Just Weekend Stuff

On Friday I was pleasantly surprised to get over a hundred dollars for some old clothes I was going to put in a yard sale. I took them to a new consignment store that’s opening sometime in April. They give you cash up front. Since gold is up, I also cleaned out my jewelry box, too. I found a couple of black hills gold rings that I know I’ve not worn in probably 15 yrs or longer. I got more $ out of those. I still have a lot of work to do & will probably find more to get rid of I’m sure… It feels good to see a little bit of space open up! As far as exercise on Friday, I didn’t do squat.

Saturday, I headed to spin class since the forecast called for rain. I worked on abs, did the 1 hr spin, & headed for Nashville. There was barely a mist during that time then the sun came out! Dang it! Joe, his Toronto friend, John, & I went downtown for the Preds game. We ended up 6 rows from the glass. It was an exciting overtime win for the Preds. I had fun! When we walked outside, Jo Dee Messina announced that there were tornado warnings or watches in the ‘boro while we were in the Sommet Center. Yikes! We listened to her sing for maybe 5-10 minutes then headed to the Sports Bar across the street where we watched the exciting end to the Villanova game. When we left it felt like the temps had dropped 30 degrees & the winds were horrible. The lights were turned out on certain blocks but we had plenty of light to get to the car. It was in observance of Earth Day. Happy Belated Earth Day!Joe & John (They met on Spring Break MANY years ago in FL & have remained friends over the years. If there's anything at all I have in common with Joe, it's that we have close friends from decades ago. I guess that just makes us OLD & loyal. :P )Gnash!Preds on IceJo Dee Messina on stage outside the Sommet CenterSunday was a lazy day. Yes, I admit, we let the cold keep us inside until Jeff (Hannah’s hubby) called to invite us to watch the Michigan State-Louisville game & the Preds game. The Preds beat the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday! Yeah!! (Did I say I wasn’t a hockey fan?) :P Hannah & I went to see “Duplicity”. It was sort of confusing with them going back n’ forth in time, plus I just don’t get into those types of movies where you never know if anyone’s telling the truth. It’s well over 2 hrs long, too. My recommendation, wait till it's on video if you really like Julia Roberts or Clive Owen.

Today was the 45 min spin class, some crunches, & 15 mins slow jogging on the deathmill. I was going to go outside after spin but it was already getting dark. The HUGE accident on the interstate with the TDOT truck & ambulance had freaked me out a bit so I really didn't want to get out alone in the dark. Yeah, I'm a big baby like that sometimes. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, Terri & I have plans for a 1 hr jog/walk/run thing after work. I plan to get up for spin in the am but if the urge to sleep another hour hits me, I'm ditching it. If I do that, you can bet I'll probably push myself harder after work, though. :P

Rain, Rain, & more Rain....

Well, the sun did come out for a while today so I'm not griping too much but.....When it’s raining like this I am in the gym, not on the road, & for the record, I won’t be on the bike on the road in this rain either. If its July & 90 degrees, I’ll run in the rain any day but you won’t find me on 2 wheels in rain no matter how hot it is simply because I just think it’s too dangerous. Just sayin’…….

Wednesday I was feeling the squats from Tuesday so I avoided doing any on Wed. I did do some weights, crunches, & I did the walk/jog thing for about 50 mins on the dreadmill. I feel a tinsy bit of soreness & I keep telling myself it’s just the scar tissue on the front of the shin. It’s not broken, supposedly. If I find out it’s really still broken I will NOT.BE.HAPPY!!!

After talking with Terri, Wayne, & Carla on the deathmills yesterday, we’ve agreed that we’ll hit the trail up at least once a week in front of the Golf course. I plan to hit it at least 2 days myself & I may ride my bike from there to wherever on those 2 days. That means the early spin classes will be a struggle but who cares…I’ll try to be there. As I get stronger, I will add more running days but for now….2 days plus the weekends. It’s just going to be a struggle NOT to run every day. I’ve missed it that much…

I've got to keep some weights & ab work going on because it's just a must for me. If I don't, I just become weak & jiggly. (Not that there aren't parts of me that stay that way anyway!) Now that I think I have what I like best back…I’ve got to fit the running in along with the bike, with work, & the rest of the stuff that I have going on…This is why I salute anyone that works out that has kids. Wow!

I’m pretty proud of myself for getting up & getting to spin class in the down pour this morning. I thought I was going to hydroplane at one point at 5:10am! “Woman dies in car crash in rain while going to spin class.” That’s what I thought so I slowed WAY down. Gesh, the things we do to maintain some sort of fitness level... As for my weight & diet, I’m really trying to watch it...some days aren’t too bad & some just suck. For instance, I just ate the salt out of the bottom of a pretzel bag. That should tell you how much sweating I did in spin class this morning. Gesh!

I am finally finished with going through my clothes & shoes. It's amazing to me that I still want to keep things for sentimental reasons. I did throw out a cute little, faded, blue shirt that says, "Planet Hollywood Honolulu" on it. I got it in 1998 when the ex & I went to visit my sister for our 9th anniversary. I threw out a short, little black dress, too. My closets can breathe now. So maybe, just maybe with everything that I've bought in the last few months, this evens it out some. You know everytime you buy something new, you really need to throw something old out, right? :P

This weekend should be interesting...more dang rain. Joe's got a Canadian friend in so we're hitting up the downtown area of Nashville for Preds tickets possibly. I heard that Jo Dee Messina is giving a free concert outside the Sommet Center too. (not that I'm a fan, just throwing that out there if anyone didn't know...)

Ok, it's now time for me to watch "Grey's Anatomy" & very possibly cry. I don't want Izzy to die. :(

Yep, times they are a changin'...

You may have noticed that I’m not watching much TV lately because I never mention it here much anymore. I still watch my favs though, just no reality TV. For some reason, “Dancing with the Stars” & “American Idol” just don’t do it for me these days & don’t get me started on that Bachelor show. I think it’s FAKE. There’s just no time for me to sit anymore unless it’s the weekend. I’m not even really reading anything at the moment but I’ll soon start on “The Shack”. I keep hearing it’s good. Saturday evening, Joe rented “Meet Dave”. (Joey’s pick) It was pretty interesting. Jessica’s “Tinkerbelle” wasn’t so much but I think we were all tired by then.
Sunday, we ALL got out for a walk/jog/run through Lenox Village. Joey probably hung with me the most since Joe had to walk back to the house with Jessica. (He did get back out for a little while to get some miles in…)
I challenged Joey to race me to the fence in the parking lot of “Pie in the Sky”. I barely “Michael Phelps’d” him. I think I beat him by half a second. I got in 3.34 miles according to my Garmin & I think he got in around 2.6 or so. He can definitely do a 5k no doubt. I did get on my bike for about 30 mins after we got back from the zoo on Sunday. I actually saw parts of the zoo that I didn’t know existed. I hadn't been to the zoo in probably 4-5 yrs. (thanks for taking us, Joe!)
My 6 ft 1 inch monkey. :P Joey in petting area. Lenox is great for hill running but it sucks for biking. You go UP one hill & have to stop at a stop sign, then you go DOWN another & immediately have to stop at a stop sign. (Too choppy for me) I need to find a park that’s less than 30 mins away…. I had thought about Shelby but didn’t want to fight the traffic over there so late in the afternoon.

Monday, instead of doing the usual spin class & ab work, I rode my bike for 1 hr 20 mins out UTSI & Woods Reservoir. I was going to try to jog/walk some afterwards but my shin seemed a little sore from Sat & Sunday’s little jaunts. I got up for Leslie’s 1 hr spin class this morning & my legs felt dead. It was all I could do to get through it. She sure believes in doing the climbs that’s for sure. I can tell I am getting stronger on hills when I’m on my bike, though. It’s just having enough sense to change gears, sit back, & let my legs do the work. After dropping my chain a few times, I’m timid when it comes to my left hand gears but I’ll learn eventually. If I can learn how to drive a stick shift in Southern Bavaria I can learn how to use my bike gears! I did make it to Harvey's for some leg weights & crunches this afternoon. Man was it hot in there & the Zumba class still hasn't slowed down.

