Sunday, November 8, 2009

Random Sunday Thoughts

Last night was my friend Sarah's engagement party. Sarah and I have been friends for 11 years and she was one of my absolute best friends in high school. She is getting married next May and last night her parents threw her and Brian, her fiance, a celebratory- party at their house. I pretty much lived at Sarah's house towards the end of high school (she lived right near school so it was our hang out spot) and I hadn't been there in so long. Here we are...

Sarah's mom had a wonderful spread of desserts. I really wanted some chocolate moose (located in the back between the cake and the cookies) but everyone was crowding the cake area so I never ended up having any. Probably for the better since I woke up with a happy tummy this morning.
Eric and I had fun at the party, and after Tiff's wedding next weekend, we will officially be wedding free until May. Don't get me wrong, I love weddings- but I am looking forward to football and weddings being over for awhile so Eric and I can occupy our time with some other things!

Despite the engagement party, I actually had a lot more free time this weekend than usual. It has been a really successful weekend as far as exercise goes. Yesterday I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and a 20 minute video from Yoga Downloads. This morning I did a 8 mile bike ride outside, followed by 20 minutes of yoga including Yoga for Healthy Shins and Knees and Yoga for Triathletes. It is pretty gorgeous out here today, but I did wear a scarf while I was riding to keep my neck warm..

Yeah, at some point I should take my triathlon number off my helmet. More importantly, I should probably get a new helmet since I've had this one since I was 12 haha. I was thinking about asking for a new helmet for Christmas, any recommendations? I think it's safe to say I am pretty much into this biking this for the long haul, so it's probably smart to invest in some relatively good equipment.

Also on a biking note, can someone explain "Clipless pedals" to me? First of all, is it just me or is clip less a terrible name? They clip in...correct? Secondly, clipless pedals to me seem much more dangerous (enter 5 million horror stories of people getting stuck and falling). Also, I know they make you faster BUT does it really make up for the time I spend switching shoes in between the bike and run if I have to change shoes? Please convince me that these would actually be useful equipment to have...so far I'm not convinced...

Lots of cooking, cleaning and kindergarten planning on the "To Do" list today. Hope everyone has a good one!

21 comments:

  1. It's so gorgeous out today! I'm so jealous of your bike ride, I miss it!
    1. Come pick me up so we can go rollerblading.
    2. I really like the picture of you and Sarah!
    3. Wow no wedding related events till MAY? AND soon to be no football? You're going to be in heaven!

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  2. MMM! Look at those desserts!

    Same helmet since you were 12! haha Love it!

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  3. Congratulations to your friend Sarah! You're both glowing in the picture.

    I have a bike helmet that I bought at Target for about $20. It's a Schwinn, is comfortable, doesn't move around at all (I have a small head so I tend to have a problem finding one that fits), and looks similar to yours. They have a wide selection of helmets there. I don't bike often, except around my town or down the Cape Cod Canal, so I'm not by any means an authority on biking gear. Target never lets me down though :)

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  4. The party looks fun - I love the helmet!

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  5. Dang you have alot of friends getting married! Reminds me of my summer when I was 23, I think? I think I had like 8 weddings or something like that? Now I am at the point where i don't actually have any single friends - I'm the only unmarried one! So I think we are done with weddings until my Mr Right comes along (where is the heck is he?)

    Looks like a fun weekend. I know nothing about biking so am of no help! I would like to try biking next summer but that means buying a bike... which is fine!

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  6. Oh my gosh, I've had some horrible crashes with my shoes and the "clipless" pedals (and yes, that's an awful name, sort of like FlowMax, the drug to help REDUCE your urine frequency...doesn't make sense). I have seen my mom spill it trying to get unclipped, and I have taken many a fall trying to get unclipped, including a couple times in the middle of the road!

    Love the helmet. I can't believe you've had it that long! I think the Christmas list is a good idea :)

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  7. That cracks me up that you have had your helmet so long. Want to know a secret?? I have never owned a bike helmet. Course I dont ride bikes either so I guess that is OK.

    Love the pictures with your friend and that food looks YUMMY!

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  8. hahaha I feel the same way about the Clipless pedal thing! What's with the name? I have asked my boyfriend who is a super biker and he really didn't have an answer so whatever, I think were justified in feeling confused! I'd say get em just because Darin seems to think there great for speed and they give you more control I think?

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  9. today was absolutely perfect weather-wise :)

    glad you enjoyed some yoga today!!

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  10. Oh hunny! You gotta go clipless if you can! And personally, I think bike petals that are not clipless are more dangerous! yes, with clipless, your cycling will be more efficient! And, I don't think it affects your time that much in transition. You can buy those elastic shoe laces, can't think of what their called, for your running shoes so you can just slide on your running shoes and not have to waste time with lacing up your shoes!

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  11. So much yoga...sounds great!

    And to comment on an older post: Thank God Glee is back this week!

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  12. Congrats to your friend Sarah! Having life long friends like that is so amazing. It makes celebrating the big things in life together even more special.

    Way go to with the work outs! I am jealous and need to just get my ass in gear!

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  13. I wear Shimanos and love 'em. That way, my shoes, whatever kind of clipless pedals I have, I can wear them to spin class!

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  14. You just made my cyclist heart hurt by saying you've had that helmet since you were 12!!!! You really need to get a new helmet every 3 years for safety reasons! After you've cracked a couple of helmets like I have (thanks college racing career), you become Captain Safety.

    Clipless pedals (yep, ridic name) make a huge difference in your pedal stroke. You can take advantage of your whole stroke, use your hamstrings as well as your quads to control the whole circular motion instead of just hammering down like what you are doing now. If you do decide to go down this road, I'd recommend practicing in the grass until you get a hang of it! You probably will fall a couple of times, but in the long run, it is WAY worth it! Please feel free to email me with any questions!

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  15. I have something for you on my blog!

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  16. Clipless pedals always confused me! They sound kinda cool, but I'd totally be scared to fall. I hope you have a great night!

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  17. I am always confused by the whole clip/clip-less thing. Makes no sense to me.

    LOL at wearing a helmet you've had since you were 12!

    Sounds like a great weekend.

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  18. I think its more about power transfer and efficiency for a good run....horrors stories? they probably exaggerated! plus you only fall when your a beginner :)

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  19. Did you ever find out if you for sure can't have gluten? (I can't remember, sorry) jw.

    I have no idea on bike pedals. I am confused on "clipless" too. All I know is my bike has kid pedals--no "cage" thingy and no special shoes required, lol. Very inefficient for speed purposes.

    Also meant no harm with the "running blog" comment! I know you are on the mend and certainly doing other workouts. :) all good in the hood.

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  20. Giro helmets are expensive but awesome!

    Clipless pedals are definitely the way to go if you are planning on sticking with triathlons. They are definitely scary the first few times you ride with them and you probably will fall over. However, they definitely make your pedal stroke faster and more efficient, they look cool and you get to buy a cool pair of cycling shoes. As far as the transition thing, it literally only takes seconds to switch from the cycling shoes to your running shoes. You will definitely be more than a few seconds faster on the bike with the clipless pedals and so you will still come out ahead even with the shoe change.

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  21. You are doing really great with the yoga challenge! Thanks for joining me in this!!

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