The Teem and I just returned from the jogging on the bike path. We both had really good runs, but my tranquility was spoilt by my annoyance at the cyclists who kept whizzing by me super fast, without even a grunt to acknowledge that they were speeding up not a foot away from me. I wasn’t wearing head phones or anything, but I still didn’t hear them until they were right up on me. If I would have taken one little step to the left, I would have been creamed. How hard is it to say, “On your left?” Dummies.
But, despite the whizzers, it was a still a great morning to be out there. I’m steadily building up my endurance. I ran a mile, walked 1/2 a mile and ran a mile back home. I came home and did this quick little yoga routine to stretch out. I love this routine – it takes maybe 3 to 5 minutes, but it does a great job of stretching out muscles. I need to find a new yoga mat, though. I got a cheap Gaiam mat from Target a couple of years ago, and it’s too thin and makes my feet & hands sweaty. It’s almost impossible to do downward dog with sweaty hands and feet. Laura and I did pick up a good mat tip at class on Monday night. Instead of rolling the entire mat up into a tube, fold it in half first, and then roll it from the folded end. This ensures you always know what side of the mat touches the floor (and your face), and it also prevents the ends from rolling up once the mat is laid out.
One of my motivators for jogging is a recent purchase of some good workout clothes. I typically shy away from spending money on nice exercise cloths because, really, who am I trying to impress? But I have a problem with my running shorts riding up, and I read that if you have a shorter inseam in your shorts, it actually helps. I thought I would give it a try. I went to Dicks and spent $90 (of course nothing was on sale) on these items:
Nike Fit Dry Running Shorts
These cost $28. They are super light and have a convenient inside pocket for keys/tissues. They have mesh on the sides to keep you cool and a non-restrictive elastic waistband. They are pretty short, but not too short. They stay where they are supposed to stay too.
Nike Dri-fit Running Shirt
This shirt is also is super light and breathable. It has a nice unrestrictive fit, but still has an attractive cut – it’s not boxy at all. The cool mint color doesn’t attract the heat of the sun like my black gear. Plus it perfectly matches my running shoes. When I wear it, I actually look put together. I love this shirt, but I think it’s too pricey at $30.
My final purchase was a running skirt. Yes, that’s a right. A running skirt. I’ve been eying them ever since last summer, but when I tried to buy one at Dick’s last year, they were all out of black larges. Dicks is ALWAYS out of the most sensible colors and sizes. Which is why I bought these three things immediately without waiting for a sale. If I waited, I would be stuck with a S or XL in fuchsia.
The skirt is a Reebok Play Dry Medium skirt. The closest one I can find is here. Mine is all black mesh, with grey, very light shorts sewn in to it. That is one thing that frustrates me about Reebok. It’s really hard to find the EXACT thing you want online. If you find a Reebok item you like in the store, buy it, because you will never be able to find it again.
The skirt was $25. I’ve run in it 3 times, and it works great. I had Tim run behind me to make sure the shirt doesn’t kick up in the back and show too much junk and stuff. He says it stays where it’s supposed to. It’s very light, modest, and fashionable. I think I could even wear it for casual clothes. Maybe. If I start wearing skirts.
If this new gear keeps me motivated to keep jogging, it will be well worth the $90 investment.
I was wondering if I would be able to get myself to exercise today at all. Yesterday Tim and I embarked on a massive house-cleaning exercise. We were having company over at 6, so we started up around 10AM. I worked on the bathroom first. We often light candles and matches in our bathroom, and all the soot and match residue has been steadily accumulating and mixing with the moisture of the shower for the past 6 years on our white bathroom walls and ceiling. We have made a couple of half-hearted attempts to clean up the black stains/mildew, which only resulted in worsening the appearance of the bathroom. Instead of uniformly grimy walls, we had swaths of lighter grimy walls, set off by darker, grimy walls. So yesterday I drug the ladder up from the basement, mixed some TSP substitute with bleach and set to. It was a hot, sweaty, frustrating job (the ladder is almost bigger than our bathroom), but it was worth it. Our walls are 95% white again. I couldn’t get the stains completely off some areas. Our only solution is to repaint the walls. But it looks way better than it used to:
That corner in the upper left used to be disgusting.
I am super sore, though, this morning, from contortioning my body into awkward positions and from bracing it against the ladder steps. My back is rather jacked up, but running didn’t bother it at all.
Tim also removed the door separating our kitchen from the basement stairs. We leave this door open always anyway, so Lucent can get to the litter box in the basement. The only purpose the door served was to annoy me – when the door is open, it partially blocks the basement stairs. I always run into it while carrying things up and down the stairs. Last weekend, while I was negotiating around the door with basket full of laundry, I stubbed my toe on the steps and tripped up into the kitchen. Not only did my toe hurt like a mother, but I was also super embarrassed ’cause I tripped. While I was cleaning the bathroom, Tim surprised me and removed the door. I am amazed by how much more open the back entry-way looks now. Once we paint the basement stairwell and the closet that used to be hidden by the open door, it will look awesome.
All-in-all we had a very productive Saturday. Our friends came over at 6, we ate Tim’s delicious (and healthy) chicken tortilla soup, guacamole, and macho nachos, and then played a rousing game of Settlers of Catan. I was totally in the running to win (despite being repeatedly attacked and robbed by Teem), when our friend stole my Largest Army victory points, flipped over her secrete Discovery cards and stole the show. It was still fun, despite losing.
Our guests brought delicious treats for dessert – turtles made of pretzels, Rolos, and pecans. They were super tasty and cute. I say “were” because all of mine are now eaten. We have 3 left, and I’ve reserved them for Tim.
So goes another weekend, way too fast. I wanted to plant some vincas in my pots today, but I went to Green Thumbers at 11, and the parking lot was packed to the hilt. I didn’t feel like pushing an unweildy cart through narrow lanes of flowers, clogged with the after-church crowd, so I drove through the parking lot and came on home. Maybe I’ll sweet talk Tim into picking up some flats of vincas and impatiens for me during the more sane week-day hours. At least I pulled out all the pots from the garage (gingerly tapping each pot to scare out any mice or other creatures who had taken up residence over the winter) and rinsed them out with our mice-eaten hose. Get me some dirt and some flowers, and I’m good to go.
Hope you had a great weekend, too!
