Articles in July, 2011, Page 2

I Knew I was Random, But Lovely Too?! Thanks! :)

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

So guess what?!?! I’m smiling because I have earned another blogger award! 🙂 These things can really do wonders for a girl’s self-esteem, but really now, no more because I don’t want my ego to get so big that it is weighing me down on my runs. 😉

I was awarded the One Lovely Blogger Award by two AWESOME people who have blogs of their own that I truly adore. I love reading Amy over at One Chic Chickpea because 1) I am in no way chic so I’m hoping that by reading I can somehow vicariously become a bit chic 2) she’s got mad photog skills and her pictures are stunning and 3) she’s not only got a refreshing and uplifting perspective on everything but every time I leave her blog I feel better and have a smile on my face.

Now Nikki over at The Worth of my Sole I love because she’s got a nice dash of snarky sarcastic wit about her, and I think in real life we’d have some nice banter going on. She also parlays this humor into her pictures…girl says it like it is and shows it like it is. She’s also heckbent on continuing this running journey thang, and since it’s the beset sport around, I, of course approve…hehe. So if you haven’t yet, got check these ladies out! And without further adieu, 7 random facts about me:

1) I’m always right…errr, left…no, I mean right! Okay, so you know how kids usually master the whole left and right thing by about kindergarten? Well, not this chick. I am constantly having a brainfart and saying right, meaning the other right, and making a fool of myself. In fact I’ve got a friend of mine who is by no means lacking in the whole brains department (the jury is still out on me) because he graduated med school and all (don’t worry he finally got his priorities in order and is now a cartoonist, hey you should check Ben out!!) and he too suffers from adult onset right-wrongness. We are starting a support group and are incorporating the little ‘make an L with your left hand as a reminder’ as our secret club sign.

2) I HATE meatloaf…I mean I hate it with a passion. This really isn’t fair really because I have some friends who can cook like a mofo and would probably make a kick butt meatloaf. The thing is, when I was little I had a series of traumatic meatloaf encounters…you did read that right. The first came when I was about five and my mom got really sick with pneumonia, like hospital style sick. So my grandma came and took care of my bro and me. She always made the same nasty meatloaf for dinner and would put a ton of ketchup on the top before putting it into the oven so when it came out it had that nice charred skin on top. Nice. This scarred my bro and I so bad that we refused to eat any kind of meatloaf after; cut to visiting my other set of grandparents and my bro and I were stuck sitting at the table for over three hours in an ‘I refuse to eat this stand off.’

3) That’s Po-Po not Poopoo. My dad is half Chinese-Hawaiian and so I call my grandparents on his side Po-Po and Gung-Gung. Po-Po is Chinese for grandma and I think you can guess the second one. My family throws these terms around so freely we forget sometimes that everyone else probably has no idea what the heck a Po-Po is, so it’s made for some pretty funny miscommunications. PS-My Po-Po is famous for her sweet monkeybread style cakes!!!

4) I’m REALLY afraid of the Wicked Witch of the West. When I was little, like everyone else, I saw the Wizard of Oz. The thing is, while I adored the whole Dorothy-Munchin thing (glad I missed the dead dude hanging in the background thing until high school) I was TERRIFIED of the witch. So much s.o that when my family got us tickets to see the Wizard of Oz on Ice I refused to go and see it because I was afraid the witch would come into the audience and grab me.

5) They took gullible out of the dictionary and put Cait in instead. I’m seriously one of the most gullible people around. Some of my close friends like to really take advantage of that and the things I’ve believed are hi-larious. I’ve gotten better thanks to their hazing but every now and again I fall like a sucker.

6) Say what?! That said, I’m also someone who probably kids around too much and with people I don’t even really know that well. I have a habit of saying sarcastic things or statements made in jest to anyone and everyone, even if it’s the man behind the counter of DMV. Sometimes people do take me literally and I have to go back and say, “Sorry, I’m joking. When you asked me my gender, Mr. DMV Man, I am in fact a female, I just was being a dork. I apologize.”

7) Yes I went to band camp, and yes I played the flute. Thank you American Pie for making any and all bandcamp flautists sort of say that and cringe, awaiting the reaction of the other people and the lame jokes that follow. I actually played the flute from 6th grade through 8th grade and went to bandcamp I believe three years. It was really fun, mostly because my best friend was with me and we’d take full liberty to act as fools. She once got really bored during rehearsal and so naturally started just chewing the heck out of the reed on her clarinet. Cut to an hour later when the instructor asked her to play a solo…hmmm, that reed chewing wasn’t such a good idea. But I actually did take the flute thing really serious and only gave up music to try this whole running thing.

And those are some rando facts about little old me! Now I get to nominate 7 other awesome bloggers to hear about some random stories from them…so here goes my little bloggy buddies:

Melissa at The Healthy Cupcake

Kristine at Running On Hungry

Jen at Run for Anna

Margs at Faster Bunny

Michelle at Crazy Runner Legs

Pink-Runner

Katy at Fit in Heels

1) What’s something random about yourself?

2) Is there something you were deathly afraid of as a kid that is ridiculously laughable now?

3) Brag on yourself time…anyone race? Kick butt workouts?

Must Hit Rave Runs!!

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

You know how Runner’s World has their whole Rave Run page? Well, I’m gonna do my own take on that one:

*X-Mas day, Roseville, CA (20-something early). Celebrate this glorious holiday (if you don’t celebrate Christmas that’s okay too and just go out and run, the nice thing is that the streets are usually pretty vacant, what with most of the other people in home or at church) with a relaxing run into gale force winds. Good thing the roads are ghost town-esque because we saw you literally being blown into the street by that last windburst. Also good that the stoplights are giving you the all clear signal because with that tailwind there was no way of stopping before being hucked into the roadway. Enjoy this run with your mom, too bad she’s not fat enough for you to draft off of.

