Not Much to Add

At least I did something, right?

Wreck of the Old 97

This happened last night. And it was fantastic.

Monday Blues and Shopping News

Okay. No actual blues, here. Monday was perfectly pleasant, aside from the end-of-the-world flash-flood-inducing rains we had. There's been a bit of a shake-up at work, and I've been working pretty hard on my time management and productivity to make sure I'm staying on top of everything. I got a neat little report done yesterday on top of a few other projects, so I left the office feeling pretty accomplished. This ego boost from DailyMile didn't hurt either.

I decided to check out Total Wine to find the perfect pairing for my Valentine's Day dinner with my honey. I ended up getting two bottles of Syrah. The salesman (I don't think he was a registered sommelier) gushed about both, so I'm sure they'll be delicious and wonderful.

We're eating here and I'm so excited! It doesn't seem like much, I know, but it's some of the best food in Atlanta. Also, they don't sell alcohol, but they do allow you to BYOB and they don't charge a corking fee. How can you beat that?

After I picked up the wine, I stopped into Old Navy. I'd been seeing a bunch of my favorite bloggers reviewing the new Active line. Well, Old Navy got their money's worth from these blogger, because I've been jonesing for new pants and a jacket ever since! I had a 20% coupon, so I purchased 2 pants, a jacket and a long-sleeve half-zip top.

In the parking lot, on my way out, I realized that the car parked opposite me was the exact same make and model as my car. You may think this is a silly observation, but I drive a 2007 Black (dark gray, let's be honest) Chevy Aveo. I've seen maybe 5 other Aveos in the year and a half that I've had my car, so I always get excited when I find one.

Once home, I OBVIOUSLY had to break in my new clothes for Johnny's walk and my nightly workout.

My workout wasn't phenomenal. I did my PT, still had pain during one particular exercise, but finished strong. Then I hopped on the bike, but I just couldn't get into it last night. I was tired. I was hungry. I was bored. Waaaaaaah. #lifeishard

Not stellar.

That's alright though. Today at work, I found a Chinese food menu that included Vietnamese pho. As in, they deliver. They deliver this mana from heaven to my door. At work. I can't tell you how happy I am today. 

That is all. Go away now.

Bike, WeightWatchers and Chipotle

I didn't make it to yoga this weekend. I'll get that out of the way first. Vista Yoga is right around the corner from my house, but for some reason I LOVE making excuses to not go. It's dumb. It's real dumb, because you know what? I love yoga. So, I am going to stop making excuses and take my butt to a class sometime this week.

I did not go to yoga, but I DID workout Sunday. I skipped the bike and PT on Saturday to give my knee a rest, but Sunday I did both. There is one exercise for PT that I couldn't complete because of pain (under previous instructions from my therapist if an exercise begins to hurt, stop immediately), but I did everything else and it was alright.

Then I hopped on the bike. I had intended to try for an hour, but I'm not there yet. I did do a pretty interval-intense 30 minutes though, and I'm continuing to improve my speed.

 

Our "study" is finally finished, and so I had a big computer screen playing Nashville while I worked out. It was rad, but I'm going to try to stick to reading as often as possible. I have to get to 52 books somehow!

Here is a photo of my reward at the end of my workout. H.U.G.E. salad with bell peppers, celery, apples, onions, and a whole tomato, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. YUM.

So let's talk about food for a minute. I rejoined WeightWatchers sometime in December. I'd lost about 15lbs total earlier and the year and gained about 10lbs back after I stopped running. WeightWatchers works. BUT. I've been having trouble staying on track. Sometimes I feel like I have basic understanding of points when I don't, and then I pretty much ruin my whole week's worth of points in one sitting. Case in point: I went to Chipotle on Saturday and had a veggie burrito with everything. TERRIBLE idea. I kept telling myself that most of the really "bad" foods that I love are about 13-16 points. Not healthy, but okay to splurge. Chipotle must be just like that!

Chipotle is not just like that. The burrito, without any meat, is 25 freaking points, which is quite a lot considering I get 30/day. Looking at their calculator after I ate was horrifying. 1000 calories. A THOUSAND. For one meal. 120 carbs. 3010 mg of SODIUM. Holy crap. No wonder I gained so much weight when I worked at the law firm and Chipotle was across the parking lot.

Okay. Noted. 

And, just because - here's a photo of my parents' dog, Sammy, and their cat, Sheffield. Adorable. 

A Run, a Knee & Me

So this happened on Friday.

Okay, let me get this out of the way first - it was a terrible idea. I was chastised by at least 3 friends, including a very long text from my boyfriend's sister telling me to take care of my "poor knee and baby tendons." And of course she's right. I haven't done my PT since October, and it is very stupid to think that after 3 months of inactivity my knee would have magically healed.

But OMIGOD it felt so good! I've had running on the brain lately and I haven't been able to shake it. I have a coworker training for a half marathon and TONS of friends running 5Ks every weekend, not to mention the bloggers I follow who run 30, 40, 50 miles a week. So I got this idea in my head on my drive home Friday. First, I thought I'd just take Johnny for a long walk. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and he's been in need of serious exercise (I don't know if I say this enough, but I'm a terrible mom!). Somehow that thought of a walk evolved into a walk/run. I don't know what possessed me, but I thought it would be a-okay to do a super easy work out that still involved running, as if I were starting from square one. Of course I'm not starting from square one, but I've already addressed that (see above).

I got my iPhone ready, put on some workout clothes, grabbed my knee brace and we were out the door. We went for a normal walk first, so Johnny wouldn't need to stop once we were on our way. Then we did a 5 minute warm-up of speed walking. Then the intervals started. My knee felt a little tweaky (is that a word?) for the first running interval, but then it was mostly fine. Towards the end we skipped a running interval up a very steep hill (I'll admit here that my knee was starting to feel sore). Once we hit flat pavement and another running interval we just kept going. We ran about 7 minutes straight at the end. It felt incredible. I can't wait to do it again. ...In 6 weeks or so.

That night, I was hanging out with friends and my knee was just not having it. Walking, standing up from a seated position, staying in any position for too long - pain. Not horrible intense pain, but pain nonetheless. I also woke up in the middle of the night at least once from pain. My knee wasn't actually very sore on Saturday, and today, the pain is completely gone. I won't be running again any time soon though, contrary to my Daily Mile summary.

I'm glad I ran, even though I shouldn't have. Not only did it feel great, it also really drove home how much I love and miss running. It reenergized me. When I started PT in October, I hadn't run since June. I allowed myself to make excuses because I didn't realize or remember what I missing. Now I know, and I'm kicking myself for not taking care of it sooner. I won't run again until a professional tells me it's safe, but I aim to make that happen as quickly as possible (insurance don't let me down!).

So today's plan is my HEP and a bike ride. I don't get nearly the satisfaction after a completed bike ride than a run, but it'll do. I'll be back tomorrow with some more self-chastising and thoughts on WW and Chipotle (these three things are all coincidentally related).

Surprise!

Firstly, here's an adorable photo of my dog, Johnny. Johnny is an awesome 5 1/2 year old mutt, probably part lab and part doberman. He's funny and sweet and lovable and a little bit fat (although you can't tell from this photo because I'm a semi-professional and I'm great with angles!).

So imagine my surprise today when I'm scooping his food and find this:

The universe has a sense of humor and it's trying to tell me something.

My dog's food bag was like a big ol' box of cereal and this was the prize at the bottom. Although, strangely, nowhere on the packaging does it mention that there's a pedometer tucked away in the kibbles and bits. It just sort of appeared. Very strange, but I'll take it. I'm cheap that way.

While the Northeast is bracing for another "storm of the century", Atlanta's afternoon weather is partly cloudy with a high of 56, so I think J-dog and I will be trying out our new "toy"!

It Gets Better

Look at those numbers! I can feel myself gaining a little more endurance every day. I wanted to quit pretty quickly on Monday, but I could have kept going today if I weren't (wasn't?) so bored.

Yes. Baby steps, but I'm calling it a win.

Tuesday Doldrums to Wednesday...Opposite of Doldrums

I'm horrible at writing fun titles, so please forgive me.

I biked again yesterday, 4.3 miles in 30 minutes (8.6 mph so a slight improvement) - I wish I ran that fast.

My right knee bothered me a bit at first, and then my left, but after about 8 or 9 minutes the pain/soreness faded. I'm taking that as a good sign, and BONUS - my knee isn't sore today! I don't want to push my luck though, so I'll be taking the night off. Probably. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this afternoon so if I get home in time, I may go for a long walk with J-dog.

I'm excited to be a little active again, even if I'm not training for a race or beating my PRs. It's hard though. So many bloggers and friends have started their training for spring races, and the weather is perfect for outdoor runs right now, but I'm stuck inside. I'll take the blame though. I didn't do any cross training last year, and then I bailed on my HEP when my PT and insurance got wonky. If I'd stuck with it, I'd probably be in better shape right now.

So for the moment, I'll keep on keepin' on, and hopefully I'll be back on the road soon enough.

A Tepid Return

Last night I hopped on my recumbent bike (a $50 bargain from my neighbor). I rode 3.44 miles in about 25 minutes. 8.3 mph is not great, but considering I have done n.o.t.h.i.n.g. since June 2012, I'll take it.

I purchased the bike towards the end of last year, but I've been avoiding it. I can't run right now, and that depresses me to no end. A significant jaunt will leave my knee sore and stiff, so a true run is completely out of the question. My physical therapist said I could probably bike for 20-30 minutes without a problem. Of course, I haven't seen my PT since October due to some insurance issues because of the sale of my company. So as the days dragged on, and I moved further and further away from the advice, I worried that a ride would end in pain, and I still would not be able to exercise.

Truth be told, my knee was sore yesterday. I'm a little bummed out, but I'm hoping that it just needs a bit of strengthening. My insurance is STILL being sorted out right now (almost 4 months later!), but once everything is settled, I'll be able to return to PT. Between that, the bike, and some yoga, I'm hoping my knee will be strong enough to train for the Brookhaven Bolt again this year. I'm also considering the Peachtree Road Race, though last year ended so poorly for me, I'm not sure I'm emotionally ready to try again. I have a few weeks left to decide, though.

In other news, I've started updating a blog I created last year. Basically it's a blog for book reviews, so I can keep track of my reading and write just a little bit. My goal is to read 52 books in 2013. I think I read maybe 6 or 7 last year? And that includes a certain book series that I don't think is necessarily appropriate to discuss in polite company. So check out the blog, if you'd like. Or don't. I doubt it'll be very interesting to anyone but me.