Healthy Treats

In an attempt to update my blog more than once every three months, I'm going to start posting more pictures, and telling brief tales of exciting adventures that I may have had. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just making all of these adventures up. Regardless, enjoy.

Today's Healthy Shopping Trip

Never go to the grocery store hungry, they say. So I didn't -- and it was amazing. I had no cravings, no desire to buy BAD food, and so I ended up with this!

I put my bounty into shopping bags, and brought them home - somewhat precariously - on my handlebars. [NOTE TO READERS: Do not do this. It makes the bike hard to control.]

So today was a good day, with 13 miles of biking and a healthy trip to the supermarket. At this point I've got the cardio-as-a-routine thing down; I just have to work on making healthy eating choices.

Captain's Log

It's been about two and half months, and usually when I am silent for so long it means that I have fallen off the wagon. I am very happy to say that is not the case. You see, instead of writing about exercising, I have actually been doing it.

When my focus was running, I used to have to psych myself up for the endeavor. I am not a natural runner. My calves tighten up, I get incredibly tired and sore, and even the best experiences are akin to the joy one feels from successfully preparing vegetables. So blogging was a way to give myself a little pep talk.

I don't need a pep talk anymore! I really love biking, especially with the little push that I get from having the Bionx. It never sucks. Let me repeat that: it never sucks. (Unless, for instance, I forget to bring the Bionx controller and so I have to bike uphill with an additional 20 pounds in battery and motor weight. But even then it doesn't suck nearly as much as running used to suck.)

So I have not been writing, but I have been biking. Here are my logs to prove it:

Date	Distance	Time	Ele. Gain
September 2012	127.1 mi	07:07:59	+5,710 ft
August 2012	142.0 mi	10:12:56	+4,974 ft
July 2012	212.0 mi	13:59:26	+9,933 ft
June 2012	178.5 mi	12:22:15	+8,652 ft

Although my mileage has been lower recently than it was when I started, I chalk most of that up to being extra busy at work -- morning press conferences mean I don't get to ride my bike in to work as often as I'd like. (There was also a bikeless vacation in the beginning of September, a bit of under-the-weather, and some relationship drama sucking up much of my time.) But I've still managed to average over 30 miles a week this month - and the month isn't over yet! I expect to do another 13 miles or so tomorrow, bringing the total in line with August. And I have no intentions of stopping.

--

That said, I feel somewhat guilty about not posting recently, because I do have an awfully high number of (mis)adventures on my two wheels. So let me now briefly highlight what you might have missed:

Downed trees blocked the Capital Crescent Trail!

I got stung by a bee at 20 mph!

Another ride to Old Town Alexandria turned into a
late night ride past the beautiful Lincoln Memorial!