Closing the books for June

I can't believe it, but the summer is already 1/3 over for this chica. Let's reflect on June a bit. A lot has been going one...

• Overall, the weather has been pretty good with only a handful of rainy days here and there, and the temps have usually been between 75 and 90... which is perfect....until the humidity picks up in July.
• I tagged along with Lisa and joined her in Streaking through the month. Here's what the numbers looked like...
• Total days: 30 (24:40:33)
  # of Swims: 12 (6:43:00)
  # of Rides: 12 (9:18:15)
  # of Runs: 11 (5:12:18)
  # of ST: 3 (1:02:00)
  # of Walks: 2 (1:02:00)
  # of Turbo Sculpt Sessions: 3 (2:00:00)
  # of Turbo Ab Jam Sessions: 7 (2:20:00)
  # of Softball Games: 6
• Here are the stats for the month as well....
• SWIM - 16200 meters (or 10.06 miles) ....... 3200 meters in May
  
• BIKE - 170.87 miles (mostly outdoors!) ...... 82.77 miles in May
  
• RUN - 26.57 miles (my lowest this year) ..... 34.22 miles in May
  
• I also participated in Viv's Weight loss Challenge. I have increased my workouts and decreased the bad foods. All in all I am pretty happy with the 6.2 lbs dropped this month!! Now the key it to keep it off and maybe drop some more.... slowly.
• On top of all of this, I am currently in the market for a home of my own. I met with a wonderful realtor last week and looked at about 7 homes, all different sizes... townhomes, twinhomes, condos. For the past week I have been looking online for more to look at and crunching numbers like crazy. Who knew this could be that much work?!
  
• And today? Today I started the crazy 100 Pushup Challenge. I was only able to do 7 pushups on my initial test, but starting W1D1 today... I completed 28 pushups altogether.

Keep on keeping on, y'all!
__________________________________________________________________________
OCN (Sunday): 12.02 miles indoor, 32:34 (avg. 22.14 mph)
ORN (Sunday): 1.41 miles, 15:02 minute run-off the bike (avg. 10:39 min/mile)
OSN (Monday): 1600M, 41:00 (avg. 2:33 min/100M)
__________________________________________________________________________

Rainy Day

I was exhausted Thursday night after my ride (see post below). I forgot to mention how I was almost side-swiped by a bimbo in a police car while waiting at a red light with the others infront of me? Or how I almost biffed it when following close behind others on a sidewalk when they decided to come to a screeching halt and I felt myself going backwards and unable to get my feet out of the clips? Fortunately, there were no falls and I came out of both situations with no marks.

Friday morning, my goal was to do a run/swim. I had two options; one getting it all done before 8am, and then the other around lunch time. When my alarm went off at 6 I knew I wanted to go with the later, but was texted by a friend already on her way to the gym. In hopes of not wasting my morning, I flew out of bed and was on my way to the gym. I wasn't able to get in a run before the swim. The swim was completely awful and I blame it on not getting enough rest. It's as simple as that.

This morning, I woke to a rainy day. Again...second day in a row. Blech. I slept in a bit and was able to get to the gym by 10. It was my intention to run for 30 minutes, and did so. I changed it up a bit and integrated some intervals into my run. This is something I hope to be doing more of... I have to Shave some time off my 5K this year, ya know!?..

After my run it felt great to cool off in the pool. It wasn't my intention to do a lot of distance in the pool, just some real good swimming in 20 minutes. So, I broke it into 2 10 minute pieces, trying to work more on pace than endurance. The first 10 minutes I only did 400M but it felt good and consistent. The second 10 minutes I was able to do 500M and very happy. I almost did another 10 minutes but decided to call it quits.

I am going to spend the rest of my afternoon reading and probably watching a movie... what could be better on a rainy day?!

OSN (Friday): 1200M, 35:00 (2:55 min/100M);
Turbo Abs - 20:00
ORN (Saturday): 3.1 miles, 32:51 (10:35 min/mile);
OSN (Saturday): 900M, 20:00 (2:13 min/100M)

Riding into the Sunset

I have been struggling with my eating habits today. I blame it on the summer heat. Honestly. I didn't head to the gym after school today as I usually do, only because I knew I was going to join the group tonight for a ride. When I got home, I looked in my fridge and nothing sounded good. Finally, after staring in my fridge and cupboards for a while, I opted for scrambled eggs. I attempted to make an english muffin with the egs but found the last one left to be moldy. Scrambled eggs alone it was. I Just wasn't that hungry today. Maybe my stomach is shrinking? I still blame part of it on the heat.