*Sizzling scorching track of he!!, Bella Vista, CA (20-whatever). You can see the steam radiating off of the track, don’t look now but I think I just saw a bug try and cross through lane one but fried before making it the full way. You really don’t want to know the actual temperature, once it’s over 110 it’s safe to say ignorance is bliss. 800 repeats, say what? Oh, thank you coach for having the forethought to bring some gallons of water to pour over our heads between intervals.

* Some track meet, North Carolina, June-ish. Let’s hold a really fun meet back where we have this glorious thing called humidity. Let’s also bear in mind that this state gets crazy weather moody and will spontaneously burst into insane stormage during hot, humid, sticky, stankyness. Gotta love it when you’ve warmed up for your race, oh, then due to lightening and all that the race gets delayed. That’s okay, take a minute to enjoy the fireworks at this beautiful locale. Time to warm-up again, now we’re on the starting line…and…psyche!! Look, more lightening…cool stuff, we’ll just push this little race thing off a wee bit more. Thank you NC. Perhaps a stop at Friendly’s to pass the time? Third times’ a charm though and you’ll get that race in before midnight, don’t worry.

*Park City, Utah, Summer. Go to this swanky getaway in the offseason when most of the area is vacant. You’ll pretty much have the run of the roost…heck, even the air molecules are out of town. This one takes the cake though only if you suddenly have to get an emergency appendectomy. Don’t you worry your pretty little head because you’ll be back and running again soon. A day and a half later and take it to the streets, that funny little jiggly feeling in your gut is sorta trippy, kind of like phantom-appendix syndrome. (PS-wanted to run the next day but coach says no…sneaking out is a bit though to do when the only people in the immediate area are you, your runner buddies, and the hotel staff.)

*Podunk Town, CO, Roadtripping, Summer. We all love a grand expedition, exploring new areas, getting lost maybe on purpose to discover hidden, hole in the wall places. Hey, did you just spot that Dairy King, are you kidding me?! But the only way to really have a blast roadtripping is when you’re with a crazy aunt who totally doesn’t ‘get’ the whole running thing at all. “Just don’t run.” Response or explanation is futile but do try to be as accommodating as possible, “I am fine just running on the side of the road. Just pull over, let me off, and I’ll go.” (Side note, if you’re a minor your elders are naturally a little hesitant to let you wander off alone, hence the roadside idea, not a very busy road, you can even drive alongside and clock me if you want!) Although who wants to make things easy? To get the full experience of Podunk your aunt wants to find the BEST spot for you to run, if you’re jyping time out of her trip to let you run, then she’s apparently heck-bent on finding the most exciting place to do it. Cut to an hour later when she’s the one who has deemed no other place worthy, though you’ve suggested plenty, and now she’s cussing you out. Funny how in the end that run is done on the side of the road. Do come back and visit again soon!

*Walker Road, Beaverton, Oregon. Is that the sun I see? Holy smokes that’s a rare sighting, so you better get out there and enjoy it! Strap on that watch and get to moving. Cruising along, what really makes this run a highlight is…BAM…gotta get slammed by a car. Don’t look now but your tib and fib are waving hello!

Bwahaha…if you can’t laugh about something then you are at the wrong blog. Hope you enjoyed my little rendition there. We all have those funny runs that stick out in our mind for one reason or the other. Either done in horrible conditions or just the backstory makes them insanely hilarious…not at the time of course, but looking back on them.

Now, I’m a weather weenie and haven’t experienced anything too bad in the freezing, snowy conditions department, but I’ve got the hot and smoggy ones…who needs ‘good’ air quality anyways?! I’d love to hear some stories from peeps who nearly lost a foot or nose from frost bite or something.

1) Would you rather run/workout in crazy hot conditions or freezing frigid ones?

My answer always seems to change depending on whatever I’m currently in. The grass is always greener, right?

2) Ever had something thrown at you during a run?

I’ve gotten a half filled water bottle that hurt like a mofo. But I’ve heard of way worst things happening so I know I’ve gotten off easy on that. My mom once got a baby pumpkin chucked at her on Halloween; it was night, she didn’t see it coming, and it hit her right in the throat, knocked the wind out of her pretty bad.

3) Share a Rave Run of your own! (PS-don’t worry, in another post I’m going to do a more serious one about runs that were genuinely special at the time or big highlights, but for now let’s keep it sarcastic, okay?!! Haha)

English Muffin Withdrawals and Then I Get All Sappy Motivational On You

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Cait — 4 Comments ↓

So I’ve already raved about loving the new gym situation here in Cali. It’s not a secret either that the BIGGEST draw for moving back to the Sacto area was to be around these folks…

…the fam bam. I’m also kinda hoping some of that style and good looks rubs off on me, but let’s be honest I think after 25 years I’m really just a lost cause.

That said there are some things that I’m missing from the Portland area. The weather, duh, I’m not a fan of smoking hot summers. Upon hearing that I grew up in CA the first thing most people assume is that 1) I’m a surfer 2) I eat sushi by the poundage and suck down wheat grass shots and 3) I grew up on the coast…sorta ties into the first one I guess. The fact that I do actually love sushi is not going too work its way into the post…oops. Well, I still have never tried wheat grass, okay?!

My response to this is, “Okay, no, I grew up in Roseville, it’s in the Sacramento area and really, Sacto is the armpit of California.” Yes, it’s the capital, and for a while we did get to boast of having a governator who could rip you apart and beat you to a bloody pulp if he wished…unless you were a house maid in which case he’d ravage you in another way. Sorry, that was s bit dirty…I digress.

