

at the wedding next weekend!

How do you stick to your diet in situations like this?

How do you get back on track after long weekends like this?

Where Have All the Weekends Gone?

Oh how I love weekends…

I live for them!

Especially weekends during the summer months.

Long, hot days and nice warm evenings.. ahhh…

It’s so nice to wake up on Saturday morning,

get my long run in and have the rest of the day

to do whatever I want.

And then I look at my calendar

and realize I don’t have a free weekend

until August!  Ugh.

Between the upcoming holiday,

cook outs, bridal showers, bachelorette parties

and weddings…oh the weddings!

We have 5 weddings to attend this summer!

Don’t get me wrong.  I love weddings and everything

that goes along with them, but all of these

events make it hard for me to get my long runs in!

Do I try to squeeze my run in after work during the week

or do I get up extra early on Saturday morning,

log my miles and then proceed with the

wedding festivities into the wee hours

of the night?

The bride is my beautiful friend Cortney.  We are to the right dancing in the background lol.

Talk about exhausting!!

Then there’s the food!

With all of these events, come mass quantities of food

and adult beverages, of course!

It’s hard enough to keep myself in check

with all of this deliciousness is available to me,

but then throw Celiac disease in there and it becomes a nightmare!

I’m usually very good about figuring out what

I can and cannot eat…

but after a few cocktails, my judgment

becomes impaired and I usually end up glutened…ugh.

Come Monday morning I feel like this….

Not ideal…

I would love to hear about everyone else’s summer plans!!

How do you plan to keep yourself healthy and in check?

Times Are A Changin'

Change…ugh.  I hate change!

This is not a good trait to possess. 

How I wish I were that “go with the flow” kinda girl…

But I’m not.

I envy those of you who are.

Imagine all of the stress I wouldn’t have about things that don’t matter.

That’s right, they don’t matter.

Ahhhh….breathe the big sigh of relief…

I am not currently breathing that relief.

Quite the opposite actually.

I was told today that my favorite fitness instructor,

and friend, will not be teaching at my gym anymore.

I am devastated.

I may have had a mini tantrum…

Cardio Fusion has been a staple in my

workout routine for about a year and a half now.

I knew I could always count on Melinda

to give me a great workout every Tuesday and Thursday.

The other days of the week are running days

or rest days.

Being a creature of habit,

this was a very good thing for me!

I’m “that person” who has “my spot” in class.

Obnoxious, I know…

If someone happens to take it, I pretend it’s not a big deal,

but I’m really throwing myself a secret pity party in my head.

Well, now I have no spot because I have no class.

I should take this as an opportunity to try

bigger and better things!

Like lifting weights more often for instance!

I have been wanting to get more serious

about lifting for awhile now, but just have not had the time

between Cardio Fusion and running.

Carpe Diem!  Right?!

Small breaths of relief…baby steps..

I do need some other ideas to spice up

my cardio routine though…

Any input would be great!!

Fun Facts About Me A-Z!

Today I have seen multiple people post

this survey to their blog and it

seems like too much fun not to copy them :)

So, in case you were wondering if I prefer gummy bears

over gummy worms... read on!

A. Attached or single?

Attached.  I have a great guy named Mac.

Yes, just Mac, not short for anything. 

He’s quite a catch if I do say so myself ;)

B. Best friend

Mac is my best friend, but I feel like this

doesn’t count and could possibly make people gag.

Does my dog Olive count?

No, that just makes me sound sad…

My true best friend would be this girl pictured here…

Her name is Kileigh (didn't she make a beautiful bride?).  

She is seriously the craziest

person I have ever met!

There is truly nobody else on the planet

like her.

I can always count on her for a good laugh.

Plus, she is my biggest fan! 

Always telling me nonsense about how

wonderful I am.

I mean hell, I’ll take it!

But, like I said… she’s crazy!

Oh yeah, and she has also started

her journey to get healthy and is

down 7 pounds!!

Woot woot!  Go Ki!!

 C. Cake or pie?

Well, I have recently been

diagnosed with Celiac Disease (gluten challenged as I like to call it).

My boyfriend calls it “my eating disorder” HA!

Anyways, I can no longer indulge in the

goodness of cake and pie.

What I wouldn’t do for a piece of either right now!

Sure, there are gluten free options,

but they just aren’t the same.

Long sigh……….

D. Day of choice?

Saturday of course!  1 full day of nothing but fun!

And it’s my long run day,

so I get to feel like a badass!

E. Essential item?

Can I choose multiple?

Running shoes of course!  Without them I wouldn’t get too far.

A dependable hair tie.  The kind that can

hold up this mop of hair…

Another very important item is Body Glide.

All I have to say is chaffing…ugh…

And of course my iPhone!

