Well, I left yesterday to go to Kansas on a business trip. I only got as far as Chicago, when I received a voice message on my phone saying the trip was canceled and, "Hope you aren't already on the plane."
I rerouted my travel back to D.C. from Chicago, but was told that they could not reroute my baggage! I was told to file a report when I arrived in D.C. I filed the report as soon as I landed and was told that my baggage would arrive around 2:00 today. Not the greatest, but better than several days.
I went online and traced my baggage.....you guessed it, "Your baggage has not been located." I have the worst luck. I have a laptop computer, an external hard drive, medications, and brand new running clothes in those bags!! The rest of the items I can live without, but those things are important. :(
On the exercise front, my ankles were hurting after the half marathon from my worn out shoes, but they are feeling better now. I plan to run and bike this afternoon. Yesterday, at the Chicago Airport, I took the steps down and then back up between Concourse B and Concourse C and walked between the concourses instead of using the moving sidewalks. People looked at me strangely for taking the stairs up and down when there were perfectly good escalators to use! ;) Anything for a few more calories burned.
I hope everyone is having a great week. I'll keep you posted on my baggage dilemma.
Yippee! Another goal, completing a half marathon, can now be checked off my list of completed goals!!
I signed hubby and myself up for the marathon on Friday. We went and picked up our packets on Sunday and then we went to locate the course. To our surprise, it was a hilly course. This made us more nervous about it!! Needless to say, we did not sleep so well Sunday night. We were both thinking/dreaming of the race.
We showed up early on Monday for the race to make sure that we got a parking spot. I was a little nauseous before the race because we had yet to complete that many miles.
It was a small half marathon, only 211 people registered. But the bad part was that it was not a closed course. In other words, during the whole race, we were passing and being passed by bikers, walkers, strollers, dog walkers, et cetera on the trail.....so it really didn't have that race feeling to it.
We swore that we would not start out too fast, but we did. It's hard not to start out fast because you don't want to be left in the dust. After half a mile, I told hubby that we had to concentrate on our pace and not everyone else's, so we slowed down. It took me about another mile or so just to catch my breath and recover from starting out too fast.
Once we settled into our pace, we did much better. We were not prepared for the hills, though! When we do our runs at home, it's mainly flat. It took a lot of mental focus to push up the hills. Luckily, the course was mostly on bike trails that were shaded so it wasn't too hot!
We ended up finishing a lot faster than we expected. We said we would be happy to finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes, but we finished in 2 hours and 16 minutes! We weren't last either!! :)
I did hurt my ankle, though. We bought new shoes over the weekend, but I was scared to wear them for the run because I didn't want blisters or anything. Well, at around the 3-mile mark, I realized that my shoes had lost almost all cushioning because my ankles were already hurting. It probably would have been okay except the hills put more pressure on my ankles.
I couldn't be more excited to have accomplished a half marathon on my 36th birthday. I'm so proud of myself and my hubby as well. He was very worried that he couldn't do it, but he had no problems until around mile 12, but he pushed through and did fabulous!! This just goes to show that if you set your mind to something, you CAN achieve it. You could ask anyone that has known me for more than a year, and they would tell you that there is no way that could have ever imagined me running a half marathon. I was heavy and hated running prior to this year. But I set my mind to it and I did it! Yeah!!!
Next Monday, Labor Day, I'll be 36 years old. Although I was expecting to be upset about it, I'm not. I'm healthier and happier than I was at 25, so what's to be sad about?
As a birthday present to myself, I plan to do a half marathon race that day! What a great birthday present---my first half marathon.
I'm sorry that I've been out of touch again!! I really do miss you guys. I check in on you guys from time to time, even if I don't have time to write anything. I see that some of you (you know who you are) lost focus for a bit, but I'm happy to see that you are getting back on track and are remotivated. :)
Still no sports car. We drove two more Lexus SC 430s, and the Volvo dealership emailed us this week to say that they have a Volvo C70 in the color scheme that we want. I might have to go peek at it this weekend.
Did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? That was a great episode. If you didn't watch or record it, you might want to go to the website and see if they posted it yet. They had Dr. Oz on, and he was talking about foods to eat and foods not to eat. They also helped this lady lose 40 pounds, and she looked fantastic and so much younger!!
Hello everyone! I know I've been MIA for a while now. Sorry. Things have been busy.
So, No, Tracy, I didn't get the new car and run off somewhere exotic. Unfortunately. :( That would be nice, though.
I didn't get a car....... YET. We are still looking around and thinking about it. At this point, we are looking at a new Volvo C70 convertible or a used Lexus SC 430. Both are beautiful.
Hubby and I ran 10 miles last Saturday. That was his first 10 mile run, and he did great. Unfortunately, he hurt his foot again! So today he didn't run very far with me, but then he ended up doing a 25-mile bike ride!! I ended up doing 12 miles running today. My goal before the end of September is to be up to 13.1 (half marathon) and then start working towards my goal of a marathon next year.
I don't think I mentioned that my mom is running now! Can you believe it? I'm so proud of her. She started doing interval runs with me several weeks ago, and she is progressing quickly. We only run for about 1 minute, then walk for about 1 and a half minutes, and continue that cycle. She has been doing about 3.3 miles each time. Her times are improving every time. Today her mile pace was 13:30! I was excited for her. She started only weeks ago, and her pace was about 15:30. She has been reading my running books and seems to be very excited about it. She has come so far in the past year. I'm excited for her and proud of her.
I had to go out of town for a work luncheon last week. I met up with a friend that I haven't seen in about 6 years. She said I looked great and much younger! I was all smiles after that!!! I can say that I feel much younger than I did 6 years ago or even 10 years ago. My life has changed so drastically and I couldn't be more proud of my accomplishments. I get down on myself sometimes, but for the most part, I know that I have accomplished a lot not only with the weight loss but with my activity level and my health.
I have never been one to buy a sports car, but lately I really, really want a convertible sports car! I have been looking at several, and I have now fallen in love with the Lexus SC 430! I want one. No, I don't need one, but I want one!! If I get one, I will get a used one because the new ones are an arm and a leg!
I already have an SUV and a car, but I could use the rationale that my daughter will be driving this year and she will need a car......she can have my car and I will take the sports car! That sounds logical, right?
The car is very impractical because no one can really sit in the back seat because it's so small, but I would mostly be using it to drive to work. That sounds sensible too, right?
Does anyone have a Lexus SC 430 or know someone who does? I'm looking for some feedback on the car.
Last month, while we were camping, we decided to go to the Shenandoah National Park with the kids for some hiking. The park was beautiful, and we had a great time.
So since we enjoyed it so much the first time, we decided to take my parents there yesterday. My mom loves to take pictures, they love nature, and they have both been getting more exercise over the last year.
We had a nice time, and they did great hiking. All total, they did about 4 miles hiking and my son and I did about 5 miles since we went off on our own one time. We did two different trails, one with a small waterfall and one that looked down into the valley. The weather was a little hazy, but the temperature wasn't bad at all.
My son and I also did some rock climbing. That was a lot of fun and a great workout! We did one area by ourselves and then my husband joined us the second time. My mom took some pictures of us at the top, so I can't wait to see them.
Work has slowed down just a little, so I'm looking forward to some gym time after work this week! I haven't been eating as well as I should lately, so I will not be surprised if I see the scale move in the opposite direction this week. Ugh. But I have no one to blame but myself.
Sorry I have been gone so long. It's been a crazy summer.
I did have a great vacay in Virginia Beach, but that was followed by a two-week business trip, which was followed by a death in my husband's family, which was followed by a 1-week business trip! Sigh....so I have been out of pocket for what? Like a month?
I hope everyone is doing well. I will check in with you guys as soon as possible. I have missed you guys!!
Okay, so I've been completely off JC for over a month, have eaten like a little piggie, but I'm happy to report that I'm still hovering around the 129 to 130-pound mark. So I can't complain. I have been getting in my running, though, so I'm sure that has helped.
I worked late tonight and got caught up!! I can't explain to you what a relief it is to be caught up before our vacation otherwise I would think and stress about work for the whole week.
I have a lot to do to get ready for the trip. Hubby is out of town taking applications to rent our other house and getting the house ready. But I can't complain because he has a lot to do at the house. Apparently our last renters didn't leave the place in very good condition. Uhm, can you say they are NOT getting their full deposit back. Plus they didn't leave the keys and they're out of town for 2 weeks, so hubby had to change the locks today. Sigh....
I'm so glad it's Friday!! I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Last night, hubby and I didn't run until around 8:00 at night, and we had eaten dinner around 6:30......NOT A GOOD IDEA. I felt so heavy and kept getting cramps. Hubby was miserable, and we ended up having to stop to walk around the 3-mile mark because his stomach was cramping so bad. Lesson learned!!! We will be running before dinner or several hours after dinner from now on.
I have so much to do before next week's camping trip, both at work and home. I have a ton of stuff that I need to finish at work, otherwise I will be thinking about work the whole time! I need to make a list of things to get ready for the trip.
Last night, we did a run through of the camper only to find out that the water filter cracked into pieces this winter (must have had water in it) so we had to hurry up and order that so it will be here before the trip. It's a really good thing that we did the walk thru early!! Everything else was in order. I am soooo looking forward to a break. :)
So hubby and I are planning a camping trip to Virginia Beach! Yippee. I can't wait. We are going Mon-Fri next week. We will be close to the beach and the camping site has a pool. We also plan on going to Busch Gardens and maybe a boat trip. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to relaxing. Work has been so stressful over the last 2 months, I NEED this.
That means I need to be on my best eating behavior this week because I know we will be eating poorly next week! Smores, hot dogs, hamburgers, and amusement park food! Ugh. Oh well, it's only for 5 days, not the end of the world, right?
I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I'm sending you all skinny vibes!!
