i heart the treadmill

This is what I tell myself.

Or as Coach Justin says "With the weather conditions, the treadmill is necessary so make the most of it and make the best use of your time." Sigh.

So into the blistery winter night/morning I go to make my way to the office gym for a run. I opened up the shades today so at least I could look out and pretend I was outside. Was a pretty solid workout...4 times 10 minutes in my steady state heart rate with a few minutes easy jogging in between. On the second interval, the lights went out. No shit! So I kept running in the dark!! Got the interval done, got off the treadmill and fiddled with the light timer so it wouldn't happen again. Weird. Waved at a few of the lawyers and accountants and stock brokers that come into the building at 6:30 - 7:00am....balance boys, life is about balance. I don't think I have EVER been at the office before 8:00am...the mouse does not start running until injected with caffeine, so why wake the little bugger up before I need to?

Tonight is our office Christmas party. The theme: 1940's Hollywood Glamour. Have my outfit ready to go, a hair appointment today to get some finger waves. One of the partner's bought a fancy little silver car this week. A mercedes I think...so an e-mail went around yesterday that the office would pay for cabs to and from the party OR Herb would drive everyone home but it would take some time as the new car is only a two seater!!

cyberlicious

Is the name of my new lipgloss. It is about this color. With a bit of a metallic sheen to it.

Love.

It.

I? Did not run today. Got a phone call "could you possibly make cupcakes for the Kindergarten Christmas party?" No problem. I am Super Mom (actually Jenna is supermom, I just pretend....) So up WAY early today to bake and decorate friggin Christmas cupcakes...

THEN we get to Kindergarten today and Mr. M is putting his shoes on while sitting on the floor...the teacher is lifting up a tray of cookies and turning around at the same time and does not see Matthew on the floor...do I have to spell this out? The cookies and Mrs. T are on the floor, Matthew is super upset...I am trying to stay sane...somedays I just come to my work that does not involve small kids and all that noise and HUG MY DESK!!!!

crappy swim

Forced myself out of bed today to hit the water. Was going to head down to the YWCA but knew I was going to need some serious help and company to get the meters in so showed up at the tri-club swim. Felt tired and sore (I guess that run yesterday took more out of me than I thought) and my stroke was short. Had to concentrate on making my thumb hit my thigh every single stroke...blah. BUT about 2000 meters in so that is the good news.

In other news, by mistake, I bought the whole wheat version of Kraft Dinner. What were the people at Kraft thinking? It was horrid!! I had thought the noodles had gone bad as there were little specks on them but then realized my blunder. Some things are just not meant to be healthy. Kraft Dinner is one of those things! Don't mess with a good thing!! Just like McDonald's, I don't go there for a salad. I go when I have a craving for grease or hung over...and diet Coke....it is still just plain old black syrup that scratches the back of your throat...I want the full deal and refuse to drink a "diet" soda pop!! The whole wheat version of KD totally ruined my craving last night.

a treadmill run

Up and at it early today as I wanted to get my run in but not outside. The office building I work in has a nice little gym on the ground floor with 2 brand new treadmills. I had e-mailed Coach Justin yesterday with a question about the workout...does it change if I do it on a treadmill? I also sent our weather forcast and he is now convinced I live on the moon.
Turns out the workout changes a bit to "keep my sanity on a treadmill".

• If running indoors and on a treadmill, I would consider shorter efforts of 10 minutes with one or two minutes of easier effort as a mental break between Steady State intervals. Make the treadmill workout 3x10 minutes with 2 to 3 min in between efforts. I would also use this opportunity to add intensity through uphill type efforts rather than worrying about running faster. A brisk uphill pace (set the grade at 3 to 5 %) will help your turnover rate and will encourage a generally better gait, leading to a more efficient running motion when you return to the flatter roads. It is also a lower shock way to run so you won’t be as sore from running compared to the same intensity on a flat road or treadmill.

Well then...always the scientific one, that Justin!! Was a good run, I set the grade a 4% and struggled a bit to keep my HR in the range he wanted. Had to slow down a few times. Someone thought it would be a great idea to put a metal statue right in the middle boulevard as you come off the Broadway Bridge into downtown. I drive by it every day of my life on the way to work. I am not really sure what it is supposed to be. This morning in the dark and the snow, I thought it was a person!! I hammered the brakes, slipped and slid around that corner into downtown...so my HR was well high before I even got to the gym!!!

my weekend: a photo essay

Bike workout: a little sweat anyone?

The treat bags packed full of goodies.

The cake: baked and decorated by someone else...I am a working mom...I just make a phone call and write the cheque!!

Ying and Yang: Mario and Luige: peanut butter and jam: things that go together...Matthew and his best pal Mitchel. Inseperable. The next 10 years will be interesting with these two...and yes, Sir Matthew is really that tall.

What's a cake without a sparkly candle...

Sunday morning came and I hit the pool. This pic is from my car as I was leaving...too lazy to get out and take the picture...was a pretty good swim. Coach Justin's instructions were that the swim was to be the hardest workout of the week...so jumped in with the fast guys, worked my way up from the back to second in the lane...then faded back to last over the remainder of the workout!! bleh. That is what you get for not swimming for 3 weeks!!

Then the gingerbread party at Martha's house (my mom's house). Grandma helping Luke with his gingerbread house.

The finished products: