Maykeover...not so much

I HAVE ZERO ENERGY! GAH! I seriously have not exercised for a few days now, and I feel even MORE sluggish! Plus we were puppy sitting, and these doggies had me up EARLY because they needed time to adjust to each other, and were therefore up at 5:30am Friday, 6:10am Saturday (My sleep in till 7:30 day) and 6:30am on Sunday (My REALLY sleep in till 9am day!), so yea, I'm TIRED! (But the pictures and snuggle naps were precious!)

*May*keover advice: Eating out.

- It's really hard to eat out and stay healthy. Many factors render this a lofty task (Can you TELL I just handed in my thesis!?). One factor, which I think is the most important factor, is the unknown. Do you KNOW your chicken was grilled and not basted in butter/fattening oil? Do you know if that dressing is low calorie/fat? Do you know how much cheese they really put on the salad? When you read the book "Eat This Not That", it really opens your eyes. Did you know Panera Bread is one of the most unhealthy places to eat...EVER! I went there about a month ago, and was taking a while to order. This is how the conversation went:

Employee: "Can I help you pick something out?"

Me: "I'm trying to find the healthiest thing on the menu." (Thanks NYC for posting calories on EVER MENU!)

Employee: "Ha ha, you'll find good food but you won't find healthy food here."

I got a sandwich and ate half of it. I mean REALLY?! A place that boasts whole grains and natural ingredients should at LEAST TRY to be healthy! It's a miserable story, because I really love Panera...and the muffie is over 250 calories! SAD DAY! And Starbucks, well, don't even get me started. SKIM MILK is the way to go; if you complain that you don't like it, get used to it, or get a coffee based drink like an americano.

So the moral of this story is: WATCH OUT WHEN YOU EAT OUT! Don't be afraid to order things on the side. I serve tables on the weekends, and trust me, people are specific for STUPID reasons. Why not be specific for a GREAT reason! Be careful about the following:

1. Dressings. Any dressing can range from 10 calories (unlikely in a restaurant) to 150 calories per serving (Usually 2 tablespoons!) And the creamier it is, the worse off you are! Balsamic balsamic balsamic! Go for straight balsamic, it's tasty!
2. Get GRILLED....I know that breaded chicken avocado wrap looks AMAZING, but it's not worth the calories. Once in a while? Sure. But keep it to once in a very long while ;-)
3. Go for the skim latte...better yet, an americano with a fancy syrup.
4. If you go out, eat half then bring the rest home! Or, do what I do, and share a meal with someone!!! (Just tip a little extra....I hate people who under order because they're cheap!)
5. Most of all, EAT IN! Cook for yourself. We try to cook for ourselves even though we love eating out. I always feel better after eating the food *I* make vs. a restaurant. You always end up eating too much.

And finally: I HANDED IN MY THESIS!!! I graduate on May 28, it's going to be legend...wait for it...dary!

*May*keover 3!

For those of you who don't know the origin of my blogging, here it is: The *May*keover! It has begun again. I'm sorry for not posting in April/the beginning of May, but it's not too late to start! Look at the link for some of the rules. I have adjusted some of them:

- If you need to eat something like sweets or drink alcohol etc, try doing it one-two times a week!

- Once a week, try a two a day! (Workout morning and night)

- Take vitamins!

I also have been using this to become a better "housewife", or home caretaker! My big *may*keover step: Washing dishes as I cook! I don't sit down to eat until MOST of them are done! It's been working out well, and I think, SHOCK, I like it!

Sorry it's so late, still don't know if people read this...let's see how it goes!

The half marathon - that was not :-(

First of all, I met me idol Ann Curry. She's one heck of a lady and nicest person. That lessens the sad story about to be told...

DISAPPOINTMENT does not begin to describe this day. All this week we had BEAUTIFUL weather, 60-70's and sunny. And today? Raining. A LOT. And cold, like 47 feels like 44. And it's 11am. Therefore, my 8am start time temperature was 44 degrees feels like 41. And raining. I'm extreme, but I'm not that extreme. And I'm SO disappointed. Ugh. Can't fight it, I just have to accept it. (I write this as I stare at my race outfit hung over my kitchen chair and my gu packets sitting my table...AGH)

At least I got a great goody bag out of the wasted $55.

On to better and greater things. What should I do when despondent and sad? Look for other races! So, I'm doing a tristate search, because NYC is anti race in the summer, and for good reason. (It's gross and hot and pavement simmers and sizzles at 9am!) So, here are a few I'm looking at:

Amica Half Marathon June 6

X-treme Scramble Series in Hartford (I'd only go to 2 out of 3, I'm not out of school until June 28!)

New York Dash and Splash July 10 (10k)

ING NYC Marathon (11.7.10) or ING Hartford Marathon (10.9.10)

Yes, folks, it's true. MARATHON without the world "half" is at the end of that list. No jokes about this one. The husband gave the ok, I'm going to get the ok from a Dr. (Which shouldn't be hard because I'm healthy as a horse), and it's ON! Here's the reason there's two options for the big "M":

- I have a family friend who works for ING in their marathon foundation department. Last year she got my good friend in to the NYC marathon. When she heard I was a runner too, she said she would've gotten me in as well! I asked if I could do it this next year, and she said yes. Well, we've contacted her to no avail, she keeps saying she doesn't know yet. If it's a no, just tell me no! If she can't do it, I'll be totally fine, but hey, I would KILL to be in the NYC marathon! It's a dream. Unless all my bloggers want to pay my $2500 charity entry fee, it's only going to happen through this contact.

- IF I am unable to do the NYC big "M", I will go with the close second Hartford big "M". This would also be a big deal because it's in my hometown and I would have a great support system (5 brothers and sisters and 12 nieces and nephews BETTER represent! ;-) ) So, I won't be disappointed if I do the Hartford Marathon, I would just still have the illustrious ING NYC Marathon hanging over my goals in life still ;-)

Ok, that's enough contemplation for now. So, final thought: I am running a marathon in the fall.

AND SO IS MY FRIEND LAURIE! Congrats girl!

3rd half marathon....4th is 3 weeks away!

It's done!!! Here are the specks:

2:06.17 PR

THAT'S RIGHT! This girl got a GARMIN!

I ran it with my sister, as well as my friend Tristan! We had a great time. My cheer crew, Drew, Sarah, Melissa, and Bella were AMAZING! It was a lot of loops through Flushing Meadow Park, ironically the park next to where I TEACH! So, our cheer crew saw us 6 times I think, it was amazing!

What a struggle. I had bad allergies for 2 weeks beforehand, and wasn't training well with Claritan. UGH I was so dizzy! But God is good - I shaved 9 minutes off of my first one! (My Garmin had us at 13.1 2/10-3/10 before the finish! UGH!) So I have two finishing times...I like my Garmin's time better ;-)

I lost my sister Jen just before the race, because she decided to warm up, then go to the bathroom - it was like *I* was the older sister! I was so stressed! Thankfully, when I left my waiting spot to use the bathroom, some nice lady in line showed me how to set my goal pace on my Garmin! 9 min miles for me...it basically happened! I didn't find Jen till 2 miles in...of course the passed me (Her amazing time was 1:55!). She jokingly told me afterwards that I didn't hear her calling me for a minute or so, she tried all my nicknames and everything! (Trust me, I can hear the McAuliffe voice a MILE away!) But she finally found me, as did Tristan a mile later.

The race was great, 65 degrees and sunny! Got a bit of color. It's all a blur! Crowd support wasn't great, but my cheer squad was AMAZING! Thanks again guys!

My next half is 3 weeks away. Contemplating the NYC half marathon if I can get in through a connection who works for ING...unless someone wants to donate the $2,600 for me so I can go in on a charity bid! ;-)

More Magazine Fitness Women's half marathon is coming...watch out world, goal is 2:00! There were tears during this one and there will be tears through this one as well! 4 Half Marathons in 1 year is pretty darn good in my opinion.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and well wishes!

Ps. My hubby has been in LA for a week and a half and won't be back till Saturday night = I MISS HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD!

Training and school

So I've been doing some good training. I finally got up to 10 miles; it was slow and steady but I finished! My sister Jen, who is running my April 3 half marathon, has been pushing me to train which has helped my mediocrity! Today is supposed to be a 10 mile run, but it's rainy and gross; therefore the treadmill is a strong possibility which is SO unthrilling. UGH. 6 miles on the treadmill a couple of weeks ago was bad enough; 10 miles?! Almost 2 hours on a treadmill! NOOO!!! We'll see how this even progresses.

School: working/teaching is going well. I've been working "after-school" (Over time) because the pay is ridiculously good and the work is not hard at all. However, this adds 1 1/2 hours to my day, the usual 1 1/2 I use to go to the gym, so I'm really learning what it's like to have a 9-5 job vs. an 8:10-3:07 job!But otherwise it's going well. WE HAD ANOTHER SNOW DAY! It was too good to be true, I had the greatest time cooking, cleaning, working out, reading, it was amazing.

School: College/graduating. I got my grad info yesterday. I'm going to walk for graduation! YEA! I just have to finish this DARN pesky paper! It's looming and I'm slacking. This week I need to step it up. I have to collect a TON of data, which I've been doing semi-annually, but I should be doing it daily. So I'll step it up.

Ok, many goals for this week: Consistently research/collect data. Type it up. Also run 3-4 times this week.

Of to church and to meet my friend's new MORKIE puppy!

This has been a very busy winter!

Just one of MANY pictures of the Bahamas! All in all it was a successful trip. Ran 3 out of 6 days on the old treadmill, but it felt good! Also did a 5 mile walk into "town"! My training has been alright, running about 3 times a week. I crossed the 10 mile mark on Sunday for a long run! School and college and life has been busy. So sorry to leave you all in the dark...but I'm not even sure anyone reads this anymore since I've gotten so bad at posting! All this to say, I'm running, 1/2 marathon is 3 weeks from tomorrow! Watch out world! More posts to follow!

Snow day!

Yes, it's true, NYC public schools had a SNOW DAY! We found out the day before at about 11am. AMAZING feelings of joy! Work Tuesday became so much more doable, and a day off was an answer to LOTS of prayers. I made sure to make the day count.

In good faith, after a WONDERFUL pedicure with my friends Alyssa and Carly, I went to the gym to work out. It. Was. Closed. Really?! REALLY. In a neighborhood where a large majority WALK everywhere?! I had such good intentions. Instead, I was cold and annoyed with the lack of snow removal on the sidewalks. Instead, we cleaned up, dishes and living room, and watched Couples Retreat. Funny. Clever. We're going to the Bahamas, it felt appropriate.

I ran today because my yoga club was cancelled due to next week being vacation (EEK!). I did 6 miles. 3 miles outside, but it was getting dark, so I had to head into the gym to the treadmill. Read some good people magazine. Carney Wilson: GET A GRIP. Poor lady, but come on! Which leads to a question. Even though I don't think I have that many readers...

What do you do for running in the winter? How cold is too cold to run?

I've been doing it to about 30 degrees, but the snow has created a lot of water, which will freeze once the sun goes down. Long runs especially. I'm just treadmill/gym add I think. Oh well.

And I got shoes. New Shoes. Pictures to follow.