Las Vegas Nightmare

My husband and I went to Vegas this past weekend (Wed-Mon). It's his second favorite place after Disney, and I don't mind going occasionally even though I'm not a big gambler.

That's why you haven't heard from me in a few days.

It started out as a good trip, but quickly turned awful when we both caught a stomach virus that just about killed us! He got hit first, and I was doing the nursing thing. But then the next day, it hit me. After that, we just had two days of being holed up in the condo, sleeping, not eating, trying to keep a few liquids down. I'd wake up and the clock would say 3:00, but I'd have no concept of whether that was A.M. or P.M!

We made it back home late Monday night, and still can't quite believe how that trip turned out! We keep thinking maybe it really didn't happen, that it was all just a nightmare.

We did save lots of money -- no food, gambling or shows for two days -- just water! And I lost a pound or two, even though it's been four days since I've been in the gym!

But I want my life back!!

Ouch ... Lesson Learned

So on Monday, in an effort to get closer to Team Voice's mileage goal for the month, I walked 4 miles on the treadmill, combo of inclined and speedwalking.

Then on Tuesday, ouch ... the knees were complaining ... and today ... are still complaining.

Lesson learned? My knees want to do 2 miles of incline/speed walking every day during the week. Then they will let me do a timed run on Saturdays without complaining.

So although I'd like to keep meeting the mileage goal each month, for now I've reached my limit and will obey my knees! I can still build up leg muscle and cardio by doing 2 miles a day inclined, which will then help me build up my on-pace mileage over time.

My knees are happy about my decision, and my left ankle is cheering too!

Third Grade?

Okay, I'm on DisFriends now, but I have no friends.

Why does it feel like I'm back in third grade??!!!

Can someone explain to me the trick to NOT feeling strange "inviting" someone to be my friend??

I know Team Voice are my friends ... and my gym buddy Tina ... and my cat Chatter ...

Saturday Nerves

During the week, I do incline speedwalking to build up my calf muscles and improve cardio. This helps save my knees, which would take a beating if I tried to run every day.

But, on Saturdays, I drive to the gym (it's still winter here in Michigan) to do a run on the treadmill at a 15-minute/mile pace.

I realized this past Saturday as I was driving in that I was nervous about the run! Would I be able to do last week's miles plus another quarter mile, would my shoe be tied too tight, did I eat the right morning food, would I be low on energy, when I hit the wall would I be able to get through it?!!

Then it struck me that I would feel this way times ten on my way to the real race! And that dealing with my Saturday nerves every week was going to be good practice for race day.

So I encourage you to challenge yourself with a weekly test of miles/pace. It's good practice for dealing with nerves, pacing, hitting walls, and feet pounding!

(And if you're wondering, I did run 3.5 miles at a 15-minute mile pace. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't as hard I imagined it would be. Next week, 3.75 miles ... I don't know ... I'm already getting nervous!)

Where Have I Been?!!

I've been in the gym on the treadmill!

Whose hare-brained idea was this anyway??!!!??!!

(Just kidding. I look forward to being a healthier, stronger and gutsier girl when we get to the end of this journey! And all the thanks will go to Team Voice, my gym buddy, my trainer and my hubby.)

Three Miles, Easy Peasy

So I decided to do three miles last night on the treadmill, instead of my usual two. Since I got off to a slow start in February, it was a good opportunity to get in an extra mile.

And it was easy peasy! Getting thru the two miles (5 incline, 3.5 speed) was not bad, then I threw in a half mile run (flat, 4.0 speed) and a fast walk for the last half mile (flat, 3.8 speed).

I had a little struggle in a few spots, but talked my way thru it -- visualized the Half Mara route and the castle and Spaceship Earth and "aimed" for them.

I've come to realize that it's important to learn how to fight thru these walls and tough spots, and I'm getting better at it!!

A Week Without Podcasts

The only bad thing about going on a cruise with Barenaked Ladies was not hearing Disney podcasts for a week!

On the day we were leaving, my pink iPod mini (yes, it was very old) bit the dust! Facing a plane trip without it was a bummer, even though I did have a blue Shuffle full of music.

While on the ship, I did listen to one or two podcasts from my laptop, but downloading new ones while on the boat was a no-no since I was paying for Internet minutes, and didn't have my iPod to carry around with me anyway.

But on the ship, I was in the BNL World anyway -- Disney did seem really, really far away.

Now when I got off the ship and was forced back into the real world, I wanted my Disney podcasts -- escpecially All About The Mouse! So first thing Saturday when we got home, off I went to buy a new iPod (a green Nano this time)! Then home to my laptop and a ton of downloading, and then I set up the new Nano.

Ahhhh, I am now happily esconced in the Disney virtual world again, and life is good!

Home Again

So no more Ships and Dip until next year. Although I have continued to experience that feeling of the boat tilting back and forth, but here in the house! And I listened to a CD by Carbon Leaf that I bought on board, and could immediately picture their concert on the boat.

Highlights? Once again, Brothers Creegan. Andy and Jim are such pure musicians, and are a joy to watch. Got my picture made with Andy and Jim, talked to Andy's wife Natasha, and to Andy.

Kevin and Thinbuckle -- what's not to love? I didn't get to see enough of drummer Bob, but I did get to see cool guitar guy Brian several times, and talked with him.

BNL and Guster were great, as usual. Became a new fan of a really cool band - Carbon Leaf. I love lyrics, and they have some really good ones. Also loved Kurt Swinghammer and 54 Seconds.

Did NOT participate in the naked photo. (On the first sea day, the band and 800 of their new best friends met up on deck in nothing but robes, and then dropped them for a naked photo! But then they all had to bend over to pick their robes back up -- that was scarier than the photo! Why, you ask? Because BNL has a tradition of recording one song on each album while naked, and last year the naked photo was a huge hit.)

On the Team Voice front, I had good treadmill workouts on Saturday and Sunday, but not so good on Monday/Tuesday. So I signed up for sessions with a trainer on Wednesday and Thursday, and he killed me! But they were really good workouts, so it won't be as difficult to get back in the swing of things starting Monday.

Luckily the food on the ship was decent, but not irresistable! I had a turkey wrap every day for lunch -- that got a little old. Had pizza most nights, salads most days, less frozen yogurt than last year, and very few desserts other than sugar cookies earlier in the week that I loved! But I never saw them again after Tuesday, which was probably a good thing!

All in all, a great experience! We'll be going back next year for Ships and Dip 5!

Run a half marathon and spend a week listening to great music -- now that's the way to start off a new year!