As it turns out, I actually have every Friday off in April. The 1st Friday, I’m helping Pam with a yard sale. The 2nd Friday, I see Dr. Johnson for (hopefully) the last time. The 3rd Friday, nothing is planned yet but I have a baby shower to attend for my cousin, Clint’s twin boys on the 18th. AND of course, the final Friday is the CMM Expo. Patti will be in & we’ll be downtown picking up packets & shopping. Pam, Patti, & Fara will all be coming with me with Joe meeting us there. We’ll probably try to hook up with Wayne too. (Congrats on the new job, Wayne! It’s actually quite nice to know someone found a new job!)

Now that I can (supposedly) walk/jog some, I’m tweaking my week day stuff. I’m going to drop out of the Mon evening spin classes (unless it’s raining HARD) & spend that time outside hitting the pavement. When I feel stronger, I hope to hit up Wayne’s neighborhood with him. I’ll more than likely keep the Tues/Thurs am classes in my routine. I’m dropping my Harvey’s membership at the end of June. I hate to do it but with the belt tightening even more these days that’s $25 a month that I don’t need to spend. With the work discount, the Rec Ctr is just cheaper. I’ve been at Harvey’s since they opened their doors & I will SO miss it. Just call me spoiled but I like having my own tv on my own treadmill/elliptical. I will certainly miss all the folks I’ve got to know over the last 5+ years in there. I plan to get plenty of passes so I can keep going to Carla’s pilate’s class when I have time for it but that will be it. In my little world, times…they are a changin’…..some for the better, some just because….

On a sunny note, I sure hope there's some Super Bowl Champ butt stomping done in Pittsburgh on Sept 10th because I think the Titans have something to prove this next season. Yes, I have withdrawal & I can't wait to see the schedule. :P

Quick, I'm in a hurry....

I did my usual Thursday stuff, but I did get my yard mowed & boy did the allergies flare up quickly. Friday I did nothing but the physical therapy on the shin. I believe next friday's session will be the last for me. That's just 30 mins of my time & $10.00 of my money that I can do something else with, ya know. It's time to self heal now & move on to more important things. So much has happened but I'm sure not putting every detail of my life here that's for sure. :) The good, the bad, the ugly. Life is just so uncertain right now for ALL of us. Staying positive is a must right now. I talk to my relatives in Michigan, my sister in Texas, friends scattered everywhere...we're all going through the same things to different degrees. All I'm going to say is thank God for Volkswagon & leave it at that. The next few months will be like hanging on a surf board riding a big wave hoping for a safe landing on the beach. One thing's for sure, I have so much to be grateful for that I have no right to gripe about anything so I won't. Just crossing my fingers that promises made are promises kept. :)

Glad to know Paul S. & Chad are back from Hawaii safe & sound. They both ran the 10k at the Rec Ctr this morning jet-lagged. Jessie, Paul's gf, did it too. They are all training for their first CMM 1/2.
Fara, who I used to run with back in '04 has been training her little booty off for her first CMM 1/2. She did 13.1 miles this past week around Manchester in 1:51. When I'm COMPLETELY healed (in supposedly 9 weeks), I hope to run with her some again. She runs the base trails too so here we go again....thank GOD. T.Q. skipped the 10k this morning. How do I know?? I almost ran over him on Ovoca Rd when I was heading to Harvey's. ha!

