Another Heart Rate Monitor battery that is.  :P  I went to grab my wrist unit last night and the screen was blank.  I have been waiting for it to die to use it as an excuse to buy a new one.  I would like one where I can download my workouts to my computer.  I invested in the Polar F11 in Rink Dust this morning.  The chest strap is fabric instead of plastic, which I think will make it much more comfortable for my long runs.

Last long run I was headed down the road and accidentally caught my thumb on the strap just as the elastic connects into the plastic and undid it.  I spent the next few minutes adjusting the strap to get it back on and have it stay in place.  I am sure to my next door neighbors it looked more like I was fondling myself as I jogged by.

This morning I had some speed training on my workout schedule, but I need to get out of work early today.  I need to go have my dress fitted for a wedding I am in on Saturday and get my nails done.  Yes I said dress fitted for a wedding this coming Saturday…that is for another blog on another day.  All I know for sure is where I will not be buying my dress when that blessed time comes for me. 

I wish my wallet was heavy because it was filled with cash.  That’s not the case.  I don’t even have a single dollar bill in there at the moment.  I do have tons of quarters though.

When my grandfather passed away I took over the ownership of his state quarter map.  We bought him this map for Christmas several years ago.  I am down to needing 3 of the quarters currently in circulation.  I have everything from the Philadelphia mint; those are pretty easy to find here in B-more.  The Denver mint quarters however are more elusive.  If you aren’t aware if you look at the front of a US coin in the lower right hand corner there is a small letter P or a letter D or sometimes a letter A indicating what mint the coin was pressed at.  Thanks to my Anaheim trip earlier this month I was able to acquire 5 more Denver coins, but I have 3 more that are remaining more elusive: Wisconsin, Nebraska and Idaho. 

One of my techniques for getting quarters is to use only cash at the work vending machine for my $1.25 sodas.  That has helped me find many a quarter, but it has liquidated most of my cash in my wallet and turned it into several dozen Philadelphia Mint quarters floating around in the change compartment.  It is making it rather heavy to lug around.  :P  I will have to start wearing my Heart Rate Monitor when I am carrying my purse to see if the quarters are causing any additional calorie burn.  Ha!

Thanks for the support on losing those 10 lbs.  :)  Feels good to know that I have lots of people standing behind me and supporting me in my journey.

It is people supporting me and trying to inspire others that really keeps me moving forward.  I moved 5 more miles in the right direction with my run this morning.  The weather is perfect right now.  The mornings start out in upper 50’s and then the highs are in the mid to upper 80s.  Perfect weather for running in the morning, but warm enough by the time I leave for work that I don’t need my jacket.  If it could be like this year round I would be in heaven.  :D 

This mornings workout was calling for 4 – 5 miles.  I have to admit it was so tempting to stop at the 4 mile mark this morning.  I was just finishing going up one of the hills in my neighborhood.  As I neared the top there was an older gentleman walking his grandkids to the bus stop.  He stopped as the kids crossed to watch me run by.  I heard him mumble, “That’s right” as I was walking by.  I glanced at him and he repeated “That’s great” a couple times with a big smile on his face.  It made me smile and made me keep going for that extra mile. 

I have experiences like that all the time that help me keep going.  Last Wednesday it was the young guy riding his bike to work that saw me out of the corner of his eye and tried following me with his gaze.  That was a little uncomfortable, but since he wasn’t watching where he was going he ran into the curb and fell onto the sidewalk.  It was hilarious.  Last Friday it was the soccer team made up of 3-year olds.  The coach was teaching them soccer via Simon Says.  I have never seen anything so cute in my life!  It made it hard not to smile as I ran the 1/2 mile that wrapped around their little coned off soccer field.  Then there is my little fuzzy running partner.  There is a tiny white dog in the one court that joins me on my runs when he is off his leash.  Sometimes it is hard to shake him when I near his owner, but when he is in the house I can hear him barking at me and it brings back fun memories of our runs together.  These people are the angels on my running route that help me keep going and put a smile on my face.  🙂

This weekend I headed out for 10 miles, but also decided to take a slightly different route.  Unfortunately I paid the price in my distance because I bit off more than I could chew in the hills.  The neighborhood I chose to run through really didn’t look that hilly, but once I got in there…ouch!  Not doing that again. 

I updated my weight chart.  After the half marathon I gained 1.4 lbs, but luckily this past week I got it back off again.  I need to lose 10 lbs in the next 12 weeks to get a refund from my company for the cost of the Weight Watchers at Work program.  12 weeks is plenty of time!

Well, myt workouts for the weekend ended up getting nixed.  I was really busy on Saturday and then Sunday I was just wiped out.  Think it was PMS.  Last night I got out and ran 9 miles.  That was more than my planned 7 and I am really feeling it today.  Most profoundly in my left ankle.  :P  Trying to take it easy today and be very mindful of what position I have my ankle in.  Walked around some at lunch just to loosen things up a bit.  This weekend I have 10 on tap as well as painting the trim on the front of my house.  I plan to paint on Saturday and hopefully run on Sunday. 

My home PC was acting up some last night.  Fingers crossed that it isn’t a dead hard drive.  :/  We will see probably sometime tomorrow.  I have dinner plans tonight and then another 2-hr episode of the Biggest Loser, so I will be otherwise preoccupied.