And the Bass Keeps Runnin', Runnin'

Ugh — I equal parts love and hate the Black Eyed Peas. LOVE their songs for about a month, then HATE hearing them over and over and over again on the radio. Plus, I’m too lazy to clear out my iPod — I just keep adding new songs — so right now, BEP is on heavy rotation. Oh well, it’s good to run to. Which is exactly what I did this morning!

First, you have to see the genius that is Friday night laziness. What happens when you have tons of pesto and no motivation to put together a proper meal? This:

Just looking at the pictures makes me hungry … and with a side of organic red vino, I was out like a fat kid playing dodgeball. Slept-watched the Patriots game (Tommy, you WILL be okay, right?)

We used organic tomatoes, because we’ve heard that they taste so much better, and because we really are making every effort to buy locally-grown, organic food whenever possible. The tomatoes? Meh. Nothing stunning. But they did allow me to make a mockery of Lucas:

Don’t worry, he was well-rewarded for his goofiness:

Anyone watch “Three Sheets” on Fine Living? “That’s good Oktoberfest!” Zane Lamprey is a Syracuse boy, so holla! Go ‘Cuse!

And in the spirit of celebrating our favorite TV shows, I have to share this picture. Lucas told me this shirt reminded him of an episode of “Family Guy.” Watch, and watch.

“I flew today.”

It’s a good thing I passed out on the couch got to bed early, because I had a very early start to my Saturday:

I wanted to get a good long exercise session in today, so I headed down to Lucky’s Lake Swim but left myself enough time for a run. I was hoping for 8 miles but only did 7. Oh well — c’est la vie. Then, I did one lap of the swim, which is about .75K. Although, with the amount of off-course, zig-zaggy swimming I did this morning, it was probably closer to a full 1K. I’m usually a VERY straight swimmer, so I don’t know what was up with me today!

Here’s the experience in pictures:

Couple of things here:

• Yes, I ran in my bathing suit today, with a sports bra underneath and my heart rate monitor underneath that. I don’t usually wear my suit during training runs, but I DO typically wear this getup during real triathlons. So, since I was swimming today, it made sense to run in my suit.
• Yes, I got funny looks. Here’s how I justify them — I’m running and your fat ass is in the car. I get a little snippy when I’m running.
• I wear a Nike heart rate monitor. It’s fine. I bought it with a gift certificate, and so it was free to me ($99 to you). It’s not the best on the market, but it does its job. If I had unlimited funds, I would buy a Garmin Forerunner 305 (or maybe even the 405).
• To find your maximum heart rate, take 220 and subtract your age. That puts me at about 200 190. Depending on the intensity of the exercise, I try and stay between 120 and 175.
  • Spinning/Running = 165-175
  • Cycling = 140 (on hills, at least)
  • Swimming = 120
• I hate to admit this, because I do believe in proper fitness nutrition, but I don’t like to eat or drink before a workout, even a long one like this. Today, I forced down a Fruition Bar (unpictured, from the HLS swag bag) just because I knew I wouldn’t be eating until lunchtime, and I’d be burning about 800-900 calories. If the workout had been any shorter, I probably wouldn’t have eaten anything. It just doesn’t sit well, especially when I run.

Lucas is puttering in the kitchen, putting together some pesto and cheese sandwiches for lunch, then we have to head to IKEA and finally — the Taste of the Nation! There are still tickets available. They’re spendy. I get it if you can’t afford the trip. If you can, I encourage you to attend. 100% of the ticket money goes to Share Our Strength, an amazing organization that’s doing everything it can to make sure no child goes hungry.

If you can’t go, and want to see what it’s like, follow me on Twitter and also look for the #OrlTaste hashtag!

I leave you with two members of the zoo who feel they don’t get enough blog love: