Yes, happy New Year to everyone! We rung in 2009 at home watching TV, spiriting outdoors right at midnight to see and hear all the fireworks going off. I also got my traditional phone call from my brother in California, and we once again joked how he was 'so last year' because he's one time zone away.
So with a new year comes resolutions and all that. I decided that 2009 I will be refocusing my life on my physical fitness and specifically racewalking. It has always been a sort-of goal of mine to race in the National 5k in Tennessee held in October. However, I'd like to be in really good shape before even thinking about signing up for it. Even in the best of shape, I'd still likely come in last or darned near close to it, so I'd like to make the experience as least humiliating as possible. At least if I'm in really good shape, I can feel that I really did my all for that caliber of an event.
Today I hopped on my treadmill -- finally cleared off after a month of storing stuff on it from the kitchen remodel, which is still underway -- and did an easy 3 miles. I kept an even pace throughout the entire workout, no changes whatsoever. It felt great, no aches or pains, and didn't feel laborious at all. Tomorrow I'm planning on heading over to the Y in the morning for a weight workout. I think it's been exactly a year since I was there last. My last experience there was quite a doozy. I watched a woman on the treadmill in front of me lose her footing, have her feet fly out from under her and watched her land on her face. Then she rolled down the still moving belt of the treadmill, unconscious, before going into a full blown seizure, stopped breathing and starting turning blue. Thankfully, she was revived and was conscious and sitting up by the time I left the place. I was, and still am, very shaken by those images. Shortly after that lovely incident I came down with Valley Fever and the rest of my year was blown.
So tomorrow, it's back to the Y for a full weight workout. I expect to feel quite sore on Wednesday. I've decided on a workout schedule for this semester which should work out pretty well. MWFSu are racewalking/running days. TTh will be weight training days. Today I also discovered something fantastic! There is a full blown gym/rec center at ASU, with a swimming pool, available to me, FOR FREE!!! Since I am a student, I am automatically a member! Hot diggety! So after my class on T/Th ends at 10:15am, I'll simply walk down to the rec center, on campus, do my workout, shower there, and come home. They also have personal trainers (for a fee) and a massage therapist (also for a fee, albeit a very affordable one of $45/hr). I cannot begin to express how awesome this is for me! I can go workout, and not have to always go to the Y.
New also for 2009: stop procrastinating, or better yet, stop waiting for others to do things to start something myself. I've always been a rather impatient person. The world has always gone in slow motion for me. To me, it seems to take people F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get things done. So, I've learned to be patient, bite my tongue and not express my frustration over waiting, and not try to do everything myself. However, this has also led to some situations where, indeed, it would have been far better to take the reigns myself and just 'do it'. I'm finding that while I'm still able to hold my tongue, I feel more resentment towards people than I ever have in the past. So, for this year, I'm going to not be quite so patient, and learn to express my frustration in constructive ways. This might end up hurting some people's feelings, but I'm just tired of being patient ALL THE TIME. It's time for me to consider my own needs as important (not always more important, just important), and it's ok to 'light a fire' under someone else sometimes. This will also not leave any room for excuses for not getting something done, another bad habit I noticed I've started to get into.
For 2009: Enjoy what I enjoy, more often. Meaning, spend time on things that I like to do and wish to pursue. Photography, gardening, my degree, knitting, racewalking, traveling, skiing. All things that I haven't really been able to delve into as much as I'd have liked to in many years. These are the things I enjoy spending my time on and improving. Often life is unbalanced the other way: too much leisure, not enough focusing on responsibilities. For me, it's been the other way around and it's time to change that.
Onward, to a great 2009!
Showing posts with label racewalking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racewalking. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Week in rewind
Christmas week has come and gone, and I'm feeling relieved and melancholic about that. I love the holidays, but the stress, especially this year, can get to me. I had a really great Christmas and got way more than I expected. One thing I did get was a brand new camera! Yay! Finally, no more sucky pictures. So here are a few pictures from this week:
Our stockings were all hung by the fire...
Christmas Eve dinner in our empty shell of a kitchen, trying to be as normal as possible!
Our Christmas tree in the family room.
Capturing the water vapor coming off the pool one very cold morning (we had below freezing temps)!
Fun with my new camera, a Nikon D80.
That's me racewalking at the track yesterday. Filming is courtesy of my 10yo son and his new video camera!
Our stockings were all hung by the fire...
Christmas Eve dinner in our empty shell of a kitchen, trying to be as normal as possible!
Our Christmas tree in the family room.
Capturing the water vapor coming off the pool one very cold morning (we had below freezing temps)!
Fun with my new camera, a Nikon D80.That's me racewalking at the track yesterday. Filming is courtesy of my 10yo son and his new video camera!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
5 miles at the track
OK, I didn't make it out to walk the other day. I swear it's a conspiracy! Almost every day in the past 1.5 weeks, I have gotten up and dressed to workout. And then, BAM! Something major comes up, especially with the remodel, that totally derails my plans.
Not today. I got up a bit later than usual, but specifically planned ahead of time with all the work I completed yesterday, to get out there this morning. Geez, you wouldn't think it would take me 12 days to get in a decent workout!
