Category Archives: Exercise

by

Duathlon Success!

I spent Sunday morning competing in a ridiculously fun event. I competed in a duathlon, which consisted of a 5K run, 25K bike, and 5K run. So altogether, that’s about 6 miles of running and 16 miles of biking.

I had actually done this race last year. This year, I finished in 2 hours 17 minutes, which was 20 minutes faster than last year. w00t!

There are two other reasons why this race was exceptional this year. First, the weather was amazing. I couldn’t have hoped for better. Second, the organizers changed the bike route. It was so fun! I felt like I was 10 years old, zipping down the biggest hill by my parents’ house (underneath the train tracks). I can’t wait to do it again next year!

I hope you all had a fun weekend too! Today is rainy and I’m headed to jury duty. But the whole time I will probably be thinking about what a wonderful time I had on Sunday. 

by

Bonne anne!

Happy New Year everyone!

I am not one to make resolutions, but I find that this time of year lends itself to reflection and oftentimes course corrections.

One thing that has started to stress me out is the amount of Stuff in my house. There is too much Stuff!

And then, coincidentally, I caught a live webinar (the video is still available!) by Leo Babauta from Zen Habits about de-cluttering. What an inspiration! I can do this! I clean ALL the things!

So today, the first Saturday of 2012, I am awake early and I have already cleaned out one closet. (Um, the smallest one in the house.) I washed a load of laundry. I put away the dishes from the dishwasher. I wrote a blog post (!). And now I’m going for a run.

And after that? Maybe get rid of more Stuff!

You know, this year might be pretty good after all.

by

Bikers Are Awesome

The writer from My Roman Apartment recently shared this link to some awesome infographics about how biking is going to save the world.

If you love an infographic, check it out – you will be surprised. I certainly was!

I am inspired to become more involved with my local bike advisory council, which is working to improve our town’s  Bike Friendliness rating (from bronze to silver). And I need to spend some time this winter with my project bike. I want to put some miles on it this spring!

Ultimately, my goal is to be car free. I will get there, but it’s definitely going to take some major adjustments in my lifestyle. But I can see the results of changes I have already implemented (ie commuting via bus to work) are moving me towards achieving my goal.

Any one else striving to be car free or car lite? Share with me what changes you’ve made to achieve that goal. :)

by

Double Double Toil and Trouble; or, Making Apple Jelly

I had Monday off from work, so I only did things that made me happy!

It was lovely.

I teach fitness classes, so I substituted for a class on Monday morning. It was nice to get up and get the blood pumping early in the morning. Plus the extra cash will be nice.

I came home, made some delicious oatmeal, and got started on my apple jelly.

I used Honey Crisp apples from a local orchard. They’re delicious.

I had a lot of fun with it, until my apple juice boiled over. Yikes!

I think I saved it. Maybe.

The last step is to boil the jars so the lids seal. I love the pop sound the lids make! It makes me happy to know my little jelly jars are sealed properly.

After I made jelly, I watched some Mad Men, bought new towels for the bathroom, and made dinner.

I enjoyed my day off.

So here’s my only apple-jelly-making hitch. My jelly hasn’t set yet. :( It’s been 48 hours. Should I let it go and hope it sets? Or re-boil it and re-can it? I know some of you out there know what to do!

by

My New Slow Ride

I have this really nice, fancy road bike that I bought a couple of years ago. I like it. A lot. However, it lends itself to zippy tours through the countryside.

I was looking for another bike that I could use for leisurely rides around town – to the farmer’s market, to the yarn store, to the fabric store, to the grocery store, and maybe to a parade.

I trolled Craigslist for a while and even considered buying a new bike. I knew that I would modify it on my own with a basket, a Brooks saddle, and a panniers rack on the back. I just wanted a bike with a solid frame that was close to my house and cheap.

Then I found my new baby:

I picked this up about 10 minutes from my house, for less than $25. It’s a little rusty. The tires are flat. I think the brakes are shot.

But I think she’s perfect.

The paint is chipped and rusty, so the first step is to strip the whole thing down and re-paint. I am considering Kelly green.

Ultimately, I want to make a single-speed bike. Maybe even fixed speed. But I want to keep the cost low (except for the Brooks saddle). My timeframe is to have this ready for next spring.

I can’t wait to take her out for a slow, leisurely spin.

Have you ever modified a bike? You know, hipster-style? I could pretty much use any advice you would give me. Thanks.

by

Links I Love 4/17/2011

1) I made these Guinness cupcakes this weekend. With Bailey’s buttercream frosting. Amazing! I made a dreadful mistake – I only made a half batch (which made 14.5 cupcakes, BTW). Next time, I am definitely making a full batch.

I love that this recipes doesn’t have any weird, fancy ingredients. I was able to pull it together with staples from my pantry, except for the Guinness. But the Man picked some up for me after I twisted his arm. (Not true; he was buying Guinness anyway.)

2) I had so much success with those cupcakes on Saturday that I decided to make some more on Sunday. Enter vanilla cupcakes. Also amazing. I think I beat the cake batter too long, so the cupcakes had a heavier consistency, almost like a pound cake. But still delicious. I was able to choke them down. Especially with vanilla buttercream frosting.

This is why I don’t bake very often. Then I eat what I bake. Dangerous.

3) Someday I dream of bike commuting. I want to look as fabulous as this. (Check out the archives on that blog Bike Fancy. Definitely some good-looking cyclists!)

by

I got my groove back!

For right now, anyway.

For some reason, I haven’t felt very creative at all the past two weeks or so. I was in a bad rut of work, go home, eat, watch tv. Hmmm….

I’m not sure all of the reasons, but I’m feeling so much better now. Here is a random list of five things I think are contributing to my good mood:

1) It finally feels like spring! WITH more daylight! AND flowers blooming!

2) I am getting back to cleaning my house more regularly (following the FlyLady method, which really works for me…when I do it.)

3) Along with have a generally cleaner house, I have temporarily put away all of the creative projects I was working on. It feels great to not have the guilt of unfinished projects staring at me! When I get excited to work on them, I know exactly where they are.

4) I am getting back into my exercise routine. I am especially enjoying running and biking outside, since the weather is so nice.

5) Spending time with people who inspire me. I forget what an extrovert I am, and I really do love to hang out with people who “get” me.

Whenever I feel like I’m in a funk, I find it helps to just strip things back to the basics and re-build. Clean house, exercise, good company. It really is that easy.

What do you do to get out of a funk?

Postscript I am making a version of this quilt for a secret special project. I can’t wait to share it with you!

by

Links I Love 3/21/2011

I had a busy weekend and didn’t have my post ready this morning! But trust me – it was a great weekend.

Here are my links. Enjoy!

1) I can’t stop thinking about this post - mostly because I love cupcakes and biking. I want to bike commute someday.

2) I was able to get out this weekend and do some training for the duathlon. I am training roughly 70% of the total training program, but now that the weather is getting nice, I am looking forward to some quality time on my bike.

3) I am knitting this vest, and I love it! I want to have it done so that I can include it in my items for the Spring Palette Challenge 2011.

Happy Vernal Equinox (yesterday)! I hope your Spring is awesome so far.

by

Links I Love 3/7/2011

1)  I am excited to get my bike out soon. Soon. Hopefully within this month.

Here is an article that identifies how our culture came to fear bikes on roads. It’s an interesting read.

2)  Every TED talk I watch online impresses me. I love this latest TED Wish: use art to turn the world inside out. This French street artist JR is doing amazing art all over the world and changing the way we perceive one another.

3) This completely captures how I feel about my life right now.

by

Hyannis Half results and new training

If you have been following my posts over the past couple of weeks, you may remember that I ran a half marathon this past Sunday. I wanted to recap how that went, because hey – I ran a half marathon in February! 

The race day started out well. I woke up early, got all of my things in order, and arrived at the race about 50 minutes before the start. It was in Massachusetts, so the weather was always a wild card factor. I think we really lucked out – high 20s F or low 30s F with some flurries. Loads better than rain.

The race started promptly at 10 AM.  I finished in 2 hours 29 minutes, so about 11 minutes and 24 seconds per mile.  This was certainly not any kind of record, but I am happy that 1) I finished, 2) I trained throughout the winter, and 3) I am in good shape to start training for my next race.

I want to compete in a duathlon in May. After I gave myself a few days of rest from exercise, I set up my training schedule for that event. Filling in the calendar, I realized that I should start training this week. Perfect timing! I ran today and plan on getting in some good workouts this weekend, although it might be a week or two before I can get my bike out from the snowed-in shed.

Reflecting back on the race (and how sore I was afterward), I realized that I hadn’t weight lifted enough during training. So I actually have lifted twice this week, right on schedule with my training. I forget how much I love it!  It feels so good to have strong, sore muscles.

That’s where I am at. What do you guys do to stay in shape in the winter?  Anyone want to share their training stories?  Shout it out.

Oh, and Happy Weekend!