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L is for Lists, originally uploaded by Swiv.

Now that I posted about my changes, I feel the need to make some goals for myself (a’la Angela over at Oh She Glows) for June. So without further ado:

CAROLYN’S JUNE GOALS

1. Running. Work my way back up to at least 15 miles per week and a long run of 5 miles. The miles/week should be doable, the 5 miler, maybe not so much. We’ll see how my hip issue works out.

2. Yoga. Do the Yoga for Runners DVD 3x week.

3. Eat Healthier. For far too long I’ve been supplementing a bad diet with exercise. I would think “I just ran 6 miles, I can have pizza and beer for dinner!” Now that I’m getting older, the weight has been creeping back on and my former “fat pants” are now the “gosh, these are getting snug” pants. I’m shooting for no dairy (calorie dense and I think I may be intolerant), whole grains (bulgur, quinoa, spelt berries and other protein-rich grains) and lots of vegetables. Also want to reduce my overall alcohol intake – it’s nothing but empty calories anyway. This doesn’t mean I will be super vigilant about it, because I’m only human. But I’m not going to give in to the cravings on a daily basis and plan on some “cheat” meals/drinks as I shift my behaviors and habits. Not counting calories, just being mindful of my hunger, eating when I am hungry and eating things that are beneficial to my goals.

Speaking of counting calories, I discovered that I can’t do it anymore. What ends up happening is that I end up OBSESSING over every single calorie and in turn I think about food obsessively, which then causes me to overeat/binge. Not a good way to do it! Instead, my approach of 1) plan ahead, 2) buy only the foods you should be eating and 3) plan ahead should work wonders. If the meal is made, then I just grab and go and not have to think about it!

Yeah, I know this has been a goal of mine for a long time now, but in my mind the “extra” exercise could allow me to not be so careful with portions or what I ate. In all reality, even though I trained for a 1/2 marathon, I still slowly gained over the past year and it was all because of my lack of a sensible eating plan.

4. Photos. I need to get my wedding/honeymoon photos up on the photo site for family to view/order prints. As these are my personal photos, I’m not putting them all up on Flickr for the world to see, and if I do they’ll be protected so only friends/family can see them. There is such a thing as sharing too much on the internet!

5. Gardening. By “gardening” I mean “get my pots of flowers out”. We have some new neighbors with kids and in turn we have more neighborhood kids traipsing around in front of our house. I’m hoping they’ll leave my stuff alone…but if not, they’ll find out. Need to figure out *what* I want to plant first! More herbs? Which flowers? What colors? Decisions, decisions.

I’ll post a recap at the end of the month to see how I did. Fingers crossed!

Happy June!

Oregon Cheese Fest 2011 Dinner 2, originally uploaded by cheese-chick.

I need to make some dietary changes.

First, I think I need to eliminate dairy from my diet. Why? I think I have a mild intolerance to it; not the gassy/pain symptoms, but just a sense of lethargy I’m feeling. Also, eliminating dairy — especially cheese (oh the cheese!) — will help me on my healthier eating plans.

Speaking of such plans, I’m shooting for a casual vegan diet. Casual meaning that I’ll still eat eggs/meat when the mood strikes and that I won’t be super vigilant with products/ingredients of stuff that I eat now. But for the most part the focus will be on whole grains/whole foods and amping up the veggies. Also because I found a bunch of vegan recipes I want to try. They’re recipes that don’t use “fake” vegan foods and instead use whole grains, veggies and a great use of homemade sauces and seasonings. I suppose I could be a “pseudo-vegetarian” instead.

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Going to start a new yoga routine today – bought a yoga for runners DVD that will help me with these nagging hip issues (ITBS plus some piriformis muscle issues) that I’ve been fighting for the past month. I’m trying to add mileage back slowly, but it’s so difficult for my brain to order my body to run only a mile or two when my body wants me to run 6+ miles! But, this yoga will help stretch/strengthen the muscles in my hip that are giving me trouble and hopefully I’ll be getting the mileage under my belt I want to by months end.

My biggest hurdle is to keep my motivation up with all these goals and to stick with it. I know what to do and I’ve done it before…now’s the time to do it. Right?

I know I kept the details quiet on here, but we got married on May 6th in Las Vegas!

I tell you, getting married in Vegas is the best – especially if you use one of those chapels and you don’t have guests (I HIGHLY recommend Chapel of the Flowers!!) . You pay them a pittance and they take care of the minister, photographer, flowers, music, it gets broadcast on the internet so family and friends can watch, PLUS they pick you up in a stretch limo! All we had to do was get a marriage license and get dressed up! EASY PEASY.

We had a great time and our only guests – our good friends from London – had a blast! I played roulette for the first time and ended up ahead (thanks to my family for sending us with gambling money!). I also got Tim interested in learning to play Texas Hold’Em, so I think I might have to bring back the poker night at our house. Need to buy some chips first, though…

The wedding/honemoon/vacation was a blast and I’m still working through all the pictures. The one thing I still miss is the pool at the hotel…it was GLORIOUS.

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Now that we’re married and the stress of the wedding planning is done, I’m losing weight despite my efforts to do so BEFORE the wedding. LOL!

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I’m prepping to run the Warrior Dash in July and do the Mankato 1/2 Marathon in October this year. I’m sidelined by a flareup of my ITBS. Unlike the vast majority of ITBS cases where the knee is having the problems, my problems stem from my right hip. It’s painful and while I can walk OK, if I try to run before I let it heal completely, my leg will buckle out from under me! Not the best thing for running. I still have time, though!

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Nice to see that warm weather is finally here in MN! Woo hoo!

BWAHAHAHAAA!

*dies laughing*