La Vida Fresca

I do not miss the gym. Since choosing not to renew our membership last month, I’ve been running only outside, doing yoga at home (surprisingly good for upper body muscles it seems), and doing a little bodyweight strength training here and there.

I like to run outside. Today I went in to work late so I bummed around the house and didn’t get outside until 9:30. That would have been detrimental to my run normally, but I was lucky because today it was so overcast outside the sun wasn’t shining at all. It was terribly humid, but at least I got to enjoy an outdoor run in the late morning.

I am also lucky to have hills all around me. I know this is Central Florida, most of which is pancake-flat, but the streets around my house are hilly. However, subdivisions do creep me out. Especially big ones like this. It’s also one of those old-school ones that are cursed with a poorly-planned road system and zero sidewalks or bike lands. So I end up having to jump from one side of the road to the other depending on which side has mowed grass. Most of the time it’s neither so I have to run on the pavement or get hit with wet grass taller than my knees. No thanks. My shins aren’t liking this too much though. Don’t worry, soon I’ll get our treadmill out of storage and I”l be able to alternate between pavement and treadmill.

I also like that the gym freaks can’t bother me now that I don’t go there. Although now I am subject to freaks down the street. One man, for example, thought it would be a good idea the other day  to stand in front of his living room window (facing the street) in the nude. Yay (that was sarcastic in case you couldn’t tell).

Today Kevin and I also got in a p.m. bike ride down te raod and through the woods. We now realize our bikes are in dire need of tuning up, but the ride went well and thankfully there were no spills (my specialty).

Well that was a long rambly post with not much of a point. Sorry about that. That’s what you get from a person who hasn’t been able to use here camera all week and is really really tired. I’m now off to get some sleep. I hope everyone has a great weekend full of good runs (or swims or bike rides or whatever it is you do).

Night!

So between the beach and biking, we opted for the bike ride and stayed local today.

We are such a good team. I did my usual routine bumbling around the house looking for my shoes, petting the dog, and spilling my coffee, and when I stepped outside, the truck was running, bikes were loaded, and the hydration packs were filled and ready to go. That’s teamwork right there. I wouldn’t have even known where to start looking for the packs. I think Mr. Gear waves a magic gear wand and these things just materialize.

The truck took a bit of a beating getting there because the road had washed out in parts since we’ve had all of this rain and the potholes were hard to see with the combination of dappled sunlight and tree shadows. After going 30 mph and hitting a few big holes, the poor old truck was a little shaken. We just told it to suck it up and hoped the tires would still be inflated when we got back from our ride.

We were far from being the only ones out there. Lots of people were enjoying the holiday on the trails. Parked near us was this mobile bike service truck/trailer, Doctor Bike.

Seeing my poor dirty bike staring longingly at it, I started to feel a twinge of guilt and did what any bad parent would do. I said, “You’re not going to the doctor this week. I don’t want to spend the money so shut up your whining. You’re starting to sound like the truck.” Ha ha.

It was 93 degrees today and something like a thousand percent humidity (durr … it is the Fourth of July) and we chose to go for a bike ride instead of the beach. Sometimes we are not so smart. Just the same, it was a good fun ride and we had a blast as usual.

We passed this memorial on the trail. I don’t know if this person had an accident there or what, but the sight was a little sobering. There were photos, some personal items, a bike chain, and gear.

We rode for about an hour total on our aluminum steeds and spent another half hour at this cool spot we came across that was like a little tiny Grand Canyon combined with planet Mars if Mars was hot and had water. Pretty cool. Unfortunately my camera battery died at that point so you don’t get to see the grimy “after” photos. The mud was thick and glorious (but not so good for biking or walking on) and I’m glad I didn’t wear my running shoes today. It was a great place and I definitely want to go back with the SLR for some good photos.

We didn’t get started until about 11 a.m. but I wasn’t hungry at all until that point and knew I didn’t want to eat beforehand anyway. Actually, my “breakfast” is typically about 10:30 or 11. I wasn’t hungry at all during the ride either, obviously, because of the weather. But as soon as I got back in the air conditioning I was ravenous. I got home, showered, and made a humongous salad with lettuce, warmed seasoned pinto beans, frozen corn, Jack’s Special brand salsa (good stuff), shredded cheese, half an alligator pear, and my “sour cream” (drained nonfat plain yogurt).  Yum. I also made Kevin a gigantic chef salad that I think must have weighed 10 pounds.

Yes, I ate this out of a pie plate. Somehow our regular bowls didn’t seem quite big enough for me today.

I forgot to buy jalapenos at the store, but my good friend Texas Pete saved the day.

And then there were cherries.

Now I am getting a little hungry again and I’m trying to decide between ice cream or a nap …