I have not blogged in almost 2 weeks! I’ve mentioned before I have been super busy this Spring.  Coaching 2 youth teams, Taking on new responsibilities at work, running races and playing on sports teams left me with little free time!  And that free time (and some time stolen at work!) has been dedicated to getting a new bloggie up and running! 

So head on over to KateMotivate.com and check it out!

There will be TWO race recaps, my training plan for the next month, a challenge and a cool event recap going up this week!

My first post on the new blog will be going up tomorrow!

Thanks,

Kate N.

My Nike LunarGlides got me through training for my half marathon until mile 12 of the race, when I developed blisters under my toe joints.  I was also having issues with pain on the outside of my foot.  And the cushioning was worn out, so it was time to get them replaced.

Long story short, I have been looking for shoes since March.  Since then, I have been running in Nike Free V5, a minimalist shoe.  Unfortunately, I can’t seem to run more than 6 miles without cramping in my legs.  After much research, trying on, thinking and debating, I chose the Mizuno Rider 13.  I have a neutral stride and a  mid foot strike, basically a runner’s dream stride.  And my nightmare because no one makes shoes for people who run like me.  We are too rare. While I won’t delve deeply into my shoe philosophy today, I have a hard time finding shoes I like.  The FOUR different running stores I went to recommended the Rider.

So yesterday, I bought said shoes.  The lady ringing me up mentioned they did a store run on Thursdays at 7pm.  Seeing as it was 6:45 and I had all my gear and NEW shoes, I joined in!  I ran about 5 miles at a moderate pace (~9:30) on a fairly flat trail.  The last 2 miles were HELL!  My feet were uncomfortable; I had to stop to re tie the shoes 4 times.  My midfoot and top of my foot was burning. I had to take a couple walk breaks. I will say I was NOT properly hydrated for the run but everything else was

I thought that it was transitioning from the minimalist shoe to a more substantial shoe and as the shoe would break in I would feel better

Then I woke up this morning… I have pain in my hips, knees and mostly feet.  Not a sharp pain, but a dull ache, just enough to be uncomfortable.  I will say that I did not foam roll last night, yet I am normally not this sore after a run. Since these are a new type of shoe and I am use to running in Nikes, I’m unsure if this is normal .  Wondering if the shoes will break in and I am being sensitive or there is an issue.

Honestly, I am really bummed since I spent so much time researching them!

Here is my question:  Is this normal for new shoes, especially for a new type/brand?  Should I keep the shoes try to break  them in or return them?

It was about 80 degrees and sunny for most of the day! I started my day with a bit of work, Marshmallow Oaties with coconut shreds and hazelnut milk and a cuppa Mate Latte Tea.

Lovin’ the Mate Latte Tea!  Refreshing change from coffee.  I was pleasantly  surprise with my first foray into dairy alternatives with the Hazelnut milk. LOVE IT! And no soy or saturated fat.

After doing some much needed cleaning in the apt, I went for a run.  I ran 4.14 miles in about 36 minutes. A 9:02 min/mile!! WOO HOOO!!

I’ll blame my good times on my new Skirt Goddess Running Skirt!

I was super excited to try this skirt because of the shorts underneath having a 7 inch inseam.  I have issues with running bottoms riding up…

This skirt was great, no riding up.   The extra inches on the shorts made a difference.  I loved it and may get another one!   I  also rocked my Princess Half Marathon shirt:

Which is a little big, but wicks like a champ!

After my run,  I grabbed a delicious smoked salmon on bagel thin sandwich with capers. Yummy!!

Then it was off to Hot Yoga at Charm City Yoga! I love this class with Melissa because its more of a Hatha class than a Vinyasa class.  Meaning the positions are held a bit longer and stretch more.  Felt great after my run. 

Following on the Charm City theme, I headed off to Charm City Run to pick up shoes the boyfriend ordered.

The poor sales man… I tried on about 5 different pair of running shoes and the pair I wanted were not in stock in my size   At any of their stores.

Ugh, I have such an issue deciding on running shoes.

My evening was pretty much ruined by a soccer game that got rained out, missing the other running store closing by 20 seconds (they turned the Open sign off as I walked up :/ ) and Target being out of pretty much anything I needed.  That was all made up for when I wandered into the liquor store to find one of my favorite brews, Otter Creek Raspberry Brown, on sale for $6!!

I love hanging out, drinking good beer and watching chick flicks!

I have a busy weekend planned, better be getting some rest!!

Also, I am working on setting up 2 new websites, including this blog!  I will be moving to self – hosted soon!! So excited!

Unfortunately, after sitting in front of a computer for 9+ hours a day. I have no interest in coming home to get back on to blog ,  even though  I write posts in my head during my commute!  If only I could get a WordPress plugin to read thoughts…

On top of the normal day-to-day stuff,  There is  record pollen counts in the air.  I was attacked by a cloud of pollen last week!  I normally don’t get allergies, yet I have been suffering from these weird  painful headaches in my sinuses.  The headaches happened last year at the same time too.  Can allergies cause just a headache with no other symptoms??

However,  I was not too busy to miss a blogger meet-up!

Anne and Lauren set up a blogger meet up in honor of the  D.C. Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. There was about 20 of us meeting at Toscana Grill in Arlington.

I decided to metro to the restaurant, since it was right by a metro stop.  The Orange line always trips me up, so I might have gotten on the wrong train and off at the wrong stop!!  I got off one stop too far and showed up a bit late.

When I got there, I was informed Toscana was only serving the vegan menu.  I was starving and craving some protein!! (I am not a fan of tofu)  Though a bit disappointed, I quickly found something I wanted. A Belgian Waffle with blueberries!

Nom Nom!  It was as delicious as it looks!  Not sure if the butter and cream were vegan though?!  I also had some from French Press coffee.  And some blogger-made cookies! There was a Vegan peanut butter made by Anna and a chocolate chip made by Jacquie

Mostly, I enjoyed the great conversation with the other bloggers!  We talked about mean comments, meeting bloggers in person and expectations, the medicine and doctors and all other kinds of great topics! It is such fun to meet people behind the blog and even some readers. This is my favorite part of blogger meetups, to actually get to know people you do know through there blogs!

Group Pic!!

Some of the bloggers that showed up: me, Jasmine,  Lauren, Quinn, Heather, Cara, Jacquie, Amy, Anna, Emily, Suzanne,  Matt, Jordan, Sarah, and Ashley (who hopefully will start blogging soon!)

Sarah, Me, Ashley and Jasmine were all on one half of a table and got to know each other!  The weather was perfect and the company excellent.

After  lunch, I went shopping!  I stopped at Crate and Barrel to pick up some neat things. I also may have caved and got some Wunder Under capris from Lululemon.  Since I’ve worn them almost every day, they were a good purchase! The sales lady said she ran in them during the 90 degree day last week and was fine.  They will be great for running and yoga!

Then I satisfied my fro-yo craving at Yogiberry.  Ever since I was in Florida and had Menchie’s, I have been obsessed! Frozen yogurt cures my sweet tooth, but is at least a bit healthier than ice cream.  I love that all the places have fresh fruit to put on top! I like the oddest combos and can satisfy that at self-serve places!

This yogurt had tart and cookies and cream yogurt with kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, shredded coconut and moochi on top!

It was a great day especially since I was able to spend time with my best friends that night!

Friday, my day off, I started out on 4 mile run that turned into a 6.5mile run.  I felt awesome and my splits were at least 30 seconds lower than my normal runs. Took me about hour. Not an hour straight, I stopped the clock for my 2 walking breaks and I had to make a pit stop back to my house after about a mile to change my outfit….

Originally,  I put on the snazzy new running shorts I received from New Balance at Fitbloggin.  Everyone else loved them!  Initially, I did too!  The shorts sat right on my waist, were not too short and had a pocket for my ipod.  Turns out the pocket was too small for my iPod Touch, which I found out after I was out on the road! Fail!

Changed from this:

Shorts look awesome!

To This:

Running Skirt!

I want to love running shorts.  Companies always come out with the cutest colors. Some are even NOT pink! (I have strong feelings against pink workout gear) And they are light and cool in the summer unlike some soccer or lacrosse shorts.

The problem is Running Shorts don’t love me.

No matter what I do, the shorts ride up and bunch.  It feels like I have on a bulky diaper. Though I have no idea how it looks,  it is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling. But I bet I look pretty ridiculous!  Each step I take, I think chaf-ing, chaf-ing. I never actually chafe because I turn around and change my outfit.

I have the same issue with running skirts.  The skimpy “compression” short found underneath most skirt ride right up.   In outfit #2 above, I have on a running skirt that has shorts AND Under Armour 7′ compression shorts.

LOVE these!  The 7″ is the only pair I found to stay in place!  I also wore a black pair for my Half Mary underneath a plaid running skirt:

Its close to impossible to find anything that I like and fits and doesn’t ride up.  Even my capris ride up!  The start out on my calves and end up bunched around my knees.   Since the weather warming up, it is becoming more of a problem.  This wasn’t an issue during the winter because I wore tights all the time.   And before last fall, I would wear lacrosse or soccer shorts, usually longer but heavier (aka hotter).

It is absolutely getting on my nerves. I have tried on shorts and skirts of just about every brand out there.  Nothing seems to stay put. Think maybe I will just switch to capris?  I really love the Lululemon Crops but shelling out $86 for crops hurts more than just my wallet.  I ordered this SkirtGoddess Skirt, which has 7′ shorts underneath!  Unfortunately even if it works, they are going out of business. :/

I have been  trying to NOT use fat talk and build a better body image.  Hard to banish fat talk  though when I feel my ‘large’ thighs are the reason everything ride up.  So the other day, I took a long look at my thoughts and my thighs.

I recently read that most women think they are  bigger then they actually are.  I definitely suffer from this!  I took a hard look at other women runners. Guess what?  Most ladies don’t have smaller thighs than me! Yet, they can run  in running shorts and skirts.

Me Thinks my gait and foot landing is the issue with things riding up.  I have neutral landing, meaning I run on the outer edges of my feet. I also run with one foot in front of the other.   This is considered a  more bio-mechanically efficient stride.

So tomorrow when I go on a search for running bottoms, I know it’s a struggle because of how I run NOT because of my body.  It makes me awesome!

Take that Fat Talk!

Green Trees from Office Window!

Flowers on a Hike

Cherry Blossoms in D.C.!!

Makes me want to get outside and run!  Being stuck in an office stinks

Gotta pay the bills somehow…

The process of donation starts with a questionnaire and taking vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, hemoglobin levels).   During the questionnaire,  it asks all sorts of crazy questions like  general health, sexual contact and countries lived in or visited.

For example if you lived in England for more than 6 months during 1980 -1996, you can’t give blood.   Why? Mad Cow Disease…

Last year for spring break, my family went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. And  because 50 weeks ago I was here…

I can’t give blood until after April 11th because of the risk for malaria. You can’t donate blood for one year after coming back from the topics because malaria can be lurking in your blood.  

When they told me this, I was not happy!  After chugging water all day (and visiting the bathroom all day!) and mentally preparing myself to do this, I was disappointed and frustrated.   Maybe a little relieved, though

Again, I know why the regulations are in place.  I understand why they can’t make exceptions, but I was still frustrated.

When I made my appointment,   I specially asked about it, remembering my father couldn’t give blood last summer.  Wasn’t sure if the regulation was for 1 year or 6 months. The person assured me I would be able to donate.

Just to mentally get ready to drain the life force from my body was enough for me, I took them up on the bag of Famous Amos cookie they offered! Then started to re-plan  my night.  I had planned to head, make a larger green monster for the iron and crash for the night.

Instead, I decided to go exploring MOM’s organic market, a place I drive by all the time and never stop at.

