Black Friday

Call me crazy, but I am one of those people who loves this time of year.

The "worm has turned" and we finally have our cool weather that is hopefully more than just a snap.

Yesterday morning I really had to bundle myself up for my run.

It was so luxurious to sleep in (6:30 instead of 5:00), enjoy a small breakfast and coffee and eventually head out. The traffic was light and the air was clear.

After about two miles, I found myself at the foot of this very steep hill at the end of Owens at the foot of Frenchman Mountain (aka Sunrise Mountain, but really misnamed as such). The hill is about 1/4 of a mile in length straight up.

And I wasn't the only one with thoughts of pumpkin pounds on the mind. I was joined by a few other stalwart souls.

Up and down I trotted slowly at an even pace, knowing in the back of my mind I would be doing more than one.

Each time I would finish a lap I would take a mini-break atop the hill and admire the view of the entire valley from the strip to Summerlin and beyond.

Reluctantly, after three of these, I headed back toward the house. Instead of taking the well-travelled usual streets, I forged through the upper neighborhoods, across Lake Mead Blvd. toward Shadow park. I ran on a dirt road nested between empty desert cum construction area on the left and the park on the right. I tried to put the "no illegal dumping/tresspassing signs" out of my head until I reached a dirt road that heads down toward my house.

This road, upper Alto, should be called mattress/tire alley since the entire route was dotted with old possessions left to die. But the run was peaceful nonetheless. I never felt "in danger."

Finishing strong down my street I clocked 5.75 miles this morning. Not bad for a lazy Thanksgiving morning.

Most people would consider that work and wonder why I would put myself through such paces on my day off. I on the other hand saw it as an opportunity to enjoy the peaceful streets, spectacular view, a new route and an unhurried pace; a rare pleasure during a typical busy workweek.

So last night after the last crumb settled on my great grandmother's fine china, I found myself past full with my family's love and companionship. My little 14 month old neice, Shayna, was the star of the party, playing and laughing the entire time.

On my plate was just a little of everything, but not too much. I allowed myself seconds of salad, tiny bite of turkey and another tablespoon of stuffing. Dessert were tastes of pecan and merengue with a bigger piece of crustless pumpkin pie. The dinner probably still wasn't low in points, but it wasn't as high as it easily could have been. I left the table feeling satisfied and in control. And most importantly, there was no midnight snack of a turkey sandwich or more pie!

Today I am working remotely from my parents' house to earn a vacation day for December. Maybe later I will hit the gym and Shayna will join us for some lunch and playtime.

The merchants may be in the black today (I hope), but the mood here is light and full of hope.

180 degrees of difference

I woke up this Thanksgiving morning feeling all those corny feelings of gratefulness. What a turn-a-round.

I am settling well into my new job. I think they are very happy with me. Sure there are a few bumpy parts (don't get me started on the conflicting directions from three "bosses," one of whom is actually my direct supervisor), but all in all, I am happy to be employed doing what I generally like to do. The personalities involved make the time spent at work even more varied and interesting.

I've really made a concerted effort lately to put the gym back into the loop. I am also counting points again. Sometimes it take a not to pleasant reminder of clothes not fitting as they should that the body never takes a break from counting points. My weight unfortunately is up past the two pound "safety zone." I am not legally "fat" according to the chart, but if I don't put the breaks on it now, I will be having to leave the house naked.

I attribute it to some "adjustment" with my new job, birthday cake and celebration, trip to NY for M's wedding, eating out at work, but as of this week I made an effort to turn it around.

And the running... I am still running. In a little over a week I will be running the Las Vegas Half Marathon. These extra pounds better loosen themselves soon or else I will be running down the street carrying 12 more pounds than my personal goal and six more than my actual goal -- not pretty. I almost want to sign up under a fake name.

Anyway... here is a picture of M and I in NY!

Running Rebel

Yesterday at work a co-worker pointed out how tired I looked. I agreed I was feeling kind of tired, but not thoroughly trashed. I actually felt I could have felt even more tired considering my schedule of the past couple of weeks. She asked if I was getting enough sleep. I relayed some events that had me burning the candle at both ends. Then she says, "You've been running early in the morning, haven't you?" And I stood there feeling like a kid who's hand was caught in the cookie jar.

Of course I went on the defense to protect the one precious thing in my life that is immutable and has been my rock in the storm. I gave her my list of events pointing out that is the part that has changed and even though most of the things I enjoy doing, I don't necessarily enjoy doing it all at once.

So call me the running rebel.

Meantime at work I have been super-focused, trying to get all my work done within 7 hours. Unlike other people at the office, I have places to be and people to see right after work. I can't afford to lollygag. So even the work has to be high energy. I like that actually as it makes the day pass sooner. It has also been a satisfying few days as the projects I get have offered their own challenges. However I get them done relatively fast and out of my hair (except for those few niggling projects I wish would go away because I don't know quite how to do them yet and they just suck time out of my day). The higher ups are finally noticing my (mostly) efficient style so hopefully that will secure my position once my probationary three months are up.

And oh yeah, I am underpaid. I needed this job to get my foot back in the office door. Rick thinks I could start looking again in three months. The thing is I do like the environment and I am learning lots. The benefits definitely will add value to the position. I am aiming for a year.

Pledge drive will carry on again starting today since we are $82,000 short of our goal -- oy! That means more office food and pressure to work early and late answering phones. Thank goodness I already have "appointments." I did my time already.

Anyway, am off and running here. Running has been the one thing that is keeping me sane. Despite what happens, I am still a runner.

Need a weekend from the weekend!

This weekend was a rollercoaster of events that wouldn't end! Each event on its own would have been sufficient, but racing from one to the next was just plain exhausting!

Thankfully I got a run in at Bootleg Canyon (around 7 miles) Saturday morning. That was probably the highlight of the weekend. When I arrived I noticed they were having a bike race. I was a bit worried that I would be run over on those narrow single track trails or run off a cliff!

A nice biker explained their route to me and I was able to come up with one that would avoid most of the mayhem. When I told him that we would be running a footrace next weekend he stared at us in awe. "How can you run on those rocky trails?" he asked. "I love trail running, but out here is just too much!"

Inside I giggled a little because bootleg has such a reputation as being a bada$$ mountain bike place that I would never imagine the bikers thinking the running is scarier than the biking. I think biking out there would be more dangerous because there would be more factors out of your control like the bike and gravity. Then toss in the rocks and narrow singletrack abutting cliffs and you get the idea!

So off I go running, the bada$$ lady in full on pink with lipstick to boot ;) Watch out for me!

Running out there isn't the easiest, but you can do it. Just pay attention and slow down. It isn't the place for those looking for speedwork unless your version of speedwork involves rocky obstacles and the occassional tarantula.

Speaking of tarantualas, they are oft misunderstood desert creatures and aren't looking to harm anyone. One was crossing our path toward the end and freaked out my friend. Rightly so. They are an awesome sight. It was moving pretty quickly though. Too bad I left my cellphone in the car.

The rest of the weekened included the requisite work function that I was invited to attend the day before. If I were actually thinking I would have had my excuses lined up. Funny thing is when we arrived, the same people who invited me practically ignored me! Next time I am gracefully bowing out. It would have been better if it was a good event. It was the Electronic Media Awards put on by Women in Communication. The audio visual was terrible, the presentations were aweful (and they had teleprompters!), the interruptions (they were interrupting each other) were very unprofessionally done. For experts in communication, you would expect better.

Thankfully Rick and I had our excuse lined up to leave after an hour (it was our anniversary).

However he went off to play softball (first time since he broke his leg) and I went to the Halloween Hafla.

Meantime we were experiencing the worst windstorm in ages, power was out including the traffic lights. Half the hafla was danced in the dark with flashlights which added to the ambiance, I guess. Rick's game was cancelled.

Yesterday involved a lot of driving around for M's bridal shower I was hosting. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. We had Kosher sushi and all the food got the stamp of approval from her guests. They appreciated all the work that went in to it. That felt good.

After Rick and I celebrated our anniversary with a night out at our favorite steak house. I got crab legs and salad bar and ate the whole thing. I am feeling a little rolly polly this morning. Gotta get back on track!

Off and running now!

First Full Paycheck Friday

One two three strikes.... you are in, actually.

This morning I am pitching for the third time on our local public radio classical station for our Fall pledge drive.

It is a wierd thing pitching since I am pretty much reading off scripts and the dev team is very sure that approach works.

I feel like I sound robotic. They say I sound pleasant and natural.

The thing is, I was told a lot of don'ts, not a lot of do's. So I am not sure how much to enunciate, how fast or slowly to read, how much style and personality I can get away with.

Yesterday I pitched with a very funny gentleman who is our new programming director. He is a hoot and I think I will get along with him splendidly.

Anyway, off to do my part for the team.

Funky Fruit

Ok, I have always been a very devoted friend to Michele. I used to drive her around everywhere before she got her license and would drop whatever I was doing to help her. Life has changed and she now has her license, but once I found out about her impending marriage, my devoted-friend gene kicked in.


I was going to throw her the best bridal shower any friend could ask for.


Nevermind I am being tested everystep of the way:
First, she wouldn't give me a list of her friends for months;
Secondly, once she did, she didn't think they would come because they are Kosher and I am not even though we would be throwing her a fully Kosher affair;
Third, the Kosher sushi is no longer being offered by her local grocery store. Nevermind. I found one across town and I will go and get it there.
Fourth, this is the topper, the cake we are having made for her has strawberries. Avi, the store meshgiach ("the kosher guy") informed me strawberries are not Kosher. Since when is fruit not Kosher? Who knew? What did Jews of the past do without their microscopes? This is meshugenah. What about germs? What is the difference between a germ and a bug? Size? What do you think about this?

