I finally get it!

For years, I've sat, in the middle of the night, wearing five layers, wrapped in a sleeping bag, shivering, wondering how on earth runners come in wearing practically nothing and not dying of hypothermia! Seriously, men in just shorts, women in tanks and shorts, looking fresh as morning dew and not at all cold! I get it. I totally get it. 

Today is a PERFECT gorgeous 70 degree day in Texas. It's 73 now, 3.5 hours after I got home from a 6.4 mile run. So it was probably between 65-70 while I was out. I sweated like a pig!! I was hot. Part of that is because I got to enjoy Texas blue clear skies that songs are written about. It meant the sun was beating down on me, even with the nice cool breeze. 

Anyway, I can totally see why after running miles and miles and miles, one would still be hot even when it's much cooler outside! I no longer think they're crazy!!!

Other interesting things occurred this morning on my run... 

I've been trying to do more interval like training on my shorter midweek runs, 3 minute run and 1 minute walk. And an actual run, not a loping jog :) But on my longer weekend runs I run when I want and walk when I feel the need, though I do keep track. For example, last week's first 6+ mile run, I did lots of 2:1 in the last couple miles. Today, I tried to push myself to run longer the whole way. I also ended up walking longer in between. Runs were 3-5 minutes, walks 1-2. I really felt stronger though! I knocked a few minutes off my 10k time too! 

I learned it's hard to read a map on the phone while moving. I knew where I wanted to go but hadn't really committed roads and turns to memory. Took a couple wrong turns but got it sorted out! And I met this guy:

I was so excited that it was totally worth the struggle to get my phone (camera) out of its pocket and stop for pics!!! 

It's so beautiful outside that Slugger and I sat outside while I iced. We then went back outside after I ate lunch. In fact I'm only inside so I can write this!! 

One last note... I came home from CA almost back where I was, weight-wise, when I started losing as a new thing. I've started running more and further. I've stopped eating quite so much junk. I haven't lost hardly any pounds, but I feel fitter and my clothes fit better which is really what matters most! In fact, last night, I wore the belt and buckle that my dad gave me this summer. I could get it cinched then but it was way uncomfortable so I didn't actually wear it anywhere even though I was so proud to have it! Now I can wear it!!!

This was the end of the evening and I'd given up on my hair! The buckle is from the Old Pueblo 50 miler that he ran on my 12th birthday. We both have vivid memories but not the same ones!!

That's all. Have a nice day! 

 

Running Lessons #217 (+/-)

My goal for today was 6 miles. I "only" went 5.5. My route was that long and now I know! Here are some of today's (and last week's lessons/observations).

- Running in the rain is fun. And not so fun. I don't like wet, soggy shoes. The rest of me didn't mind being wet. I even had a lady offer me a ride! I was only a mile or so in. If she'd asked a few miles later, I might've thought about it!

- A long run the day after my first gym workout in 3 years was probably not the best idea. The legs felt today more than they have in the past. But I suppose that's actually a good thing.

- There are a LOT of hills in my neighborhood!! I sort of got myself lost today and ended with a nice long one. I knew where I was but the street names weren't what I thought they should be, ya know!? Next time, I'm thinking I'll go backwards and START with the large hills :) There were hills at the other end but a little more gradual. Fitbit says I did 59 floors today!!

- I like my new watch!! I can set intervals - I started with 3/1 minutes to run/walk - and it just keeps cycling through. I did this to start and ended up pushing myself a bit harder than I might have otherwise. My plan is to, for now, use this on my shorter runs, and then use the lap memory on the longer runs, so I don't push as hard the whole time (I gave up in the intervals after about a mile) and can see how I'm doing on my own. The lap timer part of the watch basically lets me track my splits so after the run I can analyze. Today, I was all over the place on my splits of run/walk :) We'll see what happens!

- From last week - I really don't like out and back runs. It's too easy to turn around when I get tired!! But it was nice being on the bike path for most of it and seeing so many other people out there.

