To an active June...

My big goal for June is to make it an active month.  Just get up and move more. 

Today, Gus and I slept late - he let me sleep until 10! 

But this afternoon, we headed to the lake so he could swim a bit.  The park was packed so we drove all the way to the end and found a spot.  I kept him on the leash but let him swim out to retrieve the Frisbee.  After several retrievals, Gus lost track of the Frisbee.  I could see it but it was far enough out that I would have had to swim.  I kept hoping the waves would bring it closer to shore so I could grab it.  Randomly, a guy on a jet ski rode up and reached down for the Frisbee to toss back; in the process, he dumped both himself and his passenger into the lake.  Gus swam out and grabbed the Frisbee from him.  Thanks dude!  After a little while longer, Gus was ready to go. 

On the way home, we stopped at the dog park for a bit to meet up with his friend Mia.  They were both tired so they didn't play much but it was nice to chat with Mia's owner, who happens to be my friend, neighbor and veterinarian.  :)

Gus has been napping and snoring since we got home.  I need to clean his ears before bedtime.

Sometimes, he naps in the weirdest positions.

While we were at the lake, my sister sent me this photo.

EEEEEKKKK!  That's the kitchen window on the back porch of my family's house in Kansas.  The bull snake was after eggs or baby birds in nests along the porch roof.  I would have flipped out.  I know that it's not venomous and actually is good for keeping rattlesnakes away, but still....eeeekkk!

I did some meal prepping tonight, but need to make an Aldi run tomorrow to get a few more things.  I do have a plan for breakfast and lunch tomorrow, which is a start and will keep planning ahead from there.

Last Day in May - a month in review

So this will technically post on June 1, but I want to do a quick review of May because it's been a bit of a crazy month.

First, I lost 3 pounds but I am still 13 pounds higher than my most recent low.  Moving in the right direction again though.

The first Friday of May was a childhood friend's wedding.  She moved to San Antonio after college and met an Aggie to marry!  Their wedding was at Zedler Mill in Luling, Texas, which is only a couple hours from where I live.  I took the day off from work and took Gus for a nice, long walk that morning.  I made sure I got to Luling in time to check into the hotel and change.  As luck would have it, the hotel was just across I20 from a Buc-ees! 

The wedding was a perfect chance to wear my awesome Aggie boots - made by my awesome littlest sister for my awesome middlest sister's wedding!  And the brown sundress matches the boots, even the white piping details - little did I know it also nearly matched the bridesmaids' dresses - oops! 

Zedler Mill is located along the San Marcos River, and the venue has an outdoor area perfect for a wedding overlooking the river.  The reception, dinner and dance were held in a pavilion at the top of the hill.  The bride made the cakes --- and had a Dreamsicle theme.  I think she found every wedding- and fireman-related Dreamsicle that has ever been made.  It was really cute.  As part of their guest book, they asked guests to bring a recipe.  I gave them the recipe for King Ranch Chicken.  They also took photos with all their guests to add to the page that we had glued the recipe card to.  It was fun to see her and her family and a few other people from home.  It was a beautiful evening for a wedding! 

The next day, I drove to College Station (after dropping off the bride's aunts at the Austin airport) for an Aggie baseball game with some of my college friends.  I hadn't been to an Aggie baseball game since Olsen Field was upgraded to Blue Bell Park.  The Aggies were playing LSU and managed a win at the bottom of the ninth!  We all went out to dinner afterwards before I headed home.

That Sunday, I finally went for a bike ride --- to make sure I could survive my upcoming triathlon!  I had borrowed a bike at the beginning of April, but hadn't ridden it at all.  So I got up early enough to take a ride around the neighborhood - I went 8 miles on the bike!  Then, I took Gus for a 2-mile walk... so I knew I would at least survive the tri!  (good news since I hadn't ridden a bike for YEARS before that Sunday ride!)

