The last Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer, advertised a "Ground Wintry Blend Coffee. ....This smooth, medium-dark roast features a blend of Sumatran and Guatemalan coffee beans that have been perfectly ground together with bits of sweet cinnamon, fresh cloves and green & red peppercorns. Keep in mind, the coffee isn’t “flavored;” rather, it’s spiked with spices. So it’s kicky, warming – the nascence of nostalgia."
Already I start my day by dumping two scoops of Starbucks bold coffee grounds into my 12 oz French Press followed by a shake of cinnamon. I like it. Inspired by the Fearless Flyer I have added a couple of twists of the pepper grinder. WAKE ME UP. One cup, that's all I need for the day. The heart is pumping and the eyes are open, the throat loosened up before I pick up the phone to make my first call of the morning. "Down Girl," I expect them to say.
But they say, "Have you been running?" What? What kind of question is that? It's a hint is what it is. A symptom. You sound breathless and not in the sexy way. You sit in your office chair all day. Get off your derriere.
I'm working on that. I have been stung by the walk/run for charity bug. First, without training, I walked a 10 K, The LA Aids Walk, in my old shoes. Pulled along with the 30,000 other participants, it was very doable even for a slacker. The next week I found a 5K walk for Pancreatic Cancer, and walked it in my old shoes. My right foot was complaining at about mile 2, but I made it.
Emotional. These walks are emotional and exhilarating. You probably have friends who have died or are living with Aids or Pancreatic Cancer. Surrounded with others walking and running in memory of their friends, well it's moving. Both of these walks were extremely well planned and being hydrated and nourished along the way was taken care of for you.
Then I did a 3/5K walk/run for a local environmental group. I brought my camera. I came in last. I came in last because I am not a competitor. I am an observer. I wanted pictures. I missed the 3K turn around for walkers and walked the whole 5K. I have new shoes and my right foot is healed. But this time the walk/run organizers provided hydration and nourishment only at the beginning and the end of the walk. Not along the way. Big mistake. I could feel it. I didn't come prepared with my own fuel, being spoiled by the previous walks. The environmentalists didn't want to provide water in plastic bottles. Their water came in those big jugs and we drank out of little paper cups. Great. I'm impressed, but put a few water stations along the path.
It is clear to me that I need some training. I found a training program on-line that will have me running, not walking, a 5 K in 4 months. I'm on week two. This week I walk 27 minutes and run 3, every other day. I found a dirt track in a local park set up especially for training. Instructions for stretching before and after your walk, information about symptoms of over exertion and what to do about it. A bathroom. A water fountain.
It's boring. The track. Around and around. To distract myself I have started filling my water bottle with interesting beverages. Monday it was 8 oz of Aloe Vera juice and 8 oz of water. (Tastes like I imagine urine would taste.) Today is was 8 oz of spicy tomato juice diluted with 8 oz of water. Friday it will be 16 oz of water with a splash of lemon. I'm not a fan of the high corn syrup sports drinks. Any suggestions?
Today I snuck my 30 minute training into a morning lull in business, to free myself up for a busy afternoon. That's the advantage of independent training. You can fit it in. No excuses.
Lunch was a bed of lettuce, layered with an apple cored and sliced, a half dozen kalamata olives, a sprinkle of chopped almonds and a vinaigrette that I made with walnut oil and the vinegar from the kalamata olive jar. Then life interrupted. The next 4 hours were not mine to control.
Dinner. Time to depend of the efforts of others, specifically the freezer section of the Vons Market. Ethnic Gourmet makes a Vegetarian dish called Vegetable Korma, originating from India. Bought, baked (heated) and stirred. BLAAAH It tastes like a bunch of boiled vegetables that someone wanted to disguise with spices. I couldn't eat it.
I toasted a couple of slices of Food for Life Gluten Free bread and dressed them with a tbls of pineapple guava freezer jam my neighbor made. That was good.
I could have used an adult beverage, but I passed. I had a bowl of coconut frozen dessert and a glass of water, which I raised to the universe - "Onward, May tomorrow be my future's yesterday." I know it will.
Today I snuck my 30 minute training into a morning lull in business, to free myself up for a busy afternoon. That's the advantage of independent training. You can fit it in. No excuses.
Lunch was a bed of lettuce, layered with an apple cored and sliced, a half dozen kalamata olives, a sprinkle of chopped almonds and a vinaigrette that I made with walnut oil and the vinegar from the kalamata olive jar. Then life interrupted. The next 4 hours were not mine to control.
Dinner. Time to depend of the efforts of others, specifically the freezer section of the Vons Market. Ethnic Gourmet makes a Vegetarian dish called Vegetable Korma, originating from India. Bought, baked (heated) and stirred. BLAAAH It tastes like a bunch of boiled vegetables that someone wanted to disguise with spices. I couldn't eat it.
I toasted a couple of slices of Food for Life Gluten Free bread and dressed them with a tbls of pineapple guava freezer jam my neighbor made. That was good.
I could have used an adult beverage, but I passed. I had a bowl of coconut frozen dessert and a glass of water, which I raised to the universe - "Onward, May tomorrow be my future's yesterday." I know it will.
No comments:
Post a Comment