Vertigo

Remember how I mentioned that my run kind of sucked on Saturday and that I felt kind of off after it?  Well part of that off-ness was dizziness.  I felt the same thing on Sunday, some dizziness, just as I was ready to walk out the door to a yoga class.  I decided not to go at the last minute, because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get through any inversions or balance moves, when I was dizzy sitting or walking.  I tried doing some at home yoga.

But I didn't last long before the dizziness got the better of me.  Sometimes the dizziness magically went away and I felt normal.  Other times it was kind of persistent and annoying.  I managed to have a successful dinner out with Cindi without it bothering me.

Monday, when my alarm went off to get ready for work, I felt dizzy immediately upon waking up.  I took a pregnancy test, just in case, but it was negative.  I assessed my options and decided I'd go to see a doctor instead of going into work all messed up.

After a bunch of questions and tests, I was diagnosed with an inner ear issue or vertigo.  I was told that it was most likely a virus in my inner ear, which couldn't be helped with medication, but I could take something for the dizziness.  I got a prescription for that, and then headed home to spend the rest of the day dealing with my dizzy/vertigo issue.  Oh and playing with Clyde, who was more than happy to have me home.

I did do something productive.  I made myself this stack of pancakes.

They are actually zucchini, spice, pecan pancakes from The Flexitarian Diet.

They were delicious, and I demolished this whole stack.

I also read a lot more of my book club book and actually made a decent dent in it, covering a couple hundred pages.  I like it :)

I spent a while humming U2's Vertigo, http://youtu.be/98W9QuMq-2k, which has now become my theme song.

And I took about a 4 hour nap, because my anti-vertigo medicine made me sleepy.  You know something is wrong with me if I nap, because I'm not normally a napper.

Later on, I made yellow rice with black beans, peppers, and onions sauteed with spices, and topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

I watched some trashy TV.

Who else feels bad for Michael??

Then off to bed I went.  I went to work today, depite feeling dizzy again when I got up.  I feel like it's worse in the morning and gets better as the day goes on.  I'm really hoping it subsides by this weekend.  I have some exciting plans.  Stay tuned!



2.62

Did I make you guys double-take with the 2.62?  Yeah, that's TWO point six miles not 26.2.

That's how far I ran yesterday morning before I decided to walk in the last .8 miles to my house.  I was feeling super dehydrated.  I kinda knew when I woke up that it might be a struggle to run, but I couldn't resist the breezy cooler weather, and had to get out there.

I had a 1/2 bagel with some PB and banana like old times before my run and some water.

I debated about running with a water bottle, but then decided not to because I knew it would be a "shortish" run and didn't want to have to carry one.  I regret my decision and think it would have helped to have some hydration along the way.  Here I am in all my post-run, hot-mess glory.

I have a hard time running this way, without a training plan and at random.  For the longest time, this was how I ALWAYS used to run, until I found my running group, races, and training plans and got hooked on running consistently.  Now I think it's hard to just run a couple miles here and there when you really have no established comfort level and base.  I've been trying to build it so that around 3-4 miles is comfortable, but life keeps getting in the way.  I can't justify cancelling plans around running or missing out on the limited time I have with these guys if I'm not training, in my opinion.

Date Night > Running

Right now that translates to only running about two, maybe three (if I'm lucky), times a week and I can tell it's not enough to really get to that comfortable place. 

Anyway, back at the house I downed a good amount of water and Gatorade to quench my thirst after the run.  I also made myself lunch:  toast with spinach, cheese, a black bean burger, a fried egg, and green salsa.  I can' get enough green salsa lately.  Love this stuff...

Soooooooooooo yummy.  The tang of the salsa mixes with the runny egg, and the meatiness of the black bean burger.  It's a little spicy, and totally delicious.  Make it.

I actually felt kind of crappy all day, I think from being kind of dehydrated.  I spent a while watching Rookie Blue episodes I've missed lately.  Love that show!

I also read more of One Day, my book club book, which we're supposed to have read by later this week!  Eeeeek!



I met some friends out at Taco Mac for dinner.  I had a Red Oak ale and fish tacos with sweet potato fries.

My friend Gibson had "DEATH" wings.

He ended up with a mouth on fire!

My friends Sarah and Tim were also there for the fun along with friends Kerrie and Josie, who went unpictured.

I love this crew.  My stomach kind of hurt from laughing so hard by the end of the night. :) 

Unlike many areas, experiencing Hurricane Irene, we had a beautiful breezy night in Charlotte, and even ate outside.

How was your Saturday?  Did you, or are you experiencing the hurricane?? 

Farewell Philly

Sunday in Philly started with a 5K walk to and from the "Rocky steps", which is really the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  We all gathered in the hotel lobby before the walk.  I didn't want to lug the big DSLR, so my shots with the IPhone might be a little grainy.  Oh, and as you'll see, I like to get my finger in the way sometimes ;)

Let's do this!

