brrrrrrr!

While I'm happy for more seasonal weather (ie lows less than 65) I'm not too happy working out when its cold.

I really like my new swim team. I like the coaches, the workouts, the facility, the locker rooms. The one thing I really don't like is the climate control. We have 2 pools - an indoor and an outdoor, both heated. The indoor pool is a constant 85-86 degrees, for the little old ladies and their water aerobics class. That is really too hot for lap swimmers. The outdoor pool is a constant 80 degrees, which is fine and dandy for lap swimming. However, the air above and around the outdoor pool is subject to "nature".

I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this. On the one hand, I really can't do any sort of speed workouts in the indoor pool, b/c of the heat. On the other hand, the idea of sprinting in and out of the outdoor pool and attempting to keep every last inch of my body submerged so I don't freeze to death isn't very appealing. Morning practices are held either in or outside. Night practices have to be held outside, since they have swimming lessons going on inside.

Yesterday morning it was 41 degrees out - so I swam inside. I have no idea what the air temperature will be tonight, but something tells me I'll be doing quite a bit of cursing and grumbling about the cold.

(and I walked 3 miles this morning - I never did really warm up, despite wearing a sweatshirt....)

from the jogging trail yesterday

Managed to do 8 miles in 1 hr 50 minutes yesterday. Random thoughts from the workout:

I have serious temperature regulation control. It was about 50 degrees yesterday - our coldest day of the season so far. I had on lightweight capris, a long sleeved shirt and a short sleeved shirt. I got seriously hot before mile 2 and had to take off the long sleeved shirt. My hands were freezing for 2.5 miles. I was really wishing I'd brought shorts for miles 2-6. Then I was freezing cold for the last mile.

I need to remember kleenex next time I jog when its cool.

I made myself jog any of the flat parts during my run. I had serious tendonitis knee issues several years back, so I'm very cautious. My knees were a bit tweaky towards the end, but were overall ok. The jogging (while slow) actually felt ok and saved me 10 minutes overall, which was sooo cool!

I only planned on 7 miles, but I ended up doing an even 8. I've been trying to get up early once or twice a week to do a quick 2 mile loop, to help with the hip pain I had a few weeks back. Seems to be doing the trick - feet and hips felt fine!

Random sight on the trail - 6 guys riding mountain tread unicycles. I saw them dismount, but never saw how they got on the uni's. You don't see that every day. Between that and parrot-lady, I think my freak magnet action is back.

The Chloe Fasion Show

sooooo, Pictures and details on Chloe Dao's show.

The show was Friday night at a swanky botique hotel in Houston. The show itself was held poolside - the runway actually went over the pool. The show started at about 9:30 or so, and it was exclusively Chloe's work. My camera was *very* low on batteries, so I only took pics of the looks that I really liked. The models were all local. Some were really good, some looked really busted and awful. But the clothes were really nice. One thing I like about Chloe's work is that she has several pieces that could really work for just about anyone, despite your body size. She did have several pieces that were reminiscent of her PR work. She had a black flowy top that was very similar to the ice skating costume; she had several dresses with "pockets" (although this seems to be trendy in general right now); and she had several with either a T-back or cutouts at the waist-line.

After the show, there was an after party with dancing. Most (but not all) of the models joined in on the fun as well.

And now pictures! The quality is only so-so, mainly b/c it was sooo dark, I had low batteries, and I had to super-zoom while holding the camera as high as I could. But, you can see the detail on several pieces.

My friend and I at the hotel, pre-show


Several looks during the show:

Cool dress - sucky model





My favorite one:


View from the back:


Finale:






My friend and her favorite dress at the after party



Obligatory "we are soooooo cool" after party picture:

On the trail last Saturday

So, I've got 2 months until this half marathon and really, I haven't been doing much to get ready for it. Bought new shoes and some training clothes, but have only spent 3 hour long sessions on the treadmill, and did 3.5 miles at the park. Then I got sick and decided to "recover" for 2 weeks.

So Saturday I decided that I'd hit the trail and get some miles in. I intended to do 4-5 miles. Right after I started, it began to rain. I waited 5 minutes for the rain to die down, walked 2 miles, then "boom" pouring rain. I almost called my husband to come pick me up, but I decided to just accept the fact that I was already wet, and getting a bit more soggy wouldn't be the end of the world. I stowed my MP3 player away in my camelback pack so it wouldn't get wet and plodded on.

The only bad part was that the concrete trail gets a bit slippery when its wet. Otherwise it was kinda fun. I even jogged for the flat bits. Until mile 6 when my very slow jog was even slower than my fast walk.

All in all, I did 7 miles and returned home soaking wet. It took 2 hours, due to me screwing around with various things. Like forgetting that my cell phone was in the mesh pocket of my camelback, exposed to rain, and re-adjusting my shoelaces.

My legs are still sore.

And random sighting of the day. Before it was pouring rain, I saw a woman cyclist with a green parrot on her shoulder. Definitely not something you'd expect to see at the park. And the woman was booking it on her bike.