Sacto summers are hot as heck and really super smoggy. In high school it was not uncommon to hear over the loud speaker: “Today is a spare the air day due to the toxic air quality. All sports practices are canceled…football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, cheer…oh, wait, but cross-country is still meeting.” Actually all us distance runners took some glee in the fact we were the only ones dedicated enough to still get out there and burn our lungs to a blackened, smoggy crisp all in the name of the sport.

So yes, I miss P-town’s cooler temps and even the rain. I’m not a person who found it depressing, it was all fine by me, except the times we were getting snow. Now, today I’m realizing two BIG things I’m really going to be missing. I didn’t know they wouldn’t be available when I crossed the border…

Alpenrose Fat Free Cottage Cheese and Franz B lueberry English Muffins!!! Egads, I’m about ready to throw a duel funeral or find a way to smuggle myself some of these in bulk quantities. Not gonna lie I’ve contemplated calling up a store and seeing if they would order these for me special or even the companies directly…I’m only quasi-joking here.

The thing is, I eat much of the same shiznit and I eat a lot of it. If I find something I like I’m pretty dang loyal and it has to be my thing, my brand. I then take full ownership and wrath will befall any fellow customer who dares to snag the last of said item on the shelf before I get to it…I totally called dibs and they knew it!

The cottage cheese, I didn’t realize how much of a difference taste-wise there is between brands. All are not created equal and here it’s super evident…I got some Knudsen’s the other night and nearly just spit it out. I couldn’t even force the rest down. Oh, Alpenrose, how I miss you so! I’d go through a 16 oz carton a day, that stuff has got some awesome protein stats and the tub along would clock me in at 48 g’s total.

Now the blueberry English muffins, if you think I’m wonk for listing these things and think they are boring you are dead wrong….dead wrong! These are really the equivalent of a healified regular blueberry muffin, no joke. They even flipping smell amazing, I mean they make anything in about a 4 foot radius smell all blueberry and yummy. They don’t have these ANYWHERE here and nothing even to substitute them with, like a different brand. There are always those cinnamon raisin ones but no other fruity ones…I’m sad. And PS- I would eat a full 6 count sleeve a day too (umm, carbs are good peeps!)…so really I think logistically I should be able to warrant some kind of bulk shipment, right?!?!

I feel a bit like Julia and Christina should they not be able to get their Puffins fix. So Franz and Alpenrose, if you are reading this I LOVE YOU and I miss you. Please come back, I feel like a jilted lover, you broke up with me so fast, I didn’t even get a chance for closer. Maybe I’ll write some kind of Taylor Swift-esque song a la her Joe Bro phone break-up.

I jest, but apparently because Oregon is really into supporting local businesses and both Franz and Alpenrose are Oregon based, that’s why they were easy to snag up there and non-existent here. Ugh.

In other news, I wanted to thank YOU all for your awesome show and movie suggestions. I have a gift card to Borders and what am I going to buy? If you guessed a ton of smarty people books that will no doubt help enlighten me and make me a better, more well rounded person, you’re wrong.

Though maybe I should because I have a potential cartoon gig that is for a financial business. They want some cartoons for their newsletters…do you ever have an assignment that you just feel too stupid for? Haha. But I think we all have those times where we feel out of our element but you have to just fake it til you make it and play along. I mean of COURSE I’m gonna work my tail off and Google like a demon to provide the best material I can for these folks, I want the gig, and darn it this girl may not be smart but I’ll pretend I am anyways! All in the name of art! 😛

But seriously, how do you handle situations like that? They come in different forms, you’re new to a class and don’t want to be the dork doing the dance moves in the opposite direction as everyone else. You meet up with a new running group, turns out they are a bit faster than you, but you do your best to keep up and pretend you’re not totally dying…and you hope they don’t notice that as the miles progress you are contributing less and less to the conversation.

It comes down to this though, how important is it to you? How bad do you want it? Are you going to let the fear of looking like a doof or not being able to achieve something stop you from ever trying? Or from giving it your all? I want this cartoon assignment so dangnamit I’m going to do what I have to to make it the best that I can and pretend that I have a smarty-top-financial-business-world savvy bone in my body. (I hope that one wasn’t broken in the car wreck…haha.)

With the fitness thing, lots of people just take themselves out of the game by putting limits on themselves. They are the ones who build their own ceiling, but if they were to just not look up and instead look straight ahead, keep putting one foot in front of the other, they’d eventually realize that the looming ceiling they had isn’t there. Or maybe it’s a glass one and all they have to do is shatter it.

You don’t think you can run a 5k? Well, take it mile by mile, or minute by minute and work up to it. You don’t think you can do a 10k? Reference last bit of advice…and so on. Ya, the speed thing, and getting those times faster is tricky, not gonna lie there, and to a certain point I guess you could say there are physical limits…I mean they don’t have those fun little record books for nothing!

But just tell the fear of at least trying to take a U-Haul back to where it came from. But would you ask it to pick me up some Alpenrose Fat Free Cottage Cheese and Franz Blueberry English Muffins if it happens to find any?!?!

1) Are you pretty brand specific? Name a certain food item that you HAVE to have your way, and would beat down a fellow shopper if they snagged the very last one before you got to it.

2) Are you one of those smarty pants who can talk politics and World finances with the best of them?

No. I try to keep it to the important stuff like Seinfeld references and celeb news.

3) How do you handle tackling goals that you sometimes feel might be unobtainable? In moments of doubt what keeps you going?

In the past, when I was racing, my coach would be the one to tell me that they thought I could do something. Often times I thought they were crazy and I’d never be able to do ‘X’ but the thing is, I trusted THEM enough that I forced myself to believe it was possible. When I would doubt it I just thought, “Well, if my coach says I can do it, I can.” And the crazy thing is that whatever they said I could do usually ended up happening. Eventually maybe we all have to be able to take ownership I think and set the goals ourselves, but maybe not though because having someone else push you just that little bit more is a good thing, just so long as we keep moving forward and do chase those big dreams.

Do I Still Look Like a High Schooler?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Cait — 10 Comments ↓

So last night I got to visit with one of my all time favorite people from high school!! Okay, I’m not sure about you, but for me high school was not all that stellar. I’m not into the whole clique thing and I’m also the kind of girl who gets along much easier with guys. I’m not into the whole drama-rama scene that can sometimes run rampant among girlfriends/frenemy type situations.

I just would rather say something like it is, if I’ve got a beef then let’s just put it out there and move on. Not the ‘oh I love you to your face/hate you the second you turn around’ kinda thing. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t totally awesome girls that I AM friends with, but just that sometimes avoiding the whole catty backstabbing thing can be tough. I don’t think I’m going to take this ramble any further because I’m pretty sure any other female reading this out there knows exactly what I’m talking about. Why all the hate? Why do many women want to tear the others apart or rip on any other female that seems to be doing well?

(Does my cartoon of a warthog passing noxious gas really relate here at all? Let’s see, well I guess we could say high school was a gas of smellyness?? Eh, I just like the picture, okay! hehe)

So but anyways, high school was a tricky time, but again I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person for whom that holds true. Ummm, all I’m gonna say right now is ‘Freaks and Geeks’ for anyone who happens to have any pull whatsoever, PLEASE resurrect this show. I also want the original cast back, I don’t care that they are way older now. And am I the only loser who could have a crush on Sam Weir? I’ve got issues. Don’t worry though, James Franco is also hot in my book.

Back on track, last night I got to hang out with one of my fav peeps from back in the day, and it was one of those things where I think it’s been about nine years since I’ve seen him (he is a few years older than me) but after about 10 minutes we were able to catch each other back up to speed and it was like no time had passed. Me: “Moved to Oregon, hit by a car, that was crazy…I’m back now, I need to make friends and do stuff…I’m relegating you in charge of my social life.” Him: “College at UCLA, bartended on the side, I blew fire, threw some people out of the bar, moved back up to Sacto, now feel like an old fart and am I wearing a suit?” Loved it.

Also ironic how we were at the same little Starbucks shopping center that everyone frequented back in the day. In fact we were about two stops down from the Baskin Robbins we’d all hit up on Dollar Scoop Night on Tuesdays. (PS-Baskin is not even close to the best ice cream place, sorry Mr. Robbins, but who can turn down dollar scoops? More correctly it was a $3 three scooper for me.) There were of course now plenty of today’s high school aged kids swarming the place, it’s crazy because in my head I know for darn sure I haven’t matured much since then but I’m old anyways.

Now, I had full intentions of actually taking pictures, I even had my camera in my purse, but did I take a single one? No. Man I’m a blogging failure, so I’m sorry. I even changed my hair from the standard single pony in the back? Did you feel the earth quake a bit last night? Alas, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

So today I woke up way too late, but got rolling with my thankfully uninterrupted by the reset 9.2 miler run. Then core and abs. Now, I’m going to ask you kind readers, the TV that is in the gym doesn’t get actual live TV…yes that’s crazy. So I hooked up my DVD player to it and have been running movies and shows. I’m sort of embarrassed to admit the last couple of shows I’ve been watching…it may or may not be the first season of a show starting with H and ending with annah Montana.

I’ve burned through some DVD’s fast…those half hour ‘real time’ shows get cut down to just about 20 min’s sans commercials and go by quickly! So I need suggestions…movies to see, shows that I can get into and watch the episodes back to back while I’m my little hamster on the wheel. So watcha got?

(Smile…the sun is out!! Another random Cait cartoon, but monkeys are cool so, wateves.)

Well, the sun is shining and I think it’s calling my name out there. Oh, and also, last night I swung by Winco after my little friend catch-up/meet-up and saw a guy getting busted for shoplifting. Classy. Also, if you were going to steal from a place, would you pick Winco of all places? It’s almost like you sympathize with the poor dude, if you’re that hard up it’s almost like, “Eh, toss the guy a bone, give him that free can of beans, it’s like, what, 68 cents?”

1) High school…what was your experience? It seems like people either loved it or hated it…where do you fall on the spectrum?

2) I implore you for movie and show recommendations! Um, double points if you actually buy and send them to me. 😉

3) Hypothetically now, if you were ever going to shoplift from a place, where would it be?

A really jacked exercise emporium place with not only the treads and equipment but a plethora of shoes, clothes, and the works.

4) Favorite thing to do in the sun?

Beef Out Those Hummingbird Arms..It’s Good for You, I Promise

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Cait — 17 Comments ↓

What day is it? My week is all helter skelter, yesterday I kept thinking it was still Sunday but then Bachelorette talk started storming Twitter so I knew it had to be a Monday. But I woke up today feeling more in a mid-end of week mode…not that it really makes much of a difference to me either way since I’m not reporting to a ‘normal’ job right now…but still I feel a little topsy-truvy!

So move update here, it’s going well. I have to say that I’m really liking the new place I’m staying at. I’m actually renting a room from a very nice man, and not going to lie his place is re-dic. (To steal a word from Katy.) Also not gonna lie, the biggest draw is…hold your breath folks…the full on decked out home gym up in here! Heck to the ya!

