Merry Christmas!

This is what excitement looks like. The Child is running to see what Santa brought him. Santa did not disappoint.

I am thankful for such a good day! We have enjoyed a lovely day. The Child got his three gifts. Supermom said that if three gifts were sufficient for Jesus, then they're good for The Child. Of course three gifts with all of the accouterments probably was actually ninety-nine items.

We have managed to eat a HUGE lunch of oven chicken and rice, broccoli, baked sweet potatoes, ham, field peas, crescent rolls, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce (complete with ribs from the can), and a delicious chocolate delight. Talk about full as a tick.

I also managed to get a pretty slow, but good run in before lunch. It was a balmy seventy degrees here in Georgia with 100% humidity, since it had just rained. It was a good run, but the humidity was kind of breath-taking, since it hasn't been as humid, especially inside!

We then had to take The Child to meet up with his dad's people. I rode in the backseat with The Child on the way and since they needed the car seat (score), I got to lie down and nap on the way home. My sister declared that I was a horrible traveling buddy and she's 100% correct.

It was weird going through town and everything being closed. EVERYTHING. It happens once a year, and I'm waiting for it to not be the case anymore. It's kind of refreshing, actually.

Well, there's some baking about to occur, so I think I'm going to go get in on that. Happy Christmas to all.

I Ran the Bridge!

This is a picture of the Talmadge Bridge. I got it from here. We left the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center at around 8:30. The picture came from here. There was a little distance to go from the convention center to the start. They had good music and the running crowd is always a good one. People were dressed in Christmas regalia. (Snoopy, Fiona, nor I did.) I wore the trusty thick sweatshirt, yoga pants, a t-shirt, and the run's shirt tied around my waist. Oh yeah, THAT was a good look. My shoes were amazing! We finished up the run at the Savannah Civic Center.



Well, I ran the 5K in 45:48. I don't think it's my best, but it was WAY fun. I can't wait to do it again next year.

We've slated the Shamrock Run, which is an evening run on March 6. Click here if you're interested. And, I am ECSTATIC to report we will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Run for the Cure in Savannah. It'll be on April 18th, which is a Saturday. I'm going to try to get some others to run/walk as well. Consider this your invitation to participate with us on any of these with us. At least Snoopy, Fiona, and I will be participating. Supermom may be doing the Komen also.

This past week was crazy. The only day I didn't have a mania was Wednesday and I got outta school late, so it was a handle anyway. This week should (operative word being should) be much less hectic. THEN, the last week of the semester! I'll really miss SOME of my students. Others, I will be happy NOT to see anymore.

Have you been to World Market lately? We went yesterday after the run and after a luxurious breakfast at Burger King. It was tasty. World Market has CRAZY good ornaments and gift wrap, bags, and gift card holders for 50% off. Maybe that ended today, not sure. Regardless, I got one of my BEST friends, whom I'll call PeeWee Herman, two GORGEOUS ornaments. I found some for gifts for a brunch I'll attend and a gift for the hostess. After World Market, we went to Best Buy where I got The Child a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. I got myself new earbuds and Smokey and the Bandit, parts 1, 2, and 3. Then we came back and I went to the school gym and worked in the concession stand from about 2:30 to 9:30. Needless to say, since I sat down on the way to and from to Savannah, and that's all for the entire day, my feet were TIRED. Fortunately, I wore my running shoes to do the concession stand duty. This made my dogs bark a little less loudly.

Well, I'm looking forward to fun this week, although I don't know what it'll be. I do know that Fiona will be cooking dinner for Snoopy, her husband, and me on Wednesday, so that'll be fun.

I wish each of you a week that is full of getting things accomplished and less stress than last week!

Not Much Going On . . .

I went to vote. Early voting cost me 45 minutes, which I gladly gave. I was in front of a delightful 5-year-old who was amazingly well behaved. (She wasn't voting; her mom was!) I found out she is the niece of a co-worker. It's trite because it's true, but the world really is small!

I still have the picture of Susan B. Anthony in my mind ready to kick my butt if I have any negative ideas or even think about complaining about anything to do with voting.

