Fit Folks: The Beginning

Welcome to Fit Folks, my first weekly post on i love lucy! On Fit Folks, you will have the chance to read about the athletic adventures of different active people. This will give you a break from Carrie and Lucy and give you some perspective on what else is fun, possible, and challenging for people of different ages, body types, and genders, and in different parts of the city, country, or world. This is a work in progress and I haven’t decided exactly what the format will be. I would like to keep it diverse and give my guests the option to write a post themselves, to be interviewed by me, or to simply tell me their story and have me write about it. 

All Photos taken by Josh

I will begin with some people I know, because I am lucky to know many active people with diverse interests, careers, and hobbies, whose stories I think deserve to be shared on the blogosphere. And I hope that, through this, I will become more comfortable with public speaking, and will begin catching stories from strangers on the bike path, on a Ragbrai Forum, or running next to me in a race. Maybe one day I'll start interviewing Florida football players and cheerleaders like the ones above.

If there are any particular types of athletes you'd like to read about or any questions you think worth including in interviews, please let me know.


Have a great weekend and check back next week (Friday) for the first edition of Fit Folks!

Fueling and Re-Fueling: Running Healthy Means Craving Healthy

On Saturday morning, I ran this 8.52 mile route with my friend Hadley. This was one of the first steps in my "official" self-made half marathon training plan. It was long but not too fast and my only complaint was about my achy joints.

Afterward, I went with Josh to the farmer's market and brunch at Cacao in Cleveland Park. Having just burned 790 calories (according to Nike Plus), I was in the mood for this:

(nicoise salad)

And Josh, who had burned maybe 100 calories playing on the computer all morning, was in the mood for this:

(egg and cheese croissant and chocolate brioche)

Don't get me wrong, I love food and I will eat all kinds of it at all times of day or night. I believe that the best way to eat healthy is to consume everything in moderation and to indulge when you feel the need to. I am glad that this was apparently the best croissant sandwich Josh has ever had and, even more so, that it inspired a serious conversation between us about when we can realistically go to Paris together. But I don't think anyone will argue with me in saying that one of these meals is clearly better for you than the other. And I have learned that when you do better-for-you things, you will crave and eat better-for-you foods. It will just come naturally. At least it has for me, and I believe it will for you too.

But working your body hard will also make you crave the occasional steak frites, the frequent glass of wine with dinner, and the occasional baking spree where you eat 1/4 of the raw dough or batter. And you won't feel bad about it afterward. That is one of the many perks of exercising like a champion.

What do you crave after a workout?

Exercise and Design

This evening I played around with photoshop, which I am completely new at, and came up with a few cool i love lucy collages. I tested them out as my blog header and a few didn't even fit. But I wasn't expecting any to be permanent anyway. They aren't bad but none of them are just right.

I used a random assortment of photos Josh has taken and photos I've had for years. I need to decide what I want, take the time to photograph it, and then figure out how to design it. After I made the above, Josh created the picture below and I think he's onto something.

It's kinda weird but it's the work of a photoshop expert (maybe just by my standards). Planning a photo shoot is just another excuse to put on my sports bra and get some exercise. And I am certainly always game for that.

Evening Running: Something Special Happened

I have several blog posts in the works, one of which I wanted to post tonight. But then something special happened on my run after work, and I feel it needs to be written about instead.

I left home and ran south on Connecticut, and I ran fast. As I approached Woodley Park, I noticed a large back-up of cars waiting to cross Calvert Street. Then I noticed large crowds of people standing on all four corners at the intersection. And people holding signs? Police cars? What is going on here? Literally within one second of my arriving at the corner and stopping among the crowd, a the motorcade approaches. One black SUV and then a long Cadillac with american flags sticking out of the front. The Cadillac turned left on Calvert Street and Obama's profile appeared through the tinted back window. Everyone cheered and clapped, and took pictures as the rest of the cars drove by. As the crowd dispersed, I followed their route and ran down Calvert, running faster wondering if I might catch up to them at a light. But I was sent on a detour and ran even more hills than I had intended on my short route. But no matter, I was just so pleased with what I had stumbled upon. And I was reminded, yet again, of how special it is to live here. I was newly energized and I ran uncharacteristically fast, averaging 8:55 minutes/mile. As I pushed myself hard, I contemplated my training plan for the half marathon. I finally have a pretty solid plan that I look forward to sharing with you this week, and I think I came up with the final touch on today's run.

