Friday, May 4, 2012

Day 10: Goodness, Gracious! Pop Tarts on Fire!

Greetings, Friends and Followers!

I have finally made it to the TENTH day of my journey! It has been an interesting one to say the least! I worry about if I'll be able to keep up my workouts with this heat! I had to work 1/3 of my day outside today, and the heat was almost unbearable.

I woke up with a sore throat. I'm HOPING it's just allergies since there's all kinds of polleny crap in the air right now, but just incase, I have been upping the vitamins and doubling my water intake so I can flush it out of my body and power boost my immune system. I have NO TIME for a sore throat! Getting sick TERRIFIES me right now because I'm doing so well. The last time I lost a bunch of weight, I quit because I got sick and couldn't recover from how long I hadn't exercised. WHEN I get sick again, I pray that it's at a point when I feel more confident in knowing I can handle the recovery.

Breakfast was small since I knew lunch was going to be semi-unhealthy today. I just munched on yesterday's vat o' melon, which I still have yet to even get close to finishing...

Seriously, who eats that much
melon in one sitting?
I got to have a fun lunch today with a new-ish good friend of mine! Since he's relatively new to Southeast Texas, I brought him to one of my favorite spots in town, Katharine & Company, on Calder Avenue. They never disappoint.

Pecan crusted chicken on fococcia with a
cup of tomato basil soup & a spinach salad!
Those were the biggest spinach leaves I've ever seen.
My plate is usually spotless after a meal here,
but I made myself stop when I was full!
After eating this, my sore throat started to feel a little better. Craig (my lunch buddy) offered me some of his green beans and artichoke hearts, but I was too scared to get some since I didn't want to risk getting him sick, too! The man has some mean chops on the organ. If you ever come to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fannett, check him out. He's super talented! (just like the rest of our choir!)

Not too soon after I returned from lunch, I had to leave for Silsbee where I photographed a pretty awesome annual outdoor event. LIT's Utility Lineman program has a yearly "Lineman Rodeo" where the students have to climb up 40 foot electrical poles and show off what they've learned throughout the year in front of an audience. It's always a thrill to watch them work, and it can be heart stopping when they slip!

Don't try this at home.
The event itself is always a lot of fun, but inside, I. WAS. MISERABLE. There was DELICIOUS smelling barbecue and desserts ALL OVER the place free for the taking! Sausage links, brisket, chicken, cornbread, potato salad, pork & beans, buttercream pies, and (one of my biggest weaknesses), YELLOW CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING.

But I KNEW I wasn't hungry!!! I had just eaten a delicious and delightful HEALTHIER lunch 2 hours before, and there was no room in my stomach for more. I peeked at every dish literally about 4 times. In the back of my head, I remembered the poop-looking brownie and how guilty I felt for eating it yesterday, so that's what kept me from eating anything! I did it! I was sweaty, and miserably tired from the heat, but I did it! I resisted the temptation to eat food I didn't NEED! Now, if I were actually HUNGRY, it would have been another story...

I left the rodeo at around 5:00, and I was worn out and down. I dragged up to my apartment, and I did not even want to THINK about exercising because I was SO tired. I was also starving by this point. I drank a big glass of water, and put the very last Pop Tart I had left in the toaster to have a pre-workout snack. As I got dressed, I smelled something burning... My toaster usually makes the apartment smell like toasted goodness, but this was different. I heard it pop up, and I slowly walked over to the toaster, and found a FIRE!!! THE POP TART WAS ON FIRE!!! I unplugged the toaster and smothered it quickly, and of course my fire alarm rang about 3 times, but I turned on the vent and opened the doors soon enough for it not to cause too much more of a ruckus.

I guess this was God's way of telling me
He did not want me to eat that Pop Tart.
You can imagine my mood after this... Hungry, laughing, relieved, and slightly bummed. I decided to go ahead and make myself some dinner instead. I have frozen flounder filets (which I'm not a huge fan of, but I need to finish them since they're relatively healthy), so I seasoned and sauteed one with olive oil spray, some steak seasoning, and a splash of lemon juice. I also had one box of macaroni and cheese that I bought before my fitness epiphany that I want to be rid of, so I made a "healthier" version of it.

I cut the butter it called for in half, and I used almond milk instead of regular milk.

The almond milk made the mac 'n' cheese
thicker and taste better!
I also added some romaine with a splash of an Italian vinaigrette.

I resisted yellow cake today; therefore, I ate ALL OF THIS.
After I cleaned up, I felt reenergized! I decided to hurry over to the hike & bike trail and put in another 8.5 miles before the sun went down.

My friend Ly is interested in buying one.
Here's what it looks like folded, Ly!

The ride up the 1.5 mile stretch is always difficult because I'm warming up and it's against the wind. There was a man I passed up who was talking to some of his friends who later passed me about 2 miles later... This made me a little irritated... Yes, his bike's wheels had much larger radii than mine, yes, he looked like a much more skilled cyclist, and yes he looked like he was in better shape than me, but I was NOT about to let this man do another lap around me. IT WAS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.

I pretended like he was my problems.... I COULD NOT and CAN NOT let my problems catch up with me. I was also in a race against the sun, too. It was 7:00 when I arrived at the hike & bike trail, so I imagined that the sun was MY time to shine, and I had to be done before it went down. Nick thought it was poetic...I thought it was me not wanting to bike in the dark. Or both. Either way, both of these thoughts FUELED my ride today, and I KILLED those 8.5 miles. I truly felt like I could bike more, but I did not want to risk finishing in the dark. (Despite the poetic nature of me racing for my time to shine, I gotta be practical).

So I went from NOT wanting to do a lick more today when I got home to almost burning down my building and biking like mad through an awesomely intense workout. I'd say that was a pretty groovy Day 10, wouldn't you? 

Day 11 shall be a Saturday of laundry, possible Mediterranean Festival attending, and definite working out again. I can't wait to see what I can do next! 







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