By Golly, I think she's got (or at least getting) it!

Maybe it's because I'm working with a limited brain capacity, I did have part of the right temporal lobe removed, you know! ;)  Or perhaps, it's that the nutrition can just be really complicated! 


But, I'm starting to get it! I really am!


I thought I ate well, in fact, I do... I choose whole grains over white bread. I eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, salmon, chicken.  I've been watching my portion sizes, trying to lose weight, bring the body fat % down, but a few years of running just hasn't been doing it. I haven't quite reached my goals yet.


Late December, I started P90X, but didn't follow the nutrition plan. I've tried a few times to count calories... but typically after a few days, I gave up.  Regardless, by the end of 90 days (plus about a week), I managed to lose 10 pounds!


Then I purchased Insanity, and got curious... I really took at the nutrition guide that came with the program, resigning to the idea that nutrition really must be the key to reaching their promise, and my goals.


One thing that's always kinda deterred me from following any meal plan is thinking I wouldn't be able to eat enough to sustain my workouts... the weights from P90X, swimming, biking, running and all the other cardio I'm getting from Insanity.  But, I figured I'd check it out. Let's just see. I followed the calorie calculation in the book to determine my caloric needs based on height, weight, sex, age and activity level.  Interesting.


I then googled to find other 'calorie needed' calculators, because I like having a few points of reference, instead of just taking the word of the first thing I find.  I came across this site, plugged in my information, and although the results varied a little bit (lower than the first calculation)... I soon realized that what I had feared all along is exactly what I'd been doing to my body all this time!


Remember how I said that I had tracked my food intake here and there? Those days calculated somewhere around 1350-1500 calories/day. My resting metabolic rate is 1455, so in essence, I was barely getting enough calories in to function daily! Add in my workouts, sometimes twice a day, and surely I wasn't getting enough... Calculator recommends somewhere from 1900-2150 for weight loss, and ~2400 to maintain my weight!!!! Let's just say that it was pretty eye opening!


So, have I been kinda sabotaging myself? Working against my goals? I wasn't getting enough calories. Period. So slowing down my metabolism? Was my body hoarding the body fat and calories because of the deficit? I've often heard that you need to eat to lose weight, is this what they're talking about??


I'm nowhere near an expert on the specifics of metabolism, muscle, fat loss, etc. If it was easy, I suspect that we'd all be masters, and obesity wouldn't be as much an epidemic as it is, and reaching all our goals wouldn't be such a challenge... 


I'm now a week into the Insanity/P90X hybrid I'm following, having increased my calories to roughly 2000/day, eating 5 meals of 300-500 calories each, with meals recommended from the guide. Here are my thoughts so far.

• Obviously I wasn't getting enough calories, but I also think I underestimated the amount of protein I should be eating! These small meals of 300 calories are much more "filling" than other meals with a higher number of calories, with not as much nutritional value.
• I no longer feel the spikes and crashes. When I'm hungry, and go through one of those crashes, I get pretty irritable (I admit it!!), and NEED.FOOD.NOW.
• I have more energy! I just feel better!
• I've lost another pound! So I'm relieved to not see the scale jump up even though I'm taking in more calories.

I think it's starting to sink in that it's about properly fuelling my body. Proper proportions of carbs, protein and fat. It's not as easy as calories in vs. calories out. How many calories are you eating/day?


For those of you that know a lot more about this than I do, am I on the right track here? Is there anything that I'm missing? Anything you can add? I appreciate all your thoughts and insight :)

I'm severely behind in all things blogging these days, and will likely be hit and miss in the next little while. I'm, uh, going through 'stuff' these days, and something has to give, unfortunately it's this right now. Please bear with me!!

30k Around the Bay Relay Race report -- Team Anomaly!

Team Anomaly started coming about while in San Francisco... the night before the Nike Women's Half Marathon. Ann and I, excited about the race, were already trying to figure out what would be next. Today's race came up in conversation, but neither of us were really sure about the 30k distance. I ran it last year; in fact, it was her idea that we all signed up, but she was injured, so had to skip it. :( So I asked her what she thought about doing the relay. Awesome, she liked it!  


We ran the half marathon together, and at around mile 12 I think, where a race official was calling out names, encouraging the runners towards the finish, she looked right at us and into the microphone said "Go Anna, Go Molly!" Umm, her name is Ann, close enough, but mine... is, Melanie. We giggled about it for some time.... it was shortly after that I suggested Anomaly for our team name!


