#exitrowiron

[pushingmylimit]

I can never sit down or else she will jump up on my lap and fall asleep on me. She’s been getting the opportunity a lot since we decided to binge watch GOT again. The only problem is that I can’t stay still for long, so I end up having to move her, which she hates. She really is stinking rotten cute, though. By far the best cuddler in the house.

So I didn’t try for the 50 this morning, although I did go for a long run. I read your comments before I ran -- you guys are awesome! And exitrowiron’s response really resonated with me -- because it’s the same thing my mother has been telling me for years. But who listens to their mom, right? 

So they are both right. I always overextend myself -- in everything. And it’s damn near impossible to dedicate myself to something for extended periods of time because something else always gets in the way. I’m always juggling so many things at a time and it really makes me crazy.

So when I go home (yeah, I came in to work) I am going to revise my vision board. A LOT. I’m going to strip away most of it and just focus on a few things at any given time. And I will dedicate myself to those things and I will not take on anything more. 

I may not be superwoman, but I’m really happy that I learned something here.

P.S. The last time I did a long run was back on December 7th, for 16+ miles. Today I ran 20+ miles. I wanted it to be a long one because I didn’t want to think I opted out of trying for the 50 because I wasn’t willing to suffer. According to my garmin, I gave a 4.9 training effort today -- so I did push myself a bit. It was also super chilly -- 35 degrees. Now that may not be cold by your standards, people, but for Californians, that’s pretty frickin’ cold!!! And I had to wrestle my extra bottles and banana away from a skunk, too! He was huge but fortunately he kept himself together, haha. 

[runsforbrunch]

@exitrowiron replied to your post “today, the first time ever, I hosted global training for my company....”

What kind of training?

i just took over as business lead for some of our large-scale technology integrations. so i coordinate training on sales, account management and operations.

[runningmyownrace]

Per @exitrowiron request for a lock screen picture, featuring a very handsome @exitrowiron. From our trip to the Emmy’s in 2016.

[runningmyownrace]

Mike (ExitRowIron) and I got to go to the Emmy Awards! I had the opportunity to have my make-up done professionally for the first time, my hair done, and then we went to the Emmys and the Governor's Ball after. What a great time! And don’t you love my handsome date?!

We saw lots of stars, but it’s too creepy to snap pictures of them up close. Heidi Klum, John Oliver, Chris Rock Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joann Froggatt (Anna on Downton Abbey), Keegan-Michael Key, Anziz Ansari, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Whitford, Sarah Hyland, Angel Parker (American Crime Story), Abigail Spencer, Jill Saloway (creator/writer of Transparent), and Constance Zimmer were some of the ones we saw up close.

The person I got the biggest kick out of seeing was Dee Dee Myers, Press Secretary for Bill Clinton and inspiration for CJ Cregg on the West Wing. She walked smack in front of me from the show to the dinner, and being a huge fan of the West Wing, seeing her and Bradley Whitford aka Josh Lyman in the same evening was super cool for me.

This is actually still a running blog! I have my long run tomorrow and will return to regular programming. 

[fatman2fitman]

exitrowiron replied to your photo:I’m squishing your head, bear! I was supposed to...

Kids in the Hall! Crush. I crush your head!

That’s what I was thinking of!

[fatman2fitman]

exitrowiron replied to your post:How far can I get on a leaky tire?

the odds are zero

I think I knew that but I needed you to tell me.

[exitrowiron]

Stress Induced Training

There are a lot of reasons why I don’t bitch about my work on social media: 1. I have a good job and am fairly compensated. 2. I have no idea who reads this 3. No one (really) wants to read about someone else’s professional challenges. 4. Griping would be contrary to my personal philosophy of “Suck it up.”

Having said all that, right now my job is more challenging and stressful than normal. Everyone reacts differently to stress - some drink, some overeat, but more often than not I feel compelled to double down on training. So on nights like tonight when I’m on the road and don’t get out of the office until late, I’m likely to head to gym for a long brick.

Tonight I got to Lifetime around 8:45 and did an hour on the bike and 45 minutes on the treadmill before showering and heading back to the Denny’s that is conveniently located 50 yards from my hotel.

I suppose the normal thing to do after work would have been to head straight to a good restaurant or bar and then back to the hotel. But I know I would have just screwed around watching TV and reading Tumblr, so it’s not as if I’ve lost any sleep by going to the gym instead.

The busier the day gets and the less control I have over my calendar and travel, the more determined I become to control my time at the gym and my diet. And when I finally get back to the hotel I’m physically tired and go to sleep quickly instead of worrying about what’s on the agenda tomorrow.

[seechrisrun]

Questions on Diet

exitrowiron replied to your photo “At a high level, there’s what 5 weeks of trying to clean up my diet...”

You've probably already posted this, but how tall are you?  Congrats on getting to race weight.

I’m 6′0″ tall, so 155 is on the low end of my healthy weight range. People definitely comment on how skinny I am. I wouldn’t want to go much lower really.

In high school, I was in the 130s, which seems crazy now. Out at my parents’ house, there’s a photo of me and a couple teammates after an XC race with our shirts off. I couldn’t have had a drop of fat on me at that point and probably ate like a horse too.

lesswhiningmorewinning replied to your photo “At a high level, there’s what 5 weeks of trying to clean up my diet...”

Do you physically feel any different when tracking versus non tracking?   i.e. - does what you deliberately eat/don't make any difference compared to just your normal burn in excess of intake?

I do wonder if I could have eaten anything I wanted and still had the same weight result. I’m fairly confident that the quality and timing of my carbs has led to more energy during my runs. If I can pack those carbs into my system, it will sustain me for a longer period of time. That alone is worth the effort and hopefully will prove itself on Monday.

Let’s face it, though. Tracking is such a pain. I’ve gotten a little better at planning my meals out in advance. Hopefully with more experience I won’t have to look at the numbers all the time and just feel it out naturally.