Blue Bell 10K Relay Fun Run Recap!

Team Carpe Criem!  Kelly is holding our green ice cream scoop "baton" that we passed from runner to runner each leg of the relay.

On Saturday, Kelly, her husband Chuck, Jeff and I ran the 10K Relay in the Blue Bell Ice Cream Fun Run, or as we like to call it, "practicing for Hood to Coast" (hahaha)(I think).  This was the 33rd year for this event, which has a Kid's 1 Miler (with medals...wonder what the age limit is?); a 5K, a 10K, and beginning this year, a 10K Relay.  We signed up for this race for a couple of reasons - one, because we all were so inspired after watching the Hood to Coast movie that we immediately wanted to do a relay, and two, because you get all the ice cream you want after the race.  Win-Win, totally.  Diet blog?  What diet blog???

Kelly and I had a lot of fun pre-race, coming up with our costumes outfits.  Honestly?  If we could have talked the guys into running while wearing tutus, you would be seeing some very different pictures.  But, we had to be content with crazy socks and t-shirts that we had our team name printed on.  Thanks to Chuck for coming up with the name - "Carpe Criem!" (Sieze the Cream!)  Kelly and I even wore black running skirts, and we wore our matching Newton running shoes - you know I loved this part of the race, right?!?

We all woke up ridiculously early and drove to Brenham High School, where the race was held.  This is a benefit race for high school's athletic program - Blue Bell Creamery is located in Brenham, and I was really amazed at the volunteer turnout for support - nice to see, and you really got the feel that the entire town was behind this event.

While there was a little confusion as to how the relay worked, and where the buses were to take the runners who were doing legs 2, 3 and 4 of the relay, everything worked out fine and we had a blast.  I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Why yes, we were quite fond of our outfits!

Kelly and I at the starting area, just before I had to get on the bus.  This part was a little confusing - we could see the timing mats in the road, but cars were driving over them, and it wasn't even clear which direction the runners would go when they started!  I've never done a race where the roads weren't at least partially blocked off, so this was interesting.  Luckily it was early on a Saturday morning in a small town, so there wasn't a ton of vehicles that we had to deal with.

View from the bus - Kelly was making friends right and left!

Waiting at the exchange - this was mile 1.

These kids ran the relay - they were so cute and did the passing of the ice cream scoop baton flawlessly.  By the way, they beat us.

Another sweet baton exchange.  By the way, these kids beat us too.

Woohoo, here comes Kelly!!!  I took the baton, we high-fived, and I was off and running!

This is where it got weird for me.  It was quite humid and warm (naturally - it's April in Texas), and I was wearing some funky stuff for running - cotton t-shirt, running skirt where the liner shorts did the mid-run creep up my thighs, socks that fell down (I wished I had rubber bands to put around them like we did back in the olden days).  I had set Ricky Bobby to do 3:1 intervals (run for 3 minutes, walk for 1 minute), and I didn't have the screen showing where I could see my pace.  I was pretty far behind the other relay runners - heck, there were only 22 teams - and although we all went into this with the "let's just have fun" attitude, my running feels off - shoot, I've only been back to running for two weeks now.

I stopped a couple of times to adjust my clothing, and then got back to the race.  A few moments later, I heard the pitter patter of feet behind me - the first runners of the regular 10K race, who started 15 minutes after the relay, were passing me.  That's normal, I'm used to being passed in races.  Then, a thundering herd of feet stampeded past me - whoosh!  I will admit, I was having a lot of self-doubt right about then.  I kept telling myself to run my own race, to walk when I needed to (there were a couple of hills that needed some walking) and to just relax and have fun.  And I did - I loved listening to the cows mooing, and seeing the older farmer on his pink tractor just sitting there and watching us run by his field - I'm not sure which scene as odder, all the runners or the pink tractor, to be honest!

So I was just bopping along, enjoying myself, when all of a sudden I realized that the bus that would take the "leg 2" runners back to the finish line?  Was waiting on me.  CRAP!  Then I felt pressure to kick it up a bit.  Luckily, it wasn't too much longer before I came round the bend and up a hill and saw first the bus, and then Chuck - whew!  I handed him the ice cream scoop and he took off!