When I got home, Josh and I did a spontaneous photo shoot, trying to come up with material for i love lucy's new header. Right now, I'm just gathering a bunch of images to play around with. I'm not thrilled with what we took tonight and may end up using random photos I already have. Either way, it is a project I look forward to. And I'm lucky to have a great photographer on hand when I want him. Here are a few of the photos from tonight, prior to their being edited and saved as raw images.

What do you think? Should I go with the jiggly leg picture? I think not. My goal is to have this done and up by the end of August, at the latest. Wish me luck!

Somerset Back to School Classic: Signed Up

On Sunday, after posting my 25 before 25 list, I checked the website for the Somerset Back to School Classic and learned that the price would go up the next day. I sent my brother a text that read:

Btw, on my list of 25 before 25, I put convince Nathan to run somerset 8k with me!!! Price goes up after today- I'm signing you up! hahaha


His response:

Haha ok fine


So that was easy enough. And I can cross it off my list.

21. Convince Nathan to run Somerset 8k with me.


If anyone else needs convincing, I'd be glad to step in. It is still only $25 and it is "Montgomery County's finest community race", popular among many local runners, according to active.com. Here is the route.

Both pictures via

Ragbrai Aftermath: School Colors

Now that my parents are back in the real world, they finally got around to sending me pictures of the masses in their college spirit. I'm sad not to see any gator gear but there is some SEC represented. And my parents look very good in their colors.

Next year I can't wait to paint the crowd blue and orange!

Biking Adventures: Right in Our Backyard

As planned, Josh and I went for a nice, hot bike ride on Saturday. We started on Macomb Street and rode south to Woodley Park, along the Rock Creek trail, into Georgetown, across the Key Bridge, and along the Scenic Potomac River until we arrived at our destination, Gravelly Point. I have long wanted to plan a trip here, complete with a long picnic and some football or frisbee tossing under the planes. But as soon as we dismounted our bikes, I proposed that we chill for twenty minutes or so and then ride back to a more pleasant, shady spot along the river before we start eating. Josh agreed, gladly. We weren't the only ones with such a sentiment, either. This massive field, normally alive with people sunbathing, snacking, running around, and playing, was all but deserted. Though it wasn't the best day to be there, it was quite a treat for Josh and I, who have yet to see the planes taking off in our direction. We agreed that it is cooler to see them land, but this really was a nice change. We watched plane after plane, comparing the differences in their direction, size, and height overhead. We timed a plane to see how long it was before it left our sight- 2 minutes, 43 seconds. Then we watched another plane fly west, north, and then east, doing a giant loop around the city, amazed that it was still in view, despite its being at least 12 or 14 miles away over Maryland. It was actually really fun. And as a memento, I think it is really cool how apparent the gross heat is in these pictures of the runway. They are way better looking on Josh's blog so I recommend checking them out there.

We rode back to a shady spot and sat on the dry and itchy grass to eat this delicious picnic...

With this as our view...

(that's the Washington Monument, if you can't tell)

I failed to mention that, on the way down, we took a wrong turn and ended up on a random bridge that led back to the city. We turned around to continue on our route but it got us thinking that there must be more bike routes home than just across the Memorial and Key Bridges. DUH! So, during our picnic, which took place just North of the 14th Street bridge, we made a plan to ride across it and up to the Jefferson Memorial. I hadn't been there in at least ten years and Josh, ever. Another marvel of this city but one that, I'll admit, is even more beautiful from a distance. Having spent a good few hours lounging on Lincoln the night before, it seemed so small. But the peace of fewer tourists was hard to beat. I mostly enjoyed reading the great, enlightened words of Jefferson engraved inside. And sitting with Joshua and looking out at the White House, the paddle-boats, and the military helicopters flying by.

As we stopped a few more times, I got a sweet candid photo of my photographer. And another one of this bridge that made me wonder whether we were truly in DC and not somewhere along the River Seine.

As we left, we passed a family that asked, "Are you from Iowa or do you just ride Ragbrai?" So, time and time again, it pays off to wear a Ragbrai shirt! And especially on this special last day of the ride, as my parents approached my mom's roots in Davenport. We learned that they are from Des Moines and that their daughter is interning in DC. We smiled and waved them off, then laughed as we observed the very vintage cricket match going on across the street, and sweat our way home.

With the rides Friday and Saturday, and the Nats game I attended on Sunday, I had a weekend filled with DC Loving. And it made me think about how lucky I am. That I can spend a whole week dreaming about Ragbrai but that I don't need to look far for scenic bike riding, great company, and people from Iowa because they're all right in my backyard.

I hope you all had active, sweaty weekends like mine and that you don't need to look further than your backyard for all the adventure you've been seeking!