Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Leaving on a jet plane
Actually not a jet plane, but a bus, and SOON. I wanted so much to tell you more about my NYC trip, but I'm just going to have to tell you when I get back. I appreciate all thoughts/prayers/good vibes for a safe and fun trip! See you all on Monday!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
YAY for a beautiful day
I took these picture Saturday, but it gives a good impression of what the weather and scenery are like today. It's sunny, and all the leaves have changed or have fallen off the trees. There's one tree in particular near our apartment that is bright yellow, and none of the leaves have fallen yet. It's really beautiful.
I ran an easy 5mi this morning. It was a bit chilly, but not too bad. My major complaint is that it's soooo dark right now. Oh well- only one more run until daylight savings time is over. Then I'll get two more weeks of light in the morning before the sun starts rising at 9am. Which it will do until next May.
Otherwise I need to pack for NYC tonight and we are (hopefully) going to carve our pumpkin. I have NO idea what to do so any ideas you can send my way would be much appreciated.
I also wanted to give an update on how I'm doing with my 101 in 1001 so far.
Last weekend I tackled one of my "around the house" tasks and made a big donation of winter clothes that were either really old or didn't fit to our church's clothing bin. No pictures or anything. It wasn't super exciting. I plan to do the same with summer clothes, but they only accept donations that are in season.
I also made one recipe from this month's Cooking Light (I'm trying to make 4 recipes from each issue before the next issue comes). It was pork loin with cherry pomegranate sauce. It was very tasty and made lots of leftovers. Here was my plate pre-salad.
Not much else going on otherwise. I hope to have a good pumpkin picture for you tomorrow.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Rain again on Monday
Will it ever stop raining? I guess I shouldn't complain because Saturday and Sunday were beautiful, and I'd rather be stuck inside at work on a rainy day than a nice day. Hopefully it will have chilled out by the time I will want to ride my bike home this afternoon.
I got in a good spinning workout this morning and will do some kind of weight training at home. I'm probably not going to be able to do weights Wednesday or Friday so I'm going to try to cram everything into one upper body day and one lower body day today and tomorrow.
Work is actually kind of chilled out right now. I'm trying to do some set up stuff to get ahead of the game- especially since I'm going to be gone for two days (and maybe Monday if I have to call in "so tired I can't function").
I might also try to take some time to do more research on things to do in NYC. Any suggestions for good places to take high school kids on Manhattan where they can have fun without doing too much damage? Suggestions for cool restaurants/stores/museums/basically anything except art galleries and jewelry stores would be greatly appreciated.
I got in a good spinning workout this morning and will do some kind of weight training at home. I'm probably not going to be able to do weights Wednesday or Friday so I'm going to try to cram everything into one upper body day and one lower body day today and tomorrow.
Work is actually kind of chilled out right now. I'm trying to do some set up stuff to get ahead of the game- especially since I'm going to be gone for two days (and maybe Monday if I have to call in "so tired I can't function").
I might also try to take some time to do more research on things to do in NYC. Any suggestions for good places to take high school kids on Manhattan where they can have fun without doing too much damage? Suggestions for cool restaurants/stores/museums/basically anything except art galleries and jewelry stores would be greatly appreciated.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Still Dark Sunday
It's 7am and still dark. Part of it is because it's supposed to rain... again... and part is because we neeeeeeed to end daylight savings time. Not that it will make any difference in December, but at least we get to stretch a little more light out of the day before we hit WINTER.
Today is a rest day. I even got the laundry done yesterday evening so I don't have to drag that up and down stairs. Yesterday was an easy 7.5mi.
Not too much going on around here. We tried to go to the speed skating trials yesterday, but a combination of making a wrong turn on the interstate and the races being finished an hour early made us arrive right after the last heat. So now we are 3/5 for good trips to Milwaukee. In a way it was okay because I was super tired and just wanted to sit, which is pretty much what I did. It was the first sunny day we'd had in almost a week, and it was nice to drive around and see the pretty fall colors.
I would have gone to sleep early last night, except the Gators.... AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Today we have two church meetings plus church plus errands. I also need to spend some quality time getting ready for the New York trip on Wednesday. I can't remember if I mentioned it on here, but I'm helping chaperone our church's high school youth group bus trip to New York City from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon. I want to make sure I set aside all the clothing I want to take with me so I don't have to do any emergency laundry on Tuesday evening.
Today is a rest day. I even got the laundry done yesterday evening so I don't have to drag that up and down stairs. Yesterday was an easy 7.5mi.
Not too much going on around here. We tried to go to the speed skating trials yesterday, but a combination of making a wrong turn on the interstate and the races being finished an hour early made us arrive right after the last heat. So now we are 3/5 for good trips to Milwaukee. In a way it was okay because I was super tired and just wanted to sit, which is pretty much what I did. It was the first sunny day we'd had in almost a week, and it was nice to drive around and see the pretty fall colors.
I would have gone to sleep early last night, except the Gators.... AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Today we have two church meetings plus church plus errands. I also need to spend some quality time getting ready for the New York trip on Wednesday. I can't remember if I mentioned it on here, but I'm helping chaperone our church's high school youth group bus trip to New York City from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon. I want to make sure I set aside all the clothing I want to take with me so I don't have to do any emergency laundry on Tuesday evening.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Window washers
First and foremost: This is hilarious.
It is raining and windy- and it has been for the last 40 hours or so- and someone is currently washing my window on the 4th story of a 14-story building. I would definitely not enjoy that job. I want to wave and say hi, but I can't see their faces because of my blinds.
I actually did get out for a short run this morning. There was a little break in the rain, and although it was cold and windy and sprinkling, it was not pouring so I thought I'd better take advantage of it. It's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow morning (although the low is 37 so I'm not sure how the snow part works into that).
Otherwise today is a pretty normal day. I'm going to meet D for lunch because we have some insurance paperwork we need to turn in at his building. Isn't being an adult fun? Tomorrow we are going to see the Olympic Speed Skating Trials in Milwaukee and watching the FL/Mississippi State game in the evening.
It is raining and windy- and it has been for the last 40 hours or so- and someone is currently washing my window on the 4th story of a 14-story building. I would definitely not enjoy that job. I want to wave and say hi, but I can't see their faces because of my blinds.
I actually did get out for a short run this morning. There was a little break in the rain, and although it was cold and windy and sprinkling, it was not pouring so I thought I'd better take advantage of it. It's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow morning (although the low is 37 so I'm not sure how the snow part works into that).
Otherwise today is a pretty normal day. I'm going to meet D for lunch because we have some insurance paperwork we need to turn in at his building. Isn't being an adult fun? Tomorrow we are going to see the Olympic Speed Skating Trials in Milwaukee and watching the FL/Mississippi State game in the evening.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
TIART
Woohoo, it's Thursday again and time for TIART.
This week's question is:
We've all discussed why we run, but why do you RACE and how do you choose which races to run?
Do you look for certain distances, swag, location, start time, or something else? Tell me how you decide where and when to race. Also, I'm currently on a quest to run a race in every state. Please tell me--and others about a particular race you've run that is not to be missed.
My favorite races are ones that are close and short. I like being able to get up in the morning and race if I feel like it and have no guilt if I don't. I'm not super into expos or freebies (probably because I've never been to a huge race like Chicago or MCM), but I do like it when the free shirt is a technical one (preferably long-sleeved because I don't have many of those) and the small is small enough for me to actually wear (other than as a dress). Food is a complete non issue for me because I NEVER want to put anything in my stomach for like an hour after a race (drinking water is bad enough).
I think I have a tie for favorite Madison Race. I really liked doing The Literacy Network 5k this year and The Berbee Derby 10k last year. Both races are very well organized, and the atmosphere is great.
This morning I did my first speed workout on the treadmill since last winter. 3 x 1 mile with 3 min recovery between them. I don't run as fast on the treadmill as I do outside, but since I hated my life and wanted to stop for all but the first .1 mile of each interval, I figured I was doing it right.
This week's question is:
We've all discussed why we run, but why do you RACE and how do you choose which races to run?
Do you look for certain distances, swag, location, start time, or something else? Tell me how you decide where and when to race. Also, I'm currently on a quest to run a race in every state. Please tell me--and others about a particular race you've run that is not to be missed.
My favorite races are ones that are close and short. I like being able to get up in the morning and race if I feel like it and have no guilt if I don't. I'm not super into expos or freebies (probably because I've never been to a huge race like Chicago or MCM), but I do like it when the free shirt is a technical one (preferably long-sleeved because I don't have many of those) and the small is small enough for me to actually wear (other than as a dress). Food is a complete non issue for me because I NEVER want to put anything in my stomach for like an hour after a race (drinking water is bad enough).
I think I have a tie for favorite Madison Race. I really liked doing The Literacy Network 5k this year and The Berbee Derby 10k last year. Both races are very well organized, and the atmosphere is great.
This morning I did my first speed workout on the treadmill since last winter. 3 x 1 mile with 3 min recovery between them. I don't run as fast on the treadmill as I do outside, but since I hated my life and wanted to stop for all but the first .1 mile of each interval, I figured I was doing it right.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Early post
I normally don't post waaayyy before I start my day, but I'm chilling out until it's time to catch the bus to the gym, and all my normal web sites are closed for maintenance so I thought I'd drop by here for a few minutes.
It's Wednesday, which means spinning. Right now the plan is to duck out about 10 or 15 minutes early to do upper body weights. My weight training plan has changed for the next 4 weeks, and I really can't do the upper body session at home, and I just haven't been in the mood to go back to the gym at the end of the day. Plus I have some errands I need to take care of this afternoon so it helps to be done a little early.
We're having our work chili potluck today, which should be fun. I have to catch the bus because I'm bringing in our crockpot + 4 cans of white beans and 2 cans of green chili, which will not fit in my backpack. Riding my bike is right out. I always feel lazy when I take the bus, but it's supposed to rain all day, too, so I guess if I have to ride the bus this is as good a day as any.
It's Wednesday, which means spinning. Right now the plan is to duck out about 10 or 15 minutes early to do upper body weights. My weight training plan has changed for the next 4 weeks, and I really can't do the upper body session at home, and I just haven't been in the mood to go back to the gym at the end of the day. Plus I have some errands I need to take care of this afternoon so it helps to be done a little early.
We're having our work chili potluck today, which should be fun. I have to catch the bus because I'm bringing in our crockpot + 4 cans of white beans and 2 cans of green chili, which will not fit in my backpack. Riding my bike is right out. I always feel lazy when I take the bus, but it's supposed to rain all day, too, so I guess if I have to ride the bus this is as good a day as any.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Cloudy Tuesday
Hi all,
Edited to say: I'm in a much better mood now. I chatted with some co-workers for a little while this morning, and it snapped me out of the funk I was in this morning.
I got in a good if slow run this morning. 6mi in slower than I care to admit on here, but I actually felt pretty good and it was warm (48) and not raining, so I have no complaints. I attempted to do my weight circuit when I got home from work yesterday, but my legs were so so so sore from spinning in the morning, it was pretty half-hearted.
I don't know if it's the weather or the moon or what, but I'm having a "my life is a series of tragedies" day today. The hallmark of a "my life is a series of tragedies" day is that there are no actual tragedies. Other highlights are resenting my responsibilities, crying jags before 9am, and otherwise acting like a spoiled teenager.
BUT, I'm acknowledging that even though I feel this way I am not going to allow myself to dwell on it and act on it. I already rode my bike despite being tired and the fact that it's going to rain, and I took the stairs to my office even though my backpack was heavy. So as of 8:50am Central Time I am going to be joyful and industrious. I am going to put energy and effort into everything I need to get done, and above all, I AM NOT going to sit on the couch and read the Alton Brown baking book this evening (too interesting- I need to get D to hide that thing from me). I'm going to cook, clean, and organize, which badly needs to be done.
Okay, enough free therapy for me. I hope you all have a great day!
Edited to say: I'm in a much better mood now. I chatted with some co-workers for a little while this morning, and it snapped me out of the funk I was in this morning.
I got in a good if slow run this morning. 6mi in slower than I care to admit on here, but I actually felt pretty good and it was warm (48) and not raining, so I have no complaints. I attempted to do my weight circuit when I got home from work yesterday, but my legs were so so so sore from spinning in the morning, it was pretty half-hearted.
I don't know if it's the weather or the moon or what, but I'm having a "my life is a series of tragedies" day today. The hallmark of a "my life is a series of tragedies" day is that there are no actual tragedies. Other highlights are resenting my responsibilities, crying jags before 9am, and otherwise acting like a spoiled teenager.
BUT, I'm acknowledging that even though I feel this way I am not going to allow myself to dwell on it and act on it. I already rode my bike despite being tired and the fact that it's going to rain, and I took the stairs to my office even though my backpack was heavy. So as of 8:50am Central Time I am going to be joyful and industrious. I am going to put energy and effort into everything I need to get done, and above all, I AM NOT going to sit on the couch and read the Alton Brown baking book this evening (too interesting- I need to get D to hide that thing from me). I'm going to cook, clean, and organize, which badly needs to be done.
Okay, enough free therapy for me. I hope you all have a great day!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ouside looks so pretty
It's sunny and 60, and all I can do is look at it out my window from my desk. Oh well, in just a few hours I'll be riding my bike home, and I can enjoy it then. This is what fall should be like... not that rainy, high of 44 business we've been having.
I went to spinning this morning, and it was tough. Good tough, though. Lots and lots of intervals with little rest.
Not much else going on here except that I want to give a major shout out/congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend. So many awesome accomplishments. Way to go!!!
I went to spinning this morning, and it was tough. Good tough, though. Lots and lots of intervals with little rest.
Not much else going on here except that I want to give a major shout out/congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend. So many awesome accomplishments. Way to go!!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It's a beautiful morning
It's sunny and cool- a perfect fall day. I wish I could put it in a bottle and save it for January.
No run for me today. I got in 6mi yesterday plus some hardcore kitchen cleaning so I'm ready for a break.
We went to the corn maze/ hayride/ pumpkin patch yesterday with some friends and had a cold but fun time. I think the highlights were definitely the piglet race, the kitten petting zoo, and the pumpkin cannon. We also got a pumpkin to carve but we aren't sure what we are going to do with it yet.
On the way home we stopped for a light dinner at Culvers (if such a thing exists) and watched the score change (the TV was set to a different game) when the Gators won their game with a last-minute field goal. I checked Facebook when I got home and almost everyone's status was something like, "Well... at least we won."
I was totally exhausted for some reason when we got home and went to sleep at 8pm so I was up and ready to go this morning at 6am. Four loads of laundry are almost done!
Also, I'm working on updating my blog list and following blogs through blogger. I'll definitely be adding more once I get to work and can access my Sage feed there, but if you want to be on my list, definitely say so in the comments, and I'll make sure you're added.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!
No run for me today. I got in 6mi yesterday plus some hardcore kitchen cleaning so I'm ready for a break.
We went to the corn maze/ hayride/ pumpkin patch yesterday with some friends and had a cold but fun time. I think the highlights were definitely the piglet race, the kitten petting zoo, and the pumpkin cannon. We also got a pumpkin to carve but we aren't sure what we are going to do with it yet.
On the way home we stopped for a light dinner at Culvers (if such a thing exists) and watched the score change (the TV was set to a different game) when the Gators won their game with a last-minute field goal. I checked Facebook when I got home and almost everyone's status was something like, "Well... at least we won."
I was totally exhausted for some reason when we got home and went to sleep at 8pm so I was up and ready to go this morning at 6am. Four loads of laundry are almost done!
Also, I'm working on updating my blog list and following blogs through blogger. I'll definitely be adding more once I get to work and can access my Sage feed there, but if you want to be on my list, definitely say so in the comments, and I'll make sure you're added.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!
Friday, October 16, 2009
101 in 1001
After reading about this idea at The Simple Dollar and on Special K, I decided to make a 101 in 1001 list myself.
I used SAS to do something useful for the first time ever and figured out what 1001 days from now comes out to be:
data time;
set data;
later=today()+1001;
format later weekdate29.;
run;
proc print data=time;
var later;
run;
Obs later
1 Friday, July 13, 2012
(little glimpse into my daily life there)
To which I said, "Eeeek- I can't be done on Friday the 13th!" Because I only finished the last this afternoon, I'm giving myself one extra day, and my real due date will be Saturday, July 14, 2012.
Also, if you count the items, there's only 97. I decided to give myself some leeway to add on additional items as I think of them. I'm also allowing myself to change an item if I'm really not into it or it really doesn't apply and there's something else that's a much better fit down the road. But I can't replace something like "host a large dinner" with "tie shoelaces". It has to be an "in-kind" swap.
The last thing to note is that some of these things may seem a little scary to some people who may or may not read this blog anymore. The important thing to keep in mind is that on July 14, 2012 I will be ALMOST 30.
Without further ado, my 101 in 1001.