So, this rambling brings me to this morning. Since it was in the upper 30's when I left the house, I opted for the deathmill. I walked/jogged 3.5 miles flat in 45 mins. I kept it slow & concentrated on my stride. As the rehab schedule said, "Jog lightly". I did the 45 min pilates class, & crunches. I'm off to get a haircut, then plant the tiny Christmas tree that's been in my living room since before Christmas, & head to Nashville. I'm taking my bike so maybe I'll get a chance to get on it tomorrow afternoon in the village. I'm also taking my running stuff & running in the village. The village may get to know me very well.

Hope everyone is enjoying the first full day of Spring. :)

Beautiful Day

I'm at work but this is what I'd do if I were off today (or some of it anyway).

*Ride my bike (I'm going to do that after work, of course)
*Sit in a lawn chair & read
*Clean out my car
*Go to the "Blue Chair" for lunch at Sewanee
*OR drink margaritas & eat lots of chips, salsa, & cheese outside on a patio
*Do yard work (I am going to mow some of the yard after the bike ride this afternoon.)
*Open the windows to air out the house
*Clean house & go through clothes (Spring Clean!)

2 out of 8 is ok when you have to be at work all day, right? :P

Scar Tissue Massage Session One

Turns out I got an appt today & they evaluated me (without the X-rays or MRI results, of course!) Top Rehab, Terri's former employer, is doing the physical therapy. I have two more sessions planned after this one & I've already informed them that was it. The woman who worked on me was good, don't get me wrong. It was as if she was molding my shin back to a normal shape. I do have some big time stubborn, scar tissue there. My right calf was tight from the 5k but I sure as heck didn't mention that to her since I had to quote from memory the "start slowly back routine" that I have on paper from the doc. Week 1: Walk 15 mins, picking up the pace comfortably, etc... I did that during the 5k, didn't I? ha! Gesh, I've been doing week one off & on for months. So, it's going to take patience from myself to massage my own shin (Joe, you're helping, please... :P).

I got up for a quick 30+ min pool running stint this morning before heading to work early. After my PT session, I did the 45 min spin class this afternoon. I feel rejuvenated for some reason. Like I want to bounce off walls & I don't know why......it's the light at the end of the tunnel...the light that I'll soon be running to.....

Oh yeah, not to mention Joe booked a June Disney trip for us (him, the kids, & me). I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been since 1998. He's such the sweetie & so generous. :)

Thinking positive...

It's nice to know that after not running hardly at all since Christmas, I was able to pull out a 28:37 in a flat 5k yesterday in the pouring rain. This is officially my slowest 5k ever on the books in a race, I think... The Memorial Day 5k last year was just a tinsy faster, I think...but with a few small hills & much more pain involved. ugh!

So, backing up a bit. Thursday, I did the am spin class & aqua jogged 30 mins after work before heading to Nashville. Friday morning, I got my MRI & bone density test done. B.D. is normal. MRI, apparently showed enough healing going on that Dr. J. gave me a chart of walk/jog stuff to start on next week & an order for physical therapy. The pain that I feel in the shin, according to him, is scar tissue. He wants me to pay a physical therapist to massage that painful scar tissue & for them to show me how to strengthen my calves. Well, I can tell ya right now, I'm tired of spending money on this shin. I'll go a time or two & see what they can do & then I'll do it myself. Sorry, but this handing out money every where to the medical community is getting old.

There's also a sheath that's formed over the "old crack" as he put it. He didn't say a word about the supposed 2nd fracture on the back of my right calf & I forgot to ask. (He wants to see me back in 4 weeks.) If it were an issue, I guess he would have said something. I saw him for all of 20 mins. His office was slammed much like Premier Radiology's office. I was so glad I had early appts. What I find interesting is that the first two weeks on this chart are things I've been doing all along. He said to start slow & go along as I feel. So for now, I'm definitely going to put more walking/jogging back in my weekly activities.

