Vitamin D

Weekly Therapy: 40 + 1

- Mel

the week:
I’ve experienced all kinds of weather in Iowa, but this week’s crazy severe storms and tornado warnings had me legit freaking out. I don’t ever want to be in my car during a 70-mph wind storm ever again! I saw a trampoline in a tree, so I’m pretty sure that’s like Iowa Bingo right there.

four seasons of weather in iowa

All that said, what was 94 and humid at the beginning of the week is now 45 degrees and depressingly gloomy.
-_-

weekend:
It’s a weekend of brunches! After my Saturday morning run, our group is having brunch at Louie’s Wine Dive to celebrate our race reason. On Sunday, the hubs and I are going to see “Curious Incident…” at Des Moines Performing Arts Center and having brunch beforehand at Bubba | Southern Comfort (I need those buckwheat waffles).

seven things, seven days:
1. A coworker gave me two heirloom tomato plants. I’m so excited to take care of these guys and tend to fruit! I miss our little urban plot that we had in Pittsburgh, and want to make a plan to have a small vegetable garden in place by next year.
2. Did you see the FitSpi shorts that will be in next month’s Runner Crate? Got me to subscribe. [affiliate link] 3. I found the cats have been taking turns napping on my workout bag that I leave on the bench in our garage entry. One of them is snoring over there right at this moment. ?
4. That Demi Lovato collection at Fabletics is ?.
5. Lucky Charms is hosting a contest to win a MARSHMALLOW ONLY box of cereal. Gimme.
6. A story too close to the skin for me: Vitamin D deficiency vs. Skin cancer {via HealthLine}
7. I no longer feel guilt over wasting time (though I am also much, much better at managing my time) {via Quartz}

Weekly Therapy: Luck o’ the Irish to you!

- Mel

the week:
Current status: Eating leftover (gluten-free!) wedding cake for breakfast.

weekend:
So, we made our marriage license official — and celebrated EIGHT YEARS together! ? We found a wonderful lady to come to our home and get our signatures (along with our witnesses), and then will celebrate with some corned beef and cabbage and shots of Irish whiskey.

Sláinte!

seven things, seven days:
1. Spent the week planning out my 50k training (and scheduling periods of NO RUNNING throughout the remainder of my 2017 calendar).
2. I also started my packing list for Ragnar Luckenbach at the end of the month.
3. The Science and Art of Belief – in trail running {via Trail Runner Magazine}
4. Even in middle age, your best running days may be ahead. HOORAY!
5. This research is important for me to see — and, I hope, more to come about low levels of Vitamin D in athletic populations, as I’m someone with seriously-low D3 levels with an inability to absorb supplementation and maintain normal levels: New study identifies threshold for vitamin D supplementation in athletes
6. THE MARSHMALLOW TEST IS A LIE (well, sort of) {via Psychology Today}
7. Speaking of marshmallows… I’m going to eat another bowl of Lucky Charms (they’re gluten-free!)

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 84

- Mel

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately

Hey, guys! I took a couple weeks off my Sunday posts, but I’m back with Week 84.

Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy) where everyone is welcome to pop a tent and share some S’mores. Catch up and read all of my Sunday Lately posts and camp out with the Tribe on Facebook

Today’s prompt:: Updating, Remembering, Needing, Wearing, Being

Updating:: Since I’ll be traveling back to Ohio for my grandmother’s memorial service, we’ve updated our travel plans to fly home from Pittsburgh — so we can spend a night there and visit some friends. I’ll be looking for my old running buddies!

Remembering:: my Vitamin D3 supplements. Since establishing new care here in Iowa, I had new bloodwork done, and I’m back to where I’ve started being SUPER low and requiring high daily IUs. Changing my diet hasn’t helped, supplements didn’t work last year either until I increased to 5000 IUs per day (which has its own risks and wasn’t sustainable) — and spending additional time in the sun isn’t recommended given my skin’s preference for burning and my history of skin cancer. But I’m giving the daily a go again, particularly because I’m nervous about being active and the supposed increased risk of stress fractures.

Needing:: to get my butt moving here, and get my long run done. I’ve got six miles staring back at me today. Time to load up on breakfast foods!

Wearing:: With the hype and fanfare of the Olympics right now, I feel like wearing one of my running medals all of the time. Just me?

Being:: super annoyed at the instability of my internet connection this weekend. While it only goes down for a handful of seconds (once, for about five minutes), it’s frustrating when you want to get stuff done. We’ve reset and recycled it this morning, so hopefully the intermittent outages be gone. At least I finally got this post done!

Every 30-something needs… happy, healthy joints.

- Mel

Are you a daily supplement user? How do your joints feel during — and after — activity? Research indicates that active people should take glucosamine daily for joint health. I only recently started reading about supplements for my bones and joints because of my severe Vitamin D deficiency and the side effects of such. Glucosamine supports the function and mobility of joints.

Breakfast of Champions: coffee, Joint Juice and leftover cranberry bread from Thanksgiving! :)
Breakfast of Champions: coffee, Joint Juice and leftover cranberry bread from Thanksgiving! 🙂

The producers of a product called Joint Juice® connected with me recently to tell me about their products that supply a full day’s worth of glucosamine and chondroitin. Originally developed by an orthopedic surgeon for pro-athletes, Joint Juice® contains 1,500 mg of glucosamine in each of its products. Even better, their ready-to-drink supplement has 400 IUs of Vitamin D3, along with Vitamin C and other antioxidants. This daily drink is a convenient way to keep joints healthy and happy so you can do what you love and continue being active in your 30s and beyond. I received samples of the cranberry pomegranate-flavored drink from Joint Juice, which is tasty, though I did detect a slightly off-putting aftertaste. Kind of like when you chew vitamins — a necessary but temporary suffering.

