Quick weekend update!

I am definitely a creature of habit, which is exactly why traveling (especially work trips) can derail any attempt at a regimented meal schedule or set of foods to eat!

Just got back from a weekend at the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers National Conference in Anaheim, CA, where our SHPE Boston Professional chapter got 2nd place for the Business Plan Proposal and brought back $2000 for our chapter!

Me, Clara, and Jeizel after our presentation to the National Board of SHPE Directors and BOEING 

As exciting as it’s been to visit New York, Texas, and California over the course of the last 3 weekends,
it’s nice having all of the travel behind me. I warded off airport munchies temptations by bringing along books to read, but failed at portion-sizes when it came to meals: I think I was so excited to not have to be paying for the food that I would grab as much as I could fit on my plate! Haha, whoops.

Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed some delicious food over the past 3 weeks: from copious seafood appetizers
and a huge bowl of Red Mango frozen yogurt in Texas to Rainbow & Spicy Tuna rolls (see above!) with Tutti Fruti frozen yogurt and Coldstone Creamery Coffee Ice Cream in California. I've certainly enjoyed it!

Fortunately, my majority of travel is over for 2011. I have my trip home in 3 weeks for Thanksgiving,
which I couldn’t be more excited for (and of course I will be allowing myself to splurge because it’s a holiday and Pumpkin Pie & stuffing are DELICIOUS), then Las Vegas in December for my half marathon, and then finally home again for Christmas.

On a better note, I still managed to make my required runs for training for the half marathon. In New York, while visiting Jade in Brooklyn, I did a 7.5 mile long run around Prospect Park, while in Texas, I did a 4 mile Plano run (super-hot 80 degree weather!) and did an 11-mile run (in an hour and 40 minutes!!!!!!!!) in Boston the day after getting back from the trip. To finish it off, while in California, I did two 5 mile runs on
Thursday and Friday morning, around Disneyland park, and then yesterday morning I did a 10 mile loop by
doubling the 5-mile run. This was especially difficult because after one loop, I was already feeling it on my legs and it was a mental challenge to push myself to start a second loop when the left turn back into my hotel and to the Starbucks was a million times more tempting... but I did it! What worked for me was putting the thought of stopping my run early out of my mind for just long enough to distract myself and before I knew it, I was back in the zone.

Sunny Anaheim, California (on my long run!)

Now I'm back to a busy week at work - catching up on things from the past few weeks, getting ready for the end of the semester with school (can't believe it's almost over!) and trying to stay on top of SHPE and fundraising! Speaking of, I'm still a little ways away from my goal and have about $1000 left to raise (though I am waiting for some matching gifts from my company to come in so I'm not sure of the exact number) so if you haven't donated, pleaseeeee consider giving to: http://www.active.com/donate/NE11TCVEGAS/MFowler33

I'll try to update more frequently! It'll probably just be less detailed than ones like this!!

Anddddd I'm back!

Don't worry! My lack of blogging has not meant that I've been missing out on training for the half marathon.... Just that things got really hectic for a while trying to get used to balancing work, school, my budget, and training (especially as the mileage has been increasing, and outdoor temperatures steadily dropping). I finally feel like I have a great routine going on, and this past weekend I was even able to find some time to do social and fun things with some of my favorite people, (despite being so busy!)

To start, let me update you all on what I've been up to! The apartment move in is still not fully complete - I'm in need of finding a slip cover for our living room couch and buying a bigger flat screen TV- but it's so difficult researching and buying in the little time I have after work... I'm looking for a 40-46" flat screen LCD HDTV if anyone has any suggestions.... at this point, it might be better just to wait until Black Friday for some super deals!

Work and school has been going great! I love being busy and I feel like things are going in a positive direction in both respects. This upcoming weekend I'm going to Plano, TX for an Adult Deformity case, which I'm excited for but I know I'll be super busy and have no time for anything but lots of surgeon talks and cadaver labs.

This past weekend I took my first vacation since starting work and traveled to New York with Ashley to visit Jade!!!! I hadn't seen Jade since Ashley's birthday in April, so it was really nice catching up with her, seeing her apartment, and shopping / eating out / going out in NY! We had such amazing food (pictures below) and lucked out with amazing fall weather! It was so nice to break from the "catch up on errands" normal weekend and actually enjoy my time off!


Jade and I (with curled hair thanks to Ashley!) before our night out in NY Saturday night!


Prospect Park on Sunday - couldn't imagine a better fall day

Fundraising:


Well I'm officially at $2428 thanks to everyone who continues to donate!!! I'm only $1200 away from reaching my goal so I really need to push for support in these next few weeks! Every dollar counts and the more money I can raise, the more money can be provided for research and improving the quality of life of patients suffering from Chron's and Colitis! So if you gave to my fund already, THANK YOU, and if you know other people who would be able to support me, please forward along my fundraising page!

I'll be raffling off some Museum of Science tickets and most likely having a bake sale in early November to get some more $$ so keep an eye out for that!


Workouts:

I'm not going to go into ALL of the workouts I've done since my last post (which I realize is a month ago!) but I will say that in the month of September alone, I logged 99 miles of training in over 16 hours :)! And last week was my longest week of running, as I tracked 40 miles in a mix of long runs, sprints, and some recovery runs too. On my off (non-running) days, I'll do the elliptical mixed with some abs. I still need to try out my new running shoes:



Also, I managed to do the Samaritan's 5K in Brighton on 10/1 and set a new PR (24:38)



Food:

Again, not going to go through the daily list of items for all the days I've missed, but I will mention some fun items I've had (especially this past weekend!)

Vegan Cookies 'n' Creme & Butter Pecan Ice Cream


Spinach and Goat Cheese pizza and Roasted Carrots and Avocado Salad @ ABC Kitchen in NY


Delicious Bircher Muesli: Oats soaked in fruit juice with cream, dried fruit, almonds, and greek yogurt and a diced apple @ Milk Bar


Yum! Homemade asparagus & mushrooms, with chicken and tomatoes and a side of whole wheat pasta


Sauteed veggies and black beans :)


Chubby Hubby ice cream :) ... thank you Ben & Jerry's

THE MOST AMAZING WEEKEND!

WOW! I had such a great weekend I'm not sure I'm going to be able to fit it all in one post! After Felice got back on Thursday night, I realized that I had been so used to living alone, that my routine of working hard all day prevented me from allowing myself to have any fun AT ALL! I definitely needed this weekend full of relaxing, and that's exactly what I did!

Friday night I stayed in with Felice and we watched Season 1, Episode 1 of Mad Men. I had attempted to get into this show when it first came out but was too preoccupied with other things to keep up with it.

Saturday, I went to the BC football game against Duke with Tricia and her roommate Laura - which was so much fun. I ran into a LOT of BC friends that I hadn't seen in a while and it was so nice to catch up with them. It was a beautiful day! Unfortunately, BC lost, so now they're 0-3 ... but I'll be going to the game again next Saturday so hopefully they can snag their first win! I then met up with my Team Challenge group in Quincy to walk ~4 miles on Quincy Shore Drive. I met a new group of people, as I normally stick with the running crew, so that was a nice change.

Sunday morning I ran my first 10k in Gloucester at the Lone Gull and made GREAT time of 53:45 and running my longest distance ever! To some, 6.2 miles might not seem like a lot, but to me, I was just happy I finished! I placed 50th out of 175 in my age group, which, considering how many people were at this race, I'd say is pretty good! I felt so sore afterwards, but then immediately went off to the Esplanade to meet the SHPE Outreach group for a wonderful afternoon picnic with other SHPE university students! There was sandwiches, cookies, and Clara's Tres Leches cake! :) Ended the weekend watching the Pats defeat the Chargers at Sarah's apartment and then catching some good Emmy awards at the end of the night.

Workouts:

Friday: 4.3 mile run (outside at work); 37:06; discovered a new route out back that I'll definitely be running more (despite the cooler weather) because anything more than 3 miles on the treadmill is unbearable!

Saturday: 6 miles of walking (2 miles at the Reservoir, 4 miles with Team Challenge)

Sunday: 10k Lone Gull Race in Gloucester, MA; 53:45; beautiful morning race on the beach!

Fundraising:

Currently at $1628! (44% of the way there) -- I'm going to have to find some more creative ways of fundraising so I can continue to get all of this wonderful support!

Food:

Friday:
Breakfast: Chobani greek yogurt with Kashi cereal
Lunch: Turkey wrap
Dinner: Back beans with sauteed peppers, mushrooms, and onions over cucumbers and lettuce with a whole wheat piece of bread

Saturday:

Breakfast: Chobani greek yogurt with blueberries and Kashi cereal

Lunch: Turkey wrap (forgot to take a picture!)

Dinner: Burrito!

                               

Sunday:

Breakfast: Cinnamon Swirl instant oatmeal with almonds, banana; Post run: Eggs and apple

Lunch: Fage greek yogurt with blueberries and Kashi cereal

Dinner: Last of my black bean leftovers with onions and red peppers and cucumbers on a spinach salad with whole wheat bread (same pic as above!)

FELICE IS BACK!

So Felice came home last night (finally!) after traveling around the country for pretty much a month. It's so cool that her job during the week is going to client sites and getting to stay in nice hotels, but I'm definitely happy to have my roommate home for the weekend! I feel like I've been so caught up in the routine of working, eating, work out and sleeping that it's easy to forgot to add a little fun in there too, and hopefully I'll get to do that this weekend with a movie, dinner, and much needed catch-up with Felice! It's nice to have some fun fall weekends set up in advance, like with one of my best friends Ashley -- I have a NY trip and hopefully a hiking and farm/food trip coming up!! :)

Workout:

2.5 mile morning run, abs and arms workout, and 15 minute bike: Kind of tough getting going this morning because I was still sleepy (that's what I get for working out so early), but I picked up "Runner's" Magazine to get some good tips on recovery post-workout and types of shoes I might be looking into. I'll definitely want to get new running shoes before I get too close to race time, that way I can wear them in.

Fundraising:

Still at $1548! I am going to be sending out some more emails to new people next week, as well as sending personal letters so some immediate family members in hopes of bringing in another wave of funding. I was also thinking it might be cool to do bake sales in October, or try and get local restaurants to support me with gift cards and raffle them off at work! It may involve some creative event planning, but I'm DETERMINED to exceed my goal!

Food:

(Again, no pictures, I promise I'll be better today!)

Breakfast: Same as always. Strawberry Chobani with blueberries and Kashi cereal


Lunch: Boar's Head turkey breast on whole wheat bread with lettuce and spicy honey mustard.

Dinner: Leftover whole wheat pasta with Newman's Own marinara and a side salad with spinach, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and cucumbers!

Running is mental too!

Sorry about not posting yesterday! I had started to write the blog after my 8pm class (I did the class Distance Learning so I could stay at work and not have to try and rush back to Boston during rush hour) but was pretty drained. I've got to figure out a better method for organizing my to-do list for the day - I always find myself saying I'm going to get "X Y and Z" done for the day, but more and more work piles up throughout my workday that it's hard to make sure I do everything!

Regardless, Wednesday was a good, overall day:

Workout:

5 mile run outdoors with Tim (from Team Challenge) in the Brighton area -- a tough day for a run because it was 85 degrees and so completely humid, but sometimes it's necessary to run in less-than-ideal situations, because weather conditions cannot be controlled for the race day, so better to be ready for anything! Once again, enjoyed talking during the run instead of relying on my iPod, because it made the time pass by much quicker.

Fundraising:

REACHED MY CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK! Alison, the Manager of the New England Team Challenge, gave me a week goal of getting to $1500, and I'm currently at $1548! Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, you all are making such an important difference in the lives of so many Americans who are affected by these debilitating diseases. Did you know that Team New England is only $5000 away from raising $50,000 so far?!?!!? INCREDIBLE!