We’re talking a treadmill, elliptical, weight bench, free weights, and the much needed TV/DVD combo…if I ever go MIA again for a few days it may be because I’ve been on the tread non-stop. Just kidding on that. But seriously…I’ve died and gone to heaven!

This is how happy I am about the gym!

The even better news? You know how I was bi***ing about how my old gym treadmill made you reset after 60 minutes, well this one lets you go until 90 min’s before a reset is in order. I used to feel really ridiculous at my old place because on most my easy runs I’d come in at 8.25 miles for 60 min’s and that’s a sort of awkward point…if I wanted to do say 9 miles then I’d have to reboot the tread for what, like, less than six minutes? I’ve done it but I feel like a total weenie whenever someone would walk in and see me end my run at six minutes, lest they think that’s all I did. Another sign moment.

So anyways, today I was able to get in those 9.2 miles without any reset interruptions…hurrah, I’m a happy Cait! I did my arm routine that I do with just my free weights. I do 3 sets of 15 reps for each exercise that I split up into two groups. I cycle through continuously and seriously this takes 15 min’s tops and I do it right after my run while I’m still motivated to get er done:

Group 1:

*Chest flies: Sit or stand and start by holding dumbbells together in front of your chest, arms bent at about 90 degrees. Keep your back straight and then ‘fly’ your arms out, moving them laterally to the side until they are even with your torso then return to the starting position.

*Should flies: Start in the same position as the last one with the dumbbells together in front of your chest but this time ‘fly’ them up vertically and raise your arms up until they are even with your shoulders then return back down. (This chick is in the finishing position. But don’t be fooled, she’s really a giant so those weights she’s holding are 100 lbs.)

*Bent over flies: Stand and bend at the waist so your body is in an upside down L position. Hold the dumbbells together at your chest and now ‘fly’ them up by raising your arms out to your side until they are even with your back and then back down. For this one you want your arms to be only slightly bent, less than 90 degrees.

*Overhead raise: Sit/stand straight up and hold the dumbbells like you were in the finishing position of the shoulder flies. That’s arms bent 90 degrees and up at your sides. Now raise the dumbbells straight up until your arms are straight and then back down.

Group 2:

*Bent over rows: Stand next to a bench with one leg right beside it and the other one propped up on it. Rest one hand on the edge of the bench and then lean forward so that the arm with the dumbbell hangs straight down off the side of the bench. Keeping your back straight ‘row’ the dumbbell up by lifting your arm straight back until your tricep is even with your back. Think of like staring a lawn mover. Then lower back down. Be sure to repeat with the other arm. 😉 (PS-That picture is SO obviously me too. And what the heck is up with him working out in cut off jean shorts? Sorry, this pic was just so bad I HAD to put it in.)

*Bicep curls: Pretty self explanatory there. Grab some dumbbells, hang arms down at your side and then lift the dumbbells up towards your shoulder and work those biceps.

*Tricep kick backs: Stand up in the upside down L position again, with your arms bent at 90 degrees and weights in hands. Straighten your arms and bring the dumbbells straight back, feel it in those triceps. Lower back down to starting position and repeat.

So that’s just a quickie arm routine that hits all the major groups there. As a runner it’s easy to neglect those arms and come down with hummingbird syndrome where we’ve got scrawny arms that flap like crazy while we go. Having stronger arms will not only make ya look better…let’s be honesty that is a nice perk, but it will improve your running too. The stronger you are the better able you will be to keep proper, efficient form when you’re tired at the end of races or workouts. Being more efficient means well, you’re times will be faster…duh. 😉 haha. Core work does this too. Finally, even if you’re not planning on racing, you don’t want to ever just skip out on strengthening parts of your body, weak points are just begging for an injury and only holding you back!

That said, this chick is back to getting situated up in here! Happy Sunday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday….whatever day it is. 😉

PS-I’m going to have new pix up soon, I’m sorry, my scanner and some other supplies were still in the midst of being unpacked and squared away but I promise fun stuff is forthcoming!

1) Do your days ever blur together if you don’t report to a traditional job schedule? Do you also rely on the TV schedule to help keep you on track? 🙂

2) Favorite arm exercises or workouts?

3) Any classes, activities, or workouts that you’d like to try? Or have you just tried something new and would like to share?

My mom and sis (YES…so stoked they live so close now!) are into this kettlebell class, I want to jump in and try it…trust me I’ll look like a dweebette, no coordination on this chick!

Car Hunting the Cait Way

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

I’ve got a clunker on the brain! Well, because I’m dirty poor and need a set of wheel’s I’m on the prowl. That said no clunkers need apply, I will turn you away at the first sight of you. Or the first exhaust fume belch that puts Al Bundy to shame. You see, I’m not willing to fork out the dough for a sweet ride but I want one anyway.

I want a car that matches my legs. Scratch that, I’d like a car that matches my full left leg and then my right leg only from the knee up. For the lower part of the right leg I’d prefer being kankleless.

My car has to be able to run as much as I want it to and to do so in a timely fashion. No stutter starts, unless we’re doing a fartleck that is, and when we get rolling I want to feel like I’m in the zone and the miles are ticking off effortlessly.

I want to be able to cruise faster than as many of the boys as I can. I’d like to also be able to smirk at them as I pass. If I pull up next to two Asians with a little bullhorn contraption on their car telling me it’s go time I want to smoke ’em. (This is not some kind of horrible racist joke, I hate racism, this is a movie reference, so no hate mail please.)

Now, unlike my own self I don’t want a car with gurgly gut syndrome. I don’t want to have to pull over to make a pit-stop in some bushes. I don’t want to feel like I’m clenching the trunk down for dear life trying to avoid an explosion.

My car tends to get super hot and sweaty in any weather above that of a crisp misty morning…some kind of super sweating power. To negate this AC is a must.

My radio, this is where I’m a bit flexible. Of course I need a kick-butt playlist (What constitutes an awesome workout song is left up to my own discretion and don’t judge if a Miley hit works its way in there. It may be followed up by a Nine Inch Nails Tune and for periods Cake’s ‘The Distance’ may be on continuous repeat.) The speakers need to be able to go loud enough to drown out my horrible singing because trust me I’ll be belting it out not caring that I’m off key. I say I’m flexible because there will also be times where I’ll prefer silence, where I can just find pleasure in the turnover the wheels, the ticking off of the miles, and listening to the steady hum of the engine.

A good car can’t only be about the cardio…err, running miles…err, driving miles. It needs some core work, making sure the outside is toned and strong enough to keep on supporting the workload. Getting all nice and shiny.

It’s also gotta be able to rest when it wants to, after a nice shower so it doesn’t leave a sweat stain on the garage floor. Since it works hard it is allowed to rest ‘hard’ and that leads us to the refueling hard.

Now we all should get what we want, ice cream for me and gas for it. Mine sounds tastier but to each their own. That said, this is where me and my car will have to part ways, I’ll spend as much as I want to throw down my gullet but I’m looking for a cheap car and so you’re getting cheapo gas, Mister!

Like I said, I’m dirty poor and need a set of wheel’s, I’m on the prowl. That said no clunkers need apply, I will turn you away at the first sight of you. Or the first exhaust fume belch that puts Al Bundy to shame. You see I’m not willing to fork out the dough for a sweet ride but I want one anyway.

1) Are you a ‘car person’?

Not at all, I don’t know the names of makes and models and I don’t see it as a status symbol. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere, just so long as it gets me from point A to point B.

2) Do you find it funny when cars or other things match the person? Is it true that people turn into their pets?

I hope not, my cat licks himself WAY too much!

3) Do you hate car hunting as much as me?

4) Favorite part of your body and way.

Legs. For what they do for me and for allowing me to run, yes I bag on my kankle, but it’s made me appreciate my legs even more.

Bye-bye Uni!!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

The title of this post is a nice farewell to the unibrow that I FINALLY got to pluck! Okay, so in my haphazard, typical fly by the seat of my pants move/pack decision I pretty much just hucked everything into boxes, taped and got er done. Now, as any methodical organized type person will tell you, doing this really doesn’t make finding anything all that easy. Thank you for your input organized person but I will roll my own way.

Now I obviously chucked my tweezers into some obscure box separate from my toothbrush and other bathroom things, how/why, I don’t know. Don’t ask questions. I did this way too many days ago and my tweezers have been lost for oh too long, giving my hairy brows plenty of time to continue their quest to take over my face. Why not just buy a new pair? Justified question…well, you see my tweezers are awesome. They pluck the best, and I like them, okay? But all is water under the bridge, I’m not rocking the uni so I’m happy I found those little buggers that were hiding! FYI they were in the same box as I had some CD’s (who even has these any more?) and some towels. Nice job to me.

On a slightly random tangent here, are there ever times you wish you could just wear a sign? I thought about this during my embarrassment over my brows (another reason I just didn’t care enough to REALLY get a new pair of tweezers was that for the most part it was just me in a sweaty U-Haul…oh and my cat.) when I wished I could ware a sign that said, “I know I’ve got things getting crazy over my eyes, in normal life I keep the hedges spruced up.” so that when I did stop at gas stations and places people would know I’m aware that my eyes are looking crazy and I’m normally a plucker. Then again in some of those gas ‘n sip pit stops maybe with the brows I fit in better.

Same sort of goes when I’m working out sometimes or running. I’d like to wear a sign on the days where I’m really draggin butt, one that reads, “My legs are really pissed off at me for my tempo yesterday so they are paying me back by making my easy pace appear to be a crawl. My booty lock has also been a lasting reminder, but I promise I’m a runner and not a jolly jogger!” Maybe another sign that says, “I see you so obviously looking over my shoulder to see my miles/pace/grade/etc stats on my treadmill and I notice you trying to one-up me, Annoying Dude Who Thinks You’re All Macho.” but in those instances justice is usually swift and the dude gets owned by his treadmill.

Another sign for when you’re doing fartlecks on the bike path, “I’m not a psycho my workout is to go fast for a minute that slow for a minute.” Now other ‘real’ runners will get why you’re going along all fast and then suddenly slow to a crawly-recovery-jog then spontaneously burst into a sprint a minute later. It’s made infinity worse when there is another runner who you then keep passing, get passed by, then passing again for miles…like a sick game of leap frog. You wish that you could get enough distance between you two so that the game would stop but fate has other plans and is getting a kick out of it.

Look how I’ve digressed. I’ve got lots of things swirling in my brain that I want to get down here but wanted to see if anyone has any preferences. In my little hiatus I’ve now gotta fill in some details and holes while still attempting to make this thing semi-entertaining. Here are some post topics I’ve got in mind and what would you like to see first?

*Recap of my U-Haul expedition. Highlights include an unplanned layover in Ashland where I had some good people watching at the local YMCA…also my first run on a treadmill with a personal TV. The bad? The place was seriously lacking in any fanage. Also, my front tire nearly flew off.

*I have finished the whole Yogurtopia story! It turned out pretty long and will go up in a few installments, I’m thinking there are about three posts worth. There are some new characters too. Now, I have one picture already done and ready but have yet to finish more because of the move thing, so I’m not sure if I should just hold off on that until some more graphics are done.

*I could do a post on my working out when on trips, on vacation, at hotels, etc. Some people ditch their workouts, not this chick.

*Does anyone have any interest in a quick upperbody arm weight routine? I have one that hits all the spots that I do after my runs and doesn’t need any more equipment than some dumbbells. I know lots of people combine their cardio/weight workouts which is an awesome way to do it and will keep that heart rate high the whole time, but because my fav thing to do is run I would rather bust out the miles and do a quickie weight thing afterwards. I get my tone, it helps keep me strong, I’m happy.

So I’m still in the throes of unpacking, got a lot of headway done today but going to have to sign off for now! I’m still in quasi-back blogging mode so bear with me…I’m going to get back to all comments as I love your replies, will be doing my best to return the comment love myself, make these posts much more fun/arty to read (PS- to my credit Blogger is deciding to suck at the moment and refuse me the ability to upload any images…what is that about?!), and I’ve got some emails too! Hope the rest of your weekend is going great!

1) Odd things that have a special spot in your heart and not some lame knock-off will do?

My tweezers and my favorite brand of blueberry english muffins are just two examples. 😛

2) Is there a time you wish you could wear a sign?

3) Races peeps, let’s have some bragging on your fine selves! Or, what fun things did you do this weekend?

I’m Not Dead! :)

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

So did I just drop off the face of the planet? Did a ravenous black hole come and gobble me up? No, and maybe…if one did I hop it would say that I tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Fruit Loops.

Actually, my big news that I was talking about earlier for me is that I’m moving to Cali! Scratch that, I’m already moved here….hence my disappearance from the cyber-world. You know how I was saying that one of the worst things I could imagine would to be go sans internet for days, well in a sick twist of fate I just brought it upon myself.

Between Comcast ending service in my old apartment and driving one really shaky U-Haul down (side note there is a really long and ridiculously ‘it could only happen to me’ story I’ll share later) on a trip that was supposed to be one day but turned into two, and then still getting situated here…RIGHT NOW are my very first moments back to the online world. Oh, how I’ve missed you internet and why do you make the real world oh so much better?

Also I ended up doing the whole drive thing a few days earlier than I had originally planned on so I’m sorry for not at least giving a heads up. I guess I sorta pulled the crawl out the bathroom window sorta thing should we have been on a date.

That said I’ve got a TON to catch up on and still the fun unpacking thang, but wanted to explain the whole MIA thing. No, I haven’t gone AWOL and making some sort of pilgrimage around the world in a floating bathtub…yet. Actually, that whole bathtub sea adventure has already been done and by a REALLY awesome guy, Tim. I’m proud to say that I’m friends with a friend of his…look at me trying to name drop like that.

So sorry also to have been really lame and not replying to comments or commenting on all my fav peeps blogs. Trust me I’ll be back, you can’t be rid of me that easily….mwahaha!!

Bustin Out the ‘Would You Rathers’…

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

So I kicked off the day with a nice run to the cacklings of Hooda and Kathie Lee. At one point I’m almost certain Kathie Lee called Hooda fat; it came when Hooda said she celebrated the 4th at a city she used to dance at and they flashed up a picture of her. It was a weird picture but looked like a promo flier, Hooda was doing some jump in the air and she explains, “Oh, that’s an old picture from my dancing days, not obviously from last night,”and I could have sworn Kathie Lee quips, “That’s what I thought or I was going to say MAN you really filled out!”

Seriously? If I were Hooda I would be having NONE of that. The fact that that hour of the Today show was even on is a testament that there really needs to be a better selection in the am hours TV wise…even E! had failed me as there was some old movie on. Alas, alas, well those 8 plus miles rolled by regardless.

Today I thought I’d play one of my favorite little games of ‘Would You Rather.’ So here we go, and I implore you to pick a few to answer yourself, or all of them if you’re really cool beans!

1) Would you rather be cursed with stubby,wide, short feet or extremely long and skinny ones?

I’d go with short; I know that it might suck to have them fat but if they are short I know they can make little feet prosthetics to fit into a regular shoe. I know, Kristi Yamaguchi has only semi-formed feet and had to have these prosthetics inserted into her skates to help fill them out. I’d go that route; if they were too long they’d no doubt slam into the front of the treadmill.

2) In workout purgatory left to forever do Burpees or instead Sumo wrestling this guy?

Ouch…Burpees? Better that than become a pancake I think.

3) Stuck without internet for a week or the use of your phone?

Take my phone.

4) (Now we’re going to kick it up in the grossness factor, so you’ve been warned) Dunked into a pool of urine (not your own) or locked out of the gym locker room naked for five minutes?

Naked, not that I’m that body confident just that I’m THAT skeezed out by other people’s bodily fluids.

5) Wrought with explosive diarrhea on the treadmill (no bush to find relief) or projectile vomit attack?

Probably poopy…at least that way people wouldn’t think I’m just out of shape and trying to prove something on the treadmill.

6) Hold a world record in the event of your choice but you look like someone of the opposite gender (don’t worry you’re steroid free) or win Miss Universe but be a total space cadet?

I think maybe the world record…but I’m torn because I’m sure dealing with the drug accusations would be tough even if you’re clean and plus looking like a man wouldn’t be cool. On the other hand I think most of the space cases aren’t aware that they are so lacking in brains and they do say ignorance is bliss.

7) Be able to fly or hold your breath underwater forever?

I’ve always been obsessed with mermaids.

8) Be able to eat anything forever and never gain an ounce or have a limitless supply of money and never have to work for it?

Food orgie baby! 🙂

9) Trapped as Lindsay Lohan’s care taker for a year, you have to follow her everywhere regardless of what she does for the year or Charlie Sheen’s for 6 months…same rules apply?

LiLo.

10) Forced to give up an appendage; loss of your arm or leg?

You can have both my arms if you want but leave my legs intact!!!

11) Bonus Rando one, not really a ‘Would You Rather’. Turned into a food, what are you?

A big old hunk of cookie dough. Then again being Count Chocula would be a little fitting.

That’s all for today and I’m sorry if I wasn’t able to be more exciting with my questions. Feel free to toss up one of your own!! 🙂

America’s Getting Old and Paris is a Complainy Pants

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Happy 4th of July everyone! And a Happy Birthday to America! 🙂

Maybe your day includes a nice BBQ spread, hopefully some fun with family and friends, and perhaps even some fireworks…

…I just hope that yours don’t have any pups on top! Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the creation of this picture. Don’t send PETA after my @$. 😛

Anyways, this morning started off with a nice run and arm weights. You guys better watch out because I’m becoming one buffed out chick. Soon I will be pulling night shifts as a bouncer. I’ll also be freelancing as a security guard so drop me a line if you’re interested.

I admit I’m a sucker for reality shows, I’m overly curious about celebs going about their normal business. Though I try to draw the line at some point and even I get embarrassed fessing up to certain shows. This is going to be one of those times.

The well on my OnDemand shows is running thin, so I checked out what was on the Oxygen channel. That alone should be a red flag of my desperation…there was just nothing else on I promise! Well, so now Paris Hilton has her own show. She’s been slowly fading off the radar and a new breed of party girls are taking over…so I guess now she’s looking to Oxy to rocket her back to front and center.

At any rate, the episode I saw was one centered around her weight; she’s always looked super thin in my opinion and it seemed she never really worked out and ate whatever she wanted. In the Simple Life days we at least caught her wolfing down a cheeseburger and fries on a few accounts; though who knows if that was just like catching sight of Haley’s Comet. I’m going to say though that she was mostly likely the skinny fat sort of gal; she’s obviously thin but without muscle tone and such.

Well, now she’s older and rumors of the baby bump were circling. So she wants to try and lose some lb’s. They cut to her taking a stab a the whole working out ‘thing’. I know we have to take some of this with a grain of salt because it’s for entertainment shock value, but SHE is one of the reasons why I’d be a horrible personal trainer.

She’s wining walking on the treadmill at 1.2 mph. Her mom is canoodling her to keep going, push it, Paris. Really?! First of all a leisurely stroll does not a workout make if you want to get anything out of it. Cut to her boyfriend (ex now) trying to take her for a jog…I can’t bring myself to even use the term run, and jog is a stretch. He’s moving butt slow and she just takes to skipping.

Call me mean, but I just don’t have the patience for this kind of thing. It’s not only the lack of effort (at a certain point you just have to ignore them and let them just do diddly) it’s that they are the same ones complaining about being ‘fat’ or not getting any results. Well, duh?! So it’s the constant wishing, wanting, and not being happy…the bi***ing but they aren’t willing to do anything about it.

I really LOVE talking about all things sports and fitness, running ranks supreme, and if someone asks me for help, input, advice, whatever I jump at the chance. I’m not a total jerk, I genuinely enjoy helping people out if I can and I don’t expect something to be ‘in it’ for me. Plenty have done it for me in the past, so you gotta pass it on!

But some people just really don’t want it. They talk it up like they do, but it’s just talk. No one can make anyone do anything, Paris’s bf couldn’t stop her from skipping and stopping after two minutes. A trainer can’t DO the workouts for anyone, a coach can’t MAKE you go out and run…that takes personal dedication and motivation. Others can help, they can remind a person of their goals, but at a certain point you need to toss the ball to them…if they catch it and throw it back you can keep playing. But if they just let the ball drop and roll away…you have to go find someone else to play with. Or maybe pick the ball up and give them a nice little whack to the back first. 😉 Juuust kidding.

I don’t know where this is leading…just that I thought the whole Paris on the treadmill was at first ridiculous and funny but then it got very annoying very fast. We all have times of flagging motivation but we can motor through and get things done…if it’s important enough to us.. When I don’t feel all that jazzed, I make myself at least start…and from there let the endorphins take over.

Constant complainers are annoying…nuff said. Well, as for my little tangent I’m sorry there! And power to all those who are out there and getting it done; on the flip side I think one of the most REWARDING things is when you see someone who takes the advice or any kind of knowledge and input and it spurs them on to accomplish their own goals. I think THAT is why people who coach, personal trainers, and heck, even bloggy buds, keep on doing it, for the chances to see someone set a goal and STICK to it until they achieve it.

These are the people who always make my day, make me smile, and reading about them gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling. *Cheesy Hallmark moment* So a big shout out to all those folks, I know recently I’ve seen a few who ran their first this, did their first that, got a faster best time…so keep on rocking! Also, take a minute to brag on yourself please, or I may have to start calling people out. 😉 This kind of dedicated will overtake the Paris-slothy-complaining masses. 🙂

1) How do yo deal with complainers?

We all know ‘that person’ in the group who is always moaning about something. I let them vent for a bit, because we all need to at some point and myself included, but if it’s constant I try to block it out because it can get a sister down…lol.

2) What’s one way you motivate yourself to get ‘er done when you aren’t really feeling it?

I remind myself how much better I fell after and make myself at least start and from there I usually get going and keep on rolling.

3) Any fun plans for the 4th?!!

4) Almost forgot, anyone who wants to, please share the last goal you set and achieved. 🙂