Oooppps, that was a lot more than one..

F. Favorite color?

Pink!  Duh..

G. Gummy Worms or Bears?

Well, it depends…

If they are the bright worms with the sour sugary stuff,

I want them!

If they are the Haribo brand bears,

I want them!

H. Home town

Sturgis, MI.

Land of the Amish and cornfields…

Yes, these signs do exist...

I. Favorite indulgence?

Ice cream…froyo…sorbet…

I will eat them all!

I often tell Mac that one day I’m just going to eat

dreamy, frozen treats all day long

and that’s it!

He thinks I’m nuts..

J. January or July

How is this even a question?

Who in their right mind would pick snow over

glorious sun?!

Also, one of my favorite holiday’s happens in July!

K. Kids?

Not real sure how I feel about them yet…

Does the dog count?

M. Marriage date?

Who knows…

Big sigh….

N. Number of brothers and sisters?

2 beautiful younger sisters!

O. Oranges or Apples?

Apples, especially Honey Crisp!

Oranges are too much work…

P.  Phobias?

Spiders, snakes and peach fuzz.

Yes, peach fuzz.

Weird, I know…eeek! 

Gives me shivers just thinking about it!

Q. Quotes?

“What if the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about?” –Unknown

R. Reasons to smile?

The health of my loved ones and myself.

S. Season of Choice?

Summer of course!

T. Tag 5 people.

Everyone!

U. Unknown fact about me?

I have 1 partially webbed toe…

V. Vegetable?

So many to choose from!

Probably, asparagus.

W. Worst habit?

Picking at my fingernails.

It drives Mac CRAZY!

X. Xray or Ultrasound?

I don’t understand this question…

I’ve had multiple broken bones, so xray I guess…

Y. Your favorite food?

Mexican!

Chicken tacos, enchiladas…

YUM, YUM, YUM!

All in corn tortillas, of course.

Z. Zodiac sign?

I’m a Pisces.

Apparently that means that I am

-Compassionate

-Adaptable

-Accepting

-Devoted

-Imaginative

-Oversensitive

-Indecisive (oh yes! I am the most indecisive person on the planet!)

-Self-pitying (what!? LOL)

-Lazy

-Escapist

Interesting….Is it bad that more of the negative

characteristics are the most accurate?   

I would love to hear your answers to some of these!

Sweat Pink Ambassador

I'm so happy and proud to announce that I received an e-mail last night saying that I have been chosen to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador!  

This is their mission:

We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick.

I'm so proud to be a part of such a positive community!  I even had a friend text me earlier today thanking me for being her inspiration and giving her the tools she needed to lose weight.  She is down 7 pounds in 2 weeks!  It makes me feel really great!  Hopefully I can keep up the good work and continue to inspire others!

Indecisive Me

So, lately I’ve been entertaining the idea of signing up for my first marathon.  It’s a very scary thought and sounds absolutely insane, right?!  This brings me to the question, “am I really a runner?”  I have been running for a few years now and have completed 2 half marathons.  My goal was just to finish both, which I did jogging very slowly mind you. But, I finished!  I thought that after I completed 13.1 miles I would surely feel like a runner.  Yet somehow I still don’t consider myself one.  People will ask me “well, you’re a runner right?” and I just can’t respond with “yes!” 

My idea of a runner is someone who does it with seemingly no effort.  They can hit the pavement each morning without even thinking about it.  How can some people just be born with this amazing talent?  I, on the other hand, have to get myself in the right frame of mind to get out there.  Some days I get out there and feel awesome.  Like I could run for days and when I finish 8 miles, I’m barely winded.  Then there are the days that I feel like I’m dragging anchors behind me and I can barely make it 2 miles.  Ugh, I hate those days!  Surely real runners never feel like that…

I first got into running because I thought runners were some of the coolest people on earth.  You are a true badass when you can just go out and run 10 miles like it’s nothing.  Like this man that lives in my neighborhood for instance.  He literally runs 10 miles every day!  Without music!  (Yet another reason I do not consider myself a real runner.  I MUST have music. Very LOUD music.  So loud that I cannot hear my breathing or feet hitting the pavement.)  If I see him coming when I’m out running I straighten up and try to not look like I’m dying haha!  I’m a freak, I know. 

I saw him out this past weekend at my boyfriend and I’s favorite brewery.  So, I decided to ask him what he thought about me signing up for a marathon.  He responded with “Don’t do it!”  Mr. I Run Like A Gazelle was telling me how he hates marathons!  How could this be?!  He said that I don’t have to run a marathon to prove that I’m a runner. (Oh, but I think I do…) This really made me rethink whether I want to actually do this or not.  Yet his friend that was with him chimes in with “oh you should do it for sure!”  This man has run multiple Ultra Marathons.  I also have a few other friends that said they really enjoyed their first marathon.  I’m so confused at this point. 

How am I supposed to know if I’m ready for a full marathon?  I am right on schedule with training and my time is even improving without me even trying (which is amazing to me!)  But, what if I have a bad day on race day?  What if I have to stop and walk?  What if I just can’t finish?  But, then again, what if I do finish and it’s the most amazing experience of my life?  I’m just too indecisive!  Ugh!

Mystery Symptoms

Good morning!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!  Mine was nice and relaxing.  I may have overindulged a little bit, but still managed to squeeze 9 miles in!

Since May is Celiac Disease awareness month and all, I wanted to go ahead and share my story with you.  Hopefully I can help someone get the diagnosis they have been looking for!

I have struggled with stomach issues for as long as I can remember.  I would be bloated and uncomfortable from the time I woke up in the morning, until the time I went to bed at night.  I went to the doctor one time in college about it and she said it sounded like IBS.  She wrote me a prescription for it and on my way I went.  I gave the meds a try, but they didn’t help.  I just came to terms with the fact that this was just the norm for me.

Shortly after that trip to the doctor, I noticed that my fingernails were not looking quite right and were becoming painful.  The part at the tip of the nails, where they connect to the skin underneath, was starting to detach and recede! So, I went back to the doctor.  I was told that it was a nail fungus (eww!)  She wrote me a prescription for an anti-fungal.  After finishing a few courses of different anti-fungal meds and seeing absolutely no improvement, I gave up.  I have been wearing nail polish every day since trying to hide my embarrassing fingernails.  Mind you, this was over 6 years ago!

Next (yes the list of symptoms keep on coming) I started having pain in my right hip.  It would come and go and at first it wasn’t really bad, just a bit uncomfortable.  Then it got so bad I could barely put any weight on the leg and would walk with a terrible limp.  Once again, I went back to the doctor.  They did x-rays and ran tests and everything came back normal.  I was given a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and sent on my way.  I didn’t even bother filling the rx, because I knew that it would not help.  Here I was, in my twenties, and falling apart!

The most recent issue was swollen lymph nodes under my right arm pit.  This scared the crap out of me because breast cancer runs in my family.  I went back to the doctor (mind you I was seeing different doctors, so this wasn’t just one idiot!) I ended up having blood work done, a mammogram, an ultrasound and an MRI done.  And of course, yes, you guessed it, they all came back normal!  How could this be!?

I decided to do some research myself, since no doctors were willing to get to the bottom of this.  I kept coming across Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance.  The more I read about it, the more symptoms matched mine.  But wait, wasn’t gluten intolerance that made up disease? What does it even mean anyways? I used to wait tables and I would come across the dreaded gluten intolerant person every so often.  They were the biggest pain in my ass!  Could I possibly be one of them?!  Those thoughts aside, I decided to go gluten free to see if any of my symptoms improved.  Low and behold, I started to feel a million times better!  My stomach was no longer crampy and bloated and my hip pain stopped flaring up!  It was amazing!  I had no idea I could feel so good!  I have a friend who is gluten intolerant, so I talked to her about it.  She encouraged me to go get tested. So, that’s what I did. I went in and said that I wanted to be tested for Celiac and any other food allergies or intolerances. I felt I would finally have answers!

Well, the call came from the doctor…everything came back normal once again! How could this be!? I felt a part of me die right then and there.  I thought for sure I had figured out why I was so miserable all of the time.  I was beyond frustrated!  I hung up the phone and cried.  Not because I wanted something to be wrong with me, but because I just wanted to feel good for once!  Then I started to wonder if I was going crazy.  Was I just imagining all of this?  But then I remembered my fingernails!  No, I was NOT imagining it!

Later that day I got a call back from my doctor.  He realized that my tests would not be accurate if I was gluten free, and I had been for quite some time!  He referred me to a GI specialist who told me to get back on gluten for a month and then we would retest.  So I did, and once again felt like crap.  It was worth it though, because I ended up getting the results that I knew would come back!  I have Celiac Disease.  Finally I have answers!

I have been gluten free, with only a couple of slip ups (and oh man did I feel those slip ups) for about 2 months.  I feel fantastic!  No more stomach aches, hip pain or swollen lymph nodes!  My fingernails have even started to heal!!!!! 

Here they are on their way to recovery.  Gross, I know!

I feel ashamed that I was one of those people who thought this was some made up fad diet.  Especially when I see the eye rolls directed at me.  When people make comments like “how do you know you have it?”, or “who says?” or “so you just get a stomach ache?”  No, it’s much more than that.  These comments are hurtful, but can I really blame these people?  I had the same outlook on the disease.  It makes me realize that there needs to be more awareness about it!  Awareness is coming, slowly but surely.

Hopefully this can help change someone’s outlook on Celiac and gluten intolerance or help someone get to the bottom of their “mystery symptoms”.  No you’re not crazy!

If anyone has any questions, please ask me!

XOXO

Halie

To Eat, or Not to Eat?

Happy Friday!!!  Is everyone ready for a long holiday weekend?!  I know I am!  But you know…along with a holiday weekend comes cookouts, drinking and not a whole lot of time for exercise unfortunately. We all just make a little time first thing in the morning to squeeze in a workout, and then we will be good to go!  You will have the rest of the day to do whatever else you may have planned.  Just another thought…instead of making that potato salad that you normally bring to the annual BBQ, why don’t you try making a healthier version or even step outside the box and make something completely different!  There are so many healthy, delicious side dish options out there to choose from!  I challenge you all to do this.  Find a healthy side dish recipe and try it out.  If any of you come across something that is absolutely delicious, please come back and share the recipe with me!  I’ll start!  I plan on making a quinoa salad with black beans and mango.  It sounds too good!  The recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.

Speaking of healthy food choices…that reminds me of a discussion I was having last night after Cardio Fusion class with my AWESOME instructor Melinda!  We were talking about things that we eat in our daily diets and such and came to the question, “what the hell are we supposed to be eating?”  I mean, I make pretty healthy choices from day to day, but what I consider “healthy” may not be considered healthy to someone else.  With all of the information and fad diets out there, how are we supposed to know what is good for us and what isn’t?

First there’s the food pyramid.  You know, that thing we all learned about in school?  The food pyramid is this great visual of what we need to eat on a day to day basis to stay healthy.  Seems like a simple concept right?  Eat these things = healthy you!  Not quite so simple though.  Take me for instance.  I, like so many others out there, have Celiac Disease, which means I cannot eat many of the options in the grains category.  Plus it’s telling me to eat 6-11 servings of the stuff per day!  That seems like a lot, especially if you’re listening to some experts out there who say too many carbs in our diet is bad and you have this pyramid telling us that grains should be the main food group in our diets?  I’m already confused!

The second tier is the fruit and veggie section of the food pyramid.  I personally believe that our diets should mainly consist of this food group.  But, then you come to the question organic or not organic?  The obvious choice is to go organic, right?  Easier said than done.  I, like so many others, do not have unlimited amounts of money to go spend at the grocery store.  And let’s face it, organic produce is quite a bit more expensive that non-organic.  Then people tell me, “oh, but the benefits of eating organic are so worth the price!”  Well sure they are!  But how well off are you if you can’t cook the food because your electric got shut off because you spent your whole paycheck at Whole Foods!?  (Sorry Whole Foods.  I do love you, but come on!  Let’s be real.)  So where does that leave me?  Munching on my pesticide ridden salad, that’s where!

Next you have the protein/dairy tier.  This one I find the most confusing of all!  I grew up drinking milk and eating lean meats like a lot of kids.  Now I’ve got people telling me I’m all wrong!  There are the vegetarian/vegan people who say no meat or no animal products period.  The no meat part is perfectly fine with me.  I’m not a huge fan of land animals, but I do like fish.  Then I’m told not to eat too much fish because of the high mercury levels in it.  So, I decide to get my protein from legumes (the bean family).  Not so fast!  The Paleo diet people (the ones who believe we should eat like cavemen) tell me legumes are bad for me.  So where am I supposed to get my protein from?  Eggs?  No, they are too high in cholesterol they tell me!  So just the eggs whites I guess?  No, animal products are bad for you, remember? UGH!  Dairy is not too hard of a category to give up.  I switched to almond milk (which I love!)  But how does one expect me to give up glorious cheese?  Not gonna happen!  So I guess this leaves me with a diet of cheese?  I don’t think so.

The top tier of the food pyramid is the fats, oils, and sweets (the garbage food category) that we really are not supposed to eat much of.  But let’s face it, we just go ahead and eat it anyway.

So, what does that leave us to eat?  Apparently nothing…we are all just going to starve because we are so confused. I think I even just confused myself even more while typing this up! Hahaha!  If anyone can clear up this mystery of what we should be eating, please let me know!  I would love to hear any feedback or ideas you may have!!

Have a great, safe and semi-healthy Memorial Day weekend everyone!!

XOXO

Halie

Quinoa, Black Bean and Mango Salad:

1 mango, peeled and diced small
1 red pepper, seeded and diced as small as you can get it
1 cup chopped scallions
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 1/2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed (a 15-ounce can)

Combine the mango, red pepper, scallions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, and salt and stir to combine. Add the quinoa and stir until everything is well incorporated. Fold in the black beans.