Comments (20)

By kilax, March 31, 2017 7:51 am

1. Riding my bike outside (starting in March, today, with a ride with my dad)!
2. Seeing my family this weekend, and doing a 5K together.
3. Sending out a new newsletter for Essential Fitness that I’ve been working on.
4. Going to my coworker’s baby shower!
5. Handing out the fun treats I got for the “Easter” (it’s the day before) fitness boxing class.
6. Seeing Fate of the Furious with Steven (I bought our tickets this week)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Going to Texas for Luca’s sixth birthday!
8. Date nights with friends!
9. Gifting several birthday/a few other special occasion gifts.
10. Naps. Please. Let there be naps.

Ha, this list is almost always the same things, isn’t it?!

What’s on your list?

Comments (33)

By kilax, March 30, 2017 6:08 am

• Ha, I started this Random Thought’s Thursday (RRT) draft weeks ago! I miss blogging, but don’t seem to have a lot to say for single topic posts, so RTT posts (and other list posts, like what I have for tomorrow) are perfect for me right meow.
• The “On This Day”/Facebook Memories thing that pops up showing what I’ve posted sometimes makes me feel crappy because it’s a memory with someone I no longer spend time with. It’s normal and necessary for people to come and go in our lives, but I sometimes feel pained thinking about it. (I feel like this is also a reflection of how little I post on Facebook now, and how much less social I am.) Note, today’s “memory” does not fall in to that category!

• Another social media comment – I’m surprised how much I like Instagram, and am happy I figured out how to make it work for me. I’m also surprised some of the email requests I get to post random crap (usually infographics or links) here now write “and I saw on your Instagram…” Um, no you didn’t. It’s private. Ha ha. (I’m considering making it public but not sure…)
• Speaking of email requests to post random crap – I have a draft blog post listing all the things to NOT do in the email if you are trying to get me to post something. But the post is a bit snarky, even for me. So it’ll probably stay in the drafts folder.
• We’ve been watching Parks and Recreation during lunch break (it’s my first time seeing the show) and I loved the first few seasons, but the last two are just bizzaro!
• I’m such a grouch until I get my daily workout in. Which is a problem since I usually workout when I get off work at 4:00 pm. Ugh.
• Look at this cool PR bell they are going to have at the 5K I am doing Saturday! I won’t be going near it, but I think it’s awesome they have it! (I was originally hoping for a course PR, but that won’t happen with how I’ve been training!)

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 128

Comments (18)

By kilax, March 29, 2017 10:57 am

Last night I saw Journey in Madison with my fellow 80s music lover, Rachel!

Oh! And let’s not forget that Asia opened for them. Ha. I had actually completely forgotten. Bonus?

Kind of… we all know one Asia song – “Heat of the Moment.” They saved that for the end, naturally, so I spent most of the time wondering what I was listening to (I did get “Sole Survivor” stuck in my head) and hoping Journey didn’t sound as bad as them (mostly just the set up… and a little bit of the singing, ha).

But Journey came on and sounded AMAZING! They opened with “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” (here’s the complete set list) and played all their hits and only one song (“Chain Reaction”) I’d never heard before.

I’m someone who enjoys concerts the most if I know the music* so seeing my favorite “older” bands is perfect for me! And I also like that it means that the audience is older, and people are less likely to be on their phones the whole time! It was nice to look down at the audience and see only a few people recording/taking pictures the whole time, compared to Milky Chance, where almost EVERYONE was, and the musicians asked people to stop. At this concert, they actually asked us to bring our phones out for “Lights,” to use our flashlights in place of lighters. Ha. That was fun.

The whole thing was fun! There were three screens so you could see close-ups of the musicians, which I appreciated during the guitar solos. They also had some wacky 80s graphics they would overlay with the musicians on the screens, too, which made me laugh! Journey puts on a great show, and I would totally see them again! Although I do imagine Rachel and I will be keeping an eye out for the next 80s band to come by…

*it’s rare I like a song after hearing it just once, but if I do, it means it’s one I will be obsessed with and play on repeat for awhile!

Comments (10)

By kilax, March 27, 2017 6:49 am

I’m feeling totes productive this morning! Before 6:30 am I:

• Swam
• Figured out the last of MANY April birthday presents and ordered it!
• Got a lot of work done on a newsletter I’m putting together

I am going to keep riding this high before I think about all the stuff I need to get done for my day job and my night job today…

No related picture, but here is one of Khali and Data almost sleeping together! Awwwww.

Comments (4)

By kilax, March 26, 2017 4:08 pm

Highlight of the Week: Running in new-to-me locations in Indiana.

Monday | March 20, 2017: 12.4 m bike + 3.3 m run + teaching strength class
Indoor Bike Time: 40:05, Pace: 18.6 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, fun doing intervals
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 50°/52°, Time: 32:39, Pace: 9:51 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pissy
Strength: plates, Difficulty: easy (half observing), Felt: good, happy to have more students
Tuesday | March 21, 2017: 1,008 yd swim
Loc: FitNation, Time: 22:12, Pace: 2:01 min/100 yd avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but frustrated I had a headache
Wednesday | March 22, 2017: 7 m run
Loc: Lakefront Trail, Temp: 28°/29°, Time: 1:11:26, Pace: 10:12 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: surprisingly good (after a morning fall)
Thursday | March 23, 2017: 3.6 m run (incl. 1.5 tempo miles)
Loc: Monon Trail, Temp: 52°/55°, Time: 33:59, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy-ish, Felt: good
Friday | March 24, 2017: 3 m run
Loc: Keystone, Temp: 49°/49°, Time: 31:42, Pace: 10:34 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | March 25, 2017: teaching fitness boxing + 2.5 m run
Strength: dumbbells and boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Pine Dunes FP, Temp: 40°/40°, Time: 26:03, Pace: 10:25 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: sick to my stomach
Sunday | March 26, 2017: 10.6 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 45°/48°, Time: 1:53:09, Pace: 10:40 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great

Notes:

• I tried to plan ahead for being gone on a work trip this week, and do my Friday swim on Tuesday afternoon. I even took work leave so I could go swim! Then, I had a horrible headache and had to use some of that leave to try to nap it off. That didn’t work but I was determined to still swim. Um, yeah. The cap and goggles didn’t feel awesome on my pounding head. Lesson learned? Probably not.
• I felt better the next day and took the earliest train to the city to get a run in before work. And then I completely wiped out (carrying all my luggage for my work trip) at the train station! Gah! I landed on my hands and knees and my knees were feeling it right away. But, they didn’t hurt during any run this week, and I still got to do my run before work and see a great sunrise!
• And also, yay, I got to run twice while we were in Indiana! We had a really long (12 hour) workday our first day there, but I knew a run would be the only way to clear my head. And then a drink at dinner after. Ha.
• I was completely wiped from my work trip and didn’t think I’d enjoy teaching Fitness Boxing, but duh, of course I did! I really enjoyed my long run the next day, too. I ended up running an errand (returning a movie) and that made it more of an adventure, somehow.
• This week was really up and down for me, and I hope next week is more level!

Link to Training Week 387

Comments (6)

By kilax, March 20, 2017 6:23 am

The complete course for the day we’re riding of RAGBRAI (July 29) was published a week ago…

Look at those hills! Yowza!

I’m strangely excited about how challenging those climbs are going to be! To get ready for the hills, I’ll train in Wisconsin on somewhat hilly roads. I’m also riding with two blocks on the trainer at home, hoping that counts for something! Note: RAGBRAI is a giant party on wheels and pace doesn’t matter.

But… I’m also doing the bike portion of an international distance triathlon in June and need to work on my speed for that, while getting ready for those RAGBRAI hills! Luckily, the triathlon course is flat. I’ll keep doing intervals, sprints, and tempos on my trainer, and start riding outside in April! Woot woot! Can you tell I’m excited for more saddle time?

Comments (4)

By kilax, March 19, 2017 3:50 pm

Highlight of the Week: My longest swim to date and a strong finish to my long run.

Monday | March 13, 2017: 5 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 28°/28°, Time: 53:09, Pace: 10:37 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fine, annoyed with cars
Strength: plates, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Tuesday | March 14, 2017: 3 m run + 8 m bike
Loc: hood, Temp: 25°, Time: 30:48, Pace: 10:15 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Bike Time: 27:33, Pace: 17.4 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Wednesday | March 15, 2017: rest
Thursday | March 16, 2017: 5 m run (incl. 10×1:00)
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 35°/33°, Time: 50:48, Pace: 10:09 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: out of breath – lungs not over this cold yet?
Friday | March 17, 2017: teaching strength class + 1,806 yd swim + 4.4 m run
Strength: plates, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Loc: FitNation, Time: 41:21, Pace: 2:08 min/100 yd avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great to be back in the water!
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 39°/43°, Time: 47:08, Pace: 10:43, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | March 18, 2017: 10 m run
Loc: to outlet mall and back, Temp: 37°/38°, Time: 1:50:24, Pace: 11:02 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: steady
Sunday | March 19, 2017: 15 m ride + 4 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 56:29, Pace: 15.9 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but hungry
Loc: hood, Temp: 36°/37°, Time: 41:58, Pace: 10:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great, but hungry

Notes:

• We got ten inches of snow over Sunday night and in to Tuesday, so that meant Monday and Tuesday’s runs were on the boring, safer (less car traffic) routes. I was happy when the shoulders were clearer at the end of the week. And I am always happy that they plow the snow off of the trail where I do my speedwork on Thursdays!
• Gosh, speedwork kicked my butt on Thursday! They were shorter intervals, which makes them harder because I go faster, but my breathing was crap. I hope it’s just that I am still getting over my cold…
• But! On Friday I had my longest swim to date! I wasn’t planning on swimming that long, but I got to the pool early and was expecting a friend, and figured I would just keep swimming until they got there, then see how long I could go after they arrived.
• Saturday was my first double digit run this month. Eek! I’ve been so lazy! The run went well, but in the last mile, I rolled my left ankle really hard and severely overcompensated with my right knee. My right knee and right ankle (weird) felt tender Sunday am, but I was okay to workout, which is great because it was a gorgeous day!

Link to Training Week 386

Comments (11)

By kilax, March 17, 2017 12:00 pm

Or should it be “tails”? Ha ha ha.

• Khali still lives inside. Could she go back outside? Yeah, she’s probably fully recovered now. Do I want her to go back outside? No, I love having her little fluffy butt inside. Would Snow immediately try to have relations with her if she went out? Yep. We’ve let her out a few times and witnessed this.

Khali & Data

Khali & Snow during a sweet, non R-rated moment

• Steven has been working on an AMAZING cat house and finished it last weekend! I need to do a full post on it, but here’s a sneak peek picture of it. And Snow started using it right away, yay!

• I forgot what it’s like to live with a cat who eats human food. Data doesn’t. Khali does. We forgot about this, and Steven left half an enchilada on the counter Tuesday night. Hmm, guess who took a bite out of it and had salsa verde on her whiskers? And guess who pulled an eggroll out of the takeout bag last night? Ha. Also: we need to start cooking more at home again. Also: yum, the Chinese food leftovers are going to be awesome at lunch today.

• Gah, Data had an epic barf accident on Tuesday. I heard him starting to throw up while he was on top of a floor vent under his tower of judgement. I didn’t want him to throw up on the vent, so I moved the tower and he freaked the hell out and ran in to the kitchen… barfing as he ran. His total barf trajectory was almost the complete length of the dining room. It was horrible to clean up, but also somewhat hilarious, so I took a photo to show Steven. Don’t worry, I won’t share it here!

Comments (6)

By kilax, March 12, 2017 3:41 pm

Highlight of the Week: Running with Steve & Gina in KC!

Monday | March 6, 2017: 4 m run (w/Steve) + 2 m walk (w/Gina)
Loc: Line Creek Trail, Temp: 63°/64°, Time: 38:26, Pace: 9:36 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, out of breath on the short steep inclines!
Tuesday | March 7, 2017: 5 m run (w/Gina)
Loc: Line Creek Trail, Temp: 41°/42°, Time: 48:21, Pace: 9:40 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, a bit of chest congestion
Wednesday | March 8, 2017: rest
Thursday | March 9, 2017: 5 m run (incl. 4×800)
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 35°/35°, Time: 48:51, Pace: 9:46 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: strong, but challenged!
Friday | March 10, 2017: teaching strength class + 3.3 m run
Strength: dumbbells, plyo & boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, relieved the headache didn’t set me back
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 26°/25°, Time: 34:28, Pace: 10:26, Difficulty: easy, Felt: steady & strong
Saturday | March 11, 2017: teaching fitness boxing + 2 m run (w/Anne)
Strength: body bars, pads and boxing, Difficulty: easy (all observing), Felt: fine
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 21°/22°, Time: 25:07 Pace: 12:34 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | March 12, 2017: 15 m ride
Indoor Ride Time: 55:24, Pace: 16.2 mph avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, but sweaty and tired legs

Notes:

• I enjoyed getting so much walking in in Kansas City – both while we were out doing touristy things, and when going on purposeful walks. Sometimes I feel like all I do is sit around on vacation, and I am happy that wasn’t the case!
• This is the first week in a long time I haven’t swum! I was planning on it, by my cold moved from my chest to my head and I had a hard time breathing out of my nose. I didn’t want to go to the pool in those conditions! I also skipped a Sunday long run due to my breathing and body temperature regulation issues. I didn’t want to push it. Wah. And Sunday was such a nice day for a long run! Hopefully next week will be too.

Link to Training Week 385

Comments (5)

By kilax, March 11, 2017 5:40 pm

I’ve been to Kansas City every month this year! Craziness! In January we went to meet Baby William. In February I went with my parents and my maternal grandma, so my grandma could meet Baby William. And this month, we met Gina, Steve, and Luca there for the beginning of Luca’s spring break!

After all that, it feels odd not to have the next trip planned. Maybe we’ll go back for a Royals game this summer?!

We had a good mix of hanging out and being out and about on this trip. On Sunday, we went over to my snister’s to see her, Will, and William.

And on Monday and Tuesday, we played tourist! On Monday we rode the new streetcar,

and checked out the River Market, Crown Center, the Hallmark Visitor’s Center,

Showing off their Emmy for their show Steve & Steven

and Union Station. Luca loved the train exhibit at Union Station. And bonus – all of Monday’s activities were FREE! And surprisingly, after coming to Kansas City for years, I hadn’t been to any of them except the River Market.

Encouraging Luca to make the “honk” signal at the train conductors on Freight House Pedestrian Bridge

On Tuesday we went back downtown to go to the Liberty Memorial (there is a fee to go up in the tower),

View from the tower

to the Money Museum (free and they give out FREE (shredded) money),

and later in the day, to The Plaza.

We saw a lot! We also ate A LOT. A lot a lot. I think I should feel hungry again in a few weeks. Ha. Happily, we walked a lot when we were sightseeing, and we also went on walks from Steven’s dad’s house (where we all stayed), and went on a few runs. I was grateful to move so much – I feel like a slug if I sit around for too long!

It worked out that Steven’s brother, Andrew, got to hang out with us quite a bit on this trip, which was fun! And Steven’s dad was able to join us for everything (in case you were wondering who that guy was in the pictures, ha ha)! I love how our families blend together!

And I love spending time with my otra familia (Gina, Steve, and Luca). I’m happy they took time out of Luca’s break to go to Kansas City! Hopefully we’ll see them next month in Texas for Luca’s birthday!