Anxious! Anxious! Anxious!

Seriously. My stitches say "no" but my legs say "twitch.....twitch."

No working out for at least 2 weeks?!

The doctor says 6. The doctor also said I couldn't take a bath for 6 weeks.

The doctor is a weenie-pants.

But......I need to exert SELF-CONTROL.

Which is hard. Especially when everyone around me seems to be on a really successful workout kick.

You know, getting in good workouts and losing weight.

And then there is schlumpy me. Sigh.

Getting on that scale is going to be hard: no excuse anymore about how heavy I am!

I worry that I won't have the motivation to work out anymore, once I have the opportunity.
Will I have lost the interest? The motivation? The habit?

But, I can't start too early either. I need to remember what Hills Are My Friends said about getting back to running too early: she said it set her back.
That she started back a bit too early is a testament to how hard it can be not to work out. She is super motivated but also waaaaaaaay more self-controlled than I am about NOT exercising when she might injure herself or worsen an already-existing injury.
What I am really scared of is that it won't be a struggle not to go running anymore.
That it will be easy and natural to do nothing.
That is scarier even than imagining no workouts looming in front of me for the near future.

I Am No Longer an HOV

I Just Look Like One.
(NB: this is NOT about running. If you just want to read about work-outs, stop reading.)

And feel like heck.

I agree with Hills Are My Friends: marathon versus childbirth? Childbirth is harder, hands down.

I'm sure it depends on how weenie you feel or how hard it is: some people I know swear the opposite is true.

But, take it from someone who has kept running in a race while puking and who has collapsed after a run from pushing too hard: it does not compare.

Now, the recovery. I still won't be working out or running for a while. We will see if I decide to post on other thoughts/crosswords/occupations.

I might also post some about the more hilarious parts of this whole experience that no one really tells you about. I say, teach these tidbits in sex ed and there might be a large surge in "abstinance" teens.
Heh.

Whew.

Well, he might look like a generic old man. But, he is my generic old man. Heh.

I Can't Wait

to be able to pull up my knee-high socks without grunting

to sleep on my stomach

to run without people getting mad at me

to run and actually pass someone

to not have to wear plus-sized clothing

for my thighs to no longer touch, again

to be able to eat fruits and vegetables with no consequences

to sit by myself and not have people staring at me

to go on a diet (now THAT'S a statement that has never come out of my mouth before!)

to put on pants without a major balancing act

for my feet not to swell

for people to stop asking me, with a patronizing smile, "how are you doing?"

to have my brain back, such as it is

to run again

It's amazing!

I finally caught up with the NYT crosswords. Of course, I DID skip some. But I am now in February and almost finished with Saturday's!

Hurray!

Now for doing the same with the rest of my life!

It Better Be Soon

I can't run.

Most of the time, I can't really sit up without needing to barf. So the pool and the exercise bike are the only elements of exercise I can really do. When I actually try to do them.

It's true. I've metamophasized into a 1st-class WHINER.


Whine.


Whine.


Whine.

I've been whining so much, I could barely fit in 50 minutes of swimming on Tuesday.

Will I lose all of my fitness? Probably.

Will that be the worst thing in the world?

I have to remember that the answer to this is "no."

Will I be able to eat vegetables again?

Yes. Eventually.

Right now, I'm eating basically an all-white diet. Sugar, ice cream products and white bread. Most other things don't go so well.

Sigh. The diabetes. It looms.

So who knows when I will post again. Maybe when I get less nauseous and more motivated.

And after I finally get my homework done!

I Even Let Her Touch My Feet

And my Toes.

I'm that desperate. And I have no idea what these magical "pressure points" are for encouraging things.

After all, nothing else is helping.

But, seriously, why would ANYONE want her feet touched?

A mystery to me.

Creativity

No running. Sigh. My doctor family would kill me.

Apparently, I am alone in thinking that traveling and running are both great ideas.

Stuck, then, with being semi-creative.

Friday, I walked to Trader Joe's. I'd never been to one with a wine and beer section! Sorry, Story Finder, but I was tempted by the bottles of wine for $3.99.

Saturday and Sunday, I biked. And stacked two woodpiles worth of wood. And cleaned 7 bathrooms. And seeded part of my parents' lawn. And squatted over paint buckets while filling them with sawdust and mulch, the better to dry the old paint out.

Nothing. Humph. Folk remedies are a lot of hooey.

Maybe if I had been able to persuade my father to let me split the wood, too.

Laying around in bed reading didn't work, either. And didn't do much for my studying.

So today was an aqua-jogging day.

Still nothing.

I am trying a massage, later. If that doesn't work, I'm just giving up. Maybe laziness and massive weight gain will help.

You never know.

I'm Glad I Worked Out Alone

My bladder isn't what it used to be.

I had to waddle to the bathroom mid-jumping jacks circuit.

Other observations on doing a work-out tape in this condition:

Doing the modified push-ups, as I've been neglecting my arms and had to downgrade to the wussy version, my stomach hits the ground before my arms bend into the full push-up postion. Awkward.

Burpees? Yeah. Maybe in quadruple-slow-time. And my knees crackle.

Switching back and forth from the floor to running in place: I don't have to do nearly as many of any of it. That's what happens when you have to pull yourself up via the tv stand.

Jumping in general - pretty hilarious.

On the plus side, this silly bootcamp work-out tape - you know, the one that I could do while barely breaking a sweat, before? - currently kicks my rear.

Again, I'm glad I worked out alone.

A Different Person

I was struggling to put on my running shoes. To put them on and, then, (groan) to tie them.

Gripping that black refridgerator handle and leaning like a circus elephant balancing on the top of a 4-square ball, my eyes fell on one of the few running certificates I've saved.

I don't save many. I like the medals: who wouldn't like shiny, jingly, sparkly things? But those pieces of paper usually get recycled.

The rules: my last marathon and my last half marathon get to stay. Boston is up there to remind me why I really shouldn't want to do Boston again - every time I look at it, that imagined 35-mph crosswind makes me shiver.

Oh, and I re-posted the Philadelphia postcard I got from my first marathon. Average pace: 10:16.7

I didn't even post Birmingham. That was the last half that I did. Last year. Last year, this weekend.

But I did keep the NYC half marathon certificate. Though the Speedy Blonde totally smoked me that day, I broke 1:30 (by a mere 15 seconds) for the first time ever.

That was almost 2 years ago.

Looking at that piece of paper, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to run an average 6:51 mile.

It wasn't me who did that. It was a whole different person.

I shook my head, finished off my shoes and went to meet History for a jog up to Columbia Heights.

While running through the Zoo and the Rock Creek Park Trail, a fellow runner turned to us and said, "Wow. We're really booking it. We were running a 9:15 for the past 2 miles and now we are still doing a 9:50!"

A different city. A different mind-frame. Maybe different goals? A whole different person.

About 7 miles. It's better not to know the pace I was keeping!

New Running Shoes?

I have worn a version of these shoes for about 5 years now.


They have come through various iterations but they haven't changed significantly. At least, until now.

And I've changed, too.

1. I have no real evidence for this but I think the shoe has gotten heavier. I don't want a heavier shoe. I liked that my Mizunos were fairly unconstructed/didn't have a lot of crap built into them and that, as a result, they weren't too much heavier than my racing flats.

2. I've been getting some blisters in my latest pair. After getting basically no blisters in my earlier versions, while putting in a lot more miles, I dont' know whether this is the shoes or me but I don't love it.

3. I'm heavier. This might change but what to do while it is true? I might need more support.

So, I'm thinking about getting another shoe. The problem is, some issues point towards getting a more structured shoe, while others point to more unstructured. I'll have to think about this.....

A Different Sort of Challenge

My arms got a workout yesterday. Even though I did a mere 10 minutes of free weights.

It's hard to hold a 3-inch harcover book with 10-point font close enough to read - at least, if you have my myopic eyes.

My forearms will be like Popeye's if I keep this up!

But I hope that I won't have to.

Multi-tasking by biking on a stationary while reading for class isn't ideal.

My handwriting is bad enough, already!

What did I write again on p. 453? I'm sure it was important......
1 hour of biking. Eh.

A Bad Environmentalist

I try. But I turn up my heat too high.

And I don't always eat local.

And I can't help but enjoy smog sometimes.

Especially when it causes magnificent pink and purple and bruise-blue sunrises over the Capitol Building.

Wow.

I almost tripped. But I caught myself.

Jogging through the Mall - does that make me a bad environmentallist? All that carbon dioxide being needlessly emitted into the atmosphere?

I'll just chalk it up to being a bad environmentalist.

About 6 miles around the Mall. Magnificent smoggy sunrises make up for the lack of houses whose interiors I can examine.

Work Week

This is where I'd like to be this week:

Or here:

Or, maybe here:

Where I have been:

Don't worry: after a few more episodes of "Hoarders", I won't have any books left to hide under.

But I'll still have the work!

Will I get out from under this week?

At least I got about a 6-mile run and a conversation about Evil in on Monday morning.

Yes, I intentionally capitalized "Evil." History and I weren't just talking about regular old lower-case evil. It was the big stuff.

And I worked on my scissor kick and my triceps in the pool yesterday. For about 45 minutes.

Someday, I'll have the time to think that a 45-minute workout is really short.

Someday, I'll have written a better brief outline than the awfulness I just turned in.

Someday, I'll magically be..............

Don't have time to think about finishing that sentence now. I've got a run to go on and more reading to do! Ack!

Hains Point

No one was playing golf.

But there were tugboats out. And the water: like beautiful blue buttercream icing.

This is not my photo. But, you get the idea.

History was incredibly nice and slowed down to run with me this morning.

I got to hear about her book prospectus. Books in other disciplines just seem so much more glamorous.

Oh, and we got to run down and around Hains Point. I love that run. If you come to visit me, remind me that we should do this one.

Unless you are Ivy League. If you are him, we'll go on a more urban one.

Anyway, about 8 or 8 1/2 miles. I got a bit crampy at the end. Then again, that might not have been correllated to the run at all.

Sun makes 37 degrees so much more tolerable.

Marking Time

It's best not to look at the clock when swimming laps. At least, not often.

Focusing on the minute hand, the number of marks left between you and the swim's culmination gain in signifiance.

Even more true when aqua jogging. Add aqua weights and an unexpected abs workout and stir.

As if you were in the stir.

The international community condemns life without parole as a form of punishment. The psychological trauma is deemed too scarring.

Because there is nothing to do but count off the marks of your time there - in that case, your life.

Better, then, to forget the clock. Or the calendar.

Better to forget that you are marking off the moments of your life. Or the moments between moments in your life.

I've been trying not to look at the clock. And the calendar.

Because, while you are marking off the moments, your life is sliding by. And you have only one.

Luckily, I don't wear my glasses in the pool.

Restraint

I Cannot Believe That I Exercised Some!

Now, laziness, that I can do. But laziness is not to be confused with restraint.

Laziness is seeing the rain out the window and deciding that bed or NPR is a much better option.

Restraint is getting up, getting motivated, going out in the rain to meet your running group.

Then, when no one else shows up, that's when the hard part of restraint comes in.

Instead of running alone by yourself, or running home and biking for another 45 minutes or so - instead of entertaining plans B and C that are dancing and swirling in your head - you run home.

And that's it.

When I'm all pumped up and readied to go work out, it can be almost impossible to halt that train. But my slightly sore groin/hip flexor will likely thank me.

And, instead, I can focus on doing more work.

Focus needs to be connected to Restraint, like oxen in a yoke.

Let's hope Focus didn't bolt earlier.

2 whole miles. Ack. Really?

Focus

Arms. Arms. Arms. Arms, lap numbers, and Biz Markee. All were looping through my head.

You've got to be impressed with Biz's chutzpah. The man cannot sing and, yet, he sings a song. Pre-AutoTune.

Perfect for me. I sound almost as good as he does, in my head.

My arms - espcially my poor, neglected tricepts - were quite tired after I concentrated on my arms for most of my swim/jog on Tuesday.

I'll have to try this again! I've been neglecting things recently.

Especially those poor tricepts.

So Nice

to be around a group of people who don't have any real interest in my grades, or whether I made the mock trial cuts.

Yes, I got to run with the Stanton Park group again this morning.

Slowly around the mall - though I cut off part and walked a bit with someone who wasn't feeling well.

And, I got to re-hash the Ravens's loss in detail: all before the sun came up.

Well, at least I got about 5 1/2 miles in.

Aqua Jogging

Hehehehehe. My influence is extending. Somehow, I found myself with a aqua jog companion FOR THE WHOLE TIME!

Peace Corps said that she just didn't really want to work out on Sunday.

But I think it's because I've been selling this whole aqua jogging thing like it's candy: candy that you eat to slim down.

Non-diet diet candy. Watch! Eat this 3 times a day and see the pounds melt from your body! No need to count calories or try out those awful exercise machines!

Heh.

It went MUCH faster with a partner the whole time. About 45-50 minutes of it. Distance: about 6 feet, over and over again.

Killer for Kites

Though a bit chilly for shorts......

Wind whipping around me, I went out to do my penance miles.

Speedy Blonde - those were for you. About 5 miles.

5 SLOOOOOOW miles!

I double-checked, just to make sure. I could have sworn that it was 6!

On the Mall......

Saddling Up

I should be used to it by now.

But it still smarts, every time.

That other people, people who might not have tried as hard or thought about it as much, are better than me.

It comes time, though, to just SUCK IT UP.

And go biking. Which I did.

There may even be time for a jog today.

A jog: where other people, who are running, pass me.

Learning.

I keep expecting those slot machines to drop to 7-7-7, though. Even against all this learning.

Embracing mediocrity. It's not that bad, right? Lots of people seem to love it.

Why else would P.F. Chang's be a successful chain?

The Doldrums

It's true, sometimes, that a body is just too busy for exercise.

But only sometimes.

Rarely, even.

Because, at least for me, I seem to be more productive when I get that run in - especially in the winter.

Maybe because activity banishes those winter tv-watching, feeling-sorry-for-yourself-for-no-good-reason, being lazy doldrums?

Certainly, last night was spectacularly unproductive for me. Unless you deem watching Downton Abbey and reading a novel productive.

Which, in these circumstances of too-much-to-do-for-my-future-to-watch-stupid-Masterpiece-Theatre, I do not.
Wish I were here:

Or here:

Plus, forced inactivity gives me too much time to think about depressing crud like this. Humph.

I am anti.

I Don't Usually Bet

Unless It's a Sure Thing.

Just ask Suave how much money he owes me.

But I couldn't resist a runner's bet To Badwater suggested that the Speedy Blonde and I try out. Plus, how could the Ravens possibly lose against the Patriots?!

After all, Tom Brady comes pretty darn close to having jerk hair.

Exhibit A: Spoelestra (growing into his jerk hair: this is an early photo of his head-coach-dom)

And then Brady (he's the one on the left):

THE BET: whichever person's team loses, that person has to run the points differential in mileage. She gets a week to do so, and the limit on miles is 20. I would be allowed to break up the 20 and, also, to do some as aqua-jogging "miles".

I didn't get as much homework done during this part of the train ride back to DC as I probably should have.

I was too busy following ESPN GAMECAST and cursing.

A missed FG sealed my fate.

I've got to run 3 for the Ravens this week.

Like a good sport, I would normally do my miles after my invectives dried up: about 6:30am this morning.

But, due to major cramping, I'm sidelined this morning. But, Speedy Blonde, I will do the miles.

Stupid Patriots.

Good to Know

Apparently, I haven't been swimming properly. Else my lats wouldn't be sore today.

Or my inner thighs.

Also, apparently, I am really enthusiastic about my workouts when I've missed a day.

Saturday, you see, was a wash because of snow. Stupid health concerns and people afraid I was going to trip, slip and fall on the ice hidden underneath.

I mean, really: what would give you the idea that I'm klutzy?! Hah

Finally, doing lots of jumps and high knees without shoes makes one's feet tired.

I found a way to make the Boot Camp video actually feel like something, though!

Just make sure to get out-of-shape and do no real arm work, then try to do it as hard as possible.

What's Your Mileage?

I just realized, looking at some other peoples' blogs, that I have never added up the miles I've run during a year.

Even when I keep track of the miles/week, which has been too depressing to do lately, I've never bothered to see what they might add up to.

What are your mileage marks for the past year?

A Full Day

But it was great to get up and run, anyway.

This time, we went around the new Nationals Stadium.

Neat how the neighborhood is changing and filling out.

I'd type more but, after 3 classes, I'm really tired.

And I've still got hours of homework.

My cat looks soooo comfortable....Maybe I should join her for a moment......



about 6 1/2 miles today

A Fun Walk?

I do not have fun walking.

I endure walking. As a way to get somewhere. I try to go as fast as I can.

Or, I put my music up really high and totally zone out.

The gym was closed: MLK doesn't appreciate exercise, it seems.

So Peace Corps and I went walking.

I picked a destination: that way, we could be walking TO something.

It is essential on a Monday afternoon to go have coffee in Georgetown, passing about 25 coffee shops along the way, apparently!

"The Cutest Cafe in Georgetown"

No, not the one pictured. That is where we were going. But the line was too long.

The cafe we went to was NOT the Cutest Cafe in Georgetown, despite the sign.

But it was a good advertising gimmick! Got us to go in. I won't go back, though.

In the bathroom upstairs, there were what looked like some dead cockroaches in the bathtub. I didn't look too closely.

Luckily, I have an iron stomach. My crepe stayed down just fine.

After going by the funny card store - handmade cards are awesome: I wish I were able to draw better - we walked back.

It was cold. But still fun. Almost 6 miles, too!

Engagement Stories

I hate cold weather. Really.

Seriously.

Who needs seasons if you've got sunshine and balmy breezes?

Hawaii would be fantastic.

But, I struggled over to meet people at Stanton Park this morning, regardless. Even though it was 25 degrees and a bit windy.

Because people had promised they'd tell different engagement stories - whether theirs, or someone else's - on the run today.

And I'm a sucker for a good engagement story.

I don't want to be engaged, myself. But I love how people get all teary and excited while recounting it.

I heard several awesome ones today. I told Party Girl's engagement story, though the telling lost something as I had to explain what a Liar's Puzzle was.

History knew.

We plodded up the MBT again today, though not all the way to the end.

Then, to be reasonable, I separated from them at the end and ran back home.

Some cramping but not too bad.

And I heard some great stories.

About 6 (very chilly) miles

Reading, Reading, and more Reading

Luckily, I love to read. Because that is what today was all about.

Reading while biking for an hour in the morning.

Weight-lifting - that did NOT involve reading. Just some cursing.

Then, homework reading before going to Baltimore. Reading on the train to Baltimore.

Reading for homework while in Baltimore. And on the train back.

Then, some reading for pleasure. I hadn't finished the homework but had run out of stamina.

Lots of reading.

Playing Catch-Up

You'd think, given that I didn't have to be anywhere until 1:30pm, that Friday would have been a whirl of productivity.

I barely managed to get to the AT&T store before going to campus.

I still can't get a new phone, so I'll be living on the edge with the possibility of glass shards coming off of my shattered screen.

I think they've stopped falling out. Safe enough.

So yesterday and today are catch-up days. Which would work better if I weren't also going to my parents' today.

Between cleaning and trying to work, I did fit in a run yesterday. The MBT trail was a welcome distraction. They've put up new artwork near Rhode Island Avenue since the forever since I have been up there.
I would have stopped to take a picture but that would have just been an excuse to stop moving.
(Interestingly, I can't seem to find any photos online, either.)
A bit under 5 1/2 miles. The hill at Union Station was interesting. First time in a while I actually got a bit out of breath.
Now, I need to get on the bike before going to my parents' house.

Where to fit all this homework in, is the problem.

That, and how to organize all my books that my colleague helpfully brought over last night......

I hate piles. And I've got a lot of them right now.

Early Morning at the Pool

If only my camera were waterproof!

The newly fixed lights in the pool made my legs look really pasty and cool while churning underwater.

History rocked her sprint laps while I just trundled away - mostly on slow laps but some on high-rpm aqua jogging.

About 50 minutes.

The sun didn't peek out over the top of the windows until the very end of the workout.

Thinking about how to get caught up on my crosswords.

I'm finally into December.

My brain isn't working so well right now, though, so they are harder for me to finish.

Group Run!!!!!!

That gets extra exclamation points. It's been a LONG TIME since I've been on a group run.

I pulled that butt muscle that took FOREVER to heal.

Then, I was nervous about going outside to run - thanks, doctors! - so I tried to just aqua jog and treadmill.

I liked aqua jogging better than the treadmill. That says something.

Then, I was out of town and trying to run by myself.

Wow, was it nice to work out with people who are not involved in anything else I do during the day.

Running to the meet-up, I felt good. Great, actually, in comparison to Sunday, when I met up with History. Not having run two days in a row made a big difference, I think.

During the run down to RFK Stadium and back up to Stanton Park also felt great. I didn't get many cramps, except a light side cramp and then a couple of mild abdominal cramps during the last part of the run.

The doctor says to stop after those start happening. So I ran home. I can't tack on extra any more: it's hard for me to get past 6 miles these days.

Every time I read about someone who is doing 10, 15, 20+ miles and who is in a similar situation, I just am amazed.

Maybe if I hadn't had that muscle pull......

I'm torn, though, about the group run. On the one hand, we were going really slowly. On the other hand, we were going really slowly.

I could have gone faster, and wanted to, in parts.

Then again, no real cramping problems and certainly I wasn't out of breath. Really at all. Which is good and bad.

I need to think about this: group run slowly, where I can chat? Or some other type of exercise, like the pool?

I also almost tripped twice in the dark at the beginning of the run.

If I keep doing these, I'll have to work on that. A bit scarier than I'd have liked.

A bit over 6 miles today.

A Come-Uppance

"Swimming will be just like I never left!" I enthused to myself, having already pushed the start time back 1/2 an hour.
Sometimes, early in the morning, I can trick myself with fake excitement.
Well, not only was the excitement fake but that statement was a lie. A big lie.

After 2 laps, I felt so out of breath that I had to stop for a moment so I wouldn't inhale water and possibly drown.

The lifeguard on the other side of the pool was busily reading the paper. Help would come from that venue only if I somehow managed to drown noisily.

So I paused. And started again. But it was as if all of the fall hadn't happened. I was even slower, if that is possible!

Wow. And I certainly haven't been doing my arm exercises like I should. Swimming told me that pretty quickly.

Humbling. But helpful.

After struggling through about 20 back-and-forth laps, I switched to aqua jogging.

I actually kept my leg rotations pretty high for that, perhaps to make up for my dismal swimming.

Peace Corps and I managed to stay in the pool for about an hour.

Now to figure out how to get those goggles to stop hurting my eye sockets!

2 Days in a Row

History and I went running this morning.

I knew it would be rough when I ran out to meet her. Going up the slight incline on Massachusetts near Union Station, my right leg - especially my right quad - felt really sore and almost strained.

And this just because I had run the day before and hadn't had a full rest day since Tuesday.

My, how the proud have fallen.......

5 miles the day before will do this?!

But History was really nice and stayed with me, running super super slowly, around Eastern Market and to the Nay Yards before coming back to Stanton Park.

She even gave me a ride home for that whole whopping 1 mile back.

With the run there, I did about 5 3/4 today.

Helpful to get that positive in before all-day classes.

I am now so freaked out about the future and how I will manage life and school that I keep hyperventilating.

Maybe some (more) eating therapy is in order.

And I think I should lay off exercise tomorrow. My quad started feeling tired enough at the end that I accepted that ride. I'm not usually weenie enough to do that and I should remember to pay attention to signals like those.

Meanwhile, To Badwater just ran 2 consecutive marathons this weekend. Wow. A big difference in fitness levels!

I Just Couldn't Resist

I couldn't get company.

And I have a ton of work that I haven't yet started.

But I just couldn't resist the shorts and t-shirt.

I had to do it.

Around the Mall.

A bit less than 5 miles.

SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT!!!!!!!! In January!

Now to find another route. The Mall is kinda boring after a while. Not enough houses to cast one's eyes into.

Video Games

They now make stationary bikes with built-in video games.

Seriously.

And steering. I was nervous about the steering. I usually find myself backwards and in a wall in those driving games.

But this steering was easier.

I might need to slay something next time I try them.

But it made stationary biking not so bad for 45 minutes.

Stupid pool being closed!

Now, to find a way to make my rear less numb on the seat.

Maybe if I stand up more......

The High Line, Revisited

You've never been on the Highline?!

Really?!

Suave and I had walked the High Line, including the new extension, the day before.

Since I had gotten the Vivacious Redhead to come all the way out to Manhattan to run withme, I was feeling the pressure to deliver a "wow" run.

And I knew it wouldn't be because of the pace! I kept huffing away behind her.

But after running over to the West Side and running up to 50th, I knew what I could add to get that extra zing: the High Line.

The bird feeder near 20th is pretty out-of-this-world.

And the sun and the building cut-troughs managed to make the Vivacious Redhead smile-if only for a few beats. Success!

Of all of Manhattan, though, we are collectively least familiar with Soho, where I was staying.

From the Museum of New York, from yesterday, I can tell you that it is hard to navigate, in part, because it is pre-grid-of-1810. That, and we never used to run through it because there are too many tourists to dodge.

So we added on a little extra before finding our way back to Thompson Street. About 7 miles.

It can be so much easier to run when you have company-especially such good company.

Miss you!

My Phone Says 43!

Dude, your phone lies. Unless water stays frozen in the sun at 43 degrees F.

And the wind. I had forgotten about the New York wind.

That is something I don't miss.

But walking around the city, seeing friends, going to zany museums and eating delicious Szechuan food-those are all things I do miss about New York.

Staying in Manhattan, you can walk 8-9 miles. And not even go past the bottom of the park!

Suave was a good sport. Plus, he was excited bout his new coat. So he can along. Because what else would you do in NYC when it doesn't hit 30 F? In the sun?

Walk all day, of course. Then, see the Speedy Blonde and Gorgeous, among others.

Whee!

Walking can be harder than running on the hips and knees, I've found.

But it makes that Ma Po Tofu from Grand Sichuan all the better.



Mmmmmmmmm

Against My Usual Habits

I will post some New Years resolutions.

Like presents on major holidays, new year's resolutions are not something I take as seriously as that random gift on a Tuesday, or that resolve that comes up after lunch one day and somehow sticks around.

But, the timing was right for me. I need some motivation and some goals.

I don't usually do this publicly, though. But I thought I might get some good advice as to how best to achieve some of these goals were I to do so.

And, of course, I always like to have some staggered goals.

Goal #1: show up!

2. Lose about 40 pounds by August.

3. Be in shape to run a marathon by late summer.

4. Be in the top half of my class.

5. Be in the top 20% of my class.

6. Break 3:20 again in a marathon - this might have to wait until next year.

7. Stop eating candy and sweets after the beginning of March.

8. Get everyone in my family to eat more healthily.

9. Be a more thoughtful person.

10. Tell my friends how important they are to me.



Ok. Gonna stop now. Starting to sound like one of those dreaded Hallmark cards.

Oh-do more art stuff.

I'm sure I'll think of more but I will keep those to myself.

The Biggest Loser and NYC

I might get arrested. Otherwise, I'd drop and do 20 right here.

Watching the Biggest Loser always gets me so pumped!

The Biggest is what I am right now. But, hopefully, I will add the Loser part to my own moniker in a few months.

Meanwhile, I will just struggle to keep some element of fitness.

And not make as many excuses as I have been making.

After 20 minutes of whining and procrastinating yesterday, I went running. 5 miles is a fair amount for me now.


I can't wait until I can say that 5 miles is my short run!

Oh, and I really wish that Antone had won the Biggest Loaer. He was such a gracious contestant.

Harpy New Yep!

Everything was vibrating. Everything.

"My nose is vibrating!" Megan screamed into my ear.

I had no idea what she said until later, when she reiterated the point.

But dancing in heels is awesome!

My thighs hurt from the unaccustomed effort this morning.

And I was tired. But it was New Year's Day. Not a good day to miss a workout.

Out came the exercise video. Lame but at least it was something!

Now for a walk........