I kept my mouth shut about the Tom King 5k & the CMM 1/2 marathon. :P Yep, I know I said I'd be walking it with Pam but Pam likes to do her own thing & I was antsy just to see what I could do with almost no running since I was in San Antonio for Christmas or the little jaunt through Tullahoma with the running club group in Jan. I was just curious & I ended up making myself pretty mad. If I had been about 5-6 secs faster coming in I would have grabbed 3rd place age group. What they get for the 5k, who knows but I was 4th in the 40-44 age groupers, which makes me mad & is funny at the same time. How many times over the last year have I come away with something on a slow time due to the "unknown" stress fracture?! Oh well, just goes to show you, if you really aren't going to give it everything you've got, stay home. :P Yes, I took it easy, I promise. My first mile, which was flat was a 9:20 then I picked it up just a little. I slowed coming in on the concrete ramp because the alarms in my shin were going off. The shin HATES concrete! That's where I lost the time.

Hey, I think we all need to pat ourselves on the back for coming out in the nasty weather once again to run Tom King, whether you did the 1/2 or the 5k, kudos to you if you were there. Pam got a calf cramp at mile 2 & slowed way down. Once she was done, we were out of there before the 1/2'ers took off. We were cold & soaked to the bone so the heat from my car was more inviting than going upstairs or hanging out. Joe did well for his first "official" race in years. He was just over 25 minutes, which is great considering he's had knee issues, shoulder issues, & he just started running again in December after a couple of decades of no running. You go Joe!

So, here's to a slow healing shin that may be more healed than I thought. (I still think it's a little nuts that this doc just gave me an air cast two weeks ago but oh well...) For now, I think I'm just going to ease as much as I can back into this & hope for the best. I feel ok today other than some soreness from some places that haven't been sore in a very long time. (I've missed that soreness & will savor every bit of it.)

Joe's parents came up from the Keys. They've been on vacation. Very nice folks! :) I was having flashbacks of past Seinfeld episodes when they talked about their trip. (They don't yell at each other like the Seinfelds or Costanzas but it was vaguely similar.) We had some awesome mexican Sat night with them. I'm officially puffed up from too much salt right now. :P

Tomorrow, I'm very tempted to aqua jog in the pool before work but haven't committed myself to it yet. I'm also going to do my normal ab & spin after work.

Tuesday, I'll hit up the am spin class & weather permitting jump on the bike at UTSI & do those rolling hills again.

Random things going on...

Coffee-a-holic

As I’ve mentioned before, I now drink probably too much coffee. I don’t know how much is too much? I’m averaging a cup or two a day at least 6 days a week. Up until about 10 yrs ago, I had never drunk one drop of coffee in my life. With the early morning workouts, coffee has become that much more important. I guess there could be worse things to be craving, eh?

Air cast

Yes, I’ve been wearing it at work this week & I have to explain more & more why…such an old song & dance now. Blah! The VP of our company asked about it & before I could say anything BB told him I had been dancing on tables. So, I confessed to having a 2nd job of table dancing. Hey, at least it was something different. I think he believed us.
I finally wore the battery out on the Exogen 4000 bone growth stimulator machine. It’s going to be sent back for a new one. Ha! (Oh so many inside jokes here just waiting to happen!)

Books

I’ve been thumbing through “Eat This, Not That” lately. It’s very eye opening. I really like the chapter on Restaurant food. Apparently cheese pizza from Domino’s is better than Pizza Hut’s. I’m not a huge bread eater, thank goodness, but when you put cheesy, garlicky breadsticks in front of me, it’s all she wrote! Panera Bread ranks really low. Subway is healthier. I never get Panera’s sandwiches but their soups are delicious.
Right now, though, I’m craving Mexican, as usual.

I want to read something funny next. I enjoyed “Once a Runner” & “Again to Carthage” but it’s time for something less serious & more “fluffy”. Guess I need to get on Amazon & look around. Joe gave me “The Shack” for Valentine’s Day but I’m going to wait on that one. With the economy the way it is, I need something to make me laugh right now instead of sending me over a bridge.

Trips

Because of the economy, I’m not planning anything anytime soon but good lordy; the cruises sure have gotten cheap lately. A guy in the office is taking one with his wife in Aug. They paid just over $600 for the both of them to take a Carnival cruise (5 days).
Terri said something about going down to Gulf Shores for a long weekend. That might be doable around Labor Day. The Halloween trip for NYC is still on even though that’s marathon weekend in the city, I won’t be doing it even if I get in…as I mentioned before if I get in, I’m taking the deferment. A lot of things have to happen for me to even consider walking/jogging the dang thing right now.

Jobs

We all took a salary decrease that starts Apr 5th. I’m ok with it but I did do a few cut backs to off set it. It was way better than laying people off… We actually do have a position open that we’re going to fill in our Purchasing Dept. believe it or not. Things have not got REAL bad here because the belt has been tight for a long time but I guess we’ll all be riding this wave out together. I’m just glad to have a job & benefits right now. I do love my coworkers to pieces, even the ones that seem bat shit crazy. :)
*If you know of a corporate lawyer's position anywhere, let me know. Jeff Heuser is looking around. He specializes in HR. He's Hannah's hubby. He left his job last week because the company was trying to get him to do some illegal stuff. Long story...short, he didn't want to compromise his law degree so he got the hell out with 3 months severance pay.

Weekend

The weekend looks rainy & busy. It’s a repeat of the rainy Tom King from last year. I’m just glad I’m not doing the ½ marathon this year. To be truthful, yes, I wanted to cry at the start last year but 2-3 miles into it I realized I would be fine, adjusted my pace, & had fun. I knew it wouldn’t be a PR anyway. (atrocious sinus issues last winter & unknown to me at the time, a cracked shin) A 5k will be a quick, wet, little jaunt for me compared to last year! Sure I’ll be taking it easy with Pam but we’ll be outta there in no time. Dinner, Joe’s parents, Joe’s kids, etc…should make for a busy Saturday evening. I get to spend Sunday at my place which is rare these days. I’ve missed my place. Even though it’s supposed to rain from now till never & be cooler, I’ve not ruled out a ride this weekend.

My Texas Nephew, Austin Jay

Austin Jay turns 14 on March 15th. As my sister put it when he was born, he’s our military pay day baby. I’m not going to lie, it pains me almost every day to know I can’t be around him & Avery to watch their basketball or soccer games. Austin was invited to do AAU basketball in his region recently. He was on the middle school team & the city team but now he’s going to do AAU also. Deb said it would involve some traveling. I think she’s spending a lot of time in the bleachers these days with Avery playing too.

Overall, things are good right now, not fabulous, not crazy, just good. I can’t complain too much. Hope everyone has a great weekend & if you’re running Tom King this year, pretend you’re playing in the rain & your parents are yelling at you to hurry up & come inside. :P

Correction...

I didn't just like it, I loved "Again to Carthage". Read both!
Seriously, the last 30 or so pages made me cry. :)

What to write?!

Well, there's nothing real new going on with me but I'll babble about a few things anyway...

Sunday: Rest (the most exercise I got on Sunday was hanging upside down on the monkey bars in the playground)
Monday: The usual (45 min spin class & some ab work) the abs aren't looking too bad these days I might add. :)
Tuesday: 1 hr spin class at 5:30am (I can never tell if it's Leslie wearing us out or I'm still tired from Kim's Monday evening class, probably both!) I stopped at UTSI after work & got my bike out of the civic. I rode a solid hour over to the Mach Tenn Tri area & out to the main road that goes through the base & back. It's rolling hills & I needed to practice changing gears on them. I worked up a good little sweat. The deer were everywhere! I saw one cyclist & he wanted to know where I was going. I told him I was just messing around out there with my gears. He had "Bonjour" on his backside.

