App Crash

I really hate when Charity Miles crashes! I went for a walk today to check out the scenery. The app crashed 3 times today, so poor Feeding America only got 5 cents today. I didn't even put it in the collage because it was so sad.

I got close to or a little over 2 miles (I think). The app crash not only screwed the charity, but it also screwed my distance. Oh, well. My estimate is probably pretty close. Not bad for a leisurely stroll.

Hills, Ugh!

I'm not really complaining so soon after getting back to some sort of routine. But there are some hills around my office. I found that out today when I opted to do an outdoor run. To paraphrase Peppa Pig, "I don't like running uphill." But I managed to get over 2 miles. I did 1:1 intervals instead of killing myself with 1.5:1 like I did yesterday. 

I'm not sure how my 2 miles equates to meals since Charity Miles has changed so much since I last used it, but at least Feeding America benefitted from my hilly jaunt. Look how lovely it is by my office.

I'm Back, Baby

Ok, lots has happened since my last post in November. It has been way too long since I got on the treadmill or hit the trail. So here's a brief synopsis.

1) I actually ran sometime in December, but after my run, I was ordered to not run again during lunch by my previous boss. Yes, I said previous. The moment she told me I was no longer allowed to use my lunch break the way I deemed fit, I knew my days with that company were numbered. 

2) Due to the amount of stress that was heaped on me at my previous position, I stopped taking care of myself. I would spend my evenings desperately applying for any job that seemed somewhat in line with my qualifications while comforting myself with sweets. I was miserable.

3) Luckily, my misery was short lived. I managed to get hired with a great company that focuses on employee wellness. There are three exercise facilities onsite, and I took advantage today after my first week of orientation. I feel great. I had forgotten how good exercise endorphins make me feel.

4) Unfortunately, I didn't get charity credit for my run today. There have been updates to Charity Miles, and I didn't get it set up properly before my workout. Next time, I'll get it right. Hopefully, I'll also have a better distance as I could tell that a few months of being sedentary has hurt my endurance. Only 1.78 miles on the treadmill. I hope my future outdoor runs will produce better results.

Sore Ankles Hobbled Me

It was a chilly day today, but Sarah and I were ready to do our run. We both brought our warmer running clothes, and we were ready to conquer. Or so I thought. I was the one who wussed out. We started out well, but after we had gone about a mile, my ankles could take no more. So, I asked if we could just walk the rest of the way. We still managed to get in over 2.5 miles, which got over 5 meals for some needy people. But I just hate that my ankles wouldn't cooperate. I blame it on wearing some boots I hadn't worn in a while the day before...

It's Freaking Cold!

It's really cold today. Temperatures are in the 30s. That's just insanity. And the other insanity: me, walking on the Greenway in my work clothes with my thin leggings and my thin little jacket (at least it had a hood). Sarah opted to reschedule our Tuesday run since she didn't have the right gear for running. I should have just gone to the gym, but I chose to do a lunch time walk. I had Pandora to keep my company, and I just enjoyed getting away from the office for a bit. But man, it was cold!

In case you're interested, here's the playlist Pandora chose for me.

Revolution by The Beatles
Tiny Dancer by Elton John
Wild Horses by Rolling Stones
Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye
Centerfold by J. Geils Band
Hip to Be Square by Huey Lewis
Who's Crying Now by Journey
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Hey Jude by The Beatles
The Joker by Steve Miller Band
Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel
The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
Private Eyes by Hall & Oates
Doing It All For My Baby by Huey Lewis

A Leisure Walk

Today, I elbowed my way into a group of colleagues who decided to do a lunch time walk. Ok, the group didn't resist my presence, but I certainly didn't mind inviting myself into their walk. It was good motivation for me, and I really was ready to get away from my desk for a bit. So, we walked almost 2 miles for the ASPCA. I should have put a little extra "oomph" into it so I could get to the 5th vaccination mark, but not bad.

A Walk for the Critters

Today, I had a training session that lasted until noon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do my normal run. But thankfully, my buddy Sarah agreed that we could do a walk instead. We spent our lunch hour walking the Greenway and chit-chatting. We managed to walk an entire three miles during that hour. We also saw some interesting little critters along the way including a blue heron, a little snake, and a camera-shy squirrel. And our walk with the critters produced 7.5 vaccines for the (shelter) critters as well.

