Vacation Happens.

It's always really hard to keep "healthy" on vacation... especially when you have the kinds of vacation we had this past week. We headed to the Frio River for some family fun and tubing. Joined by my mom, her sister, my sister & kids, and my cousin & kids, we all stayed in a big house together and did the family-meal thing for most dinners. Lunch was sandwiches, and most of the time breakfast was cereal. I did my best not to overindulge, to only eat until I was full, and to prepare myself reality-based portions and not just cover my plate. I mostly had Raisin Nut Bran for breakfast, but my sister and I could not resist the pie lady's wares... nor did I pass on the cheese dip or my cousin's deliciously crafted brisket.

Floating the river just isn't the same without a cooler full of beer, so I can safely say I didn't really do my absolute best to keep my tip-top-healthy business going on. I did have a reallllllly good time, though : )

I did make it a point to get out each morning while it was still cool and go for a walk or run. I kept up with my Couch-to-5k plan while I was out. Being in the Texas Hill Country has its benefits-- wide open spaces aplenty.

I logged 11.35 miles on vacation! I finished up week 1 of c25k, and got started on week 2. I set my alarm for 6:10 a.m. each day, got up, leashed up the dog, and headed out. It was BEAUTIFUL to watch the sun rise over the landscape, and see all of the early-morning animals out and about (lots of deer and jackrabbits, colorful birds, and some fabulously frolicky skunks). There were very few people to watch my jiggly body jiggling, but the best thing of ALL was that unlike Houston-- there was no humidity so we had very cool mornings. I'm very proud of myself for making it happen!

I carried my phone with me, enabling the GPS device and using the "Runkeeper" app to log my distance and speed (I may have mentioned it before, but I have not been able to find an arm-band type phone/ipod holder that fits me comfortably, so instead I got a very small fanny-pack thing made especially for distance runners to hold energy gel packs. It holds my phone and my inhaler and fits around my waist). We didn't have Sprint service in the remote location, so I wasn't able to get the Pandora Radio to run. In the end, though, it was probably best because it was so peaceful to run to the sound of the Mourning Doves and the wind. I still ran the c25k app to help me know when to run and when to walk.

The last morning we were there, I did w2d1 of c25k, and then walked for a total of 4.68 miles. There was some exploring I wanted to do down the River Road so I figured hey, why not walk it? It didn't hurt that it got the dog all walked out for our 5 hour drive home. Halfway through I stopped at the river and let him flop around in the cold water and have a few drinks. He was good as new! It's so evident that the heat and humidity really slows us down in Houston.

But alas, here we are back home in the real world for the forseeable future, so we will be back on the wagon and suffer through the crazy humidity one again. I'm beautifully golden brown and tanned, but I am feeling incredibly flab-a-lanchey and would like forge on to reduce the super jiggle. WHEE!