a peek inside the fishbowl

To review: every other Tuesday is my day off and I’m trying to use this time to recharge my batteries. No work, no meetings, minimal errands. In my previous “Andrea’s Tuesdays” excursion I went to the Library and Archives building, and Ikea.  (A weird combo, but there you have it.)

I wish I had something more exciting to report than the fact that I went to the gym, but that’s what I did. I am training for a 5K and decided that this was the day to get real about it.

I did some research about interval training, downloaded a new timer app, and set out to the gym. I was feeling rather triumphant about the whole thing until I arrived and noticed that every single treadmill was occupied. Sigh. I did a few minutes of pedaling on the recumbent bike until one freed up.

I am slow, and most of my running consists of an awful lot of walking, but I’ve done an interval training before and lived to tell the tale.

I want to confess why I decided to partake in this race event. Contrary to what you might think, I didn’t sign up for my health, to lose weight, or to further my personal goals. I am in it just for the medal: a UNICORN MEDAL awarded to all participants.

Behold the glory:

This race is not a timed event, so I’ve told myself that it doesn’t matter how slow I am. I don’t care how fast I am, as long as I can finish in a respectable way without embarrassing myself or collapsing on the finish line. This is why I’m back at interval training.

After I was done at the gym, I came home, ate lunch (smoked salmon/cream cheese/cuke/lettuce wrapped in nori) and went online to check out options for new shoes. There was a flash sale at Sport Chek, so I drove over there to check it out. I tried on a couple of pairs and talked to a very knowledgeable sales guy about footwear options for people like me. They didn’t have the pair of shoes I spotted online ($200 Asics at 40% off!), so I did something I’ve never done before. I left the store, parked myself on a bench right outside, whipped out my iPhone, and bought them. I got them a day and a half later, and they are a perfect it.

I should also mention that the most important thing about this particular Tuesday was that it was our youngest daughter’s 16th birthday. (!) Now that they’re older I want to give them some privacy so I won’t go into TOO many details, but I will say this, she planned our evening’s activities and it was all very fun: a sushi dinner and a movie at the Mayfair, which turned out to be a documentary film about cats in Istanbul. (You can read more about it here. The film was surprisingly lovely and thoughtful.) Afterward, we drove to Altitude Gym in Gatineau, not because we wanted to climb some walls, but because she’d forgotten her coat and Presto pass there. Sigh. We ate cupcakes when we got home and unwrapped gifts. All in all, it was a very good day and I went to bed feeling full and happy.