The shrimp is *very* close to what I was shooting for - already know what variations I need to make for the next go round on it.  The "just in case the shrimp is a disaster" satay that is marinating in the fridge will get to wait until tomorrow. :-D 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Little more taming of the yard on tap today, and an attempt to recreate a kickass shrimp dish I had overseas, and the only restaurant here that had anything close to it has closed, so it's experimentation time...

Oh, and for the guys scratching their heads about the jeans - going from a 4 to a 2 because my body comp has improved without losing weight is freaking AWESOME.

Well, the volunteer maple forest in the front garden has been dispatched.  

Despite very little change in my weight over the last year, my body composition has changed quite a bit.  To the point where my 501's are now de facto low rise jeans, which would be fine if they had been designed for that, but they weren't, so they just look & fit like crap now.  So, I decided to actually attempt to catch up with fashion and went out today in search of some new low rise jeans.  12 pairs tried on later, I now have two pairs of freakin' size TWO jeans.  I've never been in anything smaller than a 4.  Sweet.

Hope everyone's weekend is off to a good start. Taking the weekend off and then a loooooong run on Monday.

While I love summer, the fall weather does get me back into cooking.  Thyme Garlic Pork Tenderloin & fried potatoes.  Both came out perfectly.  (Yeah, there probably should have been a vegetable in there, I'll throw some celery in a bloody mary this weekend.)

Pretty, pretty day out there. HR not cooperating much today, which is quite likely attributable to a lack of sleep, nutrition, hydration & a flat course. But an enjoyable run anyway and I managed to pull out negative splits, so it's all good.

Off to the market, there is cooking to be done tonight. :)

Good morning and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Short run on tap today.

In retrospect, hitting the jacuzzi vs. attempting to swim probably worked out for the best.  My state of mind & body could best be described today as "happy tired" - slept like a rock last night, nothing hurts today and I am super relaxed, but oh so sleepy.  Had I tried to swim, I think I might have drowned.

Went to go swim, all lanes full, so I decided to just sit and relax in the jacuzzi instead. It felt sooooooooooooooooooo good.

At the risk of continuing a genuinely non-bar-fight-five-minute-major-for-fighting theme for the week... I have a somewhat unique situation for someone of my age & stage. It's a result of some effed up things happening over the years, but has resulted in some seriously positive things. These past two weeks have highlighted that SO much, and I am SO grateful for where I am in life and I am so, SO lucky in so many ways.

Legs are a little creaky tonight, but nothing like after the half mary in March - that's become the yardstick for feeling good/bad post run. Took about 48 hours before I could stand up without feeling like I might immediately fall over. Hasn't been an issue with the recent long runs, woot!

Awesome run.

Well, Target cat seems to have found a new way to torture the dog. I hung a couple of my finishers medals on the doorknob to the side door. The cat likes to go bat at them so they make noise. Noise that the dog doesn't like and will retreat from...

Good swim, even if I did jump out of the pool a little too quick and near faceplant on the deck...  The Sengal goggles have to go - had a second pair and they still leak on the right side - would seem my bone structure is decidedly not symmetrical.

Good morning my little chickadees. Hope all is well on this fine Tuesday morning.

The "Summer of Cindy" officially ended yesterday, and I am pleased to report that I am actually back in the game. I'd promised myself that after I left my job mid-May with an impressive case of burnout, the rest of the summer through the week after Reston would be all about me, and it was a raging success. Anything that wasn't critical or important to me would just have to wait. It's been a wonderful summer and here are the lessons learned:

-- Housework is not important to me. ;) (OK, that one I already kinda knew.)
-- Being able to be there for people I care about, pretty much anytime, is awesome.
-- I love this sport, and even more when I'm not using the training time to burn off the "OMG, want to kill coworkers/clients" stress, even if it does seem to make me slower.
-- I'm a really, really good slacker.
-- I can do fine on less sleep when I let my body dictate the schedule instead of trying to force it.
-- There are very few things in life that are truly critical.

Yesterday I got up, did my run, got a TON of stuff done around the house that I'd been ignoring, and was generally pleased to discover I had not forgotten how to be productive. Today I've got some errands to run, then it's off to swim and then get more done around here. Go me.

One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer. - GE Lessing

As bad as it looks, it really felt fairly decent once I got past the first mile.  Coming off 7 days of debauchery I decided to start with 4/1 R/W intervals and those were just not doing it at all, so starting with the second mile I kicked over to strict Z2 and let the HR drive the run.  MUCH more comfortable, and faster to boot. 

Back in the game today, going out for what will no doubt be a very painful 5 miles here in a bit. Decided that I'm going to move my long run to Wednesdays from here to MCM.

While the week off will surely be less than positively reflected in my training in the immediate future, being completely available 24/7 last week was a godsend for various reasons. I am so grateful I have a life that allows such things.

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm - Collette