Have you ever heard that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with?
I slept late yesterday and inadvertently missed the run with my neighborhood running group. No biggie – instead I hopped on my bike and went out for a solo ride when I got up. (See my little bike shadow up there?) These totally perfect, it’s-almost-summer mornings have been impossible to resist lately.
I can’t decide if it’s more unfortunate or more amusing that I have the privilege of riding my bike on the Erie Canal path.
I have decided that this post is a sign my sense of humor closely resembles that of a 12 year old boy.
Once upon a time I was that girl who tried and tried to lose weight and never saw any real, lasting results. While I never had a huge amount of weight to lose, I did know I wanted to be slimmer than I was for what felt like the majority of my life.
The post-pregnancy weight was always a little scary but eventually came off after each pregnancy with the addition of some moderate exercise. Then in early 2008 when I found myself back at my post-pregnancy weight and I hadn’t just had a baby – I knew it was time to get serious.
November pretty much marks the end of bike riding season for me – as it should. That’s when it starts getting really cold and blowy and sucky around here. It’s also when I start giving thanks for turtlenecks, gloves and more importantly, new Y memberships that mean a winter full of heated pools and yoga classes.
So, one last bike ride yesterday for the year.
And a little thank you to my Armadillo puncture resistant tires.
Item #177 on my list of Things That Make My Heart Leap Into My Throat:
That would be the 24th mile marker of the Rochester Marathon that is now three weeks away. THREE! WEEKS! Seeing that freshly spray painted “24” on the marathon course during a bike ride today made me gasp and cover my mouth with my hand whilst laying my other arm across my forehead before pretending to faint.
Holy. Crap. They have marked the miles for the race. We are that close.
A month or so ago I stumbled upon a blog post about kids learning to ride a bike without pedals or training wheels. The basic idea is that without having to worry about pedaling, they can focus first on getting the hang of balancing on two wheels first. They can just sit on the bike seat with their feet on the ground, move their feet and walk. They’ll eventually start coasting along, balancing with the security and knowledge that they can easily catch themselves if they start to tip. Once they have the balance thing down, it’s much easier to then get the hanging pedaling – instead of doing it the other way around like you do with training wheels.
I was feeling totally cold and lazy early this morning and not feeling my exercise mojo at all. But then the sun came up and the sky was just a little too clear, the air a little too crisp. It’s probably the very last of the gorgeous weekends we’ve got in store for us until spring and I couldn’t just sit here and let it pass me by.
Except the fates had other plans for me.
Barely 2 miles in and I hear that all too familiar and none too welcome rubber-on-rubber sound effect. BLAAAAHHH.
Today’s day of calorie counting began with a freezing bike ride to the gym. Well, actually it was 33 degrees so I guess it wasn’t exactly freezing. I’m such an exaggerator sometimes.
30 minutes on the treadmill with some speed work intervals (4 two minute sets at 9.3) thrown in to keep things interesting – a total of about 4 miles. I noted today what the calorie total said and it was about 450.
Treadmill dues paid, followed by a Very Cold (but this time welcome!) ride home for my first calories of the day.
Sunday: Morning
In: Bed
Sun: Shining
Eyes: Open
Hair: Messy
Who: Cares
Not: Me
Time: To Run
But: Wait
Biking: Season
Almost: Over
Scratch: Run
Ride: Instead
Temp: Cold
Cobwebs: Ignore
Camera Self Timer: Set
Crazy Picture: Taken
Ready: Set, Go
Time: 57 Minutes
Distance: 13.0
Breakfast Menu: Apple Pie Oats
Apples: Peeled
Peeled Apples: Diced
Peeled, Diced Apples: Cooked
In Pan: 1/2 c Water
Simmer: Until Soft
This juice sure looks innocent, doesn’t it? Today was the first day I made juice for both Zak and myself with the Breville. Zak likes a lot of ginger and the new juicer handles ginger like a real champ. These two facts are a dangerous combination, as I was a little too eager and generous with the ginger this morning.
I’m fairly certain that this juice tunneled new pathways in my sinuses. I think I shook my head and bugged out my eyes after every sip. But I still drank it all! No worries. I think I’m fully protected from any sort of flu that might try to invade my immune system from now until 2011, Swine or otherwise.
More Mama’s Weeds