It was about 83 degrees when our group met up shortly after 6 this evening for our ride. The UV index was only at a 3 (out of 10). Don't worry, I still applied the sunscreen! We had a nice turnout... 6 guys and 3 girls (including myself). We took a different route from any other of our rides; wanting to head south and then east, riding into the 10-15 mph wind, with the idea that when we would head north and back west it would be smooth sailing.

When heading south it was hard work. The wind was so strong, but I was able to keep up with the front of the group, averaging 14-16 mph on the bike. When we started heading east, the wind wasn't as bad but was still present, especially as soon as we reached the county road heading into MN. The beautiful green fields were enough to distract one from the wind.

We headed north through Moorhead and were going to attempt riding through Lindenwood Park. Getting there seemed to be quite a challenge. A few of the neighborhoods were re-doing their roads and we had to re-route a couple times, and then got to another street that was being re-done as well. We were determined to get to that park. Finally, at one point, we ended up getting off our bikes, walking along the side of a couple yards, crossing the dirt covered road, and then got back on the saddle. We were a bit dirty and muddy, but from there it was smooth sailing. The park was beautiful and the sun was starting to drop in the west. It was a great ride overall... a little challenge thrown into some great scenery!

OCN: 18 miles, 1:28:00, 12.27mph

The Lesser of Two Evils

run in near 80 degrees with 22-30mph wind gusts and the sun beating down on you?

- or -

run in a most-likely-humid gym on the infamous dreadmill?

Well, I just couldn't bear the idea of doing another dang run on the treadmill. I figured it was going to be too humid in the gym for my liking (which increases the amount of stinky men) and thought a cool breeze (breeze being the operative word) would feel good on a nice short outdoor run.

Turned out it was only 77 degrees, but the sun was scorching, and I knew there was something I forgot to check before I left... the UV index. 7. oops... a bit high. It was only 5 when I burnt myself sunday. Luckily this time I remembered the sports sunscreen with ultra sweatproof protection! ha! yeah, righ.

I must have been running at a good pace (when I was running) because I did quite a bit of walking and thought the sun was going eat me alive. The wind gusts, when present, were horrible. I was dying out there and sweating like a ____________? .........feel free to fill in the blank as you wish.

ORN: 2.48 miles, 29:57, 12:04 min/mile
Turbo Abs: 20:00

A book with the blues....

On Sunday I finished my first summer read, Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton. Over the years, especially the past 10 years, I have grown to love reading as an enjoyable pass-time; reading all sorts of books from love stories, suspense, to memiors and such.

Last year, as many of you may remember, I traveled to Chicago with my family to attend Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. This was his second, and probably his last. If I remember correctly, 100% of the proceeds were going to his Crossroads Centre in Antigua. A large number of musicians participated in it and it was absolutely wonderful.

When I heard this book was coming out, I was esctatic. After taking part in the Festival last summer, I wanted to learn more about his career as a musician and such. Music has been such a huge part of my life growing up and I always found the piano to be my sanctuary. Whenever I felt down or needed time to myself, you could probably find me seated in front of our 88 keys, an old upright that once belonged my my Mom's father. I would always feel better after sitting down at the piano; whether it was for 20 minutes, or an hour. This was the same with listening to a wide variety of music; instrumental, oldies, classical, country, etc. My participation in band from grade school through my high school years was fun a well, but mostly for social enjoyment. Thus, I have always had a fondness and appreciation for all sorts of music.

Back to the book. I will be honest, this was a hard one for me to get into. It was slow starting but the last 2/3rds of the book I thought was enjoyable. I learned a lot about him as an artist, and as a person, as well as an addict. Probably more than I wanted to, and I know that some others whom have read this book have lost respect for him. Fortunately, that was not the case with me. I knew that he was a drug addict, I just didn't know the details. If you don't want to know more than the fact that he pretty much did every drug in the book and drank every thing on the shelf at one point in his life, then don't read the book. But, if you can look past that and realize how much talent was there, his fight to overcome addiction over and over again, and what he has done with himself in his years of sobriety.... then read it.

Mostly due to my Dad's love of the blues, I have grown to love Eric Clapton's music over the past years, as well as many other kinds of blues artists. So many people have such a negative view of this genre of music, and that is okay... it's their opinion. But, Eric Clapton couldn't have said it better....

