A great start to the week!



I love short work weeks and holidays!
This is mostly because I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, i.e. going to the gym and eating lunch (another facet of being the DINKy Runner). :-)

So, when I woke up today (around 8 am-woo hoo!) and didn't immediately get dressed for the gym, I told myself  "self...it's okay. You have all day! Have your coffee, self, eat your wheat toast and peanut butter, rest some more, and then head out."

Sounded like a great idea to me...as it did for a LOT of other people, too!
The gym was super crowded at 11 when I arrived.

This is also prime time for AOA (Active Older Adults) and AOA classes, to which I think are fabulous (even if AOA's do tend to 'hoard' the machines-I know...that's mean). 'They' would probably say that I am the one invading there time and space, as I usually don't go at this time.

I did 30 minutes of this and can honestly say that I sweated out ALL of those toxic, chocolate (although extremely yummy) brownies that I managed to devour over the weekend. (check out this blog/site: http://www.eatliverun.com/ and search on 'mint brownies'-or don't, and save yourself the few extra pounds-seriously, the website is great with awesome recipes-the blogger is even a Southern girl, now living in CA):



And, no, I didn't have that view...remember, lots of AOA's!

After sweating like no tomorrow, I headed in the weight room for some leg exercises. Yes, all sweaty but I use a personal, large, clean towel for every machine (as I have seen some pretty gross things go on with those towels).
I haven't been doing too much leg weights as I have been upping my running game in preparation for next month's half and wanted to prevent an injury. (Did I mention that I am now doing a half, a heck of a 5k bridge run, and a 10k in February? Geez!)
I do enjoy leg exercises and I can tell that they improve my running and biking. This is unlike chest exercises, which I detest. (I dread chest days)
Then, of course, I was hungry and decided to eat at the club cafe, which is wonderful for you locals that haven't tried it.
I have not had a bad meal there yet and they make awesome smoothies. Then again, I'm not picky, especially if someone else is cooking.
So, I had this yummy salad:



That's a delicioso spinach salad with gorgonzola cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and grilled chicken! Yes I did!

By now, most of the crowd had left, just as I did upon finishing.
I told myself, earlier in the day, that I would try to make yoga this evening, as I am flying solo this evening and Monday nights suck on t.v.

I will have to see about that, as I first have to get an afternoon nap and then an espresso and maybe a glass of vino for dinner! Not bottle...glass. 

Not an overly exciting day and not filled with too much craziness...but perfect to me!
Hope your Monday was somewhat fabulous and kicks your week off on the right foot!







Trying to look cool

What can I say?

We had yet another day/ weekend of absolutely perfect weather!

The hub and I decided to get outside with some exercise as much as we can. We don't get too many days in the 70's here in Coastal Ga.

After our long run Saturday, we set out for a long bike ride to the north end of the Island, typically a ‘less traveled’ area of the island where you can actually ride your bike on the road (still praying you don’t get hit from behind). There are also awesome bike paths, trails, and rest stops on the way (with a wonderful playground, if you have kids).

And did I mention the view?



Sorry for the blur-it copied into this crappy blogger this way



The only problem with perfect weather is that the bugs (a.k.a. sand gnats) love this weather, too! (For those fortunate enough to not be familiar with the gnats, they are micro-scopic little insects that you can only feel nibbling at your inner core-you can't see them)
They were definitely out in full force on Sunday and nibbled on the hub while we stopped and snapped a couple of pics (definitely, not coordinated to ride and take pics at the same time).
For some reason, they don’t mess with me like they do him…I guess I am just too sweet! J

So, this was actually my 3^rd time riding the bike with my clip pedal shoes. I am NOT in love. In fact, I believe I have become a bit uncoordinated as I have aged (I danced ballet for 20+ years-where did that coordination go?), as I fell again (note I said again…2 times now…the 1^st hardly counts though, for reasons I shall not mention).



Do these shorts make anyone look good? I feel like a stuffed sausage.

Fortunately, I only had a scrape, as my “extra cushion” on my butt and hips saved me, and I bounced right back up (probably from shear embarrassment as 1 car traveling by ALMOST stopped to see if I was okay-they slowed-that’s good enough for me-they probably saw me come up like a tiger, cursing the entire time, and figured I was just fine). Funny though I NEVER fall on the grass…it’s always on the hard-ass pavement! My luck.

I’m not making excuses (never), but I seriously think it’s my clips. I have the old school, medal kind. They are small, round and you have to be exact, something rather hard to do while steering a bike, looking down and back up so no one rams in to you. I am sure a lot of people still use them...maybe just not me.

The hub’s are the new LOOKS hard plastic kind, which appear to be more ‘user friendly.’ I have talked to several people and they agreed that the new ones are easier to use.

 Just to prove a point, when we got back from our 1.5 hr ride (geez), I had the hub put on my shoes and attempt to ride my bike with the medal clips. He agreed they are MUCH harder and he could see how I would have a problem and bust my a**(they are a bear to get out)!

Honestly, they freak me out and make me feel like I am trapped on the bike. I need to get over this (maybe a 1/4 of a zanex would help), as this is probably all in my head and suppose to be fun. However, I cannot imagine the fall I would take if I had to get out of them quickly, perhaps dodging a car.

I am not giving up on the shoes (as they are way cool Pearl Izumi’s and fully functionable) or the bike, for now. But, if I continue to ‘not grasp the concept’ of the clips, I shall switch back to regular bike pedals. Going old school…and loving it!

