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routine & limits

I'm a big fan of routine. and well.. specifically. I'm a pretty big fan of my routine.  
I have very little trouble lately staying on track, eating well, & working out.
After 4+ days at the Cape - I'm finding it near impossible to get back on track. 

I want to sleep. A LOT.
I want chocolate. and salty snacks. and wine.
I don't want to run.
I was even tempted to order food, like dominos. ick.  (dont worry I didn't)

So needless to say, I'm going to get back on track but its reallyyy tough.  I'm learning that just because I'm good most of the time or that I ran 8 miles or its a holiday that needs to be celebrated, I can't let myself go completely crazy. Indulge - yes. for sure.   but 4 full days of too much everything. not cool.

Now this was my first extended weekend with lots of celebrating since I really started paying attention, so I'm not surprised I went overboard, nor am I going to beat myself up about it. BUT I'm learning my limits. and acknowledging that I exceeded them for sure. 
now if I could just get that self-control thing down.

Last night was the first time in a long time that I got home from work and had nothing to do.

great plan right?
perfection.

MUST RUN TONIGHT.

serious fail this morning.

anyone else hanging out in struggle-city this week? 

Happy 4th! Weekend Recap

oh hello all
I've seriously struggled getting back into real world mode. I want to stay & play at the Cape, for sure.

before I get into all the fun. I'm happy to report that I did get up Saturday morning & bust out 8 miles. (with my dad trailing behind on his bike. it was an interesting run thats for sure. wish I took a pic)

there was tons of food. beverages. friends. sun. 

fantastic. 

gorgeous views. 

how amazing is that. 

fantastic people. and dessert.

(most of whom were not photographed, apologies)

and even my dad cuddling with a pup. who would've thought?

adorable.

some hard to capture fireworks

and Momma Re's flowers. stunning. 

feeling artsy.

this morning I forced myself out to run.
because well.. i have 3 runs left this week & only 4 days to do them. ugh.   4.5 miles - success.  
I expected it to be more painful than it was.  still not looking forward to tomorrow.
and - 9 miles on saturday is going to be TOUGH.

wish I had a big topic tonight but really, my weekend was wonderful, exhausting, & left me with a sweet tan :)   that's all I got.

happy wednesday!

Congrats Maria & Mark!!

Congrats Maria & Mark! So happy for you guys!
Finnegan James O'Brien arrived this weekend.
He knew I was coming to Baltimore & came early!!  yayyy!
can't wait to meet the little guy.

and because I have no pics of Finn (or Mark for that matter)..
one of my faves of Maria & I.

still in weekend mode. expect recap tomorrow :)

Who's ready for July?

so ready!

I've managed to do my runs in the morning this week, which is an accomplishment in its self. (I'm pretty terrible at getting out of bed in the AM)  I've noticed though that by getting my workouts in early, I feel like I'm due for a workout earlier.  Tuesday morning I ran, and by Wednesday after work, I felt like I really needed to get my sweat on. Knowing that I needed to run yesterday morning & that it was too hot to do anything outside, I hit the gym, did a fast mile and a half and then some intervals on the elliptical. It felt surprisingly awesome.

these legs feel accomplished.

I'll spare you any other post-workout pics of me.
but!
with any luck, this is what July will look like. 

lots of cape time. 

 hopefully some beach

 Sox @ Camden Yards

 hanging out with these ladies

and then 2 of these 3 lovelies.

a month with 5 weekends?! yes please.

Goals for July
1. get to 12 miles  - half marathon is the first weekend of Aug. must be readyyy
2. take lots of pictures  - between the 4th, a family gathering, 4 days in baltimore, and a few of my NY girls coming to the Cape, there are LOTS of fantastic photo ops.
3. spend some QT with baby mac - oh charlie, I can NOT wait.
4. do yoga once a week -  I've done yoga a handful of times recently & always feel great after. Whether I go to a class or break my DVD, this needs to happen more - before my legs revolt against me.
5. get to the pool - my building has a pool & I have yet to go. going to need to change that. yup.

what are your goals for July?  anything missing off my list? 

June 30!

June flew by. Is it just me or was that fast?!

This morning's run was far better (and less eventful) than Tuesdays. awesome. 
I even ran a tad faster, without realizing. :)  I love that that happens.

plus it was a gorgeous morning.

