I Did It!

I started the day off doing something I didn’t think I could:)

Exercise:

I had plans to run Bert Flynn Park with my running buddy at 8:30 this morning. Normally though I run the Coquitlam Crunch on Saturday mornings. Yesterday I hemmed and hawed about whether I should skip the crunch? When I said something about this to Chelsea (dancingrunner) she said to go for it. I thought that if she could do 100 miles, I could do this and the worst that would happen is that I’d have to stop running and walk.  So I set off this morning to walk over to the crunch. Now just the other day I added “run the crunch in less than 25 minutes” to my fitness goals. Maybe I should have done that a while ago! I don’t know if it was because I had some honeystinger chews before I left or because I’ve ran some other hills lately or because I’ve been so consistent with my exercise lately, but…

I did it!!!🎉🎊(cue the band!) I felt awesome! It was hard at spots and I realized it’s the third section that’s slowing me down as it’s the longest and is just a continuous uphill so it’s tough to run it after doing the 437 stairs in section 2, but I’ll work on that:). I was ahead of schedule the whole way up and it felt great!!!

I ended up running down the top two sections and then diverting onto David Avenue to run over to Bert Flynn Park. Of course I got to David Ave just in time for the hills and I didn’t even get a break at the stop lights as they were all in my favour. At least there is gorgeous Fall colour to distract me! I really wanted to walk, but I didn’t! I probably could have ran down the whole crunch and then over to the Park as I arrived 25 minutes early and I got cold waiting😞😖. Thankfully my running buddy showed up early! She also brought our newest running buddy with her. It made our run through the park (also uphill) a little slower and winding, but he’s cute! 

Unfortunately my phone died as we got back to the car, but I then carried on to run down the hill to home. My app says I ran one hour and sixteen minutes, but I think it’s more like an hour and a half. That was really exciting for me as I haven’t run for that long in a lot of years. It wasn’t fast, but now that I know I can do it, I can plan lots more interesting runs!

I also worked out this evening. (You all are good for me- I wanted to skip it, but then didn’t want to have to admit that to you all!). I did the cardio fix workout which included crossover jacks, high knees, lunges, burpees, around the world planks, plank jacks, dips, plie squats, side lunges, skaters, mountain climbers and up downs. It was a good workout as I was dripping sweat at the end😀.

Cooking/Baking:

I have spent most of the day making my dishes for my Luncheon with my friend tomorrow, but I’ll wait to tell you about them until I can comment on how they taste.

Beauty:

I got my eyelashes and eyebrows dyed and waxed today. A few years ago I started doing this as my eyebrows and eyelashes are incredibly blonde! It looks like I don’t have any if I don’t wear mascara. I was forever stabbing myself in the eye with the mascara wand; I really am a menace with that thing so I moved to getting them dyed. It takes about twenty minutes to do both and is good for about six weeks. I’ve decided the expense is definitely worth it to not have bloodshot eyes any more from that mascara wand attacking me. The girl who does them for me has become a friend too which always makes the appointment fun and I don’t have to worry about making small talk!

Family:

I sent a Happy Birthday text to my oldest brother this morning as he turns 41 today. I saw him earlier in the week, but I’ll have to get his present over to him (once I buy it). I was thinking of getting him a few different bottles of Guinness to try, (I know he likes Guinness),but I don’t know if there are different varieties. I’ll have to check out the liquor store.

Knitting:

In between all the cooking I have managed to finish a pair of handwarmers for my nephew to match his toque.  I had forgotten how quickly handwarmers can be made! I’m thinking I should make them for my friends in Boston for Christmas as they should be cheap to mail.

Pattern:

I’ve made up several patterns for handwarmers over the years. This one was: on circular needles,  K2P1 ribbing for ten rows, Knit for 28 rows. Row 39: Knit 5, cast off 4, knit to the end of the row. Row 40: Knit 5, cast on 4, Knit to the end of the row. Knit for 11 rounds. K2P1 ribbing for 10 rounds. Cast off. Do exactly the same thing for the other hand. For this present I only had 27 stitches on the needle. It’s great that my nephew is about the same size as me so since the handwarmers fit me, they should fit him:)

Yarn: Maryanne’s Team Socks in Vancouver Canucks. I was just as happy with this yarn today as I was yesterday! Soft, light, smooth, and reliable!  I will definitely buy from Smith & Ewe again! I love that they’re a BC company too:)

I will be entering these handwarmers as a class on the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup on Ravelry. That will give me two classes complete and it’s only the 7th of the month and I’m only required to do one per month😀.

Now I just have to decide if I have enough yarn left for a scarf or not!

Well, I have two dishes left to make for lunch tomorrow so I had better get cracking!

Have fun!

AJ