I told you so.

No, I'm not saying that to you, that is what Matthew is saying to ME. He told me I'd "come around". He told me I just needed to give it a chance. He told me... I would become obsessed. I have always wanted to think I'm a runner, but I just could never do it. I hated it. I felt better about running one mile as fast as I could than trying to tough out 5 miles at snail speed. Well... needless to say, I think I am obsessed. I don't look at working out with as much dread, rather, I wake up every day thinking "when am I going to run today?" I think I am becoming obsessed. One mile, even two miles, just isn't good enough anymore; I get grumpy when I don't run (because some days you do other things or rest); and even if I hurt, I can't wait until my next run. So here are some reasons I love running. (P.S. can also be used as why people love working out in general. Everyone has their thing, mine is just starting to be running...)

1-

(Photo courtesy of Pinterest, of course!)

 Isn't it so true? Running helps me run off the stress of school, the frustration of work, the fear of the unknown (which there is beginning to be a lot of nowadays in our house), everything! It is an hour where I can get out, get some fresh air, and just... RUN! Haha It's pretty exhilarating! I come home with a new desire and motivation to get things done. It also gives me more energy to actually do those things, so that is good because energy is what I need most days!

2- It is something that Matthew and I can SHARE now. Let's face it, running was always "Matt's thing". I mean, it still is because he is SO much better than me, but I have really enjoyed the days where we get to do it together. He has taught me so much about it and it makes it so much more than just running! He talks to me the whole time, and even though I want to punch him in the face sometimes, I love it. I love that it is something we can do together and it is a good way to spend time together while still "getting things done". Need to deposit a check at the bank? Why not just run there and get 2 things done at once! Haha I truly love it when I get to run with him

Side story: I ran a 5K this past Saturday with Nicole, Matt, Trisha, and my boss, and Nicole was getting SO frustrated with how much I was talking (Matt has worn off on me more than I thought!). I realized that I used to be the same way when Matt would tell me what to do when I run, but now I do it and can bother others! Haha I guess I'll have to just talk to myself from now on because Nicole wanted to punch me. :)

3- I feel AWESOME afterwards!

(Another good Pinterest find)

I love that picture too. I can get side-aches, blisters, and straight up feel like I want to DIE during a run, but I never regret it afterwards! It is truly something that has boosted my self-esteem, made me a happier person, and helped me deal with the stress of finals, graduating, and, again, the uncertainty of our lives right now. (Can you tell that I HATE uncertainty?? Well... I do.)

Ok, so I'll just do the top 3 things I've been thinking about. :) I have finals to study for anyway. Haha but I have to get up to 7 miles this weekend. I am pretty excited. Ever since I ran 6 miles last Saturday (not yesterday) I hit the milestone of "longest I have ever run", so I will hit it every weekend afterwards. We will get up to 9 miles before doing the half, so it's kind of scary/exhilarating that I'm already approaching 7!! AHH!!! 

Anyway, finals are this week and graduation is on Saturday! AHHH!!! I will try to do a post next Sunday because I know I won't have any time after that. My schedule for the 4 weeks following graduation will be:

7:30 AM- 2 PM (no breaks): SCHOOL

3 PM- 8 PM: Work

8:15-9:00ish: Run :)

9:00-bed: Husband time/Homework

Yeah... Maybe I'll find some time to eat and sleep in there... Who knows! Pray for me! Haha I wish graduation was an actual end, but I will survive. I am still super excited! I am almost done!  I am glad I can finish school in just 4 weeks this summer so I can enjoy the rest of it. YAY! On top of all of that, Matt and I are moving a week after graduation, so that will add some stress and excitement.Wish me luck. :) 

Until next time... 

Picture Catch-up!

So here are just a few pictures to catch you up on our lives... We don't take many pictures, so these were pretty monumental! :) Matthew is finally done with the MCAT! YAY!!! I was so glad it's over. They started an hour late, so after he had been gone about 5 1/2 hours, I was starting to panic. But, nonetheless, it ended and we can hopefully move on with our lives. He won't get his score for a month, so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes! If he's not happy with his score, he'll probably take it again in August, but he is submitting applications this year regardless. :) YAY! Lots of crazy changes coming our way this year.

(Love this boy! :) I got him this balloon and put it out with his breakfast on test day.)

More updates:

For Christmas, Matthew got me a snowboard (courtesy of my awesome sister, Angie), so we HAD to take it for a test run! I took the day off of work and Matthew already had it off (if I remember right) and we went to Beaver for a day! Ok, so we were cheap and went on the "bunny hill"... Oh well, I still had fun and fell a couple of times! I swear there were children laughing at me as they passed me sitting on my butt...

