Hey dudes...since my last post there have been two Texas tailgates, one away game, a trip home to Dallas, some exciting news regarding a several trips in the upcoming future, Emmy's, a smattering of new fall TV, and just ya know, LIFE.

let's touch base and regroup on the basics.

FOOTBALL

Texas is doing pretty...pretty good! We've got a couple major tests coming up with West Virginia and Oklahoma, but so far this season and the tailgating that has gone along with it has been vewwwy fun. I've got a camping trip scheduled for this Saturday, aka our first conference game against Oklahoma State, so...I'm trying to figure that out. Do they have outlets in the woods? Wifi? How does one...watch..TV...in the wilderness? I now FULLY understand why our dads were so concerned with getting their radios to work on Indian Princess campouts. "Here, honey...I got you a stick and a knife. You use the knife to slowly wittle the stick down. No, yah, it's totally safe. Just let me know when you're done, and I'll find you another stick. No, this really is something your Native American ancestors used to do and in no way is me trying to occupy your time so I can listen to the game. Have fun!"

Roomie and I at the tailgate

DALLAS

I went home for the first time since May this past weekend and it was so great. I checked off all the basics-seeing old co-workers, spending time with the Dallas friends at Oktoberfest, lazy time and a home cooked meal at my Mama's, and related to that- cuddle time with all the kitties and puppies at home. And of course, I saw my hairdresser. I've been seeing her for the past TWELVE YEARS, YALL. We may be separated by 200 miles, but this is a long distance relationship that I am committed to making work.

Dallas, you so shiny and pretty.

Taken before I left. Look how sad they look...

TEE-VEE

I'm kind of a TV junkie. I love good television. Thanks to the wonders of Netflix and DVR, I can enjoy good TV AND not be couch-bound every night. That being said, I was really looking forward to the Emmy's. But man...other than Louis C.K. getting some well-deserved writing awards, Claire Danes getting recognized for her amazing performance on Homeland, and Jessica Lange still being the Empress of Everything, I was SO disappointed. Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks got R O B B E D. Mad Men in general got robbed. 0 wins for 17 nominations. I like Homeland, I really do, but come ON. On that note, I'm toying with the idea of re-capping some of my favorite shows for you guys. (Community? New Girl? Dexter? AHS? we'll see...)

ELLIPTICAL MARATHON...YUP

Oh, just a major reason I started this blog. Maybe I should touch on this subject. I'm still at the gym 3-4 times a week. I've been spicing things up with spin class and some weight lifting...yall, I got a little burned out of being on the elliptical that much every week. I also felt like I hit a bit of a plateau. I'm re-working a training schedule that includes some non-elliptical activity so that I can keep my pea-brain entertained and keep my body from zoning out. BREAK!

TRIPS!

some exciting travel coming up! going to put this very much in a nutshell, because i'll be doing a full post soon. in summary: Los Angeles! Dallas (again)! New Orleans Mardi Gras!

time for a little friday tune time! today, i have put together ten songs that keep my butt moving on the elliptical. warning: the playlist is heavy on the beats, yall. and the base. it's a pretty specific taste, but hey- i like it. can't help it. and you might find something that will help you power through your next workout. as my mama would say, "can't hurt. might help."

on that note, if you find that you like what i'm listening to, please find me on spotify. my workout playlist is called "pump. you. up." new to spotify? that's fine. it's free if you don't mind ads. if you'd prefer no ads, they have a couple options, the most expensive being $10/month. it is also super easy to use, with the radio benefits of pandora and the added benefit of being able to make your own playlists. there are about a million other cool features- trust me on this one!

i'll end this short post with a plea: please share your favorite workout tunes with me! doesn't matter what genre. if it keeps you moving, i am dying to hear it. i'm always in search of new music. you can tweet your songs to me @mollyer, facebook them here, respond in the comments, or send them to me right through spotify.

TGIF-Tunes!

welp, it was bound to happen sometime. things were going so smoothly. this saturday, i was supposed to jump on the elliptical for six miles (my furthest to date). this saturday, i did not do that. i sclathed around my apartment, napped, and stayed in with the kitty to watch olympics for a rare weekend night in. it was glorious, but there was the looming guilt cloud over me. the "i'll just do it tomorrow" guilt cloud. oh, how it loomed.

i woke up on sunday full of energy and driven by a decent-sized to-do list. step one: clean out my closets. check. one of my favorite things to do. i'm kind of an organizational freak. i make my bed every day before work. if i don't make my bed, something is wrong with me. i hang my towels after every shower. i never have clothes on the floor. i fold blankets when i'm done using them. just how i am. anywho, after cleaning out my closets, step two was to take my unwanted items to buffalo exchange. this is another favorite thing to do. it is a win/win/win. they pay me for the clothes they take, they donate the rest to charity (their charities vary by day), and my closet smiles at me. step one and step two complete. step three, head to the gym.

then i got the call. the call every austinite waits for each saturday and sunday. the, "want to go on the boat?" call. i struggled. i wrestled with the idea in my mind. i knew if i got on the boat that there would be no elliptical for me, and then i would be REALLY behind. so i turned it down. straight up said no to going to the lake on a gorgeous sunday. i cried. not really. THEN i got the text. the text from a friend who had also been invited to the lake. "boatingg?!?" the one word i needed from my friend that sent me over the edge. i immediately called the boat-owner back. "i'm in," i said.

pretty long-winded way of saying i'm behind on training and feeling like crap about it. the part of me that compulsively organizes, folds towels, and makes perfect creases in sheets wants to stick to a schedule. the part of me that moved to austin to be able to do things like jump on a boat with my friends on a sunday doesn't feel that bad about it. i'm having a real natalie imbruglia moment about it.

lake austin. i wish i knew how to quit you. but not really. but kind of. I'M TORN!

i know everyone slips up every now and then. i think it's fine as long as i don't let things like this become a regular occurrence. would you agree? what would you have done? what do you do to keep yourself on track?

hi all, molly here, basically just FREAKING OUT because a good thing has come to this girl who waited. and waited. then took a break from waiting, and waited some more. i moved to austin after accepting a job i liked, but didn't love. i found out last week that the right job has found its way to me- i've been hired as a marketing coordinator, which is something i have wanted for a very long time. weee! i start tomorrow and i'm nervous, excited, etc. yeh know. all those things.

i had a five day break in between my old and new jobs (including the weekend). my five day summer has been filled with some crazy fun times. i'll always have the fond memories of waiting for the plumber to come figure out why our toilets weren't flushing. oh...and i can't forget getting my state inspection. such a special time. also, there were the errands. oh, errands and i got so close over the last five days. and of course there's me and my girl elliptical. so far we've hung out every day this week! which is my subtle way of saying that i'm completely up to date with training and i am loving it! i've even had a couple days recently where i don't want to stop running. that's new and different.

but it hasn't all been errands and gym-ing. there's also been happy hours, boat times on lake travis, and hanging with kitty. photographic evidence below. 

 i love when i have time to make breakfast. these are corn cakes. litchrully could do a whole post on these suckers. they are pancakes made with cornbread batter, and topped with apple butter. like pancakes? like cornbread? if you answered yes to both of these questions, congratulations- you have a beating human heart. also, you'll like these. i grew up eating these and let's just say they made a lasting impression. the recipe can be found on the side of the Jiffy cornbread mix box.

so, i'm a week behind schedule, but i'm here to say i completed my first week of training and i'm one day into week two. first week was not bad, minus going to the gym on sunday. that was a miracle. my roommate can attest to that. sundays are our day to respect the day of rest. typically there is some laughably bad television, some playing with the kitten, and some laundry so i can feel like a contributing citizen. but...going...in public? venturing into the free world? that is the road less travelled for she and i. training on sunday will be part of my schedule for at least the next twelve weeks, so i hope the world is ready to hang out with me on a day usually reserved to sclathe around.

in other news, our kickball team went to the championship game, our nation had a birthday, and austin is still the best place on the planet.

so i'm organized and ready to start training next week and i'm getting ruhlll excited. as you all know, the ultimate goal is to run a full elliptical marathon. i'm a total beginner, so to get started i'll be training for a half elliptical marathon. in talking with some people to prepare for this, i realized that y'all have some questions a question. the FAQ at the top stands for Frequently Asked Question. so, i'm answering it. i'll throw in some fake questions too, just to round it out.

1. which half marathon are you running/training for?
let's start from the beginning with this one. i'm not training for a half marathon on an elliptical...i'm doing everything on the elliptical. the training, the half...all of it. due to physical constraints, it is really uncomfortable for me to do high-impact things like running. the elliptical is the perfect solution for me. so instead of running a half marathon and crossing a finish line to be greeted by my adoring friends, family, fans, and stalkers, i'll be running it at my gym. on the elliptical. by myself. with my good friends spotify and netflix cheering me on. although my sister did mention something about setting up a camp chair in the gym to cheer me on. sounds perfect!

2. y u so crazy?!
not really a question i've had to deal with. if you ask me that, i have one response. and it is not appropriate for a public forum.

3. what does ze training schedule look like?
no one asked me this either. but i'm sharing. weee! the first four weeks are below.

Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Friday	Sat	Sun	Total Miles Run
1	Rest	2 miles	Rest	2.5 miles	Rest	3 miles	2 easy miles	9.5 miles
2	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 miles	CT or Rest	4 miles	2.5 easy miles	11.5 miles
3	Rest	2.5 miles	2 miles	3 miles	CT or Rest	5 miles	2 easy miles	14.5 miles
4	Rest	3 miles	Rest	4 miles	CT or Rest	6 miles	3 easy miles	16 miles

i'll be checking in once a week to hold myself accountable, sum up my weekly training, and share anything useful i learned along the way.

i'll end with a quote that my friend JD shared with me. JD works at the fabulous luke's locker in Dallas and is basically a fitness guru. i asked him for tips, inspiration, etc. he said while working at luke's that he met and worked with a wise-beyond-his-years 14 year old cancer survivor. when the kid was leaving, he told JD, "life is about choices. ride hard, take chances." very inspiring stuff from a very young kid. thanks, JD! and random kid i've never met.

when i say i'm starting from the beginning, i'm not kidding. i have no idea what i'm doing at this point. the idea of running an elliptical marathon has been with me for probably about a month now, but this morning i decided it was time to get going. is this a decision that i made following an evening with one too many sake bombs? yes. does it matter? i don't know, and thinking about it too hard only makes my headache worse.

anywhoodle, i did a little preliminary research. the guy that wrote this article has completed an elliptical marathon (EM) and was still alive to write about it, so i'm feeling encouraged. he also listened to classical music and read over 120 pages during the marathon, so he may actually be some kind of superhuman. if i was going to get scientific about it, i'd say i would probably be leaning more towards the "i'm-going-to-watch-the-whole-Titanic-movie" method instead.

he does a great job of pointing out many of the benefits to running an EM. my favorite is that you're less likely to get run over by a car. all too true, sir. point one to EMs. the most major benefit for me is that it is easier on your joints. i have reached the ripe old age of 24 and these old bones aren't what they used to be. not really, but in the interest of honesty the bone structure in my feet has never really supported high-impact sports or running. another point for EMs.

so, one article and some hangover-induced confidence and i'm IN. next up: training schedules.