My bike was stolen yesterday. The lock was cut while I was in the gym. So until I can find something to get around on I'll be walking everywhere. Like a hobbit. It was very sad to walk out of the gym to see a broken lock and my helmet where my bicycle should be. I am glad that they left my helmet. I would hate to have to buy a new bike, a new lock and a new helmet. Helmets are pretty darn pricey! I also had some tools in the saddle bag on the bike too, mostly tire levers and a multi-tool I think. Today I stayed late at the gym to catch an extra yoga class. The Tuesday night teacher focuses a lot on breathing and "letting go of things that don't serve you." I'm trying to focus on not feeling sorry for myself, and not being upset over the loss of a material possession.
Its just a "thing." As much as I might have liked that bike, I don't NEED it. I can get around just fine on my own two feet. The walk to work only takes about 25 minutes. I can probably make it there faster with a dedicated power walk.
I guess I'm sad because that bike has seen me through some tough times. When I was in Arkansas, and lonely and needed to be able to get away from my project/team/housing I bought that bike. It was a rainy couple months so I wasn't able to ride it very much, but just knowing that I could was comforting. Then in Joplin after a 12 hour work day I was able to ride back to the school we were living in, giving me the opportunity to get a little bit of exercise and a precious few moments of alone time. I've been a bike commuter in Denver for 15 months- all weather. Last winter was cold, snowy, but that bike shuttled me from two jobs, home and the gym. I was always on time, and in such good shape! And that bike saw me through the Rattlesnake Triathlon this summer, and got me everywhere I needed to go.
I like to think that I'm not materialistic. I'm not emotionally attached to my possessions. Being a cyclist is not the end-all-be-all of my identity.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Motivate!
Winter is coming. I can feel my motivation to workout slipping away. I haven't been running regularly since the Rock and Roll Marathon. I've had a few fun jogs in the park, and a couple quick 5Ks, but I haven't been hitting the treadmill or making time everyday for a burst of cardio. Mondays are always a good gym day though! Powersculpt followed by yoga is a good start to my week. Powersculpt is an hour long weight lifting class that also incorporates cardio and abs. Which is about the only thing I do that actually feels like "working out." Tonight's yoga class was so great. I feel completely stretched out and rejuvenated. I'm ready to tackle the rest of the week!
I signed up for the Run Denver Race series to keep me motivated to run this winter. Its four 5Ks, and a half marathon. One 5K in December, one in January, and two in February, then the Half at the beginning of March. I'm also contemplating the idea of running an ultra marathon in the beginning of May. I wonder if I could convince my cousin Ron that a 50K is a good idea?
I've also signed up to volunteer at a couple races. This weekend I'm going to volunteer at the Run for Fetal Hope, and in December I'm volunteering at the Santa Stampede.
I signed up for the Run Denver Race series to keep me motivated to run this winter. Its four 5Ks, and a half marathon. One 5K in December, one in January, and two in February, then the Half at the beginning of March. I'm also contemplating the idea of running an ultra marathon in the beginning of May. I wonder if I could convince my cousin Ron that a 50K is a good idea?
I've also signed up to volunteer at a couple races. This weekend I'm going to volunteer at the Run for Fetal Hope, and in December I'm volunteering at the Santa Stampede.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Things you find in the kitchen surprise!
It's time for another recipe! Brought to you by...the miscellaneous foods that have been accumulating in my kitchen! I think this one turned out excellent- and now I have lunch to bring to work for the next five days.
Take 1 cup Quinoa and boil it in water unless it is soft, and all the seeds pop open. I mixed the last of the red quinoa that's been in my cabinet with some white quinoa.
Then take all the vegetables that have been hanging out in your fridge starting to whither as you try to figure out what to do with them. Saute them! I sauteed the 2 carrots, one zucchini, and half a turnip in olive oil, then sauteed the onion, and seven scallion stalks, and red pepper in vegetable spray.
Then I threw in the can of kidney beans I've had sitting around since the last time I made chili.
Then after everything was cooked to perfection I mixed it in a big bowl with the nearly full can of tahini, a splash of lemon juice, and a few shakes of cumin and paprika. Heavy on the cumin.
Its delicious- looks like mush though.
Then I divided it into five containers and threw it in the fridge. This might even be good to eat cold.