(Here is one of the only pictures we took while snowboarding and it was after we were done. Haha)

Then this past weekend we finally got a chance to dye our Easter eggs and hide them from each other! It was actually a lot of fun even if it was a week late. We did get our baskets on time, and that was a lot of fun. We set a $10 limit on each other (which meant we didn't waste our money on grass and eggs and instead I used newspaper and rubbermaid containers) and went shopping at Walmart the night before. There wasn't much of a surprise as far as what was in our basket, and we ended up sharing all the candy anyway. Basically, the limit just meant we didn't buy a crapload of candy to make ourselves sick for the next several weeks... Just the next several days... :)

(Here we are dying our eggs. I was really proud of the yellow egg. It probably turned out the best. I was upset with how bad the pink sucked.)

(The finished product! We did a solid of every color and then we both got to create 3 of our own, mine are all the ones you think are awesome!)

Hiding the eggs in our little apartment was a lot of fun! First Matthew hid all of them and I found them and then I hid them and he found them. We laughed a lot, he called me a cheater a lot because my eggs "weren't visible" the way they were supposed to be, and that was just a lot of fun.

(This is us after finding all of the eggs! It really was a lot of fun, even if our apartment is small!)

We also went to "Baby Animal Days" the Saturday before Easter and it was a lot of fun (but probably only worth the money because we had a buy on get one free..) I bet parents with children like it a lot because the kids LOVE to pet and play with the little babies. Ok, let's be honest, I thought they were adorable. Unfortunately, I don't think we took any pictures that I can remember. My favorite part was the baby bears from Yellowstone! Freak, if those things didn't grow up with the desire to eat me, I would totally buy one right now. :)

Then on Easter we went to church, of course, and then we went and had dinner at Chett & Trisha's house. That was a lot of fun. Matt and I have been really focusing on trying to spend our weekends visiting our families while we can. There is a good chance that next year we could be across the country or something, so we have been trying to visit them while we can now. With Nicole & Jeremy and Chett & Trisha in or just outside of Logan, we have kind of taken that for granted and not visited them as much as we should. But we have been doing that now and it has been great. I especially love seeing my nieces and nephew. They grow up way too fast, but they are all so smart and funny! :)

So anyway, there's my little update! Even if I have pictures, they're still very few, so I'm sorry. :) But there ya go! Until Next time!

P.S. Aren't you impressed with how well I've been blogging lately!? :)

(Just a little picture to send you on your way!)

First Long Run

Ok, guys, it's Monday and you know what that means! I made it through the "long" Saturday run! Hooray! First milestone is over and done with. Ok, so it was only five miles, you gotta start somewhere! :) I woke up on Saturday morning at about 7 to go running. The weatherman said it was supposed to snow from 6 AM to 7 AM and then rain from 7-8 or something and then just be cold. Well guess what? He was WRONG! It was so wonderful! I ran in a long sleeved shirt (that's actually about 3/4 sleeve on me) and I was just fine. I actually got a little hot towards the end.

So anyway, I was supposed to maybe try and go running with my sister Nicole, but she wasn't feeling well and was going to wait a little longer to see if she started to feel a little better. I wanted to wait, but I had work that morning too, so I had to get started. Matt would have gone with me, but he was still "hungover" from the MCAT the previous morning (talk about mentally EXHAUSTING!), so I let him sleep in and I headed out by myself. That was the first thing I was so proud of myself for. I used to HATE running by myself. I would start out too fast, I couldn't pace myself, and I wouldn't push myself as hard as I could have because I could stop and walk without holding anyone back. Man, I don't realize what a headcase I am until I write it all out... But anyway, I went by myself..

So I started out and I had Matt's watch to try to pace myself a little better and Matt had already plotted out a 5 mile route for me to run. (Ok, so maybe I still couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband, but at least I ran it alone, right??) About 2 miles into it, I checked my watch and realized I wasn't running as fast as I would have liked to or even as fast as I thought I was, so I was a little bummed and thought I wouldn't be able to finish in my goal time (I was hoping to finish in 50 minutes). But nonetheless, I kept running. I felt surprisingly good though! My one mistake is that about the first half of my run was flat or downhill which meant...? The second half would be flat or uphill... YIPPEE! My legs felt good, I was running a good pace, my foot wasn't hurting at all, and that helped make me mentally strong. Then I turned the corner of 1000 N. and 600 E. and started heading up 10th towards Aggie Village. (The locations and coordinates are for those of you familiar with Logan and its setup) Well from 600-800 E. is a slight incline and then from 800-1000 E is a STEEP hill. HOLY. CRAP. Ok, I was feeling good, but that hill murdered me. Haha I mastered what my husband likes to call the "survival shuffle". It is when you are basically barely moving but you are still in running form and bouncing up and down as if you're running. I made it, I did the survival shuffle until I recovered and then I got back up to pace and finished my run strong.

I was so excited when I finished and didn't feel like I was going to die (anymore). I was even happier when I looked down at my watch and I had finished it in 47 minutes! Ok, for those of you who are runners, I know that's not ALL that great, but I felt accomplished. Let me put it into perspective for you:

Before I met Matthew, I had barely run more than like 2 miles I think. Last year (I don't remember if we were just dating or engaged at this point) Matt and I went for a run together. We said we would go for like half an hour because I was terrified of running with him and that we would go at "my pace". Well... that run turned into 5 miles and I'm pretty sure we were barely running above a walking pace. When we got home from that run, Matthew told me how proud he was of me and I was pretty stoked myself because that was the farthest I had EVER run. In my entire life. I asked Matt how long we had been running for and he said "It only took us like... 50 minutes or something like that!" Oh... my cute boyfriend/fiancee told me a lie to make me feel better... Haha he tells me now that it took us about an hour if not a little more. So anyway, I tell that story because in just one year I took almost 15 minutes off my 5 mile time! I was really excited about that. This was the first time I actually saw the improvements I've made because they were significant enough to see!

Anyway, let's wrap this up... Haha Long story short, I think I am becoming addicted to running. I love the way it makes me feel about myself. I have found that I have a ton more energy throughout the day (most days, some days I'm just a lost cause regardless) and I am not as concerned about my weight or other trivial things. I finally understood the advice about how "weight is just a number, you need to focus on other things like how you feel and how your clothes fit". Yes, Matthew, you are right and you have been all along. Anyway, I guess my "advice" for this post (even if it's just to myself) is... Get out and do something! Even if you can't run and you can't do this or that or whatever else, get out and do something you CAN. If you find yourself in a rut like I've been in for the past little while, get out and try something new and active. It makes you feel better about yourself and it helps blow off a little steam. The past little while, life has been stressful and monotonous all at the same time, but training for this half is the best decision I made. It has brought some excitement back into my life. I am doing better at living day to day rather than waiting for the future to come. My "I'll be happy when..." attitude is almost completely gone and I am happy with my life right here, right now. :) BTW I'm sorry these past few posts have been pictureless and are super lame. I will try to get more pictures up, but there's nothing to take pictures of when you're running alone! Until next time. :)

P.S. I ran 4 miles today and felt great. Tomorrow is the dreaded interval day. Let's pray I survive. :)

Week 1

Ok, so here I am posting about my "week 1" training. I know it's only Wednesday, so it's probably too soon to post, but in all honestly, I have been indirectly training for a half marathon for a while now. The training schedule that I have doesn't have you run any more than like 4 miles during the week. You save all of your long runs for Saturdays, which is the only thing I haven't been doing so far. But can I just tell you that actually signing up for the race, having that motivation and goal to move towards, as well as talking to my sisters about it has made ALL the difference in my desire to run and workout. I am not just doing it for the sake of doing it anymore. It's not "I guess I'll go work out now..." It's "When do I get to go running today??". I don't know, call me a freak or tell me it'll all go back to normal when the novelty wears off, but I get excited to run now! Knowing that I am moving towards a higher goal is SO great for me.

So I started off on Monday with a 5K. I ran 3.1 miles and it felt pretty good! I think I was supposed to run 3.5 but I hadn't completely solidified my workout regimen yet... Oh well. My foot had kind of started hurting again (I got tendonitis pretty bad in it a few months back and ended up in a stupid walking boot), but it wasn't anything big.

Tuesday was a fun day because I knew I got to go running with Matt. I get off work at 5:30 that day, so we have time to go running together afterwards, and it's usually about the time he needs to take a break from studying for the MCAT anyway. So it was our "interval training" day. It didn't seem like it was going to be that bad. You run for 40 minutes and do 5 minutes "fast" and 5 minutes "slow". In order for me to try to put "fast" and "slow" into perspective, I'll use the speeds on a treadmill. I usually like to run on a treadmill at a pretty stead 6.5 (don't judge). That's a good pace for me where I feel like I can go for awhile. Well.. using that as my base, that makes my "fast" pace a 7.5 and my "slow" pace a 5.5. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Wrong! I hated it. haha All this time I have been running at a nice and easy stead pace and all of a sudden I have to speed up? Get outta here! Well.. needless to say I am learning to run through pain (I HATE side-aches) but I felt freaking awesome afterwards! We ended up running just over 4 miles in 40 minutes, so I thought that was good! A couple things I learned during this day: I am capable of more than I think I am (when I think I can't take another step and I am going to collapse, I end up being able to run another mile). The second thing is that you NEVER regret working out. I don't know if anyone else is different, but I feel freaking awesome after I work out! Matt even says that I glow and I just have a different look when I've been working out.

Today was a good day as well. It was raining outside, so I decided to run on the treadmill in the gym instead, which was kind of a bummer. Today is supposed to be my cross-train day, but I like to "cross-train" with Jillian Michaels on that day because school and work is more hectic. So today I did the Thursday workout which is a 3.5 mile run and strength training. Well... treadmill meant I needed my ipod and a sweatshirt to go over the screen so I didn't just stare at it the whole time. A word of advice from a non-professional-- DO THAT. I have always found I can run farther, faster, longer if I can't see where I'm at. Some people like to track it, but I become so preoccupied with the whole "I've only run ____ FAR!!?... Well... Maybe I'll just run 2 miles today instead, this sucks..." Gosh, I hate that. I hope someone else can relate. Another game I play is that I start at 6.3, at the end of the first song I go up to 6.5, next song up to 6.7, back down as needed at the nest song and so on. I have found that I do better when I look at the short term "goals". So this time I said "I have to listen to ___ songs before I can look at how far I've run". Well... believe it or not, by the time I looked, I had already run 2.5 miles! I don't think you realize what an accomplishment that is, usually I look AT LEAST ever 1/4 mile! Haha and by the time you reach 2.5 then a new energy hits because it's like "I only have one mile left!" Call me weird, but I love it. Maybe if you're someone who is looking for a way to get into running or something, this will help. :)

So anyway, tomorrow is my cross train with Jillian, Friday is a stretch and strengthen day, and Saturday will be the much-anticipated 5 mile run with Matthew. I have committed myself to taking my anti-inflammatory medicine to try to get my foot to feel better, and Matthew even convinced me to wear my boot today. I hate that dang boot, but if it means I can run in this half-marathon, I'll do it. No time to take breaks! Gotta push through the pain for now!

So I'll leave you with my last soap-box and my extremely inexperienced opinion, so take it for what it's worth. 1. Read "Born to Run". It's a book and it is inspiring! It shows that our bodies are truly made to run ridiculously long distances and we have just ruined them by either eating too much, being "too busy" or just flat out telling ourselves we can't. 2. (which really shouldn't be a #2 because it's kind of just an addition) Are you scared of a long race? Just do it! Commit yourself, and you will probably be amazed at what you are capable of! When you start running and your body starts to hurt and ache and your knees feel like they need a replacement and your side starts to hurt... RUN THROUGH IT! That is one major thing I have learned. If you just ran up a steep hill, don't stop and walk because you're tired, keep your pace! If you do that, you will feel AWESOME in a couple of minutes. You need to give your body enough time to give off endorphins (natural pain killers) and you will feel so much better. My foot hurt for the whole first mile of my run tonight, but as soon as I got past that, I couldn't even feel it! Your body is AMAZING, seriously. It can do so much more than you could ever imagine!

Ok, are you sick of me acting like a pro after only a few days? Ok, I'll stop. I just know that there are probably a lot more people in my situation than not, and maybe some people just need to know they're not the only ones feeling that way and maybe they just need to know how to deal with mental lapses. (Some days the only way I get through mine is to have Matthew running with me so I'm dealing with my pride, or if I'm on the treadmill I race the person next to me.. Haha). So anyway... Get out and run, you won't regret it, you'll feel awesome and... I'll leave you with an opinion I CAN have. Freaking download Kelly Clarkson's song "Stronger" and run to that on repeat. It is freaking awesome and SO awesome. :) Until next time...

The Beginning!

Ok, so here I am again! YAY! My once every three months post! :) Well... Quick catch-up: Matt and I are doing fabulous. Life is great and we have really enjoyed our first year of marriage together. We haven't quite completed a year yet, but we are getting up there! We are currently both still attending school (Matt isn't quite attending, he just shows up on test days) and both of us will graduate in May. I will be the only one who actually walks because Matt walked last year (see picture below), but I still have 3 classes to take in the summer. I will take all of those classes in the 4-week semester in May (everyday, 7:30 AM-2:00 PM for four weeks... gross!) And then... DONE! I am so excited. Not to toot my own horn, but I am so excited that I have been able to finish college in 3 years. I loved college and loved the experiences that I was faced with, but I feel as though Matthew and I are ready to move on into the next phase of our lives and see what comes next!