Ann and I run well together. We've now run 3 half marathons together... today was gonna be a little different. Since she didn't have the opportunity to run Around the Bay last year, I gave her the choice of which half to take. The first leg, which is flat, though industrial/residential streets, or the second, rolling hills with a known "big" one, and finishing in Copps Coliseum on the big screen. Until last night, I had no idea which half she had chosen -- I was running first! (in my head, I sorta did a little fist pump! shhhh, don't tell her...) ;)


Shoulda said no to the espresso last night... worse sleep ever. That, and the lumpy pillows at the hotel sure didn't help. Oh well. Short walk to the start area to meet a few more friends, and outta nowhere, Sonia recognizes me, and we finally meet! YAY! Another blogger meet-up!


Race starts, and Jackie (also doing the first leg of the relay with her hubby) and I running at just over 6min/k pace. At about 4k, she told me to go on. Listening to a playlist I had created for this race last year, I was just grooving along to songs I hadn't heard in a while, in my own little happy world, feeling great! The kilometres ticked by, and soon enough, I was approaching the 15k mark, the relay transition area! I stopped my Garmin at 1:29:30.... the time it took for Ann to get the chip off my shoe, rigged into her laces, a quick hug, and a few hundred meters run to the timing mat, were added onto my official time, oh well.

Can you tell I was happy to be done at this point, and not only half way like last year?!?!?  :)

Jackie and I boarded the bus to head back to the Coliseum... where we went inside to wait for the rest of the gang. The downside of running the first leg of the relay is that you don't get to finish the race crossing the finish line with your teammate, or the fun of running into the Coliseum.... the picture in my blog header is from when I had my chance last year!! :)


We all finished, no injuries, with smiles on our faces... what could be better!


Check this out! Taking my Garmin time.... my pace was 5:57/k, exactly the same as Ann's! How cool is that! Our combined time was 3:00:18 -- only 1 second ahead of Jackie and her hubby!  Weird!


Back to the hotels for showers, and food -- laughing about the pouring rain that was now falling, having spared us during the race. Phew!

Graduate!

Don't worry, not gonna celebrate with a big slice of cheesecake, but I am stoked! I finished my first 90 days of P90X -- I'm a P90X graduate! :)

Reading and hearing people's comments about their perceptions of the program, I thought it would be a good idea to do a recap post to include my results, highlights, regrets and recommendations! 

First of all, yes, I did take before and after pictures! No Buttsy, no fake tan for the after pictures. haha!!! While it's been a decent and fairly mild winter, I'm scary, ghostly white. Still very undecided about posting them... but I have them. I AM proud of my progress, but... we'll leave it at that for now, ok?

Results:

• 9 pounds down on the scale! Awesome!
• If I'm wearing my favorite jeans and you watch me long enough, I'm often trying to hike them up! They've never sat so low on my hips! My favorite sweatpants, I need to use the drawstring!
• I feel good, I'm stronger, have more muscle tone especially in my arms. I love it!
• Better endurance and cardio! Noticeable most while running and swimming!

Highlights:

• Sticking with it! I've gotten bored with every other weight training schedule I've found and going to the gym on my own. This worked for me. I completed 90 days!
• Terron's motivation. Having him peek over the bench, "come on mom, you can do one more"
• Seeing the scale move! The picture is my weight chart since mid November. I started this program at the second peak... notice the trend? :D
• Interactive Kenpo, which is a kicking and punching cardio workout. It became Interactive because Terron was in a silly mood one night, and stood about a foot away from where my side kicks were landing. He started reenacting Mortal Kombat, pretending that I was kicking him... saying "finish him...." Total fun!

Regrets:

• I wish I had taken more measurements... not just weight, bodyfat %.
• I had the dvd's sitting around for about 8 months -- wish I had started right away!!
• More focus on diet... I didn't follow the nutrition plan, hadn't intended on it, already eat fairly well. However, I've learned a lot about my body and my caloric needs. With this program, and swimming, cycling and biking twice per week each, I'm sure I don't eat enough. I will work on this.

Recommendations:

• forget your fears, forget what you've heard, just try it. People seem to be so 'scared' about it!
• worksheets! USE 'EM! It was so motivating and encouraging to see how far I had progressed! 
• start with light weights! Just because those in the informercials/videos are using heavier weights, so what! Start light, and see where you go from there! I started with resistance bands for the pull-ups because of how the door frames in my house are setup. So dumb. I finally found the ONLY door frame in the house, Terron's door. For dumbbells, I started with 10lbs, and a few weeks in, bought 15's and 20's! You'll be amazing how quickly you progress! Again, it goes back to using the worksheets :)
• Don't get discouraged. These workouts are HARD! I'm the first to admit it, and won't take anything away from the program. The first time I did the Ab Ripper X, I didn't do 25 reps of all 11 exercises. The bonus 10 mason twists at the end, after already doing 40!? Forget it. A few weeks later, I did them all for the first time, including the bonus! It gets easier. I promise.
• I've heard women comment that they don't want to get bulky. Lighter weights, higher reps, and you won't!

So there you have it! I'm ready for round 2, P90X/Insanity hybrid -- hopefully starting on Thursday. I say hopefully because I've come down with a cold. Started feeling crappy Sunday night, yesterday was awful, today I'm starting to feel a bit better. With a 30k relay race this Sunday and rain in the forecast (also rained for this race last year...boooo) I want to be feeling much better than I am now. Tomorrow is my normal rest day, will take it, and see how I feel from there!

Time to catch up, again, on your posts!

A Diagnosis?

My 90(ish) day journey of P90X ends on Tuesday! Firstly, I cannot believe I stuck with it all the way through... and loved it! I will do a more proper recap post later this week.  Thinking ahead to what I'd do next, I had a few ideas, and was given a few suggestions.


I'm not one to search google for hours for every ache, pain, ailment to self-diagnose. Much. ;)  


However, this diagnosis may have found me. 

Clearly, I must be insane!!! I've purchased Beachbody's Insanity and am starting this week. Thursday! From what I gather when reading the inserts and watching the little video clips on the website.... it's like Plyometrics on speed! Like a Jack Russell off leash.


However, I'm not following the 'out of the box' program.. I might one day. I have grown to love the weights and strength training, and have some muscle tone I didn't have before starting P90X, which I love! Doug had suggested a hybrid program.. one that would combine the cardio workouts from Insanity while maintaining the weights from P90X. 


Worked with my little cut-outs to see how it would fit with my triathlon training and I'm amped! I cannot wait!  By the way, you guys all made me giggle with your comments about my organization skills. That's not my permanent training schedule. It was simply a way for me to appease my visual learning senses, and allow me to manipulate and move things around. I then put it back into my spreadsheet once happy with it. Trust me, when needing to consider swimming for both Terron and I, running, cycling, Terron's karate, and P90X, those pieces were moved a few times :)


Here's my little disclaimer, like I did when starting P90X. My focus is on rebuilding and continuing my triathlon training, safely and carefully adding mileage, and preventing injuries. Everything else is bonus. I have increased endurance, better focus, more strength, yes, but if I time doesn't permit a workout, or if I need some additional rest, I will take it.  Ok? Ok.  While I put that disclaimer out there before... I only missed a total of 8 days of P90X during the last 3 months, while in Orlando with Terron, and St. Louis for work! -- MUCH better than I anticipated!

So there you have it! Insanity, here I come!! :)

I can

I subscribe to Runner's World's 101 Kick in the Butt, so every morning, I get an email with a quote.

Yesterday's really made me think though.  "A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you've done it you feel that you can do anything." Anonymous


Funny thing is, I still don't consider myself a marathoner. I got to 36k/22-ish miles of one last May, but I did not cross the finish line, didn't get my finisher's medal, instead, getting my Mother's Day roses in the medical tent. Had I not been injured going into the race, I'm hopeful that the day would have ended differently.


Regardless, I learned a lot about myself that day, even before, and since then. Crossing the finish line is not what has made me feel like I can do anything; the journey to that day, and the choices I continue to make, do.

Never thought about it that way!!!

Reading the comments from my Chilly Half Marathon race report made me think about something...

• You should be thrilled with your HM result. Only running 2 days a week and finishing with that time shows where your fitness is.
• All your activities seem to be keeping your fitness level quite high despite not running much.

