Sunday brunch

Chris and I slept in, went for a run around the neighborhood, and then headed to First Watch for brunch. I love First Watch not only for their great food, but for the fact that they give you your own pot of coffee and pitcher of water. The water was especially welcome today as we were sitting outside in Florida, in August, in the 97 degree humidity! But that still didn't stop me from having a cup of hot coffee.

I ordered the veggie omelet.

Look at all of the veggies inside!

And we shared a blueberry pancake. I adore blueberry pancakes.

Here's my "after" shot. As you can tell, I left a good portion of the carbs on my plate.

Because I made up for it by sharing the blueberry pancake!

We ran a few errands after brunch, one of them being a trip to Costco. Here's my loot: organic spring mix, extra virgin olive oil, 0% Fage plain greek yogurt, Chobani non fat flavored greek yogurt variety pack (peach, blueberry & strawberry).

I know this is strange, but I never stir in the fruit flavors in my Chobani yogurt. The fruit is on the bottom, so I just scoop out the yogurt and leave the syrupy fruit in the container. The yogurt still has the fruit flavor, but without the unnecessary added sugar and calories. Without the fruit stirred in the yogurt retains its thicker consistency, and I love thick yogurt.

Look at this GIANT tub of Fage (2.2 lbs)! I've never seen this guy before so I just had to bring him home. I'll be eating a lot of yogurt over the next few weeks; good thing I love it!

When we got home I immediately made us each a yogurt snack. 1 container of strawberry Chobani, 2 sliced strawberries, 1/2 of a small banana, sprinkle of granola, sprinkle of almonds, sprinkle of flax.

And I just have to mention, the award for most offensive beauty product packaging goes to....

Seriously? Got Turkey Neck? Does this make you want to buy their product? Do you think that model on their packaging has severe turkey neck that that's why her picture is cut off from the lips down? I had to stop in the middle of Costco to document this marketing wonder.

Now it's time to start thinking about what to make for dinner. Turkey?

District 9 & Amigos

Chris and I went to see District 9 & then had dinner at Amigos. Both were ok -- not great, but ok.

I had a margarita on the rocks, a large ice water and about six of their giant tortilla chips & salsa.

For my entree I ordered a veggie quesadilla but with only 1/2 the cheese & a side of vegetarian black beans. The veggies in the quesadilla were pretty good; zucchini, yellow squash, onion, peppers, carrot, brocolli and tomato. I ate about three of the four quesadilla wedges, a bite of quacamole (it wasn't very good) and none of the sour cream.

I ate nearly all of the black beans. They were very good and simply prepared.

Now I'm sitting on the couch watching Mad Men and drinking Perrier!

Good night!

Wonderful Saturday!

I swear they didn't give me decaf at dinner last night. I was a busy body until about 2:30 am, which is very unlike me. Consequently, I blew off my 6 am wake up call for an early morning open water swim, which was my original plan for this morning's workout. Instead I slept in, took care of some chores around the house, then hit the YMCA for a short treadmill run and a 30 minute lap swim. Since I was still full from dinner last night, I skipped breakfast and just snacked on a banana while I drove to the gym.

After my workout I had 15 minutes to grab a coffee before heading to YogaMatrix for a journaling workshop. It was an awesome workshop! And although I didn't feel hungry my stomach was audibly growling. I drank my iced latte and found a stray protein bar in the bottom of my gym bag.

I like the flavor of Think Thin bars and I really like the fact that they contain 20 grams of protein with zero grams of sugar. However, this particular bar was so beat up and melted from being in my gym bag in the hot car that eating it was a long, messy process.

By the time I got home it was 3:45 and I figured I'd better have a snack to hold me over until dinner. Chris and I are going to dinner and a movie tonight, so I didn't want to eat anything too heavy. I decided a smoothie would be the perfect "meal."

I threw the following in my Vita-Mix blender...

- Four whole strawberries (tops and all)

- Big handful spinach

- a few baby carrots

- 1/4 of a frozen banana

- large scoop of cottage cheese

- 1 tbs hemp protein powder

- 1 tbs flax

- drizzle of raw honey

- ice cubes

- a splash of water

The result? Fugly but tasty! It looked a bit like a poop smoothie, but it was very nutritious and quite good. It filled me up perfectly and will hopefully hold me over until dinner.

I have a reusable 20 oz insulated cold beverage cup from Starbucks. It works great for drinking smoothies and is easy to clean (dishwasher safe).

A pescetarian dinner

My husband treated me to a lovely dinner celebration tonight at Seasons 52.

I kicked off my decadent meal with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I sipped this one glass throughout the entire meal.

We shared a tomato basil flat bread appetizer.

And my husband was kind enough to let me nibble off of his starter salad, which was a greek salad.

I chose one of their grill specials for my entree; grilled cobia curry with vegetables over aromatic Himalayan basmati rice. The vast majority of the time I eat a lacto ovo vegetarian diet (lacto ovo = dairy & eggs), but every now and then I order fish in a restaurant. And this cobia was fantastic! The curry sauce was excellent; very light, spicy, and so flavorful.

Before:

And after:
Can you tell I liked it? I ate pretty much everything except about 1/4 of the fish, a few bites of rice and all but one of the onions. And then I somehow managed to find room for TWO desserts! In all fairness, the desserts at Seasons 52 are served in shot glasses, so they're gone in a few bites. I couldn't decide between the red velvet cake and the carrot cake, so I snagged both! And I ordered a cup of decaf coffee to go with my sweet treats.

I then rolled out of the restaurant in a food coma. What a wonderful dinner!

Coffee & Lunch

Greetings! I had a great workout today. When I got to the gym I realized I had left my iPod at home, which made the thought of an hour on the treadmill extremely undesirable. My own thoughts just aren't enough to keep me entertained for six miles! Fortunately, when I arrived at the Y a group exercise class was just about to start so I jumped on in. An hour of spin (fancy stationary bikes) & weight lifting intervals later, I was saying "ooooooommmm" in yoga class. Yoga was GREAT today! Awesome class with a lot of back bending. Total workout time: 1 hour 45 minutes

On my way home from the gym I treated myself to a latte. I thought a picture of a latte by itself would be kind of boring so I made my dog Bella pose next to my coffee. I told her to "sit" and I can just see her pea brain thinking "Why must I sit next to your coffee? What gives, lady?" And by the way, that's her bed behind her.

The latte held me over for a few hours, at which time I began thinking about what the rest of the day had in store for me. Today is my husband's 2 year accident anniversary (he was in a bad accident two years ago today), and we're celebrating tonight over dinner at Seasons 52. Consequently, I wanted to make it a light lunch so I wouldn't spoil my dinner appetite (and also to not feel guilty when I drink wine and order dessert!).

I decided on a salad made of...

- spinach

- carrots

- onion

- zucchini

- tomato

- avocado

- sprinkle of feta

- balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzle with cracked black pepper & sea salt

And on the side I had two of those yummy fruit and nut crackers topped with laughing cow light cheese. Delish!

We'll see if I'm brave enough to take a photo of my meal at Seasons 52. I hear that's the hardest part of being a food blogger; taking pictures in restaurants.

TGIF

I'm going for a run followed by a yoga class this morning so I didn't want anything too heavy in my stomach. I decided on a quick and easy 1/2 cup of cottage cheese topped with 1/2 of a nectarine and a sprinkle of Honest Food's blueberry vanilla granola plank.

I have a long to-do list ahead of me today so I'd better hop to it!

Wine & snacks

Just got home from book club and we had a great evening of conversation and snacking! I ended up having...

- 1.5 glasses of wine (that's 1 point 5, not 15!)

- handful of grapes

- 2 apple wedges

- three sesame crackers

- three pieces of cheddar

- five blue corn tortilla chips with salsa

- 2 handfuls of popcorn

I didn't have my camera with me so I have no photos to share. The snacks were perfect and will tide me over until breakfast!

Hot dog & chips

I ate a large lunch/dinner today. I will likely have a snack later, but not a regular dinner. This is a favorite meal of mine. I loooove kale. Love it! I took a big bunch of kale, washed it up, dried it in my lettuce spinner, tore it into chip size pieces, spread it on foil lined baking sheets, slightly sprayed the kale with olive oil and gave them a dusting of sea salt and cracked black pepper. About 10 to 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven yields a delicious batch of kale chips!

Here's what they looked like before going into the oven:

I made myself a veggie dog on a sprouted grain bun (didn't have any hot dog buns so I used a sandwich bun) with a slice of melted swiss and Gulden's spicy brown mustard. I also sliced up a small Pink Lady apple for extra crunch. The flavor combo of the hot dog/mustard/swiss with the savory kale chips and the sweet/tart/crisp apple is a winner. I love this meal!

HUGE mountain of kale chips! I ate every single one! The kale chips are on a dinner plate and my apple and dog are on a small side plate.

For dessert I had an individual square of extra dark chocolate topped with a teaspoon of almond butter. The spoon pictured is a tiny cocktail spoon and the silver bowl is an extra small prep bowl.

Off to book club!

Breakfast of champions

I wasn't expecting this, but when I made breakfast this morning I felt like blogging about it! So here we are, day two of food blogging. I tossed and turned all night and woke up hungry. A hearty bowl of oats and hot tea sounded like the perfect start to my day.

My bowl contained...

- 1/4 cup oats cooked with 1/4 cup water & 1/4 cup milk and a dash of sea salt

- stirred in 2 tbs cottage cheese and 1 tbs ground flax at the end of cooking

- topped with 1/2 a nectarine, 4 strawberries, almonds and a dollop of almond butter

I'm now full and ready to start the day!

What I ate for Dinner

When it came time for dinner I was craving veggies, big-time. I realized I had not yet eaten any today, so I whipped up the following in 17 minutes. Yes, I timed myself. Anybody can spare 17 minutes to make dinner. Heck, it's faster than take out!

I took a small, baked sweet potato and topped it with a scoop of low fat cottage cheese and a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash (I know, it's very 80s, but what can I say, I like Mrs. Dash on cottage cheese!) I sauteed onion, yellow pepper, zucchini, carrot, and kale in a touch of olive oil. I surrounded the potato with the sauteed veggies, topped with diced fresh tomato and finished it off with a drizzle of 25-year barrel aged balsamic vinegar (so good!) and a few grinds of sea salt and cracked pepper. 17 minutes, start of finish. Oh, and I had a glass of shiraz!

Here's a close up of my dinner. I swear there's a sweet potato under everything!

Now I'm full and very happy with my dinner. It hit the spot!

Hope you enjoyed my day of food. I have a new respect for food bloggers. It's a lot of work photographing every single thing you eat!

What I ate pre and post Workout

After working the morning and early afternoon away, I figured it was about time I hit the gym. But before I could leave the house I had to make sure I was properly fueled! A square of dark chocolate did the trick!

I went to the gym and ran 3 miles in about 27 minutes, then I jumped in the pool and swam about a half of a mile in an unknown amount of time (they removed the pool clock!!!!????!!!!). I was planning to swim longer, but it was an outdoor pool and the water was so warm and the sun was so intense that I decided to bail. My total workout was about one hour, excluding the time it took to change into my suit.

I was a bit shaky with hunger by the time I was showered and dressed, so I headed to Starbucks for my post-workout recovery drink of choice! Venti iced latte, nothing else added.

And I tried a new Larabar flavor to go along with my iced latte, Key Lime Pie. I think it's a keeper! LOVED the subtle lime flavor that was enhanced by the rich coconut. The ingredients in this bar are quite simple: Dates, Cashews, Almonds, Coconut and Lime Juice. What's not to love? Real food... and real good food!

Oh, and I almost forgot, I drank about 50 oz of pencil flavored water at the gym. Yes, think No. 2 pencil. That's exactly what the water from the Blanchard Park YMCA poolside drinking fountain tasted like. Isn't that strange?

What I ate for Lunch

My breakfast was light today, so a few hours later I was hungry again, but still not quite ready for lunch type foods. So, I made myself a wonderful bowl of protein packed greek yogurt awesomeness! My bowl contained...

- 1 container 2% Fage

- handful raw oats

- tablespoon ground flax

- 1/2 cup blueberries & cherries

- sprinkle of sliced raw almonds

- sprinkle of unsweetened coconut

YUMMY!!!!

But after all of the soft, yogurty goodness my mouth was craving some crunch so I had one fruit and nut cracker from a bakery I visited in Cashmere, WA on Sunday. It hit the spot!

What I ate for Breakfast

Sometimes people ask me what I eat. A vegetarian triathlete is a strange concept to many (mostly male carnivores). Since I'm addicted to food blogs, I thought I'd post what I ate today. I didn't do anything different for the sake of the blog (I swear!). I ate what I normally would eat on an average day. I didn't try to "clean up" my diet. Yes, I ate chocolate. Yes, I drank wine. I don't plan on stopping either of those anytime soon!

So here's my breakfast...

When I woke up this morning a piece of sprouted grain toast with almond butter & strawberry jam sounded lovely. I drink tea every morning (except for when I'm traveling), so of course I had to have a mug of tea. I usually drink two mugs in the morning with a touch of milk and local Winter Park raw honey. Today was no different. Although only one mug is pictured, I followed up with a second mug, mid-morning.

My food philosophy is simple. I eat when I'm hungry. I eat what I'm hungry for. And I try to eat whole foods, intuitively. I'm not perfect. If I'm craving cheesecake, I eat cheesecake. But I'll only eat a half of a slice of cheesecake. When I want chocolate, I eat it. Nothing is off limits. I drink a lot of water and I don't drink soda. Nothing fancy. I don't count calories. I don't count points. I love food and I really enjoy eating every meal!

Um, Olympic distance? Was I high?

I'm a bit nervous. I have an Olympic distance tri coming up and I'm woefully undertrained. What's a girl to do? Suck it up and do it, is my gut reaction. The Danskin sprint distrance tri I did earlier this year was a breeze! I had a lot of fun, but that was a SPRINT distance! Oy!

I bought a new night splint for my left foot at Road Runner Sports in Seattle last week. I haven't worn it yet, but I'm hoping it will help with my plantar fasciitis in my left foot. My right foot is doing much better, but my left foot is still giving me grief.

I really need to increase my running miles. My eight mile run on Thursday didn't agree with my left foot and I just can't have that! I need to be running 30 miles a week, at least, in order to really prepare for the November relay. It non-negotiable and my foot has to get on board!

I might run in a 5k this weekend to support a new charity that's being promoted by an acquaintance of mine. But then again, I may have to forego the 5k for a 10 miler in order to stay on track with my training. However, I do enjoy the energy at 5ks, especially if it's supporting a cause I believe in. In this case, the cause is fighting homelessness. Who can NOT get behind that cause?

Check it out at: http://www.steppingonward.com/

Upcoming Events

I've got the Danskin tri coming up next weekend on Mother's Day at Walt Disney World.  Hopefully it's better this year! Last year it was too much of a pain in the rear getting to the race site.  I don't like having to ride a ferry with my bike and all of my gear.  Too much of a hassle for a sprint distance race. This year it's at Ft. Wilderness, so hopefully it will be easier to get to.  And maybe the run course will be shaded??!!??  One can hope.

I recently ran a 1/2 marathon at Disney and it was a blast. And about two weeks ago I rode a metric century on Amelia Island to raise money and awareness for organ donation. I've got one other event scheduled in the fall; the Ragnar Relay race across Florida. I need to register for a few more triathlons over the summer. 

Today I plan to hit the gym for a strength workout and maybe a pool swim.  Tomorrow morning I'm swimming Lake Cane for some open water training.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do on Sunday; either a run or a 40 mile ride. We'll see what I'm in the mood for.  The ride is a good one with a good group; it's the Florida Freewheelers east side expedition ride.  It takes you through some really pretty orange groves around Christmas, FL. 

Happy Friday!

Hello 2009

It's going to be a GREAT year! I'm very excited about 2009.  

2009 Resolutions

Run a 1/2 marathon in March at Disney World

Floss twice a day

I think that's about it for my resolutions.  I may do some longer distance triathlons and I may ride a century (100 mile) bike ride in February, but I'm not making those a resolution.  What do I want to do more of in 2009?  Read. I love reading and need to carve out more time for it. I'd also like to start practicing yoga more often.  I found a great yoga download site.  I hope to start doing yoga at home on a more regular basis.

Good luck to you and your 2009 resolutions! 

Goals....what's my next goal?  It's been a while since I've posted.  I completed the Danskin women's triathlon in May and had a lot of fun.  I hope to do an Olympic distance race later this summer. But in the meantime, I've decided to start lifting weights more frequently. I think I'll reduce my cardio workouts and increase my strength training workouts and see how that goes.  As a guide I plan to follow the Body for Life program.  Wish me luck! 

Stupid Florida

So I have to tell you about my day yesterday. Up until about 6:15pm my day was 10 out of 10. I got a big project done at work, I took my dog for a lovely walk around a lake in my neighborhood, took a nap, then went to the Y for a training swim. My swim went really well. Warmed up, did drills, then swam about 1,000 meters. I had set my gym bag on the pool deck (outdoor pool), so I got out of the pool, grabbed my bag and hit the showers. I’m in the shower totally naked, digging through my bag for my shampoo when a large cockroach crawls up from the bottom of my bag. I FREAKED OUT. And I was NAKED with all of my CLOTHES in the COCKROACH BAG! The next 10 minutes were miserable. I was trying to figure out a way to get home without having to put clothes on. I managed to get my essentials out of the bag, throw it in the trunk, drive home with the constant sensation of cockroaches climbing all over me. As soon as I got home I took another shower and put on fresh clothes. So gross. Sometimes I really hate Florida. I made my husband de-roach my bag. He said the roach was hiding under my headband, so I threw it away. I really wanted to throw the entire bag away, but it would be too expensive to replace all of the contents. The roach must have climbed into my bag while it was sitting on the pool deck (it was outdoors, dusk, and right next to a river). I organized my bag before I went to the Y and looked through all of the contents and there was no roach in it then. Yuck. Double Yuck.

Then to top it off I gave myself whiplash trying to get water out of my ears. I misplaced my earplugs so I got water in both ears and was thrashing my head around all night like an 80’s butt rocker and now my neck feels like I was rear-ended by a speeding semi. But the good news is I got the water out of both ears late last night. And I think I’d rather have a sore neck for a few days versus double ear aches and possible ear infections. Note to self “buy new earplugs.”

Danskin here I come!

Last year I missed the registration window for the Orlando Danskin women's triathlon. Every year that race fills up faster and faster! It's crazy. This year it was filled up and closed in 8 hours! Luckily I was by my computer when registration opened so I raced online and got myself registered but in my haste I misspelled my own name! Oh well, hopefully its close enough that they'll let me in on race day. :)

Training is going really well so far. Here's what I've done this past week.

Saturday - ran 10k on dirt trails
Sunday - biked 17 miles
Monday - lifted weights and did a few miles on the treadmill
Tuesday - 1 hour of swimming
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - lifted weights and did a few miles on the treadmill
Friday - 1 hour of swimming (planned workout for today)
Saturday - 12 mile bike ride and 5k run (planned workout for tomorrow)

I'm meeting some people from my Tri Club for a brick workout tomorrow; 12 mile ride followed by a 5k run. I need to start working on my transitions again.

The good kind of sore

I went for a 5k run yesterday morning and yesterday evening I did a one hour reformer pilates class. This morning my abs are mildly sore, which actually feels good!

Today I'm going to take it easy and only go for a brisk walk since I'll be running a 10k tomorrow morning. I don't want to push it too hard.

I've started tracking points on the Weight Watchers system and am having so much fun! I've never been on a structured diet before, so this is a new experience. I'm down three pounds the first week. Goodbye holiday weight!

I'm Back...sort of

The second half of 2007 was AWFUL, but I'm back! Hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently now that life has normalized again.

Fitness wise, I'm doing so-so. I'm running a 10k this weekend. It's a trail run, so that will be fun. I'm planning to do the Danskin women's triathlon at Disney World in May. I haven't swam a lap since November, so I'd better get going. I'm thinking of joining the YMCA by my house so that I can have access to a pool close to home.

I also need to buy a new bike and start riding more. All I've been doing lately is running, and not running much at that. I've entered a 1,000 mile challenge for 2008 and I'm already behind. MUST GET MY BUTT IN GEAR!!!

The Open Water Swim

Call me a chicken. Call me a fool. I don't care, as long as I still have my limbs, which I do. Open water swimming Florida is a test of courage. When every lake is inhabited by alligators (over 2 million of the suckers in Florida), it takes a bit of courage to go jump in a lake and start doing laps. Especially when the water's so murky it's the color of coca cola and you can't see your hand in front of your face underwater AND you're swimming right next to a bunch of marshy grasses. That was me on Sunday at Lake Mary Jane, the lake in which my triathlon will be held.

I'm registered for the Moss Park Triathlon on August 18th. Moss Park is located in SE Orlando and is home to Lake Mary Jane. The water was a toasty 82 degrees, but it was slightly scary. I managed to swim laps for 30 minutes and got used to putting my face in the dark water. That was my goal for the day - swim laps in the lake without having a panic attack. As sick as this sounds, I was happy when a family with little kids jumped in for a swim....I figure gators prefer human veal over the chewy old Bessies like myself.

I also did an open water swim at Wekiva Springs last week - it was fantastic. There's actually a swimming hole right over the actual spring. 45 million gallons of pristine water pour out of a rocks spring every day and feed into the Wekiva river. The water is a crisp 72 degrees, but it feels so good on a hot day. And, the water is crystal clear. It's stunning and not scary at all. I will happily swim endless laps in that spring.

I've actually signed up with two coaches to help me prepare for the triathlon. I meet with them on Monday mornings for a 1.5 hour cardio workout - swim, bike and run all in 1.5 hours. Then on Wednesday mornings I meet them for an hour of strength training specific for triathletes. The rest of the week I do additional swimming, biking and running on my own.

Whew...I'm tired!

Bloggus Interruptus

When I converted my ‘old’ blogger account to a ‘new’ blogger account way back in January, all of the sudden I couldn’t access my account to add or edit posts. Then all of the sudden I could.

So I am not participating in the Danskin triathlon as planned. I waited and waited and waited for registration to open and then suddenly while away on a business trip registration opened, filled and closed in THREE STINKIN’ DAYS!!!! Can you believe that BS? Three days? Oh baby, was I mad. Oh well.

In my frustration I abandoned all tri training and focused on running. I’m running a 15k on Sunday. It’s the Disney Minnie Marathon Weekend, Women Run the World 15k. Two friends from my book club are running with me. I’m also kayaking the Wekiva River in Central Florida on Saturday, so I should be pooped come Sunday night. Between the race and the kayaking, I’ll get a nice upper body workout on Saturday and lower body on Sunday!

Depending on how the 15k goes, I’ll either find another 15k a few months out and see if I can improve my time or register for a half marathon and train for that distance. I’ve found that for me I get more enjoyment out of running longer distances rather than running faster. I’m a slow running, but I don’t mind. When I go for long runs I listen to an episode or two of This American Life and find myself chugging along with a big grin on my face while Ira Glass entertains me.

First Tri Workout

I did my first official triathlon training workout. Back-to-back 12 mile bike ride, 3.5 mile run & quarter mile swim. I'm pooped!!!!

I've set a new mileage goal for January. I've cut back on my miles in order to accomodate the biking and swimming I'll be doing. I don't want to kill myself!

January Goal = 80 miles
Miles Completed = 11 (run/walk = 8.5/2.5)
Miles to Go = 69

I ran, I ran so far away

So I'm running more now than I ever have in my life. That's really not saying much, but for me it's a big deal. Being able to just open my front door and run for 4 or 5 miles feels really good. My walking buddy, Julie, and I are running a 5k together in February. Oddly enough, the 5k goes through my old neighborhood in Winter Park, FL. We lived in an area called the Winter Park Pines and the race is called the Run Around the Pines. I plan to run an upcoming 10k as well.

I keep waiting for registration to open for the Danskin triathlon in May at Disney World. I need to get my butt in gear and start my training. Running isn't enough. I've asked for a trunk mounted bike rack for my car and a wireless odometer for my bike for Xmas. I hate riding on the street, so once I get my bike rack I can take my bike to a nearby trail called the Little Econ and go for nice, long rides.

I'm very happy with the Orlando park's department. They are linking a bunch of trails in the greater Orlando area to form one massive multi-use trail system. Yipee!

Next Challenge?

Ok, I have four events I'm mulling over....

Danskin Triathlon Why??? I've always wanted to do a triathlon and this particular race comes to Disney World in the spring of '07. I've already purchased a racing suit for my swimming workouts. I'm fairly certain I'm going to do this race.

The Out of the Darkness Overnight Why??? This is a 20 mile walk through NYC that starts at dusk and ends at dawn. How cool would that be? And proceeds benefit a suicide prevention and mental health charity.

Race for Hope Why??? This is a 5k race in Washington DC raising funds for brain tumor research. My grandmother recently passed away from a brain tumor, one of my best friends is a brain tumor survivor, and another good friend of mine is currently battling a recurring brain tumor. This is a cause I am 100% behind.

The 3-Day Why??? Because I had such an AMAZING 3-Day experience this year! I may not do another 3-Day in 2007, but I will walk again some day.

I've been enjoying expanding my workouts from walking, walking, walking, to walking, swimming, belly dancing, weight lifting, etc. Yes, I've started a belly dancing class and it is so much fun!