Ha, no! I was too busy trying to keep my HR from 118 to 128 to smirk!
Weather is looking good. It will be hot later on Saturday, but at 8 AM it will be low 70’s.
FallGirl, it sounds like the weather is going to cooperate. Fingers crossed, low 70s should be OK. Good luck! You can do this. 
Sabaray, I am rolling on the floor laughing!
Deb, thanks for the heads up! The dang Zullily shows their prices in local money for me… Lol!!! Gotta log in from my laptop to figure out how to fix that.
Welcome to JOGGING WORLD, sabaray! FallGirl- glad the weather will be decent. Michael- what a great post to summarize all that.
3.1 miles this am- 58 degrees, clear and dry. Wish I could have this weather every day. I’m heading to Texas next week on business and it will be a rude awakening. My first time back to Dallas since 2011.
Count me in as another member of the jogging club! Lol. Sabaray, we need to dress in jogger costumes for the half! 
I totally miscalculated the local time (my Fitbit does not sync because I forgot the usb chip thingy at home), so I missed lunch! The cafes only have pastries and sandwiches that are mostly “comprised of” bread. Neither of the options sounds appetizing at the moment, so I am hanging out at the hotel waiting for the dinner time. Two more hours to go!!! I figured if I begin to feel dizzy, I will grab a pastry… to get that failed dieter’s feeling.
There is no way I am wearing a velour or nylon track suit, Bunsen. I like you and all, but I gotta draw the line somewhere. I am taking MOWC’s word for it that this is going to work and I will be a faster, stronger runner! If all else fails I am appointing myself the Pilates Queen.
Does anyone here use essential oils? I use lavender for a sleep aid but am interested in the effectiveness of frankincense or tea tree oil for the removal of skin tags. Have heard lots of good stories but just wanted to check here to see if anyone has experience with them.
LOL, sabaray. I thought of wearing a velour track suit to look hip. Pun intended. The dang piece of bone does not bother me during the day as much as it used to, but it wakes me up at night if I roll on the “injured” side.
Jokes aside, I think the low HR method works. And as a matter of fact, you ARE a Pilates Queen. ^:)^ Scratch that… you are a Pilates Goddess. It just sounds more upscale.
Laptop fixed the pricing issue. The classic Oofos flip flops are $20 on Zulily! That is a sweet price. Thanks, @deb922 !!
I ordered flip flops and slides for that price!
NMinn, I have used tea tree oil for all kinds of skin issues - I don’t know how it would do with skin tags. Mr. Sabaray had issues with those and they were very resistant to almost any home remedy. I don’t recall if he tried tea tree though.
Wooo!! What color did you get, sabaray? Placed my Ooofos order, too! Got a pair of sides for Mr as well. Got red slides and lilac flip flops.
I am boring - aqua flip flops and steel slides. At least they’re not black!
Reading some posts both on CC and on some other sites, I’ve decided that there is a lot of confusion AND defensiveness about the whole fitness initiative. So much of it depends on your goals. If you don’t want to lose any weight, by all means load up on tons of fruits. I love fruit and eat several servings a day- especially in the summer. If I were trying to lose weight, however, that would be drastically curtailed. I also applaud anyone who is active in some way because they aren’t sitting on their butt. However, if weight loss (or even a real increase in fitness and health) is the goal, I think it is important to do things the right way and actually get your heart rate up, build strength and endurance and at least understand the limited utility of barely moving the elliptical while you talk on the phone. Yep- yay everybody- but don’t expect something for nothing. I have a running friend who lives in Canada who is quite heavy and keeps trying to train for half marathon. She and her husband really are into beer and whiskey (not a drinking problem- just a big part of their life). She really can’t manage the calories of all of that, and is still very heavy and keeps getting hurt from her running. I just wonder at what point do really intelligent people either figure this out, or, at some point just say “The heck with it. I’m going to be heavy and that’s that!” I just get tired of all the back and forth of - oh, I had a bad weekend or a huge cheat day but now I’m on track- and then- oh, it’s vacation so I need to eat everything in sight!
