I had been coveting this spin video for awhile and was excited to find it under the tree this year! (Okay, we didn’t have a tree, but you know what I mean.)
This is a three hour spin workout and what makes it hard is what makes his other On the Road video hard—you don’t get a break. Most of Coach Troy’s videos are interval work. You spin hard, then you rest. But with the Virtual Reality videos, you’re pedaling the whole time, which is harder than a standard spin video and harder than an actual ride outdoors.
The beauty of the landscape in this video is what makes the time pass. The ride starts and ends at the site of the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid and for three hours you ride the roads of the Ironman USA course through the surrounding hills. I’ve never been to the Adirondacks before, but I found the landscape and architectural styles similar to Vermont, leading to moments when I caught myself looking for covered bridges!
I ignored Coach Troy’s gearing advice and simply focused on the road, switching to easier gears on the downhills and harder ones on the uphills to mimic what I would be feeling on a real bike ride. I got so into it that I caught myself waving to other cyclists, but the stuck-up jerks didn’t wave back. Their loss.
By the last hour, I was feeling this workout. Part of it was that I had done a long run yesterday and slept badly last night, but a lot of it was also just the effect of spinning my legs for three hours straight. Coach Troy likes to say that three hours on the trainer is the equivalent of four on the road, and given how many of these turns and downhills I would’ve coasted in a real road ride, I believe it.
Great spin video! Highly recommended! I understand Coach Troy has a Tuscon Training Ride video in the works and I can hardly wait!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Odd Little Christmas
Christmas morning started according to plan. I got up at 6:00 and went to the studio for a three hour spin workout, which would put me in calorie deficit, free to eat whatever suited my fancy for the rest of the day.
The workout went well and I came back to the house at 9:30 with visions of coffee and panettone dancing in my head, to find Dan lying on the sofa. “I’ve got bad news,” he said. “I’ve got another kidney stone.”
Great.
“I just had one last week. I don’t know why I keep getting them.”
“Have you been drinking lots of water?” I asked.
“Uh…no.”
“I don’t think we’re going to need to call Sherlock Holmes, then.” I told Dan that I would get cleaned up and we’d go fill the prescription he got last week for pain meds.
“I tore it up. I didn’t need it.”
“You know our emergency room co-pay is $100, right?”
Merry Christmas to us.
I took a shower, made coffee for myself and heated up some panettone. We opened our gifts, which I absolutely loved—some books from my Amazon wish list and a spin video I’ve been coveting. Dan was definitely not feeling good, and after we unwrapped our gifts, he decided to go to the minor emergency clinic. I offered to take him, but he swore he was okay to go alone and didn’t want to ruin my Christmas if he had to be there all day. So since he’s a grownup, I told him what I thought of his stupid plan to drive while he was in pain, and let him go.
It was actually a relief to have him gone. I washed some dishes, disposed of the wrapping paper, photographed the bunny enjoying her Christmas present, and got ready to go to my parents’ house. Just before I left, I called Dan, who said he was being discharged and to wait.
Well, okay. He came home (on non-narcotic painkillers) and we got to my parents’ house only half an hour late, where we found the following:
• my brother suffering from severe depression and doped up on new meds
• my sister recovering from bronchitis
• my father with some sort of pulled muscle in his hip
• my (step)mother with a bruised tailbone from a recent fall
This left only me and my sister’s boyfriend among the whole and hearty. What a way to buck the trend!
Food was iffy. It was all store-bought and from Boston Market, not homemade or absurdly expensive high-end deli stuff like what Dan and I are used to. But I was hungry and filled my plate twice, both for dinner and dessert. I ate lots of cookies, too.
We had all agreed ahead of time that gifts were to be minimal, so although we got some nice stuff, the bulk of our gifts was in gift cards and cash. I know it’s not in the correct spirit to say this, but I like it better this way. My family members, especially my parents, have proven to be very good at giving me stuff I don’t care for or don’t need, and since we’re all grownups, it’s less wasteful to just give each other the means to buy what we want.
We left my parents’ house early, since Dan’s pain was starting to return. We went to a 24-hour pharmacy and got his prescription for stronger pain meds filled, and I picked up my new asthma meds while I was there, since I had only one more day before I needed refills. This saved me a trip today or tomorrow, so I don’t need to go anywhere today unless I really want to.
We got home early enough for me to finish a writing project I was working on, and by then I was getting sleepy. The early morning workout and lack of a nap had finally caught up with me. I kissed my drugged-up hubby good night and went to bed.
Merry Odd Christmas to us!
The workout went well and I came back to the house at 9:30 with visions of coffee and panettone dancing in my head, to find Dan lying on the sofa. “I’ve got bad news,” he said. “I’ve got another kidney stone.”
Great.
“I just had one last week. I don’t know why I keep getting them.”
“Have you been drinking lots of water?” I asked.
“Uh…no.”
“I don’t think we’re going to need to call Sherlock Holmes, then.” I told Dan that I would get cleaned up and we’d go fill the prescription he got last week for pain meds.
“I tore it up. I didn’t need it.”
“You know our emergency room co-pay is $100, right?”
Merry Christmas to us.
I took a shower, made coffee for myself and heated up some panettone. We opened our gifts, which I absolutely loved—some books from my Amazon wish list and a spin video I’ve been coveting. Dan was definitely not feeling good, and after we unwrapped our gifts, he decided to go to the minor emergency clinic. I offered to take him, but he swore he was okay to go alone and didn’t want to ruin my Christmas if he had to be there all day. So since he’s a grownup, I told him what I thought of his stupid plan to drive while he was in pain, and let him go.
It was actually a relief to have him gone. I washed some dishes, disposed of the wrapping paper, photographed the bunny enjoying her Christmas present, and got ready to go to my parents’ house. Just before I left, I called Dan, who said he was being discharged and to wait.
Well, okay. He came home (on non-narcotic painkillers) and we got to my parents’ house only half an hour late, where we found the following:
• my brother suffering from severe depression and doped up on new meds
• my sister recovering from bronchitis
• my father with some sort of pulled muscle in his hip
• my (step)mother with a bruised tailbone from a recent fall
This left only me and my sister’s boyfriend among the whole and hearty. What a way to buck the trend!
Food was iffy. It was all store-bought and from Boston Market, not homemade or absurdly expensive high-end deli stuff like what Dan and I are used to. But I was hungry and filled my plate twice, both for dinner and dessert. I ate lots of cookies, too.
We had all agreed ahead of time that gifts were to be minimal, so although we got some nice stuff, the bulk of our gifts was in gift cards and cash. I know it’s not in the correct spirit to say this, but I like it better this way. My family members, especially my parents, have proven to be very good at giving me stuff I don’t care for or don’t need, and since we’re all grownups, it’s less wasteful to just give each other the means to buy what we want.
We left my parents’ house early, since Dan’s pain was starting to return. We went to a 24-hour pharmacy and got his prescription for stronger pain meds filled, and I picked up my new asthma meds while I was there, since I had only one more day before I needed refills. This saved me a trip today or tomorrow, so I don’t need to go anywhere today unless I really want to.
We got home early enough for me to finish a writing project I was working on, and by then I was getting sleepy. The early morning workout and lack of a nap had finally caught up with me. I kissed my drugged-up hubby good night and went to bed.
Merry Odd Christmas to us!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!
If you were good, Santa came last night!
Find the gift that belongs to you...
And dig in!
Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating today, and a Joyous Holiday Season to all!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Luminaria Night
They do luminarias in my neighborhood.
Everyone gets some. Even newcomers like us.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Secrets
Hey, Pixel! I'll tell you what the humans got you for Christmas, if you 'fess up what they got for me!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Last Long Run!
I needed one more run over 20 miles to get ready for my January marathon and as of last night I was still undecided whether it should be today or Christmas morning. Even though it had been less than a week since last Sunday’s 19-miler, I went with today, based on the following:
• Rain predicted for both days, but Christmas would be colder.
• Fewer people around on Christmas, which isn’t a good thing when you’re female and running alone for 4-5 hours.
• I might feel pressured to hurry on Christmas and cut my run short.
My plan was to circle the campus 3-4 times while waiting for the sun to come up and then make a decision whether or not to head toward Rice University and Montrose. Weather.com predicted scattered thunderstorms, so when I saw the dark clouds to the west after sunrise, I assessed how I was feeling and decided that my brain was up for the tedium of staying close to home and doing campus loops, so I would be close to shelter at all times if a really bad storm blew in.