According to Myfitnesspal each serving has about 534 Calories (23 grams of fat), and 17 grams of protein! It's also loaded with iron, 78% DV of vitamin A, and 46% DV vitamin C.
Take 1 cup Quinoa and boil it in water unless it is soft, and all the seeds pop open. I mixed the last of the red quinoa that's been in my cabinet with some white quinoa.
Then take all the vegetables that have been hanging out in your fridge starting to whither as you try to figure out what to do with them. Saute them! I sauteed the 2 carrots, one zucchini, and half a turnip in olive oil, then sauteed the onion, and seven scallion stalks, and red pepper in vegetable spray.
Then I threw in the can of kidney beans I've had sitting around since the last time I made chili.
Then after everything was cooked to perfection I mixed it in a big bowl with the nearly full can of tahini, a splash of lemon juice, and a few shakes of cumin and paprika. Heavy on the cumin.
Its delicious- looks like mush though.
Then I divided it into five containers and threw it in the fridge. This might even be good to eat cold.
According to Myfitnesspal each serving has about 534 Calories (23 grams of fat), and 17 grams of protein! It's also loaded with iron, 78% DV of vitamin A, and 46% DV vitamin C.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Just keep running, just keep running...
This past weekend I did the Run the Rocks 5K up at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Before it started my foot hurt so bad I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. But once the race got started I found my stride, and my foot felt great! The first two miles were amazing: downhill and flat, with the Rocky Mountain foothills providing such beautiful scenery it made me remember how lucky I am to live in Colorado! Mile 2-3 was all uphill, and with the added altitude (6,400 feet above sea level) I enjoyed a steady walking pace while enjoying the day. At the third mile marker uphill turned into stairs. After climbing the stairs the race ended at the top of the amphitheater with a cool expo featuring evol burritos, skinny girl smoothies, and ice cream! I wore my new five fingers for the first time too, and after those three miles they are broken in quite nicely.
Last weekend Adam and I did the Zombie Dash. That was a scavenger hunt that led us to several downtown bars where we had to perform challenges like moving a stack of can using a piece of spaghetti in our mouths, zombie movie trivia, and getting ping pong balls into cup in a "Z" formation
(which we dominated). As we ran from bar to bar we had to figure out the clues telling us where to go and we got to be dressed as zombies!
Last weekend Adam and I did the Zombie Dash. That was a scavenger hunt that led us to several downtown bars where we had to perform challenges like moving a stack of can using a piece of spaghetti in our mouths, zombie movie trivia, and getting ping pong balls into cup in a "Z" formation
(which we dominated). As we ran from bar to bar we had to figure out the clues telling us where to go and we got to be dressed as zombies!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Aches and Pains and gulp! A Diet!
My body feels like its falling apart! I think I may have fractured a bone in my foot during the Rock and Roll Marathon (just a hairline fracture, most days it feels okay). Since the race I've cut back my exercise drastically. Every time I run my foot starts to hurt, and swells up. I'm trying to not run as much, but its hard to quit! When my foot swells up it doesn't fit into my vibram five fingers, so yesterday I wore my sneakers for a walk-workout on the treadmill. The heels of my shoes are so beat up that a mere hour of walking caused a giant blister on my already injured foot.
After the post marathon workout slow down I started to gain weight. My intake of calories hadn't dropped as fast as my exercise did, and I found the scale telling me I was back up toward 139 lbs. I haven't weighed that much since I started marathon training a year ago, and since I can't run like a maniac for a while I've decided to go on a... diet!
I've been trying to work more low-impact exercise into my day- taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing weight lifting classes at the gym instead of running, and trying to do more yoga. It's not the same! The spike in adrenaline, the dripping sweat, the extended caloric burn- they're just gone! So I'm trying the ichoice diet (groupon'ed it!) which includes a daily multivitamin, a carb blocking powder you add to water, and a high fiber/protein meal replacement shake.
