Outside running, and fighting through those intervals!

Tags

Days Off, Goals, Half-Marathon, Happiness, House & Home, Kitty, Nutrition, Pinterest, Running, Training

Hope everyone is having a great week! I’m currently enjoying my lovely week off that happens every four weeks in my rotation! Ahhh, bliss I wish I could retire… (not really, but ya… really).

I have this problem during my week off… See, it comes after I finish working 8 nights in 11 days. My sleep schedule is obviously right out of whack! So usually for the first few (or almost all…) of my days off this week, I have a HUGE problem getting up and at ‘em at a decent time! No lie… I didn’t get out of bed until noon today. Oops. I even had alarms set for 9:30, 10:30 and 11! Ugh. Tomorrow is a new day, and my goal is to get out of bed before 11 am! Haha. I just feel like so much of my day is wasted once I finally get up! But oh how I love sleep…

Someone else is sleepy too...

I’ve been slowly getting back on track using the LiveFit nutrition plan. I haven’t been following it perfectly. Between the food poisoning and night shifts, I just haven’t had the time or energy to follow it completely. I’m not eating overly bad, doing fairly good actually. I just need to get a little more strict and have a set schedule. Take today… I had 1/2 cup oatmeal with craisins and cinnamon at 1215pm, then didn’t have another proper meal until 630pm! I just haven’t really been focused on food, or felt hungry. I think once I get a schedule in front of me, I’ll be able to be a little smarter!

Speaking of the food poisoning… We bought a new fridge! It’s not here yet. We won’t get it until the 23rd. But I am so overly excited! Even before it was broken, we wanted to replace it. All the other appliances were black when we moved in, except the fridge… It was white! Odd. We had to put a new microwave in recently, and chose stainless steel. So we went with a stainless steel fridge! It’s going to be beautiful! I searched all over the internet, and I’m so happy with my find. We actually got it for about $500 cheaper than it was at other stores! I can’t wait to get it installed! It’ll leave my mind (and stomach…) at ease!

Love it!

Exercise has me feeling pretty good!
Monday: 7.24km treadmill run, short core workout
Tuesday: REST, had a killer massage.
Wednesday: 5km run outside!
Thursday: 7.2km treadmill run. Ran intervals! Such an intense workout!

Have you ever run intervals? They are awesome. They can be hard to et motivated for, and hard to enjoy during the run, but wow… You feel awesome after. And? Time flies!! I warmed up with a 2km run. It wasn’t until I was almost done 2km that I decided that I should do intervals. I was just going to do an easy 7km! But my mind was wandering, and I was not enjoying the treadmill. So, I challenged myself! After the 2km warm up, I ran just over 4km of intervals. I sprinted for 60 seconds, then did a 90 second recovery run, repeat! When you’re watching the time like this, and doing the sprints, it’s amazing how fast time flies! I encouraged everyone to try it, you might be surprised!

My plan for tomorrow is to try to do a long run outside. My goal is 15km, but we’ll see… It’s been almost 3 weeks since I ran 13km. 15km might be a little far. But I’ll try! I love running outside! I find time goes by faster. I actually run faster without even really realizing it! And I just love the fresh air! It’s still a bit icy around here at times… Thought the weather overall has been so mild and fairly warm for this time of year! I sometimes have to ‘penguin walk’ over the ice, I’m terrified of slipping! So I might be a little over cautious… But at least I’m not ending up on my butt!

I’m off to bed! I have a date planned with my friend and her amazingly cute son. He’s just over 3 months old, and he’s totally captured my heart! He’s such a cutie! After our date, I’m planning on getting that run in, then… finish cleaning. How fun

Have you ever run intervals? Do you love ‘em or hate ‘em? What’s the weather like where you are? Have you taken your cardio outside yet?!

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

7 Years of Love!

Tags

Boyfriend, Happiness, Love

7 years ago, a boy asked me to be his girlfriend. 7 years later, I’m still that giddy little girl in love!♥

Yesterday was mine and my boyfriend’s 7 year anniversary!! Where does time go?! It feels like just a little bit ago, while driving home from a high school party, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I couldn’t have been happier then, and I definitely couldn’t be happy now!

Happy Anniversary lover!!♥

Completely defeated.

Tags

Fail, Night Shift, Nursing

Warning: This is not the most happiest of posts.

I feel completely defeated. They talked about this in nursing school… The fact that no matter how much you care, how hard you try, in the end, patients will always do what they want.

