Thursday, May 29, 2008

Triathlon Training: Week 5

Yeah, I'm a bit behind on the training update. Blame it on me battling allergies. They really knocked the life out of me the last few days.

Let's see, what'd I do during Week 5?

Monday: 1,400 yard swim
Tuesday: 3.5 mile run followed by a 4.5 mile bike
Wednesday: 10.5 mile bike
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 13.5 mile bike
Sunday: Rest due to allergies

Not the best week, but also not the worst week. I think I need to start running more. I'm OK with just the one weekly swim because I think the swimming's going OK, but I really feel like I need to log some more running miles.

And just a warning, Week 6? It's scary. And not in a good way.

Gulp.

Even if I had a road map, I was still Lost

I'm not a big TV watcher.

My Must See TV Schedule? It consists of two shows. Count 'em. Two. Grey's Anatomy and 24. Not hard to remember. And this season? It was only one show since 24 never even started due to the writer's strike.

I used to watch more TV, but then I realized there were so many other things that I could be doing with my time. Things I enjoyed. So I dropped a few shows. One of them was Lost.

I used to watch it religiously. But then they did a crazy thing and went on something like a three-month break mid-season last year. And I was confused about what was happening on the island. So I decided to give up my weekly dose of Lost.

But now? I've found myself flipping through the channels and stopping when I get to an episode of Lost. And I find myself wanting to watch it. But I've missed so many episodes, if I wasn't confused before, I'm definitely confused now. And if I wanted to start watching it again? Realistically, I'd probably have to go back to the beginning.

Then I remember. It's summer now. I have a little bit more time. And the episodes? All four seasons of them are available online. So I could technically catch up in time for the new season to start in the fall. And then it would be like I never left the island.

So I'm toying with it. I printed out an episode guide tonight so that I can make sure I'm watching the episodes in the right order. I'm not aiming to finish watching all four seasons in the next two weeks or anything. I'm thinking a few episodes a week might be doable.

Because I never stopped watching the show because it stunk. I stopped watching it because it took a really really long break. And I got confused. And forgot what was happening and was just too darn lazy to refresh my memory.

My memory's calling for a refreshment though. And I think Lost just might be what I need to keep me occupied through parts of this summer.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The sneezes turned into sniffles. And I couldn't breathe.

Other than the month of December, which I don't remember due to the massive head issues I dealt with, I went the entire winter without getting sick.

No flu. No cold. No strep throat.

Just headaches and a minor runny nose that never really went away.

I was happy.

But now that it's the end of May? Now I'm sick.

Stuffy nose. Funky feeling ears. Runny nose. Headaches. A barking, phlegmy cough. All the signs of allergies. Which I could deal with since it's that time of year and they usually go away in a few days.

But this time? It actually got worse after a few days. And since my doctors tell me I have very little immune system, I ended up going to the doctor today. Just in case. And what'd I learn? It's all viral. And I'll just have to dope myself up on Sudafed and cross my fingers it all goes away soon. Because being sick stinks to begin with. But being sick at the end of May, when the weather's finally getting nice? That really bites.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

There's been a change in plans

Mental note to self:

Unless you're carrying a map with you, it's probably not the best idea to make changes to your bike ride mid-route. Because it'll tack on miles. And in most cases, that's not a bad thing, but today? It probably wasn't the smartest idea.

Being the weekend reporter, I wasn't able to fully enjoy the absolutely beautiful Saturday we had here. I had some work-related stuff to do early today, but then I had a chunk of time to myself. And I was determined to take advantage of it.

So after finishing up the work stuff, I headed home, changed clothes and set off for a bike ride. I was only planning on going 8 to 10 miles, since I had limited time and I would have to sneak in a shower and pack up the stuff I'll need for my trip to my parents' house, where I'll enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I set off. And the ride was going good. And then I got stopped by a train. And I started thinking, about a road that I knew of that I could probably hook up with. Now, I've never actually been on this road, but I figured it must eventually come out at an intersection tha'ts kind of by my apartment. So when the train passed, instead of turning right, I decided to go straight to the road.

Guess what. The road? There was no hooking up. Instead I was faced with a big "Dead End" sign. Which meant I had to backtrack and take an alternate route. One that was about 5 miles longer than I initially planned on biking.