It was a beautiful morning to be out there too. Sunny and very crisp/cool. I decided to head over to the high school track so I could easily take off my extra layers and mitts and not worry about carrying it all for miles. I popped in my iPod, and round and round I went. Five miles, very easy, in the beautiful Solstice morning. I finished in just a touch over an hour. With the way this year has been for working out, I'm surprised I'm still in decent enough shape to do that! Honestly, it hasn't been a great year for staying in shape (and unfortunately, the scale reflects that fact). I'm hoping that since this giant remodeling job will finally be complete (it's been more than 2 years in the making), and so long as I stay healthy (chances of contracting Valley Fever a 3rd time are truly remote), I'm really hoping racewalking and staying fit in general become the primary focus of my life once again. This morning's workout felt so good, so so good. I really didn't want to stop but, alas, things in life need to get done still and I needed to get on those things today as well. That won't ever change, but I'd like to think that I could squeeze in decent workouts more than once every 12 days!!
Well, off to finish the last of the Christmas gifts that I'm knitting. A pair of socks for my brother in Regia Superwash Wool. The pattern is called Retro Rib socks. Easy enough pattern to memorize, but more purling than anything else, and I'm not a big purl fan. I'll be glad to be done with this pattern.
Here are some other gifts I knitted this year for the holidays:
These are socks for my SIL. The pattern is called Nutkins, and they are knit in Prism Sock yarns, colorway Mojave. Great yarn!
This is my mom's Linen Stitch Scarflet and matching fingerless mitts in Malabrigo Yarn, colorway Col China. The buttons are hand made lead-free pewter made by Roosterick on Etsy.
Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
Onward!
Not today. I got up a bit later than usual, but specifically planned ahead of time with all the work I completed yesterday, to get out there this morning. Geez, you wouldn't think it would take me 12 days to get in a decent workout!
It was a beautiful morning to be out there too. Sunny and very crisp/cool. I decided to head over to the high school track so I could easily take off my extra layers and mitts and not worry about carrying it all for miles. I popped in my iPod, and round and round I went. Five miles, very easy, in the beautiful Solstice morning. I finished in just a touch over an hour. With the way this year has been for working out, I'm surprised I'm still in decent enough shape to do that! Honestly, it hasn't been a great year for staying in shape (and unfortunately, the scale reflects that fact). I'm hoping that since this giant remodeling job will finally be complete (it's been more than 2 years in the making), and so long as I stay healthy (chances of contracting Valley Fever a 3rd time are truly remote), I'm really hoping racewalking and staying fit in general become the primary focus of my life once again. This morning's workout felt so good, so so good. I really didn't want to stop but, alas, things in life need to get done still and I needed to get on those things today as well. That won't ever change, but I'd like to think that I could squeeze in decent workouts more than once every 12 days!!
Well, off to finish the last of the Christmas gifts that I'm knitting. A pair of socks for my brother in Regia Superwash Wool. The pattern is called Retro Rib socks. Easy enough pattern to memorize, but more purling than anything else, and I'm not a big purl fan. I'll be glad to be done with this pattern.
Here are some other gifts I knitted this year for the holidays:
These are socks for my SIL. The pattern is called Nutkins, and they are knit in Prism Sock yarns, colorway Mojave. Great yarn!
This is my mom's Linen Stitch Scarflet and matching fingerless mitts in Malabrigo Yarn, colorway Col China. The buttons are hand made lead-free pewter made by Roosterick on Etsy.
Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
Onward!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A banner day
Yesterday was quite the day here. All sorts of new stuff came in! I finally got my main computer back a little more than a week ago, all fresh and ready to go. They did have to remove absolutely everything, and reboot it all from scratch. Thank goodness I saved all of my files. So to really make it run better, I also bought a new RAM card, and a new wireless router. Installed the new router yesterday and, yay, the laptop now gets a nice strong, consistent signal out to the guesthouse. Considering we still have a couple of weeks to go on the kitchen remodel, and my older son seems to really like being out there, it was time to upgrade the router to accommodate that need.
But the really big stuff that happened yesterday was the installation of our new kitchen window and the sliding glass door!!! No more plywood boards at night! Take a look --
As you can see in the window, there is a passthrough so I can now hand things out to those outside directly from the kitchen.
It has been raining here for the past few days, and in fact, is raining hard right now as I type this. I haven't had much opportunity to work out at all for a week between the kitchen stuff, studying for my final exam (which was on Monday), playing catch-up with all the things I needed to do, and getting ready for Christmas. On top of all of that, I've been working on the upcoming racewalking clinic that I'm hosting at the end of January. So far, participant interest has been pretty high and registrations are coming in. I expect that after New Year's and then again after the Rock n' Roll marathon, there will be a bit of a surge in registrations as in previous years. It will be lots of fun to have all those participants at my home, and I'll certainly enjoy entertaining in my new kitchen!
OK, off to get the kids ready for school and me, ready to workout. Rain or no rain, I'm walkin'!
But the really big stuff that happened yesterday was the installation of our new kitchen window and the sliding glass door!!! No more plywood boards at night! Take a look --
As you can see in the window, there is a passthrough so I can now hand things out to those outside directly from the kitchen.
It has been raining here for the past few days, and in fact, is raining hard right now as I type this. I haven't had much opportunity to work out at all for a week between the kitchen stuff, studying for my final exam (which was on Monday), playing catch-up with all the things I needed to do, and getting ready for Christmas. On top of all of that, I've been working on the upcoming racewalking clinic that I'm hosting at the end of January. So far, participant interest has been pretty high and registrations are coming in. I expect that after New Year's and then again after the Rock n' Roll marathon, there will be a bit of a surge in registrations as in previous years. It will be lots of fun to have all those participants at my home, and I'll certainly enjoy entertaining in my new kitchen!
OK, off to get the kids ready for school and me, ready to workout. Rain or no rain, I'm walkin'!
Monday, November 3, 2008
A couple of workouts
I'm loving this extra free time! I was able to get a bunch of stuff done this weekend that I'd been putting off for a while (mostly cleaning, nothing exciting unfortunately), and still had time to study and knit!
But first, to get to the title of my post. I went out last Thursday again for a double header workout. First, I ran 2 miles before getting the kiddos off to school, then after they were gone, went out again for 3 miles racewalking, this time no backpack! I didn't workout over the weekend, but, this morning I did go to the track at ASU that I mentioned in my previous post. It was (and has been for the past several days) a bit warmer than it should be for this time of year, but I plodded out 3 miles in the morning sunshine. The track is made of some material I have not seen before. It doesn't look new so I don't think it's some latest and greatest material. It reminded me of Berber carpeting! Blobs of rubber rather than a uniform looking surface. It was smooth and worked fine for my workout, I'm just rather curious as to what it was! Surprisingly, I had the track all to myself for most of my workout. There were a couple of ASU track girls there doing 100m sprints when I arrived, but they departed right after I got there. Then there was no one. I thought this really odd since ASU is one of the biggest (if not the biggest in terms of student population) universities in the country. How could there be no one else out of a student body of like 70k that would be working out?? Maybe they all take the scenic route along the lake? Probably.
Anyway, again, my times were not great, averaging right around 12mpm. I think I'll start adding in speed work next week as my legs aren't fazed by these 3 or 5 milers. It's time to test out the lungs again, something I haven't done since before getting ill last January. I'm still very susceptible to having lung problems due to the Valley Fever, so I plan on taking on speed work cautiously. I'll let you know how it goes.
On a final note, don't forget to VOTE tomorrow!!!!
Onward!
But first, to get to the title of my post. I went out last Thursday again for a double header workout. First, I ran 2 miles before getting the kiddos off to school, then after they were gone, went out again for 3 miles racewalking, this time no backpack! I didn't workout over the weekend, but, this morning I did go to the track at ASU that I mentioned in my previous post. It was (and has been for the past several days) a bit warmer than it should be for this time of year, but I plodded out 3 miles in the morning sunshine. The track is made of some material I have not seen before. It doesn't look new so I don't think it's some latest and greatest material. It reminded me of Berber carpeting! Blobs of rubber rather than a uniform looking surface. It was smooth and worked fine for my workout, I'm just rather curious as to what it was! Surprisingly, I had the track all to myself for most of my workout. There were a couple of ASU track girls there doing 100m sprints when I arrived, but they departed right after I got there. Then there was no one. I thought this really odd since ASU is one of the biggest (if not the biggest in terms of student population) universities in the country. How could there be no one else out of a student body of like 70k that would be working out?? Maybe they all take the scenic route along the lake? Probably.
Anyway, again, my times were not great, averaging right around 12mpm. I think I'll start adding in speed work next week as my legs aren't fazed by these 3 or 5 milers. It's time to test out the lungs again, something I haven't done since before getting ill last January. I'm still very susceptible to having lung problems due to the Valley Fever, so I plan on taking on speed work cautiously. I'll let you know how it goes.
On a final note, don't forget to VOTE tomorrow!!!!
Onward!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
First Fall workout
Woke up this morning to find the temperature hovering at 50F!! Finally, Fall has arrived in the desert Southwest, even if only for a few days (we're expecting 90's again later this week). I got myself out there and completed a slow easy racewalking/walking workout of 5.15 miles. I was very slow, on purpose, as workouts have been inconsistent despite my best efforts to get back into a groove. I haven't done more than 3 miles since I don't know when, but this morning was the perfect weather. Surprisingly, I only saw 1 runner and 2 walkers out there this morning. Thankfully, no loose dogs today.
Oh yeah, and my new shoes finally arrived about 2 weeks ago!
Off to study and decorate the house today for Halloween. Maybe I'll bake an apple pie today as well.
Onward!
Oh yeah, and my new shoes finally arrived about 2 weeks ago!
Off to study and decorate the house today for Halloween. Maybe I'll bake an apple pie today as well.
Onward!
Friday, September 12, 2008
No sooner do I say it and it changes
The weather that is: after mentioning the lingering monsoon in yesterday's post, we had a dust storm/thunderstorm blow through yesterday from the west, changing the overall jetstream direction and, voila, dry and cool this morning. As in 69F cool at 6am!! Brrrrr! Well, not really brrrr, but very noticably cooler. We'll see how daytime temps are for this weekend with this drier air.
Made for a great workout this morning that's for sure. I completed my normal 3 mile route in 37:48 this morning. Not great time as far as past performances go, but good enough to be the fastest I've done this route since before I got sick in January! Wootness!
Tomorrow is a rest day, will enjoy the company of my knitting buddies in the morning and lots of homework in the afternoon.