So I've been eating a lot healthier than I usually do. My normal day's meal usually looks like a fruit smoothie for breakfast. All last week I added kale from the CSA to the smoothies. I'm finally out of kale! With breakfast I take the multivitamins, and an iron supplement. Then at work I have some kind of fruit for a snack, usually an apple, or a banana. Then about half an hour before lunch I'll drink the carb-blocker powder. Lunch is usually a salad- filled with carrots, celery, dark leafy greens, spicy pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, and Ken's light sesame-Asian dressing. If I'm feeling like I'm not getting enough protein I'll throw a pouch of tuna in there as well. When I get home from work I'll have a small snack, maybe carrots with nutella and peanut butter, or a half-cup of veggie chili. Maybe a cup of tea with honey. Then later in the night I'll drink the meal replacement shake. I usually either blend a banana into it, or make a side of roasted veggies with sea salt to bulk up the meal, and finish it off with a calcium/vitamin D supplement. Using the myfitnesspal app I was able to track my iron and calcium intake, and without the supplements I wasn't getting enough. While trying this diet I've stopped taking my normal multivitamin- extra vitamins just get peed out anyways.
I think I'm already seeing results (its been less than two weeks) but that all might be psychosomatic.
After the post marathon workout slow down I started to gain weight. My intake of calories hadn't dropped as fast as my exercise did, and I found the scale telling me I was back up toward 139 lbs. I haven't weighed that much since I started marathon training a year ago, and since I can't run like a maniac for a while I've decided to go on a... diet!
I've been trying to work more low-impact exercise into my day- taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing weight lifting classes at the gym instead of running, and trying to do more yoga. It's not the same! The spike in adrenaline, the dripping sweat, the extended caloric burn- they're just gone! So I'm trying the ichoice diet (groupon'ed it!) which includes a daily multivitamin, a carb blocking powder you add to water, and a high fiber/protein meal replacement shake.
So I've been eating a lot healthier than I usually do. My normal day's meal usually looks like a fruit smoothie for breakfast. All last week I added kale from the CSA to the smoothies. I'm finally out of kale! With breakfast I take the multivitamins, and an iron supplement. Then at work I have some kind of fruit for a snack, usually an apple, or a banana. Then about half an hour before lunch I'll drink the carb-blocker powder. Lunch is usually a salad- filled with carrots, celery, dark leafy greens, spicy pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, and Ken's light sesame-Asian dressing. If I'm feeling like I'm not getting enough protein I'll throw a pouch of tuna in there as well. When I get home from work I'll have a small snack, maybe carrots with nutella and peanut butter, or a half-cup of veggie chili. Maybe a cup of tea with honey. Then later in the night I'll drink the meal replacement shake. I usually either blend a banana into it, or make a side of roasted veggies with sea salt to bulk up the meal, and finish it off with a calcium/vitamin D supplement. Using the myfitnesspal app I was able to track my iron and calcium intake, and without the supplements I wasn't getting enough. While trying this diet I've stopped taking my normal multivitamin- extra vitamins just get peed out anyways.
I think I'm already seeing results (its been less than two weeks) but that all might be psychosomatic.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
A Week full of Awesome
Last weekend was the Rock and Roll Marathon. A great race to end the summer running season. Though I solemnly swear to train harder next time I sign up for a full marathon. Although I finished this race in 4:52:04 I walked a lot. I ended up finishing the last half o the race with a serial marathon runner who was using this run as a long slow training run for his next marathon. He was walking 1 minute then running 1 minute and I joined him for miles 13-26.
Then Sunday Adam and I volunteered at October Fest selling beer at the Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue booth, to raise money for the shelter. Beer for Cats! Little did I know that would be a great start to an epic week of volunteering.
Tuesday after work I got a message from my friend Alisha because they didn't have enough volunteers setting up for the Project Homeless Connect event at the Convention Center, so I went over there to set up chairs and tables for the event the next day. The Project Homeless Connect is an event held to help the homeless of the city get connected with different services available. At the event people are given medical exams, referrals for shelters, food banks, clothing, etc as well as help finding different services. It seems like a really great event; directly serving the homeless population.
Yesterday Liz, Lupita and I went to the CH2M Fall River Sweep volunteer event to clean up the South Platte River Trail. We ended up working with the new batch of Americorps NCCC Team Leaders, cleaning and painting the green railings around the trail. It was a great event with tons of people and a great picnic lunch after!
And finally a big shout out to my sis: Little Molly for running her first 5k yesterday!!
Adam at the RMFR Octoberfest booth!
Then Sunday Adam and I volunteered at October Fest selling beer at the Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue booth, to raise money for the shelter. Beer for Cats! Little did I know that would be a great start to an epic week of volunteering.
Tuesday after work I got a message from my friend Alisha because they didn't have enough volunteers setting up for the Project Homeless Connect event at the Convention Center, so I went over there to set up chairs and tables for the event the next day. The Project Homeless Connect is an event held to help the homeless of the city get connected with different services available. At the event people are given medical exams, referrals for shelters, food banks, clothing, etc as well as help finding different services. It seems like a really great event; directly serving the homeless population.
Yesterday Liz, Lupita and I went to the CH2M Fall River Sweep volunteer event to clean up the South Platte River Trail. We ended up working with the new batch of Americorps NCCC Team Leaders, cleaning and painting the green railings around the trail. It was a great event with tons of people and a great picnic lunch after!
And finally a big shout out to my sis: Little Molly for running her first 5k yesterday!!
Adam at the RMFR Octoberfest booth!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Rock and Roll Denver!
This Saturday is the Rock and Roll Denver Marathon! Am I ready? Nope!
I haven't been working out as much since the Rattlesnake Triathlon. So I'm just going to wing this race...How hard can it be?
Two weeks ago I ran the Denver Half Marathon. That was a pretty epic day for me. The race was in Aurora, at Cherry Creek State Park. It was a trail race, scenic, beautiful...14 miles away from my apartment. So I had to leave the house before the sun came up to bike there on time (about 14 miles). I biked probably about 30 minutes before the sun touched my skin. I was freezing! My the time I got there my toes were numb. I arrived mere minutes before the race started (approximately with enough time to spare to eat half a banana). While running from the parking lot to the starting line I managed to work the kinks out of my muscles and warm my fingers and toes. The race was amazing- beautiful, good weather, about halfway through I took my sweatshirt off and tied it around my waist. It was in the same racing series as the Louisville Half, but the trail was better marked (I didn't get lost at all!) Finished in about 2:18 and then had a leisurely bike ride home. The ride home seemed much shorter, and I'm pretty sure was downhill the whole way.
I've started taking classes- I'm currently enrolled in Seminar in Not-For-Profit Organizations, and Practicum in Nonprofit Organizations. I've read a couple interesting Case Studies so far, and have really been learning a lot.
Sunday Adam and I are going to volunteer at Oktoberfest- working at a beer booth to raise money for the Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue. Sounds like a super fun event, and something cool to do together!
Last weekend Liz and I went rock climbing at Garden of the Gods. It was so much fun! I would love to learn how to set up the ropes, and rock climb all the time! We had a blast, then hung out in Colorado Springs for a bit (lunch and visiting my favorite used book store).
Below are some rock climbing pictures.
I haven't been working out as much since the Rattlesnake Triathlon. So I'm just going to wing this race...How hard can it be?
Two weeks ago I ran the Denver Half Marathon. That was a pretty epic day for me. The race was in Aurora, at Cherry Creek State Park. It was a trail race, scenic, beautiful...14 miles away from my apartment. So I had to leave the house before the sun came up to bike there on time (about 14 miles). I biked probably about 30 minutes before the sun touched my skin. I was freezing! My the time I got there my toes were numb. I arrived mere minutes before the race started (approximately with enough time to spare to eat half a banana). While running from the parking lot to the starting line I managed to work the kinks out of my muscles and warm my fingers and toes. The race was amazing- beautiful, good weather, about halfway through I took my sweatshirt off and tied it around my waist. It was in the same racing series as the Louisville Half, but the trail was better marked (I didn't get lost at all!) Finished in about 2:18 and then had a leisurely bike ride home. The ride home seemed much shorter, and I'm pretty sure was downhill the whole way.
I've started taking classes- I'm currently enrolled in Seminar in Not-For-Profit Organizations, and Practicum in Nonprofit Organizations. I've read a couple interesting Case Studies so far, and have really been learning a lot.
Sunday Adam and I are going to volunteer at Oktoberfest- working at a beer booth to raise money for the Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue. Sounds like a super fun event, and something cool to do together!
Last weekend Liz and I went rock climbing at Garden of the Gods. It was so much fun! I would love to learn how to set up the ropes, and rock climb all the time! We had a blast, then hung out in Colorado Springs for a bit (lunch and visiting my favorite used book store).
Below are some rock climbing pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)