Peak 10 and a Visit with My Dad

This morning I tried out a new class called Peak 10 at my friends private fitness club. The class involved circuit training which really challenges your cardio and core strength. I hesitated but figured it was worth a try since the class normally costs $45 for members and I am not even a member.  I would really love to join her gym but the monthly fee is $110, plus there is a one time  initiation fee of $410.00, which is not in my budget at the moment. I pay $9.00 a month for my gym membership and it serves my purpose.

Peak 10 was fun since you were able to do it with a partner. The class included sit ups push ups, planks, exercises with sandbags, squats and resistance training. We rotated to the different stations around the room based on time. I was beat by the time the class was over but really enjoyed it. We also ran 2 miles before the class and two miles after so I was pretty tired when I got home.  

The real highlight of my day was seeing my Dad. He called me up mid-week and told me that he wanted to come and see me. He knows how much I love the little hole in the wall Thai restaurant near my house so he wanted to meet up and have dinner there.

My step-mom's cousin was visiting them from North Carolina so they brought him along.  I actually visited North Carolina when I was probably 7 or 8 years old and I think I actually met him back then but didn't really remember him. My youngest sister and her family also came to visit.

We had a great dinner and I ate more than I should have but I can never resist this place.  It is one of those places that you don't go for the service but for the great tasting food at a reasonable price. I am sure that my Dad's sense of taste is horrible from the chemo but he still ate pretty good. It is important for him to keep his weight up because the chemo really takes a toll on his body and he can lose weight very quickly.

We had a great visit and they met all of my puppies for the first time.  I wish my step mom could have taken one of the puppies because she spoils her dogs rotten. Her dogs do not eat regular dog food from the pet store because she makes their dog food for them and they love it. She really wanted to take "Chiquita", the smallest white pup, but my Dad said no. I think I will send her this picture to pull at her heartstrings!

My Dad will be celebrating his 61st birthday on Monday so it was great to see him since his birthday is so close.  I am glad that he made it another year and that he has not let cancer win this battle. He was not very healthy on his 60th last year so this year was a better one for all of us.  

Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you!

Fabulous Friday!!

Today turned out to be a great day. It started out with a very decent run this morning. I haven't hit these numbers in a while and I was starting to believe that I never would again.  It just kind of happened today and I am not sure how or why but I hope it continues.

After sweating like crazy after a great run, I just had to give in and treat myself to these mouth watering cupcakes. No, I did not eat all four them! I had lots of help. We usually cut them into fours and samples all of them so it's really like having one full cupcake, right?  It makes me feel better about it if I explain how it just equals one cupcake! 

We finished off the night by having dinner at BJ's. I have been wanting to try their new Thai Chicken Mango Salad and my husband has been wanting to try their new Hawaiian Mahi Mahi.  They were both really yummy!! I would definitely order this salad again and it was pretty filling.

Wishing you all a great weekend.  No big plans for me except maybe another great run on Sunday (fingers crossed!)

I May Be Old but I Can Still Run a Marathon!

I can't believe I am 40!  It was the big 4-0 for me on September 7th and even though I wasn't really looking forward to it, I made the best of it!  I started the Labor Day Weekend off by PR'ing in the Disneyland Half Marathon.  

My PR was the greatest birthday gift in and of itself!  I received so many Happy Birthday wishes and compliments from co-workers, family and friends which made me feel just a little bit better about the whole "Over the Hill" thing.  My niece and nephew in Florida went way out in these special pictures just for me!

Notice his onesie!

Taite got in on the whole"40" thing too!

So let me tell you all about the special things that everyone did for me to make my 40th a memorable one! September 6th was my son's first day of fourth grade so I started work late so that I could take him on his first day. It's kind of a tradition for me to take him on his first day. I am dreading the day that he no longer wants me around which will probably be really soon.

When I arrived at work I was pleasantly surprised to see the new look of my office! My staff decorated my office for me and even though there was "40" all over it, I loved it!  I thought it was a pretty cool idea even though it kind of rubbed in the whole "40" thing! There was no doubt that everyone in City Hall knew how old I was! They did try to be nice and tell me how I did not look a day over 25. Whatever!

Tease me about my age and I'll beat you with my cane!

My staff/co-workers also took me to lunch twice. We had lunch at BJ's one day and then at Red Robin another!  They also gave me a bunch of neat gifts like flowers, candy, gift cards to Kohl's and Sprinkles and a running jacket for training in the winter.  The jacket was from Shawna which came with the guarantee that her and I will do a marathon together in the future.

On my birthday, more good things came my way. I took three days off of work to take care of family stuff and to celebrate my birthday and try to relax a little. My husband sent me the most beautiful glittery red roses and my son made me the most creative rose out of duct tape. We also went to lunch at one of my favorite Thai Restaurants and I ate my little heart out.  I normally take it easy with the fried food but I really like love the fried won tons and I made it known!  I had the pepper steak with rice and yes, I cleaned my plate!  My husband also bought me some other running related things that I have been wanting but they are on their way so I don't have them to share with you yet.

My son can make pretty much anything out of duct tape!

After lunch, I got a pedicure per Shawna's orders and she also told me that I needed to take a break from running as well.  I obeyed her orders and managed to gain 5 pounds instead! Keep reading to see how I managed to pack the pounds on!

I love Italian food, so the whole gang went to Buca di Beppo for dinner to celebrate my 40th with me.  I love their house salad, mozzarella cheese bread and spaghetti with meat sauce. I cleaned my plate here too!  My daughter brought some of my favorite wine, Moscato.  I am not much of a drinker and rarely ever drink but I did have a small glass of wine.  My son has never seen me drink before so he was really concerned that I was drunk. My daughter also gave me a gift card to a great spa so I will be treating myself to a much needed facial really soon!  There's more.

No celebration would be complete without my favorite dessert, cupcakes!  My daughter also brought me my two favorite cupcakes from our local cupcakery.  The waiter brought them out to me complete with the 4-0 candles and the birthday song.  I was pleasantly surprised and the cupcakes disappeared and went straight to my hips too!

Just Kidding!  This photo was taken strictly for your entertainment.

The day after my birthday we went to see "The Help."  It was a great movie but very sad to see how black women were treated back in those days. I highly recommend that you see this movie! One random thing about movie theater bathrooms. While visiting the ladies room, I was surprised to see the various items that are available for purchase from the "Convenience Center!" I thought this machine was used for those other things that women use?? I guess not because they weren't for sale in this ladies room!

Body Jewels or Lip Gloss anyone?

I ate at another one of my favorite Thai restaurants the day to follow! I love the garlic and pepper pork! Can't you tell? I tried to leave a little something on the plate so I didn't appear to be a pig! I am not sure if I was very convincing! Probably not.

Before

After

My last food binge that I will admit to is my visit to my favorite taco truck!  This is the one and only "roach coach" that my family and I dare to eat from.  They have the absolute very best tacos in the whole wide world and we make a cross country trip to get these bad boys for only a $1.25! The gas is more expensive than the food!

So how did I deal with all of the guilt of being a fat 40 year old? I went for a nice 20 mile run on Sunday and called it a week! I think I forgot what 20 miles feels like because I felt pretty tired from Mile 15 to the end.  It didn't help that I mapped out the hilliest course ever for a 20 mile run.

I am just 27 days away from running my first marathon as a 40 year old.  I am in a whole different Age Group now! The only problem is that the 40 year old women are pretty darn awesome so now I will never place in my age group until I'm 50 or 60. I guess I now have something to look forward to in my old age!