That's it. I think. I am REALLY enjoying running!! Who'd have ever thought??!?!?!?

Sunday Morning Run Observations

I ran over 5 miles today! My farthest yet!! I felt good. It wasn't quite as hot but still not exactly cold. I'd say I probably ran about 4 of the miles overall. Not bad! Here are my observations:

- some churches have better attendance than others
- I'm not the only one out and about burning calories
- I like having Nuun with me, but not in a leaking water bottle
- running is actually kinda fun
- my new shorts are still working right after I washed them (you never know with spandex)
- always make sure strava is actually recording
- I like running more with Slugger cuz he gives me an excuse to slow down, stop and smell the flowers, etc.
- my new (4th try) hydration pack is great
- dogs don't bark as aggressively, if at all, when I don't have Slugger with me

Seems like there was more...

FINALLY "In This Life" LIVE!!!

First , let me apologize to readers for not blogging more in the last month! I did in fact get home from CA and started back to school. Life has been busy!!

Collin Raye is my all time favorite artist ever. His song Somebody Else's Moon is what made me fall in love with country music. But somehow I've never seen him in concert! A couple years ago, he was going to be here in DFW somewhere but it just didn't work out for me to go.

August 2015, I saw that he'd be in Arlington on a Saturday night in May 2016. I immediately bought tickets!! I splurged a little (still only $30!) and got front row of the balcony - my favorite place to sit. I bought 2 tickets. Why not? It was months away and one never knows!! I figured I'd find someone to join!! I did :) In early Spring, I invited my good friend Sheila to join me. We were both SO incredibly excited!!

The Friday before comes around and I called the venue to ask about my "will call" tickets. THE SHOW WAS CANCELLED!! WHAT?!?! I cried. Seriously. It had been cancelled in November because the ticket selling company went out of business. I didn't get the email. I suspect it actually went to junk and I deleted it, but the effect was the same! To make a long story short, I bought tickets to the rescheduled event and the credit card company gave me back my money.

Well, the actual show was last night!! I was excited but hesitant because I had been disappointed once! But, Collin tweeted about it, I got an email about it from the venue, and I was pretty sure this was the real deal!! Not sure I truly believed it until I saw this:

I had never been here but Sheila had, as a kid, when it was a movie theater. She said it hadn't changed much! It was a GREAT venue for a concert. Totally felt intimate and like we were just having a private conversation and show with Collin!!

Not zoomed.

Zoomed. And this was really how close it seemed we were.
We could see their facial expressions and such!!

I knew he wouldn't play ALL my favorites. We didn't have all day, after all!! But this is the one of my top three that he did play. I captured most of it which blogger wouldn't let me upload. So here's a clip of the chorus. I videoed so I wouldn't sing and cry. I was still tearing up. I teared up on several. There's just something about hearing these ballads live!! 

After the show. 

I tweeted this when I got home. Collin liked it  :) 

Sheila and I had PeiWei before the show. Yummy!! What a fun, fantastic evening!! Collin TOTALLY lived up to my expectations, which were pretty high after waiting 24 years to see him live!!

YUMMY!!!!

In our seats!! (I still suck at selfies!)

TOTALLY would see Collin again over and over!! EXCELLENT performer, and of course, I love his music. And now I'm completely in love with Arlington Music Hall. Not a bad seat in the house! Next month is Shenandoah for $15 (cheap seats) and in November is Sawyer Brown for $20!!!

Backpacking the PCT

I brought along my backpack to CA cuz Dad and I had talked about doing some sort of excursion. We wanted to take the dogs so it needed to a well thought out adventure! After much discussion, we came up with a plan that would work for everyone. We wanted to carry everything on our backs that we needed to camp. But we didn't want to go too far. Also, this was Tuck's first camping trip so we weren't completely sure what to expect from her. Of course, she sleeps in the front yard many nights, even in the snow, by choice, so chances were good she'd be a great camping dog!