While I was biking those extra miles I was thinking. And I should have realized from the beginning there would be no hooking up since that would require crossing an AIRPORT RUNWAY.

Yeah, I kind of forgot about the whole airport thing. Not quite sure how I could forget about the airport. That I live by. And drive by. Everyday.

Like I said, changing up the pre-planned bike route in mid-route? Probably not the smartest thing today. Although I did manage to finish the 13.5 miles in an hour and still have enough time to shower, pack and eat dinner before heading back into work. On time.

Friday, May 23, 2008

The green flag drops and they're off!

There was dust. And fencing was torn down. At times the cars were so loud you could barely hear yourself think. And by the end of the night, it was so cold you could see your breath.

Welcome to the beginning of race season at WIR.

Now, I admit, I'm not a huge race fan. Granted, I developed an appreciation for it during my stint as a sports reporter in Indiana, where if you would be tarred and feathered if NASCAR didn't appear on some page of each day's sports section.

But WIR. That's different. Maybe because I have a connection since my cousin races a limited late model car and my dad works on his pit crew. So Thursday nights at the race track? It's kind of a family affair. The boys down in the pits, the girls up in the stands. And after the last checkered flag is dropped on the Figure 8 race, we all head down to the pits for food, drink and socializing.

It's kind of fun actually.

And last night was the first race of the season. It turned out to be an exciting one too.

I think some of the drivers forgot how to drive during the off season, since the yellow caution flag was pulled out pretty often. My cousin's feature race? The cars didn't even complete an entire lap before a wreck sent one car flying down the track on its hood, resulting in a big pile up and a chunk of the safety fence being taken out. Luckily, no drivers were injured. Just cars. Including my cousin's, who ended up hitting the Styrofoam soft wall with the rear end of his car. Looks like the boys will be busy at the garage this week.

But at least the wreckage happened after my cousin left the rest of the field in the dust and won his semi feature.

The only downside to last night? It was chilly! Since I wasn't originally planning on going to the races (I was going to head out to Waterfest instead with friends), I wasn't properly dressed. I had on a short sleeved T-shirt, jeans and a pair of flip flops. The shirt was an easy problem to fix since I had a hooded sweatshirt sitting at my parents' house. It was the flip flops that caused a headache. I didn't want cold feet and with gas at $4 a gallon, I didn't want to drive home and then back to my parents' house. So I headed out to the store with the intent to get some cheap shoes to wear. Not so easy. But I eventually found some. And my feet stayed toasty warm.

The rest of me? Yeah, I got chilly. But what do you expect when you can see your breath?

It was a fun night thought. And I'll probably make it back up to the track for some more Thursday nights throughout the summer. Because even though I'm not a huge race fan, it's a fun way to spend the evening.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The score's now tied

YUCK!

I swear. Those things I saw flying around in the air on my drive home from work? I thought it was little pieces of cottonwood. Because it's that time of year. And the pieces that I did see up close? Actually were little cotton bits.

So I didn't think I'd have a problem when I headed out for my bike ride.

Needless to say, by the time I got out of my parking lot and on the road I realized I was wrong.

Those weren't pieces of cottonwood.

It was the pesky lake flies. I thought they had left. After all, they've been here for almost two weeks. They're supposed to be dead at this point.

I had good reason to believe they were done for too. Heck, I didn't even see a lake fly yesterday. And today? Today they're back.

And not just a few. SWARMS of those pesky critters. And when you're riding your bike, keeping up a nice 15 mile per hour pace and you run into a cloud of lake flies? Not pretty. It's like little kamikaze bullets hitting you in the face, head, arms, legs and any other body part imaginable.

* shudders *

And riding while looking down at the pavement in an attempt to avoid getting a big ole lake fly in my eye? Probably not the smartest idea. Even if I was wearing my helmet. Because of course they road where the swarms were the nastiest? It's also the busiest road where traffic flies by at 50 miles per hour.

I may have won the battle against the lake flies last week. But I think they won today.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bikers beware, wind can be scary

I took my run outside today.

It was nice after work. The sun was still shining and it was a decent temperature. So instead of the YMCA, I headed home to throw on some shorts and my running shoes before heading out.

The 3.5 miles I covered? It was the same route I took last week. And actually it wasn't too bad. I only took two short walk breaks. Granted, I'm still slow (I averaged about an 11:30 minute mile), but I happened to look down at my watch when I finished. And I was excited. I finished the 3.5 miles almost two minutes quicker this week. That made me happy and reminds me that 10 minute miles are possible for me again. Someday.

Afterwards I headed out on my bike for a short 4.5 mile bike ride. I didn't really need the bike ride, my training plan wasn't calling for it, but I didn't want my bike to feel neglected. And it was still sunny outside. It was windy, but it was sunny. I can deal with the wind, unless it decides to try to blow me off my bike, which it tried to do midway through the ride today. But I didn't let it. I kept biking on.

Now it's time for a shower. Because I'm still kind of sweaty and gross. And afterwards? I'm debating between settling in with a book, "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI: 1933-1934" or in front of the TV to watch 27 Dresses. I'm not sure what I'll choose yet.

Monday, May 19, 2008

There was a road block in my lane

The swim schedule said two lanes were open for lap swimmers while the other two lanes were for swimming lessons.

But apparently the lesson kids don't care about following the schedule.

I went to the YMCA after work for my Monday night swim session. The training plan told me I was supposed to do 1,350 yards in the pool followed by a 10-minute "transition" bike. I knew the swimming would get done, but the jury was still out on the bike.

So I got in the pool. And things were going swimmingly. I was doing my laps. Swimming up and down the length of the pool. And amazingly, I wasn't losing count where I was. I just kept swimming. Because 1,350 yards? That's a lot of laps - 54 to be exact. And also the farthest distance I've swam so far.

I'm swimming. And swimming. I had a pretty good rhythm going. And it was kind of nice because there was another girl swimming laps next to me, so it gave me some incentive to keep up a good pace. Because I wanted to stay ahead of her.

Pretty soon, I'm touching the wall and turning around and I realize I've hit 1,250 yards. Yeah! Only four more laps to go and I could get out of the pool. Because at this point. I'm starving. I put my head in the water and start my crawl. And I'm almost to the other end of the pool when I notice this little boy swimming in my lane.

What? Where'd he come from? And more importantly, why was he in my lane?

Turns out he's diving for some ring things that he'd thrown in the pool.

I had to stop swimming briefly, just so I didn't swim over the kid. I was eventually able to get to the end of the lane, turn around and swim away from the kid. But by the time I get to the other end of the pool? He's back in my lane, looking for that darn ring again. Apparently there were two rings and he couldn't find the second one. His teacher's on the pool deck, trying to help him find it. Because from what I could understand, he threw it in the wrong lane.

And me? I'm sitting at the end of the pool, with two laps to go before my workout's done. But instead of swimming the last 50 yards? I'm waiting for a little kid to find a lost ring. Grrr.

He eventually fished it out of the pool and got out himself. And I got my lane back. But still. I was in a groove the entire workout until the end, when he decided to throw in a ring in a lane that wasn't even next to where his swimming lessons were taking place!

I know I shouldn't be too upset. In the end, I got my swim in without swimming over the kid. It just reminds me why I like to go to the pool when no swimming lessons are taking place. So stuff like this doesn't happen.

Triathlon Training: Week 4

Unless you get hung up on the fact that I "rested" all weekend and didn't do anything remotely triathlon-related, I think I did pretty good during Week 4.

Monday: 2.5 mile run followed by an 800 yard swim
Tuesday: 9 mile bike
Wednesday: 3.5 mile run followed by a 4.5 mile bike
Thursday: 10.5 mile bike
Friday through Sunday: I let myself rest

I fit in four good workouts during the work week and got some quality time in on my new bike, which still doesn't have a name, but I'm getting closer. I did skip a swim, mostly because it was so nice outside and my bike was calling my name. And I was hoping to log a few more running miles, but I wasn't in the running mood over the weekend, mostly because it was super windy and a bit chilly on Sunday. Oh well. Gives me something to shoot for this week.

Let's see what Week 5 brings.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday randomness

Because it's Sunday night, but mostly because I'm a bit lazy, I'm giving you a random list of stuff from the weekend today. If you don't like it. Oh well.

  • Friday night was girls night. Krista came back to the City on the Water. A bunch of us got together for dinner, many many drinks, lots of fun and trip to the college bar scene, where we may have felt a bit too old at times. Like I said, drinks were consumed and fun was had by all.
  • Until we made our way to the dance floor and Mandy had an unfortunate fluky accident that might have left her with a nasty knee injury. I'm sending feel better wishes her way!
  • I spent Saturday afternoon at my 6-year-old niece's dance recital. Let me just say, little girls in tutus? Adorable. Little girls in tutus who keep looking at each other with the "I dunno what I'm supposed to do next" look because they aren't quite sure what the heck they're supposed to be doing? Equally adorable. But my niece did a good job. She didn't have to look over at her teacher at all during her ballet number to "Someday My Prince Will Come." But apparently she's ditching dance class for gymnastics next year.
  • Last week I may have had a clothing crisis or two while getting ready for work. A lot of the stuff I wear to work in the spring and summer I've been wearing for the last two or three years, so it's getting a little ragged looking. So I went shopping. And I came home with three pairs of running socks, five tops, a pair of capris, a pair of dress sandals, a cute new purse and of course a pair of blue Nike flip flops, because a girl can never have too many flip flops. But I tell myself it's OK, because everything was on sale.
  • And I also caved and bought a remote for my TV.
  • I did not run one step, swim one lap or bike one mile this weekend. While I feel bad, I also feel like I deserved the rest days. I'll get back to the training grind starting tomorrow.

That's the end of the list. Because now it's time to go put laundry away. And then go to bed. Because the weekend's over already. It's never long enough.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The score: Me 1, Lake Flies 0

The dark clouds hovering above the road should have tipped me off.

Or the post that held up a "For Sale" sign. Instead of being white it was more of a gray color.

And of course, I know what time of year it is.

But I just couldn't help it. It was way too nice again to be cooped up in the YMCA. So I opted out of my planned swim and decided to come home and pull my bike out of the garage for a nice bike ride.

I didn't think about the lake flies.

OK. Maybe I did. But I was in denial. I didn't think they'd be that bad. I mean seriously. They were flying. Up in the air. Way above my head. It wasn't going to be a problem.

Yeah, I was wrong.

During some parts of my ride, mostly the sections of road that are really close to the lake (only the first two miles and the last three miles), they were nasty. I tried to duck and avoid them. Drivers passing me must have thought I looked kind of funny, bobbing my head as I'm biking down the road.

But I wasn't so successful in avoiding the pesky flying creatures.

Every so often I'd feel something smash into my head. Then I'd hear the splat. And then I'd shudder. Because lake fly guts? Not so pretty.

I kept pedaling though. And bobbing my head. And trying to avoid the dive bombing lake flies, which kept flying right into me. While I can kind of handle lake fly guts on my clothing, I made sure to keep my mouth closed tight. Because I'm not OK with eating lake flies. I'm sure in some weird, warped way, the protein lake flies offer is a good thing, I'd just rather get in a different form.

I'm happy to report that I did not ingest any lake flies. And none of them got stuck in my eye or fly into my ears. And I didn't find any splattered remains on my shirt, or body, today. I think you can call that a successful 10.5 mile bike ride.

If you ask the lake flies though, they'd probably have a different story. Because I'm sure I left a few dead ones behind along the way.

It's totally not my fault that some of them are dead or severely injured though. The lake flies were the ones who choose to hatch this week. And they were the ones who choose to fly right into me. Any smart lake fly would know that if you fly really fast into a large object, some one's going to die.

And in this case? I won. Some lake flies are dead. Now I just have to wait a few more days until the rest of them croak. Then we won't have this problem anymore.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Sun and warm temps called me outside

It was way too nice to stay cooped up.

The sun was shining. There were no clouds in the sky. The mercury was hovering around the mid-60s. And there was a slight breeze.

I couldn't talk myself into going from my office, where I sat at my desk most of the day, into my car, driving a few blocks and locking myself up in the YMCA.

Mother Nature was in a good mood. It was too nice to stay inside.

So instead of turning left at the corner, I turned right and headed home.

Where I promptly changed into shorts and a T-shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and iPod and took off for a run.