I’m happy to report that the reports of rain were greatly exaggerated. Although I did get rained on for the last nine miles, it was mostly gentle showers and drizzling. What made this a hard run was that many of the university walkways are of that pebble-encrusted concrete that becomes slick when wet. It messed with my stride and made me have to concentrate on my footing a lot. The other hard part was resisting four decades of being told to get in out of the rain! I’d be trotting along in the rain, feeling fine, but my brain would be screaming at me, “It’s raining! Go home!” But I couldn’t go home. Once I hit the halfway point, I was committed to finishing the run. I couldn’t go eleven, fifteen, or eighteen miles and then call it off and try to do twenty in three days. So no matter what the weather did, I had to keep on unless it became dangerous.
By the time I finished my run, the rain had passed and the sun was starting to come out. And thanks to the wind and the miracle of wicking running gear, my clothes dried super-fast and I never felt soggy. I had run 22.5 miles and felt pretty good about it.
From here forward, it’s taper time. Look for me to start getting grumpy as I have to cut back on yummy food to accommodate a reduced exercise schedule!
• Rain predicted for both days, but Christmas would be colder.
• Fewer people around on Christmas, which isn’t a good thing when you’re female and running alone for 4-5 hours.
• I might feel pressured to hurry on Christmas and cut my run short.
My plan was to circle the campus 3-4 times while waiting for the sun to come up and then make a decision whether or not to head toward Rice University and Montrose. Weather.com predicted scattered thunderstorms, so when I saw the dark clouds to the west after sunrise, I assessed how I was feeling and decided that my brain was up for the tedium of staying close to home and doing campus loops, so I would be close to shelter at all times if a really bad storm blew in.
I’m happy to report that the reports of rain were greatly exaggerated. Although I did get rained on for the last nine miles, it was mostly gentle showers and drizzling. What made this a hard run was that many of the university walkways are of that pebble-encrusted concrete that becomes slick when wet. It messed with my stride and made me have to concentrate on my footing a lot. The other hard part was resisting four decades of being told to get in out of the rain! I’d be trotting along in the rain, feeling fine, but my brain would be screaming at me, “It’s raining! Go home!” But I couldn’t go home. Once I hit the halfway point, I was committed to finishing the run. I couldn’t go eleven, fifteen, or eighteen miles and then call it off and try to do twenty in three days. So no matter what the weather did, I had to keep on unless it became dangerous.
By the time I finished my run, the rain had passed and the sun was starting to come out. And thanks to the wind and the miracle of wicking running gear, my clothes dried super-fast and I never felt soggy. I had run 22.5 miles and felt pretty good about it.
From here forward, it’s taper time. Look for me to start getting grumpy as I have to cut back on yummy food to accommodate a reduced exercise schedule!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Announcement: Flash Fiction Carnival!
I've got a holiday-themed flash fiction carnival posted on one of my other blogs, so if you're looking for something to read, be sure to stop by! Each story is under 1,500 words and many are under 1,000.
Short reads and with an appropriate seasonal theme! What could be better?
Short reads and with an appropriate seasonal theme! What could be better?
Friday, December 14, 2007
Grumpy and Paranoid
Dan is sick and I'm a nervous wreck. I cringe every time he coughs, I run around after him sterilizing light switches and doorknobs over and over. He kept rearranging things in the grocery cart tonight until I felt like screaming, "Quit TOUCHING everything!!!"
I'm four weeks from the marathon and if I get a chest cold now, it's a good possibility that it'll turn into bronchitis and I won't be over it on marathon day. It'll be $100 down the drain if I can't make the race.
This is the main reason why every year I say I'll never sign up for the Houston Marathon again. December and early January are inevitably a time when I'm surrounded by sick people at work and at home and I can't enjoy the season because I'm so busy avoiding people and trying not to touch anything.
Maybe I'll go be a hermit in my studio apartment for the next month.
I'm four weeks from the marathon and if I get a chest cold now, it's a good possibility that it'll turn into bronchitis and I won't be over it on marathon day. It'll be $100 down the drain if I can't make the race.
This is the main reason why every year I say I'll never sign up for the Houston Marathon again. December and early January are inevitably a time when I'm surrounded by sick people at work and at home and I can't enjoy the season because I'm so busy avoiding people and trying not to touch anything.
