alyssa346

So the weather has been gorgeous lately! I'm absolutely loving it... well excpet for the extreme humidity of today but I'll take this over freezing cold any day! So the past 2 weeks have been InSaNe with school... I really thought things would chill out but I did not plan that out right at all. After my week of working out everyday I have yet to get back at it but as a consolation I have been trying to watch what I eat. Granted that still isn't the same I still have the motivation for it. I'm so pumped though, school is done in less than 2 weeks! I'm already starting to plan out my summer. I'm really going to focus on getting in shape for the few races I want to run since I'm the only one of my roommates staying here this summer. I have other friends who will be here but it won't be the same without them. Maybe that will be for the best since I won't have anyone to be lazy with haha (not that they are but chances are if I don't feel like working out I can always find someone else around the house to procrastinate with). On the flip side though, they are always great motivation since someone is always up to do something active. We are having 2 guys sublet. They seem like they'll be fun, especially since one goes to cosmotology school he said he'll do my hair... sweet! This poor guy the two times he's come over I've either just gotten done working out or just looked rough as heck, he probably thinks I need the help to look decent haha.

I can't believe today is already Tuesday... I don't think I've ever said that because Tuesday is only the second day of the school week so it usually still sucks, but I feel like finals are coming up so quick... too bad I haven't been on top of my readings... oops : / that could come back to kick me in the ass. After Tuesdays my weeks usually fly by because I have to get up early to be at work by 715am until 930, then I have class from 955-1045, then I'm usually tired so I sometimes take a nap when I get back before class at 120 but tomorrow I think I'm going to squeeze a run in there so I don't have to worry about it later in the day. Then of course Wednesday I watch One Tree Hill and the Real World so there's another hour and a half out of my day. Thursdays I work 830-1030, class 11-1, then work 1-6 and then Grey's Anatomy comes on at 8... speaking of which did anyone check it out last week? What the heck was up with that spin off?? I think I would have actually been interested in that new show if it didn't cut into my Grey's time but seriously who has a 2 hour special event when a good 70% of it has nothing to do with the show itself? Come on ABC you're killing me here. Wow I could talk about Grey's for days but instead I'll switch it to Mifflin.

So in Madison, every year the weekend before the weekend before finals (follow that..?) there's a block party on one of the streets. It's so much fun and basically just an excuse to drink but it's something most college students need before studying their lives away for finals. This year's Mifflin fell on Cinco de Mayo so you can just imagine how crazy it got. We got there in the morning and it was lame because I saw more cops than students so we left for awhile because I wasn't really in the mood to get in trouble. Here's a little example of how many cops there were.



When we came back it was just as fun as it was last year except this year the weather was nice and people were sportin' sombreros. I was determined to take a picture with police officers (because apparently anything goes on Milffin and I saw everyone else's pics from last year and was super jealous). Needless to say... mission accomplished (thats me on the left next to the really hot cop)...


Here's a picture of my girls and I sportin' the Cinco de Mifflin shirts we made...




and last but not least here's one of me with my best friend who came up for the weekend


I don't know if you guys liked the pictures but I had fun sharing... I'll have to do this with every entry. Well enjoy the rest of your Tuesdays : )

Hey everyone! So... it's been forever since I've posted but school went into serious overload. All semester I was saying how easy this semester has seemed... yea well when you have all your midterms and papers crammed into a 3 week span the rest of the semester seems like nothing. It feels so good to be able to take the time to breathe again. I feel really refreshed too because I'm starting to work out again. Last week I went to a super circuit class and felt the lunges and stair sprints in my butt and legs for a good 4 days... although I'm not gonna lie the pain was worth it haha. Today I went for a run outside and it was awesome! I was really nervous because I had a burrito and some chips from Chipotle for lunch (couldn't resist, it was FREE) and thought that would make me feel sluggish or at least give me some side aches but it didn't. It was about a half hour run but I could have gone longer if I didn't have to be somewhere at a certain time. There's nothing more motivating to me than having a good run. Seriously, after not working out for what feels like forever, it felt great to have a good run. The weather was perfect too, low 60s and sunny! Not going to lie though, I'm one of those people who loves running in hot weather. In high school there were only a few other girls on my cross/track teams who liked running in hot weather, most preferred the cold. I think my favorite though is when it's hot and just starts raining. I love it... I feel like I should be in a Nike commercial or something haha. Another fun part about today's run was that since it's been so long since I've gone running I had a bunch of new songs to listen to, always a plus! I'm pumped for tomorrow too because Tuesdays are super circuit day so I know I'll work out tomorrow... two days in a row woo woo! I'm determined to be on a 4 days a week workout plan by summer... it's going to happen! Wednesday I'm going running with one of my friends which will be different. I normally don't like running with other people because I've become so attached to my ipod but he's a runner and said we'll go my pace so I'm pretty pumped to make that work out day in a row number 3! This looks like it's going to be a good week. I'm going grocery shopping sometime this week too so I can fill up on healthy food. I find I'm always more eager to buy healthy food when I'm in a work out motivation mood so this should work out great.

On another note I just want to say how much disbelief I am about the Virginia Tech shootings today... I can't believe it. Really scares me to see what people are capable of. It's so sad it happened at a college... I feel so safe going to class but this goes to show you never really know what can happen. Hopefully nothing like this will ever happen again. My heart goes out not only to the families but also to the students, even if they did not witness anything, I can't even imagine what kind of fear and shock they must be in... I know I'd have a hard time staying on campus and even considering going to class.... keep them in your thoughts... bye!

Poll #946822 Motivation
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3

What do you do for motivation?

Hey guys... so I've pretty much been slacking off on the posting on here for the past couple weeks. It's funny because my excuse is I don't have time yet I manage to waste time on facebook and youtube for way more time than one could imagine humanly possible so clearly I have the time to come on here, I'm just full of excuses. That leads me to my main topic of this post... excuses. I'm full of them. It's been so hard for me to get motivated to actually go work out lately and I haven't been eating healthy enough to counterbalance to lack of physical activity so basically I've lost all motivation to get in shape. HELP!! It's not that I don't want to work out, I just never get around to doing it. Granted last week was the week from hell (4 midterms and a paper due on top of my regular class and work schedule) so I didn't put working out at the top of my list, I still use school as my excuse this week. I don't know what it is but I just feel like I've been so busy and everything is just going crazy. My room is an absolute mess, I hate even going in it anymore, I never know what is due when anymore, and I haven't been getting much sleep. I'm banking on next week to get my life back in order since this is my last week of midterms so there's still hope. Plus hopefully the weather will start getting better and put me in the mood where I want to run outside. But... seeing as it is Wisconsin, no sense in counting on that to motivate me.

So I leave it to you... does anyone have any motivational quotes or phrases? I want to start putting them up in my room, in notebooks, and even in my food cabinet (that one should be fun). Song lyrics, quotes, proverbs... I'm up for anything you want to throw my way.

On a random note, the friend that I talked about earlier, Alex DeVinny who died of anoerxia, was in Seventeen magazine this month (well technically it's April's issue). The article focused on effects of anorexia and the triad. It's an awesome way to reach out to others and inform them of the dangers of this disease. Her mom also told me she's supposed to be in Jane magazine so keep your eyes out for that. Way cool to get that much coverage though, I hope her story will help others.

Another thing I'm starting to think about is this summer (I mean come on when you live in the ups and downs of Wisconsin weather it's something you have to look forward to). I really want to take a kick boxing class. Has anyone taken kick boxing before? I don't know it just seems fun to me... I really want to learn how to kick/punch a punching bag so I can look badass haha. Dare to dream right ; ) Well I should get back to my "studying" but I hope everyone has a great St.Patty's Day weekend... I know I sure will!!

Sorry I've been MIA... it's been pretty crazy in this life of mine. I have 4 midterms this week and to top it off a paper due so I haven't been doing much other than study and whatnot. Haven't worked out in what feels like forever. Don't feel guilty, but I am getting pretty anxious to go for a run especially since I added a bunch of songs to my ipod (always a plus).