Food:

(No pictures because I forgot!)

Breakfast: The usual. Strawberry Chobani with 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of Kashi 7-whole grain puff cereal.

Lunch: Boars Head Lower Sodium Turkey breast on whole wheat bread with lettuce, onions, and spicy brown mustard; and some carrots

Dinner: I had a Groupon to Sunset Cantina that expired today so I took Elizabeth and Brandon to dinner and I had a turkey burger with steamed veggies and jalapenos, sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce, and green beans... yum!!

Busy bee!

With so much to do, it can be somewhat of a challenge to find enough time in the day for everything! Yesterday was a 4:30am - 11pm day (yep, that's right, 4:30am). With a morning work out, full day of work, class, a meeting, and errands before finally getting home - it felt like the day flew by! Fortunately, I got more sleep last night, but, despite the less amount of sleep, I wasn't too tired!

Work out:

35 minutes on the elliptical and a strength training (from Fitness Magazine) routine was the perfect combo this morning, as I was a little sluggish from the lack of rest. And it's a nice break between my 4 mile Monday run and (hopefully) 5.5 mile run tonight (Side note: my left foot is killing me right now from attempting to wear size 8 Gap flats (they were on sale for $16!) when I'm definitely a 9 - hoping this doesn't interfere with the run)


Fundraising:

Currently at $1468 and it's awesome throughout the day receiving the emails from my website telling me that someone has given! I am so grateful to have such generous and kind friends! Hoping to continue this rising streak so make sure to tell your friends and family to donate, too, at http://www.active.com/donate/NE11TCVEGAS/MFowler33

Food:

Breakfast: Strawberry Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt with 1/3 cup of blueberries and 1/2 cup of Kashi 7-Whole Grain Puffs

Lunch: Leftover whole wheat pasta with Newman's Own marinara sauce and a side salad with spinach, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and onions

Dinner: Tuna sandwich (in class!) on whole wheat bread, with a side of carrots and almonds (not shown) AND I proceeded to eat 1/2lb of carrots with 1/2 tub of Tribe Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (YUM) when I got home from class. :)

"Innovation begins with an eye"

So I'm reading "The Art of Innovation" for my Intellectual Assets class, and it's not only surprisingly well-written and interesting, but I find that I can't put it down! It's also very motivating for the inner-inventor in everyone -- the author provides lots of a fun anecdotal stories about various big businesses that came to IDEO for a product solution and how his engineers went about solving the problem through "human factors" innovation!

So this week, and I'm sure as the weather starts to get cooler, will be all about pushing myself even when I don't want to do any more. Running outside is not always going to be ideal, and I'm going to need the training to get up to 13.1miles, so I'm hoping my mental part of running can strengthen just as much as my physical aspect has in the past few weeks.

Workout:

In the spirit of "pushing through it," I went past my normal "3 mile treadmill runs" at the gym this morning, and made it all the way to 4 miles in 34 mins, 50 seconds... not too shabby! Granted, my body could definitely tell when I hit that 3 mile mark and the last mile was pretty tough. I'm also learning to run without my iPod, which is not as easily done when you're staring at a wall inside. I followed the run with 15 minutes of P90X Ab Ripper X and then had a very busy Monday!

Fundraising:

Still on the rise!!! I'm at $1388, so 38% of the way there! With a lot of time left, I'm definitely hoping to exceed my goal of $3700. I've got a lot of people who have said that they will give in the upcoming weeks, so that's wonderful -- thank you all!

Food:

Breakfast: Raspberry Chobani greek non-fat yogurt with 1/2 cup of Kashi 7-Whole Grains Puffs (can you tell I like consistency??)

Lunch: Other half of my whole-wheat tofu and veggie wrap with carrots on the side. Very yummy!

                                     

Dinner: Half a cup of whole wheat rotini and Newman's Own marinara sauce with a side of spinach, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions (and fat free Italian dressing), AND some carrots and roasted red pepper hummus on the side :)