Week 2 - 5K Training

Happy Sunday. Went to my second 5K training session today. We ran four 1-minute sessions and walked the remaining time for a total of 1.3 miles/20 minutes. Also had two 5-minute warm-up sessions at the beginning and the end. Spent the last hour turning a ficus bush into a ficus tree - probably burned more calories doing that than running/walking this morning. The rest of the day will be spent watching sports rather than participating. Total ran/walked today - 1.3 miles. Total for the year - 10.8.

Plans

My good friend, Sue and I have signed up for a 5K in our home town in March. Today we started the 8-week training program. Although it was just above freezing out this morning, we worked our way through a 5-minute aerobic warm-up and then set out for a 15 minute walk/run. We formed our own group of six women and we walked for 4 minutes, ran for 1 minute, walked for 4 minutes, etc. I did pretty well - managed to run for the entire minute all three times. All together, this was about 1 mile of walking. Yesterday, we walked the 2-mile dog walk so my total for this week was 3 miles. Total miles altogether so far in 2013 is 9.5.

Lazy Day

Didn't sleep that great last night - woke up at midnight thinking about my daughter's upcoming 3-month study abroad trip to Oxford, England. Lots of last minute things to do. I only had a short walk today - about 1/2 mile up to the post office, grocery store and back. Tomorrow I'm off to Palm Springs for the whole day so no walking will take place. Hopefully, I can make up some on Sunday. Total miles walked to date - 6.5.

Walking the Dogs - Day 2

We took the dogs for another two-mile walk today. It was a beautiful January day in Southern California - blue skies and lots of sun. Total miles walked - two. Total miles to date this year - six.

Going Green

On Christmas Day, I received a Vitamix blender from my dear sister. I immediately went to work looking up recipes to make with the Vitamix on YouTube. One of the first things I knew I wanted to make was a "green smoothie" - something with all the essential fruits and vegetables included. I found one recipe on YouTube that looked good to me so I went to work creating it on my own.

Included in this recipe are the following ingredients: Two handfuls of spinach, 2 cups of filtered water, one gala apple - cut into eight pieces (include core), 1 cup of frozen strawberries, one cup of frozen blueberries, one cup of frozen pineapple, one frozen banana, and two small squeezes of Blue Agave liquid (a nice sweetner for this smoothie). Turn the Vitamix on and turn the middle knob from 1-10 and turn the variable switch to high. Blend until all ingredients are smooth - you may need to use the tamper for this. If the mixture gets too thick, just add more filtered water through the top of the lid of the Vitamix.

As you can seen, this smoothie isn't really "green" when it's finished but it is absolutely delicious. I've got my husband and daughter drinking one each day as well. I feel that it gives me extra added energy in the middle of the day when I need it most.

Walking the Dogs

We live in a nice, comfortable neighborhood with lots of big oak trees - the perfect place to walk to charming little dogs. Abby and Bailey are their names and today we went for a nice, long, 2-mile walk around the neighborhood.

Abby is the scottish terrier - always ready for an adventure. Bailey is the Cavalier King Charles spaniel - happier to nap than anything else (she's more like me that way). Bailey has been putting on a little weight lately and I am going to work hard at getting her to walk with me so we can both get into better shape. Look at this gorgeous tree we saw today on our walk

Trust me, it was even more beautiful in person - vibrant colors! Total miles walked today: 2.

Total for the year: 4

New Years Day

Happy New Year - 2013 is here! The day was spent cleaning, organizing, and putting away. The tree came down, along with the outside decorations. What was left was a month of dust and dog hair because the house was so crowded with decorations, that it was impossible to clean around them. Furniture was moved, windows were cleaned - I know I probably burned about 300 calories. Then there was laundry - pillows and dog beds laundered, towels washed, clothes too. Plus, after going out to dinner on New Years Eve and eating at 11:00 p.m., I had very little appetite yesterday. A win/win in my book. Miles walked - oh, probably 2 back and forth to the garage/laundry room. Total miles to date: 2