And to keep with the thread line: My new shoes still haven't arrived yet. There. Now that I said it, maybe it will change!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Onward!
Made for a great workout this morning that's for sure. I completed my normal 3 mile route in 37:48 this morning. Not great time as far as past performances go, but good enough to be the fastest I've done this route since before I got sick in January! Wootness!
Tomorrow is a rest day, will enjoy the company of my knitting buddies in the morning and lots of homework in the afternoon.
And to keep with the thread line: My new shoes still haven't arrived yet. There. Now that I said it, maybe it will change!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Onward!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Just an update
I promise, I'll try to keep this one brief. I know my posts can be rather lengthy, I hope none of you that might be reading my little ol' blog mind.
So, since my last post a few things have happened. My in-laws were successfully moved here on Saturday. The transition has been a little bumpy, but pretty much as expected. My mother-in-law was not happy about being directly placed into the nursing home, as she claims no one told her that was going to happen right away. I know she was told this for months now, and obviously the medications she is taking is causing some cognitive problems. This of course, complicates the whole transition process, but it is what it is. Thankfully, it's a really nice nursing facility and I think that as she gets more used to the surroundings and the people there, she will have fewer problems/episodes.
I've also found some new drive and dedication towards my workouts. Having the Olympics going on right now definitely has played a part in that revival. Speaking of which, I just watched the Women's 20k racewalk last night and was really happy with the coverage from CNBC. Finally, some commentators who at least educated themselves on the sport, and made the race exciting and interesting to watch. For me, I could watch racewalking without any commentating, but obviously for others less interested in the sport, let's face it, watching 40 women racewalk an oval for 90 minutes is not exactly exciting. I imagine someone else feeling how I feel when I watch tennis. I love to play tennis, but can't stand to watch it. These commentators tonight at the 20k walk did their best to not simply constantly repeat themselves, and kept it entertaining with various stories of other athletes (I had no idea Claire Woods and her bronze medalist fiance were getting married 4 days after the closing ceremonies). Oh, and no snide remarks about the sport itself (yes, that's directed to you Bob Costas). So, kudos to CNBC!!! I'll be writing them a letter congratulating them on their fine commentary and coverage. I'd like to encourage you to do the same please.
On the knitting front (boy this update is getting long), not as much happening. Still working on my Dbacks socks, but I'm on the foot section of the 2nd sock and I'm hoping to wear them to this Sunday's Stitch 'n Pitch game at Chase Field. I'll post pics as soon as they are done. Also, making some progress, albeit really slow right now, on the SWTC cardigan. It's taken a back seat to the socks for the rest of this week for obvious reasons. We'll see if I can't pick that back up next week.
So here is my update on this week's workouts:
Did nothing over the weekend.
Racewalked at a slow pace on the treadmill on Monday for 3 miles.
On Tuesday, actually went outside for a 3 mile racewalking workout, then did 30 minutes of water aerobics in the evening.
Rested Wednesday just cause I had too many other things to do.
This morning, went outside again (!), for a bit of a faster racewalking workout.
Temps in the morning this week have been nice, right around 80F, and low humidity. It's still a little warm for my liking for a truly fast or high quality workout, but I'll take it!! My time this morning is the fastest I've done for 3 miles since June, so that's good. Tomorrow's plan includes 3 miles on the treadmill or outside at an easy /moderate pace. My new shoes are still not here!
Don't forget to watch the Men's 50k racewalk today on nbcolympics.com at 4:30pm (PT) . They will have a live feed of the event on the website, and then TV coverage will be tonight at 11pm (or midnight for some time zones) on USA network. Go Phillip!! Go USA!
Onward!
So, since my last post a few things have happened. My in-laws were successfully moved here on Saturday. The transition has been a little bumpy, but pretty much as expected. My mother-in-law was not happy about being directly placed into the nursing home, as she claims no one told her that was going to happen right away. I know she was told this for months now, and obviously the medications she is taking is causing some cognitive problems. This of course, complicates the whole transition process, but it is what it is. Thankfully, it's a really nice nursing facility and I think that as she gets more used to the surroundings and the people there, she will have fewer problems/episodes.
I've also found some new drive and dedication towards my workouts. Having the Olympics going on right now definitely has played a part in that revival. Speaking of which, I just watched the Women's 20k racewalk last night and was really happy with the coverage from CNBC. Finally, some commentators who at least educated themselves on the sport, and made the race exciting and interesting to watch. For me, I could watch racewalking without any commentating, but obviously for others less interested in the sport, let's face it, watching 40 women racewalk an oval for 90 minutes is not exactly exciting. I imagine someone else feeling how I feel when I watch tennis. I love to play tennis, but can't stand to watch it. These commentators tonight at the 20k walk did their best to not simply constantly repeat themselves, and kept it entertaining with various stories of other athletes (I had no idea Claire Woods and her bronze medalist fiance were getting married 4 days after the closing ceremonies). Oh, and no snide remarks about the sport itself (yes, that's directed to you Bob Costas). So, kudos to CNBC!!! I'll be writing them a letter congratulating them on their fine commentary and coverage. I'd like to encourage you to do the same please.
