Monday, February 1, 2010

Early Riser + Treadmill Conqueror

Good afternoon blogfriends! I hope that everyone had a restful and relaxing weekend. Mine was so much fun! On Friday I began the weekend with a seven mile run, with hopes of conquering this: The initial plan was to do half on the treadmill and half on the track, so as to avoid boredom. I ended up running four on the treadmill, ran to use the restroom, and then continued upstairs to finish the run on the track. Um, wow- it was super weird. Running on the track after running on the treadmill must mess with your head, because I was feeling SUPER dizzy and weird. I lasted for a lap before I ran back downstairs to finish the run on the treadmill. The miles were a bit disjointed, but I conquered the mill! Have you ever split a run between a treadmill and a track? If so, did you experience the same funky feeling that I did?


The next morning I got up bright and early to head down to Long Island to visit my friend Nicole. The train ride was nice and quick but effing HOT. Amtrak definitely needs to work on their heating/cooling issues. After meeting up with Nicole, we set off to go wine tasting in Long Island. We hit up about five places and it was really fun! Nicole's husband came along and played DD so we both got to enjoy the wine. Wine tasting may be one of my favorite things to do! On the ride back home I housed a ton of cheese, which I was really pissed off about afterwards because of all days to do that, I had to do it two days before I got my bloodwork done to check my cholesterol... oh well! Have you ever been wine tasting? I've gone wine tasting at Niagara on the Lake, Sonoma County in California, a bunch of times in the Finger Lakes and now Long Island.


We were so sleepy from all of the wine that we were in bed by ten. Party animals!!! The next morning we headed to the gym so I could make up the run I missed Thursday. I ran 3.5 on the treadmill, bringing my January running total to 64.1 miles. Yippee!


Nicole has a really cute german shepard pup named Baya who is almost a year old. She took a picture of Baya and I that I was all set to post- it's hilarious because Baya had just licked the side of my face before the picture was snapped so I am laughing and she is looking at the camera with a devilish look. The file size is too big to post- I need to figure it out! Baya's head is as big as Bailey's whole body. I'm not used to big dogs!


While I was on the LIRR train heading back to Penn station to catch the train upstate, I caught a conversation between two women next to me. An older woman that spoke broken English was very distraught and confused because she was on the wrong train but didn't know which train she should be on to meet up with her daughter. The younger woman that was sitting next to her asked her where she needed to go, and then called the woman's daughter on her cell phone to help the older woman figure it out. After that, the younger woman gave her detailed instructions to help her navigate the train system to get home to her daughter. This younger woman's act of kindness really inspired me. Taking the train can be stressful, especially if you have no idea where you are going and are unfamiliar with the system. This young woman's act, which only took up a few minutes of her time, saved this older woman from a lot of stress and confusion. Incidents like these that make me believe in the good of human nature. Have you witnessed any acts of kindness lately?


As I alluded to earlier, I had to get bloodwork done this morning for my physical next week. Since I am meeting with my caterer tonight, I have no time after work to get my 4.5 miles in. I realized this last night and decided that I MUST get my butt out of bed early to get the mileage in before my 8:05 appointment. I am happy to report that I did it!! This is major for me, as I love sleeping in as much as I can and have always been an evening exerciser. It felt great to be at the gym with a different crowd and to have the sun streaming through the windows. I'm going to do this more often! Are you a morning, mid-day or evening exerciser? Do you think working out at certain times of day impacts your body differently? I've read various articles that seem to suggest this. I want to look into it more!


I'm excited to start the 100 pushups challenge today! I did the initial test last night and got up to 11. I could have done more but 11-20 pushups fall in the same column so I decided to call it quits at 11. Lame, I know. I'm going to create a spreadsheet after work and will share it with everyone interested in participating.


Oh, and for those of you who asked- Bri and I are having our reception at the Canfield Casino in Saratoga. I love it!


Have a great Monday!

11 comments:

  1. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but your venue is BEAUTIFUL!

    I personally workout mid-morning. So somewhere between breakfast and lunch. I wouldn't be able to do that if I wasn't a college student though! In the summer, I exercise as soon as I get out of work at 3 before I can get lazy.

    And just an FYI, I'm hosting a giveaway on my blog if you're interested in checking it out.

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  2. I used to warm up for five minutes on the treadmill, and then head outside when it was first turning cold. It definitely felt disjointed!

    Sounds like you had a great weekend!

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  3. The treadmill, track and back to the treadmill is so cute! I completely understand the wanting to switch it up. Good for you for getting all your miles you wanted to accomplish in.
    Wine tasting is lots of fun. The most recent one I have done is in the Okanagan Valley interior BC. My in-laws used to own a vineyard there.
    If it were possible for me to pick any time of day to exercise I would go with mid-day for sure.
    Have a great week!

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  4. Happy Monday Katie!! Hell yes I have been to wine tasting!! My husband and I also went to both Sonoma and Napa valley a few times for wine tasting:) I love it! I am running in the Napa to Sonoma Valley half in July and plan on doing more tasting!! Good job on your run, push-ups and ect!!

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  5. I've never been to a wine tasting. It's on my list of things to try though.

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  6. Congrats on the run + the pushups! :D
    I've gone from running outside to the treadmill and it was WEIRDD. They're just 2 different work-outs!
    I'm definitely a morning exerciser (as long as there's breakfast in me)

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  7. the last time I went wine tasting was on Long Island....before a wedding! I don't reccommend it, I was wayyy to loopy by the time the reception rolled around!

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  8. I love working out in the morning and can't wait until I get a treadmill at home.

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  9. I've been working out in the early, early mornings lately. I like getting the job done, but I am a definitely able to work out harder in the afternoon.

    I can't wait for this push up challenge. Like I said before, I'm pitiful.

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  10. Great job on the 64 miles! That is awesome! And that is crazy about your dizzy treadmill run. I sometimes feel that way after the elyptical. My gym does not have an indoor track. Good luck on the push up challenge and hells yeah to wine tasting! ;) It's my fave!

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  11. Welcome back - sounds like a great weekend! I've been wine tasting once and loved it - I definitely want to do it again. So much fun.

    Your treadmill experience is funny - I've never gone from treadmill to track, but I can see how it might be weird.

    I am definitely not an a.m. workout person. I actually missed one today. Oops.

    And lastly - I've seen acts of kindness like that on the subway a few times and it always restores my faith in people.

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