Huh! I never thought about it that way! Thanks Robin and Shirley!  I recognize that I've come a long way since I started, it's very exciting to see the results. I'm sure the 'whole package' has helped. Swimming, cycling, running, and the P90X. Everything has been working together to really improve my fitness, and I've never felt better!  Tomorrow will begin my final week of P90X -- I will continue the journey, with a bit of a spin. More on this soon.

Yesterday was a training day that I look back on today, and smile. P90X Kenpo in the morning before work. Awesome. Lunch time, sun was shining, I laced up for a short run... first time adding a third run into my schedule. If only ALL runs could be like that! I played the mental mind game, and my MIND won! Not the body! Body was trying to convince mind to slow down, mind kicked a$$! Probably my best and fastest run ever!  Just a reminder, when crossing railroad tracks, never assume that the lights will be flashing or the railroad gate down.  Looked left and right as I was crossing the tracks... my eyeballs just about popped outta my head when I saw a train no more than 100m! Stunned, but took only a second to realized it was stopped. Phew! Still.  Smiled the rest of the afternoon, probably part of the runners' high.

Finished work, grabbed my bike and shoes this time!! Loaded everything in the car and hit the road to get another dose of vitamin D. Riding in March, with no snow in sight! Awesome! Planning a bit of a different, I drove it first. Funny how hills in the car seem much smaller than on the bike.  Thumbs up on the route, parked the car, good to go. Passed one cyclist before hitting the busiest stretch of road, which in hindsight was a little sketchy. Narrow shoulder in some spots with a rumble strip. Rode with white knuckles for a bit, but was soon back onto much quieter roads.  With about 8k to go, I was closing the gap between myself and another cyclist. He had done a quick shoulder check, saw me coming and got out of his saddle. Couldn't help but smile a bit. I soon passed him, which I'm quite sure he wasn't all that pleased about. Up out of his saddle again, he was working hard to stay on my back wheel, I was enjoying a high cadence spin, lower heart rate. :) Passed my car, kept going further, he's still on my back wheel, but pushing me towards the curb... I looked to my left, let him know I was turning around, he said "ok, thanks for the ride and the view!" Ugh. Creep.

Time to starting trying to catch up on all your blogs!!! Again! :)  Take care.

Doing the shuffle

You might think I'm talking about me running by the title. Nope. Not this time ;)  Dancing? Sorry, not that either. I'll be the first to admit, I'm more of a people watcher, and am NOT a dancer, at all. There. Now that we've gotten that out of the way...


I'm often asked how I fit it all in, or how I find time. I posted about that here. With the understanding that we all have 24 hours in a day, or on a day like today, only 23!  Good news about that though -- longer daylight hours, and the time in my car is finally right again since I never changed it back in the fall!! YAY!  Patience paid off!  :D


Figuring out a schedule accommodate swims, rides and runs... and P90X, fitting it all in, avoid over-training or burn out is like a jigsaw puzzle! I took it back to basics... literally. Little pieces of colored paper, cut out, moved around, until I got something that looks like it'll work.  A few points to explain the method to my madness:

• Yes, even Terron's karate and swimming got worked into the puzzle! 
• Don't panic... yes, there are 2 little green squares representing P90X on some days... those are not 2 in one day... some weeks the workout changes... just needed to see them on there  
• Monday's "long" runs to sunday.
• Added another little yellow piece of paper on tuesdays... with a question mark. A third run. A short one, which I'll sometimes use as a brick run immediately following my scheduled ride. Only if my leg continues to cooperate. This also allows for the rule my therapist gave me after my last round of stress fractures. No back to back running days. Check.
• Long rides on saturday instead of tuesdays... looking forward to spending hours each weekend on the roads :)
• Also, YES!!! There is a rest day in there. I promise! Wednesdays are my rest day. But but but.... yes, I know, there's a green paper on Wednesday. P90X uses this as a rest or optional stretch day. I have been taking the entire day off of everything, a physical and mental break... and will likely continue to do so, but the stretch is a very light easy stretch, and sometimes needed.

So there you have, what I will be following for at least the next week and a half.  WHAT!?  After all that?!?  I am almost at day 90! March 23rd will be my last workout of this round, and until yesterday, I had intended to repeat the program for another 90 days, focusing a little more on nutrition! Yes, I've enjoyed it that much, and seen positive changes. In fact, I'm not the only one that has seen the changes ;)  Stay tuned for more on this in another post!!
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You know I like working out when..... I got my hair done early yesterday morning. That was followed with a sweat-filled strength workout, a ride later in the evening, a toque wearing drizzly run early this morning, and Yoga post-run. Sorry hair, but with the constant rain all weekend, you really didn't stand much chance of looking good for long anyway.
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I was informed tonight, that I'm being treated to breakfast sometime this week! The occasion? To celebrate reaching some of my past goals, working out so hard, and losing weight. The place? My choice -- just can't be the most expensive I can find. The catch? I have to drive. I'm quite sure I have the best 11 year old son ever!!!!

Remember When?

Remember when running was only something you did to get away from something just a little bit faster?


Remember when swimming meant running into the lake to cool off from making sandcastles or doing cannonballs into the deep end of the pool?

Remember when going for a bike ride was on something like this?


Remember when 6k seemed like a long run?


Remember your first fall when you forgot that your feet were clipped in?


Remember getting a mouthful of water and the burning sensation of water up the nose when you attempted your first flip turn?


Remember the many times your mind probably told you that you couldn't?


Remember when you signed up for your first triathlon, and the 350m swim seemed daunting?


Remember training for your first event, toeing the line, then getting your first finisher's medal?


These were the thoughts going through my head tonight as I swam... 800m was my warm up! Ya, thinking while doing laps make me lose count, thankfully someone else was on the ball tonight!  :)


I think it's important to look back at all our accomplishments, recognize the things we've chosen to do and appreciate the hard work and investment we put in ourselves sometimes.

Our secret, ok?

Nothing but sunshine for the past 5 days, and looking ahead to the next 5, nothing but rain.


A thought crept into my mind this afternoon as I was wrapping up teaching my last class for the day. Road tire is still on my bike. Still early enough to beat the major rush hour traffic, I can zip up to "the marsh" -- about 30 minutes away, but totally worth the drive. The next 10 minutes were spent frantically running around the house gathering everything I'd need to sneak in a ride before the end of daylight hours.


I should know by now about making assumptions. I parked my car, opened the trunk, and saw only my bike and helmet, not my cycling shoes. Crap. I thought they were still in there from my ride on Saturday... I guess I had brought them in the house not thinking I'd be lucky enough for a second outdoor ride this week.  Two choices. Turn around and go home to ride on the trainer? Or, come up with a compromise.


I chose to ride :)


Here's what it looked like on the outside...... 

But none of the 4 other cyclists also taking advantage of the beautiful evening knew that the covers were hiding these... ;)

I also didn't need these!

The marsh is a flat, light traffic area in the country, close to a major highway, but mostly wide open fields. Some dogs barking, and quick glances back to make sure that they were fenced in and not chasing me.  Otherwise, it was just me, my shadow.... riding on Strawberry Lane.

One loop done, 23k. I felt fantastic, and would've loved to continue, but the sun was quickly starting to descend. Beautiful scenery, but certainly not safe to be riding alone, without any lights. I packed it up and headed home, completely ecstatic that I chose to get my dose of vitamin D for the day. Cannot wait for many more rides outside in the coming months....bring it on!

The 'Up and Down'

I can't believe I'm still awake -- and since I am, I figured I'd get my race report up -- a race report! I haven't written one since October's Nike Women's Half! It's such a great feeling!


We have been absolutely spoiled this weekend by Mother Nature. Nothing but beautiful sunshine... so yesterday, I took my bike out for some quality one-on-one time. A windy, hilly 33k ride -- amazing.

It's funny how big yet small the running community is. I've been running for about two and a half years, and in that time, have made some very amazing friends. Today I felt a little like a rockstar though! Let's see, other than the group I met at the shuttle bus stop (Ann, Alvin, Sonya, Stephanie, Tina, Domenica, Flora), I also bumped into running friends Marlene, Mark, Patricia, Ueli, Jackie (or was it her twin sister....), Bev, Pete, Colin, Heather, Bruce, and finally got to MEET Marci! Last year, I somehow spotted Marci on the out 'n back portion (she was obviously on the 'back'), called out her name hoping she'd respond and she did!  Today, she picked me out of the crowd in the start corral before the start of the race! Was so great to finally meet and chat with her.


I ran with Ann, one of the runners I met through the half marathon clinic 2 years ago... the other half of Team Anamoly for the 30k relay race in 3 weeks! We seem to have a similar pace, neither of us are very chatty while running, and just run well together. 


