A year ago.

Sunday night was the season 3 premiere of The Walking Dead.  B and I decided to watch it together.  We always say that our love for zombie lore and for the love of the show specifically is what started our relationship.

If a year ago you had told me that I'd be watching the season three premiere with my boyfriend at his parents' house in southwest Georgia, after a potluck lunch at a Southern Baptist congregation of about 85 people I would have thought you were seriously confused.


It was a lot of fun.

The above picture is from a very early date when I made sequin headbands and wristbands for bowling in Thomasville.  I now know it was probably me testing him to see how spontaneous and indulgent he was to my whimsy.  He didn't even say boo about it.  I won the second game; he wants a rematch.

Just a funny thought...

B and I were talking last night.  It was late and we were both kind of goofy.  

I was wondering aloud 'what if, instead of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, instead he insisted on giving Peter a pedicure?'  Oh, the phrase 'go and do likewise' takes on a whole new meaning to me now.

A funny conversation!

B- Guess what I'm eating....

Me- What?

B- A frosty!

Me- You're eating a frosty without me?  You frosty-cheater!!!

B- I'll bet you've eaten some frosties by yourself before.

Me- Not since we started dating!

Bwahahahahahah!  I am so hilarious; I can hardly handle it.

Training starts today!

Training starts today!

I signed up to run the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon the second weekend of November and I am stoked to begin my official training.

I have 68 days to get ready to run 13.1 miles with thousands of other awesome runners.  I love big races like this.  Everyone there really wants to be participate so the attitude and atmosphere are unlike anything else in which I've ever participated.  

Now I've maintained a pretty reasonable level of fitness this summer with CrossFit and Hot Yoga but before this afternoon I had not run anything longer than 2 miles since June 2.  I mean, I've built some muscles this summer but running is a very different level of fitness.  It's about lung capacity and muscles working together and asking those muscles to work for a long time, at least 45 minutes but by November 10 I'll be asking my body to do cardiovascular work for somewhere around 3 hours.  

So here's the schedule of work: on Tuesday and Thursdays I'll be doing short runs, on the treadmill until it cools down.  Some of the runs are as little as 2, some as long as four miles.  Shorter runs will be about sprints, fartleks, and other speed work.  On Saturdays I'll be doing my longer slow distances.  Today that was 3 miles, next week it will be four, and so on until I get to 10 miles.  

So, my three miles today?  Really hard and really slow.  The temperature was okay but the humidity was unreal.  

It took me 46 minutes to finish 3 miles.

(I jogged the first mile, walked the second, and fartleked the third.)

My treadmill runs have been much faster, averaging 12 minute miles (roughly) but they're inside and I'm not running in and around other people like I was at the park.  I'm certain that as it cools down and as I get in better running shape I'll get faster and more comfortable.'

I love running season.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Family Heirloom

Often we talk about getting family heirlooms passed down to us from older relatives.  Most of them, when they got the object, didn't know then that it would come to represent a link among generations, a kindred ancestry, or be used as a way of connecting to the past.  As an example, I use my Nananette's old sterling silver cigarette case as a wallet.  When she purchased it she was buying herself something nice, she did not know then that it would come to be a treasured object of her granddaughter that is both beautiful and useful.

With that in mind, I think I am going to purposefully create a family heirloom.

My sister is pregnant, she's having a baby boy.  I'm working on a baby blanket but what I really want to make is this lovely sleep-sack inspired by Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

I just have this beautiful idea of getting Grant's pictures taken in it as an infant and then having my own children, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren all having their own picture in it.

A tale of two runs.

Last week I went for my first run since running in Central Park June 2nd.  I met a friend, Tamzyn, at 815 at Lake Ella park and just did two miles.  It was rough.  It was humid and I felt tired.  I finished with an average speed of 12:41 per mile.  The next morning my back was incredibly sore; I must have been slouching while I ran.

This evening I went back to Lake Ella and did another two mile run.  It felt completely different.  First, the weather was not nearly as intense.  Also, I enjoyed the run so very much.  I felt a bounce in my step, I felt comfortable, strong, and faster.  I finished with an average of 12:00 per mile and that still included one walking break.  That's a serious difference.  I know some of this had to do with the weather but also some of it had to do with me.  I felt ready to run.  I'd taken good care of myself all week and had plenty of rest.

I am so very ready for running season to start.  My goals for this week are to run Monday and Wednesday for 2 miles and to run 2-3 miles on Saturday.  I missed running so much and am looking forward to getting my running fitness back up to where it was in April.

Biggest Loser

Things are going well.

School starts soon.  I'm knitting a baby blanket for my sister.  I have a big race in November to look forward to through the fall.

Summer, for the most part, is over; B went back to work last week.  I go back in a few weeks.  Structure, pattern, and and a well-balanced calendar are all coming back to me.  This calendar will have real weekends with true Saturdays.

With all of these lazy days of summer, as well as some fantastic dates, I've put on a few pounds.  Nothing too serious, but my jeans are tight and I work out a lot so it is frustrating to know that even with all of the work that I've undone some of my progress.

This is where B factors into things.  B and I are going to do a Biggest Loser challenge together!  Between now and October 30, B and I will be doing weekly weigh-in reports (via percentages, no real numbers) and at the end of October the winner gets to go on a date of their choosing.  If I win I think I want a good lunch followed by zip-lining at the Tallahassee Museum.

I think this is going to be a lot of fun.