In my last post, I mentioned about how my Sunday night shift made me feel great. I felt confident, skilled, and most importantly, like a good nurse. It’s amazing how things can change. That same patient managed to leave me feeling useless, emotionally drained, and internally frustrated just two nights later.

I should have learned my lesson by now, nothing good ever seems to come from picking up an extra shift (even when you’re getting double time to be there). Sometimes, it’s not even worth it.

My patient had originally been admitted with ETOH (alcohol) ingestion and nose bleed/coughing up blood. She had a history of liver failure. My first night with her was calm. She had fluid running which included a banana bag (silly name for IV fluids that have multivitamins in it… given often to those who come in with ETOH ingestion. The fluid is yellow from the multivitamins, hence banana ), I did her assessments, and she mostly slept off whatever she ingested.

Sunday night was a bit more intense. She was vomitting blood, had unstable vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, etc), and was having occasional bouts of chest pain. She received platelets (something your liver produces to help your blood clot), 2 unit of blood, and a couple other infusions. I ran all night between her and my 5 other patients. It was busy, but it was a good night. Again, I left feeling like I had done my job well.

Monday night she was much better. She looked like she had a bit more life in her, better colour. She was kind, appreciative, and cooperative. She slept most of the night, and I again felt good that I had been able to help her feel better.

Then… Tuesday came. It was reported she had had occasional visual and auditory hallucinations on both days and evenings. They ‘weren’t too bad’, I was told. Well… if they weren’t bad before, they got a whole lot worse for me. She was seeing cars parked outside her hospital window, and claiming men were knocking on the window asking who lived there. Our unit is on the third floor of the hospital. She would come running out of her room saying she could hear her husband and her friend talking; said she wanted to talk to them. It was 2:30am, no one was there. When I would try to tell her that no one was there, or that we were 3 floors up, and no one was knocking, she would get angry. ‘What do you think I am? Retarded? I know we’re on the third floor. You’re trying to make me look stupid.’ This went on and on… 

She was adamant about leaving… She was angry that her husband had left. She said he was suppose to be in detox, but she knew that he was out drinking. She wanted to go find him. She was fixated on having an ‘appointment’ at 8:15am. This was the first anyone had heard of it. She was starting to get dressed at 5:30am. It took everything I had to keep her in her room most of the night, and to keep her IV infusing. Man oh man…

She was rude all night. Telling me I was treating her like a child. That me and the other nurses were bitches for keeping her here. ‘I can leave if I want you know, you can’t keep me here’. She told me that this was ‘just a hospital’ and that if she wanted to, she could go to another one and get better care. ‘I’ve never been treated like this.’ I honestly hadn’t done a thing to her. She even went as far as to say that I was treating her ‘this way’ because of her race. I was offended and told her so. No matter what someone’s race is, I am a nurse, and I care for all my patients the same way. She told me ‘I can get aggressive you know’, and I replied that if that’s the case, I have no problem calling security. She refused to let me assess her. Refused to do just about anything I asked. It was a miracle that her IV stayed in overnight…

I had to call her doctor in the middle of the night to try to get some form of medication to help calm her down. It worked, for about an hour… I called the doctor again at about 6am, to let her know how agitated and adamant the patient was about leaving. Thankfully the doctor was on her way to the hospital and said she would come see this patient first.

The doctor assessed her, and in end, did give the patient a ‘pass’ order, but that she had to be back by noon. The doctor and I looked at each other, knowing very well that the patient would most likely not be back… But the patient is right – we can’t keep her. If she were sicker, the doctor could ‘form’ her, meaning that she legally has to stay in the hospital. But that was not the case here. The patient was basically free to go.

I don’t know everything. I can’t see the future. But I know people, and people don’t change. It made me frustrated, thinking of how hard I had worked with this lady, and thinking of how she most likely was going to leave now, not come back, and begin drinking again. It made me mad, remembering how when she was vomitting blood, she told me she was never going to drink again; asking herself why she did this to herself. It made me sad, thinking about how about 2 weeks earlier… she had been admitted to our unit (under very similar circumstances), got a bit better, was discharged, and admitted to drinking constantly until this admission.

No matter how hard we try. No matter how much we care. No matter how well you do your job. There are somethings, and some people, that just won’t change.

Completely defeated. 

