Las Vegas Ragnar

Over this past weekend, I ran the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay. 12 team members, 188 miles. It was such an awesome experience, I can hardly explain it. Running for an extended period of time would probably not fall under most people's category of "fun," but it was. You sleep odd hours, if at all... and when you have an awesome team like mine, everyone is constantly cheering everyone else on. Not to mention, the feeling of accomplishment you get from finishing something like that is great. So worth the $100 entrance fee.

My legs were 4.6 miles @ noon, 3.5 miles @ 11pm, and 5.9 miles @ 5:45 am. All uphill. Talk about mind over matter. Anyways, here are some pictures.

After Austen and I ran our first legs... Looking a little tired, with Hannah and Cara.

Cara and Austen being team players and running the last 2 miles of Hannah's leg with her so that she could finish strong.

My hot mom (Chery), Hannah, and myself all showing off our sick metals.

Van 1, best ever. Bottom row: Chery, Brittnee, and Cara. Top Row: Me, Hannah, and Austen.

The whole team, "Stupid Hurts." But for the record, I am not stupid.

Source: flickr.com via Fernanda on Pinterest

What is up with my extreme dog fascination?

Time to get real.

Why do we whine and make excuses for everything? I do it all the time. Especially when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight.
I always tell myself that my body is just "bigger boned," or that my metabolism blows. The reality of it is that I haven't been giving it my all and putting in a good, solid effort. I would say that I have been giving 80% of my all. Some could argue that 80% is good. It's 80% more than no effort at all. But the fact of the matter is that I'm never going to reach my fitness goals unless I put in the FULL effort or more.
One of my best friends has always told me that if you want something badly enough, you will get it. Because if you are so devoted to getting what you want, you will do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes. It will probably be hard. But is it worth it? Yes, it sure is.
Point is, I have decided to stop trashing my body. Input is what determines output, right? So if your input is processed junk, the output is likely to be a gut and a crappy immune system.
Recently, I've looked into the body's ability to heal itself. When we fall and scrape ourselves, we form a scab... which eventually falls off when fresh skin has formed underneath. If the body is able to heal itself from the outside, it should be able to heal itself from the inside right?
I've been told from various sources to "eat your fruits and vegetables." We all have. It isn't until now that I have realized the importance of eating them. The body is only able to fully heal itself and regulate itself when it has received the nutrients that it requires. Micronutrients are REQUIRED by the body in order to perform bodily functions. Foods that include these micronutrients are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruit. A majority of the population skimps on these foods.
As I've researched this over the past few months I have been introduced to the idea of a raw food diet or a juice fast. Both of which consist of eating only micronutrient-rich foods. The raw food diet- lifestyle, rather- consists of eating only raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Since food is easier to break down when it is in its raw state, the nutrients are absorbed quicker. The juice fast is very similar. The difference is that you are putting all of your fruits/vegetables into a juicer and drinking only that for x amount of days. It is recommended to do the fast for at least 10 days in order to reboot the system.
I have seen countless success stories with either one of these diets/lifestyles. People have been able to heal their bodies and shed incredible amounts of excess weight. They have also been able to ween themselves off of medications for diseases that have been caused by their prior unhealthy lifestyles.
I recall eating only fruits and vegetables for 2 weeks when I was 16. I lost 8 pounds. I wish I was more aware of the way it made me feel and how my body was doing. I guess I have that chance now.
I am going to try to live a nutritarian* lifestyle. Mainly because I need to reboot. And I want to be healthy. I highly recommend you do the same.



Nutritarian: 1. a person whose food choices are influenced by nutritional quality. 2. a person who strives for more micronutrients
per calorie in their diet-style.

Peace

Today, I feel like I am where I'm supposed to be.

Ohh epiphany, epiphany...

After a sleepless night of nonstop thinking (thanks, diet coke), I have realized a few things.

A. Life isn't that bad.
It will never be perfect... but it can always be worse. We dwell on what seems to be going wrong and forget to think about all the things going right in our lives. If we could take a minute, and think of all the things that we do have... and the people that love and adore us, our hearts would fill to the brim. We just have to open our eyes and realize that we are lucky after all.

B. Bad things happen to good people.
It's probably God's way of letting us know that it's time to step it up a notch and move up a level. The only way that we become better is by taking these trials with a grain of salt. And accepting the challenge. He breaks us down to build us up. When the shit hits the fan, thank Him. It's in our best interests.

