Black Friday

I don't understand the need some people seem to have to line up in the middle of the night to rush into a store to buy supposedly marked down goods they probably don't need. People have died in the crush. It's totally nuts. And this is why I stay far away from stores on this day. I don't care how great a deal might be out there. Maybe I'm lucky the Snyder family is so small and that the Mann family has agreed to buy for the kids 16 and under only. This year there are only 5 that fit into that category. The 4-year-old is fun to buy for. The other 4 are old enough that they really care what they get, so Aunt Toni and Uncle Doug get them gift cards. High utility and easily done. 

So today I had lunch with a dear friend and got caught up on our family news, then came home to strip the turkey carcass and get the soup started. Dinner was turkey sandwiches; tomorrow the soup will be featured. One thing I love about winter is home-made soup -- turkey, split pea, vegetarian chili. Fits into the WW plan and sticks to ribs.

Today the bottom fell out of the thermometer and the mercury went south. Our high today was around 30 degrees. These are the conditions that make outdoor activity much less attractive. I think the time has come for me to join the community center and start swimming. I am not really looking forward to it, but it is necessary and I have gone quite public with my triathlon sprint goal. Gotta get going.

Stuffing Strut 2010 is now history

It's 8:30 pm on Thanksgiving. The 5k run is done -- perhaps not in ground breaking time, but still fine. The runners are certainly thanking the cosmos for the rain stopping at race time. Then home again, jiggety jig, where my stalwart spouse has accomplished poultry roasting and a lot of helpful decluttering. I manage to get a shower, but folks are arriving before Doug has a chance. He gets one in later anyway. This is a pretty relaxed group! We put up the tables arranged chairs, put on covers and set the silverware. The turkey has been cooked, carved and eaten, along with mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, green bean casserole, rolls, venison from the Swartz Creek gang, and a handsome array of pies and an interesting pumpkin roll. Water, cider, chocolate milk and water are copiously quaffed. Football is watched and euchre played. Phone calls to distant family are made and catching up done with those close. Leftovers are bagged and loaded. Coats are donned and goodbye hugs exchanged. Car doors slammed and engines started. Tired but happy, my husband and  I relax with a little more football and then a Netflix. The cats, ever xenophobic, have re-emerged. All is quiet once more. Setting furniture back to "normal" can wait until tomorrow. The clutter will re-establish itself without our trying. But for now, I am thankful for my mellow.

Almost Turkey Time

I did several things today for my wellness. 1) One hour of strength training; 2) 2 hours at Bible Study; 3) a good talk with a pastoral friend about a problem that is tying me into knots. I have mixed feelings about this Bible study format, but I decided I would give it a chance, especially since there are several people I really like and respect in other contexts who also attended. One really cool thing was getting a chance to speak French a little with a woman from Haiti. I'm sure it was not perfect French, but I think it was good enough.

It is chilly and blustery today, but the sun is shining, so it lifts my spirit to be outside. It doesn't look good for the weather on Thursday for the 5k I am going to run downtown. Tip Top Susie says you can't wear the shirt if you don't do the event, and it's a really cool shirt. The "Stuffing Strut" start time is 8:00am, which means I should be done before 9:00. My guess is we will be home by 10:00 or so, and the cooking can begin (or continue).

Another Monday

Today I ran a bunch of errands, including going downtown to pay my Blue Cross Blue Shield premium. Woohoo! If you want to know about the high cost of health care, get stuck in an individual policy where you pay a huge amount before you even consume health care at all. But let's move on from that...

I had lunch with my friend Lea, who listened with great compassion and caring as I gnashed teeth and vented. More than that, she took me somewhat to task and challenged me to think about what I really wanted. Wallowing in self-pity without making any real change, or some kind of behavior modification that might actually result in some inner peace. I have several friends like that, and believe me, they really are gold.