I did my 3.5 miles today. It was slow. I was running against the wind. Wow, and dodging UPS trucks. It was actually enjoyable and fun. It really feels good getting the Monday exercise in. It's easy to fall between the cracks.

I'm tired, so it's time for bed. I'm sure there's a rant in me nearer the end of the week.

I Am So Excited!

Okay, if you'd told me last year, I'd have had difficulty believing you. TODAY I RAN 6 (SIX) MILES! It took almost an hour and a half, but I did it! I decided that I could run a little more than my max, and since it was Saturday, and since I gained 0.4 pounds this week! Ugh! (Darn my friend Brian's mac and cheese! Not only did I eat it for dinner Thursday, but they made me a to-go plate for lunch Friday, and I would not say NO.) So, instead of balling up and getting sad, I decided I would do something proactive. Get myself into the right mode of eating and do some excellent workout work. And I did.

This running thing is so addicting. My friend Snoopy signed Fiona and me up for the 5K bridge run in December. Fiona declared that she will walk it. Snoopy is going to do the 10K. I'm very excited about this. The bridge has a 5.5% grade, so I'll be practicing at Mrs. C.'s on the treadmill with the incline cranked!

I think I'm going to pile up and go to bed. Running 6 miles is tiring!

Blessed Bloggers

Well, I had an exceedingly good day today. It's kind of funny because my the bloggers I tend to read seem to have had the same experience this weekend!

Today I got up around 8:30. It was nice and nippy outside. I decided to snuggle in my bed a little longer. I actually got up around 9:00 and got to the laundry. I put up WAY too much that had been laying around my bedroom. I then had a nice brunch.

After finishing up my laundry, I took a small nap, watched some football, and decided to go run. It was a glorious day for a run. I went 4.8 miles. That's quite a bit for me. What's funny, and more than a little gross, is that my back was KILLING me. Well, then I engaged my core, as Ellen from my yoga/Pilates video is always telling me to do and voila! My back stopped hurting. I was telling this to my running mentor and she said that since I've lost weight around my midsction, my back is having to redefine my center of gravity or something like that. And you know what? I believe it. It makes sense.

Since I'd not had lunch, I was ravenous from the run and met the mentor (aka Snoopy) at the Mexican restaurant in the town where my school is. Wow, was it good! I had a plate of beef and bean nachos without one iota of guilt. Then I went to school and got a good bit of school work done. We have an open house tomorrow, OH JOY! I'm SO excited. I don't know about elsewhere, but here, only the kids whose parents you DON'T need to see attend these things.

Oh well, you do what you can.

I hope all of y'all in blogland have a most enjoyable week to go along with a nice weekend!

Turpentine

Well, I was in the Turpentine Festival Run, the inaugural edition this morning. It was a very nice course. A little hilly in places (This is hilly for south Georgia, which pretty much means not flat.) , but not too bad. I had a personal best! After not running all week, I managed to finish just under 45 minutes. I finished second in my age. Did I say there were two of us? I also got some turpentine and some rosin! Yay for me. (Call Charlie Daniels and tell him I'm ready to help him rosin up his bow!) I'm going to do another run in a couple of weeks, so I've gotta make sure to do my running in the next couple of weeks.


We have a work day next Friday, since it's homecoming and the end of the nine weeks. Since I have perfect attendance, I can leave at 12:30. Hooray, only I have to stick around to drive some of the homecoming court gals in the parade. And go to the game. Oh well, it was a nice offer.


I finally got the car tire situation under control today. The alignment was done today on the FOUR new tires. Ow, that really hurt. But I have a sporty car and it takes money to keep up the appearance, you know. Well, now if I can just get the short in the radio taken care of, I'll have it under control.


Okay, just so you know, I dropped the car off at the tire place and hopped a ride with Snoopy. We went to the run. She ran in about 30, which was slow for her. I know, right? We then got our prizes. We then hopped in the car, picked up my car, and hopped over to IHOP. I had an EGG-CELENT omelette filled with Swiss cheese, spinach, and mushrooms. Yummy. And, of course, pancakes. There was a short trip to WalMart and then I came home. A little Game Day, a little lunch, and then a BIG nap.


