Weight I have lost

Monday, November 16, 2015

Celebrating Life, 2 Ways

The past 2 weeks D and I have celebrated life.  First we held the 7th Annual Celebration of Porter's Life.  True to form, we did the Romp and Stomp 5K to start the festivities off.  It was unusually humid and hot out, so neither of us pulled in great times, but we both were happy to get out there and run.   I do love the 5K distance.
Pre-Race Selfie


A little slower than I'd like...Damn Heart Rate

Most of the week leading up to the 7ACoPL was filled with rain.  We talked about taking Scuttlebutt to Decatur, where we always go, but we decided to change it up.  McMenamin is not the best dog around people, since he is scared of them; however since it was raining, who would be foolish enough to sit outside?  So we took both boys to Red Brick Brewing.

When the vet notified me in 2009 that Porter wasn't going to make it, the first song I heard was Green Day's The Time of Your Life.  I have heard it every year on November 5 or 6.  This year I didn't hear it.  When I went into Red Brick to get D's and my beer, guess what was playing?  I know the staff thought I was weird, but I stopped mid-sentence to listen.  Silly, I guess, but I always feel like it is her way of saying hi to me.

So Red Brick had done their Vanilla Gorilla Release the night before, and still had plenty left, so that was what D and I had. (Strange Georgia laws prevent a brewery from pouring a full pint, among other things).

Vanilla Gorilla
The pups got water and hot dogs (provided by us). We had a great time.

Scuttlebutt had been sick in September and part of October, due to the rain causing an infection on his feet, but since he has gotten better, he is lively and full of energy.  Despite hanging in the rain (it only rained for the first 30 minutes we were there), he chased bugs, and watched cars go through a gate of a business.  McMenamin ate hot dogs and made sure to watch everyone who came and went from the brewery.  (He's like me...he's social in that he likes to people watch.  He just doesn't want to interact).

Anyway, I'd like to think Porter would have appreciated a new patio to drink on.

Scuttlebutt

McMenamin and Scuttlebutt watching cars

I'm having lots of fun!

A Capitals Fan in Atlanta

Thanks Red Brick for having us!

This weekend was more Celebration of Life.  It was Lompoc's 3rd Birthday.  It was also Scuttlebutt's 6th Gotcha Day Anniversary.  Since he went out last weekend, we decided to only take Lompoc out this one.

After a 6 mile run through Candler Park, Lake Claire, Kirkwood and Oakhurst (and I only missed 2 turns), D and I came home and had lunch then got Lompoc ready (meaning I was going to dress her up in an infinity scarf).

We ended up walking to Midway Pub in East Atlanta.  Lompoc had a great time.  She is an inquisitive dog and likes to know what's going on around her.  She stared at a lot of people, but overall she loved being outside in the sunshine (finally), and in 55 degrees.  It was a gorgeous day for her day.

New Belgium Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale

Lompoc trying to look over the bushes to see what's out on the street
Lompoc loves to greet me with hugs whether it's been 2 minutes or 2 days

Afterward we walked to Argosy for some more beer, and then headed home. She was one exhausted pup.

Eventide Nitro Dry Stout
Lompoc at Argosy, starting to get tired

It's been a great 2 weeks of celebrating our loves.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

FOMO

Recently, one of my friends was talking about a FOMO moment.  Having no idea what she was talking about, I went and looked up FOMO.  Fear of Missing Out.

Since D and I have gone all "healthy lifestyling,"  I've had a lot of it in the past 3 weeks.  To the point it is causing me anxiety.  This week it has occurred for a beer bottle share, a beer release, and a beer dinner.  I'm not sure what I'm going to miss out on.  How do I balance beer and exercise?

Exercise and Earn a Beer
First the bottle share.  A couple of friends sent me an invitation to go to a bottle share on Tuesday.  I'm not a big week-day socializer.  I never have been.   In school, homework was to be had.  Nowadays, I get up at 530am, out the door by 615 for work, and usually back home after work and the gym around 6pm to walk the dogs, do some laundry.  If I'm lucky and feeling social, D usually gets to have a 10 minute conversation with me.  But usually, we just are ships passing through the night watching Futurama doing errands or chores, unless we have planned something at least 2 months in advance.  And I'm usually asleep by 930.  The weekends are the times where we actually talk to each other.  So, this beer share came up, and we mentioned it to each other, but "too much to do," was the answer from both of us.  This morning when I saw the pictures, I was bummed I had missed out on seeing friends, meeting some new people, but I know I will see/meet them.  I still think I did miss out. (Side note:  Keep inviting me, you never know when I'll show up).

Next up, a beer release:  The State of Georgia doesn't like craft beer, so after SB63 was passed and was in effect for a few months, the DOR felt it necessary to reinterpret what the law actually said.  I have my opinions about why this happened (suckass distributors in the LT. Governor's pocket), but in response, a lot of the Georgia Breweries are doing beer releases and special days where part of the money goes back to the the GA Craft Brewers Guild to help them replenish their reserves to fight this stupid misinterpretation of the law.  D and  I planned on going to one beer release, near us.  We were going to walk and bring our backpacks so we could carry the 128oz of beer they were giving us (at a cost) back home.  But the more I thought about it, the cheaper I got.  I didn't want to spend $70 (the price for 2 of us) for a beer I've never had.  So we decided we would go to a local bar (and not support the GCBG, but we would get our healthy walking in).  Then a brewery in Athens posted something, and that seemed like a good idea, but a 70 mile 1-way trip?  Plus it is Lompie's birthday.  I thoroughly confused D about it yesterday, but the long and the short of it is we are back to walking to a bar...I think.  Again FOMO.

Then we looked at a beer dinner at a restaurant we like, with beers we like.  It is on Monday. I work out on Monday.  It's a lot of money, although a good price.  I've had 3 of the 5 beers, but they are good beers. And it should be fun because the restaurant is closed except for this event.  It is a total FOMO.