I used SAS to do something useful for the first time ever and figured out what 1001 days from now comes out to be:
data time;
set data;
later=today()+1001;
format later weekdate29.;
run;
proc print data=time;
var later;
run;
Obs later
1 Friday, July 13, 2012
(little glimpse into my daily life there)
To which I said, "Eeeek- I can't be done on Friday the 13th!" Because I only finished the last this afternoon, I'm giving myself one extra day, and my real due date will be Saturday, July 14, 2012.
Also, if you count the items, there's only 97. I decided to give myself some leeway to add on additional items as I think of them. I'm also allowing myself to change an item if I'm really not into it or it really doesn't apply and there's something else that's a much better fit down the road. But I can't replace something like "host a large dinner" with "tie shoelaces". It has to be an "in-kind" swap.
The last thing to note is that some of these things may seem a little scary to some people who may or may not read this blog anymore. The important thing to keep in mind is that on July 14, 2012 I will be ALMOST 30.
Without further ado, my 101 in 1001.
Pampered Friday
Woohoo, it's Friday!!!
I had a nice easy 4 mi run and got my weight circuit out of the way this morning. This was important because I have a hair appointment late this afternoon. This might seem strange (or maybe not) but I absolutely love getting my hair washed. OMG. When we get rich and famous and are on Cribs (does that show still exist?) I will make sure to feature my personal hair washer. Definitely the highlight of my afternoon.
Yesterday was a pretty full day, too. I had an eye appointment to get some new lenses in my glasses. I had new lenses put in awhile ago, but I HATED them because I always felt like my depth perception was way off. I guess the lenses had been set to two different prescriptions and were pretty different from my contacts, so I'm getting them replaced with lenses with the same prescription as my contacts. I don't wear glasses that much, but I feel like I need to have a working pair in case I can't wear them for some reason. Oh yeah, and my prescription changed- again. Aren't I getting a little old for this?
What else??? We went to listen to Judy Faulkner, the CEO of a humongous medical software company outside of Madison give a talk yesterday. However, we were told that it was a private talk and we'd get in big trouble if the contents of the talk ended up on the internet. So I guess I can't say much except that it was interesting and we enjoyed it.
Also... last thing and then I need to make myself useful. On Wednesday, the thing that I'd feared but managed to avoid for the last year and two months happened. I ended up in the shower room at the same time as my boss. It wasn't my fault because I was already in there when she came in. There was no eye contact, though, so it wasn't too weird. I hightailed it out of there (which I do normally) and it wasn't as horrible as it could have been.
Okay, enough blathering. I hope everyone has a good weekend!
I had a nice easy 4 mi run and got my weight circuit out of the way this morning. This was important because I have a hair appointment late this afternoon. This might seem strange (or maybe not) but I absolutely love getting my hair washed. OMG. When we get rich and famous and are on Cribs (does that show still exist?) I will make sure to feature my personal hair washer. Definitely the highlight of my afternoon.
Yesterday was a pretty full day, too. I had an eye appointment to get some new lenses in my glasses. I had new lenses put in awhile ago, but I HATED them because I always felt like my depth perception was way off. I guess the lenses had been set to two different prescriptions and were pretty different from my contacts, so I'm getting them replaced with lenses with the same prescription as my contacts. I don't wear glasses that much, but I feel like I need to have a working pair in case I can't wear them for some reason. Oh yeah, and my prescription changed- again. Aren't I getting a little old for this?
What else??? We went to listen to Judy Faulkner, the CEO of a humongous medical software company outside of Madison give a talk yesterday. However, we were told that it was a private talk and we'd get in big trouble if the contents of the talk ended up on the internet. So I guess I can't say much except that it was interesting and we enjoyed it.
Also... last thing and then I need to make myself useful. On Wednesday, the thing that I'd feared but managed to avoid for the last year and two months happened. I ended up in the shower room at the same time as my boss. It wasn't my fault because I was already in there when she came in. There was no eye contact, though, so it wasn't too weird. I hightailed it out of there (which I do normally) and it wasn't as horrible as it could have been.
Okay, enough blathering. I hope everyone has a good weekend!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
TIART
It's Take it and Run Thursday over at Runner's Lounge.
This week's question is:
Scarecrow asked for a Brain, Tin Man for a Heart, and Lion for Courage. If you could meet the Wizard of Running and ask for anything, what would it be?
When your wish was granted, how would your travels down the Yellow Brick Road of running be different?
Well, if I could ask for anything, I'd ask to be able to enjoy all my runs for the rest of my life. No frustration about crappy paces, no nagging aches and pains, no downpours. It would be all smooth strides, speedy intervals, and beautiful sunrises.
How would my running be different? The obvious answer is that it would be 100 times more awesome. I man, who doesn't love a great run? Of course we don't appreciate the good without the bad and all that, and I'd probably stop appreciating it pretty quickly.
On that note, I actually had a good run this morning. I left my GPS at home, but I can tell you that on my 4 x 5 min intervals I hit my target pace or under on all but the first one (and the first always counts as practice, right?). It was only sprinkling a tiny bit, and it wasn't too cold. Can't argue with that!
This week's question is:
Scarecrow asked for a Brain, Tin Man for a Heart, and Lion for Courage. If you could meet the Wizard of Running and ask for anything, what would it be?
When your wish was granted, how would your travels down the Yellow Brick Road of running be different?
Well, if I could ask for anything, I'd ask to be able to enjoy all my runs for the rest of my life. No frustration about crappy paces, no nagging aches and pains, no downpours. It would be all smooth strides, speedy intervals, and beautiful sunrises.
How would my running be different? The obvious answer is that it would be 100 times more awesome. I man, who doesn't love a great run? Of course we don't appreciate the good without the bad and all that, and I'd probably stop appreciating it pretty quickly.
On that note, I actually had a good run this morning. I left my GPS at home, but I can tell you that on my 4 x 5 min intervals I hit my target pace or under on all but the first one (and the first always counts as practice, right?). It was only sprinkling a tiny bit, and it wasn't too cold. Can't argue with that!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Pretty normal Tuesday
Don't have too much to say today. I did an easy 5mi this morning. It was cool but not super cold. Plus I think I'm just getting used to it. I've figured out what I need to wear to not freeze to death riding my bike to work but not overheat once I get to work now that they've turned the heating system on.
The only kind of bizarre thing that happened yesterday is that I think I might be allergic to something in the TJ's canned tomato soup (or possibly more than just the tomato soup) that I've been eating for lunch recently. I have really sensitive skin and my face flushes very easily, so I thought that having something hot for lunch was just making my face get hot, but yesterday I definitely had hives. I know it hasn't happened every day, and I'm almost positive it started when I switched from salads for lunch to soup, but I'm not sure if it's limited to just the tomato soup or other varieties might cause it, too. Anyway, I'm going to try eating the black bean soup today and see how that goes. If it's fine, I'll proceed with my other packaged foods with caution. If not, I dunno...
The only kind of bizarre thing that happened yesterday is that I think I might be allergic to something in the TJ's canned tomato soup (or possibly more than just the tomato soup) that I've been eating for lunch recently. I have really sensitive skin and my face flushes very easily, so I thought that having something hot for lunch was just making my face get hot, but yesterday I definitely had hives. I know it hasn't happened every day, and I'm almost positive it started when I switched from salads for lunch to soup, but I'm not sure if it's limited to just the tomato soup or other varieties might cause it, too. Anyway, I'm going to try eating the black bean soup today and see how that goes. If it's fine, I'll proceed with my other packaged foods with caution. If not, I dunno...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Zen Spin
I went to spinning this morning, and for whatever reason the music system wasn't working and we had to do without. We did a lot of intervals so it was actually less boring that you might expect. The funny thing (to me) is that spin bikes are set up in a raquetball court room and without music to muffle the sound, every noise makes a giant echo. It made me think of doing spin in a cave in a Buddhist monastery. That would be incongruous.
Otherwise not much else is going on. I pulled out my heavy jacket for the first time last night and I'm looking out the window trying to decide if it's going to rain/snow this morning or not (50% chance- thanks Weather Channel for clearing that up for me).
Otherwise not much else is going on. I pulled out my heavy jacket for the first time last night and I'm looking out the window trying to decide if it's going to rain/snow this morning or not (50% chance- thanks Weather Channel for clearing that up for me).
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Chilly Sunday
It's only 26 degrees out right now according to the Weather Channel website, but it actually felt pretty nice walking to and from the laundry room this morning. I'm not sure why, but I'm way more tolerant to cold in the morning than later in the day. Anyone else like this?
No run today, although I'll probably do my weight circuit and do some house cleaning. I laid on the couch, watching football and reading from about 4pm to 10:30pm last night so I feel very well rested and ready get a lot accomplished today. I always feel guilty for being lazy like that, but sometimes I think it actually makes me more productive because I'm excited (well, excited may be a strong word for going through the medicine box and throwing out anything expired) to get going rather than resenting the work I have to do because I'm tired.
Speaking of which, the Gator game was quite a nail biter last night. It was exciting, but not really in a good way. Both teams had a lot of mistakes, but we won so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
Well, it's time to wake D up, fold some laundry, and get ready for church. Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
No run today, although I'll probably do my weight circuit and do some house cleaning. I laid on the couch, watching football and reading from about 4pm to 10:30pm last night so I feel very well rested and ready get a lot accomplished today. I always feel guilty for being lazy like that, but sometimes I think it actually makes me more productive because I'm excited (well, excited may be a strong word for going through the medicine box and throwing out anything expired) to get going rather than resenting the work I have to do because I'm tired.
Speaking of which, the Gator game was quite a nail biter last night. It was exciting, but not really in a good way. Both teams had a lot of mistakes, but we won so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
Well, it's time to wake D up, fold some laundry, and get ready for church. Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Brrrrrrrr
Happy Snow-mas. I know some of you are still frying, but we had our first frost last night and first flurry of the season this morning.
We just got in from cleaning out the garden, which was less of a pain that we'd feared. We pulled up most of the big plants, untangled the tomato plants from the cages (leaving a frog homeless- sorry frog), and pulled up a big piece of black weed-control plastic that has been nothing but trouble since the beginning.
Earlier this morning I ran 6 chilly miles. I'm planning to spend the rest of the day chilling out, watching football (and maybe doing some house work and cross stitch).
Hope everyone has a nice, relaxing Saturday.
We just got in from cleaning out the garden, which was less of a pain that we'd feared. We pulled up most of the big plants, untangled the tomato plants from the cages (leaving a frog homeless- sorry frog), and pulled up a big piece of black weed-control plastic that has been nothing but trouble since the beginning.
Earlier this morning I ran 6 chilly miles. I'm planning to spend the rest of the day chilling out, watching football (and maybe doing some house work and cross stitch).
Hope everyone has a nice, relaxing Saturday.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Happy Friday
I fiiiiinnnnaallly got around to writing an about me page for the blog. Check it out here if you're interested. You can also get to it from the About Me section of the sidebar.
No run today. I did some time on the elliptical and then my weights workout. Tomorrow will be a chilly run (getting down to 28 overnight- yikes) and a send off to the garden. It may rain in the afternoon, but my schedule is full of college football: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State at 2:30pm (Central time) and UF vs. LSU at 7pm. Even though I get twinges of guilt when I spend a large chunk of a weekend day chilling out, I've been so busy lately that I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
No run today. I did some time on the elliptical and then my weights workout. Tomorrow will be a chilly run (getting down to 28 overnight- yikes) and a send off to the garden. It may rain in the afternoon, but my schedule is full of college football: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State at 2:30pm (Central time) and UF vs. LSU at 7pm. Even though I get twinges of guilt when I spend a large chunk of a weekend day chilling out, I've been so busy lately that I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
Oooohhh... pretty
Sarah over at Ghost World is giving away a really cool Rhodia calendar/planner. Love it.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
TIART
Woohoo! It's Take it and Run Thursday. Today's topic comes from Lacy of Common Objects and Everyday Events, a blog I enjoy reading regularly.
This week her question is:
Imagine you are attending a week-long running camp. Where would it be? What would you do? Would there be classes? Bootcamps? Socials?
I want to know all about the kinds of things that make up your ideal running-related week. No work, no obligations outside of camp,... for one week you can have it exactly your way! Tell me all about it!
I'll be honest. My ideal running camp would pretty much be like Sandals with the option of running in the morning... or afternoon... or whenever. It would take place annually during that reaaaaalllly cold week at the end of January, and would feature massages, fruity drinks with little umbrellas, and XT options like snorkeling and tubing behind a boat.
Yeah... I'm thinking that sounds pretty good right now.
I got in 5mi this morning with 5x3min fast. I pushed much harder than last week and was rewarded by getting all my min/mile below 8, with a 7:22 for my last interval.
Yesterday Lacey (of above) asked what makes spin harder sometimes. Which is a good question because it's one of those "go at your own pace" activities. What I think makes a hard workout is doing a bunch of intervals over and over with little rest. The gym classes push you hard for about the 1st half of the class but have lots of rest during the second half. Here are two workouts we did last fall that mark the only two times I've ever thought I might puke on the bike.
The first one was actually my first day of doing spin with the tri team. The workout was very simple :5x50 sec sprint, 10 sec recovery; 1 min rest; 5x50 sec hill sprint, 10 sec recovery; 1 min rest; repeat for 1 HOUR. GAH!
The second one was just part of the last workout of the fall, but it was almost as bad. We started at a really easy perceived rate of exertion (PRE)- a 3/10 or something- and did 45 sec on 15 sec off. Each repeat we increased our resistance until we got to a PRE of 7 and then WE KEPT DOING INTERVALS. Seriously. We did like 10 intervals at 7. It was really tough.
Hope you all have an awesome Thursday!
This week her question is:
Imagine you are attending a week-long running camp. Where would it be? What would you do? Would there be classes? Bootcamps? Socials?
I want to know all about the kinds of things that make up your ideal running-related week. No work, no obligations outside of camp,... for one week you can have it exactly your way! Tell me all about it!
I'll be honest. My ideal running camp would pretty much be like Sandals with the option of running in the morning... or afternoon... or whenever. It would take place annually during that reaaaaalllly cold week at the end of January, and would feature massages, fruity drinks with little umbrellas, and XT options like snorkeling and tubing behind a boat.
Yeah... I'm thinking that sounds pretty good right now.
I got in 5mi this morning with 5x3min fast. I pushed much harder than last week and was rewarded by getting all my min/mile below 8, with a 7:22 for my last interval.
Yesterday Lacey (of above) asked what makes spin harder sometimes. Which is a good question because it's one of those "go at your own pace" activities. What I think makes a hard workout is doing a bunch of intervals over and over with little rest. The gym classes push you hard for about the 1st half of the class but have lots of rest during the second half. Here are two workouts we did last fall that mark the only two times I've ever thought I might puke on the bike.
The first one was actually my first day of doing spin with the tri team. The workout was very simple :5x50 sec sprint, 10 sec recovery; 1 min rest; 5x50 sec hill sprint, 10 sec recovery; 1 min rest; repeat for 1 HOUR. GAH!
The second one was just part of the last workout of the fall, but it was almost as bad. We started at a really easy perceived rate of exertion (PRE)- a 3/10 or something- and did 45 sec on 15 sec off. Each repeat we increased our resistance until we got to a PRE of 7 and then WE KEPT DOING INTERVALS. Seriously. We did like 10 intervals at 7. It was really tough.
Hope you all have an awesome Thursday!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
First spin of fall 2009
I went to my first spin class with the UW tri team this morning. I have never nor do I have any interest in doing a triathlon, but I like spinning, and the club class is waaaaayyyy harder than the classes offered by the gym.
The only negative to the gym is that it's been sooooo cold in the locker room in the morning. I'm sure I've described the fun that is bathing at the gym before, but it involves treaking into a huge shower room (no curtains, leave your modesty at the door), washing as fast as possible before your the water starts getting cold, and then going out to claim what is hopefully "your" towel from the railing. And the towels... seriously... the school must have gotten them at a discount from Guantanamo because they violated the Geneva Convention. (Full disclosure: I've been working on that one for awhile). They are tiny and thin (but always clean- I'll give them that).
The other exciting thing today is my coworkers and I are planning to go to the Original Pancake House for lunch. I don't know if it's the moon or the tides or some other monthly phenomenon, but I'm beyond excited about this. I did, however, make one concession to my health and ate my lunch for breakfast. I did fine with my Trader Joe's Indian Fare paneer and vegetables, but salad at 8:30am is honestly pretty gross. Oh well.
The only negative to the gym is that it's been sooooo cold in the locker room in the morning. I'm sure I've described the fun that is bathing at the gym before, but it involves treaking into a huge shower room (no curtains, leave your modesty at the door), washing as fast as possible before your the water starts getting cold, and then going out to claim what is hopefully "your" towel from the railing. And the towels... seriously... the school must have gotten them at a discount from Guantanamo because they violated the Geneva Convention. (Full disclosure: I've been working on that one for awhile). They are tiny and thin (but always clean- I'll give them that).
The other exciting thing today is my coworkers and I are planning to go to the Original Pancake House for lunch. I don't know if it's the moon or the tides or some other monthly phenomenon, but I'm beyond excited about this. I did, however, make one concession to my health and ate my lunch for breakfast. I did fine with my Trader Joe's Indian Fare paneer and vegetables, but salad at 8:30am is honestly pretty gross. Oh well.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Rainy Run
It was really only raining a tiny bit when I went out this morning. I am about the least hard core runner out there, so I was proud of myself for going anyway and proving that I would not, in fact, melt. I did 5mi in who knows how long because it was an easy run and I decided not to take the GPS. It can take soooo long before I get connected to the satellites on cloudy days, and it just wasn't worth it this morning.
Last night we watched half of the Vikings/GB game with our church small group. It was a fun time, and had my first piece of macaroni and cheese pizza (only in WI), so I consider the night a success even though the Packers lost.
Not a lot going on otherwise. Let's see if I get a dry walk home this afternoon or I have to take the icky bus.
Last night we watched half of the Vikings/GB game with our church small group. It was a fun time, and had my first piece of macaroni and cheese pizza (only in WI), so I consider the night a success even though the Packers lost.
Not a lot going on otherwise. Let's see if I get a dry walk home this afternoon or I have to take the icky bus.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Boring Monday
I've been dragging my heels on posting today because I don't have anything super exciting to report. I didn't run today, although I did do my weight workout at 6:15am because for some reason I was awake and restless.
The progressive dinner last night was pretty fun. I enjoyed making brownies (another King Arthur recipe but I can't find the exact one online), and the kiddos seemed to have a good time.
Well, that's pretty much the news. Here's hoping I can figure out what's wrong with my program and why it won't run...
Edited to say: It did run with no problems. Weird.
The progressive dinner last night was pretty fun. I enjoyed making brownies (another King Arthur recipe but I can't find the exact one online), and the kiddos seemed to have a good time.
Well, that's pretty much the news. Here's hoping I can figure out what's wrong with my program and why it won't run...
Edited to say: It did run with no problems. Weird.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Literacy Run 5k
I had a great 5k race this morning! I finished in 24:11, which is almost a minute faster than two weeks ago. Granted it was because this course was much flatter, but it was still exciting. I placed third in my age group, too! Not much to report other than
1. I biked to and from the race start, and I think that worked well as a pre-warm up and cool down. Plus I didn't have to deal with parking/leaving.
2. I didn't puke!!! I felt like I wanted to after I stopped, but I didn't throw up. I think the trick for me is that there is this line when I'm racing, and If I push past that line, it's all over for my stomach. So every time I felt like I was crossing the line, I backed off just a tiny bit.
3. My splits were quite even: 7:48, 7:51, 7:52 and who knows for the .1 because I never remember to hit "stop".
4. I think I really like the 5k distance. I like the speed training, and I like running hard but not that long. I'm actually considering adding in another 5k at the beginning of Nov and changing to doing the Berbee Derby 5k (rather than the 10k on Thanksgiving). It would be totally sweet to break 24 min by the end of the year. Also, I loooovvvee the totally, completely exhausted feeling I have after a good, hard run. I seriously want to crash right now.
But- I'm not crashing because I have a pan of brownies to make for our youth group progressive dinner tonight, and I have about 6 loads of laundry crammed into two running downstairs.
In other news, I had a great time at Jessica's baby shower yesterday. Her family is very nice, and her sister and sister-in-law really know how to throw a party (ie make great food and cake).
Happy Sunday, everyone!
1. I biked to and from the race start, and I think that worked well as a pre-warm up and cool down. Plus I didn't have to deal with parking/leaving.
2. I didn't puke!!! I felt like I wanted to after I stopped, but I didn't throw up. I think the trick for me is that there is this line when I'm racing, and If I push past that line, it's all over for my stomach. So every time I felt like I was crossing the line, I backed off just a tiny bit.
3. My splits were quite even: 7:48, 7:51, 7:52 and who knows for the .1 because I never remember to hit "stop".
4. I think I really like the 5k distance. I like the speed training, and I like running hard but not that long. I'm actually considering adding in another 5k at the beginning of Nov and changing to doing the Berbee Derby 5k (rather than the 10k on Thanksgiving). It would be totally sweet to break 24 min by the end of the year. Also, I loooovvvee the totally, completely exhausted feeling I have after a good, hard run. I seriously want to crash right now.
But- I'm not crashing because I have a pan of brownies to make for our youth group progressive dinner tonight, and I have about 6 loads of laundry crammed into two running downstairs.
In other news, I had a great time at Jessica's baby shower yesterday. Her family is very nice, and her sister and sister-in-law really know how to throw a party (ie make great food and cake).
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Friday, October 2, 2009
The Happiest Day of My LIfe
I'm marking Oct. 1, 2009 in my calendar as the current happiest day of my life. It has surpassed my wedding (sorry, D.) but may be re-evaluated at the birth of my children (I doubt it). What made Oct. 1, 2009 such a momentous day?
They fixed our heat.
Evidently the valve that sends hot water into our radiator was stuck open so it was putting out full heat regardless of where the thermostat was set. The maintenance guy replaced the valve, and when I got home yesterday the thermostat was set at 60, and it was in fact 60 in the apartment. I was thrilled. I turned it up to 68. The radiator came on. And it shut off when it was 68. This may seem like a silly thing to get so excited about, but it means that we will not have to live (and more importantly, sleep) in a rotisserie oven for the next 8 months. There are no words (other than the 80 or so in the preceding paragraph) to express my joy.