It was my first "real" run outside this year. Yes, I've done a few of those transition runs off the bike the past few weeks, but they haven't been of any substantial length. A mile here, a mile there. Today? I was going to attempt one of my regular routes from last summer. I was planning on a 3.5 mile run around my neighborhood.

And it was hard.

After a mile I thought I was going to have to alert my plans. My legs? They felt like lead weights. I'm not sure if it was because I've been pushing myself the last two days or if it was because I found myself running straight into that "slight" breeze, which had picked up a bit. Whatever the reason, I was feeling it after a mile.

But I kept running. Granted, it was slow, around a 11:30 minute mile, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. And it got easier during mile 2. And mile 3. But by the time I finished that last half mile, I was glad.

And then I hopped on my bike. Because remember, the weather? It was beautiful. And my bike was feeling lonely in the garage. So I ended my night with a quick 4.5 mile bike ride.

Not too bad.

Yes, I could have done all this at the YMCA and avoided the bugs. But it was so much nicer outside. I'll return to the YMCA when the pool calls. Tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Point and shoot is so much easier

I still haven't found the remote.

It's been a week. I've looked every place I can think of. The box with all the miscellaneous cords. The storage bin near my TV where all the other TV "stuff" is. The shelving unit the TV actually sits on. The bookshelf.

Everywhere.

And yet I still have no remote.

Which means I've been operating my TV manually. Whenever I want to turn it on? I get up, walk over to the TV and push the buttons. Want to change the channel? To the TV I go. Need to adjust the volume? You get the picture.

For the last week there has been no sitting in the recliner, pointing the remote and magically the TV changes to whatever I want.

And it's not that I'm lazy. Because I'm not. And I haven't really been watching that much TV anyway (remember the reasoning behind why I was downgrading my cable? I don't watch much TV).

But I'm nervous for the buttons. Up until the last week, they didn't get used that often. And whenever I find myself pushing them, I feel like they're going to break. Or get pushed in and never come back out. And then my TV will be stuck on some random channel or volume FOREVER. Or at least until I get a remote.

And I've been meaning to do that. Go get a new remote. Last weekend I was all set. Dad told me that the store employee would even be able to program the remote for me. And I was excited. Because I didn't want to deal with the crazy complicated instruction manual that inevitability will come with the remote.

But then Dad told me I'd need to know the brand of my TV - uh, it's black - but the brand? I didn't have a clue. So my planned remote shopping trip got cancelled. And I haven't had the time, or desire, to get one this week.

So it'll probably be another week of pushing the button to make changes on my TV. And at some point this weekend I'll go and buy a remote.

And once I do? That's when the remote I lost will magically appear. I know it.

A worthwhile switch in plans

My triathlon training program was telling me I was supposed to run today.

But I just couldn't.

It was so nice outside. And my pretty new bike was just sitting in my garage. Huddled under the shelf. Calling to me.

So instead of running, I choose to introduce my new bike to the streets here in the City on the Water.

And 9 miles later, my bike is happy. And I'm a happy girl.

Not only was the easy, smooth and enjoyable, I didn't ingest any of the lake flies. In fact, the pesky bugs weren't really even a problem. Until I got about a mile from home and I had to ride through a swarm of them. Luckily I saw them in advance and was able to keep my head down, my mouth closed and my sunglasses protected my eyes.

And since my new set of wheels is speedy, I was through the bugs fast.

Although I have to admit, I was a bit grossed out when I came home, took my T-shirt off and found one splattered on me near my shoulder. Ugh.

But the bike ride? It was fabulous. And tomorrow I'll run.

Monday, May 12, 2008

They're back. And I shudder.

It's the day after Mother's Day.

And that means one thing.

The lake flies are back.

I knew they were coming. Every year at this time those pesky little bugs show up. And then they hang on the walls of your house. And I find myself trying to run into my apartment as quickly as possible to limit the number that can sneak in.

Because lake flies? They're kind of nasty.

I missed their annual appearance last year. Mostly because I recovering at my parents' house from the Great Neck Slicing of 2007 the week the lake flies were in town.

But I spotted the first lake fly hanging out by my door on Friday. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was a fluke. Nope. They multiplied over the weekend and there were about six of them last night.

