See Ya, Mean Machine!

Good Monday morning!!! This rainy day on a Monday did NOT get me down! I begrudgingly set up the mean machine treadmill because it was raining, but I looked again later, and it was just misting!! Yeah!! No mean machine today!! Adios, non friend!!

I got Elly on her leash, and off we went! We left Jacques behind on his post ... it's one thing getting the dog wet; it's entirely another potentially ruining the running pal.

By the way, we got Jacques at Target in the pet costume section ... just after Halloween when everything went on clearance, there were a ton of pet costumes still available, but not the jockeys!! They were nowhere to be found ... they're that cool! He's so cool that a man I routinely see on my runs asked me this morning, "Where's the rider?!" as though the picture is just not complete without him. He's not far from wrong.

Anyway, as expected, I rocked today's run! Why was it expected? I attribute the majority of the success to being well fueled from yesterday! It's not a mystery that poor quality gas in the tank isn't going to get me going very well. And, even if I start out okay, lack of good fuel will bite me later in a run for sure. The lulls will be more difficult to get out of. The energy will be shot before I finish. Finishing will be a relief, not invigorating. The day overall yesterday was a really good one nutritionally, and it paid off today!

There was that, and there was still the overflow of excitement from watching pieces of the New York Marathon. It was seriously cool to me! AND, check it out ... I saw a woman on the Today Show this morning talking to Al outside the studio. She ran in the Marathon. It was her 24th consecutive run. She is 84!! That goes in my arsenal of things to think about on this lifelong quest to keep on keepin' on!!

So, we wrapped up our run, and I wrapped Elly in a warm towel! It never rained, just heavily misted. That's enough to get a dog good and wet!

I think the wet tummy is worth the warm rubdown afterward!

I previously mentioned Elly's running eye boogers. Her eyes,
my nose, both gross. It comes from working hard, though ... if
I rocked the run, so did Elly.

I loved seeing the dropletts on her pretty face!

That's it for Monday! Tune in tomorrow as I have another recipe from Runner's World magazine that I'm inflicting upon the family! I'm stoked ... will report from Rest Day!

Deeeeee-Lishhhhhhhhh!

Okay, as promised, this Rest Day held a trial run for a new recipe, and it was a WINNER! Here it goes:

It all started Friday night when I got out my
issues of Runner's World magazine and looked
for inspiring recipes ...

I found a handful and made a list of things
to get. These are from different recipes, by
they way ... weird if all put together, huh?!

After deciding to focus on one recipe at a time, I decided we'd
make "Shrimp and Chorizo Paella." Do you know it took quite
some time to find chorizo? Even the guys at the butcher counter
weren't quite sure where it was. We finally found it tucked into
that back corner, so if you're ever looking, peek in a corner ...

There it is in its glory! The recipe called for 2 ounces. I have to
admit we put in 4 fearing it wouldn't be enough. Spoiler alert: 2
would have been plenty! Lesson: Don't rewrite recipes until first
tasting them! (duh)

The recipe called for slicing it, but mine was not of slicing
consistency. That worried me a bit, but I forged on ...

While the chorizo and garlic got their groove on, I measured out
the next ingredients for the pot (note the Diet Coke back there ...
some cook with wine ... I with my Diet Coke!)

A little checking in the pot to make sure things are crankin' ...

Next in line for the pot, diced tomatoes to stew. I was a bit afraid
the end result would be too "tomato-y". Another spoiler alert: It
wasn't. I think I need to start trusting recipes ... You can also see
I also was low on Diet Coke by this point. *sigh* Anyway, after
the tomato, in go the shrimp ...

... and peas! By the way, a can opener is not effective in opening
a bag of peas if you were ever wondering ...

Almost ready! Mmmm ... the kitchen smelled just scrumptious!

There's my dinner! We were having a carpet picnic so we could
watch the recap of the New York Marathon I'd recorded. And, I
learned just yesterday that my favorite Olympian was running the
race -- Apolo Anton Ohno!! He was sponsored by Subway ... so
we went all out for the theme as you can see! I was so excited!