Tomorrow I'm sleeping in & in the afternoon, I'm heading to Harvey's for weights, ab work, & stretching only. No walking this week for me. Cousin Pam & I are walking/jogging the Tom King 5k on Sat. She's never done it & I pray she doesn't catch her son's flu like symptoms before then. We'll be in & out of there really quick. (Not going upstairs for the brunch) It's just like me to go see the doc for tests on friday & then do the 5k on Saturday! ha! Oh well...I'm hoping for a good bone density test & MRI on friday so everyone cross your fingers.

I’m about 30 pages or so from finishing “Again to Carthage”. I really like it. Some chapters that deal with Cassidy fishing didn’t interest me but I guess it made his character seem more well rounded. Runners of his caliber don’t just run all the time; they do other things much like the rest of us. Honestly, I believe they need to combine both “Once A Runner” & “Again to Carthage” to make one movie. I’d pay to see it. I just can’t imagine who would play him. He’s tall with reddish hair. Ummmm…

Ride, Stretch/Strength, Ride

I ate way too much cake on friday at my Japanese bosses baby shower/b-day lunch. So I headed to Harvey's right after work.

Friday: 65 min slow walk, a few leg machines, some free weights, & yoga ball crunches

Somehow this week I made my quads sore...maybe it was weights, maybe a few too many standing squats, who knows...but I sure felt it today. Ouch!

Saturday: 7+ miles in the misty rain before the 45 min pilates class, then another 18 with Terri. She's having hip issues so we didn't push it. I'm still just getting comfortable with gears/pedals so I didn't care. I got 25 miles in for the day along with some great strength/stretching to boot. We stopped to look at the lake (Woods Reservoir) so Terri could eat something. Stupid head me, still had one foot locked in & fell over while standing just like I did the very first time I fell out there & almost in the same spot. My seat now has two matching tears. I'm a goober! I didn't know what to wear since the sun just wouldn't peek through until later. Obviously, I got wet during the 7 miles I did before pilates but got hot during our ride after class. Oh well, it's just that time of year, ya know..."Wait 15 mins & the weather will change."

I'm off to Pro-Cycling to pick up Terri some new gloves & I'll probably get Alex to service the bike again. (It's free for 3 yrs!) Not sure what tomorrow holds for exercise but it is supposed to rain. Bummer!

I caved in today like a caveman...

Yes, I eat chocolate sometimes but I hate myself when I do, especially when I've not worked for it. I ate a 260 calorie almond joy today so I made myself burn off those calories & then some... I walked 65 mins on the deathmill & did 15 mins on the elliptical. (all low impact & slow as Christmas, of course!)

I did get up this morning & get to the pool for about 40 mins of aqua jogging. I'm starting to like the mornings more & more...I watched daylight come on at 6:05am through the big windows. :)

Tomorrow, I'm only doing the am spin class. I've got party stuff to get together. My Japanese boss is having a baby in less than 2 months & it's her birthday. I so dread all the food on friday. :( Friday, I'm heading to the pool in the morning (I hope) & then to Harvey's to walk the party food off.

The weekend is looking absolutely fabulous! I hope to get the bike out!

"Perfectly Healthy"

That's what the doctor's office said when they called me today to give me the results of some blood work I had done on friday. I was hoping they'd tell me that I'm lacking something mysterious that keeps bones from healing & they'd write me a prescription. I need a prescription for "miracle grow" for cracked shins, please. Yes, give me 100 mg of bone to go!

Despite the poor health habits of my family & bad genes (mainly poor health habits!), I'm as healthy as I can be...despite diabetes, overweightness (is that a word?), glaucoma, high blood pressure, mental illness (that's up for debate at times), high cholesterol, breast cancer, etc.... You name it. It's somewhere in my family on both sides of my family, but I have NONE of it, thank God. All this time spent in the gym & eating somewhat healthy does work to some extent, ya know! :)
Now if I could just pry the forks out of my mother's hands, convince my 40 yr old sister she needs to do more than walk her dogs for 20 mins a day, & outlaw cigarettes from various other family members, I feel my life would be complete. I want to make a difference in my family but I always come off as a bitch so like the old saying goes..."you can lead a horse to water...." I'm satisfied that I'm not my mother's daughter nor a daddy's girl. I am my great grandfather's girl. After retiring in his late 60's, he gardened, fished, drove, & ran around with his great grandkids all the way into his mid-80's & died when he was almost 94. I pray I have his health, his zest for life, but I know I already have something of his....his sense of humor. :P

Catching Up, again...