We set out for Yellow Post site #31. This is a campsite on a dirt road, but still in the woods. The key is that when campfires are allowed, you can have them there. If you just go camp anywhere in the woods, you can't. These days there are no flames allowed anywhere. Except a propane stove with a permit, which Dad happened to have! The Yellow Post sites are a great place to camp in the woods, away from other people, but still have your car with you. Site #31 was quite large, with a picnic table and a fire ring (with bright pink tape over it so we wouldn't use it) and several cleared locations for tents. However we didn't set up camp at this point.

We donned our backpacks, fully loaded for camping, including Slugger, and we set off down the road that we had just driven in on. We hiked up the road to the PCT and then went North (toward Canada) on the PCT for a little ways. Dad had put in his GPS device a spot where we needed to turn right off the trail to go cross country back to the campsite. I'm not a big fan of "bushwhacking" but we got there eventually. We hiked about 2 miles in all.

Slugger with his backpack on, heading up the road.

My companions

One of the views on the PCT

Taking a little break

Checking for lizards. 

The backpack doesn't stop him from exploring!

Now that we had hiked with our backpacks, we could set up camp. We pulled everything we needed out of our packs and started pitching tents!

He got right in to check it out!

Slugs helping Grandpa 

Our tents! And an adorable pooch!

Once the tents were set up, we wandered around a bit and just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

It was soon time to make dinner. We had bought prepared backpacking meals at REI that just need boiling water. Dad has a fancy, tiny, lightweight stove that we set up to boil the water. Then we had to wait for the food to rehydrate. I had chicken with risotto, and Dad had Mexican chicken with rice.

I need to get me one of these!!!

Rehydrating

After dinner, we relaxed some more and watched the sunset through the trees. So peaceful and wonderful!

Sunrise the next morning was also beautiful but I didn't snap a picture until the sun was basically up. But still absolutely gorgeous.

We packed up and drove away!!

Tuck did GREAT as a camper and I am SOOOO proud of Slugger. He never gets to be off leash because he's a sight dog and if he sees something, he goes after it. Fast and far! Well, not this time! Slugger spent most of the evening and morning off leash and did incredibly well!! He never wandered very far from me and when he did, he came back when I called him!! The site was big enough that he could go exploring and never be out of my sight which was nice. There was, however, one little incident when he saw a deer. He took chase. Tuck then chased Slugger. Neither really came when we called (while running after them) but they definitely took notice and stopped their chase. They then wandered around sniffing looking for where the deer had been. I wouldn't say they came even then, but they didn't go further away either. After that, I put Slugs on his tie out but it was about dusk and he needed to be. And we were just minutes from heading into the tent anyway. The next morning I let him be off leash and he was a model puppy :)

I had Dad take pictures before we left. 

Me with the backpacking dogs!! (both off leash!!)

The In Betweens

You might think that while on vacation in sunny Southern California, I only do stuff on the weekends. Nope! Well, okay, there is a lot of sitting on the couch reading and playing iPad games, but we do other stuff too!! 

For example, we hike!! 

We wrestle!

We selfie!

We sit on the front porch, and chill in the front yard!

We ride in the car!

We look adorable while relaxing!

But most of all, we just enjoy being with Tuck and Dad/Grandpa. 

Temecula 2016

One of my favorite people is Karie. I also happen to really like her hubby Ben and son Thomas. T is 5 years old. I couldn't wait to hang out with him. If you know me, you know this is a BIG deal! T is awesome, and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his parenting!!

Anyway, Karie and I decided many months ago that we needed to spend more than just a night or two hanging out. So, I spent a wonderful long weekend there in Temecula with the Whites! And we did SOOOO much!! It was great!!

Thursday evening we had a nice dinner at home and relaxed a bit. Karie and I keep in touch but there is always catching up to do!! And we had a big weekend of events so it was good to have some down time just chilling. Also, Ben was spending the weekend in LA so I was glad to have some time to chat with him too.

Friday, Karie and I dropped T off at summer camp (it was sports week!!) and went off to tea. I really didn't know what to expect when Karie suggested this. But I'm game for anything and I like tea. It was the cutest little tea house in Escondido. Actually, we were a little early and stopped in the antique mall next door. We both want to go back! So many treasures and all reasonably priced!! Anyway, the tea house had tables set with adorable tea pots and such. Each table had a different set which I thought was cool. They had an array of hats to wear so that we felt even more girlie :) And the food was AMAZING!!! Fruit with homemade whipping cream (there was no vegan eating that day!!), asparagus soup (always a fave), finger sandwiches (the dill spread was delectable!), quiche (I could've eaten a pie plate's worth!), blueberry scones with some sort of homemade creamy stuff to go on top (I didn't even try the fruity stuff on top), and several desserts but the chocolate mousse was to die for!!

After tea, we set out for Temecula because we had pedicure appointments. Of course, there was traffic. According to my google map app there was an accident just beyond where we needed to be. Karie knew a shortcut though so we were "only" 45 minutes late. We had called and warned them though. Best pedicure ever (it had been a while so I suppose it could've been awful and I wouldn't have noticed!)!! We picked different colors, but they were basically the same very bright pink. I smile looking at my toes now :)

Let's see, after we had pretty toes, it was time to go get T. We had a little bit of time at home to relax and then it was off to BASEBALL!! Yup, one of our traditions is to go see the Lake Elsinore Storm play ball. They are an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. It was Friday Firework night and we were all excited. It was also toothbrush night and faith night. The stadium was quite full with church groups and such. We got our free toothbrush though!

The Storm won a pretty good game. They played the Visalia Rawhides. There was a homer or two, a questionable call or two - you know, fun baseball!!

Saturday began with a karate lesson for Karie and T. I went to watch. I kinda wish I'd dressed to participate. They had fun and learned some cool moves and definitely got in a workout!! On the way home we ran a few errands and had really good Chinese food. We relaxed for a bit and then it was time for another adventure!

The City of Temecula seems to have some pretty awesome community events. One of which is movies in the park. Well, for this one, they added the element of camping in the park! So, we hauled out our tents and sleeping bags and chairs and pitched our tents right there in the outfield of the city park's baseball field!! A lifetime friend of Karie's and her family were with us, along with at least 100 others!! I'm pretty sure there were 30 tents, some of them big enough for 8-10 people comfortably!!

Our tents. 

Different view of our 3 tents, and the space around us
is starting to fill in. 

Karie and T hanging out in their tent!

We watch The Great Outdoors on the big blow up screen. I'm not sure it's what I would've picked for a kid's event, but what do I know. I had never seen it before and thought it was good. Before the movie, they fed us hot dogs, chips and a drink. After the movie, we got to make S'mores on the fire pits. I thought it was a good idea that instead of chocolate and graham crackers, we were given fudge striped shortbread cookies. Made a yummy S'more! Then we headed to bed. Many campers around us stayed up talking but not for too long. And I had ear plugs :) The next morning they gave us a continental breakfast (packaged danishes and granola bars and such with OJ) and we packed up and headed home!

After a nice Starbucks on the back patio, we showered and went off to Church! T was quite excited because it was splash bash day. And, man, this church knows how to do a splash bash! They had a giant blow up water slide, a dunk tank (where kids could get dunked or do the dunking) and a blow up maze where the adult leader types squirted you with water guns! Karie and I went off to the service while T went to Sunday School. Water games were for after church. The preacher was very funny and I left with good vibes. T went down the water slide, stood in line to get dunked but changed his mind when it came time to actually get dunked (totally don't blame him!), had some cotton candy, and then we went home. T fell asleep on the couch in a matter of seconds and Karie and I did some last minute chatting. I left mid afternoon to try to avoid traffic. For the most part, I did!

It was SO nice having such a long, action-packed weekend to share in their lives. I can't believe T is going into Kindergarten and will be SIX next time I see him!!