This Blog is Moving!

Please move with me. Don't make me beg. Because I will.

My new blog site is http://www.eatwatchrun.com/.

Soon, this site should redirect you there.

If you find anything funky at the new site - like links that aren't working or anything else - please let me know!

Short Reviews: SPIbelt, RoadID, Nathan Water Bottle

Workout:  Ran outside 10.1 miles (97 min)

This run sucked. I was all gung-ho to get out there but once I started, it was rough. I probably wouldn't have done the full 10 miles if it wasn't for me parking the car, running 5 miles out, and needing to get back.

I ran on Cady Way Trail, which was most of the course of the Baldwin Park Half Marathon that I ran in November. I didn't take pictures during that race, so I thought I would get some today.

This was supposed to be the inside of the overpass from the
previous picture. My camera and I have not been friends lately.

I thought that I would do a couple quickie reviews of some of the running gear that I use particularly since I was like a Christmas Tree of running gear today.

 

First up, my new handheld water bottle. (If you missed my Garmin review, click HERE.)

 

 

 The Good:

• It's much easier to carry than a regular water bottle.
• It has a pocket to carry small items.
• The sport top makes it easy to drink out of.

The Bad:

• The pocket is small, so you can only fit one or two small items in it, like a key and one Gu. I used it for my Driver License.
• You're still holding a bottle during your run.

I think I'll use this one on shorter runs when I know there will be no water fountains, and start using my CamelBak again for longer runs. After about 8 miles, it gets tiresome to hold. But I'm also still hurting from Friday's chest/back/tricep weights workout, so that probably didn't help.

 

 

Next Up, my SPIbelt. (SPI stands for Small Personal Item)

 

Can you see it? It's the purple thing.
Love looking like I'm taking a picture of my junk in public.

 The Good:

• The band is elastic and adjustable.

 The Bad:

• You can't keep much more than a cell phone in it without it bouncing around. It's probably better for an ID, a key, and a Gu (the lighter weight stuff).
• If you have bigger hips and a smaller waist (like me), it will eventually ride up.

I used to use the belt for my phone before I had a Garmin. I have the Droid X, and that's all that could fit in there. Today I used it for my camera. I have to keep it really low on my hips to keep it from riding up, otherwise I become the Urkel of SPIbelts.

 

And lastly, my RoadID.

 

I love my RoadID, and I think anyone who runs, walks, swims, or bikes outside should have one for safety reasons. I have the WristID Sport. The Sport has a velcro closure and can be itchy. 

I would recommend getting the WristID Elite. The Elite band is rubber and probably similar to a LiveStrong wristband (but adjustable). Once I find a coupon code that saves me more than just a few dollars, I'll buy the Elite.

The Devil Made Me Do It

It's been awhile since I've done a movie review, so I'm gonna bust one out right now. Last night after dinner with friends and some returning of Christmas gifts, the hubs and I got home and began to stare at each other blankly on the couch. Usually that can give us a whole night of entertainment, but then we decided to browse through the on demand movies instead.

(We have The Backup Plan at home from Netflix, but apparently that's not good enough for my manly husband.)

After my suggestion of Salt was shot down, we settled on Devil.

Devil was written and produced by M. Knight Shamalayan - the guy that directed The Sixth Sense and Signs. So we thought we'd give it a shot. However, M. Knight also directed The Happening and The Last Airbender, so we were also prepared for it to suck.

By the way, googling "devil" brings up some interesting pictures. I'd recommend being more specific on that search.

Wil Ferral as the devil on Saturday Night Live

If you haven't seen the skit with Wil Ferral and Garth Brooks, you need to. Click HERE...and laugh my friend.

Devil (the movie, not the guy) is about a group of people who get trapped on an elevator. Weird things start to happen and they start blaming each other, but another force is at work. During this time, the police can see the people on the elevator through a camera feed and are trying to get them out.

This movie is a lot better than I expected. It manages to do suspense and terror without showing much and without being cheesy. It features a cast of people you will think you've seen before but you just can't place. And that will drive me you crazy. At least we recognized the guy from Super Troopers:


We've probably seen this movie one too many times to recognize him.


Devil doesn't have a new formula, however it is done well which makes it stand out more than other "trapped in a small place" movies.

Without giving much away, I think Devil is worth the rental. Both the hubs and I liked this one. It's only 80 minutes long and it's PG13, so you're not going to see anything too gory but you will see just enough to give you that occasional shiver down the spine.

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Can you tell the difference between these two pictures?

Yeah. Me either.

But I'll give you a hint. One of the pictures, I rolled out of bed and didn't shower. The other is after three hours in a salon getting my hair highlighted, trimmed, and styled.

Still can't tell?

Yeah. Me either.

As I was leaving the salon, a girl walked by and I wanted to grab her head, rip it off, and keep it with me at all times because her hair was so cool. But I guess carrying a head around isn't exactly "legal."

Whatever.

Stupid laws and morality.

It looked like this, but with platinum blonde instead of red.

Now I wanna get my hair done again.

At least my breakfast was delicious this morning. Delicious and blurry.

Toasted english muffin topped with a piece of my famous crustless quiche, a sprinkle of goat cheese, and some hot sauce.

Can you believe this picture was taken with the same camera? I'm having camera issues.

By the way, the crustless quiche is the easiest thing to make. I pour a bag of frozen veggies (this time I used frozen stir-fry veggies) into a glass 8x8 baking dish, pour an 8-serving carton of eggbeaters over it, and bake on 375-400 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Delish!

By the way, my quiche isn't really famous. I just said that.

1000 Miles in 2011

I just signed up to run 1000 miles in 2011 through Tall Mom on the Run.

I'm not a mom, but I am tall. That counts, right?

The Rules:  Run, walk, swim, crawl, or hopscotch 1000 miles by January 1, 2012.  (I made up that hotscotch part. But if you can hopscotch 1000 miles, you are officially my hero.)

Are you up for the challenge?  You have until January 7th to enter!

I'm Breaking Up with Elliptical Machines

Last night I tried the treadmill incline workout that was featured on Peanut Butter Fingers. It was definitely a challenge! The whole workout is close to 2.30 miles, and by the 11% incline, I had to hold on the the machine intermittently to keep up the pace. Today, my buns and hips hurt. And that's a good thing!

I didn't run the whole time, so do I add that to my monthly miles? I'm kinda torn on that.

After the incline workout, I hopped on the ellipical for 20 minutes. Then I decided that the elliptical is the most boring machine ever. The ellipticals at my gym make my feet fall asleep. They look like this one. So, you can't increase the incline - only the resistance. Maybe that's why my feet fall asleep? Or maybe it's a stroke from the bottom up.

I was trying to think of things I'd rather do than be on an elliptical. I knew it wasn't for me when I decided I would rather be the person working at Catering Connection that makes sure 1000 toothpicks go into every box. And that they are in fact, "double pointed."

Speaking of toothpicks, if you ever don't know what to do with yours and you have a friend that passed out who happens to have a fro...

(source)

Just a suggestion.

Last night, I also did my "initial test" for the 100 Push Up Challenge. I was able to do 16 consecutive push ups until I wanted to "rest" at the top position. This was after my workout and I was still sore from my Cardio Fitness class the day before, so who knows if I could do more. But I'm gonna go with it anyway. I'm starting the challenge on Monday!

I Stole from Your Blog

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and there are some really good ideas out there. So, I'm gonna steal 'em all! Eventually. But today I'll only steal four of them.

First up is a post I read yesterday from Hungry Runner Girl. She posts 3 random things about herself each Tuesday. I like this idea, mainly because I like talking about myself. So here it goes:

1.  I love guinea pigs.
How much do I love them? Well, I have two friends that solely call me "GPG" (Guinea Pig Girl), I own G-Force and the G-Force Xbox 360 game, I usually get a guinea pig calendar for Christmas (but my friends didn't love me enough this year), and I have a stuffed guinea pig on my desk at work.




Yeah...it looks kinda real.


I had two (dearly departed) guinea pigs.

R.I.P Flossie



R.I.P Rick

 
And I have a pig ceiling fan chain.

Not technically a guinea, but pretty freakin' cute.

I could go on. But I want you to keep reading my blog.


2.  I've never been to Starbucks.
Ok, I've been inside a Starbucks...twice (because someone else wanted to go). But I've never had anything off the menu.

3.  I have known my best friend for 28 years.
Actually, she's more like my sister. Love that girl! However, she may disown me after this post. And after this first picture, you'll no longer wonder why I didn't have a date until I was 30.

I think we were 13 and in Chicago. Dear God I'm wearing a Bart Simpson shirt.



About 10 years ago in Orlando.  Yes, at TGI Fridays.



Last September


Oh...what else should I steal? How about this awesome idea from 13point1miles! It's the 100 Push Up Challenge and I'm so doing it. Only takes 6 weeks. Are you in?

Next up is a workout I'm going to steal from Peanut Butter Fingers. She posted a workout yesterday that I'm dying to try today. It's only 30 minutes long which is a little short for me, but maybe I can supplement it with something else like weights. Or starting the 100 Push Up Challenge...

(source)


And finally, I read another blog about having a Goal of the Day. I looked everywhere to find the post again to give the blogger due credit but alas, I was unsuccessful. Anyway, I like this idea too. It keeps your To Do List from getting too overwhelming. I can't say I'll post a goal every day, but I will definitely make a goal every day.


So my Goal of the Day:  Unpacking my suitcase from vacation last week.

Update: Thanks to a comment posted, I now know I got this idea from Continuous Changes. Thanks for the great idea!