Thursday, February 17, 2011

Blame It On the Rain (Yeah yeah)

Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling
Blame it on the stars that did shine at night
Whatever you do don't put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah....


So. My excuse for not working out came in the form of a song this evening. (Shout-out to Milli Vanilli, you guys may have lip-synced but I've got nothing but love for you.) And yes, it is raining here in Southern California. It is also Wednesday, which is supposed to be my official day off, but since I didn't work out on Friday either, ummm...let's just say Wednesday is the new Friday. (And Bitter is the New Black and Orange is the New Pink and Excuses are the New Opening Line.) On actual Friday, I skipped swimming because the pool closed early, which I would have known about if I'd checked online (which I didn't.) Always plan your workouts in advance, gentle readers, and be aware of things such as early pool closures. Or roadblocks. Or potholes. Or that Chipotle is on the way to the gym and you remember that today happens to be "50% off burritos" day, and suddenly the tapeworm in your belly awakens and demands burritos, which you have to eat to appease that growling monster, but now you're full and can't complete your workout. See? Awareness. It's what's for dinner.

Reza and I recently discovered that our gym membership includes free bowling at the 12-lane bowling center on the university campus, so instead of swimming like I was supposed to, I decided to dust off the old bowling shoes and show him what I was working with...


Needless to say...."What I was working with" was.....part-time, minimum wage, and not up for promotion anytime soon. I think my all-time high score in bowling hovers somewhere near 85? Anyway, I did not expect four strikes from him. Lesson learned: Do not challenge American-Persian-Canadians to a bowl-off, it will not end well. Chubby Bunny is NOT a bowler. Baller, yes. Bowler, no.

Saturday I was good and went for a long brisk walk, somewhere around the 3 mile mark. No running involved. It felt nice to be outside though.

Sunday Reza and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day and go out to dinner, so I wanted to get a run out of the way early. I whipped out my trusty I-Phone and figured out the distance it would take to get me to a place I'd been eyeballing since moving into my new house: South Sun Beads, also known as the Jewelry Makers Shangri-La. It is a building the size of Costco, filled with aisle after aisle of beads, interesting stones, pearls, turquoise, etc...and an outside area where every time I drive by it appears they are having a sale! 75% off of everything I want and NOTHING I need. Oohhhh. So my thought process was this: South Sun Beads is 2.2 miles away from me, if I run there I can window shop while I catch my breath and then I can run back and feel wonderful about myself because 4.4 miles is a long way and gosh it will be so great. (And as a P.S if I run that far, when Reza and I go to dinner I can eat anything I want to and NOT feel guilty!)



Reality bitch slap: Who do I think I am kidding? Yes, the person writing this sentence is the same one who wrote that I almost vomited a week ago from running 1.2 miles. So, contrary to the marathon pace and confident stride I had envisioned for myself, I ran sloooooowly/walked all the way to South Sun Beads. It took about 40 minutes. But, I was feeling good, had an excellent Pandora (Internet radio I-phone FREE brilliant app) techno mix pounding in my ears, and really only walked for a little bit when I got a side-cramp and a cramp in my collar-bone. (Is this normal? I am not lying, I had a raging cramp in my right collar-bone. Owwwww.) I finally made it to South Sun Beads, and before you can dial the phone number to Hoarders Anonymous I had a basket full of jewelry making supplies. Yippee! Bracelets for everyone!!



Since I didn't have a backpack, I didn't know how to get myself and my new treasures home, soooo....I called Reza to see if he could come pick me up. (Truthfully, I was exhausted and could have cried at the thought of having to run home.) Since he is a very good boyfriend, Reza picked me up, and then just shook his head at me when I showed him my purchases and told him I was going to learn how to make jewelry. I even offered to make him a bracelet for being so sweet and picking me up, but for some strange reason he didn't seem too interested. Apparently I pick up a new (often short-lived) hobby about every two weeks. In my own defense, I DID finish the mosaic table I decided to make for him last summer. And it's pretty and he loves it. So there.

Our Valentine's celebration dinner was at this amazing Creole place in San Diego called Gulf Coast Grill, and it's faboosh.  Amongst other things, we had raw oysters and mojitos, mmm. When it came time to open cards he handed me a gift-wrapped box...yay a present!!! Is it pink? Is it blingy? Is it a puppy? No? Can I eat it? (Next best thing to a puppy is something edible, I suppose.) Guess what was inside?


Pink running shoes!!! Pink AND silver (can I call it platinum?), high-tech, gel soled, squishy, cute comfy running shoes. (Specifically for beginner runners with wide feet, Reza very sweetly pointed out.) Well, quack quack-- I was thrilled. I love when people buy you gifts because they are paying attention to your needs, and know your style. Pink shoes are pretty much the best gift ever. Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday night Reza and I swam a relaxing 1,000 yards, but I didn't feel like I pushed myself hard enough. I felt a head cold coming on, and wanted to get home and bundle up before I got sick. (Too late, felt like crap today.) The outdoor pool is really lovely at night, and because it's winter we pretty much had the whole pool to ourselves. Wish it would stay that way year round!!

Below is what my training schedule was supposed to be this week. I am going to try to salvage as much of it as I can for the remaining 3 days:


Sunday
Monday
Tuesday

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Week Tot.

Run (med)
Swim (med)
Bike (long)
     
Run (long)
Swim (long)
Bike (med)

R: 0.80 miles
11m
S: 600 Yd
14m
B: 5.10 miles
19m

R: 0.90 miles
14m
S: 750 Yd
17m
B: 4.10 miles
15m
S: 1350 Yd
41m
B: 9.2 Mi
45m
R: 1.7 Mi
33m

After careful review, I’m not too badly positioned after all. In all honesty, I didn’t even read past Tuesday’s workouts until posting today, because I was worried I’d feel like I let myself down. But, at least the horses didn’t completely trample me after I fell off the wagon! Through Saturday I plan on doing at least one double-workout including both biking and running. That should put me back on track. I think. I hope. IT WILL DAMMIT!  Failure is not an option.

A classic motivational mental image for me while working out has always been Rocky Balboa. Everyone loves an underdog, right??  No matter how tired you are, or how shitty you feel during your workout, watching Rocky throw up those raw eggs after running miles and miles always makes me feel like I am going to be okay. (The fact that he is a character in a movie is irrelevant to me.) 

Yoooo Adrienne!!!!!


 Yours Till Next Time,

Chubby Bunny

2 comments:

  1. Wow... even with the rain, that's quite a bit of exercise you were able to get in. Quite inspiring!

    Irina

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! If you have any running tips for me, please share! :)

    ReplyDelete