Hostile Dog Take-Over

Herro. --this is dog-speak for Hello.

Call me a bad pet-mother, but I had never taken Winston to a dog park until last week. This was primarily due to the fact that we previously lived in Utah county and there are no dog parks.

I was a little worried about Winston at first because he met up with a Cocker Spaniel right off the bat. This particular dog was all about rough housing and running around. Winston didn't get that. He was like..."WHY YOU BEING AGGRESSIVE!?" He had a hair-boner {The hair along his spine was standing straight up} for the first 30 minutes. He looked like a dino-dog.

After he realized all of the other dogs were not in fact trying to pick a fight with him, he settled in and made a friend or two. He was particularly obsessed with the other white dog in the pictures. Ob-sessed. He was also obsessed with sniffing all of the other dogs privates. He could not leave them alone! It was kind of embarassing. Like, "Oh yeah, my dog doesn't get out much...heh..heh..."

Trying to control Winston during this entire experience was useless. He didn't give a shit about me. Because there were dogs! Dogs everywhere! Dog privates to be sniffed! I probably ended up running around the park just as much as he did, trying to make sure he didn't run off into the wilderness. The park is located just off to the right before you head up Emigration Canyon. The potential for him to go rogue into the wild was high.

Caydence was pretty entertained throughout our dog adventure. She played with sticks, laughed at the dogs, met a few pups, and ran around.

Despite the fact that my car is now covered in dog hair and slobber, I'd do it again. Probably this week sometime, even. It was a good way for everyone to get some exercise and enjoy nature.

Have you ever been to a dog park?

-Stef-

I Think Cats Want to Secretly Murder Me

I know there are a lot of people in this world that love cats. Namely this gal. Her cats seem like pretty ok fur-balls. I feel like I could maybe touch them without getting swatted in retaliation. But, I feel like you can't just love cats and they will love you in return. You have to be chosen. You have to be inducted into the realm of cathood.

Cats have never really liked me.

I have had a long and tumultuous history with cats. There have been many a time that I've pet a cat, and it has bitten me in return. We have that kind of a relationship.

I grew up in Nephi, UT. A.K.A. The almost navel of Utah. Levan (read it backwards...those clever bastards) is the actually belly button of the state, and is just south of Nephi. Anyway. Boonies. You get it. We lived next to a farm for the first 10 years of my life, which also happened to be near the freeway. This was apparently a dumping/breeding ground for cats. WE HAD A LOT OF CATS. But not on purpose. I think there was a time that we had at least 20 due to breeding problems...Here's the thing. I don't think we ever purchased or purposefully acquired a cat when I was growing up. My Dad hated cats. The idea of actually getting one infuriated him. But, since we lived next to a farm where people thought it was appropriate just to dump a cat when they were tired of it....they seemed to just show up. You started feeding them. Then they started multiplying.

There have been several cat-events in my life that have lead me to believe that I was just not meant to be part of the cat-club. Growing up, I just really wanted cats to like me. I mean, who doesn't want a little furry beast to love on? Cats are cute! They are soft! Especially their under belly, which they often never let you touch. Bastards.

Most of the cats we had while living next to the farm were ferral. We tried successfully a few times to 'tame' the beasts. This almost always ended in getting the shit scratched out of our arms and legs. Once my parents built their house in Nephi, we were cat free for a period. Much to my sister, Whitney's, dismay. However, it didn't stop her from commandeering more cats. This house was on a half acre lot. On the very East border of the lot was a barn.

You know what cats like to do in barns? Have babies.

Every spring, Whitney, myself on occasion, and our neighbors, would go out into the barn and find baby kitties. My Dad would never get a cat for us, so we just had to go out and adopt steal a few of our own. This never ended well. The cats would almost always run away when they got older, get maimed and die from either sleeping inside the lawn mower or near the fan blade in the engine of our cars, or go back to being ferral and linger around the house.

One day, this bright orange tabby started hanging around our house. It was an adolescent. Medium sized and fat. It looked like a real life version of Garfield, which was a dream come true for my sister and I. Who doesn't love a cat that eats a shit-ton of lasagna, and treats napping like a sport? We had to have that cat. Despite the fact that we could never get close enough to even touch the cat, we named him Ralphie. Whitney spent a few weeks building elaborate traps and trying to gain the cat's trust. She was already invested in this cat.

It finally started to be a little less suspicious of us. Whitney decided it was time. She made a box trap. You know, a box propped up with a stick that has a string tied to it? It actually worked. Whitney came running into the house to tell me that she caught that beast. Knowing the cat would probably scratch the shit out of us when we opened up the box. We took safety measures. We brought a towel., threw it on the cat when we opened the box, and then wrapped it up so it couldn't scratch us. Smart, right!? Right.

Then we took it inside the house.

We felt like this would be a 'safe' place for the cat to finally meet us. And if he ran from us it would be much easier to catch him in the house. At first we left him in the blanket. Holding him softly. Petting him. Trying to reassure him that we weren't going to hurt him. That we just wanted to be friends! He actually seemed really calm.

We thought, 'This is totally working. This is so awesome! He loves us! We should let him free!'

So we did. We let a virtually ferral cat loose in our house.

At first he was like...

We were all...unaware...unaware.{THIS IS AWESOME} And he was like:

Then shit got real. Ralphie couldn't handle it any more, and he broke loose. He ran. He ran fast. Fast into the wall.

I never thought it was possible to defy gravity, until I saw that cat literally climbing the wall. It was a good three feet up in the air.

Whitney and I froze...and then panicked. 'GET ITTTTTTTTT! What do we do!? He is freaking out!!! What do we do!? Can we catch him?? OPEN THE DOOR!'

And he ran out.

Ralphie never trusted us again. Or even came remotely close to us.

Since then, I feel like cats in general have never trusted me. Or liked me much at all for that matter. I just get a weird vibe from them. Every now and then I'll think it would be a fantastic idea to have a cat. We would have so much fun! And then I remember that we just don't 'get' each other. I feel like if I had a cat, it would sit on my bed posts at night and just watch me sleep. Or something equally creepy. Because cats are like that with me. Cats are volatile. I don't deal with volatile.

On Monday morning I ran outside with Winston. All of the sudden he was alert and looking off to our left. I looked over to see what had caught his attention. There was a black cat. Just sitting in the middle of someones front lawn, plain as day. Watching us. Still and silent. I'm certain it was thinking:

...with a thick Russian accent.

Cats. Love em? Or do you think their weird, like me?

-Stef-

The Great Protein Supplement Debate

Ok, I don't know that it's really a debate, but I'm gonna share my opinion with you bro's {or hoe's if you prefer, but that's a little derogatory if you really wanted to know}.

So here it goes. Unless you are trying to put on some epic body mass {read: muscle, body building}, you don't need a protein supplement every single day. Don't jump on my ass just yet, let me explain myself. Now, when I say protein supplement, I'm talking soy protein, whey protein, or some other kind of chemically engineered garbage that comes in a plastic container.

Let's talk about that Whey protein. {Disclaimer: I am an advocate of clean eating, but I am not a health professional. So this is merely my opinion.}

You really don't need to be torturing yourself this way. Protein-from-a-can is just gross. No. Just stop there. Don't try and justify it. IT DOES NOT TASTE GOOD. Stop kidding yourself. On top of that...it's not natural in the form it is presented to you on the shelf at the store. At all. Think about it. Whey, is a bi-product of cheese.

It's like cheese diarrhea. And somehow, this cheese diarrhea bi-product is manufactured and makes it into a plastic bottle in a powdered form...Ok, it may not make it to the shelf exactly that way. But you know what I'm talking about. Liquid...to magic powder...not natural.

Ew? HELL YES. GROSS!

My mother-in-law makes fresh cheese, and I would never in a million years ask her to save me some cheese diarrhea because I need to get some 'extra protein'. I would just ask her for some CHEESE. A 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese has approximately 15 grams of protein. Boom. Want 30 grams? Have a whole cup. Plus, cheese tastes good!

If you are really going to keep using Whey protein, you would be better off drinking it as a mostly unprocessed cheese bi-product. {The stuff in the above picture} Because that shit in the plastic can is probably two chemicals away from causing Chernobyl in your kitchen.

Now, the Soy.

I understand that there are some people who need to get their protein in a supplemented format. Veggies. Vegans. People who just don't like meat. But, come on. You can get plenty of protein naturally from plants. Especially beans. Oh wait....SOY BEANS. What, what?? Soy comes from beans.

Soy beans are actually pretty tasty little morsels in their natural state. But, there is also some controversial arguments about soy intake. There is a lot of negative information and research out there about soy right now. Educate yourself. Do your research. Eat some black beans. Or kidney beans. Or any bean really. They have protein!

Ok, so my point is, you can get all of the protein you need with a well rounded healthy diet. There really isn't a need to supplement your protein with powder. It doesn't make you healthier. If anything, it's probably hindering your progress. Drop the powder. Reach for some eggs.

When you are supplementing protein, it can be really easy to over-consume your recommended daily amount. Typically you are either eating or drinking a TON of protein in a really small serving when you supplement, which can often leave you hungry and wanting something else in a couple of hours. If your not keeping track, you could be getting too much protein. Consuming too much protein can increase body fat, and make things difficult for your kidneys.

If you are active, the recommended amount of daily protein is about half of your body weight {grams of protein, not lbs}. If you are exercising a TON (an hour or more of intense activity) you should probably have more. If you don't exercise often, your intake should be about 0.36 per pound of body weight.

