10:27

Metabolic Stress test- Not me :)

In the bubble and still not me

 That is evidently how long I last on a metabolic stress test.  I was horrified... I mean I am fairly active and yet I tapped out at 10+ minutes.  So yes, I was horrified, until I went home and googled 'average time on a stress test' and found that most people last from 8 to 12 minutes so I was right in the middle.  Which made me feel slightly better, but not by much.  And for those of you unfamiliar with a metabolic stress test it involves wearing a mask to measure breathing, an EKG, and a treadmill that where the incline and speed increase at a steady rate until you feel you can't go any farther.

Why am I taking a stress test you might ask?  Well, I am participating in a study at the local university.  And I like to participate in studies.  You get to learn more about yourself and you help further other peoples education and research.  And you get to do some interesting stuff.   And you get to do this interesting stuff for free!  And with this one, in addition to the cool tests, I am also getting a stipend which is just icing on the cake.

Body Scanner

Still not me- this is dude

But anyway, this time one of the schools at the university is doing a comprehensive calorie in calorie out profile.  And so far I have participated in four things.  The first was the stress test, which measures calories expended while exercising.  The second was a resting metabolic test which as I am sure you have guessed, measures my resting metabolism.  These two tests gives them an accurate representation of my metabolism.   The third test scans the body and shows your body fat and gives them an extremely detailed pictures of body fat composition. And for the fourth, I am now wearing sensors two sensors for the next week one which measures the activity I am doing and another which measures when I am sitting and standing.

So I am really exited to see all of the results at the end and find out more about myself.  And if any of you live near a large university please look on their websites and see what is going on.  There is some really cool stuff out their.

I'm still here. Promise :)

I have been really busy lately, but I will get back to posting soon.  With the car accident (the car issues were minimized thanks to my awesome parents) and a crazy schedule I just haven't been writing anything up.  But I hope to start back up soon, especially since I have a lot of stuff going on right now.  Lots of good stuff, but it I definitely am getting a workout in time management.  I was approved by Nationals as Chapter Advisor for my local sorority chapter (I am working with an amazing group of girls), getting ready to move in with a friend (good news is we have already worked out the thermostat settings, everything else is negotable :) ), class (I'm taking Roman Art this semester), and starting to go to races again  (just did one last weekend through USC).
(And I am sure that my gratuitous use of parenthesis has driven at least a couple of you crazy)(But I love all of you)(And one more... just cause)

Bye, Bye Baby

 Over the holidays my car, aka Baby, bit the dust.  This really hurt for a few reasons.  Baby was my first car, we were hit (duh that tends to hurt)... and she was paid off (that might have hurt most of all).  We were rear ended and the damage totaled more than the other insurance was willing to pay, not to mention the frame had been bent.  Which you can kind of see in the top picture, but they found more damage as they pulled the car apart and that tipped it.  So I spent most of my break on good drugs on the couch.  It was good that if I had to be in an accident that it occurred while I was on my break.  It was bad because I had a lot of plans which due to the good drugs I skipped.
So now I am just dealing with the insurance company, and new car (new to me) stuff, DMV, etc.  Things have gone well and the two Nationwide agents I have dealt with have been amazing (my insurance agent was good, too).  But it's still a ton of stuff to deal with.    

Spreading a little cheer

Devine Night Out was last Thursday.  This is an event when all the shops along Devine Street stay open late and host a street party.  I saw an email saying that the Red Cross needed volunteers to help man tables so I checked the calendar and that night was free.  We were working on trying to get cards signed for the troops for the Red Cross's Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign.  Our table was set up outside of Southern Pottery (which is home to some amazing art and local talent) and we worked for three hours trying to get as many people as possible to make cards.  And we did good.  With the exception of one girl who flat out said no, everyone else who walked by wrote a note to some of our service members.  This is such a little thing and many people think that they don't have time to volunteer, especially around the holidays, but this was three hours.  Such a small commitment but a large return.  So I encourage everyone to do something this holiday season, no matter how small. It may be the best present you can give to yourself...  And I am stepping off my soapbox now :)  

One of the other volunteers took pictures and I will post pictures as soon as I have them.