On the knitting front (boy this update is getting long), not as much happening. Still working on my Dbacks socks, but I'm on the foot section of the 2nd sock and I'm hoping to wear them to this Sunday's Stitch 'n Pitch game at Chase Field. I'll post pics as soon as they are done. Also, making some progress, albeit really slow right now, on the SWTC cardigan. It's taken a back seat to the socks for the rest of this week for obvious reasons. We'll see if I can't pick that back up next week.
So here is my update on this week's workouts:
Did nothing over the weekend.
Racewalked at a slow pace on the treadmill on Monday for 3 miles.
On Tuesday, actually went outside for a 3 mile racewalking workout, then did 30 minutes of water aerobics in the evening.
Rested Wednesday just cause I had too many other things to do.
This morning, went outside again (!), for a bit of a faster racewalking workout.
Temps in the morning this week have been nice, right around 80F, and low humidity. It's still a little warm for my liking for a truly fast or high quality workout, but I'll take it!! My time this morning is the fastest I've done for 3 miles since June, so that's good. Tomorrow's plan includes 3 miles on the treadmill or outside at an easy /moderate pace. My new shoes are still not here!
Don't forget to watch the Men's 50k racewalk today on nbcolympics.com at 4:30pm (PT) . They will have a live feed of the event on the website, and then TV coverage will be tonight at 11pm (or midnight for some time zones) on USA network. Go Phillip!! Go USA!
Onward!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Chugging along
Sometimes that is what it feels like when I'm on the treadmill. Just chugging along. Same speed, same cadence, same, same same. OK, so what can I expect on the treadmill right? It's by far my least favorite way of getting in a workout. Aside from the lack of scenery and fresh air, I'm always a bit anxious on the treadmill. I've watched people fall off of this thing, including one time earlier this year where a woman fell off and landed right on her face. She knocked herself out, had a seizure in front of me, and really scared me to pieces. I still have vivid recollections of those scenes every time I hop on the machine myself. Not exactly great visualization for a decent workout. I persist only because I know it's a temporary thing, and in the not-too-distant future, I'll be out at the track, or better, on the roads putting miles behind me.
So today's workout was again, a 3 miler at a consistent pace on the treadmill. My left hamstring is awfully tight for some reason (too much stretching the other day?), so I took it especially easy today. Tomorrow is an off day for cardio, so I'm hoping to get out to the canals on Sunday for a nice 6 miler. Pray to the weather gods for no thunderstorms!
On the knitting front, I finished knitting sock#1 of my Dbacks socks and need to get the black 'D's on them. I also finished the back of the SWTC cardigan. It's the largest piece of the 5 pieces that make up the garment, so hoping the remaining pieces go quickly. I really want to get it done and return it to SWTC to get this monkey off my back. My new sock yarns from San Fran arrived and I'm itching to get those on the needles. Also, I'd like to feel free to spend some time dyeing and getting my Etsy shop up and running before I start school again on the 25th of August.
My husband is in Maryland completing the final preparations for moving the parents here. They will fly here tomorrow morning. I'm nervous, anxious, and at the same time, feeling impatient for this whole thing to happen. I'm anticipating that the first several weeks will be chaotic and difficult. My hope is that things will go smoothly, but I'm not holding out hope for that. I just hope it's not any worse than what I'm anticipating. Time will tell.
Congratulations to all those who competed last weekend in Spokane at the Master's Nationals!! And also to all of the athletes at the Olympics!!
So today's workout was again, a 3 miler at a consistent pace on the treadmill. My left hamstring is awfully tight for some reason (too much stretching the other day?), so I took it especially easy today. Tomorrow is an off day for cardio, so I'm hoping to get out to the canals on Sunday for a nice 6 miler. Pray to the weather gods for no thunderstorms!
On the knitting front, I finished knitting sock#1 of my Dbacks socks and need to get the black 'D's on them. I also finished the back of the SWTC cardigan. It's the largest piece of the 5 pieces that make up the garment, so hoping the remaining pieces go quickly. I really want to get it done and return it to SWTC to get this monkey off my back. My new sock yarns from San Fran arrived and I'm itching to get those on the needles. Also, I'd like to feel free to spend some time dyeing and getting my Etsy shop up and running before I start school again on the 25th of August.
My husband is in Maryland completing the final preparations for moving the parents here. They will fly here tomorrow morning. I'm nervous, anxious, and at the same time, feeling impatient for this whole thing to happen. I'm anticipating that the first several weeks will be chaotic and difficult. My hope is that things will go smoothly, but I'm not holding out hope for that. I just hope it's not any worse than what I'm anticipating. Time will tell.
Congratulations to all those who competed last weekend in Spokane at the Master's Nationals!! And also to all of the athletes at the Olympics!!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
New Shoes
Haven't worked out since Tuesday. Have been having some major back pain since Monday's workout and still am stiff and in a fair bit of pain.
As I was putting on my shoes on Tuesday, I realized that the bottom of the shoe is peeling off. Geez, I thought, they aren't that old yet are they?? I checked and well, I did buy these back in December or January. That's not really that long ago considering the meager miles I've done this year, but apparently, long enough ago to have my shoes falling apart. I guess wearing them during our 10 day vacation didn't help out either. I'm not sure if the back pain and the shoe condition are actually related, but in any case, new shoes were obviously in order. So I await their arrival while I take NSAID's for the pain and inflammation and get massaged regularly from my very supportive husband.
Even knitting is suffering due to this back pain. I just can't sit in one position very long without feeling pretty uncomfortable. I'm working on a few projects, but not making as much headway on anything. Kinda stinks as almost everything I want to work on are Christmas presents and I feel a little bit of pressure to get through them more quickly. Oh well.
So, not much actually happening here.
Other than that, I'm enjoying watching the Olympics, particularly on our new HDTV! I've discovered how to connect our laptop to the TV so I can watch streaming videos of the events that don't get shown in full on the TV broadcasts. I'm hoping I can catch the full racewalks this way as well!! GO USA!!!
As I was putting on my shoes on Tuesday, I realized that the bottom of the shoe is peeling off. Geez, I thought, they aren't that old yet are they?? I checked and well, I did buy these back in December or January. That's not really that long ago considering the meager miles I've done this year, but apparently, long enough ago to have my shoes falling apart. I guess wearing them during our 10 day vacation didn't help out either. I'm not sure if the back pain and the shoe condition are actually related, but in any case, new shoes were obviously in order. So I await their arrival while I take NSAID's for the pain and inflammation and get massaged regularly from my very supportive husband.
Even knitting is suffering due to this back pain. I just can't sit in one position very long without feeling pretty uncomfortable. I'm working on a few projects, but not making as much headway on anything. Kinda stinks as almost everything I want to work on are Christmas presents and I feel a little bit of pressure to get through them more quickly. Oh well.
So, not much actually happening here.
Other than that, I'm enjoying watching the Olympics, particularly on our new HDTV! I've discovered how to connect our laptop to the TV so I can watch streaming videos of the events that don't get shown in full on the TV broadcasts. I'm hoping I can catch the full racewalks this way as well!! GO USA!!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Some WIPs and Fos
Here are some promised pictures of some projects.
These are my finished Mirrored Nutkins in my own handdyed/handpainted yarn. This colorway is called Indian Summer.
These are the Retro Rib Socks I'm making for my brother-in-law In Regia Color Stretch. I don't remember the colorway. They are hibernating for a few weeks while I work on the next 2 projects pictured.
These are for my Diamondback socks. I'm about halfway down the leg of sock#1 right now. This is also handdyed yarn.
This is the SWTC Jaded Rib Cardigan done in their Therapi yarn. Don't love knitting cardi's but do love this yarn.
I've got a 3 mile workout planned for today, but since it is already 9am, I will be hitting the treadmill or pool running again for that. Last night we had some easy, rolling thunderstorms come through our area and this morning, while cooler, is very humid. Of course, the sky is clear this morning and the sun is just blazing down so an indoor workout is in order. About another month and I should be able to consistently be outside again for workouts!
Tonight, husband and I are buying a new TV!! Just in time for the Olympics too!! When my in-laws move here next week, one of our TV's will need to be moved into the guest house for my father-in-law. The most obvious one is the one in our kitchen due to it's size. Since we will be remodeling the kitchen starting in October, we had already planned on buying a nice HDTV to replace the one in the kitchen anyway. However, with the start of the Olympics, I told Mr. Kneedle that we should go ahead and get it now rather than wait until next week when his father arrives. Yippee!!
Onward!
These are my finished Mirrored Nutkins in my own handdyed/handpainted yarn. This colorway is called Indian Summer.
These are the Retro Rib Socks I'm making for my brother-in-law In Regia Color Stretch. I don't remember the colorway. They are hibernating for a few weeks while I work on the next 2 projects pictured.
These are for my Diamondback socks. I'm about halfway down the leg of sock#1 right now. This is also handdyed yarn.
This is the SWTC Jaded Rib Cardigan done in their Therapi yarn. Don't love knitting cardi's but do love this yarn.
I've got a 3 mile workout planned for today, but since it is already 9am, I will be hitting the treadmill or pool running again for that. Last night we had some easy, rolling thunderstorms come through our area and this morning, while cooler, is very humid. Of course, the sky is clear this morning and the sun is just blazing down so an indoor workout is in order. About another month and I should be able to consistently be outside again for workouts!
Tonight, husband and I are buying a new TV!! Just in time for the Olympics too!! When my in-laws move here next week, one of our TV's will need to be moved into the guest house for my father-in-law. The most obvious one is the one in our kitchen due to it's size. Since we will be remodeling the kitchen starting in October, we had already planned on buying a nice HDTV to replace the one in the kitchen anyway. However, with the start of the Olympics, I told Mr. Kneedle that we should go ahead and get it now rather than wait until next week when his father arrives. Yippee!!
Onward!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Today is a rest day. At least on the workout front of my life it is. Yesterday's workout consisted of 3 miles on the treadmill, racewalking at about 4mph, but at a 2.0 incline. I've decided that Tuesdays and Saturdays will be my off days due to my rapidly approaching start of school on August 25th. I have to work around my school schedule, and I think those days are best. I can hardly believe the summer is over already! My kids start school next Monday! Ack! I'm not ready!
I am, however, looking forward to watching the Olympics which start this Friday. As a child, I loved watching the gymnastics events the most. I was a gymnast until I was 14, at which time I managed to break my hand twice and rip my knee innards apart in the course of 1 year. I pretty much decided after that that my body just couldn't handle it anymore. I was a pretty good gymnast despite the fact that I was so tall. The only event I couldn't do was the uneven parallel bars. I was so tall that you couldn't get the bars far enough apart for me and still have the lower bar at a high enough height for me to not hit the ground when I hung from it. It was my favorite event to watch, so I was very disappointed when I discovered that I couldn't actually compete in that event.
I still enjoy the gymnastics, but of course, nowadays, I really enjoy watching track & field, and especially the racewalks. It looks like this year, NBC will have highlights of the racewalks rather than showing the entire event live. What a shame! And not even during prime time (which is when the races are actually occurring for those of us on the West Coast of the US), but rather, sometime between 11pm and 1am or something like that. I know race walking is a bit of an obscure sport here in the US, but come on, this is the Olympics! Can't they show all of the events live or at least in full at some point in time?? Sheesh... I know marketing talks, but can't we put capitalism aside for the Olympic games! Please.
Oh well, guess I'll have to try to catch glimpses of Joanne, Phillip and Kevin (our 3 US race walkers) during time-outs of the basketball game.
Knitting wise, I'm still chugging along on the back of the SWTC Cardigan, although now I'm a bit more than halfway done with that piece. Hoping that switching to stockinette stitch will speed things up and I can get it done today. I'm taking the kids to see "Get Smart" today, so maybe I'll take it with me. I've not yet tried knitting at the movies, but can't hurt to try right?
I've also put aside the Retro Rib Socks for a short time so I can cast on my Diamondback socks. It's really simple: I dyed my own yarn in a color that is as close to Sedona Red as I can get, and will knit simple stockinette socks. Then I'll double stitch the 'D' symbol down the leg once they are done. I'd like to get these at least started and maybe almost finished for the Stitch n Pitch game here on the 24th.
So that's it for today, hope you all are having a great day and a great week!
Next post: new pics of the Nutkins, and maybe some WIPs as well.
Onward!
I am, however, looking forward to watching the Olympics which start this Friday. As a child, I loved watching the gymnastics events the most. I was a gymnast until I was 14, at which time I managed to break my hand twice and rip my knee innards apart in the course of 1 year. I pretty much decided after that that my body just couldn't handle it anymore. I was a pretty good gymnast despite the fact that I was so tall. The only event I couldn't do was the uneven parallel bars. I was so tall that you couldn't get the bars far enough apart for me and still have the lower bar at a high enough height for me to not hit the ground when I hung from it. It was my favorite event to watch, so I was very disappointed when I discovered that I couldn't actually compete in that event.
I still enjoy the gymnastics, but of course, nowadays, I really enjoy watching track & field, and especially the racewalks. It looks like this year, NBC will have highlights of the racewalks rather than showing the entire event live. What a shame! And not even during prime time (which is when the races are actually occurring for those of us on the West Coast of the US), but rather, sometime between 11pm and 1am or something like that. I know race walking is a bit of an obscure sport here in the US, but come on, this is the Olympics! Can't they show all of the events live or at least in full at some point in time?? Sheesh... I know marketing talks, but can't we put capitalism aside for the Olympic games! Please.
Oh well, guess I'll have to try to catch glimpses of Joanne, Phillip and Kevin (our 3 US race walkers) during time-outs of the basketball game.
Knitting wise, I'm still chugging along on the back of the SWTC Cardigan, although now I'm a bit more than halfway done with that piece. Hoping that switching to stockinette stitch will speed things up and I can get it done today. I'm taking the kids to see "Get Smart" today, so maybe I'll take it with me. I've not yet tried knitting at the movies, but can't hurt to try right?
I've also put aside the Retro Rib Socks for a short time so I can cast on my Diamondback socks. It's really simple: I dyed my own yarn in a color that is as close to Sedona Red as I can get, and will knit simple stockinette socks. Then I'll double stitch the 'D' symbol down the leg once they are done. I'd like to get these at least started and maybe almost finished for the Stitch n Pitch game here on the 24th.
So that's it for today, hope you all are having a great day and a great week!
Next post: new pics of the Nutkins, and maybe some WIPs as well.
Onward!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
For more pictures....
of our train trip... rather than post them all here... take a look at my Flickr page... a link is on the right hand side of the page. They are all in a set labeled "California Train Trip" (or something like that). I'm still not done uploading them all, still have about 100 pictures to get in there, but there's plenty to see already, hope you enjoy them!
On the knitting front, I've finished one of my Mirrored Nutkins and now feverishly working sock #2. Have yet to start the SWTC cardigan, but perhaps will cast on for that sometime today. The cardigan is knit up in their luscious new yarn called "Therapi". It's a wool/silk blend, with some jadeite in it also. Really is lovely yarn to work with (when is silk not lovely to work with). Does split ever so slightly once in a while, but really not often. It doesn't felt well, but can be spit spliced (someone explain that to me). I'll post some pics later this week if I do cast on so you all can take a look-see.
So the next few weeks will be very busy here in the Kneedler's household: recouping from our trip; school starting for the kids on the 11th; starting up my business; and my in-laws will be moving here from Maryland. My mother-in-law has been suffering from Parkinson's for the past 15-16 years, so she will be moving into assisted living or a nursing home. My father-in-law will be living in our guest house for the time being, although I suspect that won't last more than a year or so due to his recently degrading health as well. Thank G-d for knitting and racewalking to keep me some sanity, I could use all the help I can get!!