I know what you are thinking… "LL-you won’t look cool" or (attempt to) look like a professional. But, I’ve never seen Lance sporting one of these on race day, either…..

NOTE TO SELF: Pack a granola bar for the next ride, as I missed my mid-morning snack and lunch on this ride! Hunger pains didn't help.

On a different note, another blogger’s post this week has been on my mind, a LOT.

It seems a cousin/ family friend/ runner of SUAR (insert link) blogger out of Colorado disappeared while running on her normal 6:30 am Saturday morning run in Montana. She is a 40+ year old female, mother, wife, teacher, coach, etc…

See the full story here: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/search-for-sidney-teacher-suspended/article_c8175b7a-3c8a-11e1-b62f-0019bb2963f4.html

From what I have read, it sounds like the town is very small, around 5,000 people, slightly smaller than where I live.

I initially thought  assumed she might have been attacked by wildlife of sorts (maybe this being the best case scenario now), due to her living in Montana (somewhere I would imagine has a lot of bears, mountain lions, etc). However, the more I read, it sounds like law enforcement believes it to rather be an abduction (probably because they have discovered her shoe-in fact, the Sherriff now the FBI is involved).

Another theory is that someone hit her and decided to move her or hide her body, instead of doing the 'right thing' and calling the police.

Not only is this very, very sad but all theories scare the SHIT out of me. I mean, seriously, you do NOT know who is watching you and your every move and maybe knows that you run every Saturday morning through the same area at/ around the same time.

It’s a sad day when you can no longer take a run or walk outside by yourself for fear of someone abducting you.

What's even sadder is that they may NEVER find anything of her. So sad for the family, as I would imagine closure is the next best thing to having her home. The 'unknown' will give you nightmares.

It has made me seriously think about my runs and my daily routine and to try and make it not so ‘routine’, even so much that I hopped on the dreaded 'mill on Tuesday evening, rather than running alone, at night, in my neighborhood. Too, I plan on picking up some pepper to run with me (like I need something else to carry). Ijust hope I would have the thought and quickness to use it if I needed to.

Please think about what you do and always be aware of your surroundings (something kind of hard to do when you are running and focused and have your headphones on-definitely not a good idea but I am not sure I can break this habit? Maybe I will start with one ear bud, turned down low).

Be safe out there, fellow friends and runners!

I won't be a statistic!

Yeah! It's the weekend!
What a short work week. I wish they were all that way.
So, on tap for today I had a long run on the schedule. 7 miles, at least.
I did the usual prepping: pasta the day before, eating right all week (which I have done a pretty good job of this week except for the occasional leftover holiday homemade Nutella cookie-btw: they come HIGHLY recommended), and staying hydrated...with water. (bet you thought I was going to say wine! :)
The weather on the island today was beautiful!




The shrimp boats were out today-I am guessing it's prime harvest season-Wild Ga. Shrimp...yummo!

It was a little cool starting out..just enough for my nose to run faster than I was going. But, it warmed up nicely and everyone was outside enjoying the weather!

My 7 mile run ended up being a proud 8 miles! Woo hoo!
I have to stay on target for this half marathon on Feb. 12, 2012:



It is a short 37 days away! Wow!

And guess what...I think the hubby is going to run the half with me!
Of course, he won't be running with me, in a physical sense...he runs much faster (and will definiately have to that day just to prove a point).

I'm not complaining about him insisting on running faster but am instead trying to be encouraging.

He ran 7 miles today, as well.

I love the idea of us running together but he gets a much later start than I do (and did I mention he's faster?).

I like to head out and get it 'over with' so I can come back to this (which is what I had immediately upon my return):



Not exactly the best choice of a 'post race' meal..but, hey..did I mentiont that I had a tall glass of organic milk with it? Doesn't that count for something? Plus, what's that 'eat right 90% of the time' rule? I wonder if that means 90% of the week or 90% of each day??

I would love to say that I made these from scratch but we all know that didn't happen. (if a recipe has the word 'yeast' in it, I immediately skip it-too much work!)

I got them from a local bakery on the island. It is a treat, indeed.

Last, I got an email this week with interesting 'resolution' statistics that I thought I would share:

"According to research on New Year’s Resolutions, 40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. 17% infrequently set resolutions; 38% absolutely never set resolutions.  Only 8% of people are always successful in achieving their resolutions.

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:

-past the first week 75%
- past 2 weeks: 70%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

 

Almost half of the New Year’s Resolutions don’t make for more than 6 months and 46% don’t make it for a month.  More surprising is that 25% fail in the first week!"

 

Some pretty sad statistics.

Thus, I make a resolution to NOT be a statistic this year!

I am sticking with the goals I set (not resolutions-I don't like that word).

 

Are you with me?

 

What are you going to do to try and stick to your goal? One of my goals was to get on a strength program and stick with it. I can proudly say that I stuck with it for week 1 and am tremendously sore. Amazing...I've done strength training before and, heck, I've even done the exercises that I am doing under the program before..but something about the weight, repetitions, or rotation of the exercises, or all 3 combined, has made me feel it this week! I'm not complaining....in 12 weeks, I hope to be able to see my abs and have defined arms (of course, I'm going to have to lay off the cinnamon rolls)!

 

Have a fantastic weekend!