Carli's Latest Blog Entry
Sometimes the gym reminds me of church. Whenever you backslide and don’t show up regularly like you’re supposed to; they are still right there waiting for you with open arms. I have not worked out in days and days and days. It’s been so hot that the heat has drained my energy. But, I decided that I could no longer use the heat as an excuse and made up my mind that I needed to go to the gym. It was much cooler outside today; it was only about 96 degrees. Although, I have been keeping busy reading and writing a lot while hiding out indoors. I even started the reading the Harry Potter Series
. I know I’m late, but I had to read the series by a lady that sold 11 Million books in one day. It’s amazing how she links every detail together in her books…I’ve got some of my own great book ideas floating around in my head, so I took a pen and paper with me to the gym. I scribbled down some of my thoughts as they came to me while I leisurely walked on the treadmill.
The sun was still beaming down on me through the wall length glass windows, and even though they had on the air-conditioning it still felt like I was walking outside in the heat. At one point I started to feel like the sun was only shining on me alone as some sort of punishment for missing so many days. I was drenched in sweat by mile two. I was really ready to leave and head home, but I figured the least I could do was walk three full miles. I managed to scribble a few more thoughts onto my paper before I was totally distracted by the man who got on the bike machine next to me. He was singing along with his music headphones so loudly. I know every once in a while we all hum the chorus, but this guy was singing every lyric and missing every note. At one point I was almost thinking I was supposed to be singing along with him. Finally, a lady walked past and asked him who he was talking to. Embarrassed, he explained that he was singing along with his music. She teased him a little bit about his “singing” voice. He must not have realized how loud he was. I was glad that she talked to him, because his off key melodies were now transformed into a quiet hum. I was so distracted by his “singing”, and the weird little muddy water sports competition show on TV that the last mile was over before I knew it. I walked a 5K on the treadmill. It feels good to stop making excuses and get back to where I belong.
I did not want to work out alone today, so I waited until my little sister was available. My god brother needed to use my car and cut my grass, so he dropped us off at the Park and I told him to come back in an hour. It was much hotter outside than either of us realized. Initially I said I was only going to walk, however since I had Week 3 playing in my ear I decided to go ahead and run anyway. My sister thought I was crazy. I actually felt kind of crazy running in the extreme heat and humidity, but I was really sick of Week 3. Today was going to be my last day of 90 second and 3 minute running intervals. After each of my casual jogging intervals my sis would do a quick sprint to catch up with me. Then I decided to just walk back to my parent’s house. She thought I was even crazier at this point. But, I could not motivate myself to walk in circles around the Park, it was so hot that I felt like I needed a destination. Nyah was with us and she looked pretty hot and tired in her big black fur coat. At one point on the walk home, we saw one of those digital signs that told us it was a scorching 94 degrees. We walked and walked some more. I called my brother and told him to meet us at mom’s house instead of the park. My sister really gave me a good laugh when she told me that she was so hot and out of breath that she actually felt like she was getting fatter as we walked. We got so warm that we started to get a little snippy with each other, and we couldn’t really complete sentences or think straight. The sun was baking us. She over hydrated and had a little bit of an upset stomach. Luckily, I think while training for the half marathon I learned the delicate balance of hydrating enough not to pass out but not too hydrated to the point that you feel the water sloshing in your stomach.
By the time we got to the front door the Nike tracker said we had completed just under three miles, but realistically it felt like six. We got some cold ice water and cooled down. My great aunt, my big little sister, my niece, and some of my cousins were there, and to my surprise they had read my post about fruit water. They said that it looked so good and recommended that I make a business out of it. I had to tell them that I was “a day late and a dollar short”, and explained that some lady already had the stroke of genius a couple years ago and got rich from bottling Hint natural fruit flavored water. I decided not to take the fruit out after the first day, and it tastes even better. Anyway, I have the joy of saying I’m finally finally finished with week 3 and can move on to Week 4. I’m walking in the Komen Race for the Cure 5K on June 11 and attempting to run a 5K on June 25. I really need to put forth more effort to stick to my training schedule, as I’m already about a week and a half behind. Well, that’s about it! I hope you have a good Memorial Day holiday weekend.