From MOM’s About Us page:

MOM’S CULTURE
We are a community of thoughtful, progressive, hard working people. We are diverse. We strive to understand and learn from our differences. We respect different ideas. We value teamwork and take pride in the result of our efforts

An interesting experience! I will be going back!

The produce was very fresh and organic. Unfortunately, there was not a huge selection and no spinach or mushrooms! They did have loose Brussels Sprouts, which was great because I usually can’t go through an entire bag.

And they had Strawberries for $1.99! I picked some right up!

They also had bulk bins.  I love getting things from bulk bins then never use.  Pick up some rolled oats.And some shredded coconut:Then I saw the Tea! I love tea!!  MOM’s had lots of  Republic of Tea loose tea.  Most places only carry the tea bags. 

I picked up loose Yerba Mate Latte, a tea I have been searching forever for it!  Yerba Mate teas have about half of the caffeine of a cup of coffee.  It’s a nice change from coffee in the morning. Mate usually has a grassy taste, but the Latte has vanilla and cocoa flavors added.

Abby was also interested!! Actually, I think she was more interested in the cheese I was eating….

A good store to go to for specialty items, though I don’t think I could do all my weekly  shopping there. Definitely priced better than Whole foods!

Hopefully I don’t develop malaria in the next two weeks  and get the  courage to go back the Red Cross in two weeks!!

Here are some quick facts about blood and donations from the American Red Cross:

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• Blood cannot be manufactured – it can only come from generous donors.
• Type O-negative blood (red cells) can be transfused to patients of all blood types. It is always in great demand and often in short supply.
• The American Red Cross supplies approximately 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply.
• The Red Cross provides blood for patients in nearly 3,000 hospitals across the U.S.
• Only 7 percent of people in the U.S. have O-negative blood type. O-negative blood type donors are universal donors as their blood can be given to people of all blood types.
• Type O-negative blood is needed in emergencies before the patient’s blood type is known and with newborns who need blood.

Guess who has O-negative blood? Yup,  Me!

Notice the first sentence in the post – ‘I love the IDEA of giving blood’. And its not the needle that creeps me out…

I have given blood twice before, once in college and once right after I graduated.  The first was awesome and I felt great!  The second time I gave blood, I did not have a good experience.  I went with my father one morning and did not take in enough food or liquid beforehand.   I felt light headed and almost passed out, followed by a mild panic attack. I was informed if I  stopped my  donation before I filled the bag,  they would have to throw everything away.  So, I was able to finish my donation but was affected the rest of the day.  More importantly, I started my new job the next day and almost had to call out!

Because of my ‘Universal Donor‘ blood type, I usually get called every few months to donate.  I have declined the last year due to the last time I donated.    But when the Red Cross called me a few weeks ago,  I signed up for an appointment for tonight!

Found these tips for a successful blood donation from the American Red Cross:

• Maintain a healthy iron level in your diet by eating iron rich foods, such as spinach, red meat, fish, poultry, beans, iron-fortified cereals and raisins.
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• Drink an extra 16 oz. of water and fluids before the donation.
• Eat a healthy meal before your donation. Avoid fatty foods, such as hamburgers, fries or ice cream before donating. Tests for infections done on all donated blood can be affected by fats that appear in your blood for several hours after eating fatty foods.

Considering what happened to me last time, I am chugging fluids!

One of the liquids I am drinking is a freebie I got from AJ during Fitbloggin – True lemon-ade with Raspberry.  It’s a  powdered drink mix with only 5 calories and sweetened with Truvia™, an all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener.  Sort of like Crystal Light but low  calorie and natural.  I do like actual lemon juice makes the ingredients list.

First off, I would like to say I rarely drink anything sweetened.  I drink coffee and tea black and not a fan of juices.  I do drink the occasional Coke, and always the real stuff.  I can taste artificial sweeteners a mile away.

I liked how portable are the packets.  However, the powder did not dissolve easily.  It took more stirring then expected.

