Race Update and the 25 days of Christmas!!

I just wanted to share with everyone that the results of the mitten run were posted and my official time was based off chip time not gun time. Meaning I did better than I thought!!!

Blue Back Mitten Run

West Hartford, CT    Dec 2, 2012 10:30AM

• Alexandra Karnolt

bib

1109

ALEXANDRA KARNOLT

5K » Ellington, CT

finished

00:34:53

• Overall
  1,559th
  of 2,080
• Female
  905th
  of 1,298
• Athena
  43rd
  of 100

Interval	Time of Day	Chip Time	Chip Pace	Gun Time	Gun Pace
Start	10:44:52AM
Finish	11:19:45AM	00:34:53	11:14 min/mi	00:35:28	00:11:25 min/mi

(Source)

I dont know how to copy things from websites so they are all neat and pretty so this is what we are going to have. As you can see my OFFICIAL TIME was 34:53! That makes me even happier as it is only 17 seconds away from my (recorded) PR! I did better at Color Me Rad than any other race, but had no watch to actually tell!

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In other news I am starting a new feature for the holiday season. You know the song 12 days of Christmas? Well I am making it 25 because each day Dan gives me a gift just by being with me! Some may be sweet while others are sarcastic, but each new day brings something new that helps or teaches us as we go!

So on the 1st Day of Christmas my Daniel gave to me:

A Sexy Pose with a Hello Kitty bag!

This is from our Christmas party, my secret santa got me the greatest present ever and Dan is modeling it for you! Inside was this…..

Sorry it is sideways WordPress changed their upload process and I cannot figure out how to rotate the image. Anyway some delicious wine and anything Hello Kitty are in fact the way to my heart. And while Dan did not give me this gift, him GQing it up with the bag made my day!!!

On the Second Day of Christmas my Daniel gave to me:

Spectating my race and a gleaming car with a special sticker!!!

While I was napping after work Dan had cleaned my car and attached my sticker I ordered online.

My Car today at work looking sharp!

My sticker! So excited to have it on finally and no I dont feel like less of a runner because of it and I do not care what anyone thinks of it! This is always a topic of debate in the running forums!

So now it is time for a run I need to train more and get faster! Enjoy your Monday and I hope you had a healthy and productive day!

Wacky Fact Wednesday!

It’s time for me to reveal silly things about myself you may or may not be interested in….but today we are doing it count down style from 4-1 sorry I couldn’t come up with 1 more this week!

#4. MY FAVORITE CATALOG OF EVERY YEAR HAS ARRIVED!!! 

I love all the winter clothes they come out with! I want most everything in the catalog and can make a great christmas list with it, especially now that they have a workout clothing line.

3. My favorite condiment as of this year and maybe ever is on this wrap!

Peach Mango Salsa wrap! I was first exposed to peach mango salsa from COSTCO and eat it on everything from chips, tacos to putting it in crock pot chicken soup! So good! This version was made by the store I purchased the sandwich from and it was still just as amazing!

Plus having it with a mint hot chocolate is not at all a weird combo, I WAS COLD!

2. I have an extensive hello kitty obsession! 

I know this is obvious but today I looked at my calendar and realized it is also super AWESOME!

This is my office at work, but I also have the same one at home. It is cool so I need one everywhere 🙂

AND THE #1 Fact of this week is…..

1. I LOVE MINI THINGS, EVERYTHING IS BETTER WHEN IT IS SMALLER…

Snack size mini maple sausage and biscuit sandwiches= low calorie same great taste and SO CUTE!

Dogs are better mini also! Finny is super cute and thinks if he pushes himself against Grandma’s couch I will forget he is there and he can live there forever!

And Finally the CUTEST mini thing I have ever encountered, modeled by my Dad…

The tiniest cheese grater of all time! I never knew grandma had it, or maybe it was my Aunt Kim’s but it was at tonights family dinner and everyone loved it!

Have you ever had mango peach salsa?

Are things really cuter smaller? If you say no we are in a fight because that means you dont think Finny is cute!

Comment below!!!

Hard workouts and good meals!

Today I worked out pretty hard! That will have to wait for the end of the entry though, as it did occur at the end f the day.

I woke up this morning and took my yummy gummy vitamins! They really do make taking vitamins that much better.

            

WHY YES I DO KNOW I HAVE THE HANDS OF AN 80 YEAR OLD AND AM 26 THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT!

Then it was time to pack my breakfast and head off to work. We had a meeting, but I had to miss it because I had a chiropractic adjustment, man did that feel like heaven!

Breakfast today was 0% Chobani with a little honey and apple cinnamon cheerios and a banana!

I worked a lot today, as today seemed to be the day every bill ever was mailed to the store, days like this I seriously hate the way bills are entered and paid through peachtree!

Then it was time for lunch, I packed a salad and an apple but decided I wanted some soup as well and thus this was the most glorious lunch. That dressing is amazing and Dan also loves it!

I know you wish your desk had Hello Kitty Post Its, Bath and body works lotions (2 kinds) and a glass and container that need to be washed! Those strawberries were amazing, and will be making a cameo in tomorrows breakfast!

When I got to work I found this on my desk, because my co-worker Krystle also loves Hello Kitty!

Times like these I wish I had a baby so I could give it that to snuggle, or at least keep in its room due to the eyes being so small! (Don’t worry Mom Karnolt, after my marathon we will start planning a grandchild for you.) :-).

Then it was time for the gym, Dan and I took our first spin class, the lesson today was do not let the instructor who was easily 8 inches shorter than I am adjust your seat height to such a high level, major wedging and chaffing! OUCH!!!! There is a reason I do not wear thongs when working out, and today certainly seemed like I was. Oh and if this is too much info for you, you should probably stop reading my blog. Anyone who knows me knows I am not shy about injuries of any type, or pretty much anything, except bathroom related events! (thats something you just dont talk about!)

Other than the odd seat height we both loved spinning! It was really fun and helpful to my endurance. Much like my running the beginning SUCKED, but as we progressed I settled in nicely and finished strong. I always have trouble with my first mile, such a PAIN! When I got home I was still energized so I ran a quick unplanned mile in 11:45. I felt really good about the time, especially since even with all my stretching my legs were pretty tight and the run did help a bit.

Then I ate a salad, some pasta and watched biggest loser, which Dan sat down and watched with me. Pretty good night. I am off to bed now, as I do plan on running tomorrow morning because tomorrow night is FAMILY DINNER!!!!

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Does anyone else watch REVENGE on Wednesday’s?

How upset are you that it is not new until April, Dan and I were devestated!

What did you eat today…..I love food as you can tell and if it was sugar bonus points for you! I would kill someone for ice cream (just kidding, but kind of not), but I realize it was worth it to give up something I love for Lent and make a sacrifice. For my health and religion!

Did you give up anything for Lent?

Don’t be like my Dad who said Applesauce, he doesnt like it so that does not count!

I’ll leave you with this Finny picture, he likes to watch television like this….

Floating Head Dog!!!!

Please tell me you watch Scrubs and get the reference!

When you are just not feeling it, and lots of pictures!

Today I am just not feeling it! (working out that is). So today I am just going to ramble about fun things and one not so fun thing. Tuesdays will now be my rest day because it is the day I am most worn out and I need a consistent day.

Last night however I did run (30 min. 2.21 miles), before my run I was not hungry for dinner. After however I was starving. I should know I should not eat after 8pm, because it gives me horrific nightmares, in which I tense my whole body and I hurt my back because of it! Anyway here is a picture of my dinner last night.

Everyone takes pictures of their dinner, on top of their laptop which is on their bedroom floor right?!?!

I wasnt too hungry so I made Dan and I some roasted red pepper/tomato organic soup, a banana, and that little pile of stuff is some cheeseburger bake thing I made with noodles, cheese veggies and hamburger. There wasnt much left so I spilt it with Dan and  I needed that banana for the potassium!

Today I found this in my purse while at work, my father in-law gave it to me for coming to his bday party! I have not gotten a gift for going to a bday party in about 20 years! It was a great surprise, and made me reminisce about our birthday parties from childhood. We really did have the best upbringing and parents!

       

New Hello Kitty Post-its are great! Plus as you can see it says ages four and up so we are totally covered. Nothing weird at all with a 26 year old lady having HK everything!

Also while at work I had to do this, so probably another reason why my back is screaming at me and I feel so exhausted!

So this is almost (because I am not done yet) every bill from last year sorted by me into alphabetical order, so that we can make a budget. Our last office manager was not very good with organization and the fact that our floor looks like this right now is honestly driving me nuts!!!! I will be back at it tomorrow, but it should not be as much like playing twister as it was today!

When we got home I needed a quick dinner so I made this, yes it is mostly orange and a tad unhealthy but Im going to treat myself. Also if anyone has not discovered the magic that is mixing mac and cheese with some Taco Seasoning do it now!!!

A chicken burger (with red pepper and onion inside), mac and cheese, sweet potato tater tots and a ton of sweet baby rays honey bbq sauce, the Best BBQ sauce in the land! It was so good, but I got way too full too soon and thus will be eating the other half of that burger and tater tots tomorrow at lunch! You know I got those burgers pre-made at costco, awesome, and low calories, I dont know how many right now.

Finally I leave you with the gift I was greeted with at the door tonight! My free vegetable bowl for my china set from Macy’s!

If anyone is getting married I truly suggest registering there, such a good experience!

 I have gotten a free cookbook, a free bowl from my china set, a free kreurig travel mug and a $200.00 gift certificate, because they give you back a percent everyone spends in a gift card, they have really easy returns and I cannot say enough good things about the program. Especially Carol who runs it for Buckland Hills Mall (in connecticut), she is awesome!

Yes our kitchen walls are apple green, we also have checkered black and white floors in there, I am ALL about color and vibrancy! Life should be fun. Also ignore my glutamine and Dan’s pub mix in the background. I had just done dishes and I am so tired right now from my being up at 5:30 am due to nightmares that I wasnt going to move anything!

Good night people and thanks for reading!

Weight Loss and Running.

I have never been skinny, well lets rephrase that, I have never thought I was skinny. I was very thin all the way up to around age 15-16. I have been on a constant diet since I hit puberty, and what woman hasn’t. I am not afraid to tell you what my weight is, (because I dont have anyone to impress, I have the man of my dreams and he loves me the way I already am) and I will but first let me explain. I lost a lot of weight before the wedding (I was originally 200lbs when I started losing weight), the week before I was around 162.0 and the day of I was around 174.2 due to stress and relaxing on my workouts.

Now that we have went on the honeymoon and throwing out my back I weigh in at around 185.0 and am 5’8″.  I am rounding up its closer to 184, but since its not .0 I am not counting it. Yes I am hard on myself I always have been in life. Sports, weight, appearance, but that is just me. Now with the help of running I have become more motivated to finally do it once and for all. My goal is to be between 145-148, so I have around 40 pounds to lose. Thanks to the magic of pintrest.com I found a really good motivator.

The post-it on top says “counting beans, not for consumption.” Mom wrote that because we are accountants and I think she thought it was funny.

This is actually mine from my desk, as you should be able to tell due to the hello kitty post it! I bought the glass jar at Homegoods for $4.99. I have around 40 pounds to lose so there are 400 chocolate candies in there and they each represent .01/pound. so for each .01 I lose I get to take one out when the jar is empty I am done, and then I have a cute little jar for my desk! Plus I get to give the candies to my co-workers,  I wanted colored rocks but the store didnt have any! Plus if I do decide to have any they are only 15 calories for 5, so not bad! Plus with this sitting on my desk (where I spend most of my time,) I have to think of everything I eat.

The nicest part is that I do not run to lose weight, I found something I really do love, that motivates me to eat healthier and be more active overall, the weight loss is just an added bonus. I did put on around 5lbs when I first started running again, but that is normal and I will work through it and burn it right off!

If people can go on national television and weigh themselves I can share my weight with the internet. And I do, I use sparkpeople.com as well, and have made some great friends there.

Whatever will motivate you is what will work for you, so I am proud of myself for making this breakthrough in motivation!

2 a days!

I have been reading both my books and last night this one, had a chapter about Oprah running a marathon. She went through 2 a day workouts. I decided I need to up my mileage before the race Feb. 11th, then when I taper it can be more than 5 miles that week! Plus I can start working with my personal trainer again as soon as next week, my next chiropractor adjustment is tomorrow and I have to see how I feel after this first week! I might throw some squats in today too, because I need to strengthen my legs up a lot!

This morning I could not sleep so i decided to do a quick c25k workout, (that I mixed with the treadmills preset 5k training program and just upped the speed) knowing I would be doing my Jillian Michaels treadmill workout tonight before the Giants game! I decided before I started it that I would wear some cute socks….no one can tell me they have cuter socks than I do I will NOT believe it!!

Dan was asleep, so it is a dark picture in our bedroom, but yes that is Hello Kitty as a cow and the bottom says Moo…not oow ha ha.   I have a whole package of five with different animals and sounds, yes I believe in embracing my inner child, who lives firmly outside my body!

Now it is time to relax a bit, get some laundry done, watch some tv and eat these babies!

Thank you costco for some great food and never failing me :).

Questions

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1. What was your workout today?

2. What kind of socks do you wear running?

3. Do you shop at costco or sams club, what is your favorite thing to buy?

I love their apples because they are so big and juicy, and the broccoli because you get so much!