Thursday evening was the awards dinner for two of the three New Jersey Tours de Cure (the third will take place in two weeks). Since The Other Half couldn't get off work, I had to go solo. I'm not completely uncomfortable going out without an escort, but I am rather shy about reaching out to meet other people.
I need a hook -- a segue -- something to break the ice. I knew that there would be some folk I'd met before -- Taran (the Skylands Tour's coordinator) and a couple of the committee folk and riders. I also expected them to not have a lot of free/mingling time, or to be with other folk. The sit-down-dinner nature of this event in a way forced me to meet new people.

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"If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone..."

Unlike the melancholy wanderer in the Hedy West song, my cycling computer was at my right hand as I logged in yesterday's ride (to the doctor's office in one direction, then the supermarket in the opposite direction), and as I scrolled past the odometer, it read 512.4 (miles) -- which was approximately the distance I'd ridden since January first. Now, I'm nowhere fast enough to be part of someone's "lead-out train" at the end of a bicycle race -- much less fast enough to consider having others lead me out. Heck, I'm not even fast enough to consider racing the average ten-year-old (I think). But plugging away at it, bit by bit -- errand by errand -- group ride by group ride (OK, there've only been three of those so far, and during none have I been able to keep with the group) -- I've ridden over five hundred miles, this year alone. (READ MORE)

Lindsey

My mom and I were making the second round on our neighborhood walk. Before I left the house, I didn't do my usual pre-walk routine. Typically, I check my blood sugar and lower my basal by 40% for two hours. I'm not sure how I forgot to do all that, but it never even crossed my mind.

That was until I started to get really tired. I felt fine. No butterflies in my stomach.  No fog surrounding my thoughts. Nothing to set off the LOW warning in my head. Except that I was dragging. My legs could barely move. My mom was steps ahead of me, walking at our normal pace.

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Kerri, our buddy ol' pal here at Blogabetes, sent us bloggers some writing prompts the other day. One prompt that hit home with me was writing about what people can do during these cold months to stay active and keep the pounds off. It is a natural process for us as humans to throw on a few extra lbs as the cold weather starts to approach. With that in mind, I for one, really enjoy working out in MY VERY OWN LIVING ROOM. Even as dedicated as some of us are to working out, it is still a pain to get out into the cold. Nobody likes running to their car, scraping the ice off, and waiting for it warm up just to drive to the gym!! It is hard enough for people to be motivated on the warm days. That's where your living room and your creativity come into play.
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Working out with a stability, or Swiss ball, is an awesome way to get a good workout. If you're not familiar with what a stability ball is, then you can look it up on your computer or stop by a sport store. They are large rubber balls that allow you to work on numerous things. Their sizes range from 35 cm to 85 cm depending on the types of movements you want to do. Some of the benefits include balance, stability and core exercises, and they are also great to stretch on. Brynn just bought one for relatively cheap at our local Wal-Mart. If you decide to buy one, you have the option of purchasing the nicer name brand models, but from my experience, a rubber ball is a rubber ball. Anyway, this morning, I found myself working out on our stability ball and it felt wonderful!
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