And today? I had to run out for an assignment near the lake. And there was a swarm of them. They attacked me. And I shuddered. The firefighters? They just laughed at me. Just wait until they ingest a couple of lake flies. I bet they won't be laughing then.

I just keep telling myself, they'll be gone in a week.

I hope.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Triathlon Training: Week 3

My third week of triathlon training wasn't too bad. I logged some decent workouts.

Monday: 3 mile run followed by 1,100 yards in the pool
Tuesday: A planned rest day since the cable man was coming
Wednesday: 2.1 mile run followed by 45 minutes on the bike, covering 11 miles
Thursday: Unexpected rest day
Friday: Rest
Saturday: A 60-minute bike ride (on my new friend!), covering 14 miles, followed by a 12-minute transition run of 1.1 miles
Sunday: Rest, I battled a nasty headache most of the day, so I thought it was best to skip the scheduled long run.

Overall, it wasn't too bad. Yes, I missed a swim session Thursday and I opted out of lifting weights this week, but I'm allowed to slack a tiny bit. Right?

Last week when I did the transition run my legs felt like a bunch of lead. This week it wasn't as bad. Yes, my legs felt funny when I first got off my bike, but it didn't take as long for them to feel "normal." And I didn't feel like I was going to die. If anything, by midway through the transition run, I was feeling pretty decent. Until I turned a corner and found myself heading directly into a stiff 30 mile per hour wind. Good planning on my part.

Bring on Week 4.

The new wheels are mine!

I admit, I don't like George W. Bush.

But this weekend, since he insisted on giving me $600, I didn't think he was that bad of a guy. I mean, how often does the president just give you money? It doesn't happen often. In fact, he's usually the one badgering us for cash.

But GW? He decided to give me money last week. That's right, that economic stimulus rebate was deposited into my checking account last week. And for once, I decided to do exactly what the president wanted us to do.

I spent it.That's right. I took my cash and I went to the bike shop and bought myself a new set of wheels.

I ended up buying the one that caught my eye a few weeks ago when I was just looking at bikes. But I didn't stop at the bike. I also bought a kickstand (who knew bikes came without a kickstand), a water bottle and holder, and one of those little computer things that track your speed, distance covered and time. And the friendly people at the bike store put everything on my bike, adjusted the seat and handle bars and made sure there was air in the tires.

So once I got my bike back home, it was all set for me to ride.

And I did.

I came home, went inside and changed into shorts and a T-shirt before heading out for a 14 mile ride to High Cliff State Park. And during my ride I decided the bike was the best purchase I've made in a long time (well, except for my iPod).

It felt so easy riding. With my old bike, it was sometimes tough to ride. Hard. And when I would hijack my Dad's bike, riding was like the difference between night and day. But no more. My new bike? It rides so smoothly. Easy. Enjoyable. Fast.

I love it.

And I wasn't sure about the color at first, baby blue? But it's growing on me.

Now all I need is a name. But I'm going to give a bit. Get to know my bike a little bit. It's personality and how we get along before deciding on what to call it. The weather's supposed to be decent this week, so I'm sure I'll be spending time out on the road with my new friend.

My old bike is still sitting in my garage. It just got a new home, up on the shelf. It served me well over the last 8 years, but I think it's earned its retirement and time off. Granted, it'll still get pulled out for a ride every so often, but I think it's going to enjoy the more low key days that are ahead.

Friday, May 9, 2008

I was going to be dancing the Chicken Dance anyway

Chickenfest.

For the past three or four years, each summer I set aside a weekend in June where I plan to go to the festival held by my parents' house in Darboy.

Chickenfest. It's your typical summer festival. Food, music, beer, rides and fireworks. And of course, each hour you dance the Chicken Dance. It's fun. I even have the Chicken necklace, which I forgot to wear last year.

The music lineup has been announced for a few weeks already. It's mostly local bands. But they play good music and it's a good time.

But today? There's a new performer. Apparently Ryan Cabrera, the ex-boyfriend of Ashlee Simpson, will be making an appearance at Chickenfest. Not sure how this all happened. And while I know there are some tunes that Cabrera sings, for the life of me, I can't remember which ones they are.