(Matthew and I when he "graduated" last year!)

Speaking of the future, here's what is to come: Matthew is taking the MCAT day after tomorrow... BAH!!! I think I am more nervous than him. Mainly because I have no control over anything. The funny thing is, me having no control is actually a good thing. Matthew is honestly the smartest person I know. He is incredible. I don't know how that kid knows SO much, but he does! It blows my mind most days. I can ask him any random question and he usually knows the answer. So anyway, he has been studying hard for that and I think he will do really well. Regardless, I will be spending all day Friday praying and trying to keep my mind off of it. :) Any other outside prayers would be fabulous!

Graduation is on May 4th and then we are looking at moving out the next weekend! Hooray!! No more student housing!! :) I am really excited, our new apartment is nicer than our current one (dishwasher included, praise the heavens!) and our rent is actually cheaper! The REALLY nice part (yes, maybe better than the dishwasher) is the fact that gas is included! That will save us A LOT of money in the winter, and we can maybe turn on the heat just a little more next winter. :)

So after May passes (and pray for the sake of my sanity that it passes quickly), we will have our Anniversary in June! I have no idea what we are going to do for that yet, but we haven't even taken any time to think about it. I have, however, taken some time to think about an anniversary gift... I obviously can't talk about it here. Did you know the first anniversary is the year of paper?? I had no idea, but how lame is that?? Haha I already made him a calendar for Christmas! I really screwed up that one, but I think my idea will be fun. The weekend after our Anniversary is Matt's birthday, June 9th, and on that very same day we are... running the freaking Bear Lake Half Marathon! What a joke, right? Ugh... I have always wanted to run a half marathon, but I've never signed up for one which means I've never seriously trained for one and I've always been content with just running about 3 miles a day. Well... It's official, folks! I am signed up and I've paid my $55! I HAVE to run it! (Look how hard core we are in the picture below... We can pretend, right?)

So anyway, Matthew and his sister, Trisha, are both runners and they decided they were going to do it and I just went for it and signed up myself! Well.. The next day I got to work... No, not running, who do you think I am! I called my sister Nicole and told her to sign up with me! (Hey, if I'm going down, I'm taking everyone within reach down with me!) Well... Nicole was scared but she REALLY wanted to do it. I all but got her to sign up right then. Then I half-jokingly invited my sister Angie. I say half-jokingly because she lives in Denver. Well... long story short, we convinced her too!! AHHH!!! So then Nicole sent out an e-mail and harassed my sister-in-law, Ang, and I harassed my brother, Josh, and I'm pretty sure we've convinced them too! I seriously can't tell you how excited I am! I am just so impressed by the amount of people who have stepped up and said "Ok, I'm just going to do it!" It is SO motivating for me! We have all decided that we will literally run it together and we have developed a "No sister left behind" motto. Of course, that has led to the idea of matching tank tops and all that good stuff that I will show later. We will definitely have to say "No sister left behind... unless you're pregnant" because I have two sisters who are pregnant and not able to run it with us...

So I apologize now, if running or working out isn't your thing, my blog probably won't be either for the next couple of months (if I ever post again). I am determined to become a runner. I want to talk about my ups and downs and my workouts and the times when I freaking rock it and the times when I puke or feel like pushing my "trainer" husband into the road (trust me, the first few days have already consisted of all of these). But I think it's fun. I truly believe ANYONE can run (obviously, there are always exceptions, so don't think I'm saying you should still be able to run if you have serious physical problems that make it so you literally can't run). Our bodies were made to run and I don't believe anyone that says it's bad for you. Anyone can run a 5K, but I also believe ANYONE can run/finish a half marathon! (If you don't believe me, check out Lauren from "The Biggest Loser", she got voted off this season and ran a half marathon afterwards, she still weighed well over 200 pounds!) So... That's my soapbox. I will run a half marathon and my goal is to do just that RUN a half marathon. I don't want to walk and I will be disappointed in myself if I do. So there ya have it, folks. If I continue to stay bored tonight, I will probably post about how training has gone so far this week. Heck, if you want to train along with me, let me know! We have a whole excel spreadsheet of every workout we will be doing until the race! Until I post again... :)