As you may or may not recall.. at the beginning of this month, I gave myself a handful of goals.  Given that the month is just about over, we'll see how I did on those.

1. get up to 7.5 miles
           CHECK!   I actually went 7.8 miles without realizing. Apparently my runmeter app & mapmyrun weren't totally in sync, but when it works in my favor. I'll take it!!
2. commit to the half marathon
           CHECK!  only 5 weeks to go. Excited!
3. have a fantastic birthday
           CHECK!  so so good.
4. take Boston pictures
            ehhh. I took some. like a handful.
5. fully convert to my Mac.
            check.  I use my mac exclusively but I still have yet to transfer any of my pictures from my PC.  need to get on that.

I also had a behind the scenes goal to up my blogging & be more consistent which I did for the most part. PLUS 

I scored a ticket for the Healthy Living Summit, which is hosted by a bunch of my favorite bloggers. Super excited!

happy thursday kids!  only 24 hours til a 4.5 day weekend!!

unpleasant

not that Tuesdays are overly pleasant anyway, but getting up at 6 is definitely unpleasant.  I didn't love it this morning but it happened.

I should have known that being motivated so early in the morning would backfire.
Once I got up, I was kinda proud of myself, so we're still okay.
Somewhere between mile 1 & 2 - a bug hits me in the face - uhh gross..  shake it off.
mile 2.5 - I'm struggling. yell at myself a lil.  I mean, I run fairly often & haven't been out for less than 4 miles in weeeeeks. whyy am I struggling so much. ughh. note to self - maybe eat something before run?
mile 3 -  start to choke mildly. something is stuck in my throat?!!?  WTF?  still running. lots of spitting (sorry if that's not lady-like but it happens)  I can't explain it. this feels like a gelled chia seed. omg. I don't even want to think about it what it actually is. more spitting. the people behind me now think I'm INSANE and foul. still running.
mile 4 - kind of want to die. but still running. how far am I going again? oh right. almost there.

I managed to make it through a very painful & weird 4.5 miles to realize that
1. I probably inhaled some sort of small insect - disgusting.
2. I just ran that at a 9:57 pace which pretty damn good - no wonder it struggled.
3. I hate that its only 7:15 in the morning and now I have to go to work - exxxcellent.

at least its done. before it gets too warm out.  

next up - shower.
probably about a minute & a half in - CRASH.
some minor shreaking, flailing, & serious water spewing.
My shower curtain & rod are on the floor.
How does that happen?!  I wasn't even touching it!!

so yeah.. that was a pretty awkward turn of events, but enough about that.
I turned the morning around by making this delicious smoothie (sans spinach for all you green-haters)

soo soo good. 

soy milk - 1 cup-ish
mixed berries - 1/2 bag
unsweetened apple sauce - 1/2 cup maybe
ice - handful
vanilla protein powder - one scoop

The rest of my day was fairly uneventful, but getting up that early definitely threw my eating off. 

What weird stuff has happened to you during/post run?

Is it Friday yet?  I'm ready for some Cape time.  

cocktails and this guy? yes. please. 

Mocha Monday

I've been making the same smoothie like 3 times a week for a lil while now & have yet to share it. Oops!

Mocha Berry Green Monster
1 cup soy milk
1 cup-ish frozen mixed berries
handful spinach
1 Tbsp instant coffee
1 scoop Chocolate Whey Protein Powder

mix & blend.  (sometimes I throw a few ice cubes in)
serve in wine glass if you're feelin schmancy.  so good.
the coffee in this was exactly what I needed this morning.
Mondays struggle. especially the Monday before a long weekend & I'm soo looking forward to 4 full days at the Cape. Hoping for lots of sun!

Now that we're approaching July, I'm assuming its going to start getting hot. (maybe soon?) so I'm trying to transition my runs to the morning. Tomorrow will be the test.  Think I can do it?

True Blood!!

True Blood is coming back. TOMORROW.
I'm all sorts of excited.   Its one of those crazy addicting edge of your seat shows. Sooo good.

Season 4 Trailer

Who's excited!?