The verdict: Yeeeeeeeee-Hawwwwwwww, it was fabulous!!!
So very yummy! Every one of us loved it! It was a bit spicy
seeing as I used too much chorizo, but it didn't keep us from
eating it! Lesson learned, and we'll do it again the right way!

There's Apolo! Yes, I took a picture of the tv. I'm a dork like that.
Subway donated $26, 200 to Special Olympics in recognition of
his participation in this race. How cool is that?!

Here's the recipe! So very good!! Between this dinner and watching the Marathon, I'm
totally inspired for my morning run! That is subject to change given the rain in the forecast,
but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! Cheers, everyone! See you in the morning!

Find Pennies: Avoid Road Kill

The title of today's entry is brought to you by Aaron. Those were his exact words upon giving me a kiss out the door today for my run.

In other appropriate messages, check out my Happy Bunny calendar page for today:

That is a sentiment I feel year round, but now that the temperatures are colder and it's darker in the morning, it's becoming more and more difficult to peel myself out of bed to run especially on the weekend! I know, I know: Boo Hoo. My weekend morning whine tends to be to myself so I can let Aaron sleep longer if possible, though. (It seems I reserve the true whine for when he's alert and can enjoy it.) So, I bundled up, got my instructions (see above), and I headed out!

It was within the first mile that I found treasures to put in my pocket. I'll get to those in a sec (pictures that are obviously out of order annoy the bajeebers out of me). Besides, I have something way better to show you today! Look what mile 5 brought me ... I was motoring along when I looked up and saw this!

HOLY MOLY, WHAT a CREATION!

Here it is a bit farther back:

I have no words. It was that breathtaking. Wait, I do have words: It made me crave a red popsicle.

So, onward I went (down hill, by the way ... have I mentioned how much I love running down hill?!). I was close to finishing when I arrived at a point that annoys me every time I get to it. It's this spot:

Look close, and you'll see the sidewalk. Look again, and it's missing. Because it's not there. It simply ends. The left edge of the picture is exactly where it picks up again. That's 160 steps from where it ends to where it begins. (Yes, I counted.) I'm thinking the conversation between the project manager and his boss on this assignment should have gone like this:

Boss: Is your project completed?
PM: Yes, it is.
Boss: Are you sure you 'dotted your i's and crossed your t's'?
PM: Of course I did.
Boss: I think not.

Well, even with this mountain-out-of-a-mole-hill I create in my head at this spot, I somehow managed to forge on, and I finished my 6 miles. Actually, I didn't just finish my 6, I rocked them. It was a great run. Some of them just really are.

Okay, as promised, pocket treasures:

Guess which hand has something cool and which has something gross.

On your left, cha-ching! On your right ... what the crap is that?
From a distance, it looked monetary (hey, it was early and still
a little dark ... and I just dodged stepping on some very, very
old road kill. Totally not kidding. That'll rattle a girl.)

I showed the Pit Crew when I got home. Pit Crew #2 said it
looked like gum. Aaron said it looked like poop. I ignored him.
Anyway, we had a winner! Indeed, it was very old gum. (I
wonder which was older ... the gum, or the dead animal ...
Tough call. No need to ponder, both are grody.)

Upon discarding the gum, I got my popsicle!
They're a great way to cool down after a run.
And, whoever invented sugar-free popsicles is
a genius! BUT! Fewer than 5 minutes after this
picture, the combo of cold-air-on-sweat and a
popsicle gave me some serious chills! That's
a bit colder than I really wanted or needed!
It was still yummy.

Tomorrow is Rest Day, so join me for some time in our kitchen as I have a new recipe to try I got from Runner's World magazine! Tomorrow's the New York City Marathon, so we're having a theme dinner! I'll let you in on the specs and, of course, give our verdicts! See you then!

Glory Where You Can Get It

Check it out!!

Oh, yeah ... I got one, too!! The McDonald's Monopoly Game online was good to us this year!! And, with the love of Diet Coke around here, what better prizes could we have won?!!

So, today, this Rest Day, I will bask in the glory of this win! I take the wins where I can get 'em, and this qualifies as a big one! I'm thinking it launches me one step closer to my certain sponsorship.

