Performance Optimization

Believe it or not, there’s a lot I don’t mention on this blog but that I do talk a lot about in person. Such as performance optimization, specifically for women. What. Is. That?! So glad you asked. Essentially, it’s pairing exercise according to the menstrual cycle. While some women are textbook, 28-day cycle specimens, most women do not conform to the textbook and range from a 21-40 day cycle. This means many women are not training their body according to their cycle; instead, they’re probably winging a workout then wondering why today was so damn hard or, alternately, cheering themselves on for having a kickass run while failing to acknowledge the reasons why. Been there.

Let me tell you how. The first step is tracking your cycle. The problem is it depends on dozens of factors, such as hormonal birth control, which, no one wants to hear it, means you do not have a natural cycle at all. However, consistent tracking of a hormone birth control user can still result in a performance optimizing workout routine. So don’t knock it. Anyway…once we know some of the factors influencing our ability to have a stellar performance, life sort of gets easier. I jest.

All this to lead me here – I’ve had some pretty great runs and workouts lately. Despite the humidity and 100+ degrees, for the second year in a row, I’ve sustained a routine of running outdoors. It takes some creativity, some sacrifice, and sometimes even a little humility, but it can be done. Not to be dramatic, but my world did change in 2018 post-heat illness. I try not to give it too much power in my head. Alas, I maintain an awareness of being conscious of the limitations surrounding it. It is what it is.

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I ask you –

For my lady friends, do you practice performance optimization?

Do you have other routines you follow?

Tell me how running and exercise have been going for you!

(The post Performance Optimization first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Torch Athena 2024 Recap

Torch Athena Rally was truly incredible. I laughed. Cried. And left feeling empowered and ready to push change, not only within my career but on the entire installation. What an opportunity!

A rare opportunity to walk/run the Riverwalk

Light the Path

Maybe I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. All I want is a voice at the table. Those were my words to my previous supervisor. He asked what I needed from him – I said “I just want a voice at the table.” Lately, I’ve been empowered to understand I’ve entered a new chapter in my life, most assuredly in my workplace. And, now, I’m the voice at the table. I no longer challenge someone else to speak for me. I speak for others under my purview.

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I ask you –

Any other friends ever attended Torch Athena?

Have you visited the San Antonio Riverwalk?

Tell me the best advise you ever received.

(The post Torch Athena 2024 Recap first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Bucket List Addition

I want to watch Olympic curling. In Italy. In 2026. A PhD celebration trip. Also near my 40th birthday.

Credit: Google

…originally this post was titled in the plural sense. Bucket List Additions. However, at the time of this posting, I am TDY to a location with somehow even more humidity than I’m accustomed to yet also slightly (maybe 1 degree) cooler. I can’t tell you anything about this location because I must use it as fodder for future posts otherwise I would have nothing to share here.

On the bright side, since I turned in my manuscript last week in a rushed attempt to capture everything I had planned to incorporate this week, I have a little time on my hands to brainstorm more bucket list items. In the meantime…I’ll return soon with adventure stories!

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I ask you –

Have you ever watched the Olympics live?

Would you be more likely to go watch the summer or winter Olympics?

For my fellow bloggers, tell me about your idea-generating endeavors!

(The post Bucket List Addition first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

5 Years with RoF!

Congratulations, loyal, kind readers! With your readership, emotional support, and massive grace, Running on Fumes is now 5 years old!

In true celebratory fashion, I’m choosing to celebrate as any 5 yr old might: by saying (writing) what I want to write!

First, in response to a prevalent post I’ve seen on multiple social media platforms but which I choose not to share here for obvious reasons, I have this to say: What’s more interesting is the fact these “startling stats” are only available from Jan 2023. Therefore, to be truly valuable to the disconcerting citizen, and even more so to the average citizen who won’t investigate these stats and chooses to take them out of context, a quick recap that pits one presidency against another is not the definition of unified, citizen, or, dare I say, Christian.

Second, I’ve been listening to The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast with increasing insight into society’s challenges and how to be an overcomer despite the issues. Might I recommend episode 467. Plagiarized by Harvard’s President. Not only was it enlightening but also provoked me to reconsider some of my own opinions.

Finally, I owe you a few weeks of exercise totals versus page count. Wk 11 includes about 12 hours of drive time to my favorite vacation spot. Somehow, I experienced no motion sickness and was able to write to my heart’s content.

Wk 11: additional 36 pages!

However, the drive back was less productive. I was sick fairly consistently so only added maybe 1 page. My goal was 60 min per day, but, again, I wasn’t as productive as I had planned. Instead, I ate gelato, cookies, and ran nearly daily! Good tradeoff.

Wk 12: additional 6 pages

The semester is winding down and I’m frantically finishing up last minute details to hopefully get approval to start the actual research portion of this dissertation in the fall. Whilst on vacation, our group was approached by a researcher from the local university. At first, I stated no thanks to completing her survey, then I had a change of heart. Alas, if I was doing survey research, arguably the most difficult type, then I would want kind people to help me. We spent maybe 10 minutes with her, patiently answering her questions (marketing-related), then went on our way. It provides a different perspective when you realize all the surveys and such actually might be influencing someone’s education.

Regardless, one more day of laundry and grocery shopping then it’s back to the work grind.

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I ask you –

If you’re a fellow blogger, how many years have you been writing?

Do you have any podcast recommendations?

Share what you’ve been up to this past week!

(The post 5 Years with RoF! first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Word Count

You know how I know running really does quiet the circus inside my brain? Because I was unexpectedly involved in a very serious discussion immediately post-run and I could barely formulate words. Literally, mostly silence on my part. The remainder of what exited my mouth was weird utterances. It was awkward. I know I sounded like a bumbling whackadoo but I was floating in the clouds on a runner’s high and right then was not the time to have an impromptu discussion about lifesaving devices. Although it may have sounded like I required one.

A new ice cream flavor. Help!

Blue Bell Cookies ‘n Cream Cheesecake

During my recent grocery run, the store only had the newest flavor in 1/2 gallon form. For sure, if the pint had been available, I would have snatched it up. Much to my own detriment. Small favors. Vacation is coming up quick so I’ll save my indulgences for then. One Landshark. One pint of ice cream.

Word of the day: bespoke. Bespoke is a British term typically reserved for high fashion, but is used lately to mean customized. Example: He wore a bespoke suit. Or, a bespoke framework explains blah blah blah. The more you know.

Finally, I found it fascinating research shows how one of the factors of doctoral achievement are behavioral and psychological characteristics (personality, motivation). Maybe one day I can study this more.

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I ask you –

Does exercise short circuit your brain, too?

What do you think about the new ice cream flavor? Would or have you tried it?

Tell me a word of the day!

(The post Word Count first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Blue Bell Love Affair

You had me at ice cream –

Introducing Blue Bell Creameries, headquartered in beautiful Brenham, TX. Since I was a very young girl, I’ve always wanted to visit the place where my favorite ice cream is made. It really is a lovely community with a proper downtown, a few coffee options (Mescalito was fantastic!), and some amazing BBQ!

The tour of the ice cream facility ends with $1 scoops of Blue Bell. Life is so good. As we visited first thing in the day, ice cream was more of a breakfast option, which I think is perfect! Blue Bell is actually the name of a flower, which the founders of Blue Bell Ice Cream chose to name their business after.

(L) Buttered Pecan (R) Salted Caramel Brownie

We toured banks-turned-boutiques, museums, and even made a quick stop in Waco, TX, to check out the much loved Magnolia Market and Silos.

As the weekend capped off the return from VA and seeing my best friend, it was a whirlwind of sights and sounds. But the ice cream made it worth it.

this might be what Heaven looks like

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I ask you –

Have you ever visited Brenham, TX?

What’s your favorite ice cream or brand?

Tell me about a place you’ve toured!

(The post Blue Bell Love Affair first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Re-Post! Girl’s Day Recap

An oldie but a goodie from 2023! I’ll be back next week with new things and adventures to tell you all! Love, RoF

While mini was enjoying her summer shenanigans, McK and I were planning things for us to do. Because of our genuine love for mini, we decided to wait on a few things and take mini on a girl’s day.

First up – Lip Lab in Frisco, TX

Actually – the first thing we did was eat lunch at Bread Zeppelin (catchy, right?). Hands down, best salad I’ve probably ever had. Mini got her salad stuffed in a baguette, which is the entire concept. As I don’t eat bread like that, I just got a bowl but I can see the draw.

Of course we visited a coffee shop. McK and I have been following the multiple locations of Ascension Coffee for some time – the location we really want to visit is in a converted church. Alas, we were near the Dallas Cowboys stadium so that’s where we went instead. I got the Keto coffee. Amazing. McK got a latte and stated it was delicious, Parts had a Salted Caramel Cold Brew. She said it was very strong but the salty flavor was nice. Amateur.

Mini told me to make certain faces. I obliged but she seemed a little grumpy at my interpretations.

Finally, the lipstick details.

I have jokes. No need to comment on my naming convention as I’m utilizing scientific research that states your ideal lipstick color is 1-2 shades lighter/darker than nipple color. Hey, it’s science.

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I ask you –

Have you ever designed your own cosmetics?

Do you like salt in your coffee?

Tell me your favorite coffee establishment!

(The post Girl’s Day Recap first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Tri and Tri Again!

The intent was to share here how I competed in a recent Mini Triathlon. But you won’t be reading a recap as I decided the day prior to forego the event in lieu of keeping myself alive. Slightly dramatic but not by much. Originally when I considered it, the weather had been hovering around the 75° mark and it was raining near daily. Then, summer arrived. The projected high on the day of the Mini Tri was 99°. Despite it starting around 78-ish°, the humidity was rapidly increasing.

All this to say, maybe next time. It’s not worth chancing it. Nonetheless, I was out there doing director things and playing witness to the other able-bodied individuals with Triathlon goals. Base support was awesome, we recruited different groups of people to help facilitate the event as it spanned multiple smaller events and a large footprint. Personally, I love seeing our team get together and DO outside the office.

Team Fitness!

Also, I’m trying something new. I want to keep track of my weekly exercise activities and the addition of manuscript pages in an effort to see valued change 1 yr from now, when I project completing this doctoral journey. My plan is to add a screenshot of my weekly activities via the Garmin app with a numerical indicator of manuscript pages. (I don’t have an activity list for Wk 2 but I know I added 9 pgs.)

For example, the below was from Wk 3:

Additional pages: 18

Despite the fact these variables probably have zero correlation, it’s an interesting concept to me. I like lists and comparing things, although not typically numbers because I’m not number-y, I’m word-y. As it stands, I can’t imagine there will be anything to this beyond being able to look back at it, mainly because I don’t run/cycle/walk between 4-6am because that’s when I’m writing. Additionally, I don’t run/walk/cycle between 5-8pm because it’s either too hot, raining (as of late), or I’m working on my manuscript. Therefore, my work day is primarily when I engage in exercise so one rarely precludes me from doing the other, except on the weekends when I attempt to do both. Since I’m not tracking just the weekends, the data is mostly garbage stats. Thank you for listening while I worked all this out.

Nonetheless, it gives me something to look forward to so without further ado –

Week 4 Activity + Pages Report:

Additional pages: 11

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I ask you –

What teams are you a part of?

Any insight into my stats game?

Pros/cons of tracking activity stats!!

(The post Tri and Tri Again! first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Daily Driver

We traveled a lot of hours together recently to move her storage unit contents closer to home. Travel, sort, load = 10 hours. Travel, unload = 1.25 hrs. Well worth it. Considering we’d both been dreading this for nearly 3 yrs, I think we did a great job and had a lot of laughs along the way!

It’s apparent we should have our own podcast. If you think I’m funny…haHA! Parts is a riot.

Except when she made me drive myself, like a peasant, to work 2 days in a row. And, the first day, it hailed resulting in numerous dents. To be fair, she got a cracked windshield out of it so I’m not truly complaining about my dents. Inside the fitness center, it sounded like WWIII. Alas, no major injuries were reported, just lots of broken windows.

Now that I’ve returned to my chauffeured-lifesyle, I’m sure I’ll never see hail again. One can only hope.

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I ask you –

How many times have you moved?

Have you ever suffered hail damage?

Tell me your thoughts on carpooling! Big fan, as long as it’s with Parts.

(The post Daily Driver first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

And so it begins –

I’ll probably eeeek my way into the 25% category by end of May but it will be hard fought. Every year, I have goals to run through the summer sans heat illness and last year I held on to those goals. Let’s see how it turns out this summer. 9% doesn’t look like much, especially because in my reality it’s maybe 2%. So here we go!

This is what a proper day off looks like! I took leave on Good Friday but somehow ended up teleworking with numerous staffing phone calls and 3 teams meetings. Not exactly the day off I had been hoping for, so I requested a re-do. Minus the purchase of cake and cupcakes prior to birthday party weekend…Nailed it.

Finally, my mini’s birthday came back around. To hear her tell it, it “took 100 years”. Oh, the drama. She celebrated with her friends, then we celebrated her. Parts nailed it with the axolotl decorations, shirt, and everything in between. And I was so impressed with mini’s friends (and parents) who are fabulous gift givers. Maybe it’s easy for some to know what to give a young girl but I struggle so kudos to them.

And now…cake!

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I ask you –

Are you getting acclimated to the heat?

What is your preferred day off like?

Favorite type of cake – GO! Lemon blueberry.

(The post And so it begins – first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)