The fitness bug has bitten

For the past year, I've been seriously into getting healthier. Primarily this has just meant losing weight, but also getting more fit. I started walking a lot last fall. Then I finally bit the bullet a few months later and started really dieting. Then I REALLY starting to exercise at a gym. Sigh. Believe it or not, I actually started keeping a food (a total pain) diary and an exercise (way more fun) diary. I've been using the selfdietclub.com site, which has some nifty online tools. Even though the tools are a little buggy, they're fairly easy to use & have these nifty graphs like this one--weight over time. This graph makes me VERY happy. Besides, I like Self.com because they gave me a little bit of (dubious) internet fame.

Anyway, it's been a good, but frustrating and rewarding year with this fitness insanity. I'm back down to the weight I was at at age 21. Just need to subtract a few more years and then I'll be happy to be finished!

Oh, and with my happy new knee, I'm back at yoga again. Yay! Yoga generally makes me very happy--and being fifty pounds lighter makes it WAY easier. Today, however, I was completely stymied by The Crane (Bakasana) and The Tree (Vriksha-asana). I totally hate balancing poses! Bah!

Running is for crazy people

So, Saturday I ran in my first 5k ever! I wasn't planning on running it, I swear. For the past year or so, I've been working up a very nice brisk walking pace as part of my fitness routine. This summer, I was pretty consistently walking about 4 miles at a 15 minute mile or so. That was the plan for the 5k.

Then the race started and everyone started by running. Which seemed reasonable. So I ran the first quarter/half mile-ish. And then I walked for a while. Then these 2 ladies who had been walking just behind me started to jog again. So I jogged. And passed them when they started to walk again, went a little further, then slowed to a walk again. And so on...

But, at mile 1.5ish, a tiny little old grey-haired lady passed me. Huh. So I started running again. Made it to that big tree, and then a little further to the other big tree. Then I walked. A few minutes later, the tiny little ol'lady passed me again. She had to be at least in her mid-seventies and a foot shorter than me. Sigh. So I was, of course, forced to run again and further. This lasted until the end of the race, where I managed to beat 77 year-old Edna by 1.5 seconds. I'm surprised she didn't trip me at some point to make me quit it. Who knew I was so competitive? Anyway, here are the results:
FIONA SOLKOWSKI, Placed 280 Overall, Placed 14 in Age Group, Pace 12:12, Finish Time 37:56.0

Doug was also at this event running his first full marathon! Woohoo! Go Doug!

And sadly, I've decided that running is WAY more effective at burning calories. Sigh. So, I ran again with support and encouragement from Doug last night. I'm actually pretty thrilled (in that sore & grumpy sort of way) about the running. It means my knees are way better than they have been for years.

More Weird Yard Art

Seriously, how could you pass up going to visit a Pumpkin-eating Dinosaur? This is at the Waterman's Farm Market on the Southeast side of Indianapolis. One of the most entertaining bits of this show, was the surly teenaged boy who was "feeding" Tyranny. He stabbed the pitchfork into a pumpkin...put it in the dinosaur's mouth...waited for the chewing to happen. Stabbed another pumpkin... and so on. All done with the most despondent look of boredom that only a 16 year-old boy can pull off.
www.watermansfarmmarket.com

Shiny New Bike

Wow. For the first time in my life, I have a brand new *nice* bicycle. It's a Schwinn Voyageur Hybrid. And is SHINY! The other bike in the photo is Doug's weird recumbent bike--he's totally in love with his bike too, even if it's goofy looking.

In the first 10 days of owning this bike, I pedaled away over 100 miles. Probably not a huge deal for the avid bikers out there, but a way big deal for me. :)

For Indy folks, there's a great new bike shop in Fountain Square--Joe's Cycles on Virginia Avenue just north of the fountain. Joe is great & that's where I bought my shiny new bike!

Weird Yard Art

So, I was inspired by weird yard art to finally start my blog. Invariably, in my travels, I feel compelled to seek out these goofy things such as 75 foot tall catsup bottles, man-eating spiders, giant pink plastic elephants, and pumpkin eating dinosaurs.

This lovely bit of weird yard art was at a roadside pumpkin stand in Ohio, near Cowen Lake State Park. This was a last minute trip that Doug & I went on last weekend, to break in our new bikes on Ohio's fabulous bike-hike trails. We started out with a quick 12 mile trip along the Little Miami on Saturday evening. On Sunday, we started out at the Xenia Station hub and made a 33 mile round trip (turning around just north of Yellow Springs).

More weird yard art & roadside attractions in upcoming posts. Also, I will wax poetic about my new love affair with my shiny new bike!