Monday Morning Motivation

Tags

Canada, Goals, Happiness, Kitty, Monday Motivation, Night Shift, Nursing, Results, Running, Snow, Training, Weight, Winter

Monday is here! And guess where I’m headed? Off to bed! Just finished night 4 of 5 (which might stretch into 6 if they offer me some sweet overtime ), and I’m so ready for bed! I had one of those nights last night that just didn’t stop. Seriously, I ran my butt off for a solid 8 hours. I ate while charting. I charted while doing about 10 million other things. Last night was one of those nights that I felt like an awesome nurse I was in the zone, and just absolutely loved (almost) every minute of it. Of course it’s not all fun… Catching/cleaning up frank blood emesis with clots in it, isn’t exactly my idea of a good time (sorry to those who don’t work in the medical field…). But hanging IV fluids, hanging the IV medications, infusing blood after critical lab results come back, and keeping the patient going… All while still caring for 5 other patients?! I felt great last night!

One sad note… My poor old Timex bit the dust early Friday morning, at about 0330hrs. Bummer That watch got me through tough years of nursing school, and my first 2 years of work as a Registered Nurse! You’ll be missed Timex.

But don’t worry… You’ve already been replaced!

You know what I’m also ready for? To get back to my healthy routine, and get back to running and lifting weights! I can’t believe it’s already been 2 WEEKS since I last ran and worked out! I honestly can’t even believe how time flies!

Initially I had taken about 5 days off, and at that time I really didn’t feel bad about it! I had been working hard, and the break was enjoyable! I was still eating healthy, and was doing quite well following the LiveFit diet plan. Then… the food poisoning got me. Ugh! It honestly took me a full week before I was back to normal.

My diet for the first part of the week...

From Tuesday-Saturday, any time I ate it felt like I had a rock in my stomach… I felt so bloated and like I had just binged on a crazy Chinese buffet or something! I’m very grateful to be feeling better! I’m ready to get back at it, and keep working on my goals! I’m currently at the lowest weight I’ve been in years!! Though I know a bit of it was due to being sick, a lot of it is related to how hard I had been working! This is a huge motivator to keep on going!!

Sadly though, I won’t be running outside today… This is what happened to the world while I was working the night away.

I can’t believe how much snow fell overnight! Here’s my little snow cat, investigating and playing around while I shovelled

So off to bed I go!! I have every intention of hitting up the gym later this evening to get a good run in, followed by a solid weight workout!! Hopefully no one calls and wakes me up… That’s the absolute worst during a stretch of nights! Phone is now on vibrate!

Hahaha, ahhh I absolutely LOVE this!!

I’m motivated for this week, how about you?!

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

Graduating to solid foods.

Tags

My Book Shelf, Sick, The Help

Has anyone ever had food poisoning? Not pleasant. I’ve had it one other time, and though this time has not been as… violent, in terms of sickness, it sure has stuck around…

Our fridge is kind of broken. Kind of, meaning that the de-thawing part in the freeze gets clogged full of ice, and occasionally decides not to keep the fridge part very cold. It’s done this a couple other times, and the boyfriend would bust out my hair dryer and get rid of the ice in the de-thawing part, and viola – FIXED! Well I had a couple things out of the fridge on Saturday before I relized that stuff wasn’t as cold as it should be. Ugh.

Sunday was by far the worst day. I was pretty useless with a super upset tummy. Yesterday wasn’t too bad, but still was only tolerating ginger ale, soup, rice cakes and apple sauce. Today, I’ve finally graduated to solid foods! I managed to eat a bagel with peanut butter and banana… and my tummy doesn’t seem to know what to think about it. Any time I eat I feel bloated (TMI?) and like it ‘just sits’ in my stomach, right below my rib cage. Still sipping’ on ginger ale.

I will say that I managed to finally finish reading The Help, yay! I’ve been working on that book for just a little too long. Haha It really was a great book. I think it took me so long because I was so distracted my so many other things going on with work, and family, etc. I really need to make that effort to set aside time in my evenings to just power down and read.

Now to watch the movie! I’ve heard from many people that the movie is just as good, if not better than the book. And that NEVER seems to happen. I’m looking forward to it!

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got for right now. I’m hoping to be back to my regular self soon. I have my “me” day tomorrow, maybe that’ll kick some life into me.

Have you ever had food poisoning? How long did it last? What food did you rely on to get you through it?

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

The week that wasn’t.

Tags

Happiness, Kitty, Me Time, Nursing, Relaxing, Weekend, Wine!

