Super Sprinkler Sunday

I rode on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday this past week even though I haven't been blogging. I was completely exhausted on Monday from being in the heat all weekend working at the local swim meet. Consequently, I had major trouble getting my butt out of bed! I felt guilty for missing my morning ride, so I rode bikes with Camden in the evening to get him to baseball practice. For part of the time that he was practicing, I rode my bike around the park and on the streets around the park. It may not have been much (only 2.32 miles), but it was certainly better than nothing! I skipped the top of the bridge on Thursday and Friday because my knee was hurting, and climbing to the top deck of the bridge puts a lot of pressure on my knees.  I skipped Saturday because I already had to get up at 5:30 to get everyone up and ready to go to a swim meet in South Sioux City. This morning the cool air was amazing; I'm so glad I didn't skip my ride! The only down side was that I was a bit of a slow mover and didn't get out the door until 5:45. As a result, I hit sprinkler city at the park. I ended up riding through 8 sprinklers! That doesn't count the ones that just showered my shoes. I was happy that my knee was feeling better so I figured that I could tackle the top of the bridge which I did with ease. I rode a total of 6.18 miles which is my longest ride so far. I continue to average right around 10 miles per hour. I snapped some pretty nice pics over the past week. Enjoy:

I like to call this one "Moon Over the Meridian"

While this has nothing to do with fitness, I am super excited to be getting a new camera on Monday! We ordered the Canon 70D which should be the last camera we need to buy. I am so excited to get it and play around with taking some shots on my bike rides. I will just have to make sure I go early enough that the sprinklers aren't on ;) I am excited to see what types of pictures I can get with something other than my phone!

Heat, Fish, Bugs, and Cucumber Salad

It is going to be a blazin' hot day today. It was nearly 76 degrees when I went for my ride this morning and that does not include the humidity. The bugs were out like crazy this morning but the beautiful sunrise made up for it. A cool thing about it being such a buggy morning-there were tons of fish sitting at the surface of the river! As I rode along the trail and into the park I saw ans heard the fish splashing every few feet. Sometimes they were hanging out in little lines just waiting and other times they were all spread out. I wish that I could have gotten a picture of one of the fish jumping up to nab a bug but I guess you just had to be there.

You can see the splash of the fish going under. Also, if you enlarge the pic and look carefully you can see all the little places where there are fish just under the surface-there are quite a few in the upper right corner.

As I mentioned earlier, the sunrise was very beautiful today. The sky was filled with pinks and purples (which you can see reflected in the water above. I had to keep stopping along the way and snapping pictures. 

It was such a great morning to be outside. What I really need to do it bring my actual camera instead of my phone and maybe I can take some pictures that I can hang up in my house as art :o) These picture really only have resolution to be printed up to 8x10.

Last night I read my latest issue of Women's Health magazine and I was happy to see a nice little article about tips for women cycling. I was also happy to read that I already do many of the things suggested-I have my seat and handle bars in the correct positions and I have a wider seat. I have to say that I didn't really learn much from the article other than the fact that I am doing many things correctly but I enjoyed it just the same.

One thing that I mentioned that I still need to work on is food-I am still working on this! I did find a great recipe for one of my favorite things that it worth a share. I love cucumber salad! It is cool and refreshing and the perfect summer snack. I had never actually made it myself before a couple weeks ago-after discovering how easy it is I am kinda kicking myself for not doing it sooner! The version that I made is only worth 2 Weight Watchers points for the ENTIRE BATCH! I could eat the whole thing in one sitting but I usually try to save some for the nice people that I live with :o) I adapted this recipe from a recipe that I read on Allrecipes.com

Cucumber Salad

3 cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced

half an onion thinly sliced (or more or less depending on your level of love for onions)

salt

1tbs vinegar

1tsp sugar

1/4-1/3 cup of non fat Greek yogurt (depending on how big your cucumbers are)

1tbs olive oil mayo (pretty much the only kind we use)

some dill weed to taste

Salt the cucumbers and let them drain for at least 30 minutes (putting them in a container to drain over night in the fridge works too. Mix everything else together then add the cucumbers and enjoy! I usually put it in a bowl that seals up nice and tight so that I can just shake it all around to evenly coat everything-it is much easier and quicker than trying to stir it all up.

Today starts week 2 of Couch to 5k and, as I said before, I plan to run over lunch so that I can fit it in even though I have to work. I will share more about how that goes later today.

More pictures from this morning: