Saturday, April 12, 2008

Bright Sunshiny Day

Fantastic weather here, after a lot of overcast days!

I had a good run this morning—nothing like heading out at dawn with the morning sun creating patterns of gold and shadow along the trails, birds singing in the trees, robins and squirrels going about their business, mulberries ripening and the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle in the air!

I followed Brays Bayou to Hermann Park and the zoo where I ran among the trees, then into Montrose and through some of my old neighborhoods to Buffalo Bayou where I enjoyed the company of other runners hitting the hills and trails. Then I ran through River Oaks (rich neighborhood) and into one of the business areas where I stopped at my bank to deposit a check. (Nothing like a run that adds a little money to your bank account, is there?) And from there I ran home, through another nice neighborhood where the trees meet overhead, past Rice University, back around the park and zoo, then home.

Near my house I noticed the bayou was running fairly clear and I could see a lot of fish in the water. They were bigger than I had thought bayou fish would be and explains why I’m always seeing cormorants and ospreys around.

Now that we have our vacation dates somewhat decided for the latter half of May, I’m scouting for fun things to do in New Mexico. The 10K I had thought I’d like to do in Santa Fe has been moved from late May to early June, so that’s out. And although I’m intrigued by “The World’s Toughest 10K,” the date is too soon for me to train to run up a 12% grade and I won’t be acclimated even a tiny bit to the altitude. So I think I had better pass on that one. I’ll keep looking and if nothing presents itself, it’s not like it will be the first time.

I made two loaves of banana bread yesterday, adding chopped dates to the recipe. Dan says this is the best version yet and has already gone through most of one of the loaves. I suspect the second one won’t last long, either.

Oh, and in case anyone is paying attention to these sorts of things, my favorite organic wheat flour went up 80 cents in the past week, from $3.69 to $4.49 for five pounds, and I noticed that conventional flour is up, too. It’s still cheaper than buying pre-made items (which I didn’t price, but probably went up, as well), but I’m regretting now that I didn’t buy more flour at the lower price. That’s’ what you get when you put fear of looking like a wild-eyed wacko survivalist ahead of the good old common sense that got humans out of the caves and into centrally-cooled homes. Oh well.

And finally, Ironman Arizona is Sunday! Good luck to all participants!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 6.5 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, abs
Thursday: too much work to do—missed workout
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

8 comments:

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I wondered where you'd been lately; your absence has been noted. (Nothing for the FFC???)

If the banana bread with dates is THAT good, send the recipe on!

the Bag Lady said...

....And there's something wrong with looking like a wild-eyed wacko survivalist? :)
Your banana bread with dates sounds good. The Bag Lady really should make some bread with the slowly blackening bananas on her counter, but doesn't have any dates. (Hasn't had a date in years...oh, wait, not that kinda date!)

Now that the Bag Lady has hi-speed, there are all these interesting things she can do that she couldn't before, like Google maps. She finds the street view maps entertaining and was looking at Houston yesterday. You mentioned running at Rice U, so she looked at the Loop(?) road; then some Drive (Memorial?) or other, but couldn't imagine you running there (too much traffic). It's kind of cool to have a look at these places, rather than them just being names. Of course, there are only street views for some of the places.

Where the Bag Lady lives, you can't even get close enough on the satellite view to distinguish her house!

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Susan, work is crazy right now so I probably won't have anything for the FFC unless an idea comes to me fully-formed. We just finished week two of our three-week window to get next fiscal year's budget loaded and I'm working every night and weekend on my portion. That only leaves enough time for me to work on my WIP, which I want to have finished before I go out of town next month.

So much to do, so little time!

MaoMao said...

Sounds like a superduper run! Momma and Daddy get to go hikin inna mountains but alla us Ballicai gotta stay inside. NO FAIR!!!! I think I oughta poop on her pillow or somethin.

Kittyhugs and purrs from MaoMao!

Anonymous said...

sounds like a great run! and glad the weather is cooperating!

and yeah, seems like everything costs more now, thanks to higher fuel and way higher diesel fuel costs... sigh

RG said...

Banana Bread ... yummmmmmm

Wouldn't it be great to see one of those days say "Too much work-out to do, no time for work" ....

Yes, the trick is to train high and run low!!!!

Vickie said...

Yes, running in the sunshines is so much more fun! And yes, I've noticed that the price on many things is going up, up, up.

Una said...

Sounds like a gorgeous place to run, and a great run to boot.

The price of bread has gone up here as well, suddenly the sale price is two for $5, when it used to be two for $4. On sale at $2.50 a loaf? I think not!