Most likely I'll already be at the park for some kind of Chickenfest activity on June 21 at 5:30. It might be the pedal tractor pull or browsing through the crafts. Or dancing the Chicken Dance. So chances are, you'll probably find me somewhere near the stage, listening to a few Cabrera tunes.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Let me escape into a chick lit world

I was productive at work.

Then I hit the YMCA and fit in the 45-minute bike ride my training program called for, covering 11 miles. And that was after I logged a 2-mile run on the treadmill.

Now all I want to do is be kind of lazy and escape into a book for the rest of the night. Because I'm almost done with it. And I'm actually kind of enjoying it.

So what's the problem?

It's a piece of chick lit. "Not Quite a Mom" by Kirsten Sawyer. I don't normally read a lot of chick lit because frankly, they all start to seem the same after a while. But I haven't picked one up in a long time. And I know they're fast reads and sometimes can be enjoyable. This one? It's pretty good.

And I only have something like 100 pages left. And it's getting good. And all I want to do is finish it. So I can move on to some other book that's sitting in my pile.

Besides. Chick lit? It requires little thought by your brain when you're reading.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

1,350 out of a million

The list is just over a thousand sites long, but I'm on it.

What list you ask? This one.

The million blog list, which is trying to see how long it takes to list 1 million of the apparently 70,000,000 plus blogs in existence. And who doesn't love readers?

So I listed my blog.

I'm number 1,350.

Now, here's the question I have for you. Are you going to do your part and add your blog?

That cable employee had a good watch

I'm impressed.

The cable man? He apparently wears a watch. And it's apparently set ahead.

I can't justify the crazy cost of cable. I had the "expanded basic" package. It gave me channels like HGTV, ESPN, USA and TLC. And occasionally I would watch those channels. But I'm not much of TV watcher in general. I have better things to do with my time rather than sit in front of a glowing box. And besides, most of the stuff I do watch, I can find on network TV.

So I made the decision the other day. Cable TV had to go.

I called the company, put in my request and set up the appointment for the technician to come and monkey around with the outside cable box and haul away the box that was hooked up to my TV. I was told he was going to be here "sometime" between 5 and 8 p.m.

Great. You know how that works. I figured the guy would either show up early and I wouldn't be here yet because I'd be on my way home from work or else he'd come knocking at my door at 8:15 p.m.

I was lucky today.

I pulled into my driveway and there the cable truck was parked.

At 4:55 p.m.

The cable man did his job, took the box and he was gone by 5:15 p.m. Nice.

So now I have fewer channels to choose from when I want to waste time. But I'm saving $40 a month. Which I'm not going to argue with.

Now if only I can find the remote control that came with my TV. Seems I've managed to lose it.

Monday, May 5, 2008

I feel it in my legs tonight

I ran. Then I swam.

Now I think it's time to learn how to use that foam roller that's been sitting by my couch since last fall. Because my calf? It's a bit sore.

Good thing tomorrow's a rest day. Since I get to spend my evening waiting for the cable man to show up, sometime "between 5 and 8 p.m." Sounds like fun.

Now, it's foam roller time.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Triathlon Training: Week 2

Much better.

After slacking big time to kick off my 12-week triathlon training program, I got my butt back into gear this week and managed to fit in all the workouts I was supposed to. Well, except one. But still, missing one workout is a lot better than finishing one out of six scheduled ones.

Yes, there were days when I was able to sneak in YMCA time, but I planned ahead. Not something I do a lot. But this week I did. And when that Emergency Girls Night Out came up on Thursday? I just pretended it was Friday's scheduled rest day and swam the next night.

Made me feel good to get in all the workouts. Here's a glance at what I did:

Monday: 3 mile run followed by 1,000 yard swim
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 2.1 mile run followed by 45 minutes on the bike (for a total of 11 miles). Finished with some weights
Thursday: Emergency Girls Night Out
Friday: 1,100 yard swim
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 1-hour bike ride (covered 11 miles in somewhat windy conditions) followed by a 10-minute "transition" run (1 mile).

That whole transition run thing today was tough. My legs were weary after the bike ride, but my scheduled said I should hop off the bike and fit in a short run afterwards to get used to the feeling. So I did. And I admit, I struggled. That was a long 10 minutes. And hard. But I finished. And hopefully it'll get easier the next time.

Time for Week 3.