Someone should have warned Tanya that I sometimes forget to wait for people to look at the camera before snapping a picture... :)

The girls look cute in their running skirts though, right?

Kelly and I!

We headed out in our usual flash mob.  We're a tad more civilized than those other flash mobs though.

Kind a funny story, when we first got the hotel on Friday, I warned my roommates there were two things they should know about me.  One, I wear an eye mask to sleep because I can only sleep in complete darkness.  Two, I'm a compulsive iron-er.  I have to iron pretty much everything (well, except underwear) I wear.  This sculpture was obviously made for me...

The Love Sculpture was actually on the way to the Rocky Steps, and made for a nice photo op!

(there's my finger, see?)

Meghann organized us into a group photo.

We proceeded on our walk, and before long saw the famous steps.

I ran up to the top, it was cool!  It wasn't as steep as I'd imagined!

And we also saw the Rocky statue.

Erin and I ended up in between the walking and running groups on the way back. 

We're not fast, but not slow either ;)

We headed to the oatmeal breakfast and I neglected to take pictures, but someone got a nice shot of all of us Charlotte bloggers before we left the room.

After showering and packing up all our stuff, a group of us headed to Reading Terminal Market.  I was determined to have at least one meal from there.



I didn't have a pastry for lunch, but it was tempting...

This place is incredible.  Every where I looked I saw something that made my mouth water.

I settled on a veggie Philly cheesesteak for lunch.  When in Rome, right?

As you can see, it was messy.  But it rocked!  I think it was sietan, mushrooms, cheese, and lettuce.

This was perfect for me, since I actually kind of hate regular Philly cheese steaks, because the meat in them grosses me out, with all the fatty bits and stuff.  This had the basic flavor and structure of a cheese steak with out all that, and lots of good mushroomy flavor.

After our lunch, I headed to the airport and back home to Charlotte!

I was so happy to see this little man!  We sent this picture to Greg, who was in Chicago on Sunday night.



So that sums up this year's Healthy Living Summit.  I had a blast!  As mentioned in my HLS Bound post, I had hestitations about going this year, but I felt totally a part of this amazing community of bloggers, as usual.  I'm so glad I decided to go this year!



At The Corner In Philly

If you're catching up on my Healthy Living Summit recaps, you can read these ones to see the first half of my shenanigans in Philly:

Friday in Philly
HLS Cocktail Party At Reading Terminal
Saturday at HLS: The Sessions

Also, if you are new to my blog, welcome, and head to my About Me page if you'd like to know more about me!

Saturday night I got together with a group and we found ourselves a place to have dinner.  It was early though, so we decided to walk down to The Liberty Bell first.

Neat!  On my last visit to Philly, two years ago, my mom and I got to the Liberty Bell too late to go in, so this was my first time seeing it up close.  We didn't have a lot of time to spend here though, and Erin and I actually high-tailed out of there before everyone else to make sure we made it to the restaurant on time for our reservation.

For dinner we went to The Corner.  A few of us had noticed this place on our walk to lunch the day before and thought it looked cool.

I pretty much saw that they had a beet salad on the menu and was sold...

Our group was kind of a spectacle with all of our cameras being whipped out every couple seconds the whole time we were there!

I sat next to my fellow Charlottean, Andrea.

I started with a glass of Gryphus Sauvingon Blanc (Chilean).

It was cool and refreshing and perfect for a warm summer night!

We were given Corner style biscuits and butter to start.

They were definitely different from southern style biscuits, but I found them very tasty.

For dinner, I of course ordered the beet salad I had noticed when initially checking out the menu.

The beets almost look like chucks of steak in my pictures, don't they?  This was golden and red beets, thinly sliced squash, capers, lemon and a sour cream based dressing.  I loved it.  I basically went very light with the dressing, just dipping my fork in before spearing a beet.

For my entree, I went with something very unusual: a seafood hotdog.  The waitress described it to us as ground scallops, flute, and I think shrimp, binded together with egg white, mixed with spices and grilled. 

She said it was her favorite option on the menu.  I had to try it...

It came with cole slaw and homemade chips.

It was extremely good.  It resembled a crab cake, but in a different shape, with some different flavors and textures.

I think everyone in our group enjoyed their meal at The Corner.

A bunch of us followed of dinner with a round of cocktails with some of the other HLS attendees.

Mine was the blue one, I think it was called The Mistique!

Andrea looked extremely chic with her martini.

Even though I had a great evening, I was really tired after this round of drinks, and Erin and I opted to go back to our room and crash, while some of the other girls headed to a gay bar for more fun and silliness.  I'll admit, it looked like a fun time, but I probably would have been passed out in the corner if I'd gone!  I'm old!

Anyway, it was a great night with my Blends (blog friends) in Philly!