"The blues is a style of music that was born from the union between African and European folk cultures, conceived in slavery, and fostered in the Mississippi delta. It has its scale, its own laws and traditions, and its own language. In my view it's a celebration of triumph over adversity, full of humor, double entendre, and irony, and it's very rarely, if ever, depressing to listen to. It can be, and usually is, the most uplifting music you will ever hear."

If you are interested in blues music and looking for other artists of interest... let me know. I have a wonderful list started.

11 Weeks ... The Countdown Begins...Now.

This morning I was finally able to join the group for a ride and there was only four of us, me and three of da boys. We went out on the route we took the first time I went with the group, stretching it a bit longer and taking a path along the river. When comparing the two rides, today was faster and further in less time than my first ride. All good, right?! If we wouldn't have had to stop for a train and wait at a few red lights, I think my average speed would have been well above 13mph. I now know what it feels like to go 22mph on a bike... yikes!

Between the ride today and reading outside at the coffee shop later... I might have gotten too much sun. Wait... I know I got too much sun. Damnit, forgot to re-apply the sunscreen. What's worse than runners tan lines, Marcy? Cycling tan lines on top of them...
The streaking has continued with the weight loss at a stand still, somewhat. At least I am not gaining weight, right? Here's what the streak looks like thus far....

Total days: 22 (20:00:09)
# of Swims: 8 (4:31:00)
# of Rides: 9 (6:47:41)
# of Runs: 8 (3:54:28)
# of ST: 3 (1:02:00)
# of Walks: 2 (1:02:00)
# of Turbo Sculpt Sessions: 2 (1:20:00)
# of Turbo Ab Jam Sessions: 4 (1:20:00)
# of Softball Games: 4

I have been so caught up with streaking this month that the training for my next triathlon has been put on the back burner, so to speak. In a way, I have been training, but not with a definite plan in mind. I have 11 weeks to the day to train. No worries here. I just need to find a training plan or make my own... 11 weeks. 11 weeks.

Calling all triathletes....

Is there anything you can think of that I need to keep in mind with my training plan??

______________________________________________________________________
FRIDAY: SWIM/BIKE BRICK: SWIM - 1100M (20:00); BIKE - 12.76 miles (35:15) avg 21.71mph
SATURDAY: RUN - 2.52 miles (12:53 min/mile); Turbo Abs (20:00)
SUNDAY: Cycle Group Ride - 17.6 miles (1:24:04) avg. 12.7 mph; Turbo Abs (20:00)
______________________________________________________________________

Saturday Sixer

Fables and Fairy Tales:

At summer school, we try to change things up a bit in the area of reading. My main focus is exposing the children to different stories, mostly at their level, with very repetative lines. We usually will read a book a couple times a day for a couple days.

This week at summer school, I was getting ready to read with three of my students and quickly came to the realization that none of them had read The Gingerbread Man before or heard of it. Ever! I can bet that all of them have seen the movie Shrek with the Gingerbread Man in it, but had no clue what story it was coming from.

Don't parents read to their kids anymore?

I remember reading a lot of books with my parents growing up; curling up on the couch or chair with a big book.

Looking for a post idea?

Try this Saturday Sixer....

List six of your favorite children's stories/books:

1. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
2. Princess and the Pea
3. The Ugly Duckling
4. The Emperor's New Clothes
5. The Tortoise and the Hare
6. Little Red Riding Hood

Water, water, water....

The past four days seemed to go by really fast. Throw in a late night of softball, 4+ hours of working out, and a busy evening with my Mom and youngest sister who were in town last night/today ... all left me feeling a bit tired this evening.

Our temps are finally reaching above 80 degrees! I blame today's sluggishness to the combination of going, going, going, all week, an afternoon of put-put in the sun today, and not enough water. I am usually very good about getting enough water, from the moment I wake up until I crawl into bed.

However, I have been slacking on the hydration a bit this week, and it was definitely apparent today. I was so tired today that I didn't make it too the cycle group ride. And you know I am not myself when I don't make it to that ... especially considering the weather hasn't been that cooperative lately... until today. Today.... it was a perfect 82 degrees with a slight cool breeze, but I just could not get myself to go. I opted for a nice walk and then an hour of Turbo Sculpting and Abs.

I love my Turbo Jam. I purchased this a couple years ago, but haven't really used it much in the past year. The video selection consists of Learn and Burn (30 min), Turbo Sculpt (40 min), Ab Jam (20 min), 20 Minute Workout, and Cardio Party (45 min). Supposedly it does wonders for the metabolism! It's the only kind of exercise video that I have really enjoyed and seen results. Now, if I can incorporate it into my regular routine, we should see some very necessary changes.... soon?