I've had a great day to be capped with washing of clothes and grading of papers. AWESOME!

Sunday Has Been Pretty Good So Far

Today, I got up and ran. Yesterday I ran the furthest I've ever run and I did it at around 6:30 or so last evening. I knew I needed to do some mileage. I decided that the regular 3.5 was appropriate. I went out and did it. I wound up walking the last 1/2 to 3/4 mile. I was kind of sore and out of breath. I think I'll probably do Nordic Track tomorrow.

I think probably 3.5 Tuesday and Wednesday will be appropriate. Then rest Thursday and Friday? I'm not sure. The last 5K I was in I couldn't even run the whole thing.

I've got to go, since I have a TON of papers to grade.

Good luck and Godspeed, y'all!

The Moral of the Story

The moral of the story is if you run enough, you can eat pretty much what you want (within reason) and lose weight. Granted, I'm not rolling up to Mickey D.'s to have the Big Mac Extra Value Meal, but I've been less than stringent this week. I thought I could've gained about pounds, but I lost 1.2. Yep, not just one, but one point two. EXCELLENT. I am loving the running thing. It has also become my personal mission to tell people who run that "Green Light" by John Legend with or featuring Andre 3000 is a GREAT song to run to.

Secondarily, I spent a second Saturday with Mrs. C. at Starbucks. My sister joined us this time. Loving the Starbucks oatmeal. I know it's a little pricey, but it's nice to have something while sipping on a latte that will stick with you throughout the day.

School has been good. Friday was a senior-proclaimed senior skip day. So incredibly stupid. You're failing trig and midterms are coming up. I know what'd be great; let's not go to class on Friday! But it's my fault they're not passing! Have I mentioned that some people STILL haven't memorized the information on the unit circle which was introduced week 2 of class? That was almost 7 weeks ago. Wowsers, is high school annoying sometimes?!?

Next Saturday is a 5K for me!! The first since I've actually been able to run the whole thing, so barring some unforseen trauma, I'll absolutely have a personal best. I'll keep you posted. There's also one on the 18th, so I'm totally geeked out.

Have a lovely day! It's beautiful here, so I think I'll go outside for a run. Training!

Edit: 9:07 p.m.

I went out and ran. I had an epiphany. I left a jogger, came back a runner. I sped up to maybe do a few intervals. I was running to the extended dance remix-y thing for "Umbrella." I kicked it up into a higher gear and guess what. Yep, I was running in a way that I could actually get away from somebody! It was amazing. When I got home, I wasn't even tired. I did 4.8 miles in 69 minutes!!! How awesome is that?!? For me it was nothing short of amazing.

Great day!

Happy, Healthy Me!

Okay, I was able to drive with the top down today, which was very nice. I taught The Child the expression "not a cloud in the sky" today, too. Score on both. He can not only push the buttons, but he is very good at helping me latch the top back on. I'm sure he's a raging genius.

I ran outside yesterday and today. 3.5 miles on both days, running all but the first five minutes and the end bit. I feel as if I'm conquering the world. Love it!

I am going to stop here, since I'd like to go to bed. Planning on around 3 miles tomorrow. We'll see if they materialize. I may walk, just to give a little relief.

Hello Again!

This past week has been excessively busy, since I had to stay at school late two days and stayed with Snoopy on Thursday. I had a gain of 0.6 at Weight Watchers this morning. I'm down 10.4 overall, though.

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day and very cool, so I went to the local university outdoor track to run. I RAN 4.02 MILES. This is WITHOUT stopping. I did a total of 4.69 miles. Did I mention I ran 4.02 miles? I'm totally geeked out about this because that's (obviously) more than a 5K. Losing weight makes it easier to run and running faster and more makes it easier to go run. I love this kind of vicious circle! I really didn't keep my meals as strict as I should have or I'd have lost this week.

I am still enjoying my car. It's so fun.

I've done nothing but laundry today, so at least I've been productive to some degree, I suppose.