Today is the one year anniversary of the death of a friend of mine. Alex DeVinny died of anorexia when she was 20... now that I'm 20 it's hard to picture life just ending here. There's so much I still have left to do that Alex never got the chance to do. She was an amazing runner... had some serious talent which is how I met her (no not because I was that amazing, she was a teammate of mine and actually my first real friend in high school). Watching her run was something else... she made it look so effortless. She's my inspiration to get back in race shape. I'm still here... I can do it... she can't... kind of puts things into perspective when you think about it, you can't keep putting things off because you never know when you'll run out of time. I'll make a post later today but I want to leave you all with this. It's a video that her sister put on her blog. I'm not sure where it's from so if by some change the person who made this ends up at my site let me know so I can give you the proper credit you deserve. The first time I watched this I was at a loss for words not onlyl because Alex is in it (she's in a red shirt... it says that she was a state champion who died at 20), but also because it's just so... I cant even think of the word to say... but yea it left me speechless and made me vow to help do what I can so hopefully it will have the same effect on you.... so check it out.

Poll #931555 Workout Music
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4

Do you listen to music when you work out?

Hey guys!! So like I said when I first created this blog I wanted to have a "topic of the week" type structure so without further ado (is that right?) this week's topic is.... FAVORITE WORKOUT MUSIC. I'm not too sure when this happened but sometime between track season senior year and now I cannot go running without my ipod. I honestly NEED to listen to music. Maybe it's because ipods made it so convenient to run with music because I was most definitely the person who carried their discman with them and dropped it at least 700 times. Ok that's a big of an exaggeration but you get the point. All I know is nowadays I hate hearing myself breathe when I workout. I always knew I was a heavy breather but now I cant stand it! It's like my mind starts telling my body that just because I'm breathing heavy I'm tired.... weird I know. I also like how time seems to go by faster, especially when running around on an indoor track where time seems to stand still.

Since I love all kinds of music I tend to listen to some pretty random stuff when I work out. So here is my 100% honest, unchanged, straight from my itunes most current workout list... hopefully it's not too embarassing:

1. Gwen Stefani- The Sweet Escape
2. Bob Sinclaire- Rock This Party
3. OAR- Heard the World
4. Aerosmith- Dream On
5. Greenday- Jesus of Suburbia
6. Fall Out Boy- This Ain't a Scene
7. Lil Boosie- Zoom
8. Justin Timberlake- Damn Girl
9. Pimp C, Bun B, Mike Jones- Pourin It Up
10. Fat Joe ft Lil Wayne- Make it Rain
11. Jim Jones- What You Been Drankin On
12. Justin Timberlake- What Goes Around
13. DJ Unk0- Walk it Out
14. Tech N9ne- Caribou Lou
15. T.I- Top Back Remix
16. Tech N9ne- Slither
17. Justin Timberlake- Summer Love
18. DJ Unk- 2 Step
19. Tech N9ne- Night and Day


So yea... like I said it's my most updated which doesn't say much since I haven't worked out since I did Super Circuit (my favorite thing ever... 45 minutes of going to various stations like jump rope, tricep, bicep, lunges... stuff like that) last Tuesday. I've actually been sick and went home Thursday afternoon and didn't come back until Monday afternoon. I have bad bronchitis so they're treating me for pneumonia... yea not fun. I reeeeally want to go work out especially since this is the first Tuesday Super Circuit I've missed all semester (tear) but have way too much school stuff to get caught up on. Missing 3 days of classes in college definitely doesn't help the grades out too much. So now I leave it to you. Tell me your favorite songs to workout to, or better yet, be brave and put your playlist out there for us to see... especially me since I love hearing new music. Impress me!

So I figured I should give everyone some background history so that you can all understand my motivation behind wanting to get back in shape. I was always active and doing 100 different things at once growing up. I tried almost every sport and am so thankful my parents got me involved in so many things so I could find my niche. I started out in dance when I was about 5 or 6 and continued on with it until the end of 5th grade because I was convinced I needed to focus on the "sports" I did because dance was always just something fun to do. This must have made my dad extremely happy because I was always his little daddy's girl athlete. I have 2 older brothers but they are 8 and 10 years older so by the time 5th grade rolled around I think my dad was getting restlesses from his leave of absence from grade school athletics.

