May 30, 2016

Sunset run with Jerry

Yesterday morning, I had been hoping to go for a sunrise run, but with Jerry's work schedule, it didn't work out (I don't want to leave the kids home alone). So, I just decided to call it a rest day and I showered and got ready for the day.

Even after my seven-day challenge of doing my hair and make-up every day was completed, I'm still doing it! The only two days I skipped were when I was painting and working on my bedroom--otherwise, I've gotten dressed in decent clothes, done my hair, and my make-up daily. I talked to my therapist about it, and she loved the idea. It's kind of amazing how much better my mood is when I take that extra 20 minutes or so (15 minutes for hair, 5 minutes for make-up) to get ready, even when I don't have plans that day.

Me, now, as I am sitting comfortably on my bed typing this post ;)

Anyway, I really didn't do much at all yesterday, which was nice, because I'd been so busy lately. I spent a long time working on yesterday's blog post about my favorite health apps. I had leftover rice in the fridge from when I made Beans and Rice, so I decided to make fried rice for dinner. I found a recipe for Pineapple Fried Rice on Pinterest, and that sounded intriguing.

It was really simple to throw together! I used coconut oil instead of olive oil (coconut and pineapple go together so well that it was an obvious substitution); I also used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, and green beans) instead of the mix of fresh and frozen called for in the recipe. The veggies had been in the freezer for a while, so I wanted to use them before they were freezer burned.

(By the way, several people have mentioned to me that they don't understand how I could go without fresh produce for a month--but like I said in my post about the challenge, there are three exceptions to our "no grocery shopping" challenge: eggs, milk, and fresh produce. Since my goal is to use up what we have first, I don't mind using frozen veggies. But we ARE allowed to buy produce!)

The recipe was SO simple and SO delicious! I will certainly be making it again in the future. My kids were at my parents' house last night, so it was just Jerry and I for dinner (I don't think the kids would have liked the recipe). Jerry loved it, too.


I never would have thought to use ham in fried rice, but it was great. I even ate leftovers for breakfast this morning.

I was really bored yesterday evening, so I suggested taking Joey for a walk. Jerry and I walked Joey, and then we decided to do a sunset run (starting before sunset, which was at 9:00, and finishing after sunset). We brought Joey back to the house, and headed out a little after 8:00 for a five-miler. It was still 81 degrees, even that late! We'd just had a thunderstorm a few hours earlier, so it was really humid as well.

Jerry is training by heart rate, and his easy pace is in the mid-11:00's when keeping his heart rate under 145 bpm, so we ran at the guidance of his heart rate. It felt extra easy for me, which made for a more enjoyable run ;) There is something about going for an easy run together that makes us have some pretty good conversations! When we sit at home, a lot of times, it doesn't feel like we have much to talk about; but as soon as we start running, we get chatty.

As we were approaching our neighborhood at around mile 4.5, Jerry asked if I wanted to race. I laughed and said no way, but then I thought it might be fun. I haven't raced a friend like that since I was a kid! I actually got nervous--my heart rate, which had been in the low 130's the whole run, shot up to 148 as soon as I agreed to the race. Haha!

After we turned onto our neighborhood street, I counted down and then said Go! and we shot off. The street is about a quarter mile long, and we were neck and neck the whole way. I kept expecting to see him blow past me any second. We stopped at the street just before ours, so the whole race was only 0.15 miles. I won by about two steps ;) I was pretty impressed with Jerry for keeping up with me! Our pace for that little segment was about 6:05.

When we got home, we were both drenched in sweat because of the humidity. My heart rate was really low (131 average for the duration of the 5-mile run), but I looked liked I was running in a sauna. We sat on the porch for a while drinking ice water to cool off, then took this "Jerry face" photo:


Interestingly, it was taken at 9:15 or so, after sunset, but it still looks pretty light outside. I need seven more sunrise runs, and eight more sunset runs to earn my badges on Smashrun. After I earn these badges, I may try for one called the "Two by 33 by 10K"--you have to run 10K every other day within a period of 33 days. My runs lately have been short (about 3-5 miles) so it would be a lot of running! But I'll keep the pace easy, and I think it'll be a fun badge to earn.

Hope you all had a nice long weekend!

2 comments:

  1. LOL Okay this was adorable. There was never a moment I knew you and Jerry were a fantastic fit for each other than when he challenged you to a freaking RACE Katie. LOL I am dying over here. LOL LOL

    I just have to get back into exercising at all. I am like a lump on a log. My kitty has been super sick (he's diabetic) and we went to the ER over the weekend and he was hospitalized today. My ex's sister ended up randomly being the vet who treated him. EVEN MORE FUN! I know I have to get back to blogging on my personal blog but there was a big story in February and I just don't want to write it so I am dragging my feet. I am such a procrastinator. Sigh.

    I will go back and look at your app post! I must have missed it!!!

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  2. There is a Chinese restaurant where I grew up in Paducah, KY that is known for their Ham Fried Rice. It was always one of my favorite foods. We can't get it here in Birmingham, so my husband makes Ham Fried Rice at home for us. We'll have to try it with the pineapple!

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