Doug Funnie Flashbacks (+ HBBC Week 4 Recap)

Truth be told, the only beets I liked as a kid were the ones in the band on Nickelodeon's cartoon Doug. I jammed out to the faux rockers while watching my half hour of television before dinner, but I never actually ate a real beet until I was much older and then, WAM. I immediately fell in love. Probably because beets are mostly sugar and sugar's my middle name. But, I am sad to say that my devotion to beets has faltered thanks to a recent field trip to a sugar mill. Beets and me? We'll never be the same.

Sugar mills are not wonderful smelling places. In fact, they smell quite foul. The sugar beet stench sticks with you and I'm pretty sure my down jacket still reeks of beets. And now, whenever I go to put a slice of beet in my mouth, the stinky beet odor rears its ugly head and there's an instant gag reflex. (Who cares if the beets we eat are a different variety than those used in sugar processing, gross is gross...) I'm working on overcoming this m̶i̶n̶o̶r̶ major hiccup in my relationship with beets, but I think it's going to take quite awhile before my taste buds don't shudder in horror at beets. The only way beets are getting any of my respect right now is because of their magnificent ability to be transformed into sugar. Now if only the sugar mill was cooler looking, more Willy Wonky style, instead of varying shades of grey and gloom...

Also, imagine piling up mountains of beets by hand. Thank goodness for modern machinery.
SO MANY BEETS!
Alright, enough torturing you with lame beet farm videos. Let's chat about exercise and HBBC, especially in light of the fact that consuming a diet high in sugar, from beets or other origins, is a sure fire way to bring your diet down and reek havoc on your body! If only I didn't ignore this important information...

Dec. 10 - Dec. 16 Plan (RECAP aka what really happened)
Monday: 5k treadmill (morning)
---> Completed a pretty lame 5k and promptly got out of the gym. Was not feeling it.
Tuesday: 10k pace (TBD)
---> Tuesday marked day 2 of not really feeling running so I went back to the gym instead of running outside. I did a little over 5k on the treadmill and then did 7k on the bike. I was desperate to mix it up somehow.
Wednesday: 5k (morning)
---> Had to bail on running group to say au revoir to friends leaving for OZ so instead I ran home from school and got about 8k in. Turned out to be a really enjoyable run and I got to see the Christmas tree at Concorde all lit up!
Thursday: 8k (morning)
---> After running the night before, I was not in shape to run bright and early in the morning. With dental surgery scheduled for later in the day, Thursday became my rest day and I was a very happy camper to sit on the couch and watch movies. I figured a puffy cheek, numb mouth, and stitches were grounds for taking it easy. P.S. If need you a periodontist in Paris, I have a great recommendation. He speaks French, English, and Spanish and is the MAN. Just had my first of three gum grafts done and the process was as painless and easy as it could be.
Friday: XtendBarre (evening)
---> For whatever reason (maybe not getting exercise on Thursday?), I was barely able to keep it together in class. My legs were shaking like some 1950s dance move. Ow.
Saturday: REST
---> Felt guilty about being unmotivated earlier in the week, I went to the gym and did another treadmill/bike session getting in about 12k total.
Sunday: 16-18K (TBD)
---> Worst run in a really long time. Felt like my legs were filled with lead. Did 14k and that was that.

Found a great quote on The Hungry Runner Girl's blog this weekend that made me feel a bit better about my less than stellar run on Sunday. Thought it was worth sharing:

“Some sessions are stars and some sessions are stones, but in the end they are all rocks and we build upon them.”
A Life Without Limits by Chrissie Wellington:

Ready for a new week and hopefully a little more pep in my step! After reading The Economist's special report on obesity last night, I nearly jumped out of bed to get exercising this morning. Not sure if you can read the whole report online, but here's part of it. Talk about excellent motivation. The fat facts are frightening, not just for individuals struggling with excess weight, but for countries, their economies, and the world as a whole. And on that note, who wants fries? Me!

Dec. 17 - Dec. 23 Plan ---> holy moly almost Christmas! EEK!
Monday: 6.5k treadmill (afternoon/evening)
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: 12k (evening)
Thursday: 5k treadmill (morning)
Friday: track session, distance TBD (afternoon)
Saturday: REST
Sunday: TBD, shooting for 16k