This morning, after a comfortable, restful night of sleep, I got up in a pleasantly warm, 68-degree apartment (heat is included in our rent so we can keep it nice and warm [but not too hot] yay!) I got ready and walked to the gym to do 45 min of elliptical and weights.
We had a fun night last night playing mini golf with some friends at Vitense, which, in its wisdom has both an indoor and outdoor course. Then we had sundaes at Michael's Frozen Custard. A second reason yesterday was the happiest day of my life was learning that the different Michael's have different sundaes. This one had a Hot Lava Sundae with hot fudge and cherries (great with pumpkin custard, we learned) and the Death By Chocolate Sundae, which I had (and obviously did not die). Tomorrow I'm going to Jessica's baby shower. I guess I better wrap her gift!
They fixed our heat.
Evidently the valve that sends hot water into our radiator was stuck open so it was putting out full heat regardless of where the thermostat was set. The maintenance guy replaced the valve, and when I got home yesterday the thermostat was set at 60, and it was in fact 60 in the apartment. I was thrilled. I turned it up to 68. The radiator came on. And it shut off when it was 68. This may seem like a silly thing to get so excited about, but it means that we will not have to live (and more importantly, sleep) in a rotisserie oven for the next 8 months. There are no words (other than the 80 or so in the preceding paragraph) to express my joy.
This morning, after a comfortable, restful night of sleep, I got up in a pleasantly warm, 68-degree apartment (heat is included in our rent so we can keep it nice and warm [but not too hot] yay!) I got ready and walked to the gym to do 45 min of elliptical and weights.
We had a fun night last night playing mini golf with some friends at Vitense, which, in its wisdom has both an indoor and outdoor course. Then we had sundaes at Michael's Frozen Custard. A second reason yesterday was the happiest day of my life was learning that the different Michael's have different sundaes. This one had a Hot Lava Sundae with hot fudge and cherries (great with pumpkin custard, we learned) and the Death By Chocolate Sundae, which I had (and obviously did not die). Tomorrow I'm going to Jessica's baby shower. I guess I better wrap her gift!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
TIART
Here's today's Take It And Run Thursday topic:
If you had the knowledge, time and/or means by which to Organize a race - what would your "Race Info" include?
Would you choose an organization to donate to? What distance would you choose? Other questions to ponder - Location? Time? Race Expo attendees (guest speakers?)? Shirt design? Get as creative as you want....!
So I'm going to be honest. I thought about it all morning, and I don't have a dream race. However, I did think of a race that's so crazy someone should do it sometime. And if you see this on Food Network, remember, you heard it here first.
Right now I'm calling it the Bake 'N Run. That's lame, and it will need another title eventually, but at least it's descriptive. BUT, the beauty of the Bake 'N Run is that it combines three things that many runners love: cooking, running(duh), and eating.
So here's what would happen in the Bake 'N Run:
(Edited to say I'm going to call the runner "he" because I got annoyed at typing s/he over and over again, but this obviously applies to the ladies in the race, too).
Each runner would have to prepare some kind of baked good using his own recipe. The runner would put the baked good in the oven and then start running. Now this is the tricky running part: The runner would have to pick a distance to run based on how far he thinks he can go in the time it takes to bake whatever is in the oven. Pick too far, and the runner ends up with a burned baked good. Not far enough and it's still raw. So this race wouldn't test a runner's speed but rather his ability to pace himself and determine what an appropriate pace per mile is. As soon as the runner has completed the course he must take his baked good out of the oven, plate it, and serve it to judges as well as eat a piece himself.
Whoever has the tastiest baked good wins.
If you have a good idea for the name, leave it in the comments. I should make that into a contest. Maybe if someone comes up with an awesome name I will mail him/her some squash.
This morning I ran 5mi with some pick-ups. It was chiiiiilllly. My first mitten and ear warmer run of the fall. I'm thinking I might look for some running capris this weekend. They seem like they'd be nice in this weird in between "not cold enough for pants, not reeeealllly warm enough for shorts" weather.
If you had the knowledge, time and/or means by which to Organize a race - what would your "Race Info" include?
Would you choose an organization to donate to? What distance would you choose? Other questions to ponder - Location? Time? Race Expo attendees (guest speakers?)? Shirt design? Get as creative as you want....!
So I'm going to be honest. I thought about it all morning, and I don't have a dream race. However, I did think of a race that's so crazy someone should do it sometime. And if you see this on Food Network, remember, you heard it here first.
Right now I'm calling it the Bake 'N Run. That's lame, and it will need another title eventually, but at least it's descriptive. BUT, the beauty of the Bake 'N Run is that it combines three things that many runners love: cooking, running(duh), and eating.
So here's what would happen in the Bake 'N Run:
(Edited to say I'm going to call the runner "he" because I got annoyed at typing s/he over and over again, but this obviously applies to the ladies in the race, too).
Each runner would have to prepare some kind of baked good using his own recipe. The runner would put the baked good in the oven and then start running. Now this is the tricky running part: The runner would have to pick a distance to run based on how far he thinks he can go in the time it takes to bake whatever is in the oven. Pick too far, and the runner ends up with a burned baked good. Not far enough and it's still raw. So this race wouldn't test a runner's speed but rather his ability to pace himself and determine what an appropriate pace per mile is. As soon as the runner has completed the course he must take his baked good out of the oven, plate it, and serve it to judges as well as eat a piece himself.
Whoever has the tastiest baked good wins.
If you have a good idea for the name, leave it in the comments. I should make that into a contest. Maybe if someone comes up with an awesome name I will mail him/her some squash.
This morning I ran 5mi with some pick-ups. It was chiiiiilllly. My first mitten and ear warmer run of the fall. I'm thinking I might look for some running capris this weekend. They seem like they'd be nice in this weird in between "not cold enough for pants, not reeeealllly warm enough for shorts" weather.
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