Walk to De-Stress

It's really hectic at work right now. I really, really wanted to go for a run today. But I just couldn't justify leaving for an hour and a half when there is so much today. So, I asked a co-worker if she wanted to go for a walk with me. We got it done in a little over 30 minutes: 1.5 miles and 3 meals. Not bad. And it was nice to get away from my desk and enjoy the outside for just a bit.

Creepy, Spooky and Backpacky Walks

For Halloween, I opted to take the little darling to the mall to see other dressed up kids. We got there a little later than the allotted candy hand-out time of 6-7 p.m., but she managed to get a couple of sweets for daddy and mommy to eat. She looked so sweet in her little UNC cheerleader outfit. And she was also very sweet in helping me walk for furry vaccinations.

And then today, I opted to try to get a few more steps in for the ASPCA. I loaded my best girl in her little backpack, and we took off for a walk with the pups. The rain tried to derail us, but we still managed to get another vaccine for the ASPCA companion animals.

The Reptilian Run

Had I known how many critters I would see out on the path today, I may have opted to run for the animals. But I chose my old standby. I love doing for the animals, but it's hard not to feed people when it's lunchtime.

My running buddy was back today. We've both been busy at work, but we really strive to spend our Tuesdays running for a bit. Last week, I flaked and forgot my workout clothes, so we ended up walking during our lunch. So, this week, I was glad we could run together again. We did a great job! We seem to increase our distance just a little bit each time we run. It's awesome to see the progress.

On our run, we shared the path with a snake and a lizard. If our turtle friends had ventured up from the creek, our reptilian run would have been complete. But regardless of their absence, we ran on and managed 2.65 miles, which provided over five meals.

The Old, Familiar Path

Today, I hit the trail by myself. I wanted to get in my three miles, but I was ready to revisit the old path I used to take when I first started running over a year ago. I'll be honest; my nutrition has really sucked this week. For some reason, I can't get my health mojo back. I'm still exercising, but I know that I need to start watching my food intake soon, or I'm going to regret it.

I feel that my lack of restraint with food this week definitely shows in my run today. My time wasn't great, and overall, I just felt rather tired throughout the entire run. But I still got out there and did my three miles, which means that six meals are on their way to hungry folks.

Being Forgetful is not a Deterrent!

So, this morning, I packed my gym bag when I finally made it downstairs, but somewhere amidst putting on my shoes and making sure I had all the necessary baby things, I forgot to grab it on my way out the door. I blame it on the fact that I've started taking my work laptop home, and since I grabbed that bag on my way out, I guess I thought I had everything.

Since I didn't have any of my workout clothes, Sarah and I decided to just take a nice long walk at lunch. It was a lovely day for a walk. It was warm in the sun, so I did get a little perspirey, but it was a nice way to spend lunch. I do like my usual runs, but sometimes, you just have a take a pause to enjoy the day. And even though we didn't run, we still walked over 2.5 miles and managed to get over 6 vaccinations for some little furry companions.

A Grand Zoo Adventure

Today was a great day! We took our Tiny Dancer out to the zoo. It was her first time visiting the zoo, and while she spent a lot of her visit napping in her stroller, it was still a fun day. With all the walking we had to do from exhibit to exhibit, it's only fitting that we turn on Charity Miles to help benefit a noble cause. And since we were at the zoo, I thought it only fitting that the miles I walk help benefit the World Wildlife Fund. We walked over 4 miles and raised over $1 to help furries around the world.

Stroll for the Furries

This evening, I was ready to get back on track with walking the pups. Piper hasn't really had a good, structured walk this week, so I was determined to get him out tonight. And he was quite happy to get his walk. I took the Piper reins while Cliff walked our two girls. Of course, Piper doesn't respond as well to me as he does to Cliff. I walked him most of the way, but for the last quarter mile, Cliff took over to show me how to relax while I walk Piper. It's just difficult for me. Relaxing while a maniacal mutt is doing everything he can to pull my arm out of the socket isn't really an easy feat. But I'll keep trying. In the meantime, I enjoyed having a few minutes to walk my girls.

Once we got home, I was ready to finish up logging our mile. But when I stopped the Charity Miles app, I got this error message.

