Another . . .

. . . beautiful day, although still not the summer weather we deserve at this time of year.

The morning started as most of my work mornings start, let Sophie out,
clean the litter box, make a cup of coffee, pick up the back yard and then
take Sophie out for a run/walk . . . but for some reason I ran out of time
for taking Sophie out for the run/walk and I have no reason why that
happened. Does that happen to you? You have a routine, you follow it and
yet somehow, something grabs some time. I don't recall what happened this
morning, but there wasn't time left. So off to work on my bike.

So far in 2014 I have biked over 1,400 miles. Here is a graph of miles per month. Honestly it feels like so much more.

My friend Tricia and I got a pretty early jump on the bike season and started biking in March, while there was still snow on the ground.

While I did bike to work a couple of days in April, it wasn't until May that the weather started more consistently cooperating or I got into the commuting habit. Honestly, this is more dependant on me getting in the habit of biking to work than the weather cooperating! Like any new task or process, biking to work takes some time to develop the habit. For me, just packing my bag takes some getting use to, making sure that I have everything that I need.

At this point in the season, the entire process goes pretty smoothly, but early in the year, everything takes longer. I am extremely lucky because we have showers and a small locker room at work. I have the necessary shower supplies in my locker and this year I also leave a basic amount of make-up at work.

A couple of lessons I have learned -

• keep an extra pair of underwear at work,
• if you wonder whether it is too warm to bike to work in work clothes, it probably is . . . don't chance it and wear biking clothes,
• in case you absolutely FAIL and forget an important article of clothes I have a dress and sweater hanging behind my door in my office
• leave a light weight jacket at work, although it is generally warmer when you bike home, that isn't always the case, I have had several times when my commute to work in the morning was beautiful while my bike ride home was cold and windy.

From May through August I have biked to work 65% of the work days including every day of August! ;-)

Work, well it is work. . . .

After work I headed to a stretch class called 'Refine your Spine' - a super
relaxing and much needed stretch class primarily on the roller.

So absolutely relaxing.

Speaking of relaxing, what do you suppose this guy is thinking relaxing over the ledge watching cars, bikes and people go by? It is some sort of artistic creation looking out over the third floor of a building near my Pilates Studio.

Back on my bike and not only did I get stopped at one railroad crossing, I got stopped at two railroad crossings!

Enjoy the moments!

 

 

 

 

 

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Back . . .

. . . feeling much better.

My last post was a month ago on Feb 26. Wow, where did the month of March go?

I hurt my back, that's where it went . . . and I was lucky enough to be on vacation during the worst of it! I spent the week of vacation doing almost nothing between taking Vicodin and/or muscle relaxers to deal with the pain of a pinched nerve in my back.

The next week I was back to work and added walking the dog back into my morning routine and Pilates a couple of times a week. All this helped immensely. Each and ever week since then I have been attending 2-3 Pilates classes per week and have added running to my mornings.

This week my leg feels pretty good - I still have some numbness on the inside of my calf and have been thinking about seeing if an accuputurist can remedy this issue.

A couple weeks ago, on the 10th, we had a gorgeous beautiful pre-Spring day! Temps were in the upper 50's and my friend Tricia and I brought our bikes to work and got out for a lunch time bike ride around Lake Monona! We met up on the bike path and enjoyed 13 miles of joy! Yup, lots of snow still on the ground!

Since then we haven't gotten our bikes out again. I had hoped to bike to work this past week a couple of days when the high's were upper 40's, but the morning temp's are in the low 20's and that's just a little too chilly cold for me!

Recipes, recipes, recipes

Obviously dealing with a sore back/leg has meant that I have some catching up to do regarding recipes. My goal for the year is to cook all the recipes on Jenna's blog, Eat, Live, Run blog, HERE. Recipes, without reports or pic's include:

Southern Comfort Chicken and Biscuits - oh my, words can't really describe just how good and creamy and yummy this dish was!

Carrot Ginger soup - didn't sound too good to Todd, but he did eat it twice and was surprised that he liked it!

Winter Minestrone soup - good, hearty soup - can't go wrong!

Mini meatballs with Pinot noir sauce - They would be perfect for an appetizer, but worked well for dinner with mash potatoes and roasted asperagus.

So, I made 4 recipes in 4 weeks and have 107 recipes still to go in 284 days! That doesn't look that bad on paper, or screen, but I don't cook every evening! Heck, I am usually not home for dinner at least 2 or 3 times a week. Add every single recipe I have made produces left overs - which I love! So I have to get planning. There are about 40 weeks left in the year - so I need to average 2-3 recipes each week! I better double up a few of them, like soup and main course!

Off to morning Pilates, then shoe shopping for Todd and window blind shopping for idea's.

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Steamboat . . .

. . . a bluebird type of day!

Dry conditions set in on Wednesday, with blue skies and milder temp's. The previous days snow and clouds left snow laden trees on the upper mountain and beautiful vista's. If you look closely the trees on the upper mointain, that were in the clouds the day before are white with sticky snow.

The pictures are stunning!

 

After we were done skiing on Wednesday, we traveled down to Dillion, CO for more skiing. We got to the condo around 5, unpacked and headed over to Frisco for dinner.

Today we decided to take a day of rest. Our legs were tired and the added elevation is certainly noticeable. One of the many reasons I LOVE Steamboat is that the city and resort base is around 7,000 feet wih the mountain peak at 10,500 feet. We seem to adapt to that elevation quickly. But here in Dillion, CO the elevation is 9,000. That extra 2,000 feet is very noticeable when moving around and since both Vail (Friday) and Beaver Creek (Saturday) ski resorts are at higher elevation we thought we needed a break.

Enjoy the moments!

 

 

 

 

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Steamboat . . .

. . . still snowing! Charlie and I took Monday off to rest my legs and his back. He fell on Sunday and hurt his back - nothing worse than a sore back while snow boarding or skiing.

This morning we woke up to snow and wind. We were at the Gondola at 8:25, which is 5 minutes before they open so we waited about 5 minutes and then headed up the mountain and started our day on Heavenly Daze again. We did that run 3 times and then separated. I stayed on the bottom mountain area for some runs and then decided to head up to the top, hoping it wasn't as cloudy as it looked. The top of the mountain was in the clouds but as the lift got closer and closer to the top I realized that there was basically little to no visibility. I should have known it would be bad. I took it pretty easy skiing down because you couldn't see very well. At the bottom of the run, I decided to head to one of the mountain restaurants to warm up. By this time it was about 12:15 and the rest of the family met me at The Rendezvous.

Here is a shot of my son Joe in the distance.

We contined skiing and finished up around 2:30.

On the home front, we are having our base molding, window trim and interior doors replaced. We have been waiting for the crew to start for about 6 months. They had other jobs and we were not in a hurry. I was just thrilled to know it was off of my to do list. Anyway, they started this week. Here is a before shot of the hall bathroom door before and after.

As you can see we are replacing dark wood trim and hollow core doors with solid core white 4 panel doors and white base molding. I am enjoying our ski vacation but can't wait to see the results. Of course there are many other doors to finish and windows and base . . . the builders will be at the house for about a month. There will be plenty of time for me to enjoy it,

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Steamboat day 2 . . .

. . . was as good as the first day!

We woke up to about 6 inches of fresh snow.

 

Skiers LOVE fresh powder. We were up and on the mountain by 8:30 and headed up the Gondola and then down Heavenly Daze. This run is on the face of the mountain, along the Gondola line and overlooks the base area and city. We have discovered that it is great first thing in the morning - but extremely tough for me later in the day. It is a long run and the mountain face is (in my opinion) extremely convex, so it appears steeper that it really is. Anyway, down we went. With it still snowing, there was probably 7–8 inches on the mountain and boy oh boy is it tough to carve through the snow. It took all of my leg strength. I really tried to think positive thoughts - easy corners, move ski's together, don't cut on your edges . . . eventually I was down. Down in the snow, not down the mountain!!! Nothing hurt, just took a tumble. We continued down the run and headed over to another area accessed by another lift.

 

What goes up, must come down, so down we went. After a couple more runs, I decided I needed a break and decided to do a few green (easy) runs. My legs and confidence needed a break. I felt much better on the greens given the deep snow conditions. I like the blue runs (Intermediate level), but today, I stuck with the green (easy level) since they had been cleared of much of the fresh snow, leaving 2-3 inches, which is much more manageable!

Hooked back up with everyone at lunch. Here I am with Charlie before heading down. Then back out for a few more runs!

Dinner was at a local Mexican resturant - then back to the condo to relax and watch RonBurgundy. No matter how many times - it is always funny.

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Another New Year . . .

. . . To measure against . . . To enjoy . . . To live

We spent a quiet evening at home last evening. I made Turkey and Feta Stuffed Pepper - from Jenna's blog, HERE. They were really good. The recipe had enough filling for 5 peppers, so we enjoyed them again tonight. No pictures - we just wanted to eat them! Updated with a picture from Thursday evening when I ate the last pepper.  

They were very tasty and the feta really added some tang. I haven't made stuffed peppers for quite a few years and will be making these again.

Today we watched the Badgers play South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl. All the hoping and wishing that the Badgers would win didn't help! Another final game let down! Eventually they need to figure out how to win the final game!

At half time we made Buffalo Chicken Wonton's, yup, another recipe from Jenna's blog. Check them out here - they are great for a game! HERE. We have made these plenty of times before and they never disappoint. They are so good!

The cold weather has really settled in and is not giving us a break! Brrrrrr I think today's mid day temp was 10, but probably below zero with the wind chill. I was determined to get a New Year's Day run in, so Sophie and I headed out this morning for a little run. It was not even 2 miles - but a run is a run. This afternoon after the game we headed out to Token Creek for some snowshoeing. The trees helped to block the wind - Sophie had a great time romping in the snow, but had to stop to clean her pads and toes off constantly, they were full of ice balls. (I should have taken a picture of her feet) Sophie blends in so well with the grass and brush! She has a natural camouflage coat!

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Three Shades of . . .

. . . blue - every picture from this morning was cast in a blue hue.

Nothing exciting to fill the post - just normal Monday activities.

I woke up to wind and snow. I knew the wind was still blowing, because all night long I heard it! When I looked out the window, the snow was blowing horizontally! Yikes - I usually never run on Monday and figured this would be no different. So out the door Sophie and I went for a walk.

The morning was eerily blue from the falling snow.

The lake had frozen. It won't be long before the ice fishing begins! More blue.

Sophie loved the snow, running around and rolling at every opportunity.

This was the first real snow of the season. Last weeks snow fall was more of a dusting, while this mornings snow accumulated to a whopping 1 inch. You would not have known that it was only 1 inch based on traffic! It was crawling this morning - it took me about 30 minutes to get to work, when a "normal" commute takes 15 minutes. Work was so work like! I only had 1 meeting, which is extremely unusual - for example tomorrow I have 5 meetings! I actually got quite a bit done. Luckily by evening, traffic was back to normal.

On the cooking front, we had left over Broccoli Wild Rice casserole and it was just as good warmed up. There is plenty for tomorrow also!

Enjoy the moments.

 

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Snow, sleet, rain, wind, thunder - you name it - we had it

First, let me contragulate all of the Boston finishers.  I loved, absolutely loved reading your race reports.  ENJOY!

Flowers are starting to sprout!

Tuesday morning I headed out the door for 4 miles with Sophie - it was a light drizzle and 30 degrees.  The light drizzle quickly switched to sleet and then snow.  Just to remind everyone - it is April 19th - normal highs for Madison should be 59 . . . not mid 30's.  Oh well that is Wisconsin.  As I have said in the past - I love winter and I love snow - but not at this time of year.  My daffodil's are out - my tulips are up and almost all of my perennials are starting to grow and yet - this is what my yard looked like on Wednesday morning.  Enough complaining about the weather.

Tuesday morning we are greeted with this!

Poor daffodils

On to running.  I needed to switch things up a bit this week, just to keep things interesting.  Since I almost always run by myself and in the morning - at times it can get a little boring.  SO on Tuesday and Wednesday I ran in the morning before work and also brought my gear and ran on the treadmill at work at lunch.  Then today it was pretty nice outside, mid 40's and I decided to ran outside at lunch.  Changing the "normal" routine helps keep me motivated.


So what do I have planned next?  This weekend I am accompanying Jamie, of Running Diva Mom, HERE on her 4th 1/2 marathon of the year.  We are meeting in the morning and will be running an out and back course.  Although she runs faster than me, she graciously slows down a little so that it is manageable for me.  THANKS Jamie!


Then the excitement shifts to biking.  Next weekend I will be traveling to New York with 4 other friends / co-workers to participate in Bike New York on May 1 -  pedaling down 42 miles of car-free streets through all five boroughs, taking in views of iconic landmarks like the Empire State building, Brooklyn Bridge, historic Harlem, and the Statue of Liberty.  I am very excited.  Major road trip - at 55 years old, I would much rather fly - but we will be driving.  Probably pulling an all-nighter - Oh my gosh - what did I get myself in to?  It will be great and I know I will have a GREAT time.  What an experience - once in a life time - for sure.  Stay tuned - I will try to blog and post a couple of pictures from the road trip and the bike ride.  


I have tomorrow off of work and am sooooo glad.  I plan to turn my alarm clock off and wake up - whenever.  I know myself and I will probably get up / or get woken up by the dog or cat around 6:30.  But just knowing that the alarm is shut off and if I want to go back to sleep - I can - is a wonderful feeling.  

Cold and Snow . . . brrrrrr

Last week I was having problems figuring out how to dress for the cold - some days I was too warm and some days too cold. Well when I ran this morning things went much better. I think that once it is cold it is so much easier to dress. For this mornings 3 mile run I had wind pants with polar max tights underneath. I had my polar top on with a fleece vest and light jacket - hat and gloves. I was pretty comfy.

Tomorrow the forecast is for 3 inches of snow overnight with temps in the low 20's in the morning. This will be the first time we have gotten any real measurable snow fall this year. Looking forward to the snow. I should be able to dress the same as this morning and feel pretty good.

I have never run in Yaktrax's - but I am thinking about getting a pair. Any body have any experience with them? Seems like it would be pretty awkward running in them??

So here is the forecast for the next 6 days - I am heading to Chicago on Wed. afternoon for a 1 day conference - I love Chicago and would love to be able to do some shopping - but I am with a group from work and will only be there the one day. Check out the low temperatures on Wed & Thur . . . single digits. Brrrrrrrrr

Enjoy your life!

TONIGHT	TOMORROW	TUE	WED	THU	6-10 DAY
Snow	AM Snow Showers	Light Snow	Snow Showers/Wi- nd	Partly Cloudy	Extended Forecast
High: 33° Low: 25°	High: 28° Low: 21°	High: 30° Low: 29°	High: 29° Low: 2°	High: 15° Low: 3°