Picking up with Thursday, I did the early spin (only Kim, the instructor & I showed up!) & late spin that day before heading to Nashville. I had two doctor’s appts on Friday. The first was with Dr. Johnson, who is off Charlotte & 24th. He came bouncing in literally. High energy to say the least! I had been reading some framed articles & looking at some awards on his walls. Apparently, he’s a swimming nut. He attended the Athens & Beijing Olympics as one of many doctors who supported the swim team. So, in my mind the hands that have possibly touched Jason Lezak (relay anchor that kicked some French butt) and/or Michael Phelps has touched my shin. :P

The only thing that I found out different was that I have a small fracture on the back of my shin also, not just the front. Dr. Johnson wondered out loud to me why Dr. Stevens had not ordered a bone density test & MRI since this injury was diagnosed way back in June ’08. So, Mar 13th I’m heading back for those tests. In the meantime, he gave me an aircast. Now don't get jealous, ok. I'm adding this to my VERY long list of running injury gadgets. I wore it Sunday & I had it on today but there’s no way I can wear this thing every single day. He didn’t say NOT to do anything as far as exercise. He told me that I obviously already know what aggravates it. Truth be known I REALLY need to spend more time in the pool aqua jogging. On a positive note, I’m down another pound according to the Urban Active gym scale. The other appt on friday was for a physical. I haven’t heard anything but my blood pressure is 110/70 like it usually is… When I told her about my shin she also said, "Why didn't your doc schedule an MRI & bone density test?" I said, "Uhhh, I've changed doctors!"

So, Friday I didn’t work out at all. Saturday, we headed to the gym. I walked just over an hour, did some leg weights, & crunches. Saturday night was the Red Wings – Predators game & boy was it a blow out! See disappointed Red Wing fan below. Ha!Bless his heart, I guess I need to get another Valentine’s day present to make up for this one. He likes the Preds but since he’s a Michigander, he loves the Wings. I knew in my gut something fantastic was going to happen when he made the statement earlier in the day, “When the Preds score 5 goals, you get a free frosty, but don’t expect that against the Wings.” Famous last words! FIVE goals in the first 10 minutes of the 1st period! When Hannah, Jeff, & Jeff’s son (Austin) showed up for Mexican down town, I almost choked from laughter. Hannah had a sign around her neck that said something like, “Death before I’m a Red Wing fan!” Jeff & Austin were in Red Wing jerseys. She planned to sit between them. I think we all had a few too many margaritas because I buzzed all the way through the 1st period of that game. Everytime they scored I got up & acted as if I was at a Titans game. :P Final score Preds 8 Red Wings ZERO! "Cat in the Hat" is clearing the ice. :P

Sunday, I did my ab workout dvd. It was ok but I really needed to be in workout clothes. Doing ab workouts in pajamas is not a smart thing. I felt like I was working my arms more than anything. We did get out yesterday for a movie at the Belcourt theater. We saw “Two Lovers” with Gwyneth Paltrow & Joaquin Phoenix. It was ok… pretty intense actually. Every time I see him he reminds me of how brilliant he was as Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line”.

Nashville only got a light dusting of snow. Apparently, all of it fell in the southeast. As I was driving in this morning, it was weird. Hardly anything north of Murfreesboro but thicker & thicker as I got close to Manchester… Ahh, and my week is off to a busy start… I got caught up on my Friday work, went to the Rec Ctr & did my usual Monday work out (Abs & spin class). March is in like a Lion...but NOT a Detroit Lion, apparently. :P