Okay... Moving on....I have vowed to keep some discipline in my fitness routine. Today was not necessarily a banner day for that. However, on the plus side, I did go for second weigh in at Weight Watchers. I'm not blogging about numbers here, folks, but just wanted that to count as a step toward a more healthy life.

Tomorrow, working out with Susie, Bible Study, consultation with a pastoral resource and borrowing tables from church for Thursday's onslaught of the Mann family. Body count for Thursday is 17. Everyone always brings stuff and helps make the potatoes and clean up. In between, it is a raucus and rowdy time. Should be fun!

11 down, 1 to go!

At the beginning of the year, I set myself a goal of riding my bike at least once in every month of the year. I have to say that I almost failed right out of the gate. January was blankety-blank cold!! So finally, on the 28th or 29th, when it was at least dry on the roads and not windy, we bundled up as much as possible and set out. As I recall, we did a chilly 6 miles -- more than a token, less than a "regular" ride in reasonable weather. I think we did 2 or 3 rides in February and so on, as the weather became more conducive.

It's funny what pushing your limits can do. I vaguely remember a quote that goes along these lines -- "A mind stretched by new ideas can never go back to its original size." Or something like that. Well, my assumptions about the conditions under which I would ride, having been challenged by the winter rides, have changed to include much more unpleasant possibilities. It's really just a matter of having the right gear. Okay, I do have some limits. But they are not as restrictive as before.

I am keeping my eyes peeled for reasonable weather for a December ride, believe me.

Four and more

It has been a busy couple of weeks, although not exactly physically active ones. I am going to make a point of writing at least a little something every day now. Part of this is for the triathlon and part for the C25K at church.

Today I took advantage of the relative warmth (50 degrees) and sunshine and went for a run. I thought I would mix it up a little and take a different route than I have been running lately. I used MapMyRun.com to determine the distances. West River to Meridian through Hawthorne Glen is a mile. From that point down to Lake and back is a mile. From that point up to Bellevue is a mile. So there are a variety of ways to do a 3-mile run with an option to extend the distance.

Although I went out with the idea of running 3, but making the extension decision as I came up to the 2-mile mark (Meridian and Hawthorn Glen) after going down to Lake and back. I was feeling good at that point, breathing well and heart rate near the top of my working range but not straining past it. So I decided to add on the mile. Anything I did after getting back to Hawthorn Glen would be extra and I could always complete the run with some walking. It's all good.

As it happens, I started having some foot discomfort right about the 3 and 1/2 mile point and had to ease up to a walk. I did my 4 miles in 1 hour 4 minutes, or an average pace of 16 minutes per mile. I 'm okay with that!

I was thinking about when I started and could barely gasp my way through a half mile. My goal was to be able to run one mile on a regular basis. Now that is no big deal at all. It's astonishing, really, when I think of it in those terms.

Next on my to-do list is to get signed up at the Flat Rock Community Center and get the swimming going. I guess I should go all Nike on that and "just do it."

Triple insanity kickoff

I didn't go to Washington to rally for sanity (and/or fear). I thought I would generate my own homegrown variety, in the form of training for a triathlon sprint event next June. This event involves a 500M open water swim, a 12 (or is it 15?) mile bike ride, capped off by a 5k run (or walk/crawl, by that time). At this point, I can certainly ride that far, and I can certainly "run" that far, but have never tried to do them in sequence. And I have no idea how far I can swim.

So the plan is to concentrate on the swimming during the winter. I will be joining the Flat Rock Community Center, a beautiful facility less than 10 miles from home, with lap swimming every morning, but is also available during the day. (It makes training a lot easier when one is retired!) What I want to do is get to a point where I can swim at least 750 yards in a pool without being wiped out. I am hoping this will help me overcome the added difficulty of open water versus pool swimming. I don't really relish the swimming. It doesn't interest me in its own right.

So...I now have a theme for blogging for a while. If there is anyone actually following this, let me know what you think!

See you in the pool!