Friday, March 2, 2012

Five things Friday

1. My ankle is bugging me.  Tuesday it felt twingy and I went out for a run anyways - a fartlek run.  Maybe running itself would have been okay, but I should have played it safe and dropped the speed intervals.  It was bad enough afterwards that I skipped spin class that night and haven't biked or run since.  Today it is feeling better, but not perfect.  I might just swim this evening and then do an easy test run tomorrow.  Maybe a spin today.

2. My husband thinks that "fartlek" is a ridiculous, made up word.  According to wikipedia though, fartlek originates from a Swedish word and fartlek training was developed in 1937.  Does anybody have a good old fashioned dictionary?  I'm curious if it is in there.


3. I bought some berries this week and it got me thinking about the strawberry patch I had in the backyard of my old house.  I am starting to think about gardening.  Prior to moving here 2.5 years ago, I had a pretty extensive vegetable garden (plus the strawberries).  Since moving, all I've grown are tomato plants, but I'd like to get back into it.  1. I enjoy it. 2. The kids really want to have a garden.  They are now at an age where they can "help" and their help will only make things take a little longer.  3. It's a great way to grow my own healthy produce, and much less expensive then the farmer's market.

I've got a bit of time to plan it.  Last frost here is a close to the end of May.  It is a challenging place to garden because of our short growing season.  I want to start some of my own seeds this year, so I'll need to start a few things in about a month.


4. Speaking of fruit, does anybody else have a problem with brown bananas?  I prefer my bananas in the squarely yellow category.  Yes, I know that they actually get sweeter when they are a bit riper, but I don't like the texture.  I like them pretty firm, not mushy.  Lately, it seems like whenever I buy bananas that are still partly green, they go straight from green to brown.  The kids will still eat them as long as the inside isn't brown, and then it's into the freezer for a future batch of banana muffins.

5. I'm back on the weight loss wagon.  It's not something I've talked about lately on my blog, but I'm making a serious push.  I gained a LOT of weight over Christmas.  I referred to it on here once or twice as a "few" pounds, and that was totally inaccurate.  It was more like a "dozen" (plus a couple).  Anyways, the good news is, I've lost all of that weight plus a couple more.  I've kind of hit a lull though, so I think the easily lost pounds are gone and now I need to work for it if I want it.

12 comments:

  1. 1. Hope your ankle feels better soon. 2. I have Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition - fartlek isn't in it. I still don't think it is "made up" though. 3. Love strawberries. My husband has grown a small mound with cucumbers and tomatoes the last few years and the kids really got a kick out of it. 4. Have a brown banana on my counter now. Wonder if those "green bags" you see on TV work. 5. I haven't been gaining, but not losing either. Definitely need to clean up my diet to drop the last 7 that I had hoped to have off by April. Best wishes to you on your weight loss adventure.

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  2. As you know I am in the same boat with the ankle injury. After my swim today I will head out for 10-12 mile run. It will be a test since I have a half marathon next week. If it doesn't go well, I will stop short and probably have to cancel the half.

    As for the bananas... I am like you. I like them yellow. I will eat them if they are just starting to show some brown spots. My wife uses the brown ones to make pancakes.

    I want to get on the weight loss wagon too. I think I can do better with running and biking if I lose about 15 pounds. Maybe I should post my weight on my blog and do weekly updates. That way I can shame myself into losing weight.

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  3. The best sign I've ever seen at a race was "Who Fartleked?" Still makes me laugh every time I think about it!

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  4. Yup, I don't like brown bananas either. And it's totally due to the texture. Good job on the pounds!

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  5. "fartlek" isn't made up - it's two Swedish words concatenated. Put "fart lek" in the Bing translator it translates to "speed play" as requested. Even though I'm 3/8 Swedish, these are now the only two Swedish words I know!

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  6. great job on the weight loss!! i love to garden and am hoping one day to do a little veggie garden out back...we get a ton of deer so it's always a battle with them, even though they're super cute.

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  7. I am the same banana way and injury way too for that matter - I did my first run in over a week today and hurt, but ran anyways. sigh.

    I love hard bananas no brown for me - likewise, they go to bread ;)

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  8. Fartlek is in the dictionary on my computer:

    a system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied to eliminate boredom and enhance psychological aspects of conditioning.
    ORIGIN 1940s: from Swedish, from fart ‘speed’ + lek ‘play.’

    Strawberries are actually in season here (the ones grown a little south of here anyway) so we've been having loads of them. Anika LOVES them!

    I've been thinking about making a little mini herb garden on our balcony with Aria. I'll let you know how my 2 1/2 year old gardens... could be interesting.

    I was doing great losing my pregnancy weight and then some until we went away after Christmas and I totally got out of my routine. I haven't been running much and haven't been eating well either. Ugh, I've got to get back into it!

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  9. For the bananas, I usually put them in the cupboard and take them apart from each other and they seem to last longer that way. A tip for when you put them in the freezer... peel them first, and use them for smoothies later! YUMMY!

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  10. For the bananas, I usually put them in the cupboard and take them apart from each other and they seem to last longer that way. A tip for when you put them in the freezer... peel them first, and use them for smoothies later! YUMMY!

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  11. Hope your ankle is better soon! I have a tiny veg & fruit garden and love that when the kids are playing outside, they snack on whatever is ready to be picked. Sugar snap peas are a favourite. We've also got raspberries, strawberries, cherries and apples. Can't stand freckled bananas, not even in smoothies - they end up in the freezer waiting for me to bake. Well done with your weightloss, keep up the good work!

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  12. J loves to garden- we had a decent sized veggies/herb garden last summer. We currently have a grow-op in our basement- legal of course! He started a bunch of herbs from seed in November I think? He also wants to start a bunch of other stuff so he can plant it in May/June. It's awesome to have homegrown produce all summer!

    Our bananas are going brown quickly too. I am the same- don't like a mushy texture.

    Good job on the weightloss. I really have to watch what I eat now which is hard considering I have quite the appetite. Need to stop bringing sugary treats into the house that just tempt me!

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