Music & Medication

I'm sorry that I haven't kept to my typical blog schedule this week.  Due to the head cold that refuses to quit, my work outs haven't been anything spectacular.  Monday and Tuesday I took off because I felt like I could barely stand straight (don't you just love a fuzzy head?).  Wednesday, I went back, but had to keep it pretty slow on the treadmill because I was still feeling a bit light headed.  Today, I did about 100 minutes on the elliptical.  Certainly easier than running if you're not your usual self.

I've been adding a ton of music to my running playlist.  Here are some of the new songs:

"Hey Mama" Mat Kearney - Just a fun song with a decent beat. 

"Titanium" David Guetta featuring Sia - Great beat and I love Sia. 

"Pumped Up Kicks" Foster the People - This is a good warm up song for me.  It's kind of chill, but for some reason it works.

"Dark Horses" Switchfoot - Off their new album and it's SO good for running.  This song definitely motivates me to keep running.

"Mercy" Duffy - Nothing new, but it's a fun song for me to run to.

"Howlin' for You" The Black Keys - Just a cool song :).

"Sweetness" Jimmy Eat World - I've liked this one since college. 

"Brighter Than the Sun" Colbie Caillat - Just a song that makes me smile.  I like to run to songs that put me in a good mood.

"Your Love is a Song" Switchfoot - This one isn't very upbeat, but I really enjoy the song, so I added it to the list anyway.

"Wake Up" Arcade Fire - I love to start off my running playlist with this.  It starts off kind of slow, but the beat ramps up at the end.  It's great for warming up or stretching before a run.  You've probably heard it before.  It was the song in the preview for "Where the Wild Things Are" that made your heart swell and gave you hope that it might just be the coolest movie you'd ever see.  Ok, maybe it didn't do that for you, but that's how I felt when that preview came on.  Music has that affect on me.  The music in a preview can make or break my opinion of a movie before I even see it.

On to other things that affect me/us...medications.  I have been an insomniac for years.  I have been taking sleeping meds on and off for a very long time.  My doctor recently put me on a medication that I'd never heard of.  I, being the excellent patient that I am, started taking it without really looking into the possible side effects.  Super smart, right?  No!  I've been on this med for a couple of months now.  After visiting a different doctor for serious muscle pain, I decided to go through and check the meds that I'd been taking to see if one of them might have been the cause.  My sleeping med just happened to be the culprit.  All that to say, make sure you're paying attention to the things you're taking and how they might adversely affect you ;) 

I'll leave you with this awesome work out towel found on Pinterest ;)  I'm pretty sure that it was made for me. 

Tiger Balm - "60% of the time, it works every time."

I'm thinking or re-naming the blog, "Diary of a Super Sore Mom."  Today was brutal!  I think that T and I might have gone a little overboard with the weight training on Saturday.  We spent over an hour using all of the weight training equipment.  No joke, my collar bone ached!  I have been using Tiger Balm and Icy Hot like clockwork and I'm counting on some Aleve to help a bit too.  I can honestly say that I have never wanted a professional massage as much as I do right now.  The good thing is that eventually, my legs should get used to running and the pain will lessen a bit.  For now, I'll stock up on Icy Hot/Tiger Balm/Aleve.

T and I decided to do a shorter run today since our legs were aching.  We went for 3 miles running and 2 miles walking.  My legs were cramping up the whole time.  Here's hoping that our legs will feel a bit better by the time Wednesday's run rolls around.  One exciting thing for me, I ran a mile @6mph.  It feels good to add a little speed and open up your run a bit.  I just need my lungs to catch up with my head. 

Today's run:
1 mile @ 5.5mph

1 mile @ 6mph
1 mile @ 5.5mph
2 miles @ 4 - 3.5mph

Total miles = 5.02
Calories burned = 775

Now on to dinner.  Tonight we had chicken vindaloo with
Persian super basmati and plain Greek yogurt.  I could only eat about 3/4 of this serving, but it was good (even if the spiciness made me tear up a bit).  The Greek yogurt is excellent at cutting the spice in Indian food.  It also makes it a bit creamier and adds a ton of protein.  We love ethnic food at our house :)