World of Determination

Yesterday morning I met L at Bootleg Canyon for a three hour loop run. That place is incredible with its pristine desert landscape and its undulating single track trails. Yes it is rocky, but that just makes the running more interesting, something to break up the monotany. I sure wish I could get out there more often.

Trail running definitely clears the mind more than street running.
When I am street running before work I keep thinking, how soon will I get back so I can get ready for work. That isn't really the stress-free mindset I am looking for.

In two weeks I will be running a 25 k (15 m) trail race out there called the World of Hurt. And no, it really doesn't hurt too much unless you fall on the rocks (wear long sleeves, gloves and leggings). I even wear water bottles on my hands to protect them when I fall.

I sure wish I could find just as diverting and adventurous way to cover 7 pounds of territory back to my personal goal. It really is annoying that all my clothes are taylored to fit best at 118 and below. As of Sunday I was 122.something. Remember, I am short and this extra real estate shows up immediately as extra inches right on my hips and thighs.

The food fest continues at work, but I will not be daunted. The walking shoes are coming with me again and today I will wear clothes that are "walkable."

Gotta get these pounds off so I am not carrying them with me on my race next week.

Better Blog It!

Who knew "work" would qualify as one of my ongoing adventures? Surely it doesn't have the same "appeal" as bellydance or car-wreck attraction as marathoning.

Yesterday, as I was relaying this week's adventures about my new job to my mother in California she said yet again, "You had better be keeping a journal so you won't forget when it comes time to write your book." Yeah Mom. Yeah Mom, I nod to myself.

But she is right. However at this point I feel as if I could have written a book and it has been only THREE weeks! Here are some snippets:

1. No one has done my job before. I need to "create" my job. I spend the first three days "pretending" to look busy as I scout around for stuff to do and to figure out what it is I am to be doing. I spoke with some friends about this and they say this is "normal" in this day and age. Some people wander around their companies aimlessly for months before anyone notices their lack of productivity.

2. I realize that my "trainer" is thousands of miles away. Yes, I am to be trained by a soon to be former employee who keeps up the website remotely everyday. For some reason he never answers emails until 10:00 pm his time. He is a very sensitive and sometimes moody professor. Two days into trying to "figure" out my job a lightbulb went on and I realized how I was supposed to do that part of the job (daily updates on their radio newshow website), I jumped right in and made an update when some breaking news came down. Of course I immediately emailed my friend in Ireland with a heads-up so he wouldn't make the same update at the same time (which he wouldn't since he doesn't touch the site until the late pm anyway).

Well, he had a fit and sent a few missives to my bosses (a whole other story... I am blessed with at least two, possibly three) about my irresponsible actions of updating the website. I of course freaked out when I saw that email carbon-copied to everyone thinking I was going to be fired for being such an impatient upstart (hey, I was finaly taking the bull by the horns as I wanted my bosses to see they didn't hire me for naught) and had my first crying incident at work in front of the Station Manager.

Actually that incident was good (I am such an optimist as you can see) as it brought to light that the Irish fellow was not actually clued in as to the status of his job. I guess he thought he would remotely update the site forever. So I was the nice person who got the job of telling him, but not actually telling him, that he was soon to be through. Wow! I felt terrible about that.

The bosses were cool, told me not to worry and said they expected, "a few growing pains." How philosophical of them!

2. Work and food:

I lost almost three pounds my first week! One and a half of those I gained back the second week.

I can tell already the eating part is going to be a challenge. This office really relishes their "food holidays." Recall the "cake" announcement when I was first hired.

Since I've started we've celebrated two birthdays (see huge slab o'cake), eaten out half the time and am currently experiencing daily catering through the end of our pledge drive.

We have a volunteer especially stationed in the kitchen to "man" the post of Pledge Drive Chef. Actually he is a retiree named Mark who gives you a full plate of conversation along with your food. He is food-pushing Jewish mother/story-telling grandpa all rolled into one.

And there is a price for even the smallest trip to the kitchen. Want to refill your water mug? Pay 10 minutes of conversation. Want a Diet Coke? Will cost you 15 minutes.

No, I am not such a heartless wench that I don't have time nor do I not care to talk to a person freely giving of his time, but I am at work and I am new and hanging out in the kitchen talking may not be looked upon lightly by my bosses.

Anyway, regarding the pledge drive food... it is obscene to say the least.
Mornings usually consist of a pastry tray, a croissant-wich tray and some other bagel sandwich tray. Oh yeah, a gorgeous fruit platter is delivered only every other day of which I load up on first thing.

So far the lunch offerings have been fair to decadent... Jason's Deli, Chipotle, Memphis BBQ (was actually the best because aside from the pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw which wasn't too oily and beans there was BBQ chicken... just pull the skin off and voila, low points and high in protein lunch) and a fancy Italian restaurant (the most tempting, but that day I brought my own lunch and simply "supplemented" with a few bites of Italian).

Just in case you suddenly grew starving with a few hours of hard labor hunched over your computer, on the phones or on the air, a delectible cookie platter magically appears in the kitchen. That along with some fresh coffee will get your blood sugar right back up there, in the stratosphere where it belongs.

Of course that blood sugar is a hard thing to keep up, especially with all that labor-intensive work going on... an afternoon dunking donut combined with a 20 minute conversation with Mark about his lawn, the homeowners association or what to do about all that spam in his mailbox when he goes away (remember, I am the web person so people think I am now the "go-to" person with all things technical or Internet-related. Even the station manager thought I thought she was sounding stupid when she was trying to explain how the shows were switching on and off to the volunteers. I in fact was merely trying to understand the process like everyone else sitting there. I had absolutely no experience in radio until now.).

Anyway, if you can avoid the food gauntlet you have made it super-far into not gaining the pledge-drive 10 pounds. Yes, 10 pounds. I have been actually threatened by these 10 pounds. Other employees have been saying stuff like, "Expect to gain weight." "You will gain 10 pounds," etc. for days and even through the buffet line which makes for pleasant lunch conversation, doesn't it?

In my mind I am thinking, "Says who?" or "Speak for yourself." I made a secret, and not so secret pledge (if anyone asks me or brings up the topic) to not gain the freshman 15 or freshman anything.

Here are some steps I have taken:
1. I found a park nearby and have walked to the park, eaten my lunch there, walked around the park and walked back;
2. Walked out to lunch instead of driving. I have had offers for rides from fellow-employees who see me there and take pity on me -- it is only 1/2 a mile away -- sheesh;
3. I keep refilling my gigundo WW water mug, although now I am less about to fill it with the food sentinel standing duty in the kitchen since that errand now takes me 10 minutes;
4. I keep clean white professional-looking sneakers in my drawer for my walks;
5. I try to run most mornings. I have even worked out a couple times before work, although that makes for a rushed-feeling kind of morning which I don't like;
6. I go to bellydance one night a week and lead or work WW meetings another 2-3;
7. I bring my lunch even when they are catering. Most of the time the food isn't something I would have ordered myself. Sometimes I can "harvest" a few bites of this or that to soup up my own lunch.

This reminds me of yesterday. I brought a delicious three bean pasta and lettuce salad with bean salsa and marinated mushrooms in balsamic rice wine vinegar and olive oil for lunch (4 points). This salad was so good I could have served it to the office and everyone would have wanted seconds.

Well first I went to Mark and managed to leave with just a few bites of this and that(some mushrooms and chicken harvested out of the buttery rigatoni noodles and some lettuce out of the undressed ceasar to supplment my salad). Then I took it all back to my office, closed the door and dumped it all in my huge salad bowl. I started to eat my lunch at my desk, in hiding and thought that was stupid since everyone was in the kitchen laughing and talking. How sad. So I bit the bullet and took my huge bowl with me to the kitchen. Boy did I get the "eyes." Was it just me or did the conversation suddenly turn to food/plate justification?

However, everyone was shovelling and running and again I found myself alone with Mark so I left too... back to the office (too bad I was wearing knee high boots yesterday or else I would have walked to the park). A volunteer remarked, "You brought your lunch even with all the catered food?" I said, "My goal is not to gain 10 pounds during pledge drive. This is actually a delicious mix of some catered food and mostly my own." She said, "What fun is that?"

Well call me wierd, but I personally find it more fun to go shopping for cute stylish clothes during my off-time than to go on a feeding frenzy at work. My job is not going to pay me extra to buy fat clothes.

8. I chew a ton of gum;
9. I order smartly when I eat out.


Topic three: Ok, sorry this outline got all hosed up. The website. It is a dinosaur of a thing circa just post-Y2k. That is sort of good for me for it gives me time to bone up on the latest web design stuff without having to use it. On the other hand, it forces me to learn stuff I purposefully skipped learning at that time instead to focus on the next best thing since their website is stuck in a time warp.

First, I gotta learn some ColdFusion. It wasn't in the job requirement, but I gotta teach myself enough to be dangerous or else I will be really dangerous whenever I gotta make design changes (which wasn't in the job despcription, btw). Since it is an older version of a ColdFusion 5 manual, I got away with paying $1.98 plus $6.00 rush shipping -- bonus!

On the negative side, the code is so convoluted and complex, that making any design adjustments are like performing brain surgery: I am never sure of what its going to do to the page and these pages can't be tested on my computer. They must be loaded up and tested live -- eek! With every change, I am never sure if the page is going to break when some timed (unknown) function comes into play which is why I brought the FTP codes home this weekend in case I need to make some emergency changes.

Which brings me back to the guy in Ireland... his "helpful" emails surreptitiously stopped when I started asking questions about his page structure... hmm I bet he is feeling miffed about anyone digging around his precious code.

I do have to say the site is highly functional and the person who coded it certainly knew his stuff. However, the directory and table structures are overly complex for what they need to be making even the smallest adjustment a week long process of trial and error.

My bosses say they are going to pay an outside firm to "redesign" the site, but now it seems more like pie in the sky.

In any case, they hired a content coordinator/updater, not a ColdFusion programmer so I will have to suffice. I know CF programmers charge more per hour for sure!

Fourth: The part I like is working on the SON show. Each day several topics are covered on the show which requires me to write blurbs and research the topic for website content. That part I like! The part I don't like is having five show producers give me their stuff piecemeal or even micro-manage the website blurbs. Did they not hire me to do this? A tease can take me a few minutes to write if I am given the proper slant of the interview. If I am given nothing but a name or an issue, who knows what they are going to talk about. Occassionally the head producer gives me the teases and they are overly wordy for the web; however, I cannot argue with him since he is the head producer and I am new. But I am learning that he does get too busy to concern himself with my job and eventually will just leave it to me. I think he is just trying to be "nice" and "helpful" yet also feels now he can "control" the site more now that our gentleman in Ireland is mostly out of the picture.

It was a little crazy in the beginning trying to extract the show topics from the producers as they change day by day and often aren't known until the last second. I have learned which ones to go to and which ones to avoid asking and instead ask the head producer as he always seems to change certain producer's writing. Also I know never to take anything off the head producer's desk without asking even if an assistant producer says she does it all the time and hands you the actual file off his desk. (yeah, thanks for throwing me under the bus for that one). I am also learning which ones are the most knowledgable about any topic and who would make a good blogger when we we integrate that part of the site.

Anyone know of a good blogging software to implement for a business, btw?

Fifth, I am never bored. Between the colorful array of interviewees who grace our doors and my list of "items to be researched" or code to tinker with, there is always something to do. I kind of make up my own work. They were very happy with the Guy Savoy banner I designed for them for pledge drive, and I consider that very simple and kind of old-school since I don't have Flash, good fonts or even a royalty-free image library. I come up with half my tasks myself based on what I "hear" people want to see.

Anyway, there is more. I can get into the various office personalities another time.

Off to to my other job today.

Learning Curve

I just embarked on a new adventure this week, a new job working for KNPR radio as their online content coordinator -- whew what a title!

The people are nice enough, the hours, benefits, pay, etc etc are all well and good. It's just that suddenly walking into a totally new situation with new people and new tasks is like being beamed onto another planet where up is down and down is up. It is enough to make the smartest person suddenly stupid.

It's not just learning the job that is the challenge (like starting with what am I supposed to do, exactly?) since there is no one around who did what I did before or if there was someone, he isn't there now to show me. Dealing with the people is a challenge. Again, everyone is nice; however, trying to time the questions, making sure I am asking enough questions and asking them in the right way is the challenge.

Of course even the most basic tasks require a brain transplant. The programs I am used to using are slightly different (it has been so long since I have set any preferences) enough that a task as simple as training my email box to remove junk email so I don't have a slew of penis ads staring me in the face on my work computer every morning has been daunting.

Add to that sheer memorization involved of suddenly having to know who does what even though we have only met each other once (so what if they knew I was coming for three weeks).

So back to school I have gone. It is a good thing. I would rather feel younger than older. They say work keeps a person young. Whoever they are aren't kidding when they say that.

Actually the experience has been motivating so far. I want to learn new programming languages and perhaps a new field (I have always been interested in journalism/writing since HS newspaper days). So here we go. Be careful of what you ask or wish for.

On the health and fitness front... I am channelling this "back to school" feeling into "back to basics" behaviors. So far I have used my brand spanking new WW mug everyday (I wander the halls carrying that thing) and brought my healthy lunch in my WW insulated cooler. I stocked my desk with healthy snacks and eat them only when I feel a physical need, believe it or not. Amazing how that whole snacking thing changes when you are busy and feeling "under the gun" or "stressed to impress." I also plan on bringing my walking sneaks as I work on the community college campus near a residential area so I see a great opportunity to gain some AP's. Other positive steps have been to go for a short run before work.

So there, you see. I don't have relive the old stressed-out no time for me days of my workaholic youth. I have learned something. And what I learned is that this new return into corporate work-dom will offer a new opportunity to put into practice what I learned!

inTENSE-ive

For the last 36 hours life has been all bellydance all the time. This morning I woke up to sore legs and back muscles from taking six classes non-stop since Friday. I don't think I take six bellydance classes in one week! And the last two nights have been a blur of fabulous dancing, one act better than the next and all beautiful.

This experience has been inspiring, uplifting, motivating and frustrating all at the same time. I go from feeling, "I just don't get this at all," to "Wow, this is neat," to "I can do this forever," to "Huh?" to "I've got to learn this style on my own," all within the span of an hour and a half class.

So far I have taken Turkish style, Moroccan and Tunisian Dance, travelling steps, Flamenco fusion and Creating and Destroying rules not to mention Suhaila's evil combination class (without the all-important layering technique class beforehand -- it was full up).

Of course the teachers that I like don't teach classes (they just charge an arm and a leg for privates) or they live far away -- oh well. And how in heck am I to remember all their steps from a class I took once sandwiched in between classes of someone else's style so I can practice at home. It is very overwhelming. So I am just taking this weekend for what it is, a great workout in my favorite dance style along with a new moves tossed in that may serve me well in the future.

Timing of meals has been intense too. I forsaw this with the crazy schedule of one class starting after the next that I packed a lunch and brought several liters of water. Lunch would be just one hour. I shared that hour with a couple nice ladies in one's AC-ed car. I could have gotten fast food (they got greasy stuff), but I enjoyed the satisfying turkey, avocado, babygreens wrap that only took me a few minutes to throw together this morning. Snack was a two point bar furtively eaten in between classes.

I did skip the last class though. I already know beginning zilling (finger cymbals) and needed that time to shower and eat a healthy dinner (wasn't going to leave that to the whims of the potluck gods at that night's Hafla dance show) at home, especially since iconoclastic Amara had us rolling all over the dirty dance floor on our heads "breaking rules" in that last hour.

But wait, there is more! Today I return for more punishment, I mean er, FUN! I sit hear trying to get myself hyped up to learn and to move more. Yesterday was like running a marathon. Today will make it an ultra. My running partner is going to get her "long run in" before she shows up to take a class. She will be sorry. I feel no guilt about skipping running this weekend, especially when these classes have been more like back to back aerobics classes.

Mmmm... cake!

I just want to take a poll here, is cake a rare commodity that can only be eaten on someone's birthday, at a celebration or part of a buffet?

I thought so. Just checking.

Yesterday I stopped by my new job to sign paperwork. The nice HR lady showed me around and introduced me to a gazillion people which was VERY overwhelming. So many personalities and what a variety of vibes (I am really tuned into people's vibes since I deal with many people on a weekly basis). Some people seemed too busy to care while others really went out of their way to make me feel welcome.

As I was being ushered down the hall someone asked, "When's your birthday?" I answered and got a big cheer since it is coming up in a month and a half. That same person proclaimed how much she loves cake. Then I recalled the HR lady telling me one of the "benefits" of working there is that everyone gets a cake on their birthday. I thought, ok, that's fine. I am not a huge cake fan, but am definitely into celebrating.

I just thought it was funny how much emphasis was put on this whole cake thing. When it comes time for my birthday I will be happy to offer Birthday Lady my slice of cake. I am sure she will be thrilled.

This is all bringing up what I am going to do about food. I guess I will just pack it all up and take it to work. I do that now on my busy days. I will also bring a pair of sneaks so I can take a powerwalk on my lunch hour. And yes, I am not going to eat at my desk. That workaholic habit can add pounds for sure. Everything is going to be low-key though. I definitely don't want to be known as the WW lady. Marathon lady is fine. My new employers are unaware of my stupendous weight loss.

This morning I spent time tying up some loose ends. I also met L for a trail run by her house at 5am (read, 3:30 am wakeup call!). That is definitely a habit I want to keep. Later I've got a BD class taught by the famed Suhaila Salimpour. It should be a butt-kicker (she is literally known for glute squeezing technique). After will be a professional bellydance show. Should be FUN and inspiring!

Signs

Just in case I needed a sign to tell me what to do about the recent job opportunity/job offering, sometimes life just hits you over the head, grabs you by the shoulders and shouts, "Wake up!"

It seems like the stresses of the soon to be former schedule have been building up to boiling point just in time. I can take these signs as failures or merely as confirmation that I am doing the right thing by taking the new position (yes I got it!).

Yesterday I was severely dressed down over paperwork and mileage. Nevermind I had members (friends, thank you skinnyguy!) telling me after my meetings this week (no matter how well the topic flopped, talk about hearing crickets chirping) that they have shopped around forever and are happy to have found a leader they click with. Nevermind I have members, strangers merely 30 minutes before, hugging me after the meeting and apologizing for having to miss a couple weeks. See this is the problem of being a nice person. People dare to tell you all the stupid stuff because they think you can take it.

Sure I had good excuses last week for half my tallies not reaching the office in time (a tight schedule T-Th not leaving any time for paperwork, late Labor Day mail, a lost deposit -- see tight schedule that left me no room to think). In any case I did not apologize or make excuses. I just said, "Thank you. I will be better." In the back of my mind you know what I was thinking (I will be MORE than better -- I will give you almost no paperwork since that is what you asked for, thank you very much. Is that the kind of thanks I get for all the schlepping and the crazy scheduling I agreed to?). I was also thinking thank goodness I am leaving this mess! This company has such an antiquated way of dealing with paperwork. It's one thing when you are doing this part-time and the paperwork is manageable. It is another thing when you are crazy enough to take it on "full" time and have to dot all i's and cross all t's, meanwhile keeping track of the deposits -- too much! I just want to help people lose weight, thank you very much!

