Saturday, July 14, 2012

Back in the Running Game + Spoiled-Rotten Saturday

I really don't want to talk about the last time I ran.
Actually... according to my fitness log, it was Tuesday, June 19.
That was during my last week of summer classes. Then I began work. Last week, I got plenty of exercise swimming, tubing, and paddling around at SML, but none of the running or cardio variety. This past week was chock-full of my first real week of work and VBS, so free time was nonexistent. I know I'm making excuses, but time for exercise is much slimmer when I'm at home. 

Today, I decided to make a change. I feel like crap -- apparently, even despite my best efforts with hand sanitizer and hand-washing, I contracted some sort of flesh-eating, brain-warping, highly contagious, deadly virus. Or a cold. In the middle of July. I should have known. Yesterday was Friday the 13th. Well, I've got the whole coughing, head-full-of-cotton, drainage, stuffy nose, sore/itchy throat thing going on. I'm rocking my Couch Chic look today, which closely resembles looks from my Traveller Faire and my Fitnessista collections. Basically it's just a comfy pair of Reebok running shorts, a tee, a sports bra, and a lackluster ponytail.

What really boosted my spirits was a text from Dear Old Dad: "Coffee and a cupcake on Grove around noon or so?" He was referring to Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe, which we visited a few months ago. I was lying around, probably on my fourth episode of Parks and Recreation, when I received his message. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to have a Saturday to myself to relax and fill with whatever I like, but I'm not accustomed to having so much unstructured time. That was all the incentive I needed to pop up, make myself presentable, and shut down the pity party in exchange for an outing with Mike and Ruth.
Skinny Grande iced Vanilla Latte
Chocolate Mocha -- to die for!
I decided I needed a salad from Chik-Fil-A, so we located one near Pearl's and set sail in search of salads for a late lunch.
I could probably call this ruffage "clean" before the bleu cheese dressing, salted sunflower seeds, and butter croutons. Oh, and the not-so-diet-friendly chicken strips. It is what it is.

Around 4:00, we decided to hit up the Y for a little QT with the treadmill. I love that there is virtually no one working out at this time on Saturdays, so we practically had the place to ourselves. I had in mind to run for 30 minutes to get myself back in the mindset and the long-distance game. I ran about 1.8 miles before I got really light-headed. Tunnel vision is not the best vision for the treadmill, so I thought I'd better dial it back a few notches. I completed 2.52 miles in 33 minutes, so I wasn't too disappointed, even though I elected to walk the last 8 minutes. I don't know whether it was the salad I ate 2 hours before I ran that didn't stick with me long enough, or whether I haven't been drinking enough water recently, or whether my crappy headphones make my ears too hot, or even whether my running hiatus hit me harder than I anticipated, but I was not about to faint on the treadmill.

The fun doesn't end there! Tonight, my sister and one of her best friends, Sarah, are joining us for dinner at Joe's Inn in Bon Air, likely to be followed by a Netflix movie at home. Or, if I'm feeling up to it, a late showing of Ted, which we've been dying to see. I feel spoiled rotten today, but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Saturday :) Ta ta!

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