Drum Roll Please......

As of this morning.....

I have dropped a total of 4.6# !!!! Woo-hoo.... and I feel great!

Just wanted to share before the day got away from me. Heading out for a morning run.

Sugar doesn't taste good....

It is shocking to say this. I have lost the taste for sugar.

Granted, I enjoy my daily piece of dark chocolate-- oh, that's right.... dark chocolate, has little to no sugar. And I am finding that fresh fruit-- cherries, strawberries, clementines, watermelon-- are well, sweet enough. These are very satisfying for an after dinner treat.

Well, today.... I had a small craving for a piece of carrot cake. I enjoy this and red velvet cake from time to time.... have pretty much lost my taste for chocolate cake.

So, to indulge..... I bought a piece of carrot cake. And then I ate and enjoyed it..... well, enjoy, might be an overstatement. It tasted good, for the first three bites, but the icing was too sweet.... and the icing was too sweet.

After I enjoyed this sugar rush.... I needed a nap.

I think next time, I will have a different piece of fruit. I am thinking about going to pick blueberries this week.

Enjoying a Sunny Day....

This morning..... was very, very interesting. The direct deposit, for whatever reason, never made it to the bank account. As a result, I had no gas money and less than a quarter tank of gas, AND I had to travel to Hanover for training this morning. YIKES.

So, I emptied the piggy, and carried the coins with me.......... The goal was to head to Hingham to the TD Bank, to change my coins to put gas in my tank.

On the way to the bank...... the little gas pump shows up on my dash and the Jeep goes ding.... and I was like YIKES.... I hope I make it to the bank, and to the gas station.....

I did. Without incident, and learned the gas station was a full serve, as there are no self-serve in Weymouth.... PSYCH! "Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas!"

Seriously though, I was at the Mill Pond Branch of the South Shore YMCA. And after the training, I went for a swim.... and easy 1000 yards. Seemed kinda' boring, but it was relaxing and refreshing.

(I need to run later. Waiting until after 6 pm, when the sun is a little lower in the sky).

And then I enjoyed the drive home.... taking the 'back-roads' and enjoying the view.

Now, I am sitting with my feet up after lunch, and enjoying the sunshine.

Rest comes in a variety of forms....

Sometimes a nap. Friday afternoons, are my nap day!! After the week of play and more play.... I am wiped. I need a couple hours, and I feel much better.

Sometimes watching the waves lap on the shore. This is one of the most relaxing things I know.

Sometimes a baseball game with a friend. Tonight, I enjoyed watching the New Bedford BaySox, play baseball.... I was there with my cousin. We laughed, we talked and we enjoyed the game. It was relaxing and restful.

And

Sometimes it is just doing nothing at all. I am looking forward to Sunday, and complete rest.

What do you do for rest?

More like a tomato.....

When we run, we need to feel more like a super ball, than a tomato.... and today, my feet were feeling very tomato like. They were heavy, and my legs felt tired.....

So, instead of driving a 30-minute run, which would had led to 'slogging'..... I chose to break the run into 3 x 10 minute runs, with a one-minute recovery between each 10-minute segments. After I warmed up, my feet felt less heavy, and well.... my pace said that I was NOT running like a tomato.

I am looking forward to a nap, and a baseball game this evening.

Day Eleven.... Thursday, 28 July

And so..... I am down another 2.2#... woo-hoo!!!!

This morning was a challenge-- the alarm went off way too early!!! After arriving home after 10pm, closer to 11, and the alarm went off at 4.20am, so I could teach spin at 6am..... I felt tired.

And yet, when I arrived to teach, I felt more alive.... must have been the water, or maybe the coffee..... I have noticed that I NEED water when I wake. My body expects, well, actually demands it.... and then I can enjoy my morning coffee. I also had a chocolate protein drink.... I felt like I needed the extra fuel this morning.

After spin class, I enjoyed a clementine, and headed off to the pool to swim.....

If you want to train for open water, without actually getting in open water, swim in the lane next to a crowded water fitness class.... the group movements create waves. It was pretty intense. 1400 yards complete.... my shoulders and lats felt sore... but it was a good swim.

And then I headed home for breakfast.... scrambled eggs, with a little feta cheese. YUM!!!

The downside of today-- i think i lost my watch.... my mission today is to find it, as well as do some writing and go to the beach. I am set to cycle an hour later today, and teach water fitness.

BRICK!

A BRICK training session is basically a bike then a run.... the run immediately following the bike. Do NOT PASS GO! DO NOT COLLECT $200! For the triathlete, this training is very important, as we not only have to be proficient in three different sports, we need to be able to go from one event right into the next, with minimal time in the transition.....

So today's brick-- a 45 min bike, and then a 15 min run.... both of which were performed at the Quincy YMCA.... I did an indoor bike ride, drama today.... it was just easier, and I think the new indoor mountain bikes that are like a video game were more challenging, b/c of the video game thing.... (essentially it is a screen where you are riding, and it shows you the racer, and the course, and the other racers.... blah, blah, blah...)While I would use this bike again, I didn't understand the gears, and shifting and I just want to ride, not worry about other racers, and where I am on the map and am I turning or this or that..... drama... for a training session. ugh!

And then after that..... I was wished a good night by the desk person (not leaving, just going to run).... I went to the track that surrounds the field behind the ymca.... and ran.

OUCH! It was simply put... one of the hardest things I have done in a while (haven't done a brick workout since last summer).... and it was incredibly challenging to find my legs tonight. I looked at the 15 minutes as 3 x 5 minute tempos... and well, that in itself was excruciating!!!

But I overcame.....

and then joined my class in the water, for deep water running.... although they did more running than myself. I was using this as an opportunity to enhance recovery. I have pictures of the cheery group that I will have to post tomorrow.... for now, it's bed time, and tomorrow morning at 6 am spin class (i am teaching) and from there, my 1400 yard swim.

Laters...