Waiting For Daylight

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Coco

20111126-091031.jpg

Posted in Fitness | Tagged | 5 Comments

Advent: What Are You Getting Ready For?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Coco

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. In the Christian church calendar, Advent is the “season” when we get ready for Christmas. In most Christian traditions, Advent has a dual meaning: we remember the first Christmas when Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the three kings awaited and rejoiced at the birth of Christ, while we also await and prepare for Jesus’ promised return.

(source)

Last week our priest dove deeper into the meaning of Advent, starting early to get us ready to get ready. She emphasized the difference between getting ready for Christmas, and getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas. (You can read her full sermon on her blog.)

While getting ready for Christmas can mean stressful, hectic days filled with shopping, wrapping, decorating, and baking (fueled by too many cookies and too much egg nog), getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean taking the time to reflect on the miracle of that Holy Night, when the Christ Child came to live among us and teach us by Word and example the incomprehensible reach of God’s unfailing Love.

Getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean thinking about the prophets who predicted the Messiah’s coming centuries in advance, and the people who didn’t lose their faith as time marched on without a Saviour.

Getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean thinking about Mary and Joseph, and their bravery in accepting their roles in the Christmas story.

(source)

Getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean thinking about the apostles, other disciples, and early Christians who spread the Gospel at the risk of life and limb.

Getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean figuring out how we can share God’s love with those around us–whether family, friends, neighbors or strangers.

(participants in our school sandwich making service project)

Getting ready to enter the mystery of Christmas can mean tailoring our own celebrations so that the mystery of Christmas does not get overshadowed by the glitter of Christmas.

(our dazzling white Christmas tree)

What are you getting ready for?

Prayer for the first week of Advent
The light of God lead us and make us unafraid.
The power of God protect us and make us strong.
The joy of God heal us and make us happy.
The grace of God bless us and keep us loving.
Now and evermore.
Amen

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Countdown To The Hot Chocolate 15K (Week 4)

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Coco

It’s hard to believe that I’ve completed my last full week of training for the Hot Chocolate 15K and need to start thinking about some sort of taper. Thanksgiving fell on a running day, but that just means I earned my turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie early!

Monday
Elliptical: 20 min glutes program
Full Body Weights Routine: 40 min (including lunges, squats, and leg lifts)

Tuesday (Hill Interval Program On TM)
Hill Interval Program (level 5): 50 min total, with 32 min of hill intervals @ 6.0 mph
Yoga: one hour yoga class at work!
I was able to keep up with everything–including the side planks–but it had a delayed kick-booty effect!

Wednesday
Treadmill Warm-up: 4 min @ 3.7 mph, 4 min @ 5.7 mph, 4 min @ 6.0 mph (1 mi)
Full Body Weights Routine: 40 min  (including lunges, squats, leg lifts)

Thursday (Thanksgiving)
10K easy run with my friend (59:30; 9:45 avg pace)
I jumped out of bed at 5:00 so I could meet my friend for a run and meet her new daughter (adopted from China)! It stayed dark for longer than we expected so she had to make up a neighborhood route on lighted streets as we went. We chatted the whole time except when a few hills required all of our breath. When we got back to her house her kids were up, which means I made a bee-line for her new little girl instead of stretching. I paid for that later with some wicked calf cramps, but it was totally worth it!

Friday (Black Friday)
Morning Yoga: Rodney Yee Back Bends program
I was really worn out after being on my feet all day on Thanksgiving, and had some wicked calf cramps Thursday night that I took as a sign to take it easy!
Mid-Morning Walk: My husband and I took the in-law’s dog out for a walk (1.5 mi, 30 min)
Mid-Afternoon Weights: Full Body Routine (including lunges, squats, and leg lifts)
I took the wonky internet connection as a sign that I should take a break from work and do my weights routine.

Saturday (Long Run)
(1) Hilly Neighborhood Run:
Total Distance: 7.35 miles Total Time: 1:11:22 (Avg. Pace 9:43)
Split Times: 10:05, 9:59, 9:45, 9:50, 9: 35, 9: 48, 9:15
Today my friend met me in my neighborhood, and she was not ready for my hills! I tried to convince her that a slower pace for a hilly training run was perfect!
(2) Treadmill: 2 miles, 19:20 min (9:40 pace)
I wanted to cover a few more miles than my friend had time for, so I added 2 miles on the treadmill after she dashed home. It’s times like these when I really understand how much easier it is for me to make my fitness a priority.  My teenager will be asleep for another hour, while she has to fight off the mommy guilt to take this time for herself and then face three kids who have been waiting for their mommy to get home.

On tap for Sunday: a long walk with another friend.

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Countdown To The Hot Chocolate 15K (Week 4)

Black Friday

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Coco

If you are reading this you probably are not braving the crowds for Black Friday shopping. Or maybe you are reading this on a smartphone while you wait in a checkout line. Or maybe you took advantage of the new trend and did your shopping at midnight last night. 

 Crowds arrived early on Black Friday last year at Braintree’s South Shore Plaza, which is among a number of area malls planning to open tomorrow at 4 a.m.

(source)

I don’t usually shop on Black Friday. I am too exhausted from spending Thanksgiving day in the kitchen and the stress of our family gatherings. I try to sleep in, clear my head and burn off some pie with a run, and relax.

Black Friday has a different meaning for me. It is a moment of truth for the holiday season. Will it mark the beginning of the end of healthy eating, starting a long slide through family birthdays, Christmas parties, and the New Year? Or will I put the brakes on indulgent eating and let my son finish off the pecan pie?

(source)

Even diet “experts” say that Thanksgiving is “just one day.” If you go overboard at dinner, pile on the mashed potatoes, drown your plate with gravy, slather your rolls with butter, and bury your pie under whipped cream, that one meal won’t put too much of a dent in your weight loss efforts. (Not that any one writing reading this would have done that.)

But my problem is that Thanksgiving is not “just one day” and Thanksgiving dinner is not “just one meal.” Many churches, offices and schools host Thanksgiving potlucks in the days before the actual holiday, doubling or tripling the opportunity to indulge.  Even if I dodge those bullets, I am faced with leftovers. I try to send some home with our guests, but it is hard to part with my favorites–especially my Mom’s cranberry relish and the apple pie.

I usually don’t want to cook for a few days after Thanksgiving, so we end up reheating the leftover turkey and trimmings for a few days. This scaled down meal isn’t as heavy as our big holiday dinner, but it probably has several hundred more calories than a meal we usually would have.

(source)

So on Black Friday, I have to decide. Will I have apple pie for breakfast, or will I satisfy my taste buds with a spoonful of cranberry relish on my whole wheat toast?

Caramel Apple Pie

Will I fix a dinner plate with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, or will I load up my plate with leftover Brussels sprouts salad? 


Making the healthier choice isn’t easy, but it can keep Black Friday from casting a long shadow over the rest of the holiday season.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers?

Posted in Fitness | 5 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Coco

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
~ Psalm 107

 

Posted in Life, My Faith | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments