In Which I Keep My Word

I’ve been a busy bee, getting my legs in shape for the start of half-marathon training in September.  I even got in my run, as promised, on Sunday, and it was much easier than I expected, thanks to a little cheesy Food Network to keep me entertained.

I’m finding that one of the best ways for me to be outside in Texas right now is to go for a bike ride at dusk.  Though the air is still hot, the sun’s harsh glare has faded and the sunsets here are gorgeous.  On Saturday night, I rode the bike to and from Kohl’s, which is probably about two miles or so from my apartment.  It was a leisurely, meandering ride—very relaxing.  Does it still count as a work-out?  Absolutely!  Those pedals didn’t turn themselves, you know.

On Sunday, I laced up my running sneakers and hit the treadmill for 20 minutes straight.  I don’t remember the pace I chose—I may have gone with a 9:30 pace because I was feeling a bit sluggish that day—but no matter: the real point is the time spent running.  I finally figured out that channel 50 is the Food Network, and I tuned in just in time to see cakes being made on Kid in a Candy Store.  I felt a bit sickened by the Hostess part of the show—Twinkies and such have no appeal to me any more—but there was a really interesting segment where the host visits a restaurant in Chicago, where they make an old-fashioned German cake called Baumkuchen, or “tree cake.”  The cake is actually baked on a spit!  The spit is rotated through a vat of batter until the batter starts to stick to the rotating spit, then the cake is baked over an open heat source.  The process is repeated over and over, creating a thicker and thicker cake.  A full Baumkuchen is, I believe, three feet long, but the restaurant sells it in smaller sections for people to take home.

Anyway, so the Food Network is my new motivation for doing my treadmill work-outs.  Food Network is really cheesy, so I won’t watch it at home, but I’ll indulge in some cheese while running to nowhere on the treadmill.

On Monday, I took it easy and did some light stretching.  On Tuesday, I rode the bike to Kohl’s again, this time to buy a really cute sweater for myself.  Again, I went around dusk, but I ended up riding home in the dark—not the safest thing, for sure, but I got home without incident, thank goodness.  Finally, yesterday, Wednesday, I did a session of Gentle Hatha Yoga #2, which was wonderful.  The strange thing is that I woke up sore today!  I’m feeling something in my legs, especially my calves, but it’s not awful.  I’m still running around the lab today like I usually do.  It’s been a productive week at work, but I am really looking forward to the weekend.  TGIalmostF!