But Why is the Rum Gone?

Found this on both Melissa's and Terri's blogs and of course have to join in!

The Recipe For Darla

3 parts Slyness 2 parts Recklessness 1 part Genius Splash of Warmth Serve over ice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

I know I usually try to post the weekly progress on Sunday, but it's nearly the end of both the month and the year, so I've decided to wait a couple more days. Didn't make it to the Y today, but I did visit a nice bike shop in Fountain Valley before cruising by Mile Square Park. It looks like the bike path at Mile Square is pretty much limited to the sidewalk that goes all the way around the park. There's also some construction going on there, and I thought that would complicate things. So I opted to take my Sunday ride at Cerritos Regional again. As long as I wasn't moving, it was a pretty nice day, but once the bike got rolling the windchill really brought the temps down! I felt like I could have gone 20 miles today but for the windchill, so I only did 15. And no, I didn't try out my new shorts, although I did take them with me. Definitely need some kind of windbreaker for the upper body and leggings or tights or something to extend the shorts, 'cause I don't think the sweats will do the job.

Here it is

and I stopped at the nearest Anaheim FD station to get the license on my way to work this morning.

I think...

…I need to increase the incline on the treadmills at the Y. I don't know what the setting is on the one here at home—it's manual, doesn't have a readout, and just isn't very fancy at all—but it definitely seems to be a bit steeper than my usual 3.0 choice at the Y. Anyway, I spent about 35 minutes on the treadmill here at home this morning, and walked 1.32 miles. Puttered around on the computer for a while, then did a bit of stitching, then went out for a ride. Went over to Cerritos Regional Park and rode around there for 10.4 miles, then came home to our Xmess dinner.

Oh, and have I mentioned yet that I ordered a pair of bike shorts online from Terry's Bikes? Thank you, Terri, for the recommendation!

I'm also seriously considering signing up for the 5k to benefit the Speech and Language Center in Buena Park, where BFF-M is employed when she isn't on disability with a broken ankle she acquired just before Thanksgiving trying to make sure one of her students didn't slip and fall and get hurt.

Weekly Report

Wow, a week's gone by already?
Saturday 15 Dec: rest day.
Sunday 16 Dec: Managed to bump the magnetic safety key thingy about a mile and a half into my treadmill time, and my poor grammarian's brain can handle adding .25s and .50s and .75s but gets stretched when it has to do the other stuff like the .28s, so I figured another 40 minutes would get me at least to 5k, and I was right: 3.46 miles on the treadmill. And then 13.26 on the stationary bike.
Monday 17 Dec: Actually hit the home treadmill for .83 mile to start the day! Then the Y in the morning for 1.07 (only 18 minutes including the 3-minute cooldown, so I chose a higher level than I'd normally use) miles on the elliptical to warm up again for the weight-machine circuit. Then the evening stop put 9.45 miles on a bike.
Tuesday 18 Dec: Only managed to put in 30 minutes on the elliptical, for 1.68 miles, on the morning stop, then 1.8 miles on the treadmill for the evening visit.
Wednesday 19 Dec: 25 minutes on the elliptical for 1.47 miles and this time kicked up the final four minutes before cooldown to Level 8! And the weight machines.
Thursday 20 Dec: 25 minutes at Level 4, alternating forward and reverse in 5-minute blocks (so yes, that's 10 minutes going backwards!), then 5 minutes (forward) at Level 5, plus cooldown, for 2.20 miles. The evening treadmill lasted 40 minutes, with 5-minute blocks of time spent at 2.5, 3.0, 3.3, 3.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mph and a 3-minute cooldown, for 2.06 miles.
Friday 21 Dec: .80 mile on the treadmill at home because it was payday, rent day, and the last banking day (I bank at a credit union) before a major holiday, so I knew I would have to skip the Y. And, of course, it turned out to be the day I picked up my new bike.
Saturday 22 Dec: normally a rest day, but a friend was laid off Thursday and when the four of us were at breakfast Saturday morning, we decided that three of us would hit her gym with her membership and her two guest passes. So 1.5 miles on an elliptical I didn't like at all—ours at the Y have a shorter rise and a longer stride, so those differences were throwing me off my stride. And a little time spent on the weight machines. But then my friends, who don't spend as much time at the gym as I do and who've never been particularly athletic anyway, pooped out before I could get through the whole Cybex circuit. Oh well, a little is better than none at all, and I missed Friday's weight circuit with the banking and the bike-buying, so this helped make up for that.
Sunday 23 Dec: Normally I hit the Y on Sundays for a little mindless biking and walking, but today I opted to take my new bike out to the bike paths at El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach instead, for 10.4 miles. I had a ball, and will probably go riding Christmas Day, too! I'll just have to remember to bring along some water.

Current mileage on the Walk Beyond Rivendell: 776.42. It's 143.58 miles more to Lothlorien.

I really had a lovely time at the park, but the parking's outrageous! $7 on weekends to park in the lots on the east side of the park. There's free parking on the west side, but no bike paths on the west side and no really good access, that I could see, from the west side to the east side via bike. (The park is divided on the north-south axis by the San Gabriel River, which also has a bike path, and something like three or four times on the east-west axis by major streets.) Maybe I'll go over to Featherly Park in Yorba Linda/East Anaheim on Christmas.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Came in to work today a bit early because it's payday and the rent's due, so I needed time to get to the credit union to get the rent check. I'm still reeling in shock from the surprise of the bonus check! Do I really need to say that I visited the bike shop on the way to the CU? Dunno if they'll have it ready to be picked up this afternoon, or if I'll have a chance to get away from the office if they do, but definitely will have my bike in my possession tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! They're installing a rear rack, head- and tail-lights, and computer. Gotta buy a helmet. Good thing I was planning to do some shopping after work! I just never expected it to include stuff for me!

Another Week Done

I guess if I normally hit the gym five days a week on the way to work and also as many as four times each week on the way home from work as well as most Sundays, I think I'm entitled to blow off the occasional Friday morning stop, right?
Tuesday AM: 35 minutes on the elliptical, 2.40 miles
Tuesday PM: an hour on the treadmill, mostly at 2.5mph but also 15 minutes at 3.0, all at an incline of 3.0, 2.68 miles
Wednesday AM: got there later than I should have, so although I did get the whole weight-machine circuit done, I only had 10 minutes on the elliptical to get me warmed up. That was all at Level 4; 0.92 miles
Wednesday PM: on the bike for an hour, 10 minutes at Level 7, 10 minutes at L9, 5 minutes at L11, 10 minutes at L9, and 5 minutes of cooldown, 9.56 miles
Thursday AM: 40 minutes on the elliptical, back to the 10 minutes of Level 3 forward, 5 minutes L3 reverse, 5 minutes L3 forward, 10 minutes L4 forward, 5 minutes at L3 with two of those minutes in reverse, and 5-minute cooldown, 2.51 miles
Thursday PM: a total of 50 minutes on the treadmill mostly at 2.5 and 3.0 mph on a 3.0 incline, but with a few short periods at 3.1 mph (3 at one minute each and 1 energetic burst of 2 minutes), 2.30 miles
Total mileage from Bag End: 726.44 (268.44 miles from Rivendell toward Lothlorien).

OMG! I did it!!!

I registered for the Surf City 5K on February 3. Gotta speed up on the treadmill now.

And I've already started buying toys for my bike. Okay, a toy: one of those pouches that hang, via hook-n-loop straps, to the handlebars.

Gettin' Back in the Groove

Well, okay, I took it easy on myself this morning and only did 20 minutes (plus 5 cooldown) on the elliptical, and all of it forward and only Level 3. But I also got through the weight circuit for the first time in over two weeks. And tonight I got a bit more energetic on the stationary bike: 10 minutes at Level 7, 10 at L8, 5 at L9, 5 at L10, 5 at L11, then down to L9 for 5, down to L7 for 5 more, then the 5-minute cooldown. Over 11 miles in that 45-minute ride!

I didn't check the whole total, but that definitely puts me up over 700 miles from Bag End.

Envy!!!!!!

The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head earlier this week, and yesterday at the LNS had it roaring. Hearing Melissa's tale of her bike purchase just made it all the more agonizing that I don't yet have one. And after listening to her tell of the craptacular treatment she received at one of the bike shops nearest us, I didn't feel even the tiniest smidgen of guilt when I asked the young man at that same shop to haul a couple of different bikes down off that rack (unfortunately, only the middle rack, not the top-most one) for me to take to the parking lot to test the adage that you never do forget how to fall off a bicycle.

Well, okay, I didn't really fall off! But the smallest frame size is definitely too small. I was still looking at the Sedona at that shop, so both of the two sizes I test rode were that model. Then I headed over toward the Y, but ended up going on over to Carson Cyclery, the shop near work, to talk to Katie and Steve again. Katie set me up with a Giant Cypress W rather than the Sedona, since she believes, and I now agree with her, that this one will suit me better for accompanying Terri and Melissa on training rides and for doing my own riding. I plunked down a payment, taking advantage of their three-month layaway plan, and Katie said she'll also honor the free-gift offer that they currently have running. I'll definitely need a helmet, and I'm thinking of some kind of basket or something for carrying stuff, and maybe one of those snap-on/snap-off fender sets so I can ride through puddles without showering myself. And a cable type of lock, of course. The bike I'm buying has a dark grey-easing-to-beige finish on it.

Still easing back into workouts at the gym. Today I took a nice leisurely stroll to nowhere for a full hour, but kept the speed to 2.5mph, and held steady with the 3.0 incline. A leisurely bike ride to nowhere, too, though I did get a little more energetic with that, spending a total of 55 minutes (plus 5-minutes cooldown) on the bike mostly at Level 7 but with a 15-minute stretch at Level 8.

Easing Back In

Felt well enough last night to stop at the Y for a 45-minute bike ride to nowhere. More of the same tonight, probably. Or maybe a walk. Not quite feeling up to a full cardio workout or full cardio and weight circuit workout, but getting there.

Congratulations to Melissa on her new bike!! That model's the next step up from the one I'm looking at, the Sedona! Melissa's has the narrower road tires, whereas the Sedona has the wider comfort tires.

I'm Sick!

Went to the Y on the way to work last Tuesday morning and haven't been back since. And I think that makes me feel even crappier. But working out doesn't work so well when you have to keep stopping to hack up a lung. Well, okay, not really, but that's sure what it feels like!

I have found a bike shop near work that sells a better grade of bikes than the big-box stores do, and even has layaway!! After the creeping crud goes away, I'll go do some test drives and make a decision about which model.

Total mileage through November: 667.40