Spring?

It is beginning to feel a lot like spring in my neck of the woods. It has been above freezing for a number of days now and most of the snow and ice has been melting. I have still been running on a treadmill indoors but I noticed a large running group outdoors today. Maybe it is time to get my cold weather gear out and do some cool spring running!

From a biking perspective there is still no way I would go outdoors, it is still to wet and cool. When you are doing 20mph on a bike with the wind in your face it can get really really cold!

I still would like to do more weight training to strengthen my overall fitness. I really only focus on cardio and I think weights would do me some good. My problem is that I am still a slave to my heart rate monitor and cardio just plain burns more calories. I know that maybe longer term a stronger overall body would enable me to burn higher overall calories but I can't get myself to believe that.

Kettle bell workouts maybe?

Progress?

I might finally see some progress on the scale this week. I have been tracking my weight throughout the week and I am on track for a loss tomorrow morning. Of course, I have to get through today first.

It was a swim day for me but I skipped the workout. A little later this morning I am helping to load boxes onto a truck for shipment to Belarus. This is a six hour job and will be very physical work so I think I will burn lots of calories doing that. The side benefit is that it will get me out of the house so I won't get the opportunity to snack all day!

I have a few trips planned for the upcoming weeks so maintaining weight will be difficult. Next weekend I leave for a week in Vegas for a work conference. There will be many food temptations at the conference so I will need to be very careful. Luckily they have a good gym at the hotel so I hope to continue my workouts on that trip.

My second trip is to Belarus to deliver humanitarian aid. There will be very little food there so I think I will not gain weight during that trip. In fact, I will be moving heavy boxes all day every day so my calorie burn will be way up for that entire week. I am starting to think about what food I will need to pack to take with me.

Stay safe everyone!

Wine anyone?

Is anyone else interested in wine? As with everything else I get interested in I learn everything I can about the topic. I have been listening to podcasts and looking online for courses. Unfortunately there does not look to be any courses nearby so I am left to continue to learn about this stuff on my own.

So red or white? Everyone must have a preference right? I was a white only for many years but I have ventured into the reds now. They are so much more interesting! I think the correct answer when asked that question is "both". It depends on the occasion and the meal pairing as well. And why would you want to rule out half of the available wines by choosing red or white exclusively?

That's all I've got for this week, stay safe everyone!

Wine Podcast

I have recently gotten into learning about wine. I have always had a passing interest about the various varietals of wine but I had never realized the complexity of the topic. As always, I started with searching iTunes for highly rated podcasts as a way to educate myself. I found an excellent one called "Wine for Normal People". Each episode discusses a topic or a type of grape, but does so in an easy to understand approach. This is not a pretentious podcast at all, it is designed for everyone to appreciate it.

I am trying to build up my wine cellar, lol. At this point we own about 8 bottles of moderately priced wine, some white and some red. I think it would be interesting to take a wine tour of Napa or Sonoma, or better yet Italy or France! Well, enough dreaming time for now, gotta get going on the weekly chores.....

Ironman 2012

Exciting news for this week! Me, Jackie, Brittany, and Tyler will be volunteering at the 2012 Ford Ironman in Lake Placid, New York. Last year we went to watch the event and I was very inspired. As a result we decided that this year we wold get more involved as a volunteer. We will be at one of the run aid stations, handing out fluids and such. We are all very excited for the summer to arrive so we can get going to this event!

So here is the kicker, once you volunteer you can then enter! It is very difficult to get into these events so one way to get in is to volunteer at a previous race. This gives you an entry into the following year's event. Can you say WOW. This puts a goal out there in front of me to think about. It is a long shot to think that I will be able to do this but it will be a motivating goal nonetheless.

I am still thinking WOW.

Mini Vacations!

Isn't travel fun? This week Jackie and I sent to London for a four day getaway. It was an overnight flight which was both good and bad. It was good that we didn't really lose any time traveling but it was bad that we didn't sleep and felt tired for most of the short trip. We had been there before but still had a list of things to do on this trip. They included a photo exhibit at the museum of Natural History, a trip to Hampton Court Palace, and a viewing of Mama Mia. We stayed at the Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn, which turned out to be very good. It was right beside a tube station and that is all you really need in London. We had a few good meals at good restaurants as well, including a French one in Covent Garden. Of course, we spent too much money as well!

Wouldn't it be great to be rich and just travel all the time? I wonder where we will go next, we tend to not venture to far off the beaten path. I would like to try somewhere in Asia Pacific at some point. Italy has always been on my list as well.

Eating is never controlled when traveling, that is the bad part. Tomorrow is weigh day and it won't be pretty at all. I did manage to get one workout in while in London as well as plenty of walking.

Back to Work

Well, it was a busy week. Holidays are over and it was time to start earning some money again. It was a busy week at work, and I was expecting it. I made some good progress on my goals as well.

On the home front we booked a mini vacation, for next week! We are going to London for a 4 day weekend. I have been there once before and it was fun, but expensive. We are staying at the Chancery Court hotel, which will be a new experience for us. We haven't planned the entire trip yet but it will include shopping and sightseeing and EATING.

So the EATING is the bad part, still having trouble with my weight. I just can't seem to drop the weight like I did last year. Of course, I will keep trying but the mini vacation will not help, I am sure of that. I did do all of my workouts this week, so that was a check in the positive column of life.

Have a safe week everyone!