Here I come up the hill - ready to hand off the next leg to Chuck.

 And there Chuck goes - I have to say, between our lime green shirts and knee socks, it was easy to find us in a sea of runners!

I got on the bus and was taken back to the high school, where the finish line was.  I met up with Kelly and her kids, Rachel and Charlie (Funny story:  Charlie was ringing a cowbell, but, as he informed us, he was only ringing it for "dogs and people he knows" - boys are so direct...love that!).

Here comes Jeff!

Ice cream scoop aloft, he's running in for the finish! 

Right after the finish - me and a very sweaty Jeff.

The reward!  There was a huge ice cream truck with all kinds of ice cream and fruit bars - and you really could have as much as you wanted - runners, non-runners, everyone.  It was awesome!

Chuck and Kelly - they are so cute!

Just a peek into the sea of people surrounding the ice cream truck - over 3,600 runners were there.

We were sitting near the awards area, waiting for our team name to be called - surely we had won a prize, right?!?

Close up of our matching socks and shoes...

...and Garmins, too.  You'd think we shop together - we haven't yet, but can you imagine if we did?

Incredibly, we did not win anything as a team (we were robbed, robbed I tells ya!), but our number was drawn for a door prize - woohoo, a free half gallon of ice cream!!!

The official race shirt, which I think is pretty cute.

This was a fun event.  We always enjoy spending time with Kelly, Chuck and their kids.  And I learned another valuable running lesson - STOP DOUBTING MYSELF!!!  Because when I uploaded my Garmin to my computer after the race, I saw that I was running my intervals pretty fast - 13:05 (stopped twice for clothing adjustment), 10:26, 10:30, 12:32 - averaged with my walking intervals, I managed a 12:40 pace, which is darn good for where I'm coming from.  Someday...someday, I'll learn to trust myself.  In the meantime, I'll keep practicing.

Friday Mishmash

So remember when I couldn't find the router code and I discovered that I had misplaced last year's desk calendar? Well really, how could you forget - it was only five days ago. Anyway, I had to get a new router on Wednesday, along with a new code. I made sure to write that code down in my 2011 desk calendar. We shall not speak of my 2010 desk calendar, except to say it will be appearing on a milk carton soon.

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Paco got his new collar that is sized correctly. Also, he is wearing a cute new dog tag with our updated info (e.g. no home phone anymore). In the continuing saga of "where is my brain?" I received the one that I ordered, online, a couple of weeks ago. Then, the next day? Another dog tag showed up. Similar design, different company (first one came from Australia, second one came from Seattle), correct info. Weird thing #1? I only paid for the first one. Weird thing #2? I thought I ordered one with a peace sign on it, to match his new collar. And I'm sorry to say that this is all done without the benefit of alcohol or Ambien - it's just how my brain (or what is left of it) operates.

A tag and a spare, apparently...

Posing in his new bling.

I discovered how to make Paco sit still for a picture...hold a cookie right next to the camera. He'll wait until kingdom come for a cookie!

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Problem? It's only a problem if you admit it. And I'm not...

Doesn't everyone have four packs of gum in their desk drawer???

What can I say - they help me chomp away the sweet attacks that I get in the afternoon (and evenings...). By the way, the mint chocolate chip ice cream flavor is my favorite. Key lime pie? Not so much. Oh, and this isn't a paid review or anything - I just like this gum.

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I have a customized Favicon!  Woohoo, I am finally somebody!!!  Check out my pink flower next to my website url...how cute is that?!?  Dion over at Favicon Fixer is doing this for free - he's on a mission to rid the internet of that boring Blogger orange B.  Thanks, Dion!