The taste was good, not great.  It did not taste like fresh lemonade but not like a fruit drink.  The lemon flavor is actually very good; it was the raspberry that tasted artificial.  I have a sampler of plain lemonade that I am excited to try.

Will I drink the rest of it? Yes! Will I buy another box?  No, probably not.

I would rather buy tea or drink water. (for free!)

The sweetener in this product, truvia, is a type of stevia,  a plant derivative.  I would like to learn more about this, since I don’t like chemical sweeteners and am wary of Agave.

Ok! Back to work and chugging more liquids!

Yesterday, I knew I was going to dinner with my best friend from college.  We were going a local microbrewery/ pizzeria, meaning I wasn’t going to get the healthiest of dinners. So I packed myself a lunch, made a huge Green Monster for breakfast and started my day.

Once I get to work, my routine is to make an iced coffee and catch up on blog reading for about 10 – 15 minutes.  How do I make my iced coffee? With this beauty:

Office sized Keurig! My company provides this with many choices of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Yes, my company rocks!

While during said blog reading, I learned it was Free Cone day at Ben & Jerry’s.  And with a store within walking distance from the office, I was in!  I normally don’t eat ice cream,  free ice cream is a different story!

Then I got the following email:

I’m working at Silver Spring today, so I will be hosting an impromptu pizza lunch in Conference Room A starting at 11:30am.  No agenda, just lunch.

Thanks,
President of my Company

Yay, Free Pizza and lunch with the president!! (Again my company rocks!)

I had the pizza for a  lunch. This including a veggie slice… and 2 buffalo chicken slices.    Then I got my free ice cream cone -  Chocolate Therapy.  The whole office went, it was team bonding, right?

Got a 10% off key tag, good for the next year!

And then I went out to dinner, where I ate MORE pizza and beer.  Oh and Garlic Cheese Sticks… I probably ate close to a whole pizza yesterday…

By the time I got home after 9pm,  I wanted a snack.  I stood in my kitchen thinking about my unfortunate food choices over the day.  I could have eaten my packed lunch or eaten all veggie pizza or not gone to free cone day or gotten a frozen yogurt or went to a different restaurant for dinner or not have had a beer.  The choices went on and on.

My next 2 thoughts were:

1. This is why I am gaining weight
2. I already destroyed ANY healthy eating today, I may as well  have a chocolate bar.

I KNOW the choices I make are not great.  I have always heard if you have a binge or an unfortunate food choice,  you should get right back on the wagon.  Not to continue to binge!

But how do I get motivated to stop making the changes?  Something that I need to work on.

(Just a note: Last night,  I did decide that I wasn’t actually hungry but thirsty.  I had a big glass of water and called it a night! WIN!)

Friday was my day off and I thought I had plenty of time to get ready for Fitbloggin! Including setting up my brand new baby laptop:

An Asus Eee PC Netbook! My poor Macbook is almost 4 years old and about to die.  Hoping this baby I can use for most of my everyday task and use my Mac for bigger projects! Plus the thing is super portable and much cheaper than a new Mac:

Unfortunately, I was barely able to set it up!  I ended up in the hair salon for about 6 hours. Two dye jobs, a cut and a recut later, my hair is at least the right color.  The cut is nothing different then what I had :/ The lady I had was just so distracted and totally missed my point!  I will always bring pictures in from now on to show the hair stylists.

I ended up getting the the Fitbloggin Pom Reception late, about 6:30. It was being hosted at the Marriot Waterfront.  The last time I was in this hotel was for my prom in 2004!!  Got myself a yummy Pom Martini! Then off to meet a bunch of fun bloggers!

(Ashley’s Photo!) Please note pretty red color but unfortunate bang situation…

I also got a a great gift bag, which will be a separate post.  I am blogging from my ‘rents house and all the swag is at my apartment!

In the morning, I opted out of the New Balance 5k. I wasn’t feeling getting up before 5:30 to make it there in time! Thinking about running the route next weekend though!

I carpooled with Monica of RunEatRepeat, since she isn’t familiar with the area.

A stop a Dunkin Dounuts happened! Then off to Fitbloggin!!!

The first thing I hit up was the Oatmeal bar where I got some oatmeal with cranberries and a cute jar of Honey to go with my iced coffee!

There were many great vendors there including POM, New Balance and LA Boxing! Plus the hotel is beautiful:

My first session was ‘Don’t write about junk science: How to critically evaluate research.’ Great session that bought up great points! I am going to do one or many posts on this, as it relates to my senior research project.  This was an under attended session of the conference, which in my opinion was due to schedule.  SEO (search engine optimization), also a great topic, was more appealing to most. 

After a quick coffee and fruit break, it was off to WordPress from .com to Self Hosted: An in Depth look into one of the Most popular Blogging Software out there. Another great session that I will be utilizing soon!

After the WordPress sessions, I was chatting with Jim when Roni came up to us.   One of the other attendants was in serious pain and needed to go to the ER.  Obviously, Roni, couldn’t go and Jim (also a local) didn’t have a car. 

So I volunteered to drive her to the ER.    I told Roni I would pull my car around to pick up the girl. Poor Mary had horrible back pain and couldn’t keep anything down and was thinking she had a kidney stone.  I picked up Mary and Andrea, her room mate, at the front door.  After getting stuck at a ridiculous amount of red lights (Why does that always happen?) and my incessant talking to keep Mary’s mind off the pain, we got to Johns Hopkins Bayview.

(Source)

As great as the Marriot was, they had a FAIL, no one at the concierge knew what hospital to send her.  They said she could go to one hospital but she would be waiting for hours. Mary was in so much pain at this point that was not an option.

We had an excellent experience at Bayview! Every person working, nurses, doctors, PAs, and admins, were pleasant and helpful. They took Mary in almost right away, put her on fluids and got her a room! Meanwhile, Andrea and I got to know each other in the waiting room.  We saw some interesting people as Bayview is not in the greatest area of Baltimore.

Once Mary got settled in her room, Andrea and I went back to keep her company.  A Physician’s assistant came into the room to let Mary know she was getting pain medication soon.

I then accosted the PA and asked her a TON of questions! I want to go back to Physician’s assistant school. The PA was super nice and answered most of my questions, before excusing her self to get the pain meds.  Oops, sorry Mary!!!

Next, a ER doctor came in to do an ultra sound.  Ultra sounds can check for signs of kidney stones but not diagnose them.  Mary would need a CAT scan for the diagnosis.  Mary was kind enough again to let me geek out and ask all sorts of crazy questions! It helped she received the pain meds already!

I learned all how to read an ultra sound of a kidney and bladder. We were able to see blood flow through the kidneys by using Doppler.  The doctor was patient and helpful with us. He even printed out a picture for Mary! 

By this point, it was almost 2:30pm.  I had not eaten since 9 and was starting to get shaky.  Once I made sure Mary would be fine and left every piece of contact information I had, Andrea and I headed back to the conference. 

We got back just in time for the last session but missed the snack. I had to eat!   I may have cried to one of the Marriott hotel staff.  The head guy was nice enough to get me a grilled chicken sandwich, Marriot WIN!

Ok, it was a grilled chicken sandwich smothered in cheese with Old Bay fries.  Not exactly ‘fitbloggin’ good but delicious!

I got to see some of the last session about making money off your blog.  To be honest I wasn’t interested, so I was fine with skipping out when Mary called to let us know they were releasing her.  Andrea and I headed back to Bayview to pick up Mary.

Mary had her CAT scan and was diagnosed with multiple kidney stones. The medication was managing her pain, so she was being released.

We got back in time for the closing remarks, but I opted out to speak with some of the vendors.  I did participate in the sushi and mousse JELLO reception after!  Odd but delicious combination.

Of what I participated in, Fitbloggin was  fun and informative. Hopefully, next year I will be able to enjoy the whole thing! I am glad I was able to help a fellow blogger out! Mostly, it was nice to meet Mary and Andrea, who I would probably not have spoken to other wise!