friday night we continued our social trend for the week with a get-together with two other couples who own units in our building. we met up around 17:30 at the unit a couple floors down. i made richmond’s spinach artichoke dip, which was a huge hit. there was also salad and pizza. we drank wine, we ate, and we enjoyed great conversation. unfortunately, sometime close to midnight i must have had one glass of wine too many because this was when i came to the inexplicable decision that dancing was a good idea. hey, the other two ladies were doing it and appeared to be having a great fun. so i joined in. and anyone who knows me knows what a terrible idea this was. i am SO not a dancer. so my legs that were already aching a bit from the thursday bridge run got abused. i really think that they would have recouped for this weekend’s runs if i hadn’t had such a lapse in judgement. but my uncoordinated flailing, which i tried to pass off as dancing, was the proverbial straw. yesterday morning i woke up and i hurt. like pain my legs have NEVER felt before. from the knees down, they just throbbed like crazy. i spent the day popping advil, slathering on biofreeze, and keeping my legs elevated on the couch. last night we went to the hot tub which felt nice. i almost thought i’d be able to do the run this morning but they were back to throbbing when i woke up again. today has been much the same as yesterday. i smell like a geriatric. i look like a cripple when i hobble around. and it’s been three days since i got any kind of activity. *sigh* i guess i’m just paying the price for making friends.
there was too much going on at work yesterday afternoon so i never got to take a lunch break. which is probably for the best because last night was our first group run over the bridge.
we started in the parking lot of a shopping center on the far side of this pic, a little more than 1/2 mile from the start of the bridge. the bridge itself is approximately a mile from railing to railing. of course, i was by far the slowest person out there so while everyone else did two full trips across the bridge, i only managed one full trip and then halfway back up again. to be clear, i could have done the two full trips, i just didn’t want everyone waiting around on me.
i am extremely proud to report that i jogged continuously from the parking lot, over the bridge, back over the bridge, halfway over again, and back to the car. all of that without any walking at all. i am amazed that i was able to do it since halfway up the first time i was already gasping to hubby “i … don’t … think … i … can … do … this …” so that was approximately four miles of continuous jogging (i really can’t call it running, it was so slow) with three long inclines in fifty minutes. like i said, not a killer pace but pretty darned good for me, especially when you factor in the lack of flatness. i was so proud of me.
today, my legs are aching. i didn’t sleep at all last night. but, i did it. as i said aloud to myself when i was going back up halfway (hubby had joined the faster folks for their second trip so going back up was on my own), “i’m actually doing this.” it’s also interesting that i have come to learn that i get very, very cold after running. which is strange since getting cold is not my thing.
speaking of after running, the group went to a sports bar afterward to refuel. we had a great time hanging out with people our age (you know, somewhere between my age and hubby’s age). we started our run right around 18:00, finished before 19:00, and didn’t get home until after 22:30. time just got away from us. we talked about all kinds of common interests and the possibility of getting together (outside of bodily torture). who knows, maybe we actually can make friends. that would be nice. we’re also supposed to be getting together with some of the other owners in our building tonight for pizza and fun. so much socializing, so little time…
lunchtime:
35 minutes of fiit – strength only. now that i’ve unlocked all of the strength and yoga, there’s just not enough time at lunch to do both programs. maybe i’ll try to go back and do the yoga tonight. or just save it for tomorrow’s lunch gig. whichever. once again, the line declined ever so slightly – yay for that!
evening:
45 more minutes of fiit – yoga only. i finally found a yoga pose that i utterly suck at: dance. after doing all of the stretches at the end, i was able to go back and suck a little less at it so i’m hoping it was just fatigue. i really enjoyed the stretches, particularly the last one where you try to stick your nose in your own belly button.
since we moved here, we have had very, very few planned social outings (other than with house-guests). we know several of the other owners in our building and we’ll stop and chat in passing around the building. we have had countless conversations with strangers in the hot tub. and yet, last night was the first time that we actually went out with people we’ve met here. we met this couple in the hot tub sunday night and spent probably an hour talking with them. last night we went out to dinner with them. it was a little strange but we had a fun time with good eats and good conversation. who knows, maybe we’re finally turning a corner. i got us to join up with a running group which will hopefully also produce social opportunities that don’t involve torturing my legs and lungs. and we’re starting to make more of an effort around our building. at the risk of sounding desperate, perhaps… just perhaps… we’ll have some friends around here before long. i’d love to have a weekly game night like my cousin has in orlando.
lunchtime:
50 minutes fiit – aerobics and balance. somehow, i can do a lot more time of those. i guess they either last longer or there’s less time between them. certainly less yapping about the same old stuff than the yoga and strength. my line went down ever so slightly. *UPDATE* it is also worth noting that i am, apparently, completely incapable of hula hooping to the left. i keep trying but the stupid hoop drops to the virtual floor in under fifteen seconds. why don’t my hips circle left?!
lunchtime:
40 minutes of fiit’ing – yoga and strength (if i had looked here first i would have seen that i did those last time i fiit’ed). i managed to get a few extra exercise minutes out of my lunch hour by skipping the body test. in a case of “no news is good news,” it says that my weight has not changed since friday. i’m much happier with a flat line than an upward line.
Yesterday afternoon, we went to see Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy. I really enjoyed the show, although I had actually assumed when I purchased the tickets that the show was affiliated with Cirque du Soleil. While Jungle Fantasy did have many common elements to a Cirque du Soleil show, namely the amazing acrobatics, the story and presentation were very different. It was the music that made me realize that there could not be an affiliation between this show and its more masterful name sound-alike. I thought that the instrumentals were fabulous – I may have even fallen in love with the violinist. The vocals were decently-sung but the songs themselves were not what I was expecting. The vocalist was the character of mother nature and the songs were almost Sesame Street-ish tunes teaching the main character to respect nature. I certainly don’t mean to disrespect Sesame Street by the comparison because while these songs were about personal growth, personality, and courage, the lyrics were all equally abysmal.
The set was simple. There were many “animals” that served no real purpose to the show, another thing that set it apart from a …du Soleil show. However, the costumes were stunning – even the emus and frogs. The performers were very able and impressive. From the fun and fantastic jump-roping tricks at the beginning to the beautifully fluid contortionist reptiles, from the incredibly balancing giraffe-men to the ginormous strongmen gymnasts, each act was a true visual treat. Overall it was a great show, although I wish I could have blocked out the horrid songs.