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Someone is *not* spoiled. Nope, not at all...
Paco begged me (which means he hopped up and down incessantly in front of the pantry where his treats are stored) for a rawhide one morning. I gave him one, and was surprised to see him with THREE of them a minute later. Geez, dog...food issues much? ;)

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And now, it's time for Fashion Friday! Today I'm featuring an embroidered top I bought while shopping with my mom in February. You know those peasant blouses that show up in the stores every spring? I love them. I want one, and every year I try one or two on, only to be dismayed at how awful I look in them...something about the fullness combined with an elastic waist just does not look good on me. But still, I long for one. Well, I happened upon this top at Ross, and thought "hey, that looks like a peasant blouse minus the elastic waist!" Long story short, I liked it, it satisfied my cravings, and it was only $9.99!

I'm wearing sandals (my favorite bronze BOC from last year) because it's warm enough, and also I'm carrying my adorable new (to me) Coach backpack purse, sent to me from Biz because she is a resale-shopper-extraordinaire who not only finds great bargains, but shares them with her friends! Thanks, Biz - I love it! :)

Close up of the top - now that I have it, I also want a three-tiered white skirt to go with...am I living back in the 80s or what?!?

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Well. Tomorrow is the big day - the Blue Bell 10K Relay, where Jeff and I will team with Kelly and Chuck and run for ice cream! This should be a blast and I can't wait - we always enjoy our time spent with them. Look for the recap on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Workout Update - Running Club!

My running club started up again on Saturday - this time, we are doing a 10 Week/10K program. I was both stunned and honored when Coach Joni asked me - ME! - to be the guest speaker at our kickoff meeting. I have done very little public speaking, and next to math, my least favorite class in high school was Speech. But, I loved my running club, so of course I said yes. Helen suggested that we videotape it, so thanks to my running buddy Jenny's loan of her video camera and tripod, Jeff was able to film it. Sort of. He missed the very first part, where I mentioned that I used to weigh over 250 pounds. But the rest is all there, and if you have nearly 11 minutes of your life that you want to waste, click on the video below. Apologies for the poor sound quality - occasionally a loud vehicle would drive by, and the birds were chirping pretty loud at times (I know, how rude!)...and of course, we aren't anywhere NEAR professionals when it comes to making a movie. Also, I choked up at the very end - surprised me, as I didn't see that coming. But I quickly recovered. :)

So, after my speech, we all set off to run 2 miles. It was great to have so many people to run with! As I mentioned on last Friday's post, I was afraid of how my ankle was going to feel during this run. It was ok. Not perfect - there is still some discomfort, but it's not terrible. I'm taking it easy, which I have to, since my running base is pretty much zero right now. I ran most of the time - took a few walking breaks, but I still hit 2 miles in 25:02, so that's not too far off my 12-minute mile that I was doing for the long runs. After the run, I was hot and sweaty and I loved it! I know it probably doesn't sound all that appealing, to be all out-of-breath and dripping sweat, but to me, it was wonderful.

With this training program, we are incorporating more cross-training, since we are running less miles. So on Monday, not only did I have to run for 20 minutes, I also had to do an additional 20 minutes of core and strength training! I got my run/walk in - it was so windy, leaves were blowing into my face at times! For my core work, I did ab crunches on the stability ball, a couple of plank holds, and...wait for it...the hula hoop! I had a few good rounds with it - getting better and better, I am. Wait til my neighbor girls see me - they are going to be so impressed!

Yesterday at the ridiculously early hour of 6:15 am, I met up with my friend Terry to go running with her - this was my Christmas present to her - a commitment to be her early-morning running partner. Why yes, it's April, and she's finally getting her present. What can I say...stuff happens. Did I mention that I was meeting her at 6:15? Well, I actually got there about 10 minutes late - it was dark, I missed my turn, and then got lost and ended up near the junior college. How the hell I did that I can only sum up in one word - "talent." Anyway, we did 3:1 intervals - running for 3 minutes, then walking for 1 minute. Ricky Bobby did an awesome job of letting us know when to run and when to walk, and I have to say that this was the best my ankle has felt both during and after a run in quite a while! So I think it will be intervals for me while I'm getting my ankle back into shape. Hmmm, now if only someone would have recommended for me to do them a couple of weeks ago...(back story - someone DID, and probably wants to slap me right about now, lol).

