A Change in Priorities

I’m really sorry I’ve been so sh!tty about posting the last few months.  I’ve had so many things going on and my priorities have really changed.  Running is not currently a priority for me…I’m sure it will be again in the future, but for right now I have other things that are grabbing and demanding my attention.  But I have not given up!  I know I’ll start running on some regular type basis again.  Heck, I need to do that soon-ish.  I have a marathon in mid-November that I’d like to finish and not die during!  So, I’ve decided that my goal for the South Padre Island Marathon will be to finish and finish within the time limit…which I believe is 7 hours.  I’ll just run comfortably and walk as needed.  When I start fatiguing then I’ll run a certain distance and then walk a certain distance and then just do that until I cross the finish line.  There will be no top 3 finish for this race this year like last year…and I’m 100% okay with that.

 

One of the top things on my new list of priorities is my Viking costume!  It’s coming together quite nicely if I do say so myself.  The last piece I needed was a coyote fur for the mantel and to attach my Viking beads to and that arrived the other day.  Well, ordered that and received it the other day, so I’m pretty excited about that.  I did a test fitting of all I have of my costume so far the other day.  I have to say I’m beyond happy with it.  Now I just need to finish the leather projects.  OH…and speaking of THOSE…I just finished doing a whip stitch lacing around the edges of my belt, which is like 4.5 or so feet long.  First I was lacing it with this stark white lacing which I was skeptical about how it would look with my costume…it just seemed too “western” to me…not really Viking-like, you know?  Anyway, I ran out when I was about 2/3 done with it and went to buy another spool of it only to find out it was a discontinued color.  Ugh.  So I bought a different color, a light tan that I figured would look more authentic and not clash with the rest of my costume as much as I was sure the white would.  I think I spent about 4 hours with the white lacing.  I spent close to 8 hours total with the tan lacing and my fingers and thumb were hurting so bad by the time I got done with it.  I was so freaking happy to be done with it.  I wanted to quit more than once.  Anyway, it’s all done now and I’m really happy with it and glad I didn’t give up on it.  now I just need to add a clasp of some sort to the belt pouch, attach the ring to my belt, and finish up my shoes!  And then my costume will be complete!!! 

 

 

I’ve also completely finished up the burning I wanted to do on my axe handle!  I’m super happy with it too.  I named my axe “VIRTUE”...so it’s “the axe of virtue”…get it?  “Acts of virtue.”  HAHAHAHA.  Anyway.  I am maaaaaybe going to do some etching on the blade of the axe, but haven’t decided yet.  It’s pending the ability to make a good and durable stencil for it.  If not, it’s fine the way it is.

And I bought a 30oz horn mug that will hold an entire bottle of mead!!!

I’ve been going pretty regularly to the Fit class at Gold’s and I loooooove it!  That class gives me a pretty good work out and although it is making me pretty fit and strong, it really isn’t helping me lose the extra body fat I’ve regained in the last 6 months.  I know that when I start running again, even though it will only be like twice a week, I know I’ll drop that weight no problem.  But I’m still a few weeks or a month from forcing myself to start running whether I’ve regained the desire to run again or not.  I’ll probably just run on the treadmill at the gym after whatever class I take that day.  I’ll just run for an hour twice a week and call it good.  I’ll do sprint intervals one day and just a long run pace the other day I run.  Like I said, I just want to finish my marathons later this year…not worried about finishing within any certain times. 

 

I recently bought not one but two bikes.  Haha.  I have an explanation, I swear.  First, I sold the road bike I’ve have for a couple years and haven’t ridden in over a year for a couple reasons.  1) I haven’t ridden it in over a year.  2) It shifts wonky.  3) I wanted a mountain bike so I could start riding off road.  Soooo, I sold it.  Then, within a week I found a Next brand mountain bike to buy and bought that.  Then a couple days later, a friend asked me if I could return that bike because she had a bike she wanted to sell me.  She described the bike to me and I told her that I wanted her bike and I could just resell the other bike I’d bought.  The bike I’m buying from my friend is a pink Trek 6700 WSD.  The bike comes with knobby tires AND road slicks.  It was equipped with clip pedals.  She also gave me some clip shoes, a floor air pump, and a Saris 2-bike rack for my car!  I will not tell you what I’m paying her for it but I will tell you it was a killer deal that I could NOT pass up.  Needless to say I’m super excited about this bike. 

 

I took the Trek bike to the Bicycle Sport Shop the other day and spent less than $50 on a set of pedals that are more appropriate for riding off road trails than clip pedals.  I really don’t think I could get my foot out of the clip fast enough if I were about to wreck.  I still have the clip pedals (and the road slick tires too, of course) so if I want to go for a road ride, I can switch out.  Also, I plan to buy a second pair of wheels to put the road slicks on and then I can just pop the wheels off and change them super easy and fast.  Anyway, on top of buying new pedals, I also got a new tube for the rear wheel because the valve stem for it was bent and I broke it trying to straighten it (oops)…and I also got a bottle of gear/chain lube.  The service tech that was helping me showed me how to apply the lube AND he straightened out my front brake because it was a little off kilter.  When I got back home, I adjusted the seat to fit me and road it around the parking lot of my apartment complex for a few minutes.  I’m seriously in love with this bike!  She rides sooooo smooth and shifts without a hitch.  My friend said if I ever decide I don’t want the bike anymore, she’ll give me my money back and take it back from me.  Yeah, I don’t see that happening.  I plan to take excellent care of this bike and make it last!