1st Week with the New Car

So, this week has been pretty good.  It was my first week with my new car, Dori (named after the blue fish in Finding Nemo…I’m sure you figured that out, though).  She is aaaaaamazing…let me tell ya.  The other night, on my way home from work, it was super nice out so I turned off the a/c and drove with the sunroof wide open.  It was weird because I could hear all the traffic sounds from the traffic around me and I could smell the exhaust from the big trucks, but other than that, I really enjoyed it.  She drives so smoothly.  It’s so nice to not have the check engine light on all time.  It’s taking some time for me to get used to driving an automatic transmission (the beetle was a manual transmission).  Monday night it was pouring down rain and I had to drive 40 on the highway the rain was coming down so hard.  Because I was hovering at 40, it kept shifting up and down between 3^rd and 4^th gears and that freaked me out a little bit because it made me think of the beetle when I would start misfiring there at the end.  It was also very nice to have windshield wipers that actually wiped the rain so that I could actually SEE through it instead of just smearing it or not even wiping it because the spring were bad in the arms and wasn’t holding the wipers snugly against the windshield.

Other things that are so nice about Dori compared to the beetle…my windows all roll up and down, the cruise control works, and I have cupholders that I can actually use!  Speaking of…guess how many cupholders I have.  EIGHT!  What the heck?  There’s 2 in the front console, one in each door, 2 in a fold-down console in the back seat and one in each side of the car in the back seat.  Crazy.  The only thing I don’t like about the car is that the power plugs don’t stay on when the car is turned off.  Oh wow, if that’s the only thing I don’t like about it, I’d say I’m doing alright…wouldn’t you?

Fancy schmancy stuff Dori has…leather seats, heated front seats, cooled driver’s seat, heated steering wheel, Bluetooth connectivity, satellite radio, navigation system, estimated miles countdown until an empty gas tank, average gas mileage display, steering wheel controls for the radio, a trunk I’m sure is big enough for 4 people to be stuffed into...haha.

So, I’ve spent the last week getting to know Dori and, well, I’m in love.  I thought I loved the beetle, but after meeting Dori and finding out what true car love is, I realize now I just really liked the beetle.  It’s so nice not having to worry about breaking down.  I didn’t realize how stressed I was about the beetle’s condition.  I thought the beetle was fun to drive…heh, that beetle had NOTHING on Dori.  Nothing.

Alright, enough blabber about my new car and how amazing she is.  Onto exercise.  I ran 3 times this week.  Once was downright horrible and the other 2 times were fabulous!  I had “scheduled” myself to run 3 or 3.3 miles Tuesday morning, but when Tuesday morning rolled around, I wasn’t feeling a run.  So run was postponed until Wednesday.  Good thing too because I’m sure my legs appreciated that extra day of rest after Saturday’s super speedy 5K and Sunday’s horrible 7 miler.  I set out Wednesday morning and planned for 3 miles.  About a quarter of a mile into the run I said @(*$ this, I’m running 4!  So I did.  I felt great and ended with the first 2 miles both at 10:36, second mile was 9:55 and the third mile was 9:57 and into a serious headwind…or it would have been faster.  Hands down, great run.  I worked a double shift Wednesday evening/night, so no workout Thursday.  Yesterday, I ran 3 miles.  It was a bit warmer than it was Wednesday but about 15°.  Also, I forgot to take water with me.  So, I kept having to stop to let my heart rate come back down.  I did 10:12 first mile, 9:57 second mile and 9:47 third mile.  Wish I had done that without rest breaks, but it is what it is.  Maybe next week I can repeat that without rest breaks.  I really need to get up at 6 or 7 to run, even if it means showering and then laying back down for an hour or so to sleep some more…of course, I’m not sure I could go back to sleep.  But, it’s coming into summer in Texas, so it’s just going to get warmer and warmer until it’s as hot as hades out.  So, first off, I need to NOT forget my water and, if I do, go back inside for it.  Maybe I’ll stick a note on my door about “do you have your water?” or something like that.  Second, the whole getting up earlier to run really needs to happen.

On running, I haven't yet gotten ahold of the race photos from the Stand Up 5K but I did get ahold of my official results.  First, I would like to express my complete shock when I say this...my first mile time per my Garmin was NOT a glitch.  My official time was 29:09 (11 seconds off from my Garmin, but that's because I forgot to turn my Garmin on before the race started and didn't hit start on it until...well...11 seconds after I crossed the start line)!!!  WOW!  I placed 5th in my age group, but was 2:02 minutes shy of hitting 3rd place.  I was completely correct in assuming that if they had done 5-year age groupings I would have placed.  Dammit.  In the female gender, I placed 18th out of 62.  Overall I placed 63rd out of 150.  I love small races! 

I worked another double shift at work yesterday so I slept until early afternoon today.  Well...it was *supposed* to be a double shift.  It was only a shift and a half.  They sent me home at 2am because they didn't need me.  Boo!  I lost about $80 in overtime pay as a result, but I got a lot more done today than I would have otherwise gotten done if I had worked the whole night and been asleep until 2pm.  Instead, I was up by 9:45.  I went to the new bank and opened up a second account to be used for making car payments and saving up some moolah.  I plan to put almost $25 more than what I need to put in the account for my car payment every payday (I'll put half the car payment in the account every payday as I get paid twice a month...so, almost $50 extra in the account for a savings every month!).  It won't be a lot, but it'll be more than I've got going on right now. 

For next week, I’ve got 10 miles scheduled for tomorrow’s run after lunch out with a friend and then another friend coming over to get my spare key from me so he can cat-sit for me while I’m on my roadtrip next month.  Then I’ll run again on Tuesday and either Thursday or Friday.  I wish I could get in a workout on Monday, but I need to go to the gun range for some shooting practice and then I have a doctor’s appointment, so probably no time to workout Monday morning.  If I don’t work overtime on Wednesday night, then Thursday or Friday (whichever day I don’t run) I can get in a strength training workout.  Then, Saturday next week I go pick up my race packet for the following Sunday’s 8K.  Maybe after that I’ll go for an 8-10 mile bicycle ride.

I’ve been doing “okay” with my eating.  For the most part I stick to my Shred Diet foods, but sometimes not.  I’ve feel better the last few weeks than I have felt over the last few months.  No acid reflux problems, for starters.  Even though my clothes are still a little tight, I feel like they’re not as tight as they were a few weeks ago.  But I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks either.  I’m just going to try to eat as healthy as possible between now and my roadtrip, then I’ll do my best on my roadtrip.  For the actual driving part, I’m taking apples, string cheese, and PB&J fixings.  Oh and a bunch of sparkly waters to sip on.  And I’ll take some 5 hr energy shots with me instead of stopping frequently to get iced coffees from Starbuck’s.  It’ll be cheaper, for one.  And really, anywhere I can pinch a penny on this trip, I’d really like to.  There is going to be a couple times where eating out can’t really be avoided, but for the most part, I really want to eat “at home” food that I put together or that my mom cooks.