I’m convinced that the hypnosis sessions are not making me crazy. I think after just 2 days they are actually helping. It changes your cravings if that makes sense. I now have this nagging sensation that I need to go to bed at night, when normally, I’m trying to figure out if 11pm is too late to start watching a movie. The only problem I foresee is taking the time to listen to it every day. It’s only 20 minutes, but I could see how you can think of so many other things to do other than sit in a chair with your eyes closed. It’s all natural, and it has no bad side effects. Luckily, it’s just Me and Nyah, so I don’t have too many distractions in my house. It’s almost like meditation, which is something I’ve been trying to do recently, but couldn’t focus on for more than a few minutes. After about a week or so, I’ll see how many changes I’ve actually made before I promote it. Of course you can try one that you find, but I realize that with nearly 8,000 people visiting my blog every week, I should be mindful of my platform and things I recommend. Since I went to parties all weekend and ditched my workout routine; I was determined to get back with it today. I went to the park and attempted to run with Week 3. My calves hurt so bad after the 3 minute run. My legs started screaming at me with an Old English accent “Carli, why doth ye cause us to endure such pain?!” LOL! I pushed through as much as I could. About half way through my little sister called, very upset that I didn’t invite her along. “No worries” I told her, “I’ll come get you and we can go back together.” I finished Week 3 (as best I could) and picked her up. We went back to the park, and walked to the cool tunes of Twilight Tuesday, a free outdoor summer concert series in the park. At the end of the evening, I ran/walked a total of about 4 miles.
What Did Carli Eat Today? (Nothing to Brag about, but no sweets)
B- Banana Nut Muffin and O.J.
L- Beef tacos, mexican rice and Beans and too many tortilla chips and Salsa (My sis came downtown and we went out for Mexican my fav)
S- A pack of 4 snack crackers before my run
D- KFC – Grilled Chicken, Green beans, Biscuit (too tired to cook after my workout)
I woke up this morning, determined to get in a sweaty nasty funky workout. The kind that makes you burn mega calories and lose weight. Struggling to button my pants really freaked me out…. I realized I hadn’t actually been out running for a while and wanted to get back with the program. I got Miss Nyah and headed to the park. It was definitely a lot warmer than it has been for the past week, but without the extreme humidity we had this summer. Nonetheless, I was sweating before I even got out my car. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I looked at Nyah jumping all around waging her tail, and wished I could share in her excitement about our upcoming routine. I put on my Week 3 podcast and got to it. The first two runs were fine. But the last two runs were pretty tough, I kept thinking to myself how amazing that I used to run for 3 whole miles and wishing I could push myself to run as fast as I ran after that chick that stole my purse. I slowed down to a walk during the last 3 minute run. I thought about those tight pants again, y’all might think I’m joking, but that really traumatized me. It pushed me right into gear as I finished Week 3 again.
Later that evening, Me and Mr. Man went to my friend’s BBQ. As soon as I arrived, I got a text from my girl at work that read “Eat vegetables!” I laughed and thanked her for her support and encouragement. Man, I’ve got good friends! I ate light early in the day so that I could eat a little more at the BBQ. I probably still ate a little too much, and decided I wasn’t going to post “What Did Carli Eat Today?” But, avoiding writing down what I ate doesn’t avoid weight gain. And unfortunately, there were no veggies at the party. But we had a good time, and I laughed every time my friend who reads my blog called him “Mr. Man”.
What Did Carli Eat Today? ( I was a total carnivore today)
B- Bowl of Cinnamon toast Crunch mixed with Fiber One
L- Piece of steak (random, but I had to cook it before it went bad)
D- At the BBQ – A Cheeseburger with lettuce pickle & onion, a couple bbq chix party wings, a handful of Doritos, 3 meatballs, about ½ cup of pasta salad. Not too bad, but then came the devil food. A little slice of both kinds of cake AND a caramel apple to go.