Maybe I'll go be a hermit in my studio apartment for the next month.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
(Bunny) Life Imitates Art
On my trips to Vermont I fell in love with local folk artist Warren Kimble's rabbit paintings, since those fat white bunnies look so much like my own little fatso here at home!
The above print is in Tidbit's feeding corner, so she can be reminded of her overfed condition and reflect on how much better she has things here than when I found her at the shelter a few years ago, a bony little thing weighing only four pounds!
And here's the perp today:
Looking well-fed and innocent, as usual.
See the resemblance?
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Mileage Miscalculation
I know how weird this is going to sound to my non-running friends, but I ran twenty-three miles today by mistake.
Yeah.
I plotted my route very carefully last night, but for whatever reason this morning I thought I was supposed to start with three loops around campus instead of two. I suspected something wasn’t quite right when I got home and it was after 11:00. I had expected to be home between 10:00 and 10:30, and while I had a couple delays due to water procurement problems and the siren song of a yard sale, those things shouldn’t have added close to an hour to my run time.
But an additional three miles on top of those delays sure did it.
It was a pretty good run, though. I was out before dark and got to watch the sunrise. When I got to the zoo, I heard the monkeys whooping it up somewhere and felt like I was in the rain forest. I stopped to read the inscription on a monument in the park. I did battle with a high-spouting water fountain in windy weather. I browsed a yard sale. I watched ospreys soar overhead and cormorants dive for fish in the bayou.
And I had a very hearty lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. Now that I realize I ran three miles more than I thought, I believe this entitles me to another cookie. Or to some of the rice pudding I’m making tonight.
As crazy as it sounds, I think I’ll do this route a couple more times this month, body willing. I don’t usually do more than a single twenty-miler before the marathon, but if I can handle two or three in the 20+ range, I should have a really fantastic marathon in January!
Gonna go have that extra cookie now. I earned it!
Yeah.
I plotted my route very carefully last night, but for whatever reason this morning I thought I was supposed to start with three loops around campus instead of two. I suspected something wasn’t quite right when I got home and it was after 11:00. I had expected to be home between 10:00 and 10:30, and while I had a couple delays due to water procurement problems and the siren song of a yard sale, those things shouldn’t have added close to an hour to my run time.
But an additional three miles on top of those delays sure did it.
It was a pretty good run, though. I was out before dark and got to watch the sunrise. When I got to the zoo, I heard the monkeys whooping it up somewhere and felt like I was in the rain forest. I stopped to read the inscription on a monument in the park. I did battle with a high-spouting water fountain in windy weather. I browsed a yard sale. I watched ospreys soar overhead and cormorants dive for fish in the bayou.
And I had a very hearty lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. Now that I realize I ran three miles more than I thought, I believe this entitles me to another cookie. Or to some of the rice pudding I’m making tonight.
As crazy as it sounds, I think I’ll do this route a couple more times this month, body willing. I don’t usually do more than a single twenty-miler before the marathon, but if I can handle two or three in the 20+ range, I should have a really fantastic marathon in January!
Gonna go have that extra cookie now. I earned it!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Holiday Weekend Recap
I had a nice, low-stress (by my strange standards) four day weekend. And boy, did I need it!
Thursday morning started with a two-hour spin session to put me in calorie deficit ahead of Thanksgiving dinner. Dan and I stayed home, no traipsing across the city to be bored by his family or annoyed by mine. Although we had toyed with the idea of cooking, we ended up buying the things we would need at the Central Market deli Tuesday night, instead. It was all very nice and we watched a movie afterwards, took naps, stayed up late puttering around and just generally didn’t do much at all. During my late-night writing time, I wrote a new short story.
On Friday I went thrift and consignment shopping. My favorite thrift store was closed, but I did well at a good consignment store near River Oaks. The store often has really nice stuff, sometimes with the tags still on. It’s amazing what rich people give away. Once I got home, it was time to do the laundry, since Friday is always laundry day around here. It was also grocery night, and we stocked up for the week. In the evening, I finished editing my new story and posted it.
Since it was raining like heck on Saturday morning, there was no hope of doing a long run. I dilly-dallied and finally forced myself to get my butt to the studio for a spin workout. I did three hours, thus earning the right to stuff myself on Indian food, which I did. I took a nap afterwards, overslept, and stayed up late to compensate.
While I napped, Dan went to meet his sisters on his father’s side of the family and was surprised when they gave him some his dad’s effects. His father passed away several years ago and Dan had been wanting to ask for something to remember him by, but had been shy about it. Long story, but to put it most simply, Dan’s father had a wife and family already when he started sneaking around with Dan’s mom. So Dan grew up without knowing his father, and only met him a few years before his death from lung cancer. So it was quite a special thing for him to get some mementos.
This morning I got up and cooked for the week. I made steamed carrots, sautéed spinach with garlic, roast potatoes (two kinds) and bread pudding. It took longer than I would’ve liked, so even though I had hoped to do a 20 mile run today, by the time I did 16 it was getting too late in the day to finish. I did today’s run in the gym due to the bad weather and alternated one mile on the treadmill with one mile on the indoor track. It worked pretty well and I think if it hadn’t been getting so late I would’ve had the mental stamina to do 20. I hope I don’t have to find out, though. I’d much rather run outdoors.
When I got home I ate dinner and put a bunch of things in the crock pot in the hope it would turn out to be turkey soup. And it did! I had some after my nap and it was delish!
So that was my long weekend. There’s a lot I meant to do but didn’t. I wanted to finish hanging pictures and tidy the studio some more—things left undone when I finally ran out of steam after our move in August. I meant to finish a lapsed salary report for work and of course I meant to do more writing and didn’t. I didn’t do a heavy weight workout this weekend, either.
I’m not disappointed in myself or the weekend, but I really do need to move to a planet with longer days. Or get a job with longer vacations.
Thursday morning started with a two-hour spin session to put me in calorie deficit ahead of Thanksgiving dinner. Dan and I stayed home, no traipsing across the city to be bored by his family or annoyed by mine. Although we had toyed with the idea of cooking, we ended up buying the things we would need at the Central Market deli Tuesday night, instead. It was all very nice and we watched a movie afterwards, took naps, stayed up late puttering around and just generally didn’t do much at all. During my late-night writing time, I wrote a new short story.
On Friday I went thrift and consignment shopping. My favorite thrift store was closed, but I did well at a good consignment store near River Oaks. The store often has really nice stuff, sometimes with the tags still on. It’s amazing what rich people give away. Once I got home, it was time to do the laundry, since Friday is always laundry day around here. It was also grocery night, and we stocked up for the week. In the evening, I finished editing my new story and posted it.
Since it was raining like heck on Saturday morning, there was no hope of doing a long run. I dilly-dallied and finally forced myself to get my butt to the studio for a spin workout. I did three hours, thus earning the right to stuff myself on Indian food, which I did. I took a nap afterwards, overslept, and stayed up late to compensate.
While I napped, Dan went to meet his sisters on his father’s side of the family and was surprised when they gave him some his dad’s effects. His father passed away several years ago and Dan had been wanting to ask for something to remember him by, but had been shy about it. Long story, but to put it most simply, Dan’s father had a wife and family already when he started sneaking around with Dan’s mom. So Dan grew up without knowing his father, and only met him a few years before his death from lung cancer. So it was quite a special thing for him to get some mementos.
This morning I got up and cooked for the week. I made steamed carrots, sautéed spinach with garlic, roast potatoes (two kinds) and bread pudding. It took longer than I would’ve liked, so even though I had hoped to do a 20 mile run today, by the time I did 16 it was getting too late in the day to finish. I did today’s run in the gym due to the bad weather and alternated one mile on the treadmill with one mile on the indoor track. It worked pretty well and I think if it hadn’t been getting so late I would’ve had the mental stamina to do 20. I hope I don’t have to find out, though. I’d much rather run outdoors.
When I got home I ate dinner and put a bunch of things in the crock pot in the hope it would turn out to be turkey soup. And it did! I had some after my nap and it was delish!
So that was my long weekend. There’s a lot I meant to do but didn’t. I wanted to finish hanging pictures and tidy the studio some more—things left undone when I finally ran out of steam after our move in August. I meant to finish a lapsed salary report for work and of course I meant to do more writing and didn’t. I didn’t do a heavy weight workout this weekend, either.
I’m not disappointed in myself or the weekend, but I really do need to move to a planet with longer days. Or get a job with longer vacations.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Santa Claus Is Coming!
Okay, not for another month. But he's blogging again and getting ready for the big day. Be sure to check out Santa's blog and add it to your blog reader, if you've got one. It's a lot of fun!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Ebay: I did not know that!
Tonight I found some items on Ebay Canada (ebay.ca) that I couldn't find on USA Ebay (ebay.com). Silly me, I had assumed that us being neighbors and all, I would find the same stuff on both sites.
Not so!
And what was I looking for, you ask? Old postcards of New Mexico towns. And I found them in Canada, of all places! Why our northern friends had postcards of the copper mines in Hurley, New Mexico, I'll never know. I'm just glad they didn't want them any more.
Not so!
And what was I looking for, you ask? Old postcards of New Mexico towns. And I found them in Canada, of all places! Why our northern friends had postcards of the copper mines in Hurley, New Mexico, I'll never know. I'm just glad they didn't want them any more.
This 'n That
This past week was a busy one for me but I really got to enjoy the benefits of living so close to my job, rearranging my work and exercise schedule as needed so I could get done most of what I wanted to do without compromising the service my team delivers to our IT department.
I had a good run yesterday, staying close to campus because of the threat of rain. In spite of all the dark clouds swirling around though, we didn’t get rain until later in the day. While I was running, Dan went to help his sister set up her new router and received in payment some refrigerator art from his niece, who also put a sticker of a snail on his Ramones shirt. He wore that snail all day and every time I saw it I wanted to giggle.
This morning I took some old rice and made rice pudding with it. I didn’t have a recipe, but I did have a crock pot, and the rice pudding turned out well. One thing about working in a restaurant is that if you’re in that line of work long enough, you learn how to cook, even if you never pick up anything more culinary than a tray.
Between the rice pudding and just general dilly-dallying, I got a late start on my errands today and was annoyed when Dan asked me to get him some razors. I hadn’t planned on going to the drug store, even though there were a few things I needed. But I went because I was feeling nice, and on my way out of the store, I noticed a display of Tony Bennet CDs with a sticker on them saying that there was an AARP discount available. I had a sudden vision of some day seeing Clash and Ramones CDs similarly stamped and marketed to the AARP crowd, which would by then be me. I’ve got no problem with getting older, but the idea that the hip bands of my youth will become fodder for fuddy-duddies is another matter.
Oh, and I bought gas today. First time since September. What did it cost? Who cares? I haven't needed gas since September, people!
Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: 45 minute spin
Wednesday: 3.5 mile run
Thursday: 30 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 17 mile run
Sunday: 2 hour spin
I had a good run yesterday, staying close to campus because of the threat of rain. In spite of all the dark clouds swirling around though, we didn’t get rain until later in the day. While I was running, Dan went to help his sister set up her new router and received in payment some refrigerator art from his niece, who also put a sticker of a snail on his Ramones shirt. He wore that snail all day and every time I saw it I wanted to giggle.
This morning I took some old rice and made rice pudding with it. I didn’t have a recipe, but I did have a crock pot, and the rice pudding turned out well. One thing about working in a restaurant is that if you’re in that line of work long enough, you learn how to cook, even if you never pick up anything more culinary than a tray.
Between the rice pudding and just general dilly-dallying, I got a late start on my errands today and was annoyed when Dan asked me to get him some razors. I hadn’t planned on going to the drug store, even though there were a few things I needed. But I went because I was feeling nice, and on my way out of the store, I noticed a display of Tony Bennet CDs with a sticker on them saying that there was an AARP discount available. I had a sudden vision of some day seeing Clash and Ramones CDs similarly stamped and marketed to the AARP crowd, which would by then be me. I’ve got no problem with getting older, but the idea that the hip bands of my youth will become fodder for fuddy-duddies is another matter.
Oh, and I bought gas today. First time since September. What did it cost? Who cares? I haven't needed gas since September, people!
Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: 45 minute spin
Wednesday: 3.5 mile run
Thursday: 30 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 17 mile run
Sunday: 2 hour spin
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Job Fairs and Felines
I worked a job fair on behalf of my employer today. I had thought it would lead to something interesting to blog about but it didn’t, really. It was pretty obvious why a lot of people who attended didn’t have jobs or didn’t have good ones. I was actually surprised that we had as many potentially viable candidates as we did! If we get a few hires off this, the CEO will release funds for us to do more elaborate promos and setup, which could be fun. It beats spending a day at my desk while groundskeepers have leaf blower wars outside my window and my phone rings with people asking stupid questions.
In all, it ended up being a nice day out of the office for me. Tomorrow and Friday will probably be a minor nightmare, since the last thing I could really afford was a day away from my projects. But a front is moving through tonight and it will feel more like fall again tomorrow, so I take the blessings where I find them.
Feline Incident: Pixel has discovered the mantel over the fireplace and its view of the backyard through a nearby window. He was keeping watch on Sunday when I went to do a spin workout in the studio. According to Dan, Pixel became very anxious upon seeing me cross the yard and go into the studio and he sat there meowing furiously before jumping down, pacing the floor and going back to the mantel to look out the window again.
I forgot my water bottle and came back into the house and Pix jumped down again and went into some kind of crazy antics that I never saw because I grabbed my water from where I had left it in the kitchen and went right back to the studio. The cat meowed and watched for me for a long time before becoming bored and finding something else to do.
I have no idea what he was thinking, but it was probably something akin to whatever line of reasoning leads him to wait anxiously outside the bathroom door whenever one of us is taking a shower. I haven’t figured that one out, either.
In all, it ended up being a nice day out of the office for me. Tomorrow and Friday will probably be a minor nightmare, since the last thing I could really afford was a day away from my projects. But a front is moving through tonight and it will feel more like fall again tomorrow, so I take the blessings where I find them.
Feline Incident: Pixel has discovered the mantel over the fireplace and its view of the backyard through a nearby window. He was keeping watch on Sunday when I went to do a spin workout in the studio. According to Dan, Pixel became very anxious upon seeing me cross the yard and go into the studio and he sat there meowing furiously before jumping down, pacing the floor and going back to the mantel to look out the window again.
I forgot my water bottle and came back into the house and Pix jumped down again and went into some kind of crazy antics that I never saw because I grabbed my water from where I had left it in the kitchen and went right back to the studio. The cat meowed and watched for me for a long time before becoming bored and finding something else to do.
I have no idea what he was thinking, but it was probably something akin to whatever line of reasoning leads him to wait anxiously outside the bathroom door whenever one of us is taking a shower. I haven’t figured that one out, either.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Weekend Bird Report
When we moved here in August we were told there were ospreys in the neighborhood. But although I diligently kept an eye out for them, I had no luck until today when I saw one circling a stand of trees near the bayou when I was on my way home from my run. It was anticlimactic in a way because it’s just another bird of prey. I’ve been closer to hawks and eagles in the mountains, where if you stand on a ledge they’ll fly so close you can see their eyes. Today’s osprey just flew overhead. But maybe this is a good sign and I’ll have better sightings in the future.
I’ve also identified my mystery bird from the bayou. There are two types of birds I see hanging out on the banks of the bayou— egrets and some black birds that look sort of like loons. Obviously the only way a loon is getting to the Texas Gulf Coast is via a zoo program. It took some clicking, but I finally waded through a lot of useless web sites to discover that my black birds are neotropic cormorants. One site even mentioned how they like to sit with their wings spread out to dry them, a behavior that when I first saw it made me wonder if something was wrong.
So there. I’ve now identified all the new-to-me birds that I’ve thus far encountered at my new home. What I find especially odd is that I only moved five miles, yet there really are noticeable differences in the wildlife. You wouldn’t think five miles, especially inner city miles, would make such a difference, but there you are.
I’ve also identified my mystery bird from the bayou. There are two types of birds I see hanging out on the banks of the bayou— egrets and some black birds that look sort of like loons. Obviously the only way a loon is getting to the Texas Gulf Coast is via a zoo program. It took some clicking, but I finally waded through a lot of useless web sites to discover that my black birds are neotropic cormorants. One site even mentioned how they like to sit with their wings spread out to dry them, a behavior that when I first saw it made me wonder if something was wrong.
So there. I’ve now identified all the new-to-me birds that I’ve thus far encountered at my new home. What I find especially odd is that I only moved five miles, yet there really are noticeable differences in the wildlife. You wouldn’t think five miles, especially inner city miles, would make such a difference, but there you are.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Monday, November 05, 2007
Health Issues: Weight/Size Maintenance
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed below are my own and are not to be taken as professional medical advice. If you want real advice on health matters, go to a real doctor and not to the blog of a random stranger whose avatar is a rabbit.
Okay, now that we’re through with the formalities, I’d like to start what I hope will be a series of posts on health and fitness by discussing of something that gets very little attention: weight maintenance.
Let’s face it, whether you’re happy as you are now or whether you think you need to lose some pounds, your goal, first and foremost, should be to not get any bigger. Weight loss, if desired, will follow from a solid base of weight maintenance.
But maintenance is harder than it sounds because of the way body composition affects metabolism. To put it simply, muscle speeds up your metabolism; fat slows it down. Gaining weight in the form of fat makes it more likely that you’ll gain more fat, thus slowing your metabolism further. Conversely, gaining weight in the form of muscle will help burn fat. And since muscle is more dense than fat, some people actually gain weight while losing inches.
This is why I believe scales are largely useless. Honestly folks, do you really care what the scale says? No one knows your weight unless you advertise it, but they can tell just by looking how big or small you are. So leave the scale alone!
Instead, make this simple promise to yourself: Never buy clothes that are bigger than the ones you have now.* If you have any “fat” clothes, put them in a box and take them to Goodwill.
Now you’re committed. You will either fit your clothes or you’ll have nothing to wear. No cheating by filling your closet with elastic waistbands, unless that's what you've got in there already!
Okay, so how do we maintain our current weight/size? Good question! This is highly individual and goes back to body composition and the matter of age. Getting older will slow down your metabolism, no matter what you do, so it’s important to get some kind of exercise each day (muscle burns fat, remember?) and to also have a realistic understanding of your diet. I’ll address both diet and exercise in future posts.
For now, let’s just accept that wherever we are today is our baseline, or perhaps more appropriately, our “Do Not Pass” line. Every day you stay at or below today’s size is a day to congratulate yourself. Many studies have suggested that stability and not weight/size in any given year is the best predictor of long term good health.
Be healthy and all other goals become possible!
* Note: Pre-menopausal women who are already on the skinny side of normal should expect to gain a dress size (one, not twelve!) after menopause. If it doesn’t happen, fantastic! But in general, this may be considered the exception that proves the rule of “never buy bigger clothes.”
Okay, now that we’re through with the formalities, I’d like to start what I hope will be a series of posts on health and fitness by discussing of something that gets very little attention: weight maintenance.
Let’s face it, whether you’re happy as you are now or whether you think you need to lose some pounds, your goal, first and foremost, should be to not get any bigger. Weight loss, if desired, will follow from a solid base of weight maintenance.
But maintenance is harder than it sounds because of the way body composition affects metabolism. To put it simply, muscle speeds up your metabolism; fat slows it down. Gaining weight in the form of fat makes it more likely that you’ll gain more fat, thus slowing your metabolism further. Conversely, gaining weight in the form of muscle will help burn fat. And since muscle is more dense than fat, some people actually gain weight while losing inches.
This is why I believe scales are largely useless. Honestly folks, do you really care what the scale says? No one knows your weight unless you advertise it, but they can tell just by looking how big or small you are. So leave the scale alone!
Instead, make this simple promise to yourself: Never buy clothes that are bigger than the ones you have now.* If you have any “fat” clothes, put them in a box and take them to Goodwill.
Now you’re committed. You will either fit your clothes or you’ll have nothing to wear. No cheating by filling your closet with elastic waistbands, unless that's what you've got in there already!
Okay, so how do we maintain our current weight/size? Good question! This is highly individual and goes back to body composition and the matter of age. Getting older will slow down your metabolism, no matter what you do, so it’s important to get some kind of exercise each day (muscle burns fat, remember?) and to also have a realistic understanding of your diet. I’ll address both diet and exercise in future posts.
For now, let’s just accept that wherever we are today is our baseline, or perhaps more appropriately, our “Do Not Pass” line. Every day you stay at or below today’s size is a day to congratulate yourself. Many studies have suggested that stability and not weight/size in any given year is the best predictor of long term good health.
Be healthy and all other goals become possible!
* Note: Pre-menopausal women who are already on the skinny side of normal should expect to gain a dress size (one, not twelve!) after menopause. If it doesn’t happen, fantastic! But in general, this may be considered the exception that proves the rule of “never buy bigger clothes.”
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