Last night was speedwork at the track, and I went. Although Jeff is doing this program too, he's out of town during the week so I went by myself. I'm kinda lazy and not a big fan of speedwork, but I know it's helpful, so I'm going to force myself to go instead of just doing a regular run that day and calling it even. That is my plan, so if you see me slacking, please feel free to yell at me call me on it in the comments. Anyway, we had 20-second sprints on the schedule. I did 4 of them - my LEFT calf was hurting me. Really? Sigh. Probably because I already ran that morning, or it could be the shoes I was wearing. All I know is that I didn't have a great workout at the track, but I did get to know a few of the new members of our club better, so that was fun. Afterward, I zipped home so I could watch the Aggie women beat Notre Dame and become the National Champions in Basketball - Whoop! What a great game!

If you missed the Tuesday post I snuck in, I'd doing a giveaway for ReNew Life products - click here to read and enter, if you want. I have a couple more giveaways coming up, so I'll probably be posting them on Tuesdays.

ReNew Life Review and Giveaway!

Recently, I was offered the chance to try anything from the ReNew Life website, and I chose their Norwegian Gold First Omega Fish Oil - whew, that was a mouthful!

First Omega Fish Oil

While the company offers a variety of natural health items from probiotics to fiber (including chia seeds), I was most interested in the fish oil because I've been taking it for close to a year now. And although I am convinced that it's helped with preventing joint pain (as well as giving me heart healthy Omega-3s) I disliked that I still experienced on average at least one "fishy" burp a day, even though I bought purified gels...and when you do not like seafood, that is a pretty nasty experience, believe me. (Side note: my dad says those burps are like tasting a tuna sandwich - which is ok if you like tuna. Which I do not. Blech!)

Size comparison - the large pill on the left is what I WAS taking; the little pill on the right is the First Omega fish oil.

Not liking seafood, it takes a leap of faith for me to actually swallow fish oil, knowing that I could be in for a bad day, should the gel not be as burp-free as touted. The things I do for this blog, I tell ya! Well. I got my shipment and was surprised to see the pretty cobalt blue glass bottle that the fish oil was packaged in. Then I was shocked at how tiny the gels were - they were half the size of what I've been taking. I was also amazed at how good they smelled in the bottle - the smell of my other brand is pretty shudder-worthy. The First Omega went down easily, and incredibly, did not produce ANY fishy burps. Not a one. Color me shocked and happy about that! Plus their pricing is comparable to what I was paying, which makes this a no-brainer for me - I'll make this a permanent switch.

A little info about ReNew Life: This company was founded in 1997 by CEO Brenda Watson, who overcame health problems using natural products. She is the author of five books on natural digestive health, detoxification, and internal cleansing, and she is also featured in the PBS special The Road to Perfect Health - Balance Your Gut, Heal Your Body, an in-depth look at how chronic diseases start with an unhealthy digestive system. ReNew Life products are available online and also in CVS, Walgreens, HEB, Whole Foods and many other stores.

And now for the giveaway - ReNew Life has offered to let one reader of my blog choose $50 worth of products from their website! The fine print:

• Open to U.S. residents only
• Shipping is part of the $50
  

That's it! If you want to enter, just leave me a comment saying so. Easy-peasy! I'll announce the winner next Tuesday, along with another giveaway - woohoo!

FTC disclosure: I received one bottle of fish oil for review - opinions expressed are all my own. ReNew Life will fulfill the giveaway.

Chaos and Control

I am not one of those people who thrives in chaos. I don't like living on the edge, I don't like being over-scheduled, I am not someone who has to be doing something all the time. I know this about myself, and do a pretty good job of not letting the craziness of life overwhelm me. Except in certain circumstances...little things, really, but eventually even the little stuff piles up and gets me down. That was the case this weekend - and really, it had been building all week.

Here's just a few examples:

1. Several days ago, I was trying to find some "before" and "after" weight-loss pictures - a couple of opportunities came up that needed them. Now, obviously I have them, as they are posted throughout this blog. But my digital picture files are kind of a mess - I pretty much upload everything by date. Which started out fine, until I ended up with about three years' worth of pictures. And somehow I ended up with folders inside of other folders - it was frustrating every time I tried to find something, but I never took the time to straighten it all out...I would just dig through the mess, find what I needed, and deal with it later. Only later never seemed to come.