I'm off to pacify the dog ... she heard the shower, so she has not yet greeted me today. Whiner.

Enjoy whatever Friday brings you! See you after the morning jogathon!

Wow, What a Switch

The dog has put the figurative two-and-two together with regard to the morning routine: If she doesn't hear me take a shower, then she knows I'm going to run. Having not heard the shower, I walked down the hall to the normal resounding tail WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP. She's not only happy to see me, she's happy at the prospect of an outing together.

Unfortunately, even though I heard WHUMP WHUMP, I saw this outside:

As promised in the forecast ... and OH SO
cold out there! Weren't we in shorts just
yesterday?!

Well, I knew it was coming, and I don't run in rain much less cold rain. So, the Mean Machine treadmill is set and waiting for me. If the calendar says "run", I run. Thank goodness for the t.v. in front of the Mean Machine ...

So, there will be no treasures found today, but on the positive side, there will be no road kill stories, either. Excellent.

Enjoy your day no matter the weather, and if the outside has you down, take a look at my dog giving me her best "I've resigned myself to this nonsense" face:

*sigh*

I'm off to give it my all ... after all, tomorrow is Rest Day!!

Where'd the Voices In My Head Go?

What are we waiting for?!
(By the way, check out the
trees in the back window!)

It's a good thing one of us was all charged up to go this morning; I sure wasn't! I'd blame my lack of early morning motivation it getting chillier, but that would just be a lie because I'm never motivated in the morning to do anything! Today wasn't too cold, though, and with the threat of rain for tomorrow morning (which means I'll find myself doing my run on the Mean Machine), I turned off my internal whine switch and got ready to go!

Today's run was pretty uneventful with the exception of the many, many people getting a kick out of Jacques! A man hosing off a parking lot busted out with a resounding belly laugh when he saw Jacques; making someone laugh that hard was more than worth the price of our new pal!

An uneventful run, by the way, is good. In fact, it's great. I spent the first year of my running efforts with almost every day being an event -- an emotional roller coaster of wondering why I was even trying when I couldn't run "the whole way" and doing a bang-up job of criticizing myself in comparison to others* who seemed to be gliding along the sidewalks. The mental strength of that first year was the real effort ... and the real success. And, frankly, that's still where the majority of my efforts reside: In my head.
* danger! danger! When a comparison is made, someone wins ... and someone loses ...

So, to have a run this morning where I'm not sure I had any thoughts at all about anything is a mental breath of fresh air. Ahhh ...

Oh, wait, I did have two thoughts. Of course I did:
Did the smell from the opossum really go away, or did we just run far enough in the middle of the street to avoid it?
-And-
I didn't mention the duo of squirrels who met their unfortunate demise the other day because I stumbled upon them while still recovering from the opossum. This back information leads me to my other thought today: How on earth can those little critters emit what can only be described as a wall of nasal horror?

There is most definitely something you accomplish today that used to be a challenge but is now easier. Give yourself that credit, and enjoy the victory! In the meantime, enjoy my pretty picture of the day! (Pretty pictures beat the tar out of another road kill story.) See you after the a.m. run!

Spotlight On: Yourself!

Check this out: The November issue of Self magazine proclaims November 1 as "Self Day," as in your holiday! This came about following a poll the people behind the magazine did that found 69% of respondents "feel guilty spending a day doing just what you want."

"Self Day" ... sounds good to me! I'm not sure how a whole day would happen, and some days, not even a consecutive hour seems to happen! So, on this particular day, I will double-time enjoy one of my very favorite indulgences ... a phone date with my dear cousin!! What a way to celebrate a "Self Day!" 

Take some time today to indulge yourself in one of your favorite things to do! It does the soul good!! I will indulge myself in the morning back on the pavement with my best canine pal and her riding friend! (Did I just call running an indulgence? Fabulous ... such a better way to see it than a grubby old chore like I used to ...) In the meantime, speaking of putting on the spotlight, check our our Trick-or-Treat companion!

That's right the spotlight is on me ... I'm awesome ...

See after the morning run!