Accomplished and exhausted

Remember in January how instead of making an over-arching resolution, I challenged myself to 101 goals in 1,001 days?? Well, today I knocked down my 20th goal, with 888 days still remaining.

The 55th goal I made for myself in January (and what I've been actively aiming for, without actually trying) is to run a 5K (just over three miles) in under 30 minutes. Back in my prime high school days I used to run cross country. At my best, I finished at 22 minutes. Mind you, I only ran to get in shape for basketball so I wasn't really a distance runner, but I do like running.


Over the past few months I've been wanting to get back there, but haven't really put forth the effort in order to attain that result. Well, the past few weeks I've been trying to run again, adding on a half mile each time. So as you can imagine, my first run started around the block, my second was to the nearby park, then a 1.5 mile loop in that park and before today, I worked all the way up to 2.15 miles. My hopes this afternoon was to run over three miles so that running three miles would be easier the day I actually try to hit the under 30-minute mark.

Once I finished the path I envisioned in my mind, I checked my iPhone's GPS (ps, Map My Run is such a SWEET application!), and I was at 3.25 miles, feeling EXHAUSTED. So I decided to take my warm-down lap. And then checked my phone only to see that I had run my 3.25 miles in.......



.......26 MINUTES!!!!

What?! I wasn't even trying to hit the mark, but I made it! So my goal now is to try and keep that pace and not feel like death the next time. Eventually, I would like to get close to that 22-minute mark. Maybe I could even run a 20-minute 5K??? :)

In case you're curious, other goals I've accomplished include: losing 5 lbs, learning my blood type (O+), blogging every day for a month, becoming a dog owner and begin language courses (after becoming fluent in French and studying Spanish in high school, I'm now learning Swedish because J.D.'s family is Swedish).

Super exhausted. But I feel super good and can't wait to get better!!

Lots to put in my mouth

I've been on the multiple small meals per day kick lately.

For breakfast I tried Dannon's new plain Greek yogurt and mixed it with Trader Joe's (loooove that place) Omega 3 Trek Mix which is loaded with cranberries and nuts. Also chopped up a banana at my desk and voilà, breakfast was ready! Oh yeah, I made my own nonfat latte earlier with my French press - frothed the milk in it as well.

But I'm definitely going to get some more of that Greek yogurt. I really like Trader Joe's own flavors, but its kind of high in sugar. However the fig one is taaaaasty.

Then came home for lunch and chowed down on a mini sandwich with sea salt pita chips while playing with my doggie a bit. At work, I packed an apple, 100% fruit juice fruit snacks and a stick of string cheese. You know, having food at my desk all afternoon is kind of a pain. Even though I was still full from lunch, I wanted to eat it ha. But I told myself I couldn't have any more food until 2:30 p.m. and it worked.

I had zero desire to grab crappy food for a snack when I got home too! So that's a big plus for me. After walking Woodstock to take out the trash and get the mail (our complex is weird, the mail center is located in the middle of the condo complex so it's not like I walked my dog five feet to get the mail and then came back in, for those of you who previously had been judging me haha).

Then I went for nearly a two-mile run in the sunshine! It was actually fairly warm outside at 6 p.m. When I came home, I was beat. But I pulled out some flank steak we'd been storing in the freezer and lathered it in lavender pepper and some garlic salt.

I grilled the steaks on the stove with some onions and peppers, made cilantro lime rice and had...... FAJITAS for dinner! We wrapped them in whole wheat tortillas and chopped up a quarter of a watermelon on the side. Nothing says summer is just around the corner like a fresh watermelon :)

It was delicious! As a reward for all my good work (or, maybe canceling out all my hard work?), I had some Breyer's double-churned ice cream with chocolate hard shell on top!

I'm really going to try to stick with this regimen too. Wish me luck :) But it feels good! And my goal is to get back to running a 5K in less than 30 minutes. So far, I'm averaging between a 9-10 minute mile. Which isn't terrible, but it's also not the 22:00 it took me to run three miles back in my cross country glory days ;)

101 in 1001

Thank you, Meghan, for appealing to the OCD in me and getting me started on the 101 in 1001 project.

The 101 in 1001 project is a realistic list of 101 things you'd like to accomplish in 1,001 days (about 2.7 years).

Some common goal setting tips from the website are as follows:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Here's my 101 in 1001. Obviously, I still have a few more to fill out :)