Friday evening… I love Friday evenings (when I don’t have to go to work that is). Actually, I love Saturday evening even more, but for now we’ll concentrate on Friday. I love the feeling, knowing that tomorrow is a sleep in day. That tomorrow is (overall) relaxing. That for right now, I can literally do whatever I want! And the theme for this evening, is relaxing with favourites!

Sitting on the couch, flipping back and forth between my two favourite things – a little bit of NHL hockey, and a little bit of Say Yes to the Dress. Ahh, I’m pretty much in relaxation heaven right now. So why not add a little bit of blogging too? And how about a little bit of wine? Best evening ever.  

My favourite wine! Yum!

So this has been the week that wasn’t. I haven’t been to the gym since Sunday. I haven’t run. I haven’t done any strength training. I haven’t been to hot yoga. And? I honestly don’t really feel bad about it. I thought I would, but when quickly analyzed… I know it’s ok to have that time off sometimes. We’ll call it a mental recovery break.

After my 13km run Sunday, I took Monday as a rest day. Tuesday was plagued with a terrible, blinding migraine. Wednesday I ended up working a 16 hour day at work… That was fun. I worked a day shift, than stayed to help the evening staff, as we had one patient who was unstable, having seizures, and was mostly unresponsive for about 9+ hours. So working out was pretty much out of the question, when I was getting home at 1130pm… Thursday I almost made it to the gym. But by the time the boyfriend wanted to go, I literally had NO drive or motivation to go. Instead of dragging myself there and having a sub-par workout, I stayed home and got some things done that had been on my to-do list for awhile.

Today, I could have gone, but again, just wasn’t feeling it. I went to my parent’s house and celebrated my Dad’s birthday, and saw my brother again before he heads back to Nova Scotia for university! I contemplated going, but after the boyfriend left (he’s playing in an outdoor 4 on 4 hockey tournament this weekend… on a lake…) I decided to indulge in a relaxing evening with my kitty I thought about being a supportive hockey girlfriend, but it’s windy and cold out there this evening! No thanks My wine is so much more comforting that snow and wind!

My eating has been about 70-30. 70% healthy, following the LiveFit plan, and about 30% not the best. I’ve been feeling alright with the LiveFit plan, I think it’s going to be something that I can follow, and hopefully see results with. Again, I know I need to give more commitment towards it, but it’s all a work in progress! I’m doing much better overall than I was before!

On a more awesome note: I’ve dedicated Wednesday, February 29th to be a “ME!” day. I am beyond excited! On the agenda is a glorious relaxation massage, followed by a steam bath. Then, a bit later in the day, I’m off to get my hair done! I seriously can NOT wait for Wednesday to get here now!

Well I’m off to enjoy my wine, and watch a movie with my cat! Hope everyone has a great weekend! I’m off to fulfil bridesmaids duties tomorrow, and help my friend make her wedding invitations! Looking forward to it!

Do you think a mental recovery break is needed sometimes? What do you like most about the weekend? Have you ever had a ‘me’ day? Tell me about it!

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

Monday Morning Motivation

Tags

2012, Canadian Winter, Monday Motivation, Motivation, Nursing, Running, Snow, Training

Ugh. Monday. After my glorious week off (the perks of shift work ), it’s back to the grind this morning. As I drag my feet to work, and pout with every step up to the third floor (can you tell I’m not a morning person yet?!), I hope the majority of the rest of my fellow Canadian’s enjoy their Family Day stat holiday!

And if you’re like me and headed off to work, hopefully you have a smooth day too

This lovely gem that I found on Pinterest really spoke to me yesterday. It was snowy out, and still falling – I needed to get my long run in! I did not want to pound out 13 km (8 miles) on the treadmill.

Just before my boyfriend left for the gym, I looked outside. Sad face/heartbreak. It was almost a small blizzard! Bummer. So off to the gym it was!

Good news, I ran 13 km! It was long, slightly painful… But thank goodness for NHL hockey, helped keep my mind somewhat occupied!

Fact: 13 km is the farthest distance I ran (ever) before my first half marathon. I’m totally looking forward to what this year will bring! Yay for good, smart training!

Have a great Monday everyone!

My first run outside of the year! And my first Guest Post ever!

Tags

Awesome, Guest Post, Happiness, Inspiration, lululemon, Motivation, Running, Training

I just destroyed my first run outside of the year!
And yes, it felt AMAZING!

I ran an awesome 8.1km out and about around the neighbourhood. I managed to keep a pretty steady, decent pace the entire time (which is a feat in itself considering all the icy patches everywhere!) I’m pretty sure my run was so awesome because of my new run crops… No? Ok… but they did make the run feel that much better!

Please excuse my post-run sweat, and my messy office...

I love my new lululemon Run: Inspire Crops!! This picture doesn’t do them justice… They are a beautiful indigo blue! Here’s a picture from the website!

Love

Head on over to scribbles & sass and check out my very first guest post! Laura was kind enough to let fill her blog with a verbal splash on my favourite addiction… lululemon! I discussed my love for the clothing and how it manages to keep me motivated in my fitness adventures!

I love Laura’s blog, scribbles & sass! Check it out! Thanks again Laura!

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

Now that I’m feeling almost normal…

Tags

2012, Diet Plan, Goals, LiveFit Trainer, Motivation, Running, Training, Weekly Goals, Weekly Update

I love days off. I love not working. Can I retire yet?!

No? Bummer…

I managed to turn around (go from night shift mode, back to normal life) quite well this time. I forced myself out of bed at a decent time, but still had a lazy day. We all need some of those right? I’m looking forward to a great week!

Last week kicked ass in the fitness department. I met my goals of running 4 times, and did 3 strength training days! And… My body and the scale showed it. That is totally enough motivation to keep going!

Monday: 5km run & shoulder/back workout
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: 6km Tempo run & leg workout
Thursday: East 3km run & arms/abs workout
Fridays: Long run 11km!
Saturday: REST
Sunday: REST

This week I’m hoping to also get in 4 runs and 3 strength training days. I got in an easy 3km yesterday, and did a shoulders/back workout. Rest day today. I keep hoping it’ll warm up enough round here for me to get in my first outside run this year… I’m such a wimp…

Has anyone done Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Trainer? What do you think of it? I’ve had quite a few friends who have been doing the program and are liking it so far. I like the idea of it, and I love that it’s online and can follow from home. I’m thinking about trying to start it next week. My main focus will be the actual workouts that the plan gives, which I think we’ll really help me keep a consistent schedule. Also, I like that a diet plan is included… I think I have some research to do!

I know I need to focus more effort and energy towards the nutritional side of things… This is definitely my weakness. I’ve been tracking well in my fitbook, but again, still have areas of improvement!

Time to power down, and relax with my man! We cooked a delicious dinner of steak & shrimp together. That was the extent of our ‘Valentine’s Day’! So yummy!

Yum! Yum!

Hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day, whatever your plans were

♥

What do you have planned for the week? Do you try to make weekly goals for yourself? Have you heard of, or tried Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Trainer?

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

Happy Love Heart Day!

Tags

Boyfriend, Candy, Flowers, Happiness, Love, Valentine's Day

Oh Valentine’s Day… Filled with your chocolate hearts, little red candies, and overpriced flowers galore! What would the card/flower companies do without you?

Yaa... No thanks.

Ok, ok, I’m not really anti-Valentine’s Day. I would say I’m more indifferent to the whole ‘holiday’. I think my thing with Valentine’s Day is, why do we need one specific day in the year, where we’re suppose to go all crazy saying ‘I Love You’…? Shouldn’t we be doing that any day, every day, just because we want to?

My boyfriend and I share this attitude towards the day. I think I might be a ‘few in far between’ girl, that has actually been perfectly happy without getting anything for the past few years on Valentine’s Day! Last year I got my boyfriend a card, but… it wasn’t from me. It was from the cat! We had a little laugh, and that was about it

I do love candy Love Hearts though… I haven’t had them in years, but I always thinks of them on this day. They are so much better, and more fun than the little red cinnamon hearts!

Yum!

I think Valentine’s Day was always more awesome back in elementary school, when you got a sweet little card from everyone! Everyone was your Valentine for the day! Samantha, over at Health, Happiness & Skinny Jeans wrote a nice post about this, and included some good rules for Valentine’s Day! Check it out!

This year, I think we’re going to go to the grocery store, get a couple steaks or some yummy fish, and cook a nice little meal at home together. Resturants are totally out of the question on this day of the year. Good luck to those who do decided to venture out!

What do you think about Valentine’s Day? Do you go all out, or with your lover would go all out? What are your plans?

♥Krista – Stethoscopes & Running Shoes

P.S. To those who read my last post, I’m feeling quite a bit better. I think I was tired, lonely and frustrated from working nights – things are not best solved when under these conditions… I took a step back and looked at the big picture, and reminded myself that this is far from bad, and that other people need the freedom to feel their own feelings too. We’re all full of happy love again