A few days later, I was eating a late dinner when suddenly it hurt to swallow and my apartment felt really cold.  (The thermostat was set at 78 - not cold in my apartment.)  Classic influenza-like illness --- fever, sore throat, headache, body aches.  I didn't take any meds the first couple days because I was hoping that letting the virus run its course would help me get over it more quickly (because I had the triathlon that weekend), but no such luck.  I called in sick to work for the first time in over a year --- two days in a row.  On the third day of being sick (and also the day before the triathlon), I decided I'd better check in with a healthcare provider to make sure it wasn't strep in case I needed some antibiotics.  Rapid strep negative.  NP said to treat the symptoms. But despite not being the only person in the waiting area with respiratory symptoms, I was the only one who wore a mask... not cool.



I went home and packed for the trip to San Antonio for the Spa Girl Tri sprint triathlon.  I drove to San Antonio in a thunderstorm, but the forecast was clear for Saturday morning.  I met one of my college friends at the hotel - she lives in SA so she came for a girls' weekend and to cheer me on.  One of my coworkers also did the tri so we caught up with her for a bit later that evening to rack our bikes together in the transition area.  I also picked up my packet.  Swag included a cute little bag, a wine glass, and of course a t-shirt.

 

 

Here's the view from our room!

 

 

Saturday morning, I woke up at some crazy hour so I could get down to the transition area in time to get my stuff laid out and get my body marking done.  I wore a BCG tennis top from Academy and Under Armour shorts under Danskin tri shorts.  I added an orange tank when I transitioned from the swim to bike.  It was a weird combo but it worked for me.

 

The swim was in the lazy river - they just turned off the jets --- thank goodness because we would have been swimming against the current!  I seeded myself way back because I hadn't been in the pool and wasn't sure how long it would take me to swim 400 meters, so it took forever to even get into the water.  Official time in the water was 10:35.

 

People were already finishing the bike and beginning the run by the time I went up the hill from the pool to the transition area - kind of crazy to see, knowing that I still had a long way to go.  As I went up the hill, I saw my friend with a sign that said Go Bonnie Go!  I don't know when she made it but it was an awesome surprise!  Transition 1: 5:42

 

The bike portion was actually my favorite part - it was a 5-mile loop that we had to ride twice.  It had more hills than I expected so I had to shift gears more than I'd anticipated but it was fun.  Going downhill, I felt like I was flying.  Going uphill was challenging but still enjoyable.  Except the last hill.  That one required that I get off the bike and walk it up.  Bike time:  1:01:07.

 

Transition 2: 2:33

 

The run was the hardest part for me.  Not as much physically as mentally.  It was an out-and-back route that went down from the resort and then back up to the finish line.  I had tears running down my face as I got to the 1.5 mile mark, knowing that I was almost finished.  They were tears of excitement that I was finishing and disappointment for not being as prepared as I should have been.  But it gives me a time to beat for next year.  I pulled myself together by the time I got to the finish line where my friend and my coworker were waiting!   "Run" time: 28:50

 

 

 

Total Time:  1:48:49

 

 

 

So I finished my first sprint triathlon.  Will I do it again?  I think so. 

 

Then I stayed sick for another week or so, probably because I put my body through that extra stress. 

 

My littlest sister came to visit for the week of my birthday.  That's right --- another birthday.  33 - my favorite number -- maybe it will be my favorite age???  Here's to a brand new year!! 

 

 

February 5Ks

Two 5Ks this month!  Getting closer to meeting the 10 5Ks in 2014 resolution!

Cupid's Chase 5K

On February 1, Gus and I headed to Georgetown for the Cupid's Chase 5K.  We got to the start with plenty of time to pick up my number and my t-shirt.  I also picked up a friend's packet - she was sick with flu-like symptoms so she opted to skip the race.  The race is a fundraiser for Georgetown parks.  It's a point-to-point race that starts by the courthouse in the little town square and ends near the Georgetown Bark Park.  This was our second year to participate. 

We started near the back of the pack like we normally do.  We were able to run the first quarter mile again! yay us!  Then we wogged (mostly walked) the rest.  After a little cool down, Gus and I walked about a mile back to the car - we definitely took our time getting back to the car.

See Spot Run 5K

Last Saturday, Gus and I woke up early to drive to College Station for the See Spot Run 5K at Wolf Pen Creek park.  It's a fundraiser for the Texas A&M veterinary students.  Dog participation is encouraged, so there were lots of dogs and owners.  This was the third year for us to do See Spot Run -- and this year there were way more people than the previous years, which was great to see!  As I was checking in, one of my grad school classmates spotted me.  We hung out while we waited for the race to start and she jogged with us for a few minutes, until Gus stopped for #2.  I told her to go ahead at that point, so she finished a few minutes ahead of us.  Before the race, we also saw Daphne, the St. Bernard, and her humans -- and her new four-legged sister, a 9-month old mastiff.  Super cute, pretty girls --- they had done the 3K race that was before the 5K. 

I wasn't paying attention before the race and didn't get my Garmin searching for satellites in time to start my time at the START line.  Oh well.  We jogged for the first little bit, until Gus decided that he needed to take a break for #2.  I don't think it was a quarter mile into the race, but that's life.  We wogged - I felt like we ran more for this race than the last one.  Gus did great!  He did act like a lab and instead of drinking from the kiddie pool full of water, he hopped in and sloshed around.  He was not the first and was probably not the last to do that though.  :) 

I haven't seen the official times or any photos yet. 

Girls' Night Out

Last night, I met up with a couple friends and some of their coworkers to paint a picture.  I've seen lots of photos of fb friends doing something similar so when I was invited, I thought I'd give it a try.

It was a 2-hour class and the picture for the evening was entitled Belton Lake.  I did not get any of the artistic genes in my family so I wasn't sure what to expect from my attempt at painting.

We arrived a few minutes early to set up our easels and pour our BYOB drinks (for those who drink - I had a Diet Coke).  Out group had 6 people in it so we were seated together.  There was another table of 6-8 people so the class was bigger than I expected for a Tuesday night.

We were given 3 paint brushes - wide, medium and fine-ish - and we painted with acrylics so we had to work fast to blend the colors.

First, we laid down the basic background colors which required not much skill but did require speed to blend the colors. 

Then, we added the silhouettes of the hills, land, dock and tree.

The final details were the shadows in the water from the tree and the reflections of the dock lights.  We finished in just over 2 hours, which surprised me. 

The instructor laughed when I asked for a Sharpie to sign my artwork.  :)  So mine remains unsigned at this point because I was not a fan of the fine-ish paint brush we were using. 

It was not a cheap night out but it is something I would probably do again if the picture is something that I like.

Inaugural Arches Resolution 5K recap

After I'd already decided to do the 3 Kings 3 Miler on January 4th, I found out about this new race being put on by Temple Parks & Rec.  Even though the description had me a little nervous, I signed up and figured I'd just go with it and not worry about speed.  The description:  The course will take you through the rolling neighborhoods surrounding the park.

So Gus and I woke up early and headed to Lions Park to pick up our packet.  I had a friend who was also planning to participate, but she had a death in her family so I picked up her packet too.  Because this was the first Resolution 5K, they had fewer people than for the Turkey Trot or the Jingle Bun Run, which is actually kind of nice.  Starting to see familiar faces though.  And I know people recognize us, because they come over to pet Gus or to see what tie he is wearing.  (side note:  my order for new bowties for Gus got cancelled by the seller --- sad face.)

After we got everything situated, we walked around the park to warm up (and then to stay warm) until the start of the race.  I still didn't know where we were going at that point and was praying we would not have to go up the HuGe hill that is part of the walking path around the park that I dread but always feel a sense of accomplishment when I reach the top.  As it turned out, we came down the hill after we toured the neighborhood.  Hills were definitely the theme for these first 2 5Ks of the year ---- guess I'm training for the DC Days 5K in July???

Official time: 44:33.6 (14:22 min/mile)
Garmin time:  44:39.35 (14:25 min/mile) 
Garmin Moving time: 42:55  (13:50 min/mile)

Either way - yay for a sub-45 minute finish!  Especially considering the hills!

After the race, I came home, medicated Gus (my poor old dog and his arthritis), showered and packed a few things to head to Houston to visit my best college friend and her fam.  I got to hang out with my initial-sake --- haha - her first initials are the same as mine.  She's nearly a year old - hard to believe it's been that long since I sat in the hospital with her mom, waiting for her to arrive!



The B.A.s

It was a quick, spur-of-the-moment trip --- part of my Have More Fun resolution.  I know I'll be headed back for B's birthday party in a month or so, but wanted to see them before then!  I was there fewer than 24 hours but we had fun!

I left before lunch to head back.  I found a great Legends of Country radio station in Houston that I could listen to until I got to College Station. 

I need to do better with my food, so I did some basic meal planning for the week.  That made my shopping list and trip a little easier to plan.  I did some prep work by roasting some sweet potatoes and white potatoes tonight.  Tomorrow night, I'll put together the stuffed bell pepper filling that I'm going to eat for supper this week. I won't actually make stuffed peppers, but the filling is yummy (the bell pepper makes its way into the filling)!  For breakfast, I have stuff for smoothies or apples.  Lunch will be an omelet, chili or leftovers. For snacks, I have cheese sticks, applesauce, sweet potatoes and a few other options that can be weighed and measured.  It's my first foray into meal planning but I hope that putting it on paper and figuring out ways to be more creative, I'll do better at tracking my food and save money!

2013 In Review

So I really only made one resolution for 2013 --- complete at least 6 5Ks (like I did in 2012).  And I actually completed 8!  And set a new PR!  (which gives me something to beat next year!)

Resolution Run 5K - Round Rock

Cupid's Chase 5K - Georgetown

See Spot Run 5K - College Station

St. Patrick's Day 5K - Temple

Color Me Rad 5K - Wichita

Color Me Rad 5K with my sisters! - Wichita



The Great Zoo Stampede 5K - Waco

Turkey Trot 5K - Temple --- this is where Gus and I got our current PR!

Jingle Bun Run 5K - Temple

Jingle Bun Run 2013

I definitely got faster over the course of the year --- and have grown to enjoy it even more!  I like getting out of my apartment in the evenings and "wogging" either with the hound or without.  I'm afraid the days of going without him are going to become more often as he gets older and more decrepit.  Next goal is to keep running more and more each time. 

The pictures don't seem to show much difference in the way I look but I certainly feel better!  And my clothes are fitting better!  And the scale is slowly but surely showing a decline!  And Gus has lost weight too!

The Garmin has been a great motivational tool!  One of my coworkers calls me "gadget girl" - she knows that I wog with my Garmin + heart rate monitor, bodymedia armband, and my iPod.  I usually have at least one phone with me too.  Since I got my Garmin, I have recorded 119 miles, nearly 39 hours, average speed 3.4 mph, and burned over 22,000 calories!  I get that I'm a nerd, but I love seeing the numbers and all my gadgets allow me to track those.  Now, to just get better at recording the calories that go into my body. 

Operation Train My Brain is working most of the time.  Lots of stress at work and at home over the last few months have resulted in lots of steps taken and walks with Gus.  More to come in 2014!  I still have my days where I want chocolate (and that's the only thing that will do) but more often than not, I also find myself exercising, even if I did eat that candy bar.

Looking forward to 2014!!

Jingle Bun Run 5K

Merry Christmas!  It's been a few weeks and I haven't done a race recap for the Jingle Bun Run 5K yet. 

