A lesson in recovery and a weekend of trials
If you don't allow yourself to rest, your body will do it for you. I once again have a cold, although this one is less aggressive than the one I had just two weeks ago. But I'm trying to stay on top of it so it exits stage left before we leave for MICHIGAN on Thursday!
I understand the body is telling me something, I just don't always understand why. After all, I'm doing about 90% of the things I should be doing. That should be enough, right? I sleep 7-8 hrs, I exercise regularly, I eat healthy, and don't drink very much. But, I'll be the first to admit I'm lacking in the rest department. I guess this just shows I need more than I think I do.
What areas could you improve upon for your body's sake? Some people can function on 4-5 hrs of sleep, but stay super busy and exercise a lot. Others get a ton of sleep and are lacking in the other departments. What does it take for your body to function at it's optimal?
I took it fairly easy this weekend, in my book anyway. Friday while the man was pizza and beering it up, I rode for about 20 miles before heading home. Then took a shower, grabbed some stuff from my house (and opened up the new mango/pink dress I ordered from LuLu's!
If you haven't been over there, hop, skip and click your way to LuLu's right now! I found it referenced in an outfit in my recent Glamour mag and then took a peek and saw the great prices and fashionable fun pieces and fell in love. I kid you not. They bring you limited stock of up and coming designers from all over. In fact, the dress I ordered just last weekend is no longer on the website! Soon after, I got a call from the man and he wanted me to try on the dress. So I did some twirling around and then we headed off to find me some din din.
We tried a new place (we have so many on our list now that we are requiring ourselves to try one new place before we go back to any of our old favs. We went to Cafe 440, which offered burgers, sandwiches and the like. I ordered a blackened chicken sandwich with avocado and mango salsa. I took off the bun, cuz I do that. Don't really eat bread if it's not of the whole wheat variety. The chicken was a bit salty for my taste, but I had most of it anyway for it's protein value. Then devoured my sweet potato fries! YUM! And my glass of red wine was pretty great too. The man had pulled pork sliders, saving a few for his post ride recovery snack on Saturday.
Does anyone make sweet potato fries at home? They're so easy! And kinda good for you. I don't put salt on them and I usually just make them into rounds rather than wedges, but do what you like. Also, be sure to turn them over about halfway through. And I always dip mine in ketchup.
After din, the man went home and I decided to take 45 min more for myself and parked my rear in a cushy seat at Borders coffee corner, grabbed a mint tea, and wrote in my journal and read a bit from two books I have going right now. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty and Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts. Sloppy Firsts is a bit too young for me, but an easy read so I'm plowing through it and then returning it to the library with no plans of reading the sequels. Vanishing Acts is a bit more interesting, but I've yet to get into the meat of the story.
As I opened my journal, I realized it's good to have a place to throw your thoughts. The thoughts that you're not confident in, or don't have the guts to spill to others. Every time I write, it reminds me how cathartic it is. Gotta keep that up!
Saturday I did some light exercise, taking the dog hiking for about an hour before the heat really turned up. A bit later I got a pedicure and had lunch at an outdoor courtyard where a jazz trio was playing music. Sat eve the man and I saw The Hangover (definitely funny and takes the craziness of vegas to an extreme) and had dinner at one of our fav spots. We shared chicken phad thai and the special, crab and ricotta stuffed ravioli with red cream sauce and asparagus. YUM!
Wow, I'm realizing how many new places and things I tried this weekend! Sunday, we headed to a new coffee shop where we ordered breakfast bagel sandwiches and coffee and sat in the sun, checking email and reading. It felt like the way every weekend morning should be spent, you know? The coffee shop is inside this old vintage home surrounded by great trees and other houses and so adorable. The tables were mostly vintage furniture and spaced nicely so you're not mistakenly eaves dropping on your neighbors.
Next, we headed to a local farm for raspberries (read: i'm going to be making raspberry shortcake in the very near future) and then to the grocery store to get some needed supplies. After unloading the food, we got read to head to the LAKE! A lake I've never been to and is only 20 min from the man's house! If you know me and my love for large bodies of water, this is pretty crazy I haven't been there.
Anywho, we packed towels, sunblock, the chuck it (to tire out the dog), a bone (to keep her occupied after she was tired out), and my book of course. We spent about 30 min chucking the tennis ball into the lake where the dog would launch herself off the side and paddle out to get it, until she was tuckered out. I survived with no sun burn and we both agreed we'd be returning soon, but next time with BBQ supplies in tow!
All in all, a weekend of fabulous new trials, a bit of rest and some fun in the sun! Anyone else have a positive trial this weekend? I'm sure Heather is ready to tell us hers tomorrow for Tuesday Trials!
I understand the body is telling me something, I just don't always understand why. After all, I'm doing about 90% of the things I should be doing. That should be enough, right? I sleep 7-8 hrs, I exercise regularly, I eat healthy, and don't drink very much. But, I'll be the first to admit I'm lacking in the rest department. I guess this just shows I need more than I think I do.
What areas could you improve upon for your body's sake? Some people can function on 4-5 hrs of sleep, but stay super busy and exercise a lot. Others get a ton of sleep and are lacking in the other departments. What does it take for your body to function at it's optimal?
I took it fairly easy this weekend, in my book anyway. Friday while the man was pizza and beering it up, I rode for about 20 miles before heading home. Then took a shower, grabbed some stuff from my house (and opened up the new mango/pink dress I ordered from LuLu's!
If you haven't been over there, hop, skip and click your way to LuLu's right now! I found it referenced in an outfit in my recent Glamour mag and then took a peek and saw the great prices and fashionable fun pieces and fell in love. I kid you not. They bring you limited stock of up and coming designers from all over. In fact, the dress I ordered just last weekend is no longer on the website! Soon after, I got a call from the man and he wanted me to try on the dress. So I did some twirling around and then we headed off to find me some din din.
We tried a new place (we have so many on our list now that we are requiring ourselves to try one new place before we go back to any of our old favs. We went to Cafe 440, which offered burgers, sandwiches and the like. I ordered a blackened chicken sandwich with avocado and mango salsa. I took off the bun, cuz I do that. Don't really eat bread if it's not of the whole wheat variety. The chicken was a bit salty for my taste, but I had most of it anyway for it's protein value. Then devoured my sweet potato fries! YUM! And my glass of red wine was pretty great too. The man had pulled pork sliders, saving a few for his post ride recovery snack on Saturday.
Does anyone make sweet potato fries at home? They're so easy! And kinda good for you. I don't put salt on them and I usually just make them into rounds rather than wedges, but do what you like. Also, be sure to turn them over about halfway through. And I always dip mine in ketchup.
After din, the man went home and I decided to take 45 min more for myself and parked my rear in a cushy seat at Borders coffee corner, grabbed a mint tea, and wrote in my journal and read a bit from two books I have going right now. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty and Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts. Sloppy Firsts is a bit too young for me, but an easy read so I'm plowing through it and then returning it to the library with no plans of reading the sequels. Vanishing Acts is a bit more interesting, but I've yet to get into the meat of the story.
As I opened my journal, I realized it's good to have a place to throw your thoughts. The thoughts that you're not confident in, or don't have the guts to spill to others. Every time I write, it reminds me how cathartic it is. Gotta keep that up!
Saturday I did some light exercise, taking the dog hiking for about an hour before the heat really turned up. A bit later I got a pedicure and had lunch at an outdoor courtyard where a jazz trio was playing music. Sat eve the man and I saw The Hangover (definitely funny and takes the craziness of vegas to an extreme) and had dinner at one of our fav spots. We shared chicken phad thai and the special, crab and ricotta stuffed ravioli with red cream sauce and asparagus. YUM!
Wow, I'm realizing how many new places and things I tried this weekend! Sunday, we headed to a new coffee shop where we ordered breakfast bagel sandwiches and coffee and sat in the sun, checking email and reading. It felt like the way every weekend morning should be spent, you know? The coffee shop is inside this old vintage home surrounded by great trees and other houses and so adorable. The tables were mostly vintage furniture and spaced nicely so you're not mistakenly eaves dropping on your neighbors.
Next, we headed to a local farm for raspberries (read: i'm going to be making raspberry shortcake in the very near future) and then to the grocery store to get some needed supplies. After unloading the food, we got read to head to the LAKE! A lake I've never been to and is only 20 min from the man's house! If you know me and my love for large bodies of water, this is pretty crazy I haven't been there.
Anywho, we packed towels, sunblock, the chuck it (to tire out the dog), a bone (to keep her occupied after she was tired out), and my book of course. We spent about 30 min chucking the tennis ball into the lake where the dog would launch herself off the side and paddle out to get it, until she was tuckered out. I survived with no sun burn and we both agreed we'd be returning soon, but next time with BBQ supplies in tow!
All in all, a weekend of fabulous new trials, a bit of rest and some fun in the sun! Anyone else have a positive trial this weekend? I'm sure Heather is ready to tell us hers tomorrow for Tuesday Trials!
Comments
As far as your question about how to take care of our bodies better, I would say that I need to drink more water.
Have fun in Michigan! You guys are running another race there together, right? Good luck!!
I really need to journal more often. It's fallen by the wayside since I've started blogging but I find that putting pen to paper can be so much more therapeutic than typing!
oh, to have a beach/large body of water within driving distance! You're a lucky gal :) sounds like you had a great weekend. I hope you're feeling better before the trip!
Kayla-We fly into Chicago (where his brother and brother's fiance live) and then drive 2.5 hrs to a small town called sturgis, mi where his parents live. i'll wave from the plane/airport!