Curious-er...

I decided that today, instead of going early in the dark to train, I would wait until after I walked Ryan to school. I'd walk back, put Lolo directly in the jogger downstairs in the chambre de bonne and go straight to the park. I even put my running tights on under my regular sweats so I could just take 'em off when I got to the park. I figured this way, I could walk/jog/run and then come back and ride my bike on the trainer for a little while before taking a shower.

But on the way back from walking Ryan, I realized how freaking cold it was. Lolo's nose and cheeks were all rosey and cold. She was fine in my AWESOME BUCKLE TAI FROM TWOMOMMASDESIGNS.COM, but I knew that the moment I took her out of there and got her moving with the wind in her face she was going to FREEZE. So, instead, I kept her on me and walked to the park.

Here's the thing: WITH Lolo on me, I weigh about the same thing I did when I did my last three half-marathons and my triathlon....... And ironically, she was "there" with me for all three of those. So, I figured, why not see if I could keep up a reasonable brisk walking pace? It would be taxing on my joints and whatnot but it's not like I would be trying to do a long distance, right? Just a quick walk. Plus, at least this time, I'd have my custom orthotics to keep all my joints aligned.

SURPRISE!!!! Even WITH Lolo on me, I was able to keep up a 14 minute mile walking pace for one and a half miles. Even when I slowed down to a brisk walk, it was a 16. And that's how I did the other half mile. Even after I stopped my timer on my Garmin and did a cool down walk, I was doing an 18. So, if I can do those kinds of times with a 25 or so pound kid strapped to my front, I can do even more if I "drop" that 25 pounds. This is all very good news. I'm just going to have to be perseverent and careful not to get injured. I'm taking tomorrow off but am going to try to do at least 5 miles on Sunday--more if I'm able.

After I got home, as planned, I did twenty minutes on my bike. The sad news is 1) my bike trainer is REALLY LOUD and 2) my bike needs to be adjusted. The seat is too low, the chain keeps grating on certain gears and my back breaks were stuck and I didn't realize it until I started to go fast and heard the rub. *sigh* The GOOD news about that is that my husband is a cyclist and can do these adjustments for me.

I think I'm going to talk him into taking me to lunch in our old favorite salad resto (it's not going to be as good as 10 years ago because it has changed management or owners or something and they took my fave salad off the menu... Grrrr...).

I'm going to make brioche this afternoon. And I'm going to try the yogurt experiment again... this time, I'm just going to set my oven higher to make up for the bad calibration... We shall see. If that doesn't work, I may go back to the cooler method and see if I can perfect that.

Oh, yeah, and Sam said we might be able to go and look at a REAL pasta roller today. The one I have is one I bought at Goodwill for $3. And I love it. But it only makes cylindrical or spiral pastas and I'm a big fan of long, skinny, flat curling pasta you can twist onto your fork. We'll see.

We're going to Haute-Savoie to see Sam's parents tomorrow. We're going to have a raclette. I'm sure I've told some of you about it and some others of you who came over for my wedding will remember. I'll take pix for those of you who are not familiar.

Then, on Sunday, we are invited to our neighbors' house for lunch. (The parents of Ryan's classmate who lives in our building have some American friends they want us to meet.) I'll report back on that.

And then, next Wednesday, I'm going to have a pizza-making get-together for Ryan and his friend. We're going to make our own dough and roll it and put on all the fixin's... I'm going to let them make their own little mini-pizzas and I'm gonna have healthy ingredients like fresh/organic shredded zucchini, mushrooms, herbs, etc. and local cheeses. Should be a lot of fun.

Ryan's getting really attached to this little girl. He wants to either go there or have her come here EVERY DAY. I have only seen them fight once and both of them cry when they have to go home. I wonder how long this will last.

Anyhoo, off to write a chapter or two before lunch. Have a great day.