365 Days Handmade

Making life a better place, one day at a time

Category Archives: Fitness


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Day 353/365: Santa Claus is Coming to Town…

A few months ago, the city of Morro Bay started implementing plans to build a bike park right next to my neighborhood.

12.19.2015

The photo above is an old one.  They’ve made a lot of progress since it was taken, and the packed dirt hills have been calling my name every time I drive by.  The new park is supposed to open in 2016.  So when Sean asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, the tomboy little kid in me who never owned a bike in childhood said, “I want a BMX bike.”

Hence, this happened this afternoon:

12.19.2015a

The box was delivered to the house a few days ago, and Sean decided to put it together today.

12.19.2015b

After it was assembled, he let me ride it for a test drive down the street.  And then promptly took it back and said I have to wait for Christmas Day.

The little kid in me can’t wait.

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Day 346/365: Saturday Hike

This morning I sat around and crocheted while Sean read a book; this afternoon we left the house and went for a hike up Black Hill in Morro Bay.  It was a nice balance of activities, because one of us likes to sit around and do nothing on her day off, while the other one wants to be outdoors and doing something active all the time.

12.12.2015a

At the top of the hike, to your left you have this view…

12.12.2015b

…and to the right is the ocean, Morro Rock, and Morro Bay.


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Day 312/365: The 2015 Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay

We did it!  We successfully finished our second half marathon of the year.

11.8.2015a

Everyone has their reasons for training to run a marathon or a half marathon.  Some people want to set PRs (personal records).  Some like having the sense of accomplishment; others go for the experience and to run with friends.  And then there’s me.  I just like to eat.

Post-race breakfast!

Post-race breakfast!


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Day 256/365: The 2015 Ventura Half Marathon

9.13.2015a

This year’s finisher’s medal

We did it.  We completed the half marathon this morning.  13.1 miles, plus an extra 5 miles that we walked today, getting to the event, getting back home, going out for breakfast, going out to lunch, and later walking to the Ventura Promenade so I could take photos for the blog.

All I can say now is Owww.  And I’m hungry.  Again.

9.13.2015b

 


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Day 255/365: The Day Before the Ventura Half Marathon

Well, tomorrow is the Ventura Half Marathon.  We’ll have to get up at 5 AM, and we’ll probably be starting the race around 6:45 AM.  I will be asking myself why the hell am I doing this, especially around mile eight or nine or ten, when I’m hot and tired and sore, and the faster runners have already turned around at the halfway point and are making their way back.  So think of me around 9 AM, Pacific Standard Time, and send good vibes so that I can get through those last three miles and make it to the finish line.

9.12.2015


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Day 221/365: The Day We Ran 8 Miles and Then Drove 160 More

Today was a long but productive day.  We got up at 6 AM because our half marathon training schedule called for an 8-mile run.  After we got home, we had just enough time to take showers and eat breakfast before making the 80-mile drive to the Stub Hub Center in Carson, where we had tickets to see the L.A. Galaxy play the Seattle Sounders at 1 PM.  It was a packed game and a lot of fun, but it also meant a lot of time being in the car and waiting in lines.  Now we’re back in Ventura and I could easily go to bed, even though it’s only a few minutes past 8.

Hope your weekend was a fun one, too!

8.9.2015

I took this photo a few seconds right before L.A. scored their first goal.  (Check out that packed stadium!)  Go, Galaxy!


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Day 211/365: First Day of No Sugary Goodness

The Ventura Half Marathon is a little over six weeks away, and I have to start getting serious about the diet part of my half marathon training.  Up until now, I’ve been letting myself eat candy bars and chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies and key lime pie.  Two days ago, as I was huffing and puffing my way through mile two of a fifty-minute training run, I told myself that I had to cut sugar out of my diet.  And then I told that self that I would, after the last of the key lime pie was gone.

So now the entire pie has been eaten, and there are no more cookies or desserts in the refrigerator.  Today I refrained from buying a Snickers Almond candy bar from the vending machine at work (although I caved and bought one yesterday; it was delicious), and I didn’t ask my co-worker if I could have a handful from his Costco-sized bag of fun-size candy bars (from which he’d been supplying me all last week).  I’m going to count today as my first day of no sugary junk food and see if I can hold out for at least 30 days.

7.26.2015B

Goodbye, pie. Sigh.


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Day 188/365: Week 6 of Half Marathon Training

I got home from work–10 hours of what is my Monday after a 3-day weekend–and I was fully prepared to camp out on the couch for the rest of the evening.  But, nooooo.  Sean said, “We have to run today.”

“Can’t today be a rest day?” I asked.

“No,” Sean said, “because tomorrow is supposed to be the rest day.”

Drat.  He was going to be disciplined and stick to the half marathon training plan that I’d printed out and stuck to the refrigerator door.

So I changed into my running clothes and put on my running shoes, and we went out for a forty-minute run, according to schedule.  I spent the first half hour alternating between being mad at my husband and trying to distract myself from the various aches and pains that were developing along my hamstrings and shins and the arches of my feet.  I spent the last ten minutes focused on just getting home and putting this run behind me.

Just as it is with every long run that I complete, by the time I got home, I felt pretty good about what I’d accomplished, and I was back to liking my husband again.  Especially since he’d made puttanesca while I was at work, and we would be able to sit down to eat in a matter of minutes.

I didn’t take any photos of our dinner, but here is one from our 4th of July breakfast that Sean made.  My contribution was the handmade quilted placemats and handmade napkins.

7.7.2015

Even though he won’t let me slack off the training schedule, he does make the best breakfast.


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Day 179/365: 150 Miles in the Car, Plus 5.62+ Miles on Foot

I can’t remember if I mentioned that Sean and I are now back on the half marathon training plan.  The schedule called for a 4-mile run today.  So after breakfast this morning, we headed out for our run.  One and .62 miles into it (according to my Garmin wristwatch), the arches of my feet ached and I was thirsty and tired.  I realized that I hadn’t had enough to drink that morning.  Also, I’d chosen to wear a new pair of compression socks, and they were hurting rather than helping me.  I stopped running, and Sean and I walked the rest of the way home.

Since I had another appointment for allergy testing on Monday morning in Oxnard, today’s schedule also called for me and Sean to drive down to Ventura.  After we walked back home, we packed up our stuff and started the 150-mile drive from Morro Bay to Ventura.  We stopped at Los Olivos for lunch.  I made sure to drink a lot of water and iced tea on the drive down, because I was determined to get my 4 miles in today and stick to the training schedule.

We didn’t get back to Ventura until nearly 5 PM, so we didn’t start our run until after 6 PM.  And rather than count this morning’s 1.62 miles, I stuck to 4 miles this evening, which explains why I’m late posting today’s entry and why I am going to be so sore tomorrow.

6.28.2015

Look– the heel is turned!

 


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Day 145/365: That Time of the Year Again

Last year, I committed to participating in the Runner’s World Summer 2014 Run Streak, in which I ran a mile a day for 41 days.  The Run Streak began on Memorial Day and ended on the Fourth of July.  By that time, I was inspired to sign up for a half marathon.  I chose the Big Sur Half Marathon at Monterey Bay scheduled in November.  A few weeks later, I learned that Ventura would also be hosting a half marathon in September, so I signed up for that, too.  Naturally, I had Sean commit to running both events with me.

I ran cross country in high school over twenty-five years ago, so I needed to brush up on my knowledge of race training.  I did my research and read a ton of articles and books on running a half marathon.  I put together a training plan and (mostly) stuck to it.  I don’t know exactly how many miles I covered during the training period, but I can tell you that it was plenty.

The last time I ran serious distance was on November 16, when Sean and I completed 13.1 miles in a little over two and a half hours at the Big Sur Half Marathon at Monterey Bay.  After that, I pretty much stopped running.  I put away my running shoes and took a very long break, up until today, Memorial Day 2015, which marks the first day of another summer run streak and the beginning of a new half marathon training plan.  We’re already signed up for this year’s events in both Ventura and Monterey Bay, so it’s time to get serious.

Anyone care to join me?

5.25.2015