Anyways, besides dance I tried softball but after I got hit in the knee when I was "pictching" (I use the quotes because when you're in 4th grade can it really be called pitching?). One nasty bruise later I decided softball wasn't my thing. I did basketball 3rd grade all the way through senior year but I'll get back to that later. I also played soccer and absolutely loved it, it was my second favorite sport next to track which is why soccer only lasted through 8th grade because it was the same season as track in high school. Let's see... oh yea I also did tennis, volleyball, and cheerleading in grade school. I went to a Catholic school so I was fortunate enough to be able to do 3 sports for school and a club team at once... looking back I wonder how the hell I had the energy.

As I said I did play basketball for quite some time, both for school and club teams. In high school I actually got moved up to the big bad varisty team about halfway through my freshman year which would give the impression that I must have been amazingly good but that's not the case, our team was just ridiculously bad. My sophomore year we got a new coaching staff and they were determined to turn the program around the way they had done with the boy's team. They were amazing men and did wonders with our team but halfway through my senior year my heart just wasn't in it anymore. It's not that I wasn't getting playing time, I was a second year co-captain who had been starting since the end of sophomore year. It just didn't seem worth it to be going through intense practices 7 days a week when my back was getting progressively worse and I just always in some kind of pain. It was so hard for me to walk away from it but I have no regrets. I get sad everytime I watch the girls play but I think about how grueling practices were and I am reassured that I made the right decision. Plus, I was able to get some rest before track season for the first time in 4 years since I went right from cross country (poms senior year... you didn't see that coming did ya?) to basketball to track, so it was nice to have some time to enjoy my senior year (especially since our boy's team went to state and I got to experience that journey).

Above all else, running has been my passion ever since I realized it could be turned into a competition. Cross country was fun when I had the stamina for it but track gave me a feeling nothing else could. I loved everything about the sport and my team. I was on varisty for 4 years but my peak was definitely my junior year before I got hurt. I started out doing open 800, 4x800 relay, and 4x400 with an occasional open 400 but by the end of senior year I did 4x200 relay, some 4x400 relays, and an open 400 and 200 here and there... oh yea I high jumped too. My friends tell me I get way too sentimental and emotional when I talk about track but my teammates (too hard for me to say former since some of them are/were my best friends) totally understand.

So that's where I come from. After being so active year round and constantly doing some type of work out it sucks to be so out of shape now. It's my own fault and I let it happen, for once in my life I'm out of excuses but I'm determined to get my ass back in shape so I can compete in some 5k and one 10 mile race (in my home town). So yea... hopefully this wasn't too boring but I tend to drag on when I talk about the glory days of competitive athletics (and believe me I could have gone on for a hell of a lot longer). I promise next time I'll have it be something other people can get into but for now I guess all I have to say is if you want to tell your story about the teams you were on back in the day feel free... peace out for now!!

Hello hello! So this is my first journal entry ever so we'll see how this goes. If you read my bio thing you'll know that my reason for creating this blog is for a class. Even though that is the case, I am pretty pumped to see how this works. Who knows, maybe I'll love doing it so much I'll continue on after the semester ends.
So I've been trying to come up with a topic for this blog. I mean, as entertaining as my life may seem, I don't know how ready the world is to read about it. Point being, the best topic I could come up with is my journey to get back in shape. The idea was inspired from a friend who has a livejournal (I believe) account documenting his triathlon (spelling?) training log. I thought it was a pretty cool idea but since I'm not really up for triathlons just yet this was the best I could do. With that said, I'm going to try to have a different topic to focus on each post as well as include the details (don't worry I won't make them too boring) from my workouts. Well, before I go into details of what I've been up to lately it's time to head off to class... thus is the life of a busy college student.
*peace and love*

-Alyssa