Monday, September 23, 2013

Being Busy Is Fun...

...but it's hard to find a time to blog daily when I'm always doing things. Won't complain! Here's a recap of the last week or so.

Deals at Publix

Publix receipt

Deals and Kohl's...and good reading material!

I wanted to get something for my niece, and I had bonus $$ to spend, so I found some much-needed shoes and a super cute vest. Then I read my favorite magazine :-)

Kohl's receipt

Wednesday's hard run. This hurt!

After this run, I met Anna and Kiki for dinner. Love those girls!

Thursday's ride with Val and Jeremy

We went exploring. They showed me a way to Percy Warner Park I hadn't known about. Might have to try this route on my own sometime soon! Also we climbed up Otter Creek to Radnor from Franklin Road. J was taking it easy on us and I still recorded my best time yet. Thank you, Strava, for the motivation (and all the screen caps).

Friday's ride with Parri and Anna

I definitely needed time with these awesome ladies. This ride was super fun.

Saturday's long run

This run didn't hurt nearly as much as Wednesday's. Amazing how much more comfortable 34 seconds per mile can be, even when the distance is nearly doubled.

Saturday's recovery ice bath. I got only a few confused
stares....and saw a few EMTs 
who were concerned that it
might be too 
cold...I said that's why I'm here!

I had plans for the evening and wanted to recover well. Pace, who I'd been babysitting for the last couple weeks, and his dad were baptized, and I got to enjoy the celebration of them both proclaiming Jesus as Lord of their lives. Amazing way to spend a night at church. We had dinner after, and I got to chat with a friend who was on the playground with his daughter. Great day.

Sunday's ride with Val and Cali

This is becoming one of my favorite routes. Not easy (includes climbs on Old Hillbsoro, Parker Branch, and Big East Fork), but with such good company, the time goes fast and I might have even had a couple good sprints in my legs, even after Saturday's run. Woot! Cali got all the QOMs, though, not so exciting :-(

Sunday dinner with the fam!

We made pizza with the cheese I got on super sale, then I played softball. Then I crashed for the night, ready to do it all again this week!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Another Publix Run

Good morning!
Headed to Publix for veggies and fruit to take me through the weekend. Gotta have good (and enough) produce! I didn't have too much time to plan this trip, and I was pleasantly surprised to find some sales I hadn't realized were happening and some coupon books I wasn't expecting to see. Spent $26, saved $24.

Publix Trip (9-12)
Item (Quantity)  
Regular Price 
(multiplied)
Sale Price  
Coupons
Final Price  
Sorrento cheese (2)4.99
(9.98)
3.50
(7.00)
2 x $1/1 MQ
2 x $1/1 PQ
$3.00
Buitoni pastsa (2)2.29
(4.58)
BOGO
(2.29)
2 x $1/1 PQ$0.29
Broccoli2.992.50--$2.50
Carrots0.99----$0.99
Green Giant
Steamers (3)
2.59
(7.77)
BOGO
(3.89)
$0.60/3 MQ$3.29
Cauliflower3.992.50--$2.50
Grapes3.00/lb
(2.07)
2.49/lb
(1.72)
--$1.72
Ice cream2.292.00--$2.00
Bananas0.59/lb (0.53)----$0.53
Nectarines3.99/lb
(4.32)
1.99/lb
(2.09)
--$2.09
Chicken6.704.37$1/any fresh
meat item PQ
$3.37
Eggs1.39----$1.39
Totals: 16 items$47.60$31.27$2.60 in MQs,
$5.00 in PQs
+$2.23 tax
$26.32 total
(saved $24.02,
or 48%)

Lots of veggies and fruit!

Some good cheese!

I've been doing a little strength training lately, riding into work, running, etc. Busy as always, and trying to get stronger for next season!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Weekend Happenings

The goods

Publix Trip (9-08)
Item (Quantity)  
Regular Price 
(multiplied)
Sale Price  
Coupons
Final Price  
**Diet Coke (2)1.69
(3.38)
--2 x FREE MQ$0.00
**Coke Zero (2)1.69
(3.38)
--2 x FREE MQ$0.00
Hillshire Farm
meat
5.993.99--$3.00
Tennessean (2)2.00
(4.00)
----$4.00
Hershey's
chocolate (4)
1.59
(6.36)
--BOGO MQ
Free WYB** PQ
(took off 1.69 each)
-$3.58
Almond Breeze
milk (2)
2.89
(5.78)
2.50
(5.00)
2 x $0.55/1 MQ$3.90
Purity ice cream2.291.79--$1.79
Sundown calcium5.853.00$2/1 PQ$1.00
Totals: 15 items$37.03$30.90$11.24 in MQs,
$8.76 in PQs
+$2.17 tax
$12.69 total
(saved $26.40,
or 71%)

Prices

Coupons and savings
Somehow my math never adds up to exactly what the receipt says. 
** Free specified chocolate when you buy any 20-oz Coke product

Hot air balloon fun with a 6-year-old
Baby shower!

Chick-Fil-A...hooray for play places and wireless :-)

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Logs

I rarely get phone calls. Today I got seven... three of which I had to take. Deserves a post all its own, with proof :)
Obviously I've obscured
the call list...

*Edited to add that later I got another...eight calls in one day might be a new record!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Franklin Classic 10K and 5K

Val, me, and Catherine before the 5K
Friday or Saturday night, race director (and my Team Belladium teammate) Kat texted a few of us from the team and asked whether we'd like to race the Franklin Classic race her company was putting on for Labor Day. Although I would be just a week off of Ironman and I had done NOTHING for that entire week, I couldn't pass up the chance to race :-)

Val, Anna, me, and Cath after the 5K
Monday morning, I headed downtown early to register and run the first race, the 10K. I have my 10K race PR (46:36) from the Franklin Classic in 2009, and I also raced in 2010 (48:32). This year was a much different course, though, and I was in no condition to PR after Ironman, hence the 50:41 (8:11 pace).

10K course: 50:41
As you can see, it's pretty hilly. But they're all familiar roads, so I just wanted to have some fun. I started out somewhere in the middle of the pack and ended up in pretty much the same place.

I finished at 10 to 8 and the 5K started at 8:45, so I had almost an hour in between races. I had a little eat and drink, and then went back to my car to change shirts (it was hot and muggy already!) before meeting up with Valerie, Anna, and Catherine for the 5K. Again, we started pretty much in the middle of the (seemingly much larger) group and moved our way up a little. I tried to keep this right around an 8:30 pace, and somehow despite the slower pace it hurt more than the 10K!

5K course: 26:21
Cath, me, Val, and Kat after both races and after breakfast
After the races, I picked up a lady walking her bike and took her home. I've been trying to be aware of other people and what they might need, and any cyclist walking a bike is a big blip on my radar. I was driving home from Catherine's house and saw this lady walking her bike that had a flat tire. I had a pump but no tubes, so naturally I offered to take her home. She had a volunteer shirt on from the race and I had raced, so we had a connection and she wasn't a complete stranger. She'd said she was walking maybe half a mile, but I insisted her bike would fit and it wouldn't be an imposition for me to drive her. I didn't have to persuade long, and I found out she had two stress fractures on her foot and had very recently (like the last day or two) been cleared to bike without her boot. It ended up being nearly a 2-mile drive, so she would have been walking too long for her nearly broken foot. I was super happy to help :-)