It's Thursday, which means we're thisclose to having survived another week, and I know for sure I will be glad when the weekend gets here.

Work and my techie meetings:
Work is kicking my butt every which way. I feel like I write that a lot these days, but this re-org that we're going through is seriously killing me. It's all going to be better when we come out the other side, but in the meantime it means lots of long hours, lots of stress and very little sleep.



For example, Monday I woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep. All I was doing was thinking about the mountain of things I had to do at work, the problems I needed to solve and the fires that need to be put out. I tossed and turned until about 4:30 a.m. and finally dozed off for another hour until my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m.

I'm not sure how I functioned in the office on Tuesday, but somehow I managed to power through all my meetings. But when I got home from work I passed out at 8 p.m. Not even kidding. My plan was to take a little nap and wake up and do some more work, when I could function at a slightly higher cognitive level. Clearly that didn't happen.

All that to say, I'm not complaining about my job. In fact, I love it, perhaps now more than ever. There are some really cool projects going on that I'm excited about and new opportunities are dropping in my lap almost daily.

Like for example, this week I get to go to Google's DC HQ to work some some stuff with the folks over there, and on Tuesday, I got to meet with Tumblr's government liaison. So yea, my job is awesome, but I will be glad when my plate is a little less full and I can sleep normally again.

Working Out:
Spin class is my new workout addiction. I've been experimenting with different instructors and different class times, and I'm starting to figure out who my favorites are. My gym offers classes every morning at 5:45 a.m., which is the perfect time for me on the days I work from home. I can work out, walk back home and feel energized to dive into work.



The gym also offers evening classes that I've experimented with too. I haven't found one instructor I totally loved like I had back in York many moons ago. But the instructor yesterday played a good mix of music -- some country, some Backstreet Boys, some Katy Perry -- so he's creeping up on my favorites list.

For me, spin is all about the music. I can do anything as long as there are some good jams playing in the background for me to rock out to.

Class:
I'm teaching at the University of Maryland again this semester, and I'm really excited to be back in the classroom. We just wrapped up the second week of class, and I can already tell I have a great group of kids this year. They're interested and engaged and always come to class with good things to discuss.



The class I teach is a lot of hard work. We're in the classroom 4 hours each week, and then the kids have multiple writing assignments on top of that. It's a journalism class after all and the best way to learn how to write like a journalist is to practice writing like a journalist. Of course, that means a ton of grading for me, but it hasn't gotten too bad yet this semester.

I'm trying to keep a better handle on the work load this year. I know last year, I let myself get really overwhelmed and bogged down with assignments, and this year I'm determined to not let that happen, especially with everything else I've got going on.

All work and no play makes me a very sad girl.

So that's what's been going on with me lately. It's a lot, but I function best when I'm busy. The more I've got on my plate, the more driven I become (though inversely, the less I sleep, which is probably bad.)

One more day til the weekend, when I can kick back and do some relaxing!

I'm starting to think I should change the name of this blog to "Jess Does Everything Other Than Run."

My plantar fasciitis is still being a pain in the butt (or more realistically in the foot) so running has been tabled for other activities -- mainly lifting and cycling.

All the cross-training I've been doing has been getting me kind of excited about the idea of tackling another triathlon this summer. I've been researching some sprint distance tris in the area, because I figure by this summer, my foot might be OK to run about 3 miles at the end of a swim and bike.

Nothing's set in stone yet, but I'm definitely kicking it around.

So the timing really couldn't have been better when MooMotion Sports reached out to me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing some tri gear.



MooMotion Sports is a sports apparel company created by Melissa Moo Harkins -- a marathoner, three-time Ironman finisher and a graduate of the Parsons School of Design. Melissa wanted to create triathlon gear that not only performed well in endurance events, but also flattered the women training and racing in the gear.

The company sent me two pieces to try out -- the Hudson Tri Jersey and the Revolution Short.


Front view

I've worn both the shorts and the jersey on a few of my rides on the trainer, and I have to say, Melissa definitely hit the mark with this gear. The shorts are the perfect length. Long enough to prevent chafing and awkward rubbing on the bike, but not so long that they touch my knee. The elastic around the leg openings holds them in place really well, and the seat cushion was comfy without being overly bulky.


Back view

The top performed equally well. When I first pulled it on, I thought it was going to be a little too short for my torso and start to ride up, but it stayed in place perfectly during the ride. There are pockets on the back to stash gels or other fuel, and the color-block style cut and fit definitely flattered.

I'm excited for the weather to get nicer so that I can try the gear in some open water, but so far, I've been pretty impressed. I also love a lot of the other designs and styles MooMotion Sports offers online -- I had a really hard time picking which pieces I wanted to try out.

Good morning and happy Monday! I promise I have a post today that's more enjoyable than last night's Super Bowl. My friend Jason -- you may remember him as the friend whose marathons I tend to spectate frequently -- decided it would be a fun experiment to try a juice fast.


Me and Jason icing our knees after MCM 2012

He asked me if he could write a guest post about the whole process, and I said that would be an awesome idea. So today, I've got the first part of his post. It's his rationalization for trying this whole thing and the beginning stages of the fast. Later this week, I'll post his recap of how the whole thing went, along with his takeaways from the process.

So on that note -- here's Jason:

When I decide to do something, I often approach it with an all or nothing mentality. The first race I ever tackled was the marathon and hit distances of 5k, 10k and “the half” only along the way. So, when my roommate asked me if I would consider doing a juice fast with her, there was no hesitation: I was in.


Jason running RnR USA a few years ago

I have friends who are vegetarians, pescatarians and vegans, so I know a lot about limiting your menu in the name of a healthier lifestyle. But the juice fast was going to require research, investment and most importantly, some guts.

Over the holiday break, I was out with some friends and got to talking about the juice fast. One friend, a clinical pharmacologist, shook her head in disapproval at the idea. She explained that the theory behind a juice fast: Namely, the idea of resting your body from the daily intake of toxins was absurd. She pointed to the kidneys and liver as proof that we can eat various whole foods and process them without needing to take a break.

Though she’s right about the function of our bodies, the real theory behind the juice fast is broader and takes an holistic approach to our health. By taking only fruits and vegetables and then juicing them the only thing going into our bodies is water and nutrients. We’re eliminating the gluten, whey, casein and various other proteins that we find in bread, milk, and meat. We’re eliminating all refined sugars and every gram of fat from our diet. In essence we’re fasting but allowing our bodies to remain fueled by a few essential components.


Mmmm juice...

Does our body get to “rest” because we’re avoiding the pasta, chicken, and steak? The truth is, I don’t know. The internet is full of contradictory information and there’s no consensus on the benefits or detriments of this fast.

So, why exactly am I doing this? To me, just like the marathon, it’s a chance to see how my body reacts to a new set of norms.

Consider your experiences while training for long distance races. While reaching new speeds, distances or other limits we feel our body react and learn a great deal about ourselves. We find out that we love running in the heat, or late at night, or on an empty stomach. We figure out the perfect ratio of miles to stretching only after a painful experience with IT band syndrome. We try new things, we push further and the results inspire our next moves to be faster and stronger.

Ultimately, I just want to see what happens. Will I get weak or push through? Will I sleep better or have headaches all night? Will my skin dry out or glow? And always the question on our minds: will I run faster?

Let’s find out!