*Overall, I feel good because I good because I got in a great run and regardless of whether it was a perfect food day , I WROTE IT DOWN!
On Friday, I went across the river to Mr. Man’s side of town. I went to his house for the 1st time. I was a little concerned that in 2 months, he had been to my house numerous times, but I had never been to his. I had all these crazy ideas about what to expect, since I was traumatized by my younger days, when I dated this dude for like 3 months, that “forgot” to mention his wife and 2 kids that he lived with. Then, my Mama told me about this guy that dated this lady for years, only to find out that she was never allowed to visit his house because he lived with another man! To make it worse, Mr. Man kept saying stuff like, “I’ll pick you up” or “Let’s just meet at the restaurant” Oh no, I told him, I’m coming over, and I’m coming inside…. To my delight, there were no mystery wives, children or gay lovers living there. LOL! Later that evening, we ate way too much at Fast Eddie’s whose specialty is fresh grilled 99 cents half pound hamburgers. On Saturday Morning I got up before 8 AM to workout, because I knew there wouldn’t be enough time during the day. I popped in one of Chatty Cathie’s DVDs
. Okay, so I’m talking about the “Walk at Home” connoisseur Leslie Sansone. That lady talks so much. She talks during the entire workout, and doesn’t take a breath. I think that’s her specialty, you’re so busy listening to her that you don’t realize that you stood in front of the TV and walked 3 miles. That afternoon, I had errands to run and some business to handle. Before I realized it, Mr. Man was right on time, standing at my door in a suit, and I was dressed in track pants and a Michael Jackson T-Shirt
. Give, me 10 minutes, I lied, it’ll be the fastest transformation you’ll ever witness. It was longer than 10 minutes, but I certainly got “wedding ready” pretty quickly. My childhood friend was getting married, and I took Mr. Man as my date.
The outdoor wedding was soooo fabulous! She must have prayed all year for a sunny day with a cool breeze, because I wouldn’t be surprised if we had snow, rain and a heat advisory all in in the same day…. It was funny at work on Friday, one of the lawyers said, if you don’t like this thunderstorm, just wait an hour. And just like she said the sun was shining as if the mid-day storm never happened. Anyway, my friend looked flawless on her special day. Her dress was gorgeous. Everything was perfect. I was so surprised to see baby pics of me and the bride I’d never seen in the wedding slide show during the portion with her childhood pictures. That was so special. As things came to the close, we line danced to the cha-cha slide at the reception and had a blast.
Sunday, I hung out with my girls who missed hanging with me since they say I’m “always on dates.” We went to a “Day Party” with a great DJ that played instruments and sang with the music, on a restaurant patio on one the last few good weather days before winter rears it’s ugly head. After dinner with the girls, I picked up my little sister, who also complained about not getting enough sister time since I got a new man in my life. We watched Brooklyn’s Finest
, which was a flick about crooked New York cops. It was almost a little too graphic for me. I love scary movies and one of my favorite TV shows is the super bloody show about a serial killer named Dexter
. But, I was not huge fan of the watching this movie, because it’s the stuff that you unfortunately know happens every day in real life. We woke up bright and early today. It was a holiday, Labor Day. And I took full advantage of it, I said I was not leaving until my house was clean. The little sis fussed about dog hair everywhere, and I realized my true shop-aholicness when I put away clothes I didn’t remember buying or even wearing. But at the end of the day, the house was clean…This afternoon, I went over and met Mr. Man’s Mom, and the other siblings that I hadn’t met. They were all so nice and treated me like family. I had to throw in the good stuff like, I don’t have any kids, I work at law firm, I have a masters degree, etc etc…. “Did I pass?” I questioned him later, he said “Yes, baby with flying colors, you even earned 1001 brownie points” I told him, that was good and that he should expect that one day, I’m going cash them in, and see what they’re worth!
