It's here!!

Yes, it is, indeed HUGE!!! My new HRM came today. I brought it back to work with me to see if I could play around with it.

Um, that'd be a negative, ghostrider.

This thing is quite complicated. Actually, finding the menus on the wristband is fine. But I spent forever trying to download the software for it off the net. You can download the info from your watch onto the software - not, I suppose, if you can't get it properly off the net.

So I think I have it downloaded but I can't find a tutorial or anything. Plus since I haven't done a workout yet I don't have anything to download. It came with a disk - supposedly the users guide... I mean really - how complicated does something have to be that they put the owners manual on a disk?!?!?

I see myself taking the laptop home tonight to see if I can learn more about this fantastic piece of electronic equipment. My next run is tomorrow so I better get something figured out by then!!

Finally a real runner!

Last night - for the very first time - I felt like a "real" runner. I ran in the cold, in the dark in the rain. I felt really dedicated!!!

Granted it was only in the low 50's, which as most of you know, it gets a helluva lot colder here than that! And it wasn't so much dark but more twilight. But I did wear a white top and the hubby had me put a blinking red light on the back of my baseball hat for safety. And it wasn't pouring the rain, just drizzled for the last half of my run - which was only 2 miles....

But you get the point.

Blame twin mom!

If you are reading this blog then you've seen comments from my various friends. I think it's great that I have friends from all times during my life reading and commenting!! What fun the internet is!!

So you might have caught Emily's comment on my last post. In case you haven't checked out her blog (which is linked on mine) she's a new mom to twins!! Everyone on the count of three: one, two three, Aaawwwww!! : )

However, if you are one of my readers who lives close or sees me on occasion you may not like her anymore. (Christy - I'm really talking about you. YOU may not like her anymore... ; ) She just suggested me wearing Twilight stuff while racing!!

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!

Christy - think about it - I'll be easy to find at the end of the race!!

I might have to look into this. The only issue I may have is getting anything remotely "Twilight" on performance wear. Surely I could figure it out!!

See - you guys are all perpetuating my addiction!!! I was perfectly fine just running in a regular, plain top and shorts.... I'm just not that creative on my own - but you guys are AWESOME!!

Ready for 13.1

This week begins my official training for my half marathon. BTW - I think I will continue to refer to it as a "half marathon" because just 13.1 miles doesn't really sound like that much.

Ok, so technically my first run according to my training schedule isn't until tomorrow. I have to figure out how to combine lifting weights with this running thing - and not kill myself in the process. I'll give the lifting a good 'ol college try - but if I can't get all my running in then the weights are taking a back seat (take note KVeg. this is your official warning...)

I noticed a few weeks ago my heart rate monitor was acting up. I can't figure out why - I've replaced the battery in the watch and chest strap all within the past three months. It keeps cutting in and out of getting a signal. I'm pretty sure I'm not dead...

Well this past weekend it wouldn't read at all and and when it did it told me my HR was 239 (as I was casually standing in the bathroom trying to get it to work.) I am certain I was not at 239.

So I finally gave in and declared it kaput. Now if you know anything about HRM then you'll know there are many more on the market these days than just 5 years ago. Today you get even get ones with built in GPS! I'd been eyeing those but they are a bit pricey. And since I already had a working one I wasn't going to bother.

But now since I'm in a position to HAVE to get one... I had to think long and hard over it because they are not cheap. As a matter of fact I'm not even going to mention what I paid because I'm too ashamed. According to the hubby, at that price it should run the race for me.

The other reason I had to think about it is due to the size. These GPS enabled HRM are HUGE! I have itty, bitty , tiny wrists. So this will be interesting. I will not be wearing it everyday like I do my current HRM watch. Although I can think of other people that will be thrilled to know that I won't be wearing my men's Timex Ironman HRM watch all the time. What they don't realize it that I'll just be wearing my smaller women's Ironman watch instead. It's not like I'll finally start wearing a "girly watch" like they'd hoped. (yes, I even wear it when in a biz suit...)

So once it comes in I'll let you know how it goes. Of course, that's if I'm smart enough to figure out how to use all the fancy stuff on it....

Fall is officially here...

... never mind that it was over 80 degrees and humid as hell on Wednesday. How do I know fall is here??

I used my seat warmers for the first time this season.