They say things come in threes...

I really needed a new gym bag... and now I have three.  Which really need to be put to use now that we are in the thick of the holidays.  Not so much for the food (though that is a factor), but for the stress and everything else that goes on at this time of year.  So I will take this sign and keep packing the multiple bags.  That way in the mornings I can just grab one on the way out the door.

Tales from the land of online dating

 So most of you know I have been trying online dating and boy are there some interesting people out there.  Lots of nice ones, but some others...
So lets start with the basics.
Photos.  Please. I have posted examples of two of my favorites.  The laying on the couch shot (I see my running shoes and other crap I drop when I walk through the door) and the bathroom mirror pose (I think I gain points for the attempted duck face and the double mirror, but my lose some because you can't see in my shower or see my toilet) .  These were taken post run so I am extra sexy :).  I don't know why everyone posts these on their profile.  They don't make me want to start up a conversation.
Then there is the actual profile.  I would like for you to tell me things about yourself beyond your profile reading "I'm an open book.  Ask me anything you want."  But it also shouldn't be longer than a George R.R. Martin novel.  And my personal favorite profile is, as follows,  with my thoughts- and I am sure yours (I know at least one other friend echoed my thoughts almost verbatim when I let her read this) edited in:
"I'm ___ I'm 29 and I just recently turned single."  I like how he turned single.  So can I turn coupled?  "I work at ______ I'm a _____.  I don't wana be doing it for the next 5yrs  I'm gona do my best to move up even higher."  Ok,  you do that. "I'm a great Singer and awesome dancer.  I learned how to dance from a stripper so I have talent in other areas as well."  Ok, I just feel like this statement also means you might be bringing some extra baggage to the table which requires monthly treatments. And I know that is probably not an accurate assessment of the health of strippers but it is my first reaction.  And the most awesome part of the profile... " I'm awesome in bed I can literally vibrate while I... you know that's all I'm saying"  Really that is where you decide on discretion?  I would have started around the dance section.  Needless to say I did not respond to him.  A honorable mention for profile WTF is:  "I'm Mexican and my love is like a Mexican."  What does that even mean?
And once you are past the profile it is onto messages.  I have previously talked about the text speak and it is still rampant.  Please at least write a full sentence in introduction.  "hey u cute send me something back kisses" is not going to get a response ever.  I also love the overuse of emocons and exclamation marks.  I use them a lot (I know this, more importantly you know this about me).  But if your message is made up of about half of these there is an issue.  From my inbox (I had previously responded back to a hello message and this is what I got back):  "I'm good!!!!  And you????  My name is _____!!  What's yours? :)"  And then when I did not immediately respond I got this "How come you won't talk to me???"  "Did I scare you off already??? LOL!!!"  And while he is probably a very nice person, I know also know that he is way to needy for me.  Way too needy.
Last, if anywhere in your profile you say you are married it ain't going to happen and separated is still married.
I think I am done for now.  I will probably have more very soon...

You win this round, Governor's Cup!

Not sure what this is, but it's pretty.

Start line

Last weekend was the Governor's Cup where I was supposed to run in the half marathon... You can probably tell by that statement things did not go as planned.  I will admit that I had slacked off slightly in the weeks leading up to the event, hadn't run more than six at a time since the weekend before the Mud Run.  But after picking up my packet I went to look at the course one more time and saw something that I had missed up until now.  The course was closing 30 minutes earlier this year.  Which meant that there was a good chance that the race would close before I finished.  And I don't know how Columbia does it, but many other places will completely pull you off the course... and I was not willing to take a chance on being pulled off at mile 12.  So I dropped down to the 8k.   The good news is that this year I got to cheer for my dad at the finish line.
So half marathon... you win this year.  Next year I will make sure I can finish in under three hours and I will show that course it won't beat me.