So this happens just before I go into the director's office to give her the "news." I was so nervous but I did it. She is happy for me. I made the right choice. In fact there is another staff member who is retiring from her "day" job and wants to do this full-time now. They needed meetings to give her and here I am giving some up -- perfect! Another sign.

Of course signs that encouraged me in the direction of strongly pursuing a career change included: the recent breakdown of my car's AC in the heat of summer which will cost $1000 to fix (read, by new car now); pesky student loans; promised "in the mail" freelance payments that only seem to arrive at a snail's pace; normally low summer meeting attendance's effect on my paycheck; dying to have my Sunday's back for running, travel, family, social activities (most of my friends/family socialize that day, ie bridal showers, birthdays, etc.); killing myself to find subs to cover meetings on days I have said activities; said crazy schedule's effect on my eating habits and exercise schedule... I could go on.

The culminating effect of it all has given me a big headache and a case of anxiety I didn't realize I had until I started relieving myself of some of these duties.

So those are the signs. Next time I will talk about the how I used these signs to create my Winning Outcome!

PS -- The last two days I ran 4 miles each morning. The legs are tired, but on the comeback trail.

Kid's Play

This weekend Rick and I stayed with my parents in California so we could participate in my family's favorite Labor Day weekend tradition, Sycamore Sunday.

Sycamore Sunday is an event my mother's running club puts on every Labor Day Sunday which usually includes an early morning trail run up Sycamore Canyon and a relaxing BBQ on the beach.

One may picture spry young 20-40 somethings while imagining this scene, but actually I think the average mean age is 60. I do remember when these folks would sit around and recount the details of their latest marathon, but lately I have been hearing stuff like, "I don't need to prove anything anymore." "I will just do 4 miles." "Wow! You ran 13 miles in (less than three hours)! That is fast!" Hanging around these folks is enough to prop up any midpack runner's ego.

On the other hand I have been trying to imagine where and what I will be doing on Sycamore Sunday when I am 60. Will I be sitting in the easy chair or will I be heading up the canyon for a trail run?

Sunday our group decided to host a couple races "for the kids." One was a half marathon (13.1 miles) for "big kids" and the other a 50 m dash on the beach. I knew the 50 m dash was for the little ones (picture toddlers with barely their land legs holding them up -- too cute!).

I signed up for the 13.1 miler figuring it has been a long time since I have raced. Well just my luck California is experiencing a heat wave, hotter than Las Vegas, just in time for my visit. And nevermind this race is starting at the way-too-hot hour of 8:12 am. In Las Vegas I may have been long-finished with my long Sunday run by that time. I noticed most of the "big kids" decided not to participate and run 4-8 miles instead. I was beginning to see the wisdom of their ways when we approached the starting line and I saw the treeless route sprawled out ahead.

I think maybe 10 of us went for it. For sure it was going to be a hot one and today wasn't the day to push it. Most went with the "it's just a run" attitude. I sort of went with that mindset, but knew that if I had anything left with half to go, I would pick it up, provided the heat didn't get to me first.

I headed out with a pack of four men with one gradually breaking off early in the race to leave us in the dust. I couldn't believe it considering the heat, but figured he is a big boy and knows his pace. Hey, one person's 10 minute mile pace is another's 7 minute mile pace. So on a hot day you up it by a minute or two. I figured he wasn't going so fast that I possibly couldn't catch him later on. However, it was 100 degrees and I doubt I would have the gumption to catch anyone later in the race. In any case, I let the easy pace of my comrades dictate my pace and hold me back for the first half.

At a certain point we split into two "couples." I was running in the back with a fellow named Mike who usually leaves everyone, myself included, in the dust! He was feeling under the weather and kept questioning outloud the sanity of running any distance in the heat with his condition. The pace was easy and conversational and the conversation was compelling enough that I gave no thought to effort. That may have been good or bad, depending on how one view's distractions during a race. I guess it was good since it got me through the first half pain-free. However, I don't know if I was running too fast or too slow. We did walk up a hill together so that did help me conserve some energy for later on.

Maybe a couple miles later I bid my friend goodbye. I don't mind walk breaks, but it seemed like he was ready for a permanent one. There were people behind us he could walk with. He had plenty of water too. Personally, the idea of walking three hours versus running about two in the 100 degree heat seemed less draining. I would probably run out of water faster by walking. And now that the hills were pretty much overwith, I was ready to pick it up.

Well, this surge of energy lasted about a mile until I hit the hot flats again and saw the mile marker for 8 miles. Yikes -- five hot miles left! Normally, when it is not 100 degrees out I would be thinking, "Just five miles left." Now I was questioning my sanity for signing up for this thing. But really, I just tried to ignore the "hot" part of it and focus on a steady pace.

At some point I caught up with the fellows ahead of me at a water spigot. I asked how many miles to go and one said, "Five." Five? Five! FIVE!?!!! How can that be possible. I just ran about 1.5 to get there. Maybe the mile marker was wrong. How can I keep up this pace in the heat when the miles are sooooo long? Did I was energy needlessly? Will I soon be joining the troops doing the death march through the hot Valley of Death?

I should have more respect for my "elders" I thought as I set off again. I could be reduced to a crawl and they will be hiking right by at a steady 15 minute mile pace. Those thoughts were pushed out of my mind as I did some estimates on my watch. (Point of note -- my Garmin GPS watch bit the bullet so I was using my mother's borrowed Timex with watch hands.) I gave myself an 40 minutes to an hour to finish the race and if I didn't finish it by then, I could walk all I wanted. That window was to allow for the two extra miles the nice guy with the GPS decided to throw in.

So off I went, keeping it steady meanwhile feeling the sun's heat bore into me. I honestly had no idea when I hit the main trail again. The sight of hikers in flip flops not carrying water bottles was a good tip off though. I knew the end was near.

When I finally finished, the race director and the few people at the finish line said nothing and did nothing. No clapping, no nuthin'! I was pissed. Yes, I was glad I was finished (the last two miles were neverending); however, a little congratulations would have gone a long way. I almost walked off.

But I jogged over and said, "Hi," patiently waiting until they were done doing whatever it was they were doing.

"Oh you are done. Did you do the whole thing?" the race director asked me.

"Um, yes, that is what I signed up to do." I said as she searched me with her big eyes, probably for wings.

"Oh, ok, wow! It's just that several people came in already deciding not to do the whole thing. I can't believe you did the whole thing!"

I looked down at her timer, hoping above hope she pressed the button. She did, but I think she shaved off a minute to make up for her gaff of missing me.

She proclaimed me the woman's race winner and pinned a blue ribbon on me -- First Place it said. LOL, I thought, were there other women competing? But ok, I guess I am in. (Later I found out there were others. I will have to check out the NBB site.) I was happier to find out my time was 2:14. Not a PR for me by any means, but definitely a respectable time in the heat and also considering the two walk breaks with my sick friend and the water spigot break. Just what I wanted. And that was Garmin-free. I think I have run the same before on a colder day. In any case, the accomplishment was finishing alive on such a hot day.

I almost forgot, I also won a whopping 32 ounce water bottle filled with jelly bellies. That will make a great conversation piece on my desk at my new job (I got the job and I start in two weeks!). I tried to post a picture of it, but had a little technical difficulty.

Later after relaxing on the beach and enjoying some BBQ fixin's (I did pretty good in the calorie department, by the way) I watched the kids in their 50 meter dash. They were all smiling and jumping in the air before and after the race. Actually they resembled all the "big kids" (us) running around with big goofy smiles on their faces. Both little kids and adults proudly flaunted their winning ribbons pinned to their shirts. Where else could one find such a display of enthusiasm on a hot Sunday morning. Both sets were already setting goals to "beat last this year's time" next year! Ha Ha.

If finding the proverbial fountain of youth is one of the effect's of running, I will keep running. Meantime I will try not to "eat" my trophy :p

Bellyaching!

The bellydancing part of my life is in flux right now. My favorite teacher has come down with a mysterious illness (so mysterious she is not even sure what it is yet) so that she had to cancel her classes indefinitely. I love her classes because she is so encouraging that she makes everyone feel like a great dancer. And we are all beginners!

Yesterday I just found out my second favorite teacher is going on sabbatical for an indefinite amount of time as her work schedule has her running ragged.

Alright, illness, work, come on, give me a REAL excuse!

Just kidding. I do love these people and appreciate them more than just as teachers. They are very giving special people and it is too bad they can't teach now. I do feel a little selfish and guilty about my current feelings of desertion over them leaving since I am a "teacher" too (in a way) and I know how important it is to balance giving my time to "students" and to living a balanced life for me.

Meantime I am bored with the classes I have been taking elsewhere I originally signed up to supplement the first teacher's.

Arghhhh. So now Wednesday night is free and nary a good class to take.

On a positive note the Bellydance Intensive is next weekend where there will be nonstop classess and I bet by the end I will be begging for mercy. Hopefully that will give me enough of a fix to last a while. Afterward, depending on what I am doing in my professional life, I may sign up elsewhere on other nights.

