The perils of moving apartments include learning the buses that stop near your new apartment. In my haste to get home last night after eating free Punch Pizza, I boarded the wrong bus and wound up by the ghetto Kmart near midtown. Umm what. The letters after the numbers on the bus line actually mean something? Next time a friend offers me a ride, I'll swallow any guilt I have towards wasting their time and accept the offer. Fast forward an hour later, after taking another bus and walking over a mile, I finally arrive at my doorstep. The entire walk home, I had been attempting to convince myself that my walk constituted exercise, which meant I wouldn't have to go running later. Well, guess what, evil part of my brain, NOT THIS TIME. I put on my running shorts and headed out the door.
The next challenge involved in living in a new place: not knowing a running route. I'm attempting to stick to my guns and not pay for internet, so without the aid of Google maps, I decided to run in the general direction towards Lake Calhoun and run for about 30 minutes.
The good news: I ran for 30 solid minutes and felt really good about it when I got home.
The bad news: I ran past a cemetery and saw way too many freshly dug graves. creepy!
Oh, yeah, and the bonus that I got for taking the wrong bus: I saw one homeless man dressed as a clown, slap another homeless man in a wheelchair across the face on Nicollet Mall.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Progress!
Who ran all the way around Lake of the Isles today without stopping? THIS GIRL!!!! yes! sweet, sweet victory! Prior to this date which will live in infamy, I had NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, completed an outdoor run without stopping or walking at least once. Not once! Unless, that is, if you count the times when I time myself runnig from my car to my apartment at night, but that's just basic survival skills training in case I'm being attacked by kidnappers, so I don't count that as exercise.
ANYWAY, It was a 2.74 mile run, which is just short of the 3 miles I'll need to run in the triathlon. This is by no means the end, but it is progress with a capital P. The craziest part of it all, is that afterward, I didn't contemplate killing myself. Yes, yes, that's right folks, I think *gasp* I am actually starting to enjoy exercising. Who knows what I'll start liking next - children? snakes? Taylor Swift? I'm loving this exercise high so much, I'm even considering running again tomorrow. That would make another first for me: working out two days in a row.
Now I'm off to the liquor store to buy a bottle of Belvedere to take to the Chelsea Handler book signing.
ANYWAY, It was a 2.74 mile run, which is just short of the 3 miles I'll need to run in the triathlon. This is by no means the end, but it is progress with a capital P. The craziest part of it all, is that afterward, I didn't contemplate killing myself. Yes, yes, that's right folks, I think *gasp* I am actually starting to enjoy exercising. Who knows what I'll start liking next - children? snakes? Taylor Swift? I'm loving this exercise high so much, I'm even considering running again tomorrow. That would make another first for me: working out two days in a row.
Now I'm off to the liquor store to buy a bottle of Belvedere to take to the Chelsea Handler book signing.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Moving = Exercise?
Working out this week has been seriously hindered by the fact that I'm moving to a different apartment this weekend and have been slowly but surely packing up all my stuff each night after school. I had been feeling really badly about not running as planned, BUT THEN my cousin told me about this fun moving company in Chicago called Move-tastic! The movers are triathletes who run back and forth from your apartment to their truck. It's a speedy move and it sounds like they get a lot of exercise too. GENIUS.
Therefore, this Saturday, I will be re-creating my own Move-tastic company as I run back and forth to my Uhaul trailer. And it won't just be for exercise. Oh, you haven't seen
the forecast? Yeah, it's supposed to rain...
Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE rain?!
Therefore, this Saturday, I will be re-creating my own Move-tastic company as I run back and forth to my Uhaul trailer. And it won't just be for exercise. Oh, you haven't seen
the forecast? Yeah, it's supposed to rain...Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE rain?!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Exercising on Vacation
Spring break was last week - hence the lack of posting - and for the first time, I attempted to work out during vacation.
Typically, vacation for me entails eating lots of food (best way to learn about a new city!), drinking with friends (and making new ones in the bar), and eating fast food in the airport. This time around, I packed up my tennis shoes and headed to Seattle for a yearly reunion with some of my best friends.
I decided I would get some exercise the morning before my flight by cycling to work. The trip is 5 miles each way, and it is by no means grueling, but hey! I'm trying here, people. Unfortunately for me, I have a horrible habit of leaving my apartment without looking out the window first, and this morning I was greeted with rain as I wheeled my bike on to the street. The ride got me ready for the weather in Seattle.
Vacation started that evening, and I hydrated well by choosing two delicious Malbecs for dinner and even ordering a side salad rather than another plate of gnocci! For the next two days I got my exercise by walking all over Seattle from places like Pike Place to the Space Needle to the dressing rooms of Nordstroms. Further exercise occurred at night in the form of dancing, sprinting to cabs, and eating hot dogs with cream cheese (a late night delicacy in Seattle apparently). Then we were lucky enough to head up to the San Juan Islands for the weekend on a friend's boat where I went running. In my efforts to maintain my vacation feeling, I went running without a watch and with no idea of where I was going. In my head I think I ran for 40 minutes, but in reality it was probably 30 minutes or so. The good news is that for one of the first times in my life, I looked forward to running, and I kept a steady pace. Now I'm back in the midwest and planning on a run tonight. I'm looking forward to flat surfaces and no rain!
Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. A wonderful place for an afternoon run. This picture was taken by Nicole, and I stole it from her with the idea that as long as I gave her credit she wouldn't sue me. Thanks, Nic!
Typically, vacation for me entails eating lots of food (best way to learn about a new city!), drinking with friends (and making new ones in the bar), and eating fast food in the airport. This time around, I packed up my tennis shoes and headed to Seattle for a yearly reunion with some of my best friends.
I decided I would get some exercise the morning before my flight by cycling to work. The trip is 5 miles each way, and it is by no means grueling, but hey! I'm trying here, people. Unfortunately for me, I have a horrible habit of leaving my apartment without looking out the window first, and this morning I was greeted with rain as I wheeled my bike on to the street. The ride got me ready for the weather in Seattle.
Vacation started that evening, and I hydrated well by choosing two delicious Malbecs for dinner and even ordering a side salad rather than another plate of gnocci! For the next two days I got my exercise by walking all over Seattle from places like Pike Place to the Space Needle to the dressing rooms of Nordstroms. Further exercise occurred at night in the form of dancing, sprinting to cabs, and eating hot dogs with cream cheese (a late night delicacy in Seattle apparently). Then we were lucky enough to head up to the San Juan Islands for the weekend on a friend's boat where I went running. In my efforts to maintain my vacation feeling, I went running without a watch and with no idea of where I was going. In my head I think I ran for 40 minutes, but in reality it was probably 30 minutes or so. The good news is that for one of the first times in my life, I looked forward to running, and I kept a steady pace. Now I'm back in the midwest and planning on a run tonight. I'm looking forward to flat surfaces and no rain!
Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. A wonderful place for an afternoon run. This picture was taken by Nicole, and I stole it from her with the idea that as long as I gave her credit she wouldn't sue me. Thanks, Nic!
First Triathlon
So last spring I was eating a bowl of Wheaties for breakfast (already off to a great start with my diet btw!), and as I sat there spooning the bowl...read third... into my mouth, I read about Hunter Kemper. Prior to this day, I had never imagined doing a triathlon. Triathlons fell into the category of impossible things like marathons, speed skating, dancing, etc. Things that my body cannot do basically.
Sure I was on the track team in high school, but I joined to hang out with my friends and let's face it, I threw javelin, and I sucked at it. My favorite days were when we got to stab pop cans with javelins in an attempt to improve "aim" and "return to our cave man roots." In college I mainly worked out at our campus gym, but that workout schedule strictly evolved around the days when I was not hungover.
In an attempt to try a team sport (my concern with maintaining a firm sense of a physical personal space boundary kept sports that involve other people from being "my thing"), I joined the law fir
m softball team where I was working one summer. This short lived attempt ended with a black eye and the nickname, Rocky, for the rest of the summer. Real professional, guys. Oh yeah, and I got this shiner during "practice" when a paralegal threw a pop-up towards me. Biatch.
I bought my first bicycle in college to avoid riding the metro or paying for cabs in DC, and somewhere along the way, I really began to enjoy bicycling. Likewise, swimming has always been fun. I was a lifeguard in high school and could swim the distances required for weekly trainings, but I was always last. Never mastered that flip turn. So, reading about Kemper inspired me to challenge myself and work off some of those cheese curds. I actually enjoy two of the three aspects involved in the competition, and after a brief Google search, I found plenty of triathlons in Minnesota.
The real journey here will be developing endurance, and hopefully, an affection for running. I have always been a fan of the brisk walk. I bust it out on city sidewalks and the hallways of the Mall of America alike. No one can hustle it to make an elevator like me. My 7th grade gym/health teacher once told our class that you could burn just as many calories running as walking the same distance, and as much as I've tried to forget the Richard Simons dances we were forced to learn, I have kept that simple equation (running calories = walking calories) at the forefront of my mind. Until NOW.
Dissuaded about the amount of time I would have to prepare, I delayed participating in a triathlon until this year. I sent in my registration and $65 fee last week and IT HAS BEGUN. Thus far, my training has consisted of running/walking around Lake of the Isles or Lake Calhoun and attending a 90 minute hot yoga class. I'll be participating in the St. Paul Triathlon, sprint distance, and I am hopeful! 160 days until race day. Stay tuned!
Sure I was on the track team in high school, but I joined to hang out with my friends and let's face it, I threw javelin, and I sucked at it. My favorite days were when we got to stab pop cans with javelins in an attempt to improve "aim" and "return to our cave man roots." In college I mainly worked out at our campus gym, but that workout schedule strictly evolved around the days when I was not hungover.
In an attempt to try a team sport (my concern with maintaining a firm sense of a physical personal space boundary kept sports that involve other people from being "my thing"), I joined the law fir
m softball team where I was working one summer. This short lived attempt ended with a black eye and the nickname, Rocky, for the rest of the summer. Real professional, guys. Oh yeah, and I got this shiner during "practice" when a paralegal threw a pop-up towards me. Biatch.I bought my first bicycle in college to avoid riding the metro or paying for cabs in DC, and somewhere along the way, I really began to enjoy bicycling. Likewise, swimming has always been fun. I was a lifeguard in high school and could swim the distances required for weekly trainings, but I was always last. Never mastered that flip turn. So, reading about Kemper inspired me to challenge myself and work off some of those cheese curds. I actually enjoy two of the three aspects involved in the competition, and after a brief Google search, I found plenty of triathlons in Minnesota.
The real journey here will be developing endurance, and hopefully, an affection for running. I have always been a fan of the brisk walk. I bust it out on city sidewalks and the hallways of the Mall of America alike. No one can hustle it to make an elevator like me. My 7th grade gym/health teacher once told our class that you could burn just as many calories running as walking the same distance, and as much as I've tried to forget the Richard Simons dances we were forced to learn, I have kept that simple equation (running calories = walking calories) at the forefront of my mind. Until NOW.
Dissuaded about the amount of time I would have to prepare, I delayed participating in a triathlon until this year. I sent in my registration and $65 fee last week and IT HAS BEGUN. Thus far, my training has consisted of running/walking around Lake of the Isles or Lake Calhoun and attending a 90 minute hot yoga class. I'll be participating in the St. Paul Triathlon, sprint distance, and I am hopeful! 160 days until race day. Stay tuned!
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