I started to have a little panic attack. I've gotten this message before, and it was the prelude to an app crash and my progress not saving. But luckily, that was not the case today. I did manage to get my progress saved after we finished dinner, in which the baby proved to be quite fussy from sleepiness. You wouldn't know it to look at the picture I took of her (see below). For some reason, whenever a camera comes out, she can't help but ham it up. She just loves it when we take pictures of her. And she's so smart, she knows the difference between really taking a picture and pretending to take one. She's a clever clogs!

Rain, Rain...You Stayed Away!

It's been a few days since I've logged any miles. Shame on me! But that ends now. It's Tuesday, and Sarah and I managed to get back to our Tuesday routine. Yesterday, it rained ALL....DAY....LONG. The gray sky today didn't give me much hope that we would get to do our Greenway run. But the weather gods smiled down upon us and gifted us with a gloomy, cloudy, but fairly dry run. I felt absolutely great during the run. In fact, it felt a little easy (to me), so next week, we kick it up a notch! I guess my spin classes are helping with my stamina. Anyway, we managed to run 2.5 miles in just under 41 minutes (although a little time was used for the photo op). And we gifted 5 meals to some hungry people.

Return to the Greenway for Feeding America

I didn't forget about my weekly run this week. I just had to postpone it from our normal Tuesday run because I had to attend a company luncheon on Tuesday. But Sarah and I were ready to hit the Greenway today. We haven't run together in a couple weeks, but we managed to do very well. I'll take 2.5 miles in 41 minutes. And our lunchtime run meant we were able to provide 5 lunches for some hungry folk. I think I earned that protein-packed, post-run, egg-white bagel!

Pre-Bedtime Stroll

This evening, after I got home from work, I immediately made dinner. After eating, it was time to go for our evening walk. I wanted to eat first to give the day a little longer to cool from the heat. I got to man the stroller and the Tokie today. But with thunder clouds threatening rain, we did a shorter route than we had been doing. Still, we walked for 28 minutes and still managed to provide 1.5 meals. And after our walk, I got some snuggle time with my girl right before her bedtime.

In Touch with Nature for ASPCA

Today was a scorcher, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to go for our evening walk. When I left work, the thermostat in my car showed 96 degrees. I definitely didn't want my girl to be subjected to uncomfortable, sticky heat. But luckily, by the time I got home after running a few errands, the temperature showed about 87 degrees. And by the time we finished eating dinner, the sun was setting and the evening was quite pleasant for our walk.

I manhandled the pup while Cliff strolled our girl and walked the Tokester. Ramsey was so cute on the stroll. She kept trying to hold Tokie's leash, and she loved it when I would turn quickly to look at her. On the way back, she held out her little hand to feel the leaves of some shrubbery as we passed by. I just love watching my girl as she experiences the world. And all her experiences tonight provided 2.5 vaccinations to some needy pets.

Spontaneous Mall Walk

Today is Sunday, and normally, Sunday is our obligatory mall walk. But since it is a long, holiday weekend, we had decided we would forgo our usual stroll. We already had plans to meet Jade at Twisted Fork for brunch, which was great because I enjoyed having brunch with her, but awful because neither the service nor food was very good. But after brunch, we opted to go to the mall to see about getting a cute onesie for the little one from Flashback. We didn't realize we would actually be pacing any distance just to go get a cute onesie. But after Flashback, Jade and her friend, Dan, wanted to go to FYE to look around, so we decided to go with them. About halfway to FYE, Cliff and I realized that we were missing out on prime Charity Mile recording. So, we set our phones for the rest of our shopping excursion. Shopping didn't last very much longer, but it was long enough to make for a very tired baby. And since I recorded 0.5 miles, I was able to get at least one meal for someone hungry. Hurrah!

The (Obligatory) Evening Stroll

It had been a couple days since our last walk with the pups, so I decreed this evening to be one for a family stroll. When I got home from work, I got the stroller ready, changed my clothes, tied on my shoes, and we hit the road. I could feel some tension as I pushed the stroller and tugged Tokie along. I believe I'm feeling a bit of frustration over end-of-month accounting stress, but I was hoping the walk would help. While I wasn't completely happy-go-lucky by the time we returned home after walking a mile, I was happy that we helped provide 2.5 vaccinations for some furry friends. Now, I just need to get through this month-end to return to my lovely, happy self. My pups and daughter feed off that negativity like piranhas.