Saturday, in the Garage

Instead of "Saturday, in the Park," doncha know. Apologies if I inadvertently plant a Chicago earworm in your pretty little head for the rest of the day.

It's too cold to work out outside today. It also was too cold yesterday. It will be too cold tomorrow.

Guess what? It's cold here in the Middle of Nowhere. My workouts are happening, just with a little less pleasure than if I were outside.

Yesterday was a rest day. Some of the training programs suggest "active rest," meaning you can cross-train. And since I'm trying to shed weight and train for a long-distance run, I don't mind cross-training on a rest day. [Also? I'm juggling three different training regimens at this point. The Runner's World Smart Coach plan looks too hard. {This tool, by the way, is pretty awesome.} The one from Marathoning for Mortals looks too easy [warning: no training plan on the site; it's an ad for the book, but it's a great book!]. The plan I've been using, from Hal Higdon, looks just right, except it's only 12 weeks, so I've been doubling up on the first few sessions. But the jury's still out.]

Jonathan, I've also heard and read not to expect to lose much – if any – weight during training. I'm all about being optimistic and persistent, though. I'll be the one you all point to when you talk about people who keep eating well and exercising even when they experience no weight loss. Or maybe when you talk about crazy people.

For my cross-training, I chose to row but forgot my Shuffle. I would have had to go all the way back to the house to get it. [Whine, whine.] Or I could just flip through the channels and find a good movie. Like The Natural. I tuned in during Roy's first batting practice with the team, switched to the treadmill when he started dating that tramp, Memo, and stopped when the lovely Iris gives him the first hint that he has a son. Fifty minutes, altogether. Not bad for a rest day!

Denise [who is, apparently, blogless], I watched that CBS exercise-brain report and the first thing I thought of is if exercise increases brain volume, maybe that's why I keep gaining instead of losing, in spite of the miles I've been racking up the past year.

Kidding!

Also, I'm not so sure exercise really does boost brain power because I've been meaning to address your knot-in-the-ball crisis the last couple days and keep forgetting to do so. If your fiber is wool, you can spit-splice it. If it's something other than wool, you can either use a Russian join or simply knit both strands together for a couple of stitches and then weave the ends in after you've finished knitting and blocking the piece. All these techniques – and more! – are illustrated at the very helpful KnittingHelp.com.

I'm using the third option on my secret knitting project, which has about one skein of yarn left to consume. [I also started a little woven cable headband – in pink! – to wear for outdoor roadwork if it gets even a teensy bit warmer. Of course, by the time it's finished it'll be spring and I won't need it.]

Also, I have another workout booster, one which has convinced both my children that I'm right on the edge of loony. I may never get to see the grandchildren again. I bought – are you ready? – the two-disk special edition of the first Rocky movie, as well as the five-disk set of the first five Rocky movies. [Yes, that means I have two copies of the first one. So, sue me.] The only ones in the series I've seen are the first and the current, in-theatre ones. So I have lots of treadmill and rowing machine entertainment lined up for the remainder of winter.

'Cause I think the weatherman is predicting cold.

Ninety-eight days until race day.