exercise research

Weekly Therapy: The past is gone but something might be found to take its place.

- Mel

the week:
I’m still struggling with getting my sleep schedule back on track. I wish I knew what threw me off my schedule. Hormones? Probably hormones.

I started watching OITNB Season 4. DON’T RUIN ANYTHING I’M ONLY ON EPISODE 9. I’m binge-watching the remainder of the show today though because I keep catching people talking about it and I have to run in the other direction LALALALALALALA.

weekend:
The Des Moines Arts Festival is this weekend, and last night the GIN BLOSSOMS performed on the main stage. The VIP upgrade was worth it for the free drinks and snacks, but the placement of that section not at all near the stage was a little lackluster because the sound quality/volume was pretty bad. I was impressed how many people were in downtown Des Moines though! And that you can walk around with an open container of vodka lemonade [pick your poison] throughout the festival area.

If the rain holds off for the weekend, we’ll probably ride our bikes back down on Sunday and eat some food truck brunch.

seven things, seven days:
1. I had my second golf lesson this week, which… OMG I’M SO FRUSTRATED BY IT ALL. (But I’m making contact with the ball more often — my primary “play less embarrassingly” goal.)
2. I don’t understand bars that have these tiny-ass drink glasses, and then give you the shaker with the rest of your alcohol in it. JUST BUY BIGGER GLASSES/STOP BEING SO HIPSTER.
3. I started researching grad programs again this week…
4. Have you ever tried to ignore your cat’s bad behavior so as to not encourage said behavior to continue? Have you ever tried to do it at 4am when he’s destroying all the books on your nightstand and OMG JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP? Just me then?
5. An interview with one of my favorite people-who-I-met-online about making successful life changes. {via Women’s Running magazine}
6. Signs you’re burning out (and what to do about it) {via Forbes}
7. NO, you cannot eat “whatever you want” and more common running myths {via Well + Good

Weekly Therapy: A wild life and wildlife

- Mel

the week:
Feeling a lot like my first week of work, as I’m transitioning into a new role on my team. So, it’s been a lot of training (both receiving and giving, as I have to train a couple team members who are taking over my previous tasks) and exploding my brain with new procedures and systems.

BUT I love that the work is a little more intense and challenging and providing me with a broader skill set.

It’s also really, really hot this week — like, in the 90s, hot. It feels nothing like Pittsburgh 90-degree weather (which I found completely sticky and oppressive), and I actually spent time OUTSIDE kind of enjoying the hot winds (yeah, it’s still windy!).

weekend:
Last night we went to a fundraiser at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, which is in Prairie City, Iowa. I want to post something separately about this wonderful preservation because it was a beautiful place and a fun event.

Since it’s going to be close to 100 degrees with the sweat index today, I’m going to spend some time in some air-conditioning at Ulta replenishing some of my make-up stash (birthday gift cards, ftw!). And then, we’re golfing on Sunday — I get to practice some of what I learned at my lesson this week.

seven things, seven days:
1. I plan to attend one of these beginner adult ballet classes at Des Moines Social Club.
2. I’m also starting to think about CrossFit again. I’m just… not comfortable or confident with lifting alone at my gym (and I can’t get a trainer to respond to my online requests to set up an appointment), which is kind of a bummer.
3. Man, just when I thought that MarathonFoto was a rip-off, to download pics from my race last weekend is $18 per freakin’ picture. FOR A LOCAL RACE.
4. For all my fellow Goop haters: Is Gwyneth Paltrow full of shit? Science says yes. And I especially love said scientist calling out detoxes as “fancy anorexia.” {via Think Progress}
5. Hold the carbs, please. {via NYT}
6. On the tireless consumption of foodies. OOOOOH BOY, do I hate the word “yummers.” {via The Baffler}
7. We’re booked on next year’s Rock Boat XVII!

Weekly Therapy: 49 weeks left in my 30s

- Mel

the week:
Friday’s Weekly Therapy was disrupted by OUR FIRST IOWA VISITORS!

weekend:
The boyfriend’s parents spent the holiday weekend with us, and we explored some fun things in Des Moines — the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday and Iowa Cubs game on Sunday were big highlights. We definitely crossed a few items off of our Iowa Bucket List!

Mel with Iowa Cubby Bear Des Moines

I get an extra (unpaid, unfortunately) day off today, and we’ll be spending our free afternoon on the golf course with some friends. I’M DRIVING! 😉

It looks like the rain is holding off until tomorrow, too — yay!

seven things, seven days:
1. This article spoke right to my soul: Why some people find crowded cities relaxing — and others don’t. I’m definitely in that latter category! Constant horn honking is decidedly UN-relaxing to me. {via City Lab}
2. I ordered fried chicken tenders in a restaurant this weekend AND THEY WERE GLUTEN FREE. Imagine that, a food place that uses gluten-free breading for all its fry stuff. OMG, going here forever.
3. 7 ways to re-motivate yourself at work {via Entrepreneur}
4. UGH. The foul reign of the biological clock {via The Guardian}
5. I know that I’ve always hated the reference to derby “girls” but this goes much deeper by way of books What does it mean when we call women “girls” {via LitHub}
6. I don’t consider myself a Millennial, but if you’re in your early 30s, you may: The anxiety of the Millennials {via Huffington Post}
7. A good run is always amazing: Neurologists explain the mind-clearing magic of running {via Science of Us}

Weekly Therapy: 51 weeks left in my 30s

- Mel

the week:
I had two full days of training at work, so my week just FLEW by!

And, YAY! I got a new bike — 600+ miles of Iowa trails, here we come! We also signed up for our first group trail fun ride in June — the BACooN Ride (where BACON meets the Raccoon River Trail) — so I am fully outfitted and ready to explore.

weekend:
We live in a front license plate state, so I need to take my car in this morning to get my front plate mounted. The dealership is also charging us an OUTRAGEOUS amount of money to update the maps on my GPS (like, holy shit, they’re sticking in an SD card WHY CAN’T A SATELLITE DO THIS). All I’m saying is that it sure as shit better locate my house when it’s uploaded.

ANYWAYS.

Otherwise, we have a pretty laid back weekend. Last night we got to hang out with our neighbors for a bit because it was SUCH a beautiful night. I’m pretty jazzed about the weather report in general this weekend, and we’ll probably go for a bike ride.

seven things, seven days:
1. My workplace has a corporate library, which we can reserve from a great selection of business-themed and popular book titles. And they deliver it right to my desk!
2. Everything is SO GREEN right now, including the farm crops around us. Daily, I just feel so happy with where I live.
3. I finished Leah Remini’s Troublemaker — it was a really engaging story, with all the gossipy celebrity juice you’d expect from someone who attended Tom Cruise’s wedding. I’m obsessed with the Scientology survival stories, and it’s a pretty incredible read from someone who went into the church so young.
4. Man, I just had another awful online shopping experience with a furniture company that I love and have shopped with for over a decade (AND have their dumb store credit card). Needless to say, I have to now find another living room side table somewhere else. #grumpy
5. Oh, HEY! Roller derby article in Shape magazine: How Roller Derby Helped Me Finally See Myself As An Athlete
6. The unhealthy truth behind “wellness” and “clean eating” {via Vice}
7. Spinning: You’re doing it wrong {via Indoor Cycling Association}

Weekly Therapy: Let go of anything that no longer serves you (or just yell at it until it goes away).

- Mel 1 Comment

the week:
Guys, I spent a decent portion of the week fuming about something. I needed to just let it go (after uncovering WHY it made me so angry). And then something else made me really mad. And, well, I guess I’m just having that kind of week.

weekend:
Welp, I was supposed to run a marathon this weekend (those plans obviously went under a few weeks ago). And then I was supposed to go to my first derby practice here on Sunday (but it got canceled). So, now the boyfriend and I are going to hit up the Junk Jubilee though at the Fairgrounds though! Something there is sure to piss me off.

seven things, seven days:
1. Our department at work celebrated National Pretzel Day. It was awesome. (I brought gf ranch pretzels to share, and everyone seemed to like them!)
2. I also made a new friend at work. She and I started on the same day, with the same placement firm (though we’re on different teams), and we made plans to have lunch together. And she’s trying to talk me into going salsa dancing. (YAY, FRIENDS!)
3. I was seriously surprised at how cute some of the Victoria’s Secret sport clothing line was! Now, I just wish they’d bring back my favorite IPEX wireless bra.
4. I spent an evening trying to relax in my bathtub (because I now have a beautiful jetted tub in which to relax), and it was basically a big fail. A very, very bubbly fail… but FAIL, nonetheless. #cantrelax
5. Want to get in the best of health? YOU GOT ONE MINUTE? {via Science Daily}
6. YASSSSS!!! At 100, she’s still running for her life {via NYT}
7. MORE YASSSSSS on all the badass women: Weightlifter Mattie Rogers Poised to Become USA’s Badass Olympic Sweetheart {via Bleacher Report}

Weekly Therapy: That I am extremely hungover on my last day of work somehow explains everything.

- Mel

the week:
My last week at my job… at least, on-site. We’ve worked out an agreement so that I can stay on as a contractor until one of us: finds a job (me) or finds a replacement (them). The universe has also blessed me this week, to randomly (and separately) run into people who I haven’t seen in a while. These things have warmed my heart (and will keep my bank account warm as well).

weekend:
Tonight is our going away party, and then I’ll spend my last weekend in Pittsburgh (since we leave next Saturday morning). Yep, I thought two weeks would be SO long to wait out, but it’s positively flown by. I do need to get my shit together this weekend and ship some things out to the new house though, especially now that the movers have confirmed they will not pack/move any opened toiletry item. 😐

seven things, seven days:
1. Uber drivers who let you plug in your phone and pick your playlist are the best Uber drivers! I had our guy dancing in his seat. We had a good time.
2. Furniture shopping is a pain-in-the ass, you guys. And whomever actively promotes a 2-6 week delivery window can burn in a fire.
3. One last visit with friends to one of my favorite restaurants in the ‘Burgh: CURE. *sniff* (And we finally remembered to use our gift certificate from two Christmases ago.)
4. Speaking of tears, I had my first ugly cry about moving this week. 🙁
5. An economics trick that might help you with your motivation {via Quartz}
6. Being a thin person for 97% of my life, this research from the Cornell Food Lab is fascinating! {via The Atlantic}
7. This article had perfect timing for me (and will for any of you who watched the Olympic Trials and/or love to run and/or take same advice for running and life): What Does it Take to Win? {via Forbes}

Weekly Therapy: One week until Christmas!

- Mel

the week:
So many things have made me happy this week. Like, immensely, beaming, ridiculous goofy grin happy.

I haven’t baked cookies in FOR.EV.ER. And I finally had the chance for our office cookie swap this week (I made gluten-free butterscotch-and-dark-chocolate-chip cookies, bee tee dubs). Scrimmage practice was silly and exhausting fun. The giddy happiness of my run/yoga club buddies also rubbed off on me. I don’t know that anything was Christmas Spirit-specific, but it’s definitely a good lead in for the Santa’s Big Day next week.

PS: It started snowing this morning! Granted, I know it’s going to be 65 degrees on Christmas but it made me happy on my walk to work.

weekend:
Tonight is the last of the holiday parties until the actual holiday. We made reservations first at Marty’s Market, since we’re headed over to that side of the city. I’ve been to Marty’s for lunch and had a GREAT meal (and they were incredible about all my food restrictions/allergies), so I’m excited to see what they do for dinner.

As I mentioned above, my office is having its cookie swap today, and I have another tomorrow morning to coincide with the annual 12 Days of Christmas WOD at CrossFit. I haven’t been to CF since summer, so this will probably hurt real bad. But YAY, cookies!

52 books in 52 weeks:
#48 The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon — a long-winded history of the infamous board game (which the boyfriend and I played a couple weekends ago), with an interesting back story about the supposed inventor(s) of the game and Parker Brothers’ ploys at monopolizing (see what I did there?) the gaming industry.

#49 Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom by Ken Ilgunas — a memoir on one way to get out of debt. I hope that I never have to resort to “vandwelling” to pay off my student loans! But it’s certainly a cautionary tale about the emotional weight of debt — with a little adventuring thrown in.

seven things, seven days:
1. I had a sense that there were trade/sell groups on Facebook for people wanting to sell off their Stitch Fix clothes [affiliate link!]. And sure enough, there are several. I sold six pieces already!
2. …and that reminds me how much that I need to get rid of these donate bags in the basement.
3. I think I’m done Christmas shopping! Can’t wait to start wrapping.
4. Starting next week (Wednesday), I have the rest of the year off!
5. I LOVE the idea of making a personal annual report! (Though actually doing it is another story.) {via The Muse}
6. Doctor’s Orders: Prescribing exercise to patients — YES, THIS {via wbur}
7. “It takes me 15 minutes to make coffee using a simple pour-over technique: boil water, grind beans, position filter, add grounds, pour water. This process keeps me occupied during the low-willpower period when I would otherwise check email or look at Twitter—both of which are likely to send me into a reactive vortex of unproductivity.” [emphasis, mine, because this is also my experience] How I Became a Morning Person {via Medium}

Weekly Therapy: National “Bring a sweater to the office (because they haven’t turned off the a/c)” Week!

- Mel

the week:
Oh, it turned October when I wasn’t paying attention. That means it’s marathon month. But also my favorite time of year — COLD WEATHER AND LAYERS. YAAAAAS. I’m not a PSL drinker, but I do love some pumpkin roll. Which I plan to make a gluten-free version of this year!

weekend:
20-miler long run weekend! I’ll be running Sunday morning with a few ladies from my 16-mile group a couple weeks ago, and completing the Lemiuex 6.6k race as part of the “course.” I won’t lie: I am terrified.

I have a massage scheduled for Saturday, which is TOTALLY IN THE WRONG ORDER OF THINGS.

52 books in 52 weeks:
I’m 6 books behind right now so I’m going to need some quick, easy, fun reads to catch up. Any recommendations? (I’m halfway through a 400-page book and about a quarter through another 400-page book.)

seven things, seven days:
1. I had brunch last weekend at the Blue Door Cafe in Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), and they had the most amazing breakfast-sandwich-in-a-gluten-free-wrap. And individual french press coffee. I can’t wait to return when we’re back in town!
2. Went to my first graduate school open house… and my good feelings about this school and program grew stronger. I only have a month though until the application deadline, so I need to start thinking about my personal statement.
3. Being in love with The Moth podcast, I was so excited to attend the Pittsburgh live tour stop of their story slam.
4. Admittedly, I lied about never wanting to run another marathon. Because one day, I’d like to run this.
5. Why is it so hard to catch your own typos?
6. This research on weight vs diet and exercise in different generations is super fascinating. {via The Atlantic}
7. I initially published this with only 6 things. That’s a first!

Weekly Therapy: Taper Madness?

- Mel

the week:
To-do notes EVERYWHERE have been saving my sanity this week. I’m finding myself being overwhelmed very easily right now and scheduling my days down to the hour. Taper madness, perhaps?

weekend:
MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING IN FOR HER BABY SHOWER! Imma be snuggling up to baby belly this weekend. And drinking some fine ass tea (and fake-eating crumpets) during her party.

If you’re in Pittsburgh, tonight is the quarterly Gallery Crawl and PDP Night Market downtown.

seven things, seven days:
1. La Bayadere was the most beautiful ballet that I’ve ever seen. I was moved to tears in Act III. Bravo, Pittsburgh Ballet.
2. I rearranged my attic because I need an office space and there is no better way to procrastinate on homework than moving furniture around by yourself!
3. Return of Run/Yoga Club together and on Wednesday evenings at Urban Elements!
4. Kind of freaking out about not getting an email confirmation from Pittsburgh Marathon peeps. While I can look my bib number up online and pick up with my ID, I feel… left out.
5. And my apologies that I can’t really spend the time that I want on this post today…
6. This seemed appropriate for the week: Self-affirmations may calm jitters and boost performance.
7. And what IS the right dose of exercise, btw? {via NYT blog}

Weekly Therapy: Rooted in Reality

- Mel

the week:
Starting the week on a 4-day stretch of headaches was no way to jump start my training routine! I think I’ve only had one migraine in my life, but this felt dangerously close to one at times — Tylenol wasn’t working, a massage didn’t work, coffee only subdued it temporarily (cheese plates made me happier, but depressingly do nothing for headaches either). My eyes were super light-sensitive and unfocused; the pain radiated from behind my eyes all the way to the innards of my cranial cavity. I can tell you that wine all but made it disappear, but returned with a roaring vengeance the next morning (with a noxious hangover, natch). Since nothing alleviated my symptoms, I’m left to think I was glutened something harsh last week, and darn it if I can’t figure out from what! See also: hormones.

The reality is that I’m now a week behind in my training for the 10-miler, and I’m just going to dust myself off and try it again (and so far, on schedule!).

Wine course from our Bar Marco dinner last weekend.
Wine course from our Bar Marco dinner last weekend.

weekend:
Birthday celebration tonight for a friend downtown (there may be more champagne with sparklers). The National Aviary is having one of their 21+ events too, Party in Paradise, which I’m also hoping to attend (albeit late).

I am also SO looking forward to a scheduled (and “free”) facial at my massage place for continuing my membership (yeah, those monthly massages are splurge-worthy AND necessary for this 30-something body).

And holy CRAP do I have a laundry list of shit to do and homework this weekend.

seven things, seven days:
1. Someone finally came over and took away my old couch (bittersweet, a bit). But YAY! My new sofa is finally in my living room (and now all the decorating re-begins).
2. A lunchtime dentist appointment brought about the scheduling for replacement of two silver fillings from, like, 20+ years ago. I seriously have A HOLE in the filling of my last molar. This reality? WHOLE PAYCHECK.
3. This week the Cultural Trust announced their 2015-2016 PNC Broadway Across America season (and specials) with a fun party at the Byham.
4. YES. >> “Books like The Secret are like McDonald’s for the mind. They’re easy and make you feel good, but they also make you mentally fat and lazy, and emotionally, you die a much more painful death.” {via the ever-provoking and awesome Mark Manson}
5. 30 YEARS of reality television, of which I have consumed with much guilty pleasure — a retrospective via Pacific Standard.
6. What you need to know about limiting beliefs: a really great post from Belief Alchemy, with includes some helpful exercises. How can you change your reality?
7. The research of walking vs. high-intensity interval training in The New York Times.