I accidentally left my car in the driveway last night (and the garage door wide open... ) and it was freezing this morning! Seat warmers - one of the upgrades on my Jeep that I am grateful that I have.

(yes, I occasionally STILL mourn the lose of my Explorer.)

Our garage is insulated (as it should be with our godforsaken winters here....) and so even in the dead of winter going out to the car isn't so bad. It should be even warmer this winter since we now have new, insulated garage doors to match. But since I left it outside last night it was covered in cold dew and the seat were FREEZING! even in my jeans!!

Oh - and the hubby's been out of town this week so he's going to be annoyed to come home tonight to find that I put these on my Jeep.

I got a feeling he's not going to be driving it much anymore....

Cabby

Here's my first kitty, Cabby. I hardly ever get any pictures of her!!! I snapped this last night while we were cuddled up on the sofa watching tv. She'll come over and sleep on the couch with me when it's just the two of us. I think when D's home she thinks it's too crowded...

Pix from the ride

Here are some pictures that were taken during the ride.

Heading out first thing in the morning... "Team C" (D has red handlebars and mine are yellow...)



Here are all the riders and our entourage... we have a full police escort, paramedics, a gear wagon and a box truck should we have a mechanical issue not fixable on the fly.

Here's the hubby checking out his gear before we set off from a school stop.

And me doing the same check to my bike. Aren't we hot in our spandex and helmets?? ; )

D anxiously awaiting for us to take off to the next school... (that's his "concentration' face... he's one serious biker...)

Here's our group rounding a corner. The lead guys, Carl and Todd did us all a favor leading. They had some serious wind resistance to deal with while the rest of us benefited from drafting. But don't feel too bad for them - they are arguably the strongest riders and are racers.... this 100 miles was nothin' to them. At the end D joked with Todd that he could go do his "real workout" now - insinuating that our century was easy for him. The sad part - it was easy for him....

Ah - D had an issue riding behind this guy in the picture. We would try to get away from riding behind him when we lined up to leave a school but he was like a magnet! And he was a "weaver" (weaved side-to-side) and wasn't always as fast going up hills - both being issues when you're riding in this kind of group as tight as we were. (at least he looks like he's having a great time!!)

Ah... the hand slaps at the infamous "That's a woman!!" school....

Lots of our ride between schools was something similar to this... I like how the photographer never got a shot like this that showed any of the mountains... um, I mean hills....

I told you - we're like rock stars!! Look at the posters they made for us!!

I did it!!

This is me in the morning... before we got started...

Well folks - I did it. I finished the 100 miles - and in the front of the pack no less!!

All the schools have been learning about safety for the past few weeks. The day of our ride the program ends with a pep rally for the kids and then they all come outside and stand on the side of pavement to cheer us on. You can hear the kids as they announce we're there. You would think we were the Jonas brothers or Miley Cyrus or something!! These kids are screaming and cheering - we felt like teeny bopper rock stars! We ride by and slap hands with them - they love that!

Since this was a fundraiser for missing and exploited kids we stopped at about 5 schools to say hi to the kids and reinforce what they've been learning in school about staying safe in their environment and on line. It was also the time we grabbed a bathroom break and refueled. Each stop was about 10 - 15 minutes.

We did just a "ride by" at a few schools. They weren't scheduled stops, just on our route. So we ride by and slap hands and move on. At the first ride by school there were kids lined up on both sides of the pavement. I decided to go to the one side where not many riders had gone yet. As I was slapping hands with the kids I heard one of them say after I passed "That was a woman!!"

Yes kids, women can ride bikes too.

And here's the 100 mile proof:

And it starts...

The hubby had practice last night and since I'm not running or riding this week (except for Friday, of course) I had plenty-o-time to make steaks and mashed potatoes from scratch. (I usually only make taters for holidays!!)

Since I had so much extra time I decided to park my arse on the sofa with a glass (or glasses...) of red wine and see what the fabulous DVR had ready for me.

Much to my surprise I had Oprahs from as far back as Sept 3rd! (I have it programmed to only record new episodes) So I sat there and went through them - some I skimmed but others I watched - like her big 24th Anniversary part on the Magnificent Mile with the Black Eyed Peas. It was great!!

And then there was one where she played viewer favorites of surprises over the years. I LOVE watching people get great surprises!! I was so happy for them I actually teared up for several. (ok, I cried. "tearing up" doesn't quite describe it...)

Which is why I felt sheepish when D came home and my eyes were red... You know a new season of Oprah has started when I'm cryin' at the TV (that or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is on....)

Duh...

I couldn't figure out why I've been SO hungry this week. I mean, if a zebra walked into my office I'd probably eat it! (sorry KVeg...)

Then I just realized that I snuck out Monday and got a Wendy's #1 meal for lunch. Instead of throwing out my trash in the kitchen (like I usually do) I threw it out in my office.

Hence - all week my office has smelled like french fries.

No wonder I've been ravenous!

Nerves

Did I mention my century ride is Friday?? That would be 100 miles in one day.

Yes, I've done this ride before but I was a novice at the experience. I really had no idea what to expect.

Now I know. And in this case, knowing is not a good thing.

I've tried to keep it out of my mind as long as possible. Every time I ride I keep thinking "gee! I'm riding my bike! What fun! la-dee-da-dee!!" In other words - I try very and hard (and successfully) to block out why I've been riding.

Yeah, yeah - I know how to get through it. And I will, no doubt. But still....

The last few training rides - especially the last one - have not instilled me with confidence. Which is not good seeing as how I need all the confidence I can get!

Also I'm concerned about an old injury I apparently have aggravated by riding. I haven't run or rode all this week just to give it time to recoup before the actual ride. Let's hope this strategy works.

Yippie!!

Anyone watch the VMAs last night?? Did you see the New Moon trailer??

Just kidding.. I'm not going to blog about it. But I am going to tell you about my weekend! (minus the part where I stayed up to watch the VMAs/ New Moon trailer...)

We hosted our little dinner group Saturday night. We have 8 of us that meet once a month at a house and we all bring food of a predetermined country. Last month it was Greece, last night it was Spain. I made a few things - not all of it turning out properly.

I tried my hand at ceviche. I'd heard it was actually easy to make. If you don't know what that is - it's fish cooked with acid (like lime juice) instead of heat. Then you add some tomatoes, avocados and cilantro, toss and you're done. I've eaten it several times and it was great. But for some reason my fish wasn't "cooking" in my lime juice. I'm sticking it in the freezer until trash day so I don't stink up the house...

I made two veggies dishes that turned out ok. But my biggest hit was the sangria.

Now all my recipes came form a Spanish cooking site - except the sangria. I decided to go Bobby Flay on that one. He makes some great, albeit, STRONG sangria. Here's the recipe:

2 bottles red Spanish table wine
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup OJ
1/2 pomegranate juice
1/2 cup simple syrup (or more to taste)
orange slices
apple slices
pomegranate seeds
Mix together and let sit at least 24 hours before serving

So after our night of great food (and lots of sangria) I went on our last training ride Sunday morning. It was supposed to be a 10 mile easy ride culminating at a local firehouse pancake breakfast.

We ended up going almost 30 miles, much faster than ride pace on a hilly course. Needless to say I was pissed. I wasn't feeling 100% due to the wine and then the asthma kicked in not long into the ride. I was one cranky bitch, for sure. I made it but only after lots of bitching and complaining. If I'd known it was going to be longer and faster I would have skipped it since I'd had a late night before.

This might be my last century ride with this group. I'm not happy with how they conduct training rides. I don't think I've been on one ride this year that goes the distance promoted and at the ride pace (which is supposed to be all the rides). We usually go farther and a lot faster. The distance isn't an issue except for when your plans for the day get all screwed up because the ride took two hours longer than you were lead to believe. (and the weekend rides usually take several hours to begin with!) The fast pace - well that's an issue. I'm not looking to ever start racing so I don't care to go fast. I only need to go as fast as we're going to go the day of the ride. Plus when they go fast the slower riders end up getting left behind. At least this year they come back and get us. But I usually try to keep up (which is just dumb) and then I'm spent for the last half of the ride. I'm definitely ready to put this century ride behind me and start training for my half marathon.

Easing minds

No Sara, my office is not covered in Twilight posters. And no, Emily, I don't have any Twilight posters hanging on the ceiling above my bed (although not a bad idea... ; )

And no - I don't plan on purchasing any posters of any kind, Twilight or other, to hang in any of the aforementioned places.

I should also reiterate that I am one of those fans that can differentiate between the character "Edward" and the person "Rob". Because I'm clearly infatuated with "Edward", not "Rob".

As the Aussie put it "how can you have a crush on someone who doesn't BATHE!?!?!?!" See, Stephenie Meyer describes Edward as smelling great! That's good. Not-bathing-Rob - not good. I'm all about smelling-good men!!! I LOVE men's cologne!!!!! Ok, not all of it, but most of it.

And the best part - my husband BATHES!!! And smells GREAT!!!

See, I can clearly define the boundaries between fictional and reality. It's all about the cologne!

And, unlike Mrs. CA here, I would never buy Twilight candy...

(in her defense someone gave it to her, she didn't actually buy it...)

YEAH!!!!

I admit it. I broke down and bought it. It came in the mail yesterday!!!

Help getting IN and OUT of a shirt..

Ok - so I've heard of someone helping you get your clothes OFF... ; )

But hell - I couldn't even get IN! This past Friday the hubby and I headed to NYC to meet up with a friend of mine who was in town from London, England. Of course I had to wear the sexy NYC shoes (more on those later...) and of course KVeg wouldn't let me out of the house without an appropriate "party" top. (we were all wearing jeans this time.)

I ran over to KVeg's Thursday night and grabbed a cute black strappy top with beading on the chest. The bottom half of the top was several layers of gauzy stuff. (I have a picture some where but I'll have to post it separately until I can get the hubby to email it to me...)

Did I mention KVeg is a tiny girl?? She's tall - very tall. But thin - VERY thin. Luckily I tried on the shirt at home before we left. No zippers or buttons - just a pull it over you head arrangement. As I was pulling it over my head all the gauzy stuff got wrapped around in the back and I literally got stuck in it. I had to enlist the help of the hubby to untwist it and then to YANK it over my lats. It occurred to me later to look at the size - a SMALL from the Express...

I finally got it on properly. I had HONEST-TO-GOD cleavage!!! I mean them babies were TOUCHING!!! I've NEVER had that happen before.

Of course I couldn't breathe deep for fear I'd pop the banding around my chest/ lats. I would feel really bad to bring home KVeg's top in tatters.

Of course this made me wonder - how in the hell does KVeg fit into this?? The circumference of her ribcage is small for sure. But how in the hell did her boobs fit in there??? To this day it's still a mystery....

We met up with the Aussie (my friend is actually Australian, living and working in England) and the Brit. (Her friend is a true Brit originally from Yorkshire.) We chatted as I tried to get back in the top. (again enlisting the hubby's help) What I found the most interesting... she comes to the US and what does she buy? Kitchen gadgets. Really. But if you think about it that makes sense. I mean Brits aren't known for great food so why would they bother with nifty kitchen gadgets?? ; ) I've already bought her a "Slap Chop" I'm going to send her. Just because I think it's funny....

We walked to a nearby bar/ restaurant that I found on line.

NOTE: Next time people - I'm talking to all of you - don't put me in charge of finding the "hot spots". I do well with the accommodations responsibility on a trip, not the entertainment. (unless of course, you fear for your life...)

Yeah, well I shoulda known that a place called the "Ding Dong Lounge" might be a bit sketchy....
(but it got good reviews!!!)

So we hopped in a cab and went to an Italian place I had found. (I couldn't believe they were still relying on my list after the Ding Dong incident...) But we ended up having a great meal at 'Cesca's on the Upper West Side. I recommend it if you're in the area. We asked for a recommendation for a bar close by. We walked and walked... we couldn't find it so we settled on the first nice place we found.

Needless to say when we got back to the hotel I kicked off my sexy shoes and... well, my friends, my feet were NOT bringing sexy back to NYC. They were an oozing, blistering mess. Gross, I know. At least I didn't take a picture. And once again - the hubby was a great sport as he shared a room with three women... AGAIN! (he did the same thing when we went to Disney back in December...)

I wasn't kidding when I say it was a quick trip. We got up the next morning, we all went to a diner and had some chow and the hubby and I were on the road by 10:30.

The rest of the weekend we went for a 35mile bike ride with friends and then headed out to the GREAT NEW YORK STATE FAIR!

I forgot my phone in the car - so no pictures. Sorry. But it doesn't matter - we were in and out in 2.5 hours. I really just go for the food, beer and wine. And that's what I did. I ate and drank and drank some more. I'm still in awe that our parents EVER let us ride those death-trap machines they call "rides". What were they thinking??? Did they not love us??