Melange

RUNNING

I tried recording a video AGAIN and still no sound. Oh well. So the 20 mile run went well. There were some things that worked in my favor:

stubbornness
beautiful weather

And some things that worked against me:

a headache that wouldn't go away
lots of See's Candy the night before the run (one of these days I'm going to have to start eating like a grown-up person!)
not enough fuel (I was starving at mile 17 and couldn't do anything about it)

But all in all it went well. By mile 15 I was feeling tired, so I thought about Julianne and Aron who were both doing their 20 mile runs on Saturday and that helped me to feel less alone.

I have a neighbor who's training for CIM with a group called Sac Fit. They had a long run WITH AID STATIONS on Saturday and I didn't know about it. How cool would that have been??? Apparently those who aren't group members can pay a small fee and run the training run with the group. That's something I'll definitely check into next time.

So now it's time to taper. I was reading up on that last night, and I think my plan is to run 40 miles this week, 30 the following week, and ??? the week of the marathon. (Guess I have some more reading to do!)

Today I did Art of Strength Providence and then did a 7 mile run. Running's a lot harder after a good kettlebell workout!

TRAINING

I have the BEST clients! In the interest of privacy, I don't write about them much, but I truly love the people I get to work with. I got permission to share a funny comment with you. I was showing a client burpies (squat, jump back into plank, do a pushup, jump forward to squat, jump up). Her response? "Good god, those look dreadful? Do people pay others to do those for them?" I could not catch my breath from laughing so hard!

Does everyone have the Val Slide? If not, it's a great piece of equipment. I've been using them more and liking them more. (I guess that's true of lots of things in life -- the more familiar you are with something, the more you like it, right?) Today Valerie posted a video of some great ab exercises. You can check it out here.

I may be getting a set of ropes from Art of Strength. I've been intrigued by Anthony's Ropes Gone Wild routines for quite some time, and I think in the next month or so (if I can figure out where to have clients use the ropes) I'm going to get a set. The movements look fun and I think they'll be a great addition to anyone's training routine. You can check out the latest info on the ropes here.

COOKING

We had friends over last night for dinner and I used the pressure cooker to make butternut squash risotto -- YUM! I don't know if I'll ever get tired of that dish, and since I know how to make it, I don't have to worry about that at all! Also I made homemade chocolate chip cookies, and Jesse (the bf) was so appreciative of that -- it made me feel great. (We also had grilled chicken breasts, Caesar salad with homemade dressing and croutons, the risotto, the cookies, and as an appetizer, Tucker's "Yummus" and carrots.)

Cookus Interruptus has two new videos, so if you haven't checked it out yet, now's the time to do so.

TRAVEL

We had plans to head to Utah for snowboarding this weekend (and for the first part of next week) but there's no snow. :( So we're heading to Santa Cruz for a long weekend of fun. My sister and her family live there and I can't WAIT to see them!!!

In February Tim and I are going to Maui (without the kids!). January will be a month of better eating, for sure, as I've been to Hawaii fluffy and I've been there lean, and although it's fun either way, it's even more fun when you're feeling great!

READING

I'm almost caught up with the Southern Vampire Mystery series, which makes me sad. But the client who recommended those books also recommended a book called "Bitten" by Kelly Armstrong. I just started it last night and I'm completely captivated. It is really fun to be diving back into fiction after such a long time away.

Ok, time to get ready for my next client. Have a fabulous Tuesday, friends!