Nice tread

Yesterday, as I walked outside to do my workout, I noticed that it was extremely windy. I tried to capture the essence of the wind by photographing the choppy water:

(But it doesn't seem so impressive when it's standing still.)

And as I fought to walk a straight line against a strong gust, I thought to myself, screw this. So I went to use the treadmill at the gym instead, which does not make for very nice photos. Plus I would feel weird carrying my camera around the gym. So while I did not get to enjoy the following loveliness, I did get totally jealous of a girl who was sporting the legs I've been wanting for forever. Bitch.

And yes, I am sore today

Yesterday I completed my first workout that included running. Ten minutes of it. Total. And it was freakin' hard. I've never felt fatter than when my legs were tired of running and my feet came down harder on the ground than I intended them to, and it seemed as if the entire earth was quaking with every Thud. Thud. Thud. But of course that's only because I was moving at a prolonged intensity that I have not attempted since ... oh God, I can't remember.

Jingle jingle

This is her:


Jen A, the woman that totally, amazingly sacrificed an extra 3 hours of sleep to go race-walking with me on a cold, drizzly Saturday morning, after having stayed up half the night at work constructing a Yeti Ice Lair--all so that I would not have to endure my first race experience alone. You can almost see real runners there in the background.

I totally forgot to pack the run-o-cam (sorry run-o-cam). Luckily, Jen had her phone-o-cam and was willing to use it to capture the pre-race mood of our 5K walking adventure. This is me with a real race number on my chest, like I'm a real athlete or something:

This is where I should post a disclaimer that goes something like, "Legs in photo are wider than they appear (but unfortunately they are just as short)." But I won't, and will continue to have you believe that my legs really are that thin.

That said, the walk was good, finishing in about 50:00. I went in with two goals: to finish, and to not finish last. We achieved both. We also achieved other spontaneous goals along the way, like to finish ahead of Purse Girl, who was obviously a very serious walker. We could tell by her bootcut jeans, puffy jacket, tote and umbrella.

Also, we reached the consensus that if it is cold enough to require you to wear a winter hat, you should also probably be wearing something other than shorts. Like a shirt.

Along the way we encountered a water boy who looked frightened of us as though we might beat him with our jingle bell nunchucks if he did not offer a sacrifice of bottled water, however reluctantly. We also saw two very fat, but very cute beagles out with their owners, and groups of race volunteers who could have done with an extra lesson in motivational cheering.

And we finished off with a muffin, which is a very fine way to end a race, if you ask me.

Invigorated

I walked today at lunchtime, despite the snow, because I am officially registered for a 5K walk on Saturday! Jen A signed up to do it with me, which is one of the many reasons why I LOVE JEN; it's not as scary to know that even if all the little old power-walking ladies leave me behind, I will have a good friend to be young and slow with. The walk also reminded me of why being outdoors in winter isn't so bad. Other than the fact that it's easier to pass off that extra bit of squishiness as "additional layers." Yeeeeessssss.

Freaking out over a 5K walk. Yes, walk.

That's right. I am at this very moment insanely out-of-body because I have sitting in front of me (at this very moment) the registration form for a 5K run/walk that is taking place on SATURDAY .... FOUR. DAYS. FROM. NOW. And I sat for a while trying to decide whether I thought I could run it, and decided that it is probably a safer bet to walk--because I *know* I can walk 3.1 miles in a decent amount of time, which is to say, like, an hour. And then another part of my brain flips on and starts going "WHAT IF YOU'RE TOO SLOOOOOOWWWWWW?!" Because I imagine all these speed walkers looking as if they're trying to escape an advancing lava flow leaving me in a cloud of dust, who might as well be running if they just picked up their knees a little. It doesn't help that I've carelessly blown off one, two, three, FOUR perfectly good planned walks in a row. But I think back at that part of my brain, "No, no, no, silly. It's a run/walk to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. It's supposed to be fun. And you're a pretty good walker anyway despite those little legs." And then I look down again and see CERTIFIED 5K COURSE & CHIP TIMED EVENT! staring back at me and I think, "Dear God, WHAT AM I DOING?!"