Today's long run was pretty awesome. Proves that its all mental.  I went out after procrastinating for an hour or two and figured I'll run at whatever pace is comfortable - no looking at my tracker. goal is just to get through the route I mapped out without wanting to die or giving in to walking.
mile 1 - mmm free food festival, tempting.
mile 2 - feeling pretty good.
mile 4 - wow, half way - still feeling pretty good.  
mile 5 - oh look the water fountain I always stop at - good thing I brought water - keep going.
mile 6 - i feel surprisingly strong, how fast am I going?  I don't feel like I'm crawling. hmm.
mile 7 - almost there, keep up this pace.
7.8 miles. done.  pace - 10:26.  significantly faster than my last long run.

Just took a crack at homemade hummus, inspired by eatliverun :)

hers is so much prettier but whateverr, mine is still delic.  

I struggle with photos lately. I don't think about it until after. oops. must take pics. 

2 15 oz cans of organic chickpeas
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup & 2 Tbsp water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground flax (cause why not make it healthier)
3 oz shredded cheddar (thats all i had left, oops)

I'm off to Wine Down Art Live with Lauren. looks like its going to be a great event.  :)

Congrats NY!

Yesterday was a HUGE day for NY!  6th and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage.

:)

Proud of those who took a risk & stood up for equality. 

Agreed:  

"In recent weeks, I have had many conversations with our state Senators. I emphasized that not only is marriage equality consistent with bedrock American principles, but it is also consistent with bedrock Republican Party principles of liberty and freedom -- and the Republicans who stood up today for those principles will long be remembered for their courage, foresight, and wisdom. In fact, 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, I believe they will look back at this vote as one of their finest, proudest moments," Bloomberg said in a statement released shortly after the vote.  source

learns life huh?

I realize that I never really explained the name of my blog. Maybe it’s about time I do that?

alli learns life

yes. I’m 28 and kinda old. and more than a handful of years out of college. and have had a few jobs.  

I might be almost 30. eeekkkk!!

Maybe I’m a little late in the game but I feel like I’m just starting to figure it all out.  

(it all being myself, life in general, you get the jist)

So a few things I’ve learned in the last few months.

1. The more I run, the more I want to - which means… 
2. I can train myself to enjoy anything
3. How food affects me.   -   I never really paid attention before but what I eat really makes a difference in how I feel.
4. I love to cook.   and I’m not half bad at it.
5. Balance is key  -  This pretty much applies to everything.  
6. I secretly aspire to be Popeye. I have spinach just about every day in some form or another.
7. Bringing my lunch & making dinner really does save lots of money. Who knew?
8. no matter how many times I told myself it wouldn't be. the iphone is exponentially better than the blackberry

Here are a few bad iphone photos from Monday's show. She's so good. If you haven't heard of Marina & the Diamonds. youtube. now. thanks.

happy thursday kids! 

Weekend Recap

Remember when I blogged 4 days in a row and then dropped off the face of the earth?  oh wait.

So Friday I had a bit of weird day - woke up with the best of intentions, ready to crank out 7 miles. and then it poured.
so I puttered around the apartment - cleaned, hung some pics on the wall, and gave up on my run, went to the gym, crossed some things off my to-do list, mapped a run by my sisters house for Saturday, texted Lauren for some afternoon plans and then, the SUN CAME OUT.
uhh. it would be a million times better if I got my run in today...
but I went to the gym? and my legs might get tired? and lauren will be around soon?
oh well.
I went. Just to get it done. to make my weekend easier. and stress-free.

:)

Then I went to Lauren's & saw their fantastic apt (which is sooo close, yayy)

and she, John & I went to dinner at Fig's. 

I really wish I took pictures. It was sooo good. 

Saturday - I snuck out of the city pre-Bruins parade to have lunch with Suzy before a family party. 

We went to Scorpio's in Attleboro. 

which I will say - people have been talking about for awhile now, this was my first time. 

It was pretty good. I would bet it would be fantasticcc for dinner. 

Met up with the parents & headed over to the party for the afternoon. 

(again no photos. fail.)

So good to see everyone! Cant wait to do it again soon. 

Congrats Eric!!!

and of course!! Father's Day. 

photos? yes please. 

one of my faves 

i love this face. 

and the fact that he's cradling a 7 lb chihuahua. ha

 in his element. perfection.

sometimes we grin with fish. 

but most of the time - we laugh. and dance. and laugh some more. 

and its even better when my friends are involved. 

 because a normal one of us is necessary.

well, this was the 29th year of basketball on Father's Day.  

and the first time EVER there was a tie. 

(don't get overly excited, I had nothing to do with it)

Suzy goes around the world & back. 

I shoot. miss. 

Dad's turn. Around the world & back. tie game. 

now what?! 

Sudden death foul shots. sounds like a good idea. 

Suzy misses. Dad hits it. WIN. 

nicely done. 

happy father's day!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!!  happy monday.

off to Marina & the Diamonds tonight.  

Will leave you with this. 

committed.

Mark your calendar, kids.

Sunday, August 7, 2011 

I'm doing it. 

13.1 miles.

Scaryyy.

Excited.

I've been pretty hesitant to commit to this. I mean 13.1 miles is far. and is going to take me a loong time. But really, its time to man up and go after it. If I want to be a runner, which I claim to & if this is my goal, set a date already!?   

done and done. 

Goals for 28

As many of you know, I'm a HUGE list person. I make lists for everything & I usually have a handful of lists going at once.
so, I made a number of resolutions for 2011 (which I'm about half way through) but I decided that in addition to (and slightly overlapping), I needed some goals for my 28th year. 
- Inspired by On Tap for Today

1. take a cooking class

2. take a photography class

3. watch 28 movies (1/28)

4. run a 5K  (or a few)

5. run a 10K - registered RnR 10K NY  10/22/11

6. run half marathon - registered RnR Providence 8/7/11

7. run a "fierce" race (warrior dash, rugged maniac, etc)

8. go to one blogger event - registered HLS in Aug

9. try bikram/hot yoga

10. plan and go on an excellent vacation
11. come up with 10 awesome alli-original recipes.

any other fun suggestions? 


Progress
Movies
1. The Machinist - 6/14/10

Just a bit different

Yesterday afternoon, after my weekend of fun, I decided it was necessary to do some serious cooking.   I surveyed the recipe pages of a few blogs & came up with a plan.
First -
Sweet Potato Meatloaf.
I love that its a different twist on meatloaf. I'm on a big sweet potato kick and make a LOT of meatloaf.

joys of cooking for 1 - 1 now, 5 for later

 delic.  (I put a lil bbq sauce on the side too)

Next up! Granola. 

last week's granola was so fabulous, I need to start making it more often. 

1 cup rolled oats

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 Tbsp sunflower seeds

3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp agave nectar

mix all ingredients. spread evenly on parchment paper. bake at 325 for 10 minutes. flip granola. bake 10 minutes. 

Flavor is good - but I should've used a touch of oil. Not as crunchy as I wanted it to be. 

Now for one of my favorite snacks, which is definitely just a bit different, but I've been eating it this way for yearss & secretly, its the only way I want popcorn.   

(I know I didn't make it up. a chrissy creation maybe?) 

Bare with me - it sounds a little weird, but its awesome. 

94% fat free microwave butter popcorn

Frank's Red Hot sauce

little bit black pepper

so good. 

just try it. 

I'm getting to the point in my training plan that I have to up my short runs. Tonight's run was a pretty brutal 4.5 miles. My right shin tightened up right away and it felt like I had one lead foot. I can't even explain it, but it made running realllyy hard.  So I paused stretched a lil and powered through. Once I got to about 2.5 miles, it loosened up & I started feeling pretty good. 

I feel like a terrible Boston-ite Bostonian (fail alli. fail.) I'm not even pretending to watch Game 6. Oops. 

Go Bruins! 

birthdayyy

I had a phenomenal birthday!! thanks everybody

Friday morning I got up & did a 6.6 mile loop through the common, the Esplanade & over to Cambridge. It wasn't hot or overly sunny so great for a long run.

   

Pineapple makes me really happy so perfect for a post-run breakfast 

Then the real fun begins!  
Early afternoon, Suzy & I headed over to Fanueil Hall for some lunch & cocktails.

love it. 

this was delicious. Kingfish Hall's - Fish & Chips

(birthday is a great excuse to eat something so fried and wonderful)

lindsey came to join us :)

sister love. 

we later moved to the bar to "watch" the bruins game & eat pre-birthday-celebration

jager bombs at 7? sure suz - that sounds like an excellent plan. 

We spent the entire night & Clarke's, which was great. 

People came early, people came late, people stopped by, I just set up shop & enjoyed every minute. 

so many fun people came out!  

(though so many got missed by the camera - sad)

overall - fantastic night & wonderful start to 28!!

Other exciting news!  I got a ticket to this year's HLS!!

Will be so fun. I can't wait! :)