have the happiest of holidays

Welcome back   I must apologize for my negligence in writing.  I just had nothing to write about. But now the Christmas holiday approaches.  This blog will be my ‘ditto’ Christmas letter I usually try to send with the holiday cards.   Actually, just click here , here, here, here, here, here, well you get the picture! 

My personal training was over at the end of August, I completed the Denver Half Marathon (on 9/11)  - at which I totally sucked, and my trip to Scottsdale, AZ over Labor Day with my best friend was totally awesome!  My foot surgery (9/15) went off without any complications.  I was in my boot for just over 6 weeks, then a smaller “shoe” for 2 weeks and am now in normal low heeled foot wear.  I went to a Mike Dooley book signing (www.tut.com) on Oct 5.   That was fun.  I had the pleasure of spending more time with my daughter.  I got the chance to wake up my oldest grandson every morning, make him breakfast and take him to school.   I went home to Las Cruces over the Thanksgiving holiday week.  It began with a drive to Cortez, CO to see my sister, stopping in Albuquerque to have lunch with my dear friend, Annie, and headed into LC to spend time with another sister and her family.   

Me and Annie

Digging into the pies before dinner!

What was also wonderful was seeing a young woman I haven’t seen in 11 years.  We worked together at my father’s office for 3 years but once I moved to Colorado, we just haven’t had the chance to connect.    We finally did, and I got to meet her kids and her husband and catch up.   It was great!

And the year is now drawing to a close.  Before it ends though, I will be spending Christmas with my son and his wife in Omaha.   So, the year ends on a positive note, but wow, could 2011 have come and gone any faster? 

I wish you all the happiest of holidays with your family and friends close.   This wish goes to all my new friends, old friends, reacquainted school friends, family and extended family.  Thank you all for being a part of my life this year. 

Peace and everlasting joy :)

training draws to a close

My personal trainer days are drawing QUICKLY to a close.  One more session.  I’m so sad.  I wish I could be one of those who has a personal trainer all the time.  I can’t say enough about having someone push you to do just one more.  I know for a fact that I cannot push myself as hard as a trainer does.  It has been great though.  Carl definitely had me sweating at each and every 45 minute workout – broken toe and all.

I am sure I must be stronger, I just have a hard time seeing it.  Because it’s so gradual, it’s hard to tell.  My goals were to strengthen my core, regain my strength for balance and get some agility back.  Carl says that my core is much stronger and my balance is better.  I just hope I can keep it up without him.  I must!  I wrote down the exercises we did that I can do at home.  Those exercises involving the kettle bell and medicine ball were not included!! 

My jogging has been a good cardio workout, but after the 1/2 marathon and my surgery, it will be winter – or close enough – and I have a very hard time running on a treadmill for more than about 3 miles.   Just about time to get a new routine at the ready!

Overall, I didn’t lose any weight, and I didn’t lose my jiggles, but I did gain endurance and the renewed desire to workout.  I so totally lost that last year (the desire).  It is so much more apparent as I age that I need to stay strong.   Staying strong will help with balance which in turn will keep me from falling and potentially breaking a bone.  Having a strong core will keep my spine straight and help me to stand tall.    Having endurance keeps my heart pumping strong which keeps the blood moving.  Continuing to eat paleo or in all practicality, eating a low/no processed foods diet will provide my body with the proper nutrients.

What more can I say?  It has been a wonderful experience and Carl and I will be staying in touch.  I may continue to use him after the surgery at one time a week, just to keep up the momentum.  We shall see.  I mean, after all, how much is my life and health really worth?  Hmmmmm?

you have to be just a little bit crazy

Is it just me or does 2011 seems to be sliding into December?  I understand that as you grow older time does go by EVER SO much quicker, but when I think of the year, I see it in terms of a graph where the line starts at zero (0), heads up to it’s highest point, then back down to (0) again.   And there I am, trudging up the January through June side, level out for a bit in July, and now I’m on the downward side slipping faster than I would care to.  Do you feel this way as well?  Frustrating, so darn frustrating.

Having those ideas and goals in place at the beginning of the year, procrastinating until the mid part of the year, then realizing you didn’t follow your plan very well and now it’s catch up before the year ends.  Holidays are going to start cropping up, the weather is going to turn nasty. . . . 

I ramble.  Today’s blog is about:

On the bright side   I have been preparing for a half marathon (the Denver half marathon to be exact) on September 11th.  To get ready I have been doing smaller runs during the week.  The 2 10k’s I did recently were my longer runs that are suggested for the weekends.  This weekends run was 10 miles.  I didn’t get up in time on Saturday so I used that day to go shopping at my favorite thrift store!   But, I did get myself up on Sunday and was on the trail by 7am to run those 10 miles.  Unbelievably, I ran it with few stops.  My broken toe didn’t bother me, and I felt pretty good throughout.  Took me exactly 2 hours.  Longer than I had hoped (my goal was 1 hour 50 minutes)  I did stop at the 5 mile mark and rested for a few minutes so that may have cut into my time some.   All in all though, I felt pretty good about it.  I went home and stretched out my poor hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and calves.  Today I am not stiff at all.

Pretty dang amazing. . .

what the ^!&#%*!

I should probably hold off on posting this blog because at the moment I am completely baffled and upset.  Mostly my pride is seriously BRUISED. 

Today is our intern’s last day at work.  I got her a card yesterday and everyone signed it.  I left it on her desk this morning.   About 10 minutes ago (11:30am), the group that goes to lunch every day (without inviting me) was milling about in the front desk area – my office   I asked where they were headed for lunch, like I do everyday as they head out the door, but instead of the usual Chipotle, Jimmy Johns, Heidi’s answer, one of them chimed “Panzano.  It’s Rachel’s last day.”  Right, like I didn’t know this.   Hm, I’m thinking.  A formal, sit down establishment where lunches run $11 to $15 a person.   I was not invited?   So I question the person who made the reservation.   And she gave me an ‘oops I screwed up’ face  [not an apology] and said, “I just made the reservation this morning.”   What the &^!+(^$*#%^%   does that have to do with ANYTHING?  One of the guys said I could lock the door and come with.  Sure, I would LOVE to attend a lunch where I wasn’t even thought of at the onset.   I declined.

Then, they all walked out.

I have worked here in this office for this particular group for almost 2 years now, and they forget to invite me to a going away lunch for our intern?

I am so pissed.  So, so pissed.   Healthy Choice frozen dinner, here I come…..yum oh yum

at least I got a T-shirt :)

Ran another 10k this weekend in beautiful Evergreen, Colorado.  It was a gorgeous day if you were just hanging out on your front lawn cheering the runners.  But, for us on the asphalt?  Ugh, HOT.  Well, not Las Vegas, Yuma or Phoenix HOT, but beginning a run at 8:45am on a sunny, clear August morning is nuts anywhere.

The race was downhill – 600 feet of gradual downhill.   That was one of the pluses – actually, it was the NUMERO UNO plus to this race.  And although it was very warm on Sunday, the run was along a beautiful course.   A creek on one side, green mountains and lush lawns on the other.  It was probably the fastest I have run in a VERY long time, and I ran almost the entire 6.2 miles.   I got into a zone for about a half of a mile there in the 4th mile!   I finished the race in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 29 seconds.  That means I averaged a 11:32 minute mile.  Not bad, not bad at all.

Well, it’s a little hard to read.  But there I am.  23rd out of 29 in my age group.   Woo hoo!  Overall you can see I placed 413th in the race.  Total people who ran:  462.

And here I come to the finish line – what a trooper, huh?

just like greased lightnin’