A Whole Mile

Just like I thought, when our friend came into town, the running was put on hold. We got a fair amount of exercise from running around DC and going tubing all day, but we also took in an unbelievable amount of beer calories.

Yesterday I decided that I was taking too long to get back into it, so when we went to the gym I jumped on the treadmill. I ran my ass off for a full mile, which I was pretty excited about. There is some improvement there! When I go to the gym again this week, I will try to go 1.2 miles without stopping.

There is good news from the sundress front. I was digging through my closet for some clothes (but they were all in the laundry, because my housecleaning goes the way of my running when I have guests) and I came across a blue sundress that I bought for our wedding rehearsal dinner four years ago. In fact, it was exactly four years ago to the day. Our dinner was on July 19th, 2004 and I tried the dress on on Saturday, July 19! Ha ha... weird.

Anyway, I put on the dress and it looks great! Better than it did four years ago! After a little shoulder tanning and a pedicure, I will be ready to show it off.

The Joy of Icing Calves

My first day of running left me a little beat up for the next two days. I had no idea that my calves would give out on me like that! After a night of Tiger Balm, tons of water and stretching and bags of frozen vegetables, I was much better.

Yesterday Ashley and I went for our first run together. We went down to the George Washington Parkway since it is flat and beautiful and it has mile markers. We started our running and walked when we got tired. We went about three miles like that, and I was exhausted by the time we got back to the car.

I was more discouraged by the end of this run than I was the first time. It seemed to tire me out more and I think that is because 1) it was after a full day of work and 2) my legs were still recouping from my first-ever run on Monday morning. I learned a less this time and went home and immediately stretched and iced my calves. They feel much better this morning.

It was great having someone to run with. It was less boring and I pushed myself more. I did not want to stop running too early, so I would go just a little farther than I wanted to. It was also much easier for me to go on the run in the first place. We planned on going, and I didn't want to wuss out on her.

My next step is to find a 5K that we are both interested in running. I am thinking that it should be two months out. I am confident that we can train to run a full 3.1 miles by the end of August. Then we can move up to bigger races, like a 5 mile, then 10 mile. I am not going to think any farther out than that.

My friend is in town for the next two weeks, so it will be difficult to work my runs into this altered schedule. I just started, so it is way too soon to lose this spurt of motivation!

Day One: Strangely Nervous

It turns out that I am afraid of running. I have never been very successful at it in the past. Usually I put on my workout clothes, then go sprint until I can't move anymore and don't try it again for a very long time. There were a lot of things that I have done wrong in the past, so this time I am trying to be a little more prepared.

Before I went to sleep last night I told myself that I needed to get up this morning and go on my first run. No sleeping in, no hangover, no excuses. Apparently I made myself so anxious that I kept waking up during the night and looking at my clock. It was that same feeling I get when I am starting a new job or taking someone to the airport and I am terrified of being late.

The sixth time I woke up it was finally 6:30. I threw on some yoga pants and running shoes and my MP3 player, drank some water then left the house. My expectations were pretty grim. I figured that I would run past three houses, then stop to walk. Hopefully I could do that for twenty minutes, then crawl back home. Instead, I started running right out of the door and ran all of the way to the park that is about 7/10 of a mile from my house. I rested for a minute, then alternated walking and running back home. (I mostly walked up the hills and ran on the flat part. Running up hills is not fun.)

I am definitely not sprinting at this point, but I am not jogging either. Somewhere in between. And I don't totally suck at it! 7/10 of a mile right off is not bad for someone who doesn't run EVER.

So overall, I feel pretty great about my first day running. Not only did it burn some calories, but it also got me out of bed and moving early on. I ran off sleepiness and a faint hangover. I haven't been as tired and lazy today, and I drank much more water than i usually do. When it came time for lunch, I wanted something healthy because I did not want to undo the work I did this morning. If I can keep this up, I will be in summer dresses in no time.

How Summer Dresses Convinced Me To Run

Like anyone out there, I want to change some things about my body. Quite a few things, actually. Mainly, I want to be smaller. I enjoy going to the gym and playing with the weights, and I really love riding my bike around. I get a fair amount of exercise, and I have lost weight in the past six months, but there is so much more that can be done.

No style of clothing has made me want to lose weight more than this year's summer dress trend. I love the dresses! There are so many styles and colors and they look so lightweight and comfortable and sexy! I am sure I could find a dress or two that looks good on me, but I want options! I want to feel comfortable in the dress and know it looks great. In order to get to that point, I have some work to do.

I decided that the best way for me to amp up my (not very substantial) cardio workout will be to start running. That is something that I have always been terrible at, and I have always wanted to get into. I don't see many overweight runners... that's gotta tell you something.

Today marks the first day of my cardio campaign. Stay tuned to find out how it goes.

Fifteen Minutes of Absurdity

Today while I was radio surfing I heard a voice that makes me flinch. I decided to stop and listen for a minute, because he manages to get me so worked up sometimes that it is like a mini cardio workout.

On Rush's program he talked about how there is no explaining the idea of liberalism the same way there is no way to explain crazy. We are deranged. A boy called in and suggested that we sign on to the idea of global warming because we are putting our own fear of death onto the Earth. We are so self important that we believe that our life is tied into the Earth, therefore killing the Earth is like killing us.

Why is it so easy for Rush to say these things and stay at the top of the charts? Why do people listen to his gasps for breath between words and his grating voice and raspy chortles? I understand that there are loud members of the fringe on both sides, but it is disappointing that some of them manage to gather a large audience.

So, for all of you who, like me, believe in... no... understand the science behind global warming, rest assured that someone out there understands that your true purpose is to save yourself. I mean, after all, we are just deranged. There is no way to explain the insanity that is liberalism, right?

On the other hand, Limbaugh is as simple to explain as anything. He makes more money for being cruel and outlandish and making ridiculous statements than he does for saying something that resembles reality. The idea that any American voter should care that Barack Obama is not a true black person because he does not have slave blood is something that I do not understand. I sat there wondering why he would even bring that up. I am sure this helps his agenda in one way or another, but I guess it will take some time for me to figure out the steps between.

Thank God I only listened for fifteen minutes.

Summer Wish List

Wanting things is one of the joys in my life. I love to want things. So, much to my husband's dismay, I have a constantly revolving wish list. Here are a few of the things that I am drooling over this summer.

Modcloth.com has a perfectly simple Dinosaur Love tee that I would love to wear all over the place. Of course, I love Brontosauruses as much as the next girl.


I love this print called So Very Happy by dazeychic that I found on Etsy. I would hang this in my room to remind me that every day, I should aim to be happier than a bird with a french fry. Sounds like a great goal to me.



I want a vintage camera because I have been looking to start a new hobby. I saw a few photos on Etsy that were taken using TTV style, which involves a digital camera and a vintage camera. It gives photos an elegant vintage look. I would love to snatch this camera (or one like it) off of Ebay and make my own vintage photo masterpieces.



I have been a big David Sedaris fan for a few years now, and I am very excited that he has written this new book, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames." Unfortunately I have not gotten off my butt and to the bookstore to buy it yet.




It is time for a new couch. Our couches are old and blue and now they are on Craigslist. I have been dreaming about a simple brown couch from IKEA since we moved into our duplex six months ago. As soon as our couches are sold, this beauty will have a new home.



Rock star squirrel art. I think that is all that needs to be said. This gem is by Susie Ghahremani and can be found on her website at BoyGirlParty.com. I especially like the little groupie squirrel off to the side.



This Amelia necklace can also be found on ModCloth.com. I think it is a fun, unique piece of jewelry. I don't usually wear necklaces, but I think I would make an exception here.


And of course, my favorite thing on my wish list - a baby chinchilla. I have wanted one for so long and I still have not come to my senses. The only slightly negative thing about these little guys is that they get bigger than this. Of course, I love full grown chinchillas too. I like to imagine that my baby chinchilla would sleep curled up between my neck and my shoulder and that he would go on bike rides with me in my backpack and I could feed him little pieces of fruit. It's fun to dream...

Slime Mold

I haven't written in my blog for a few months now, so I figured it was time to come back. My first post of the summer is about a disgusting substance I found in my garden.

When we first spotted this yellow crumble, I thought it was either a cupcake or some sort of insulation that a critter dug out from under my deck. We came to find out that it was actually something called "Dog Vomit Slime Mold." Ew.

I guess it shows up in this part of the country after heavy spring rains. It was not there before I went to see the Sex and the City movie, but it looked like this when I got back, so it managed to appear in a three hour period. By the next day it had moved on to the next phase and just looked like spongy dirt. That is when I gave up my little experiment and threw it in the garbage.