Saturday Seven (things not miles)

1) Running - Complete two short runs earlier this week, 2.6 miles and 2.1 miles.  Odd mileage, huh?  I keep over-running my intended turn point a bit.  Knee was feeling okay so I decided to run with* the group Saturday morning.

* Maybe "with" is stretching it a bit.  They are all running further and faster than I am right now, so it was more like meeting with them in the parking lot, running the warm-up with them, and running the rest of my 3.5 miles solo.  But it's all good.  After so much down time due to my knee, I was super happy to be out there again.  And the two people that usually run with me both happened to have conflicts this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have running partner(s) again soon.

2) Haiti - Remember me mentioning about my daughter going to Haiti during spring break?  Well, as it turns out, I have to travel for work the week before she leaves.  And I'm not going to return until 16 hours after she departs!  Husband assures me that he can handle anything that she needs during that week, but I'm bummed that I won't be around for the final trip preparations or to see her off at the airport.

3) Weight - Once again, I seem to have packed on some excess poundage over the winter.  It's all hands on deck as attempt to get back to "race weight."  No more binge eating of Death by Oreo Cupcakes or peanut butter cookies.  When I get the hankering for something sweet, I've been grabbing a fruited 0% Fage yogurt which has 120-130 calories (depending on the flavor) with 13 grams protein.  A much healthier option, don't you think?

4) Weather - After snowing last Sunday, it cleared up for a few days, then snowed again on Thursday.  I really shouldn't complain, but this off-and-on spring/winter weather is frustrating.  Never quite sure what kind of day we're going to get, making it hard to plan things like bike rides.

5) Races/Events - I'm barely back to running and certainly not doing it well enough to have confidence to sign up for any races at this point.  However, I *am* toying with the idea of a St Patty's Day hilly 5K.  Also considering a metric-Century in June if the weather ever cooperates so that I get back on my bike outdoors.  For what it's worth, I don't run on treadmills and I don't cycle on the trainer.  I just don't.  So it's outdoor training or nothing.

6)  Zipp Fizz - A while back I was provided samples of Zipp Fizz to test out and review.  I received the samples pretty much at the same time that my knee started acting up.  I've *finally* had a chance to test the product so that I can share my thoughts.  I'll just cut to the chase.  I really wanted to like this product which promised to be an all natural, low calorie, energy drink.  However, I was turned off by two things.  First, to me it tastes too much like a children's vitamin in liquid form (which is not a good thing).  Second, despite their claims to be an all-natural product, it does contain artificial sweetener (sucralose) which is a deal-breaker for me.

7) Crew Games - Last weekend I volunteered to help with crew games for a local hot air balloon rally.  I was in charge of timing an "envelope roll" race.  What a hoot that was!  The balloon event was also at the other end of a park where a 5K/10K was occurring.  So my other job was identifying lost runners and redirecting them to the correct end of the field for their race.  :-)