This is pretty typical day of eating for me. If you look at the totals at the bottom, you'll notice that I am getting plenty of protein just from my diet.

No supplements there. Anyway. Protein consumption is not the catch-all for weight loss. You've gotta do the work and make a legit lifestyle change. Protein is your friend in that battle, but it's not going to do the work alone. Also, there are so many delicious forms of protein! Why are you wasting your taste buds on protein supplements?

Protein's job is to aid your body in recovery and rebuild damaged muscle fibers more quickly. There is a reason body builders consume a lot of protein, and it's because it helps them put on a lot of mass quickly. Protein supplements are not going to magically make your ass smaller.

I'm not by any means saying the protein supplements are bad for everyone, or that I myself would never use them. I feel like they have their place in this world. When I have limited access to a variety of foods (work, meetings, running errands), I will supplement nutrition with a protein bar. But, I don't do it often. I really believe that you should plan ahead and try to eat whole natural foods whenever possible.

How do you feel about protein supplements? Like em'? Hate em'?

-Stef-

Pass or Fail-April Goals

Yesterday, I was walking down the stairs thinking about the complexities of the universe when I realized...it's May.

Mother effing May. Already!

Anyway, I set some goals for April, and I wanted to check in on those and set some goals for May.

The Health Goals:
1. WAKE UP AND WORK OUT. PASS!
2. Eat the shit you make, and stop eating out! PASS!
3. Log some miles. Boom. Pass. 48 miles this month. I am happy about that.
4. Get in some puppy runs. Pass! 

Family Goals:
1. Get out of the house. FAIL. We spent some time outside this month...but we didn't really get 'out'. 
2. Make some dinner. Pass! I did more meal prepping on the weekends versus actually cooking during the week. That works for us.
3. Organize some stuff. Pass-ish. I clean out our laundry area, but I didn't even touch the office. 

Be More Zen Goals:
1. Finish at least one book this month. PASS! I actually finished two books. Sharp Objects & Gone Girl. 
2. Do something to pamper yourself. Fail. I did not do this at all.

Long Term Goals:
1. Color Me Rad 5K. Signed up!! Yipee!!!
2. Get Bikini ready. Ehhh. So, so on this one. 

Overall, I did pretty fantastic I'd say. I'm happy with my progress. Waking up isn't so bad anymore. I almost prefer it. {That almost could have a post all on it's own}

For May, I am going to have some similar goals to help keep me motivated and on track.

Healthy Stuff:
1. Run over 50 miles in May. Since I did 48 last month, I think 50 or more is totally achievable.
2. Run at least three times a week with Winston.
3. Do at least ONE yoga workout a week. I've gotten bad...it's time to get back at it.
4. Get rid of the processed snacks in my pantry. I am having a real battle with Enchilada Supreme Doritos, and Talenti Gelato. 

Dear Lord. They are so delicious. But, they aren't doing my waistline any favors. Time to say goodbye.
5. Be more diligent about eating good things. Get creative. I eat clean mostly. But, when I want to be 'bad', I am REALLY bad. My bod is not appreciating the bi-polar eating.
6. Try and find a local 5K this month.

Family Stuff:
1. Little C diet overhaul. This is going to be difficult. That child of mine has slowly stopped eating things that are healthy. She only wants chicken nuggets, popcorn, and crackers. This has been going on since she had her ear tube surgery. After the surgery she wasn't really eating well, so when she did eat, I let her eat what she wanted. So yeah...that happened.
2. Ok, we really are going to get out of the house and do something. WE WILL GO AND DO SOMETHING.
3. Try and organize something in the office. Complete a couple yard projects.

Zen Stuff:
1. Read one healthy living book.
2. Try to relax. It's my birthday month!


That's good I think.

Did you make any goals in April? How did you do?

-Stef-

Running Book Winners!

The winners of The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide were selected by Random.org and are:

Who just so happens to be:

Send me an email at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

-Stef-

Vega One Winner!

The winner of the Vega One contest was selected by Random.org and is.........

#74, Stefanie Gladden!

Congrats Stefanie! Send me an email at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide Giveaway!

I have some exciting news!

Remember when I reviewed Ryan Roberts book, The Ultimate Beginner's Running Guide? Well, Ryan recently contacted me to giveaway two copies to you guys!

Two lucky winners will receive a copy of Ryan's book!

On top of that for the next little bit, the price of this book is going to be reduced from $4.99 to $0.99! If you are a new runner, this is a great book to learn the basics. Or if you are an experience runner, this would be a great gift for a friend who is just starting!

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave me a comment. You can say whatever you want. {Praise of how awesome I am could get you a few brownie points ;) } Just comment to enter!

This giveaway will end on Friday May 3rd at Midnight!

-Stef-