2. I'm pretty organized with my paperwork - I may not file stuff that often, but it's in a pile on top of my filing box, so at least I know where things are. Until I can't find something. This week I had that "one thing leads to another" issue - somehow our wireless router failed to recognize my computer, so I had to enter the 26-digit code...which, apparently, I did not transfer to my 2011 desk calendar, where I keep all of those crazy passwords and account numbers that you need to know in a pinch. Fine - I went to dig out my 2010 calendar - I save them, as they are like mini journals of our life. I found my stack of them, all except for, you guessed it, 2010. Where the heck did I put it? WHY didn't I put it with all of the other ones? Where is my brain??? Argh. I frustrate myself.

3. I have several sets of plastic drawers in my closet - each set has three drawers, and I've used them over the years for everything from storing rubber stamps to office supplies. Very handy. I even had neatly labeled them with my label-maker. However, I've changed up what's in them over the last few years without updating the labels, which apparently in my head signaled "just cram stuff in whichever drawer is the emptiest." Which would explain why I had envelopes in three different drawers - again, it was frustrating, but I never took the time to deal with straightening out the mess.

What does this all have to do with a diet-and-exercise-based blog? Plenty, actually. Because for me, when little things like these - really, not huge problems, just more like irritants in the grand scheme of things - when I find myself not dealing with these irritants, it's a sign that I'm also not doing great on other areas of my life. And those areas - diet and exercise - are things that I can't let go uncontrolled. If I don't plan for my meals, I end up eating cereal for dinner. Once in a while, that's fine. More than that - hmmm. Where are my vegetables? Why am I not feeding my body the healthy foods that make me feel good, and good about myself? And without a workout plan, I don't do so well...it's not that I deliberately don't work out - it's just that I forget. Which would explain the workouts I did last week at night, while watching TV - I really didn't intend to wait until 7:30 pm to work out...I just forgot that I wanted to get some ab work and weight sets in.

So. I spent some time yesterday and actually got my picture files not only organized, but sorted really well. It should be simple to keep up with this now. I also worked on re-labeling and sorting out the drawer sets in my closet. I'm not quite done, but I have a good start and am motivated to finish the project in the next day or two. Which, hopefully, is when I'll find my 2010 calendar...what the heck did I do with it, anyway?

I did pretty good on the food front last week, and I'm going to build on that success with a fridge stocked with fresh fruit that I've already cut up, veggies prepped and ready for a couple of big salads, chicken grilled and ready for those salads, eggs hard-boiled and ready for lunches or snacks. And, thanks to my running club, I have a workout schedule in hand for the next three weeks. I will consult, follow and obey the schedule, and enjoy every minute of it! No more chaos for me - calm and controlled is my mantra for the week. :)

Friday Mishmash - Brought to You By the Letter "F"

Food: I am more of an "assembler" when it comes to meals rather than a "chef." I will put together a ginormous salad, or grill chicken and vegetables, but I do very little "follow the recipe" cooking anymore. That said, Helen featured an egg dish a couple of weeks ago that intrigued me enough to get some ingredients (eggs, veggies, cheese) to make it. Unfortunately, the first go-round did not go, as I was planning on using leftover veggies from our shish kebab dinner, and someone, who-shall-remain-nameless-but-you-can-probably-guess-since-there's-only-one-other-person-living-in-this-house, someone took the container of vegetables to work for lunch, thus thwarting my plans. Argh.

So this week, I tried again, and I have to say, I was pretty pleased with how my egg creation came out, especially considering I really didn't follow Helen's recipe very well. I sauteed some diced onion and red pepper in a bit of Pam, and put that in the bottom of each ramekin (that I sprayed with Pam). Added some steamed asparagus, threw in a splash of Frank's Hot Sauce, about a tablespoon of sharp cheddar cheese, and one egg per ramekin (I blended the eggs with my stick blender before pouring in). A little salt and pepper, 33 minutes in a 375 degree oven, and bam! Dinner, breakfast - whatever you want.

Veggie souffles!

This was actually dinner - I'm trying to make an effort to eat a little better when Jeff is out of town, instead of just having peanut butter and jelly on the English muffin and calling that a meal.

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Fear: I have some. My ankle isn't completely healed. I did manage to run without it hurting last Saturday. If it had hurt, even a little, I would have stopped running immediately. But it didn't. That said, it does some things that makes me worry. For example, it burns after I've gone for a walk. Burning pain is different than the sharp "I can't bear to put any weight on it" pain that I had when I first injured it. But, it's still something. I have a high pain tolerance, so I just deal with it...most of the time I don't even bother with taking any Motrin at this point. I will ice it when it's really bad, but even then, I'm not super consistent.

I have my running club starting up again tomorrow. It's a 10 Week/10K program, and they have two levels - beginner and advanced. I'll start with the beginners, because I know I need to ease my way back into running. But I'm really worried about what tomorrow will bring. I hope that the run last Saturday wasn't a fluke. Or the reawakening of the mess in my ankle. I hope I can run without wrecking my ankle further.

I like to run. I want to run. I will even gladly take the muscle aches that come along with starting to run again, because, hello - I'm running! I just don't want to have another setback. Please don't crush my hopes, silly ankle.

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Fun: In the form of my hula-hoop. I am getting better at it, and it's just such a crazy fun thing to be doing that I swear it raises my endorphin level not only by the exercise, but also by laughter...I am really having a blast with it!

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Fur: I caught a squirrel in action, trying to feast on the bird seed in our "squirrel-proof" bird feeder. Funny thing, he gave me quite the staredown before he made his launch!

Oh, I see you Mr. Squirrel!

Gutsy little fellow, aren't you?!?

OK, you're getting too close to the food - time to release the hound!

And with that, Paco zipped outside to bark the squirrel back into the tree. They are cute and all, but I'm not buying this bird seed for the squirrels!

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Fascinating: I just found out that my mother saw Elvis Presley when he landed in Hawaii back in the early 1960's! How did I not know that?!? She and a friend went to the airport and watched him deplane and walk across the tarmac...ah, the good old days, before airport security changed everything.

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Fraud: File this one under holy crap! Yesterday afternoon Jeff's credit card (a debit MasterCard) was fraudulently used to buy a $500 gift card from a Wal Mart in Illinois - our bank called right away, as the thieves originally tried to charge more than he had in the account. Amazingly, the three women thieves were caught and were at the police station when Jeff called - he spoke to the sergeant, who was very happy to hear that Jeff had his credit card in possession - this meant he could charge the women with theft. Wow - how often does that happen...credit card thieves actually caught in the act?!? I have to say we are very impressed with how quickly our bank (First Victoria) acted, as well as the Litchfield, IL police department.

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Fashion Friday: I had a hard time with this outfit - I bought the purple top in Oregon last month, and tried layering it over a couple of different colored tank tops. First I tried this really pretty teal tank - while I liked the colors together, I just wasn't feeling it once I had it on for a while.

Plus my hair was blech. I went for a run/walk earlier and the curls were a mess, so I straightened it with my blow brush and it felt too heavy. Ugh - ever have one of those days when nothing comes together?

Anyway, I tried the purple top with a white tank, and I liked it better.

This is what I ended up wearing, but I'm not 100% sold. Maybe I should have worn my lighter-wash jeans? Or capris? It almost wasn't warm enough for capris, plus I only have navy blue and brown - not sure that they would have worked anyway, color-wise.

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Alright, this Fing post (giggle) is done. Hope you all have a Fabulous April Fool's Day!

Wednesday Workout Update - Take a Walk With Me

Last Thursday I needed to drop by the library to pick up a book that I'd requested (recommended by Laurie - thanks!). I got to thinking...why not walk there? I mean really? I've run 13.1 miles - surely I can walk to the library and back.

I laid out my supplies:

Not pictured is my camera, which was busy taking this picture. Everything either fit into the zippered pouch on my water bottle, or in the side pockets of my running - er, walking skirt. And yes, the phone was in case I needed to call someone to come pick me up. Hedging my bets and all that. ;)

Put on some sunscreen (not enough, as it turned out), drove to the park where I usually start my walks, and set off.

Good bye, Wolf Pen Park - I'll see you in a couple of hours!

Walked by the place I used to work - still happy with my decision to leave that job. :)

I discovered one thing as soon as I turned onto the first major, busy street - holy moly, traffic is LOUD! And except for the tire-screeching-near-accident that I witnessed (and nearly had heart failure watching) in the first big intersection, I felt pretty safe.

I took a detour through the cemetery. I turned off my music and walked through...it was really quiet, considering the busy street that it faced.
I left the cemetery and continued my walk. Here's a pretty water area of an arboretum that was on my way:I came to the side street I had to take to stay on a sidewalk - and looky here - a lighthouse!

It's in front of a scuba store - eye catching, for sure!

I made my way over to the busy four-lane road that the library (and post office, and high school) is on. The city has just put in a walkway - about time, as for years, many high school students had to walk on the busy road...not safe.

See the dirt? This section was just finished about a week ago!

Here's the high school that my kids attended - I had to walk past it, to the intersection, so I could cross over to the library - almost there at this point!

In the parking lot, I spotted a sweet classic car:
At last! My destination - the public library:

Ricky Bobby read 3.3 miles, which was a little more than I expected...but I did take that detour through the cemetery.

Can you believe the clerk at the library wouldn't pose with my book as I checked it out? How could he pass up the chance to be featured on my blog?!? LOL. He looked at me like I was crazy for asking. Anyway, I refilled my water bottle and set off. It was getting pretty hot, and in the parking lot of the Exxon station that I had to walk through to get back to the intersection to cross the street (no sidewalks on that side), I was sorely tempted to get a refreshing treat:

But no...I had Red Mango on my mind. I chose to wait.

Since I was so close, I decided to pop over to the post office and buy stamps for my son Sam's graduation announcements. Walked up about half a mile, crossed the street again (please read in Forrest Gump voice) and tada - post office!

Obviously built during the ugly, austere, government-buildings-shall-not-be-pretty era.

I was shocked to find no line - that was a first for me at this post office! Bought my stamps and set off. The only hinky part of the walk came here - I crossed back and thought, oh, I'll stay on this street for a while. Guess what? It was a dead end - too bad I didn't notice the sign until I was backtracking. But I digress...once I realized it dead ended into an apartment complex, I saw a bridge, and baseball fields in the distance, so I figured I could make my way through the park and get back on the street.

Bridge to the baseball fields, I thought...

Nope...the bridge led to a dirt area, and the only way I could see to get to the baseball fields was through this "path":
See that path in the dirt, through the brush and trees? I'm sure some people have used that it, but this area was deserted and my Spidey-sense said no, so I turned around and walked quickly back to a more populated area, where I THEN noticed the dead end sign. Oops.

It was all fine. Only problem was that I was getting hot. I'd just about gone through the water in my bottle, and I started to imagine I was in the desert...that was confirmed when I came upon this cactus:

OK, it's a little green to be in the desert, but it was getting hot!

I finally made it back to my car. Whew! It was 76 degrees when I started off, and 82 when I returned. My sunscreen didn't last through over two hours in the sun. But you know what? I walked 6.7 miles, all by myself! I'm quite proud of that. Not something I would have ever considered doing a few years ago - heck, even a few months ago! I'm getting brave, and I like this feeling.

Ricky Bobby showing how far I walked!

And then, I drove to Red Mango:

Did I mention that I was stomach-growling hungry about 45 minutes before I finished my walk? Might have overdone it on the yogurt and toppings, but oh well. I enjoyed every bite!

What I picked up while on my walk:

And what I did once I got home - iced that ankle! It wasn't "sharp pain" hurting, but it did burn a bit.

Propped up on my stability ball while sitting at my computer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for going on my walk with me!