This bellydance shell game has me thinking about my weight loss meetings that I lead... Lately I have been missing quite a few due to a trip back east to Syracuse, now Labor Day weekend in California, next weekend's intensive, the Jewish High Holidays coming up in a few weeks and soon, Michele's wedding. Not that I claim to be the Queen Leader of the Universe, but the members make it known how much they miss me when I am not there. It is concerning that some of them are relying on my leadership so much that when I am not there, things fall apart! That makes me feel terrible. But with as many meetings as I am leading, it is inevitable that if I want to live a full life (and my family live in another state), I will be missing my weekend members the most.

So this has made me think about my bellydance hobby again and how I shouldn't stem my bellydance participation on one teacher or another. Yes I am sad about my teacher's inability to teach right now and more importantly her health, but really I should be looking at this as an opportunity to try something new and to learn some new tricks. How sad would it be to stop any hobby just because someone else quits?

This reminds me of my weight loss journey: I started my recent one with my best friend and 20 pounds into it, she decided she was quitting because the scale stopped moving (temporarily). I kept going and I am glad I did.

And working out too: I had a workout buddy when I was getting back into working out around the time I was losing my weight and she quit on me after a few months. How sad it would have been for me to quit too.

So I guess this is the time when our dedication to our pursuits are tested. I am hoping that during the intensive next weekend I will be able to meet some inspiring knowledgeable teachers whose class times mesh well with my schedule. Let's hope.

Meantime I will shimmy on.

Car-ma

Yes, I am still here. Just has been a busy couple of weeks between visiting inlaws in Syracuse NY, job hunting and the regular running around doing what I do.

Today a few good things happened and one bad thing happened which thank goodness I was there, didn't have a bad ending.

First things first, I got a call back on a job for a company I am very excited about. I don't want to put my hopes too high and don't even know if it will be a good fit after my interview on Monday (I am a combination of nervous and excited all at once). Of course the job description is one of those wanting "the sun, the moon and the stars" which is so typical in the web/internet industry (I am a web designer by trade).

Secondly, I got a "go ahead" by a web client to start a nice-sized project which would make for a nice amount chunk $ we (myself, my partner and our business account) could use. Yeah!

Thirdly, I found out all the people I asked to write a letter of recommendation (I believe I asked 5 or 6) did write one for me for the above-mentioned job which is what I think helped get my foot in the door since I was recently told that my resume hasn't be doing me justice by an experienced job-seeker.

Those letters almost brought tears to my eyes, by the way and will go in my "feel good" file. Reading them reminding me of all my strengths and accomplishments which time begins to discount when the mind starts demanding, "Well, what have you done for me lately!"

Fourthly, this week many members of my weight loss groups (I lead 11 a week currently) expressed their appreciation of me which felt good to hear. Funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I do make that career move to focus totally on my career (and hence make more $)

I will miss those folks. Hopefully I can keep one or two meetings a week. But let's not put the cart before the horse. Whatever job I take has got to be a good fit. Between my freelancing and leading meetings, at least I am not coming from a place of total desperation that I feel I must totally sacrifice my freedom to take something mediocre.

See, I am a pretty spiritual person. Not religion-wise, but just in general believing what comes around, goes around. Hard work pays off and so does performing good works. And I have been working hard and paying my dues.

But sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. Here is the the bad part of my day. I went out to run a couple marketing/bank errands. Friday afternoon is the worst time to do these things because that is when every construction person is in line at the bank to cash his check. Note to self, wait until Monday morning.

Anyway, as I was coming out of Walmart with a few sundry items I noticed a Golden Retriever in a car with a slightly cracked window. Ok, just a reminder it is over 100 degrees here in Vegas and probably much hotter in a stuffy car. Dogs can't sweat to cool themselves and this dog's coat was pretty thick. So I am caught between a rock and a hard place.

What to do? I wait and I watch, hoping above hope the owner returns really soon. No one comes. So I get out and hover near the car. The dog is barking and ignoring me. Meantime a lady from another car gives me some water which I try to feed the dog through the window to no avail. The dog is too busy barking in the diretion of the store, clearly agitated.

So then the dog lays down and I make a controversial move: I open the door. It was unlocked. A nearby gentleman warned me I could get arrested for doing that even if I am saving a dog and he suggested I call for help. I called 311 which forwarded me to animal control which rang and rang and rang and hung up. Great! Now I didn't want to be responsible for this dog dying while I was standing right there. So I called 911 next and told them what was happening and the operator told me she would have someone from animal control call me back. I wait and three minutes later a family approaches the car while animal control is ringing for me. Timing is everything, right? I thanked the caller (who told me I could have just left a message which would be nice if I actually got through) and confronted the owner (a family actually).

They brushed me off saying it was "only 5 minutes." Well hey, heat kills in five minutes in this town and a cracked window doesn't stop that from happening. They didn't seem to care. The attitude of these people seems to be very typical in these parts which surprises me. But Vegas abounds with stupid people. This town just attracts them. Transients and stupid, ignorant people. Sorry for the rant, but it's the truth. And I am actually being nice right now.

So no good deed goes unpunished. But perhaps it will pay off in another way. Honestly I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I just left that dog without at least trying.

Mysteries Revealed

I just finished the Harry Potter book. Yep, it took me a whole week to read it and I was actually attemping to savor it by reading slowly, but to no avail. No, I am not going to spoil the ending, but suffice it to say it all makes more sense to me now. I will miss my old friend Harry (as in no more HP books), but at a certain point certain relationships require closure, so HP, it has been nice, but Adieu and I wish you well. Thanks for letting me in to your magical world.

So the past week I have been playing with http://myfooddiary.com (MFD). What an eye opener. I think I have not been eating enough for my metabolism for the past six years (which may clear up a certain mystery that has been going on for a while). MFD, which is basically a calorie counting program (don't worry, I don't spend every second looking up calories because after a while, all your favorite foods are saved in there). I also have been going too low on fat which may also be the culprit behind this mystery. No doctor has bothered to look at what I am eating although I have spent way too much money asking for their opinions.

MFD tells me I should eat at least 1200 calories a day for my height and weight (I am 5'1"). I may lose slowly, but at least that way my body will be getting what it needs to stay healthy. I am also forced to eat my exercise calories. What good is that you may ask? In the long run it all comes down to living a healthy lifestyle. If my body is in too much of a deficit for too long, certain hormonal changes may occur. Exercise brings on a bigger deficit than just eating losing calories which for a small person like myself may put me in the danger zone metabolically speaking.

On WW, I was always reluctant to eat my Activity Points, thinking not eating them would only boost my weight loss. To a certain extent a little bit, but then I would get so hungry I would double dessert at night or worse.

Since I am not about to give up running, bellydancing, lifting or anything else that helps me to remain depression (and fat)-free, I decided to try the MFD suggestion for one week about eating back most activity calories. It recommended I lose no more than .9 as a safe weight-loss (remember I want to get back to my personal goal).

Well, I did as it said for the most part (although since I was a little worried about overestimating, I came out slightly short 5/7 days and over my maintenance zone by a little on 2 days, the weekend) and lost .8 which is pretty dang close. The scale I weigh on only weighs to the nearest tenth.

Four areas which require attention for me, according to its system of smilies and frownies, are sodium (looks like I will rarely achieve this one since I am addicted to salsa and bread plus I run in the heat which makes me crave sodium even more), dessert (sorry, but I am not giving up my nightly dessert of <200 calories and no I am not counting it as a "snack" just to get a smilie since what I eat is essentially a treat with hardly any nutritional value), iron (I am a rare meat-eater so this one is tough) and fat (too low in fat since we drink skim milk, I rarely eat cheese and I limit healthy fats -- but I know now I can eat back my exercise points in peanut butter, avocado, nuts and olive oil - yippie!).

So there. Let's see if by eating a little more fat and calories I will continue to lose the .8 a week and get/stay healthy at the same time.

You've been served!

Last night at bellydance class our teacher had us gather in a big circle for what she calls the "Yalla circle" (yalla="let's go!" in arabic). Then she had us go in two by two and have a "dance off" with each other. One would dance and the other would reply and try to outdo the other.

It was too much fun! This was the first time that the ladies really came out of their shells and got jiggy with it. In fact those shells were cracked wide open. I keep smiling thinking about how fun it was. It was fun to watch the mothers and daughters especially. Nothing like a little friendly competition to get things rolling.

Ha ha, it was a female fight club with hips instead of fists ;) But no black eyes and everybody laughed. Now that is exercise for the soul.

And that was after we each did a shimmy solo in which the teacher told us which direction to move. Again -- too fun!

How could this be exercise. If this is exercise than I will take more of the same please!

This week R and I entered into a little friendly competition of our own, a little weight loss competition to see who can lose the most percentage of body weight each week and by the end of six weeks. Again, no losers. This was just what I needed since I was finding it hard to find a new and exciting way to motivate myself to lose these niggling few pounds (six to eight to be technical if you want to go with the evil night reading at my official weigh in on Monday night). The winner gets a massage! The loser also gets to have one that day, but must pay for the winner.

I too have joined the ranks of myfooddiary.com and am loving the little motivating comments about how much weight I will lose or gain if I choose to continue to eat a certain way. In fact it encourages me to eat my exercise calories to get the most bang for my buck. Interesting how at my weight it also recommends I lose no more than .9 pounds a week. I know I can make that goal. I also know the difference between one and two pounds is dessert every day which I refuse to give up!

I wasn't that way when I was losing 110 pounds. Desserts were sacrificed for the greater good and I was fine with that. Nowadays if I don't get my Weight Watchers cookie dough sundae fix or my Skinny Cow, I am doomed.

In any case the MFD has encouraged me to cut my Skinny Cow ice-cream sandwiches in half and see if half will work as well as a whole. And you know what? Mostly it does!

If you are in any way competitive, I recommend a contest. In the end it is only ourselves we are competing against and if you pick your contests wisely, all will be winners in the end.

Just a catch up on this week's happenings... got in uber long run (13 miles, but felt like 15) with L on Sunday. The heat haze and humidity (welcome Monsoon season!) was a killer, but we did it and finished strong. That post-run dunk in the pool never felt better!

Monday was aerobic machines, abs and free weights at the gym.

Tuesday was my first speed workout in like forever with R. We covered about 5.5 miles of undulating terrain doing fartleks of 2 minutes fast with 3 rest. There were some warmup and cool down miles as well.

Wed I met L and she kicked my b#++ in the weight room. We were doing all the stuff you need spotters for, the stuff I usually avoid doing because I don't have a spotter. The Hubster used to spot me on the bench, etc. Now there is L! I SO feel it now.

Not to mention last night's veil, zills and basic BD moves class.

This morning's 5.2 mile run started slowly and a little sluggish, but I managed to pick it up on the way back. Methinks I just had to wake up.

Shake it Like Shakira

Last night I tried a new bellydance class. My usual Friday night choreo class was cancelled so it gave me the opportunity to try something new. It was billed as the "Shake It Like Shakira" class and since I like Shakira, I was all excited about learning how to do some of those MTV moves.

The class is taught by Maharasha, the male bellydancer (that is his moniker, btw). And we actually learned a choreography to Shakira's "Whatever. Wherever." Now he wants to perform it at the next Hafla (next week!). Unfortunately I will be back to my normal BD class next Friday night.

Too bad this class wasn't going on during that whole time when the Community Center was giving my other teacher heck about having her class there and we had no choreo class for a month.

On another note, I met L yesterday morning for a 5 mile trail run from her house. It was steep to begin with and I actually took a flying header (left hand is all scraped up), but it turned out to be a great run. She brought her dogs which are super running dogs. The run was followed by a dip in the pool, breakfast (I brought melon!) and a nice chat.

We will meet on Wed to work out at the gym (hopefully my hand will be ok enough to grasp those weights by then) and maybe next Friday for a long run.

I took this morning off from activity although I will practice some BD moves today.

Shouting into the Wind

The topic this week in the meetings is activity. There is no other topic that receives such a mixed reaction. No matter how I ask the questions, what I wear (this week I have been wearing my "badwater racing pajamas" -- an spf a million sun suit), and what I share of my good times with friends participating in my fitness pursuits, I can hear the crickets chirping.

One lady I worked with said to me yesterday that she lost weight really well just modifying her food intake and was ready to add exercise when her weight loss slowed down. Well 60 pounds later it didn't slow down so now she is maintaining and wondering how to get rid of her underarm flab.

But you know, I can relate. When I was in the weight loss phase, the eating was the focus of my universe and activity were the little moons that revolved around the planets. They existed, but were secondary to my purpose. Any activity I did was to give the weight loss a little boost, not to be my sole source of burning calories.

It's funny how things are all flip-flopped around. No, activity doesn't burn most of my calories. It is still about the food choices, but activity makes for a lifestyle centered around movement versus couch-potato-dom. When you are at goal, keeping moving is the way to stay there. I don't want to be a slave to my tracker the rest of my life.

Plus the midset is different. Now I am an "athlete." Athletes I know do not blow through an entire bag of Doritos and a gallon of Ben and Jerry's during Prime Time. Or maybe that is the fantasy I choose to believe.

When I go to eat something I have asked myself, "Would Lance Armstrong eat this?" which has often stopped me in my chocolate-hunting tracks.

So it is important to surround myself with people who believe as I do. It feels good at the end of the day to walk into my bellydance class and be greated with smiles and hellos from the other dancers (who remembered my name! I am SO bad with names! I know way too many people to know everyone!) who are ready and wishing to dance. The teacher last night asked how hard we wanted to work and she got a rousing response of hoots and hollers. And she worked us and it was fun. The class is filled with women of all shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels and we are all there to learn, move, have fun and laugh together. No frowny faces or blank stares.

In fact the positive attitude I sense while participating in these sub-cultures or runners and dancers makes it seem so normal and fun to want to move and groove. Complainers are not allowed. Such a difference from the move less mindset of the general population.

Tomorrow I am meeting L and R for a tough and fast trail run through the hills near L's house followed by a splash into L's pool. I can't wait. I feel like an eager puppy raring rushing my owner to go out for my run.

Activity is playtime. When I meet up with like-minded people I am faced with eager smiles and enthusiasm. Nary a blank stare or an excuse.

In my quest to squish more spontaneous and convenient fitness moments into my day, next Wed in between my morning and late afternoon meetings I will meet L near my Wed Centennial Hills meeting location to lift weights. The window is big enough and I won't feel rushed or have to make extra trips to drop off melty bars beforehand. We got the idea yesterday when I called her after my meeting and we met for lunch at Chipotle nearby where we decided that it would be more fun if we worked out THEN ate lunch next time.

Yesterday's activity included a 5 mile early run, tv weights and two hours of BD class (one hour of veil plus one hour of high energy basic moves drills). No doubt I will feel it tomorrow.

Feel the Burn

First off, thank you friends for the nice comments on my first BD performance video. Your support means a lot to me.

Today is hotter than hot. Or maybe it just feels that way. I mean it has been around 110 for a few weeks now. Just driving around town with a window missing and having to schlep stuff too and fro makes it more apparent.

I took this morning's workout indoors and got in a good 65 minutes on a combination of two types of ellipticals, the stair monster and the dread mill. Yeah me! Of course "always abs" as my bro would say.

This afternoon before my meeting I will sneak in some upper body at home. Having to leave Rick's car parked anywhere (like at a gym for body pump)with that window missing from the break-in and with my meeting stuff in the trunk makes me nervous. Fool me once...

This heat just makes me want to never leave the house until Halloween.

I am back to counting points. I think I eat too much on Core.

Back in the Running

This weekend has been a whirlwind on ups and downs running-wise and lifewise.

On the upside, despite my limiting weekend schedule, I was able (and willing, since ga$ is so expen$ive these days) to have three social runs in a row.

Friday I met R and L at Bootleg for a strong 6 mile trail run. Although waking up for these runs is never fun (since when is a 4:00 wakeup call ever fun?) once I am there I am raring to go! L runs just a bit faster so it makes for a good challenge. There were some harrowing moments like for instance when L went running off a cliff, but other than that we made it back in on piece - whew! It was fun to spend time with both R and L.

Saturday I met on ol' running buddy, Ernie the ultrarunner of running across Nevada two years in a row and badwater fame (see link on the left). The course is challenging (Red Rock Canyon loop), but the pace was not too hard since she likes to take walking breaks up the hill. We met a couple others and we sort of divided into three groups. Terri ran ahead. I ran with Ernie and Steffen ran on his own. We all met up at the end and shared some watermelon I brought (which I meant to bring the day before to Bootleg). E thinks I should just go ahead and train for the St. George Marathon. I am signed up and was very close to cancelling, but I haven't closed the door yet.

I am glad I held back running with E because I knew Sunday morning meeting up with L to run would prove challenging in both miles and pace. Finally I found a running situation that works for Sunday PLUS I can get a long run in to boot! L lives just minutes away from my Sunday morning meeting. Now running with her required a 3:30 am wakeup. It didn't help that Rick returned home at 2:30 am and woke me up causing me toss and turn in bed for an hour before really having to wake up (grumble grumble grumble -- one of the reasons I wanted to give up summer running to avoid the sleep necessary for early morning wakeup calls) I warned her that I am slower and espressed my concerns about keeping up and knowing the course. She said my pace is fine as she runs with another girl who runs probably a little slower than me and is just looking for someone to run with right now. Funny how we push each other in the early miles and we keep having to tell each other to back off the pace. Good thing we did because we lost track of time, which we have done twice before while deep in conversation and ended up getting in 14 instead of 13 miles which was the perfect compromise between her wanting to get in 15 and me wanting to get in 12 or 13.

We ended with a soak in her pool. She let me use her shower too!

Also, on the fun and adventure front, Friday night BD performance practice was great as we continued to learn the moves for Misirlou as well as practice La Playa again. Watching that video over and over really is helpful for me in seeing what I need to work on.

Ok, on the negative front, I am dealing with a car returned from the mechanic that required a new timing belt that cost major buck$. In the process they didn't rehook up the AC nor did they reset the security alarm (insert me picture of me pulling out hair from my head).

Meantime Sunday morning during my meeting, I thought I heard a car alarm go off around 9:45. I asked the receptionists to check. I was driving Rick's car. Turns out thieves broke into his car and stole my gym bag. Given it had nothing but old pink Nikes, skanky sweaty gym clothes (grody shorts and my favorite running expensive bra), a hair dryer and my good makeup collection/deoderant I felt violated nonetheless. I hope they touch the gym clothes and it gives them cooties. I felt sad about losing my favorite WW gym bag. Thank goodness nothing else was taken and thank goodness I had the sense to drag all my other cr@p inside, weighed down like a pack mule before the meeting. I was lucky indeed. Of course having to shell out another $240 to fix the window is not too lucky.

Rick and I had a choice to go home after and wallow and nap or to continue with our plans. We decided to see Transformers instead. Very entertaining, but again too long. I thought long summer movies were a fluke, like when I thought Pirates was too long. But I guess not. 2.5 to 3 hours is too long to sit no matter how entertaining. That is almost enough to erase the entertainment time and make if feel as if I am doing time to get my happy ending.

This morning will be tv weights since I don't want to park Rick's now insecure car outside the gym for an hour, BD moves, appointment and later my meeting and seeing Harry Potter (let's hope it isn't too long) and dinner with M.