Great post, MOfWC. There is no negative calories food. Everything we eat comes with a caloric baggage. If I want to eat my cherries like there is no tomorrow, I make sure I cut something out of my daily menu because I cannot up my burn rate now. I am consciously doing this to maintain my weight because I hope to be able to run full speed someday soon. For some folks, “to heck with it” may be the best course of action, actually, however, for some, that “heck” could mean even more binge-like eating. At least it is some homeostatic state… rinse and repeat.
Is it dinner time yet? 
Or at least own it. I mean - I have certain weight / fitness goals – but I don’t fully have the discipline to do all that it takes to get there. That doesn’t mean that the goal is unattainable or impossible – it just means that right now, at this moment in my life, I am choosing not to exert the discipline it requires in all areas. That’s at least honest!
I have to say that I have not been the most disciplined in my eating lately - and even though I know I’m not, I feel like I’m taking steps backward because I’m not killing myself exercising at every workout. I get very frustrated with a certain family member but not in a million years could I say anything to them about their weight. Yes, the food they are eating is healthy, but they’re just eating too much. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet - and weight training alone won’t help you with fat loss (someone correct me if I’m wrong). Sigh.
Of course, I shouldn’t be talking. I just ate Ben & Jerry’s for lunch. My job is the worst!
I tried the low HR thing. I bailed after 2 months in late Feb. Interesting that my VO2 Max improved dramatically after I started track intervals and faster tempo running. I’ve tried it 2 times now. I’m running nicely now so maybe it helped? I just couldn’t get any dramatic improvement in distance at 125 HR. Could barely get under 13 minute mile pace.
I give a lot of credit to people who keep trying regardless of their reasons for slipping. I had plenty of reasons through the years mostly related to work and hours. I however had good life choices overall and exercise on my side. I am now retired for 3 months and able to look back a little.
I think sometimes for many different reasons, some people are just not interested or give up or it is just not a priority. My brother (age 65) and I (age 60) are from the same 80% gene pool and to a point were similar and in fact he was much more fit than me in younger years. He lost his wife to cancer at a young age of 38 and at that point there was a fork in the road. He had no children. He went one way and I kept going the other. This is after looking back from the last 30 years or so.
Recently he told me he is on BP and cholesterol meds and his liver enzymes are up. He does not exercise, and smokes and drinks excessively. He has a knee injury that does limit him. He does not think at all that he is overweight and really does not want to stop smoking or drinking or alter his diet. At least he is honest about that. He told me that he expected to live to about 75 and was OK with that. We have longevity in our family- 90’s. So, from the same genes, same background, and very different life choices as we aged.
When I told him last year that I was training for a half marathon, he asked ‘Why?’. I said ‘Why not?’. He is a very nice guy but we are very different and in fact as we aged I find it difficult to find a common ground to talk about most things. His priority is friends. He is much more social than I ever have been and has really good lifelong friends. That is healthy for aging and a part of health and wellness that I am currently working on. I am seriously behind on that and from what I read in the retirement studies it is really important as we age. I realize I should have been working on this all along but I have plenty of excuses here.
On a positive side I am getting daily exercise and strengthening and look more muscular and fit. Eating much better and the puppy is helping with motivation. Working on meeting with friends and getting out.
I appreciate this thread and the comments and it helps get my feet on the ground literally and get going!
Sabaray–yoga (except for relax and restore type classes) is always hard for me. I didn’t love it at first but just kept at it; after going to the yoga retreat (that I only went to because my daughter couldn’t) I realized that part of my issue with yoga was a lack of confidence in what I could do. After the retreat, I felt like I could handle almost any yoga class. The retreat was really good for me. If you have tight hip flexors, yoga can do a world of good. I even take a class called hips and hamstrings.
I will try to the studio with the tower this summer. Apparently, this studio requires that you take X number of intermediate mat classes before you take a tower class. I’ll probably have to start with a beginner mat class because it’s been ages since I did a mat class.