The issue is that it isn't like I'm sitting at home drinking 20 glasses of water and a salad all the time (oh wait, that was last night).  And we do have plans for Saturday, we just have no idea what they are, only they involve taking Lompoc with us.

And then the next Saturdays:
Bottle Share
UGA @  GT
Strong Beer Fest
10K at Brewery
5K that will involve beer
Christmas for 2 days

So I'm trying to remember the FOMO needs to be balanced with the exercise and diet, so that my pants do fit when I do go out and be social.

But damn, this getting/staying healthy commitment is hard!

Monday, November 2, 2015

Welcoming Back Healthy Lifestyling

Last week, I signed up for a 10K.  It isn't a terribly popular distance in the city, with annual races often being changed to 5Ks or 10 Milers.  I can't remember the last time I ran one.  So I'm focused on training for that over the next few weeks.

I know the ultimate way to get faster besides practicing is to lose weight.  Which led me to think about my 20s and early 30s.  Yes, I drank beer. Yes, I worked out. Yes, I ate good food.  Besides getting married/eating dinner (yes, they came hand in hand), what exactly had changed?  I'm tired of hearing all about how my metabolism is causing me to keep on so many pounds. No, there is something else, because I know plenty of people older than me that are fit.  So what was the "secret?"  I don't really want to change the way I eat or drink (well, at least not revamp my life).  I'm not adding any MLM/Pryramid Scheme to my diet.  How are so many of my friends able to do this?  I've seen some of their relatives.  It's not all genetic.

I'm completely anal and track everything.  So it took awhile to think about this.  And then suddenly it hit me...my friends with a ton of energy, and their weight issue is that the Medium at J.Crew is too small, where as my issue is all clothes at J. Crew are too small...they are active people.  I am not active. I don't like "the great outdoors," hiking and camping are methods of torture, rollerblading is a slow method to cut of your ankles, etc.  These aren't my ideas of fun. My idea of fun is hanging out on a patio, drinking a nice beer, talking to D, and playing with the dogs.  And I have gotten really good at this level of fun.

When I mentioned this to my friends, Dl and S, they agreed.  And it's true.  Dl walks to work.  S will walk to Starbucks for a morning coffee.  They both work out, but they don't count things outside of the gym as "working out;" it is just something to get them to where they are going.  My friends DLS love to hike, when they aren't running.  My beer buds M and JF walk and bike, respectively.  M uses his feet as his mode of transportation to a lot of places. Even as much as I think Crossfit is a cult, it is a lifestyle that many of my friends embrace, and it isn't going to the gym. It's a social thing for them.

When I said this to Dl and S, Dl said to pick a sport that wouldn't count as a sport but as fun.  I picked walking.  Mostly because it is easy, and doesn't require a lot of prep time.

I have used the excuse that Atlanta isn't a walkable city for far too long.  I used to walk Guinness (RIP) an hour every day, and 3 on Saturday (hmmm, I think we got part of the answer to what changed).  So I mentioned to D (not Dl or DLS) we should walk to Krog Street Market to get a beer.  Or walk the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail.  He agreed.  Because we wanted to take Lompoc, we decided to walk the Eastside Trail.  Of course, we did drive to it (We didn't think she had 6 miles in her).  But it was something new to do.  I didn't take my Garmin, I didn't wear my heart rate monitor.  Hell, I didn't even see what time it was when we left. And all of that caused my heart rate to rise, but I resisted the urge to plug in.

It's a pretty nice trail.  It is concrete, so I'll never be able to run on it.  Judging from listening to how hard some people "pound the pavement," I'm willing to bet that thing has caused many shin splints. It was crowded for a Saturday after 10am (I do know it was after 10 and before 12 that we went).  Lompoc enjoyed herself.  We saw how quickly you can get from Old 4th Ward to Midtown...  We were both pretty shocked how fast it was to get to the Murder Kroger.  To get to Woody's Cheesesteaks seemed a little longer (that was where we turned around).

On the way back we stopped at the dog store to let Lompoc have some water. Of course she pulled us into the store and 10 minutes later and $10 poorer, we left.  By then I was having some technical difficulties.  I was wearing jeans and sneakers.  My jeans had begun to sag, so my thighs were rubbing on the crotch seam.  My thighs are now jean-chub-rubbed pretty raw.  But even still we kept going.  We stopped at Ponce City Market and looked at the directory.  Maybe another day, since Lompoc was with us.  We did get back to Krog Street Market (we parked near there), and grabbed Lompoc some water and us 2 beers.  According to Map My Run we walked 3.85 miles, which I did log for my shoes...but no calories or anything.

Lompoc at KSM, relaxing

It was nice to get out and answer some questions I had about the Beltline.

Sunday, we decided we would take McMenamin to the petstore to buy food.  We remembered, however, before leaving that walking to the store to buy a 25 pound bag that we would have to carry home might not be the best idea.  So we drove there, walked 1.6 miles around Grant Park, and then bought the food.  McMenamin enjoyed his walk.

So November is my favorite month. The weather is finally cooling down, there isn't 90% humidity, and a lot of the allergies have died down.  So here is to trying to get a more active lifestyle. I don't really have an excuse not to walk to some places.  I run all over the place, so even saying "that area is sketchy," when I ran by it 2 hours prior doesn't really stick.

I have mapped out walks to all of our favorite local watering holes.
Eventide Brewery is 1.7 miles.
East Atlanta is 2.8.
Krog Street is 3.5.
L5P is 4.5. We might Uber that one.

Oh yeah...and before we did all the healthy lifestyling, I did run  5 hilly miles. .  And I ran up NEMESIS HILL.  I hate that freaking hill.