The Schlotzsky's Jingle Bun Run 5K (and half marathon) was held Saturday, December 14 at Pepper Creek Trail.  I knew that I'd probably see several people there that I know, either from work or my apartment complex. 

It was pretty chilly that morning - warmer than Thanksgiving morning, but more overcast and with a breeze so I opted for a similar outfit to what I wore for the Turkey Trot.  I did order a new running skort on Black Friday.  I've had this site bookmarked for a while - probably found it on pinterest - so I checked it out and they happened to be having a Black Friday sale.  The skort I wore for the Turkey Trot was good but the under-shorts rode up while I was running - not a big deal since I was wearing tights but would be uncomfortable without the tights.  The Kiava Petal Skort has a longer inseam so I thought I'd try it.  And I really like it - I can imagine wearing it even without the tights - and feel like I would be more comfortable than just wearing running shorts and the skirt part covers up some of those jiggly parts without having to wear loose shorts that will just ride up.  Anyway - that turned into a long paragraph about running skorts.  :)  I also opted to skip gloves and ear warmer since it was a little warmer outside - I'm glad, because my hands and head would have gotten hot pretty quickly.  I did wear one of my new headbands! 

By the way - totally loving my obnoxiously neon yellow running shoes!  I truly only wear them when I'm exercising which will give me a better idea of how many miles I have on them so that I can track when I need to start looking for new ones!  For example, my neon yellows have 72 miles on them as of today.

Gus wore a jingle bell collar and his Santa hat! 

 

The race organizers had early packet pickup on Friday so I already had my number and t-shirt so I didn't have to arrive too early.  While Gus and I were pacing around to stay warm before the race, we said hello to a neighbor and convinced a couple strangers to take our picture.  :)  After the half marathon started, we started moving toward the start line.  There, we ran into one of my co-workers.  She works in another program but she is studying for her Master of Public Health degree so we have that in common.  She said she'd stick with us for the 5K.  I made sure she knew it was ok to leave us behind if we were too slow for her because she does triathlons with her daughter. 

 

Then, we got started!  With Julia acting as a pacer and because the path was so narrow, we wound up jogging over 0.25 mile at the start.  I know 0.25 isn't much, but it's certainly farther than I would have jogged on my own.  I was shocked when I heard my Garmin beep at the 0.25-mile mark.  We slowed down to a walk after that, then did a few more jogging intervals during the first half of the out-and-back course.  Julia's back started hurting so we walked the 'back' part of the course until we got to the 3-mile mark, then jogged the last 0.10 mile over the finish line.  Gus did great - as always! 

 



So that's the quick recap.  Official time:  47:44.4

Wednesday Weigh-in: 12/4/13

November 6 - 247.2
November 13 - 248.0
December 4 - 244.8

Down again - yay!

I had a job interview yesterday.  I am qualified, but I have no idea who else applied nor do I have any control over how any of their interviews go.  I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed if I am not chosen for the position, but I also have a firm belief that things usually work out the way they are supposed to.  If they find somebody better suited for the job, more power to them.  I'll be able to turn over some of those responsibilities that I've taken on over the last several months.  Anyway, I should know by the end of next week.

I took yesterday morning off from work so that I would not have to try to clear my mind from the details of working in the morning before my interview in the afternoon.  That gave me plenty of time to take Gus for a nice long wog down to the park.  It was a little humid but Gus was ready to go.  He is getting better and better about jogging my speed, rather than at an all-out sprint, so that is a definite bonus.  He even did pretty well when we came across a couple squirrels in the park.  I truly believe that my brain is getting trained!  I felt much more relaxed after the wog and my mind was clear.  I don't have to think about anything when I exercise, except putting one foot in front of the other, not tripping over Gus, and just breathing.  I think that was the perfect way to start my day.  Plus "exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy" (a favorite quote from Legally Blonde).  If I could just train myself to be a morning person, I could start out every day a little happier.  :)

After the wog, it was time for a shower and I still had plenty of time to straighten my hair.  I decided against wearing a collared shirt under my suit because it was so warm outside and I knew our office would be warm because the heat has been on for a couple weeks.  I knew the suit jacket would be warm enough.  Anyway, here is what I ended up looking like:

After the 5K last Thursday, I went Christmas decoration shopping in the garage and got out the strand of Christmas lights I bought last year in an effort to take Gus' photo based on a pinterest inspiration.  I decided to try again.  So I set up the camera on my tripod and got out plenty of treats.  Those things plus a tired dog made for much better pictures this year.

And here is Gus' four-legged "cousin" in the Santa sleigh that my mom made years ago for my grandparents' yard.  My brother must have somehow inherited it and repainted it for Coco.

Turkey Trot 5K

brrrrr.   That's the best way to describe this last week in central Texas.  We had several days that were cold and drizzly and several nights with hard freezes.  Unusual for November.

Good thing my best walking buddy has a fur coat!  I bundled up in my cold weather gear and we went out for our evening walks like good kids.  Gus has even stopped fighting his reflective bracelets because he knows he gets to go for a walk.  One evening, I was even crazy enough to walk both Gus and my roommate's dog, because she had stayed home from work with a migraine---- and the dogs definitely needed to be tired out! 

Yesterday morning, Gus and I woke up dark and early to head to Temple Lions Park for the Turkey Trot 5K.  Luckily, I was able to pick up my race packet on Wednesday so we were able to arrive a little later and didn't have to stand in line.  They had almost 700 people pre-registered!  In the packet was a long-sleeve (not white!) tech shirt, a small LED flashlight, a Race Temple koozie, and a Race Temple magnet frame with the 2014 race dates.

Trying to figure out what to wear for the race stressed me out a bit.  I have no problem wearing my long running tights at night in the neighborhood when it's dark and no one will be taking pictures, but when I know there will be pictures taken, different story.  (I wore them at a race earlier this year and hated the photos afterward).  I knew I couldn't wear shorts over the tights because I knew they'd just ride up.  I don't know what made me think of this random running/tennis skirt that I bought on a whim a while ago, but I decided to try it the other night and it was comfy enough that I opted to try it for the race.  I also have a neon yellow/green jacket that I wear for our evening walks but I feel like the Michelin man in it so same story as with the tights - didn't want my photo taken in it.  Which equaled a Wednesday night trip to Academy and Target.  Academy was a bust, but Target had a charcoal gray jacket with neon yellow accents - the charcoal gray went with the skirt and the neon tied into the tights and my new shoes.  Under the jacket, I wore my new Turkey Trot shirt even though nobody would see it.  I also wore gloves and my awesome glittery A&M headband.  I was warm and toasty throughout the morning - my hands got a little warm but not bad at all.

 

Gus opted a for his new orange plaid bowtie.

Gus seems to feed off the adrenaline of a race.  We had a slow start just based on how crowded it was at the beginning, but Gus sped through it and navigated the route with ease.  We jogged some and walked a bunch.   Yay for wogging!  I premedicated Gus with some Vetprofen  and he didn't get too limpy afterward so I'll make that a standard practice for my old dog.

Our official finish time was 44:18.6.   A new personal record!  Way faster pace than I felt like we were going.  I didn't keep track during the race because my Forerunner was under my sleeve and my glove, so not easy to get to.

I had to laugh at the finish line because Gus pushed me over as he made a beeline for the photographer at the end.  The race committee pays for a professional photographer and for the photos are given to the runners free.  It makes me really look forward to the Temple races!  They posted them really quickly --- today already!

The rest of the day was spent resting, relaxing and enjoying Thanksgiving.  My Thanksgiving dinner was leftover salad and spinach pizza rolls.  Yum.  Since pizza is my favorite food, it was a nice treat! 

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!