First let me just say I can’t believe the party that went down in San Diego this weekend at the Rock ‘N Roll San Diego Marathon & Half Marathon. Some of my favorite bloggers Pavement Runner and Run Eat Repeat along with new blogger on “da” block The Silent Assasin all ran today. And so did Meb! Again, I know i’ve said this before but running is only part of what makes race day so exciting.

Speaking of running….I went running biking again today #thelifeofaninjuredrunner!

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the bike and me are becoming besties =)

It was even more picture perfect than yesterday weather-wise. Yesterday was sunny and temperate but it was also super windy….I kept having to wipe off the sand that got blown into my lip-balm-slicked-lips. Gritty lips sink ships feel nasty. And my eyes kept tearing too. But today was calmer and just perfection.

becoming quite the biker beach bum

becoming quite the biker beach bum

Apparently there was a local 5k today and it finished on the boardwalk so I pulled over to watch for a bit. (After catching up on Instagram I learned that nycrunningmama ran it with her niece. It was her niece’s first race!)

one of the front runners

one of the front runners

Then I took the same route as yesterday and had a repeat performance photo shoot by the Verrazano Bridge.

OUTTAKE! I didn't give my timer camera app enough seconds for me to pose. LOL

OUTTAKE! I didn’t give my timer camera app enough seconds for me to pose. I guess that makes this awkward… LOL

photo 3-1

much better!

I biked 9 miles (in 58 minutes) and headed back to the car only to realized I LOCKED MY KEYS IN THE CAR!!!! They were still in the ignition! I calmly assessed……well, sunroof was open and i could see the keys…

took this pic thru the window

took this pic thru the window

But the sun had been beating down on the Jeep and i burned my hands when I tried to climb onto the hood to try and reach down through the sunroof. Ultimately, I knew i’d never reach down far enough anyway. My arms wouldn’t be long enough. So I sheepishly made the phone call to my friend Mike who happens to have keys to my home. He was out running errands but as soon as he could he went to my house and grabbed my spare car key and Duncan and brought them to me at the beach. All in all it was an hour that I had to kill until he got there. So of course what did I do? I kept riding the bike! Got 2 more miles in. Oh and I saw this woman riding with her dog in the basket. Unsafe…..but cute…..

photo 2-2

Once Duncan and my key were delivered to me (I owe ya Mike!) we went for a walk. A very short one because Duncan decided it was too warm out. (God help me come July and August if 74 degrees is too warm for him).

photo 3-2Once we got home I fixed myself a nice healthy lunch and Duncan pooped out on the sofa.

photo 3

Turkey, avocado, lettuce and tomato in a flour tortilla, some snap peas with hummus and pink lemonade in a wine glass just because

Turkey, avocado, lettuce and tomato in a flour tortilla, some snap peas with hummus and pink lemonade in a wine glass just because.

And now to get to why I titled this post the way i did:

1. I need to accessorize the bike (a.k.a. pimp my ride)

I need to find myself a water bottle holder and small bag of some sort that straps on (to hold my keys of course). And I think maybe when I start going farther I should have a tire repair kit. I can’t always rely on people to bail me out. Gosh I’m such a newbie!

2. I’m only human

As I start to get in the groove and feel more comfortable on the bike I am finding that I can get in the meditative zone as I pedal and just let all the crazy head movies play out. At the end of the day what gives me vitality and clarity is being outdoors and being active…breathing in fresh air, seeing nature and stepping away from my daily grind. I think the reason a human being can thrive well into their 80s and 90s is based on how active they stay. As long as I have been blessed with health and a body that can be active I will continue to do so in whatever way shape or form I can. Some of us aren’t as lucky. There are many people with illnesses and other challenges that are causing their bodies to slow down.

I can’t believe the weekend has come to a close already. And I can’t believe I got sunburned! I’m usually so diligent about sunscreen application. Today I flunked! Granted I didn’t expect to be outdoors that extra hour while waiting for the spare car key delivery but I’m still angry with myself.

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Well, I’ve got a pile of folded laundry that’s calling out to me to be put away so I leave you with this…

photo 5-2This what what I saw when I opened my eyes this morning….And yes that is a cardboard paper towel tube on the bed….Duncan took it to bed with him last night.

Please tell me about the time you locked your keys in the car or you locked yourself out of the house…I need to hear so I can feel better that these things happy to other people too. =)

 

Goodbye May. Hello June!

Yup, without fail there’s always a new month to begin when one ends. Time doesn’t stop. Life is a continuous journey. There might be some detours or very “slow lane” days but we’re always moving forward at some speed.

I’ve obviously had a detour with my tendonitis forcing me to sweat out the small stuff in a new way. Yesterday I pushed a little further and completed 13 miles for a new PDR (personal distance record) on the bike! (meanwhile I just saw in my Facebook feed that my friend Alex rode his bike 108 miles today. Cray cray!)

bikeroute

personal distance record on a bike.

I’m liking the bike but I really do miss running (21 days running without running!). Hoping that when I go back for my re-check at the foot doctor in 11 days (not that I’m counting or anything) I get cleared to start back again. In the meantime I’ll continue with the detour and look forward to cycling maybe once a week in addition to running once i’m healed =) Yesterday’s ride was really lovely. Some pretty pink flowers have bloomed literally overnight and they match my bike so well! And the sky was filled with puffy white clouds. I swear I can stare at clouds and see cartoon characters just waiting to be created….

midland beach

A picture perfect day in NYC

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VZ Bridge

visualizing this view but a red bridge and chrissy field below…8 weeks!

So May comes to a close with all of 8 running miles. Not exactly what marathon training should look like but hey—that’s life. Well, I did work hard on practicing carbo-loading ALL MONTH and have 5 lovely added pounds to carry around with me for a bit….hopefully just a few weeks because it’s making me sad and I hate when I get down on myself about weight gain. Phooey!

My social calendar for June will start off nice and quiet but will get quite busy come the second half of the month, so I’m just going to take it easy and enjoy a little loafing around the house. And so long as the foot cooperates I’ve got two 10Ks on the horizon this month. The Oakley Mini 10K and The Queens 10K. Definitely won’t be shooting for a PR though.

Today I’m going to shoot for a short bike ride and then do some major cleaning or napping….not sure how productive I feel like being =)

Are you being productive today or is it a lazy weekend for ya?

 

So I closed on my mortgage refinance this morning and then, to celebrate finally completing that “task” that’s been on my to-do list since 2012, I took the pretty bike for another spin, this time around my hood.

ready to take a ride through the neighborhood

ready to take a ride through the neighborhood

I completed 8 miles in just about an hour.

streetrun

It was much hillier than my last ride at the beach. And there were lots of traffic lights that I had to stop at. But I really enjoyed feeling the muscles in my body working and I actually was giddy to feel myself huffing and puffing up hills. I know I’ve lost a good amount of fitness this past month and I am getting excited to gain some of it back. It’ll make things easier when I’m finally cleared to run again.

In the meantime, I’ve made some realizations when it comes to biking:

1. I cannot believe how weak my core is. 

2. I find that I carry tension in my neck and shoulders while riding. Not sure if I’m leaning forward too much or if it’s just that my body is not used to holding on to handlebars for so long.

3. I don’t need to wear a sports bra which means they’ll get worn less and ultimately last longer meaning I save money. Cha Ching!

4. Ditto for my running sneakers! Double Cha Ching!

5. I found a new “cheeky” place to apply anti chafe balm =)

6. My neighborhood isn’t the best place to ride lately. Street resurfacing is in full effect!

roughroad

7. I sweat a lot less

8. The breeze feels AWESOME

9. My eyes tear and that’s even with sunglasses

10. Hills that seemed SO steep and long when running are actually not bad when biking. I actually kind of look forward to the uphills!

After feeling the exercise endorphins kick in I decided to dust off my Wii Fit! I was curious how long it had been since I last used it.

wiimii

Hello! 1570 day? That’s like 4 1/2 YEARS! Oops, my bad! Apparently I weighed about 137 pounds and had a “normal” BMI in 2010. And actually I was right about that in March of this year but today I weighed in around 145 and it said i am “overweight” :(. I take that with a grain of salt but regardless I decided to set a goal to lose 9 pounds in 6 months. I did some strength and balance moves and even some yoga poses. Just 10 minutes! I’m going to commit to doing 10-20 minutes 3x a week.

The doodle went to the groomer for his summer cut.

summercut

And now I’m sitting on the sofa thinking I actually want to go for another bike ride! It’s the most perfect weather here today and I want to maximize my day off to the fullest. But reality is telling me I better head to the grocery store. Alright! Alright! =)

So what’s the weather like where you live? It was 60s and sunny all day here. AHHHH! My favorite.

I remember in my 20s and even early 30s when a holiday weekend would come I’d look forward to sleeping late and sitting on the couch. That doesn’t happen anymore.

After getting up before 5 a.m. on Saturday to see my friends run the Spring Lake 5 and then spending the afternoon walking in the rain with the doodle I thought about sleeping in yesterday. But then I remembered I had my new bike and the rest is history.

lifeisgood

I got up at 6:30 a.m. and after a quick breakfast and a walk with the dog I put the bike in the car and drove down to the beach to really test out my new wheels (and my bike riding confidence). More »