Category: healthy

healthy

Why I Love Cold Fronts

Angela Pea2 Comments

Most of you have figured out by now that I live in north central Texas. It’s blazing hot most of the year, incredible thunderstorms and tornadoes roll down over us from the Great Plains, and, thanks to the Gulf Stream, the wind blows almost constantly.  Constantly, I tell you.  This can make outdoor cardio exercise like running or biking a special challenge, especially if you have asthma or allergies.  On my bike runs, I usually go south along the Trinity River, so that the wind will be at my back on the trip back to the office.

In the 16-24 hours prior to a cold front sliding across us, the wind stops.  I mean it totally stops as the pressure of the arriving front temporarily blocks the Gulf Stream.  Yesterday was one of those glorious day.  So what did I do?  Hopped on the bike and took a 10 mile ride at lunch time.   Only yesterday, I rode NORTH along the Trinity instead of south! A whole new view!

Thanks to no wind, the river was like glass, and the sky was brilliant. These ancient train trestles were so pretty in the sun.  It was an amazing outing.

Ride with the wind. Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea

healthy

E2E Challenge – Week 1 – Don’t Trust an Ancient Scale

Angela Pea4 Comments

Really.  There are some weeks when the scale just feels like a slap upside the head, a journey into the absurd, a lesson in ridiculous.

Seriously?  How does a person maintain through the holiday season and then gain five pounds in a week?  FIVE POUNDS??  Enough to make a person nuts, right? Right.  Except when the scale is a bazillion years old.

See, I peeked before my official weigh-in.  I went to WW, braced for the worst, that nasty five pound gain.  Then, THEN – Suprise!  Only a 1.3 pound gain per WW.  I wanted to hug the receptionist.

A gain though?  Perhaps my holiday indulgences finally caught up, right?  It’s okay.  It will be gone soon enough.  Here’s my weekly recap.

1. Item of clothing and a picture of me.  Nope, Not done yet.  I spent Saturday trail building – digging, swinging a pick axe, sawing trees and moving rocks.  Way more important than shopping, ‘kay?

2. Weight This Week: 159.3  Thank you once again, Christmas goodies!

3. Goal Recap

Shed Five Pounds:  Well, I sort of went the wrong direction this week.  However, I did stay within my weekly points, and earned 57 activity points biking, kettle bells, circuit training and elliptical.  It is what it is.

Do Five Pullups:  I accomplished ONE this week, and continue to work on the muscle building that will get me all the way to five.

Firm Up the Arms:  Yep.  Many reps of rows and lat pulls happened, as well as a hundred or more pushups. I’m going to count them this week.

4. Books

I did not start the The Smarter Science of Slim.  I did, however, dive back into Refuse to Regain.  I was too quick to brush her off last time around.

I did read along with Jenny at  A Minute Captured and dove into my Bible this year.

5.  Quote – posted.  In fact, I put it over in the sidebar where it will stay.

6. Catch up with the Challenge Buddy.  Hey Jo!! How’s it going

7. Visit Other Challengers:  I hit many of your blogs this week. Everyone is off to a great start!

8. I do hereby solemnly swear to NOT QUIT.  Amen.

Don’t trust a lousy scale. Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea

healthy

How Tough Am I This Week?

Angela Pea3 Comments

Pretty Darn tough, if I do say so myself.

I rode the Marion Sansom Park mountain bike trail for the first time on Saturday.  It’s infamous among the local mountain bikers, and they either love it or hate it. Here’s why:

This is the view over the Dam Drop. Most local mountain bike trails are smooth dirt with a few roots or logs to climb over.  MSP?  Large portions of the trail look like this:

Yes, that’s caliche rock. Gravel. Hard if you fall, which, I did NOT do!  The Architect and Cherry Ames left me behind because I was going too slow.  HA!  They both emerged back at the trail head ten minutes ahead of me with scraped appendages. I got back all in one piece, a testament to my wimpiness superior common sense.

I’m not sure if I love it or hate Sansom Park. I’ll have to ride it a few more times before I decide.

 

We then high tailed it over to the Gateway trail  for a quick spin around.  After MSP it was a piece of cake!  Grand total of twelve miles on Saturday.

 

Tough enough yet?  Monday Mr. Pea decided we should take a ride on Mineral Wells Trailway.  It was another beautiful day, and thank goodness the sun was shining, because the wind was just a bit sharp against the skin. We took all the Pea kids plus a few extras, and made the run to the halfway point and back. The older boys made it all the way to the halfway point; the rest of us turned around a few miles shy because we were getting cold. Grand total of fifteen miles.  (That’s DirtBike ahead of me in the picture.)

 

But wait!  There’s more!  Kettle bell circuit training yesterday.  After that class, I was very, very glad that I kept up with working out over the Christmas holiday.  I was able to push through every rep, every squat and every swing.  Even when the guys were dropping out, I kept going. Whoot!  I am officially a Tonka Truck now.

Be tough. Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea