jaras76

creator of my own catastrophes

[jaras76]

frozen

this week the office temperature has hovered just above freezing, which made me think of my new favorite podcast episode >> Mistakes Were Made: Act One

In the late 1960s, a California TV repairman named Bob Nelson joined a group of enthusiasts who believed they could cheat death with a new technology called cryonics. But freezing dead people so scientists can reanimate them in the future is a…

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[jaras76]

mush

my breakfast tomato was mealy, probably from being stored in the fridge. I feel poorly for not eating it so maybe it will be a sauce or something else later today.

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[jaras76]

my dreams

last night

were filled with poems

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[jaras76]

does this pizza have garlic on it? are you sure? we just can’t see it? how do we know it has garlic?”

overheard at my favorite Italian restaurant

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[jaras76]

balcony

spending a year locked in a 428 sq ft, never-been-lived-in studio apartment made me determined to find a place with a balcony at the end of my lease. it’s such a simple thing – the act of opening a sliding glass door and stepping out into fresh air goes a long, long way towards making me feel much freer and less like a caged animal.

my new sense of blissful freedom had me puzzled as to why…

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[jaras76]

InDependent

One of parenthood’s major perks is the gigantic tax break that’s delivered along your tiny bundle of joy. As that little joy nugget grows and takes up a larger chunk of your budget, you  look forward to that tax refund (a large percentage of which is allocated back to caring for said joy nugget). Eventually your child grows up, graduates, and gets a full time job… but still freeloads at home, so…

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[jaras76]

Wake Up Buttercup

I may not know the names of all the muscles I shredded yesterday, but I know their precise locations and can feel their smallest contributions to movement . #owAltogether I did 120 slams, 120 push-ups, and 120 squat jumps (4 timed sets of 30 reps). This was a wake up call after two weeks of injury rest. 

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[jaras76]

10K Training

#nosleeptilBorgess

I’ve run 3 half marathons and oodles of 5Ks, but when it comes to 10K races I have some sort of mental block. 6.2 miles is right in the middle of too short and too long, so it should be fairly comfortable, yet this distance has always been my racing unicorn.

To remedy this, I’m running a trail relay in April (taking the 6.5 mile leg) and the Borgess Run 10K in May. Are you sitting down, Reader?…

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[jaras76]

embrace the burn

Training recap time! Long story short, distance running is back in my routine and my last two training sessions have made me wonder if the gym staff would be offended if I unapologetically puked on their nice wooden floor. I added magnesium into my daily supplement regimen to convince my muscles I don’t really want them to die.

February 23:

Lunge walks with a 25lb plate, starting with the weight…

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[jaras76]

Life’s Little Luxuries Love is a luxury for me. It looks nice and feels wonderful, but I never feel like I can truly afford it.

[jaras76]

Stability

my not so awesome balancing act

(a follow up to Text to Vent)

Last week Tuesday I left the gym fairly devastated. Austin guided me through what seemed like a simple workout for balance:

Aerobic Step Squat Jumps (On/Off Quick Touch)

Kettlebell Squat Jumps (Quick Touch)

Bosu Ball

One leg static, the other swinging to mimic a soccer shot (15 seconds)

Medicine ball toss back, two legs on, lift to one leg while ball is in the air,…

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[jaras76]

Oh, Puma New Training Goal: Fit into an unforgiving, super-tight fit Puma Arsenal jersey without feeling like I've never worked out a day in my life.

[jaras76]

Because Dishes?

This morning I cried before breakfast. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but it happened over a sinkful of dirty dishes.

Now before you write me off as overly emotional, understand that there’s a strange power struggle going on between me and my housemate. We both have strong work ethics and want to contribute. Being a single parent since forever, I do everything myself and don’t like to accept…

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[jaras76]

Text to Vent

[jaras76]

Rest Days? LOL (but srsly, I need recovery advice)

Rest Days? LOL (but srsly, I need recovery advice)

Going to the gym was the LAST thing I wanted to do yesterday. My legs were howling from Tuesday’s workout and the three soccer games I played on Wednesday. The more I thought about all the squats and broad jumps I had to do, the more work seemed to take precedence over working out (soooo busy, dontcha know?) Motivation  came in the form of a particularly frustrating text exchange that…

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[jaras76]

New Stuff - Woo! 

New Stuff – Woo! 

It’s official: my first week of personal training was pretty light. I got bored with the workout pretty quickly but my rowing form is much improved.

Today Austin asked if I was ready, then asked again after I said yes. (The answer was still yes, but I guess he wanted me to prove it or something). Today we added 100,000 squats and a bunch of other fun stuff.  I don’t remember all the details so…

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[jaras76]

Weekend Warrior-ing

Managed to squeeze a quick workout in before joining the Kalamazoo Gooners for the Arsenal vs. Bournemouth match:

10 minute walk/run (mostly running)

5 minutes moderate rowing

Agility toe taps (3 sets, 20 reps)

Ski jumps-trx assisted (3 sets, 20 reps)

Medicine Ball control touches 10-lbs (3 sets, 25 reps each leg)

Body weight squats (2 sets with weights, 1 w/o, 20 reps)

Step up & over (3 sets, 20…

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