Knowshawn Moreno is awesome. He's an awesome Georgia Bulldog. His style is very reminiscent of that ultimate bulldog, Herschel Walker. He was 34; Knowshawn is 24. I'm not the biggest dawg fan, but watching Knowshawn makes me SO happy. A. J. Green isn't too shabby either!

Thought I'd add my playlist from my run this morning:

Just Dance - Lady Gaga
Love Runs Deeper - Lindsey Buckingham
Fight for Your Right to Party (Yes, it's the same song.) - Big & Rich
Get Up - Ciara f. Chamillionaire
In the Ayer - Flo Rida f. Will.i.am
Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra (Maybe my favorite running song ever!)
Damaged - Danity Kane (I know, it's insipid.)
Green Light - John Legend f. Andre 3000
State Your Peace (live) - Hootie & the Blowfish
American Boy - Estelle f. Kanye West
Mercy - Duffy
Whatever You Like - T. I. (Good for recovery, but it will eat your brain. I'm still singing it.)
Umbrella (Workout Remix) - Rhianna (or a sound-alike)
Closer - NeYo
Get It Shawty - Lloyd
Champion - Kanye West
Dear Maria, Count Me In - All Time Low
Run-Around - Blues Traveler

Saturday!!!

Good day today. I got to the gym before 10:00, which is a minor miracle. I had a very good run of 3.42 miles. I didn't think I was gonna make it. At about minute 11, I felt pretty oogey. I kept going though. It's amazing what your body can do if you don't tell yourself that you can't.


Snoopy called and wanted to go get the cross-country team members who can't afford them shoes. I agreed this would be a good idea. She had talked about going to a Reebok outlet at Darien. I wanted to go, but was wondering WHEN this weekend we'd achieve this. She called and said we might as well do business in this town and get lunch as well. Well, it ended up that to get the big discount two more pairs of shoes had to be purchased. Well, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Brooks shoes. I have run in New Balance up until now. A different world completely! And, since I have monstrously huge feet, I am now wearing a men's size. I'm not sure if it's the difference between Brooks and New Balance or women's shoes and men's, but these shoes are mighty cushy. I'm wearing a men's 9 1/2. I'm virtually a midget (or the more politically correct, "little person"), but my feet are HUGE! I've put them (the shoes, not my feet) on to break them in a little bit.

And then lunch. I go to the same place whenever possible and get the same entree-- teriyaki salmon wrap with a salad of field greens. Not sure if Snoopy totally appreciated it, but I absolutely LOVE it there. It's quiet, cool (both temperature-wise and style-wise), and always good. I love places you can go and the entrees are the same all the time. Every time I go there and inevitably get the same thing, it always tastes the same.

One week until college football. I have to say that I love college football. I'm from Georgia and am one of the four people who actually like Georgia and Georgia Tech. When they play each other, I have to pull for Georgia Tech. Other than that I like to see them both win. Mark Richt is such an awesome guy. This makes me quite the Judas around these parts. Rules demand that you must LOVE one team and HATE the other. Oh well, since when have I followed rules? P.S. I hope that Calvin Johnson (wide receiver for GT) is as awesome in the NFL as Mel Kiper, Jr. and I think he's gonna be!

I'm going to try to get some of my schoolwork done. I'm sure something awesome will come of this!

Later!

Personal Best (Not the Movie from the 80's)

I had an unbelievable day at the gym. I just went in to get a treadmill workout this afternoon. I thought I'd do 50 minutes of something. I decided that I'd do 5 circuits of 2 minutes walking, 2 minutes walking on a steep incline, then 2 minutes at 4.2 and 4 minutes at 4.0. I did the first 10 minutes and the walking of the second. I then decided that I'd run longer than the six minutes. Well, I did. I ran for the REST OF THE 50 minutes!

I'm really pleased because I felt kind of bad when I went out this week with the cross-country team. It was 98 degrees plus and humid. I wasn't able to jog a full mile. I guess that it builds endurance. Those conditions seem to have built stamina I didn't know I had. I felt fantastic. Afterwards, I felt as if I could have gone some more. I did a total of 3.37 miles, a personal best as far as distance is concerned.

A big yea me!