So, what is glucosamine? Glucosamine occurs naturally in your body, which we tend to produce less as we age. That’s where supplementing has been shown effective in maintaining healthy joint cartilage. Glucosamine also works to lubricate your joints by helping cartilage tissue absorb water and to perform its job of cushioning and mobility.

What is chondroitin? Chondroitin is an element of healthy cartilage. So, taking chondroitin with glucosamine supports joint function.

Bonus: Vitamin D Recent research indicates that Vitamin D is essential for a number of cellular activities and most people don’t get enough. And I need all that I can get!

30-Something Approved: I’m an active person, so I am also actively concerned with keeping my body healthy and working properly. If you’re interested in trying Joint Juice®, it can be purchased at Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and the Joint Juice online store. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram. If you’re in Pittsburgh and interested in trying, I have a couple samples that I can share too.

Disclaimer: Premier Nutrition sent me a case of Joint Juice® in exchange for review as part of the FitFluential network. All opinions herein are my own.

Weekly Therapy: A change will do you good.*

- Mel

the week:
This has been a rough week. My job was realigned into a new department, on a new team, and I now also report to a new person. There has been a lot of confusion about how my role is changing for the company, and I’m really trying to be open about embracing those changes. What a lesson in organizational development and change management! I wish I was currently in those i/o-psych classes to tap into the experience a little more. And, maybe… help me process everything.

weekend:
It’s finally here — graduation and commencement! (Are they the same thing? WHO CARES! HOORAY!) I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family and celebrating this accomplishment. But also will be doing a LOT of thinking about my future on this weekend’s 16-mile (!!!) long run (I ended up registering for another half marathon to keep me accountable). I really think that I need that career coach.

52 books in 52 weeks:
I realized this week that I’m *tired* right now of reading self-development/inspirational/how-to books. I need a break and some more reading for fun. Have any good book recommendations? Please leave in the comments! I do prefer non-fiction, so a good memoir or biography that you’ve read would fit my interests.

seven things, seven days:
1. We went out (and subsequently got *smashed*) on a Sunday night when we found out that Howl at the Moon was having a luau because of the holiday weekend. We had a BLAST! Nice change of pace.
2. I’m all for social media, but can we PLEASE stop with the wedding hashtags?
3. Speaking of change, I had some lavender dyed into the “hidden”/underneath part of my hair. YOLO, amirite.
4. Pittsburgh blogger? Sign up for Allegheny Inn’s “Partei Für Blogger” happening next Friday.
5. The heel of my loafers somehow completely fell off on my walk to work on Thursday. Like, seriously life?
6. Performance sportswear gives psychological as well as physical boost
7. A breakdown of research about the role of Vitamin D in athletic performance — something that I’ve long considered is the reason behind all my persistent fatigue and exhaustion (I have extremely low levels of Vitamin D, despite supplementation; and yet, still have no answers as to why).

*can’t get that dang song out of my head!

Weekly Therapy: Is dissatisfaction the direct opposite of satisfaction?

- Mel

the week:
I’m done with this heat and humidity and feeling as though my eyeballs are sweating every time I go outside (and even knowing wtf a dew point is, but know every day that it’s terrible). I miss laying out in my hammock a lot. The cover hasn’t been off the thing since early June when my sister and niece visited. Gross.

weekend:
It’s FURRIES WEEKEND — and probably one of my favorite weekends in Pittsburgh! This year, Anthrocon is doing its annual parade outside for the public on Saturday afternoon, and I intend to be there. I’ll also be gathering with some friends on Friday for Happy Hour to help welcome them into town.

Saturday night is the Deutschtown Music Festival, and I’ll be bar-hopping a little that evening as well. Sunday, I’ve got a long run (7 miles) on the schedule and MUCHO homeworko. Or something.

52 books in 52 weeks:
In the middle of a couple books, but didn’t finish anything this week.

seven things, seven days:
1. Started my week off with a 90-minute massage — with someone new and also a man, which is beside the point — I’ve been having difficulty with my usual therapist’s schedule fitting mine, so I might have a new go-to because I feel amazing. (And I’m not waiting two months to go back again.)
2. My friends (who we traveled to Costa Rica with two years ago) sent me some coffee straight from Guatemala and I just want to hoard it. SO DELICIOUS.
3. Blood work this week to check on how my Vitamin D levels (and everything else) are doing. Having a late morning appointment when having to fast is something awful. And then I almost passed out on the nurse. :-/
4. …and the results are already in by the publishing of this post: I’m now back on prescription D. Again. UGH.
5. How do you find time for more reflection every week? Asking for a friend.
6. This post from Ash Ambirge STOPPED. ME. IN. MY. TRACKS. I can’t get her/this post out of my head. Kick in the ass needed. {via the middle finger project}
7. Speaking of which, Yes & Yes also has an amazing post about change. This one resonated with me so much, especially with recent events of which I’ve vague-posted. {h/t to Nicole at Life Less Bullshit for emailing out this article}