The Chilly Half Marathon is appropriately named -- let's face it, the weather is pretty unpredictable this time of year! Wearing a UA Cold Gear shirt, a t-shirt overtop, it didn't take long to ditch my throw away jacket. We started at a decent pace, but felt my shins burning just a bit in the first 3k. That's when my mind starts panicking and going into a protective mode. I kept mentioning to Ann that I might need to start slowing down.... she kept waiting for it, but our pace stayed surprisingly steady! This year's course was an out and back, and I much preferred this to the route from 2 years ago. 


At 18k, we passed a church, where a priest was standing outside cheering on the runners. Ann asked for a blessing, at which time she got a huge burst of energy and took off ahead. It's so funny, because it was at this point that she surged ahead during our first half marathon in 2008, and helped pull me together in SF during Nike! 


I had no time goals for this race... I knew it was unlikely that I'd get a PR as I've only been running twice weekly, and haven't really hit half marathon training distances very much. I was still in my happy range though, finishing in 2:13:18. My biggest goal was to not be limping away from the finish line like I did in 2008, or in the medical tent last May. Mission accomplished! :)


I took off shortly after the race, shuttle bus back to my car, drove back home to quickly shower and change, so that I could take Terron to a birthday party. I snuck away for about an hour to talk to a good friend on the phone, returned to the party room to the kids' having pizza and birthday cake. I declined both, and the offer to get an additional chair. I explained that I didn't want to sit for fear of stiffening up more after already spending an hour in the car after my half. Do you ever get this reaction? You tell someone that you're a runner, or that you've just raced an event, a 10k, a half, or a marathon, and they give you a once over? Look you up and down, then react? I actually take pride in it. Nope. I don't 'look' like a runner, but I do it anyway!

It's March already!! Geez! Time is flying by! I just got home today from a short little trip to St. Louis -- ate more food than I should have, got only one workout done, so I'm looking forward to a little more of my own routine! Bullet-style post to recap February!

• 10.6k swim -- missed a few, but hope to be back on track next week
• 264.5k cycling
• 65.25k running -- 0.12k less than January! How's that for consistency!
• 19.25 hours of strength, 8.25 stretching or yoga
• Pie chart for 2010 (jan-today) looks like this -- loving the balance! 
• P90X must be doing something for me! Terron came home from school just a short time after I got home today. The FIRST thing he said when he walked in was "Mom, you got skinnier, you only have 1 roll instead of 2 on your belly!" Un huh. Gotta love the honesty of a child, but I've gotten some amazing compliments lately! Totally serves as motivation! I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin!
• I have hit 625k combined mileage year-to-date I still find it surreal sometimes that my body has taken me that far!!! 
• Did I mention I have my first half marathon of 2010 on Sunday?! I didn't think so... I was reminded of it last week! :)

Hope you all have a great weekend! Weather is looking amazing this weekend, I'm hoping to ride outside Saturday!!!! WHOOHOO!

A Piece of the Olympics

Months ago, I had heard that the Olympic Torch Relay was going to be coming through Toronto and the surrounding areas, and had meant to put my name in as a possible torch bearer.  As typically happens, I probably got side-tracked, and didn't think much about it. Of course, not until the relay actually started. :( It was then that I started getting caught up in the excitement of the Olympics, and regretted not putting my name in. Incidentally, it ran less than 400m my house!


Yesterday, I was invited to Sarah's place to watch the Canada vs. US Gold medal hockey game, and Marlene was going to be there too! Sarah warned me that it was bound to get a little nutty -- we had a total blast! Even as we were all sitting literally at the edge of the sofa, in the final few nail-biting seconds. Total fun!!

Marlene's sister, who had the honor of being chosen as one of our torch bearers was also there yesterday, and brought the torch!!! I walked into the kitchen to put down a few items that I brought, and there it was, propped up in a case of beer!! Proud Canadian, or what eh?! Haha


Kinda weird to get mushy over something like this, but being able to hold it, and have a picture taken with it was awesome!! Our Canadian athletes did us proud this year, bringing home a record breaking number of Gold medals!


Now in St. Louis for the week for work -- and very thankful for a hot shower! Looks like it'll be a light week for workouts, and all things blogging! Take care everyone!