Speaking of racewalking, that has been missing a bit in my life this past month. Honestly, I think I've walked once so far this month. With the vacations, there just wasn't much opportunity or time, so that has fallen by the wayside for several weeks. But I knew that would happen, and now that we're home again, I'm ready to get my training up and running again. It's very hot here this week, and workouts will need to be very early in the morning. I'm thinking I should start with some 30-60 minute workouts in the pool instead with the flotation belt on. Pool running is a great alternative here in the desert when 'quality' road workouts are nonexistent once it gets too warm (which is anytime after about 8am). I'm looking forward to going to Dave's advanced camp in October, so I better get my butt in gear for that. Then in late January, I'm hosting a regular racewalking clinic here at my home. If you're interested in learning to racewalk, Dave's weekender clinics are second to none. See his website here to learn more: Dave's World Class Racewalking
Back in May I had mentioned that the kids and I were looking to lose weight over the summer. I'm happy to report that we were successful!! I lost about 10lbs, my older Boy lost something like 15lbs or maybe more, and the younger boy lost about 8lbs. Not a huge amount on the grand scale of things, but definitely steps in the right direction. Surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight on vacation despite eating crap pretty much the whole time (although we did make efforts to control portions and make smart food decisions). I guess all that walking around and lugging around the huge duffle bags and backpacks all the time helped out too. Yay again for train travel!!
Lastly, just wanted to mention again how cool it was to travel by train. Not only did we get to see scenery not available from the concrete highway, but it was actually a very eco-conscious mode of travel. It is 17% more efficient than air travel, and 21% more efficient that traveling by car - on a per passenger per mile basis. Awesome!! In addition, when in our various locations, we used the local mass transit, especially in San Francisco, every chance we could. We rarely sat in a car for the entire 10 days, which is awesome for a family vacation for 4 covering more than 1000 miles.
I found that using an Amtrak pass was the most economical as well, and highly recommend that anyone thinking of traveling via rail consider getting one. One price covers all your rail needs over a set period of days. And it's usually far cheaper than buying each rail ticket on its own. Check it out here: Amtrak passes
Onward.......
On the knitting front, I've finished one of my Mirrored Nutkins and now feverishly working sock #2. Have yet to start the SWTC cardigan, but perhaps will cast on for that sometime today. The cardigan is knit up in their luscious new yarn called "Therapi". It's a wool/silk blend, with some jadeite in it also. Really is lovely yarn to work with (when is silk not lovely to work with). Does split ever so slightly once in a while, but really not often. It doesn't felt well, but can be spit spliced (someone explain that to me). I'll post some pics later this week if I do cast on so you all can take a look-see.
So the next few weeks will be very busy here in the Kneedler's household: recouping from our trip; school starting for the kids on the 11th; starting up my business; and my in-laws will be moving here from Maryland. My mother-in-law has been suffering from Parkinson's for the past 15-16 years, so she will be moving into assisted living or a nursing home. My father-in-law will be living in our guest house for the time being, although I suspect that won't last more than a year or so due to his recently degrading health as well. Thank G-d for knitting and racewalking to keep me some sanity, I could use all the help I can get!!
Speaking of racewalking, that has been missing a bit in my life this past month. Honestly, I think I've walked once so far this month. With the vacations, there just wasn't much opportunity or time, so that has fallen by the wayside for several weeks. But I knew that would happen, and now that we're home again, I'm ready to get my training up and running again. It's very hot here this week, and workouts will need to be very early in the morning. I'm thinking I should start with some 30-60 minute workouts in the pool instead with the flotation belt on. Pool running is a great alternative here in the desert when 'quality' road workouts are nonexistent once it gets too warm (which is anytime after about 8am). I'm looking forward to going to Dave's advanced camp in October, so I better get my butt in gear for that. Then in late January, I'm hosting a regular racewalking clinic here at my home. If you're interested in learning to racewalk, Dave's weekender clinics are second to none. See his website here to learn more: Dave's World Class Racewalking
Back in May I had mentioned that the kids and I were looking to lose weight over the summer. I'm happy to report that we were successful!! I lost about 10lbs, my older Boy lost something like 15lbs or maybe more, and the younger boy lost about 8lbs. Not a huge amount on the grand scale of things, but definitely steps in the right direction. Surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight on vacation despite eating crap pretty much the whole time (although we did make efforts to control portions and make smart food decisions). I guess all that walking around and lugging around the huge duffle bags and backpacks all the time helped out too. Yay again for train travel!!
Lastly, just wanted to mention again how cool it was to travel by train. Not only did we get to see scenery not available from the concrete highway, but it was actually a very eco-conscious mode of travel. It is 17% more efficient than air travel, and 21% more efficient that traveling by car - on a per passenger per mile basis. Awesome!! In addition, when in our various locations, we used the local mass transit, especially in San Francisco, every chance we could. We rarely sat in a car for the entire 10 days, which is awesome for a family vacation for 4 covering more than 1000 miles.
I found that using an Amtrak pass was the most economical as well, and highly recommend that anyone thinking of traveling via rail consider getting one. One price covers all your rail needs over a set period of days. And it's usually far cheaper than buying each rail ticket on its own. Check it out here: Amtrak passes
Onward.......
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