PS -- I am no longer tracking my food intake in here. I felt wierd doing it here for all the world to see and was not always around here to do it. It was an interesting experiment nonetheless.

I Love Lucy Sneaks into the Chorus Line

There I am, big hair and all! Hehe! Amaryllis gave us our videos of our first performance Wed night at BD class.


Ok guys, be nice. We are beginners. I can see those mistakes in posture and the occasional flubbed move. But hey, we were working it!

But my little sneaky looks at the teacher to check out what to do next are apparent. I feel like Lucy when she snuck into the chorus line, remember that episode?

Anyway, everytime I replay it I giggle because I look like I have been transported back to six years old (but this time I didn't quit ballet because the teacher said I had bad posture and a stomach that sticks out).

Anyway, I am pleased with the effort and know next time will be better! It was fun even though my expression says the opposite. I thought I was smiling, really.

(By the way -- Today my arms hurt from hurling, I mean, gently waving Alice, my silk veil around during the first class of Bellydance 2 Wed night. Yes she has a name to force me to be nice to her. She is no longer a nameless, faceless veil. You want a good arm workout? Try veil!)

Yesterday was the WW day from hell. I worked FOUR meetings (subbed one) so I didn't have my usual midafternoon break to come home and unwind before revving up and driving off again. There was nothing left by the end of it all. Talk about that run over by a Mack Truck feeling. I had no voice left by the middle of my third Getting Started Session of the day.

I won't let that wipe out any warm fuzzy feelings from helping 55 people yesterday (small classes due to summer).

On a positive, I wore a great "multi-tasking" outfit (heals, knee highs, sport coulottes, tank, flowy overshirt) so I could easily kick off my heels and sneak in a 1:30 BD class at the gym.

Here is the combo du jour:
shimmy with arms going up in the air
right bump bump up with arms "directing/pulling" over the hip
left lift with arms in that direction
Figure 8 (forward)
To right, travelling hip circles with arms out and then hands over mouth
reverse to left
keep hands over mouth (so eyes show, very dramatic) 3 full mayas (flat-footed, erghh!)
roll up with hands moving toward head and ending in "migraine position" (very dramatic, see Dina the famous Egyptian BD superstar)at the same time as chest lefts up and down
R foot brushes floor to direction of R front, side, back hip lift with matching arm "directing"
Back to "migraine"
Same on Left
Repeat on Right
Repeat on left but instead of returning to migraine, hands in air and squat lean, pose with hands back in migraine

I know this sounds wierd, but the moves are very dramatic. It is supposed to exude emotion. I think on a nice Jewish girl like myself the moves bespeak, "Oy veyesmere, vat a headache!"

It was fun and I made it do the second half of my "Day of Heat and Hell" on time.

I didn't get to track, but I am deducting 6 points from my WPA to make it 21.

This morning I met R and L for a great run out at Bootleg Canyon. It is a challenging course, but it is so much fun with all the undulating singletrack.

Maybe I will run St. George afterall. L is trying hard to motivate me to do it. She says she thinks I can run it well. I know that is the truth. The heart of the matter is how much I want to dedicate myself to training for it. Well, if she is willing to run those miles with me, perhaps I can change my mind. It isn't too late.

She wants me to come and run 13 with her on Sunday before my meeting.

And tomorrow I will meet Ernie and Steffen at Red Rock Canyon for six "easy" miles at the crack o' dark. Oh summer how I love/hate thee!

Todays journal so far:
coffee/ff milk/splenda

oatmeal, banana, ff milk

six mile, hilly trail run

2 pt bar/propel (3)

carrots/veggies

cottage cheese/yogurt/fiber 1 (1 -- yogurt was a lite n'fit, all I have left!)

turkey salad with veggies, salsa, evoo, few spriztes Wishbone, few pretzel thins thrown in (1)
la tortilla (1)
sf creamsicle, part, rest melted and I forgot about it (0)

Golden Spoon frozen yogurt, small (3)

veggie stir fry, evoo, ff cheese, nf milk (to make a sauce w/evoo & cheese)
watermelon -- seemed like lots
shared choc smoothie w/hubster
2 ww choc cookies (1)

WPA's left: 18 (took 5 from AP's)

Got Lettuce?

Yeah "Title" is Working Again!

Nothing exciting today yet. Just food. Bored yet? I would like to stop posting my menus once this week is over as I am embarrassed by sharing my high use of lettuce and spinach as the cornerstone of my "diet." But "salads" make everything bigger, even nibbles that just start as "bites" "licks" or "tastes." Eating these things as part of a salad forces my brain to register what I am eating is in fact food to be counted in some way.

Anything can become a salad. Got some crackers? Break them up and toss them in with some lettuce. A little leftover corn? Toss it in. One ounce of turkey? Add that too.

On the other hand salad is the food that keeps on giving. Still want to munch on something? Add more lettuce. Need some crunch? Add a couple baby carrots. Need to make it through an episode of "America's Got Talent?" Throw together a two point salad in a HUMONGO tupperware bowl and you are set :D

Tonight is the start of a new BD session yippee!!!!!!

I thought I would share an NSV (non-scale victory). My co-worker last night remarked on my "muscle tone" while I was reaching to put product away on the high shelves. I was wearing a tank top ;)

Ok, so call me motivated to keep up the tv weights.

So here's today's eats:
coffee, splash ff milk, splenda
yogurt, fiber one, small banana, sf ff van pudding mix

broke down and had bread, alt. pita, just because, pita (1) Darn it!

diet coke
gum

apple before my 2nd meeting -- this was "fast food" I picked up at Walmart, down from Taco Bell, on the way to my meeting, taking the same amount of time as "fast food." It thought I could just break into the bars in the trunk or I can bide my time until I passed a supermarket and get to enjoy a nice big juicy apple. Notice how these things taste better when we are actually hungry? And the world didn't stop spinning on its axis because I had to wait 20 minutes until I found a store.

BIG salad with corn, shredded chicken, avocado, salsa, evoo, rwv, mushrooms, carrots, lettuce, five spritzes of Wishbone cesar dressing

20 cal creamsicle (0)
British herby WW biscuits (1)
ww choc smoothie w/coffee, ice, little sf pudding mix

pretzel thins (2)
gum

2 hours BD classes (veil, zills, basic moves)

eggwhite omlette w/onion, mushrooms, Core guac, evoo, Core fried potatoes, ketchup, carrots, brocc, ff cheese
ww cookie dough sundae (3)

Extra points: 7
WPA's left:20

Marathon Tuesday

This morning I met some of the Las Vegas Road Runners training for the LV Marathon at Sunset Park at 5:30 am. Talk about a park that doesn't know it is 5:30 am. Walkers and joggers were out there doing their thing already. The bathrooms were even open (but they were the scary prison stalls with the cold metal toilet and no doors!).

It was pleasant enough. The company was great and the pace was easy. This group runs with the 4:30 marathon pace group and was supposed to run a 10:00 min/mile pace and was closer to an 11:15 pace. I wasn't about to be the one responsible for pushing the pace this time since it was their pace. I was just a tagger-onner.

The route consisted mostly of red dirt track and cross-country trails which gave the legs a respite from the pounding pavement and occassional cement (See Fitness Police).

We covered about 4.5 miles in 50 minutes.


I've got a lot of running around from appointment to appointment today. Tonight is body pump if I can make it. (didn't)

Todays eats so far are:
coffee with splenda and ff milk
alternative pita with icbinb spray, cinn, splenda and a little sf maple syrup (1)

4.5 m run

yogurt, van pudding mix, cinn, splenda, Fiber One, small banana
watermelon (with a sprinkle of salt which brings out the sweetness!)

Appointment

spinach salad with shredded chicken, salsa, rwv, peppers, mushroom, carrots, corn
2 biscuits (1)
2 pt bar, Salty Sweet, my favorite! (2)
watermelon

Meeting

Appointment
Bank

gum on drive home

choc ww smoothie with coffee, a little ff milk, sprinkling of ff sf pudding mix, ice

mushrooms, salsa, California slaw salad, rwv, couple spritzes wishbone ceasar dressing

Upper body tv weights

Meeting

petite spin salad with turkey and some veggies, couple spritzes of wishbone, salsa, rwv, evoo
mini jollytime 94% popcorn and evoo
ww cookie dough sundae (3) -- These ROCK!
couple bites of yogurt with sf pudding mix (what was I thinking, put it back, yeah me!)

Uncore points: 7
AP's earned:4, spent 2 (only half and will apply WPA's to rest)
WPA's left:27 (spent 5)

Motherload from the Motherland!

Ok, my ancestry is not British, but I am a WW member and with the Duchess of York being a Brit and our spokesperson and all, doesn't that make us relations, like 2nd cousins?

In any case we do love our Duchess.

I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share the cornucopia of WW foods, Jessica, a member in my Monday night class brought back for me!

There were two types of cookies (or "biscuits" as they refer to them) as well as little herb infused crackers. The chocolate cookies were alright. The crackers and cranberry orange biscuits were lovely! I can totally picture a perfectly on program WW tea time! (tea white with skim milk of course ;) ) Shall I be "Mum?"

The baked beans are interesting. Jessica mentioned the Brits love to have beans on toast. Who knew?

The canned pasta meals appear a little dodgy to me. I may keep them for novelty sake; however, at some point I just may have to break down and try them.

There was also a sliced fruited malt loaf that needed to be frozen right away since it was set to expire. I took a nibble and it didn't taste like anything. I don't know what it was supposed to taste like. It must be a British thing. Anyone care to explain?

