Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Ghirardelli, here I come...

Wow... surprisingly, I have managed to get up at 4:45 in the morning two days in a row to work out. And I'm planning another early day tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. I suspect it's been easier these last two days because I know this is a three-day week... so today is like Thursday, and tomorrow is Early Friday. (I just looooove Early Friday... :))

I was really happy with my workout this morning, too -- I managed to squeeze in 3.6 miles before I decided I should stop and get ready for work. Yesterday morning, I was so tired that I mostly just walked the entire time, and only accrued two and a half miles before calling it quits. I know that "something" is better than "nothing," but I tend to feel like anything under three miles is hardly worth the effort. And I'm really trying to get to a point where three miles feels as easy as two miles feels right now... (two miles is nothing... two miles is practically a warm-up... :)) I read all these blogs written by people who actually RUN a lot, and they're racking up 5, 6, 7 miles per workout. I feel like such an exercise wimp. (Oh, pathetic three miles... I must surpass you and move on to better things...) But hey, when it's 4:45 in the morning, I guess I should be happy to be moving at ALL... :)

Yesterday, Rick mentioned something about struggling to eat properly over the holiday season, and I realized that I've actually done REALLY well so far this year. I believe I've achieved my goal of NOT gaining any weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas (I almost always gain at least a few...), and have successfully avoided most of the random treats that have been popping up at work. I haven't broken down into a baking frenzy (save for the banana bread I made for the office Christmas party), and I'm planning on treating myself to ONE (and only one for the entire season) delicious peppermint chocolate chip milkshake from Chick-fil-a. (I LOVE Chick-fil-a's peppermint milkshakes, and they only have them this time of year -- so I decided I would have ONE at some point before the holidays were over. Otherwise I'd miss the chance to have one for an entire year. I believe I'll have my milkshake tomorrow night, in celebration of six whole days off from work... :))

So really, I think this has been quite a successful holiday season, as far as reining in the indulgent binges that often come along with this time of year. Of course, that being said, I AM totally planning to make a big batch of Christmas cookies at Eric's place in Chicago. I pretty much HAVE to, because he went out and got a cookie sheet and a rolling pin and everything... I mean, if I DIDN'T make cookies at this point, it would just be rude. Eric would be left with all that cookie-making paraphernalia just cluttering up his kitchen. I certainly can't have THAT, now, can I?? Of course not...

Speaking of Chicago -- we leave on Christmas Day. I don't think I've ever traveled ON Christmas Day before... but it may actually turn out to be a good thing, because right now they're forecasting snow for Christmas Eve. And while I DO hope we see snow while we're up there, I would prefer if it holds off until after our plane lands. And then it can just go crazy for a couple days. In fact, it seems that the ONLY time the crowds at Ghirardelli die down is when it's snowing -- even when it's windy and 15 degrees outside, people still line up for ice cream at Ghirardelli. What is WRONG with all those people?? (And never mind the fact that I've BEEN one of those people many, many times... that is beside the point... :))

Anyway, it's good that I've been doing well with the eating and exercise lately, because obviously I'm about to throw all caution to the wind and eat whatever I want in Chicago.

But hey, that's what vacation is about, right? :)

6 comments:

G. B. Miller said...

Glad to hear that you're making excellent progress with your running.

I'm sure that in no time, you'll be making heads turn all over the place....:D

Cool, my word verification is "blings".

Rick said...

She turns my head everytime she walks in the room.... :)

Darnit... my word verification is mitea. I have no idea what mitea is. I mean OTHER than the Romanian footballer Nicolae Mitea (thank you wikipedia)...

Lisa said...

Thanks, G! :) Yeah, I've actually considered writing down these word verifications, because sometimes they're really funny and/or interesting...

Rick -- LOL!! Nicolae Mitea... (and thanks for the compliment... love you! :))

By the way, my word is "crostsp." That's not nearly as fun as either of yours...

Cindy Stokes said...

I only do 3 at a time, but in bare feet. Does that make you feel better or more wimpy? :)

Don't ever read "Born to Run", or you'll really feel like a wimp. By the way, it's with the advent of Spellcheck (hey, that's not a word?) that I have learned that I have been misspelling the word "wimp" for years. I thought it was "whimp"!

Aunt Carol said...

And don't forget, when you're on vacation calories don't count. Have fun and Merry Christmas!

Lisa said...

Cindy, when I don't get up early enough for a "real" workout, I usually jump on the treadmill for 10 or 15 minutes just to wake up, and I always do it barefoot... because I never feel like taking the time to lace up shoes. (Yes, I AM that lazy in the morning... or maybe just tired... :))

Aunt Carol, that is SO true!! :) Merry Christmas to you, too!