C. Everyone has an innate tendency (or ability) to be good.
Sometimes, you have to look really long and hard to see the good in people. Nonetheless, it's there- trust me. I think that because of the distractions in the world today, people get lost within themselves and forget who they were- and still are- meant to be. Nobody was born a bad person.

D. Everything happens for a reason.
Although I am still young, I have been able to appreciate the people and experiences that have come to shape who I am. I imagine these people and experiences are not on accident. Think of where we would be had our lives not lined up exactly the way that they did. Potentially, we could all be completely different human beings. Trials are what shape us the most. You can't learn how to swim without actually getting in the water.

E. "Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -Plato
ALWAYS be nice. I'll admit, I can work on this. People don't deserve to be gossiped about. They don't deserve to be the object of ridicule. I've said things about others that I would never want to hear about me. That's so sad, and pathetic. None of it makes me feel good about myself at all. We don't get ahead by dragging others down. Let's build eachother up. That's why we're all here. We are here to help eachother, not hinder eachother.

F. The world is beautiful.
We live amongst some of the most beautiful people, creatures, and plants. The earth, in and of itself, is truly incredible. Beauty can be found in the simplest of things. For instance, wildflowers. Or a blue wren. Next time, take a look around. Breathe it in.

"Not that often that you find this much neatness in one place... that's called nature."- Nature Walk

Bingo

This has my dad written all over it... and in it... and around it.

It's interesting how true this is though. Someone could seem like the sweetest person in the world, then treat their waiters like dog shit. I work in a restaurant. I get it. It goes the other way too. When you're overtly nice, people are more inclined to please you.

Advice of the day: Don't mess with the people getting/making your food.

Breed of all Breeds

Throughout the history of time, dogs have been bred to literally be the ultimate companion. An animal bred to live alongside humans in extreme co-existence. The most widely kept hunting, working, and companion animal in the history of the world. "Man's best friend." Bet you can't say that about your filthy whore of a cat? (I take that back, cats are okay)

In my opinion, they are the most amazing animal. Which is why I want another. I love Bruno (my chihuahua), but most of the time I wish he'd be less of a gremlin and more of a dog. It's not normal for your dog to growl at you on a daily basis. Little puss.

I don't want another prissy lap dog that might as well be a cat. No, I want a German Shorthaired Pointer. They're kinda like a cross between a Vizsla and a Weimaraner. Ranked 17th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, for their excellent working abilities. Easily trained, intelligent, bold, and characteristically affectionate. These dogs are awesome. And beautiful.



The only problem is that now I live at home again. Which means, I can't get a dog unless my mom-er-ino gives it the okay. And she won't give it the okay until we can train the boys to stop being so gay with Bruno. I don't mean gay as in stupid, I mean gay as in homosexual. So, I don't think I'm getting my pup soon.

As of late...

I believe that exercising is one of the best thing's you can do for yourself. And the best kind of exercise is the kind that you enjoy. Because then, it doesn't even feel like you're working out... it just feels good- and fun.

Recently, I've acquired a taste for Mixed Martial Arts. Especially Muay Thai Kickboxing. I'm actually trying to train up for an amateur fight. Crazy, huh? Well, I figure it's something I've always (secretly) wanted to do... so why not now? I'm almost 20, so I'm young, healthy, and pumped.


Maybe one day I'll be like this guy. Cheick Kongo, aka certified badass. He's recently become one of my favorite fighters because of his most recent fight. He was getting dominated for a majority of the round, stands up for a brief second, throws 2 right hooks and KO's the kid. It was beautiful.

Adventure Time!

It's been awhile, sorry to be such a stranger.

First and foremost, I no longer have my wisdom teeth. They got taken out the day before Thanksgiving. It was a real special treat. Thanks to the common effects of heavy sedatives, I accused my doctor of- first- giving me acid, then later-after he reassured me that he didn't give me acid- of rufying me. For those of you who are blissfully unaware of what a rufy is, let me pop your bubble real quick. It's that little drug that creepy guys use on their dates so they can "have their way with you." Let's see, I'm pretty sure my doctor wouldn't participate in anything like that. My alter-ego has quite an imagination. But hey, makes for a good story. Oh, and I couldn't stop talking about "the turkey-basting midgets... on rollerblades." Gotta love them!

And this week, I'm moving out! About damn time too. I've been wanting to get out of my parents' houses for the past year at least. Unfortunately I've had to wait it out for one reason or another and it isn't until now that things have been able to work out.