PS -- Hubster wants to know if we can order the Cranberry Orange cookies online. I am all about the herby biscuits myself. Those would be fab with some laughing cow light.

Check out the nifty foods available in Britain here: http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/food/fdb/CategoryShowcase.aspx?gcmspid=1037042&gcmscid=1037102

Core of the Matter


Like I mentioned recently I would like to drop a few pounds. Well, "dropping" any weight for me lately usually isn't the case. Let's call it slowly losing tenths of a pound.

So I decided to bite the bullet and give Core a shot this week. I will attempt to document it here. Perhaps that will add to the accountability. I warn you, your eyes may glaze over reading this:

7/8
coffee with splenda and ff milk
Alternative Pita w/sf jam (1 point plus 0)
Ran 5.2 miles (5 AP's to account for 5 points unCore foods like my pre-run breaky)
1 bottle of propel (30 cals -- 1 point)
WW choc smoothie w/FF milk and frozen banana

Golden Spoon regular size frozen yogurt -- it's HUGE! (3)
SF Wintermint Gum (0 --but chewed whole pack all day long and during movie)
Diet Coke -- 2 (not points, just bottles during the day)

Salad with lettuce, ff refried beans, 1/3 of leftover chicken breast, corn, salsa, onion, couple squirts Wishbone Asian dressing, rice wine vinegar
La tortilla factory tortilla (1)

watermelon nibbles while cutting it up

small baked potato with salsa, icbinb spray, ff yogurt, hot sauce
2 oz core hamburger with ketchup, no bun
big salad with lettuce/core veggies, 2 tsp evoo, rice wine vinegar
carrots, raw
chocolate pudding and 1/2 100 cal snack of chips ahoy cookies dipped in (1)

note: I think I ate too much. Wasn't stuffed, but it just seemed like too much
Weekly Points Allowance Used:2
Activity Points's used: 5

7/9
Three small pieces of watermelon
Coffee with splenda and FF milk

FF plain yogurt, ff cottage cheese, Fiber one, banana, sf vanilla pudding mix, cinnamon (whoops -- I don't think I can mix cereal with yogurt anymore on the recent Core plan. I think it is just milk. I will count it as Core today and try to change for the rest of the week. This used to be my favorite Core breaky/snack/dessert.)

Gum

Suhaila Salimpour's Beginning Bellydance Yoga Fusion: Good for stretching, glute and bellyroll undulation isolations, mayas and figure 8's. It takes a while to get (like patting head and rubbing tummy at same time). Includes bonus features like cute little daughter's performance (worth it right there for that!) So cute!

Small piece of watermelon

45 minutes Elliptical and abs

Mex. shredded chicken, salsa, 1tsp evoo, carrots, lettuce, roasted bell pepper slices, mushrooms, rice wine vinegar, canned corn
Western Bagel Alternative pita (1 point)
diet coke

watermelon (a good "on the go" food packed in my WW cooler)
Golden Spoon yogurt, mini 1/2-1/2 cookie dough/pb cup (1)
1 each ww chocolate and orange "biscuits" (1.5 pts -- member brought back from England and shared in my meeting tonight... I need whole boxes of cookies hanging around my house like a hole in my head. Funny how the measure points to the 1/2 point on their packaging.)

baked potato with evoo, ICBINB spray, broc, cauliflower, ff cheese, ketchup, spices
spinach/lettuce mix salad with turkey veggies, rice wine vinegar (Nagano brand, seasoned)

dessert will be a WW smoothie and fruit shared with the Hubster
4 WW herb "biscuits" from England - 2 (doh!)

AP swapped: 4
WPA's left: 31

Calculated Risks
(why won't Blogger let me title this post?)

Ok ok I give up! You caught me in the act. What was I caught doing?

Was it ordering a whole pizza for myself at midnight? A pack a day habit of cigarettes? Driving without a seatbelt on? Drunk driving? Riding a motorcycle without a helmet? Speeding excessively down the highway? Dialing on a cellphone while driving? Skydiving? Putting my entire paycheck on red at the roulette table? Climbing Mt. Hood in the middle of a snow storm? Cliff diving? Shooting up heroin and sharing needles? Smoking while pumping gas? Having unprotected sex? Running naked through the streets of Baghdad waving an American flag? Oooo the possibilities are endless.

I am such a good girl that I can't even fathom all the risky possibilities that are out there.

But yep, that was me jogging down the right side of the street on the sidewalk! I agree that kind of behavior involves some kind of calculated risk.

It was 6:30 am and at least 90-something degrees in the shade.

Never mind most of the time I am Molly Mindful, careful to wear appropriate gear (I have a sun protection outfit I wear if I am running later in the day, which I am not), apply sunscrean and face traffic while running in the street.

However when it is a million degrees outside and there is a little traffic. I dare to break the rules sometimes.

Shade trumps cement.

Double bike/parking lane trumps non-existent shoulder and constant jumping out of the way for cars.

In any case said violation occured for about a mile out of a six mile run. Guilty as charged.

One of my members caught me in the act and mentioned it. The Fitness police are out in full force, it seems.

Yes I know I was breaking the rules. But sometimes it is better to break them. She quizzed me about my knees, etc. They are fine. I was running slow enough that I wasn't "pounding" too hard.

Honestly if I didn't break some rules sometimes, I probably wouldn't run. Running is about breaking the rules of convention. Most people say they don't have time for exercise. Running makes me feel trimphant over everyone else's needs of my time. It makes me feel like the boss of me even when my schedule seems to belong to everyone else's. I go when I am tired and sometimes sore (but I don't push it when I feel bad). So sometimes I am trimphant over sloth. And it is too hot to be outdoors... well almost not at 5:30 am!

The alternative would be hard on my hard, joints, mind and soul. I shudder to think!

Meantime I will continue to drink my daily (Alzheimer's causing) Diet Coke, chew my lock-jaw inducing sugar-free gum and run on an occassional sidewalk. Please leave me what "vices" I have left in my tea-totalling, early-to-rise, non-partying, salad-eating, milk-drinking, non-drug using, non-gambling, seatbelt-wearing, show up at work on time life.

It's what I do most of the time that matters anyway ;)

Run this morning -- 5.2 mostly on the road. .6 on dirt shoulder -- wore sun-protectie shirt and carried water :p

Cheater! Cheater!

Recently I was asked what I do, as a WW Leader, when I know members are "cheating." I thought about this. I don't really do anything. A person knows whether s/he is doing the program or not. It's all about choices and we make our own. No one can do it for anyone else.

I didn't realize until I became a leader that there are members who just don't seem to want it as badly nor are they willing to follow the program they are paying for. I was also surprised at the low percentage of LT members that are awarded. I just figured everyone was on the losing track and would make it eventually so long as they didn't quit (and I have joined and quit numerous times, but I didn't hang around if I wasn't ready to do what it took).

It does frustrate me when I see how badly some people want it yet they aren't doing the work to match their level of want.

Or are they?

I just read a man's post (a big loser like myself) who summed it up pretty nicely. The whole secret to sticking with something comes down to what we want the most. When I started my journey I was so ready to do what it took. I wasn't going to let anyone or anything get in my way. For me losing weight was an emergency situation and I was ready to make my move. Why waste time, I thought?

Well not everyone is on the same path. Some people are on the scenic route. The scenic route is fine as long as we are enjoying the journey.

Like now, at maintenance/needing to lose a few pounds I don't go nuts with the discipline. Yes I am disciplined enough to get enough workouts in and to eat most within my points, but it isn't as important for me to write down every BLT (bite lick and taste)like I used to when I was really on the losing track.

My body may not be perfect. But it is sure a lot better now with over 100 pounds gone and can do a lot more too. Is that enough? Maybe for now.

But when you really want to lose and are going for the goal in the most direct way possible, you've got to REALLY WANT IT, like there is a fire under your butt. That is how it felt.

I was throwing stuff out of our kitchen that was too tempting. I would find myself staring at the fridge and yelling, "stop" and marching away without taking anything out when I wasn't "hungry." I would eat pickles or a plain pretzel first as a snack before I would consider anything else more pointific. Water I would drink like there was no tomorrow. If I wanted something sweet I would have a diet coke. Desserts, even lower cal ones, had not place in our house. And you know what? I averaged close to 2 pounds a week. And that was without crazy exercise. Did I miss my favorite foods? Not so much that I could go without them most of the time.

If I really wanted something I would eat it out and not eat the whole thing. Then there was no snacking allowed for the rest of the night.

So why I can't I drop these annoying three pounds? Because they don't annoy me enough to want to give up my nightly dessert and extra snacks.

But that is what it takes for me. It isn't about the diet. It is about the WANT.

Check out Gotta Keep It Off!: The $64,000 Question

Furnace Friday

This morning I met R and a new lady, L, at the Equestrian trailhead for a six miler. L and I got to talking and somehow we did 7.6-ish That was fine since I could use the mileage and I had a good time.

The heat is killing me though. It is time to take it seriously and pack accordingly. It used to be a 5-8 mile run required not more than 2 fuel belt bottles. Now I need at least 4 with Propel (for electrolyes), especially if I am doing more than my usual sloth pace as of late. And L is fast and of course since we were talking we were going at a good clip. I wasn't pushing at all. But without the proper hydration on the way back along with the uphill, I felt the effects. And with 100-teen weather (90-something at 5:30 am) during the day, one can't fool around. Point taken.

But I am excited. She is about my age and a good running match. I have a feeling she will push me to run better.

Later I will lift and dance.

This afternoon I am meeting M for a late lunch (2 pm) to find out the deets on her elopement/marriage/engagement-whatever.

Meantime I've got work to do, a house to clean and zills to practice.