Sunday, September 06, 2009

10,000 Sneezes

I woke up early this morning to meet my local cycling club for a group ride. Bella got up early, too, and spent some quality time with Chris's suitcase. If you can't tell, she's rubbing her body all over the suitcase while licking it!


I made myself a strawberry banana smoothie to fuel my ride.

- 0% Fage
- five strawberries
- 1 small banana
- handful raw oats
- ground flax
- ice
- splash of milk


We all met at Lake Mills Park.


I got to wear my new Seattle jersey. Thanks Leslee! I love it!



It was a GORGEOUS morning for a ride. Not too muggy -- TGIF (Thank God It's Fall)


This was the Florida Freewheeler's Eastside Expedition 42 mile ride. This is a lovely ride that takes you through rural neighborhoods and orange groves. We rode past many happy cows.


About halfway through the ride we stopped at Ft. Christmas for a bathroom break.



The rustic fence makes an excellent bike rack.


Since Leslee and I had to be back at the parking lot by 11 am in order to make it to our 12 pm swim lesson, we left the rest of the group and took an alternate, slightly shorter, route back to Lake Mills Park.

Here's Leslee enjoying the beautiful morning ride on her recumbent bike.



We made it back to the park!



And we had enough time for a post ride snack. I found a mini Larabar in my bike bag from one of the SAG stops on a metric century ride I did back in the spring! It was beat up but still delicious.




We dropped our bikes off at my place, changed into our swim suits, then headed to the pool at the University of Central Florida for our Total Immersion swim lesson. We spent an hour and a half in the pool doing drills, during which time my allergies decided to viciously attack me. Swimming and sneezing isn't easy.

By the time I got home, sneezed about 1,000 times, popped a Claritin, and got showered, it was about 2:30 and I was ready for lunch. We decided to grab a quick lunch at Chipotle. There are two things I love about Chipotle; Arnold Palmers and guacamole.

Here's my Arnold Palmer...


And here's my veggie salad with guacamole.

- romaine lettuce
- scoop of rice
- scoop of black beans
- peppers and onions
- corn salsa
- tomato salsa
- sprinkle of cheese
- scoop of guacamole


The guacamole was terrible. I scooped it off of my salad and threw it away. However I don't blame Chipotle, I blame the avocados. The past two avocados I've purchased have been inedible -- watery and flavorless with a strange texture -- and that's exactly what the guacamole tasted like.


About two hours later I was hungry AGAIN. We were at the mall so I got yet another latte, but this time I got a small one with a tiny vanilla bean scone.



My allergy attack was still in full force so I stuffed my pockets and purse with napkins. I took a moment to read what the Starbucks' napkin had to say. Apparently they've eliminated a lot of the bad stuff from their pastries. I usually don't eat Starbucks' pastries, but it's good to know they're now trans fat and HFCS free.


Once home I relaxed with my book and some wine, which quickly lead to a nap!



I woke up from my nap hungry again, so I heated up leftovers from last night. Polenta with veggies and kidney beans. Tasty and satisfying.


My heavy workouts yesterday and today have caught up with me, appetite wise. I was one hungry hungry hippo today.

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