I did something this morning that I haven't done in 10 years. I walked a 5K race. HOLLA! For the past few months, I've been walking about three miles on a somewhat consistent basis, and felt it was time to challenge myself. So off I went to trackshack.com and signed up for their annual July 4th Watermelon 5K. I thought it would be just like my normal walks around Lake Underhill, but it was much more difficult. There were hills, brick roads, sun (I usually walk at night). Anyhoo..I was huffin and puffin, and my face was beet red. But I finished. And with a decent time too - right around 52m/30s.
It was encouraging to see such a diverse crowd participating. I saw 5-year old kids, retirees, skinny minis, and people with a decent amount of weight to lose. It was so inspiring to see 3000+ peeps in one place doing something healthy. We rocked it!
Some of my walking buddies - Karen and Doris.
Watermelon dude interviewing one of the younger participants.
Florida's Watermelon Queen at the Wounded Warrior Regiment booth.
Everyone feasts on fresh cold watermelon after the race.
This 5K re-energized me to continue my journey of health and physical well being. If you live in Central Florida, check out some of Track Shack's races. They have year-round events. Maybe I'll see you there next time. Happy Fourth of July!
Anyone enjoying this GORGEOUS Florida weekend? I sure am. My lovely day started with a trip to Clemon's Produce for a renewed supply of rabbit food. Look at all this food I got for $16.00! Such a deal. I would have spend twice that much at the grocery store. The big bonus was the strawberries...half a flat for $4.00. What?? Talk about a good deal. That's stupid good. The cashier said they'll only be that cheap for a day or two because of this weekend's freeze. They had to pick them or they'd be destroyed. And to top that off...they had no way of shipping them North because of all the ice storms up there. So that means lots of extra strawberries in Florida this weekend. Works for me!
I knew my cheap berries would go bad in a hurry if I didn't preserve them. So I trimmed them up, froze them individually on a sheet tray, and after a few hours they were ready for Ziplocs. Perfect for smoothies, snacks and desserts. Look at those succulent ruby red gems!!!
After that, I purged my kitchen and threw out two trash bags of junk. Then I walked down to Lake Underhill for some peace and highway. For those of you who don't live here, SR 408 runs right over the lake, and while it's not exactly quiet, it's amazingly tranquil. The constant swooshing of cars sounds like white noise...a concrete ocean, if you will. I met a few friends along the way. What a lovely day. Hope you're soaking it all in too!
Look at all this crap! Can you believe it? What you see above represents the measures I've taken to breathe freely again. The nice Fed-Ex lady brought me three very large packages stuffed full of these lovely items.
I've been been on the allergy train since I was about 13. Over the years, I've used every pill, spray, and serum known to man. Eventually they stopped working. So I was recently re-tested and learned that I'm now highly allergic to 30+ airborne inhalants. Crazy, huh? So I'm going big this time. I took the plunge on the allergy drops (2-3 year commitment). And I pumped up my allergy paraphernalia (see above). I also picked up some asthma inhalers. And last but not least, I had a nasal procedure performed that should make my airways more free. Whew! After all this, I should definitely breathe better soon.
My allergy doctor recommended that I keep my kitties out of the bedroom??? If you have cats, you know this is an absurd and impossible notion. Cats are: The Fast & The Curious. However...I have been trying. I kicked Stella and Jasper out of the boudoir, but they're not pleased. We've had howling, whining and crying in the Harper household. Not only are they bitter about losing their bedroom, but I think they're afraid of the air purifiers. They keep lurking around the devices without really getting near them..you know that low crawl that cats do with their eyes peeled for danger. It's quite hysterical.
Since they were forced to find new hiding spots, they discovered more interesting places to hang out. This morning, I found Jasper camped out in the litter box closet. He stayed there for hours in protest, and I couldn't even lure him out with treats! Only a cat could be so mad that he would choose lounging near a toilet vs. relaxing on the couch.
