natjtan Whoever stole Spring, please return it at your earliest convenience and no hanging around with it! 
Since last Friday it’s been grey, windy, rainy with heavy smell of sea spray in the air. This morning the sun’s been peeking out every now and then from behind the clouds. Enough sunshine to put a little spring bounce back (if I could I’d have sent the rain to the Canadian wildfires. I read some articles that some people had to leave behind pets. I can’t even imagine how that felt)!
I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was low key. I made sure even though the weather wasn’t perfect to get outside, but I’d be lying if 5 days of grey skies didn’t make me a bit blah. Thankfully it wasn’t cold. When the wind and rain comes from the east, north east, it’s not as mean as it looks. Even in winter, the temps go up a bit. I kinda like it once I’m outside, the sea air smells amazing, it’s drizzly, once the initial downpours and wind’s moved on and few people are out!
Friday Run view
I made the last zoo gates just in time thanks to the wind. The sun came out for a little while and the animals were soaking it up!
Saturday, Mr AJ supervised 4 more workouts from Tone It Up Beach Babe DVD 4. I like their new direction, including yoga, barre workouts, resistance bands, mini bands with traditional functional moves. The Toned Abs was a fun workout similar to my own abs circuits that didn’t include one crunch. The 20 minutes flew by! Late afternoon I took a different way into the centre for a change. Miin announced on Instagram a new concealer by a brand I like, Dear Klair’s was in stock. Dear Klairs BB cream is nearly always sold out (I love the formula, lightweight, but it’s a tad pale for me) and after researching the concealer reviews, I made Miin before it closed! Call it modern day hunting. So far I’m liking it and it’s competition for Nars Radiant Creamy concealer.
I took a different route back passed Arc d’Triomf and through Parc Ciutadella stopping off at the Mercat D’Escapades A Catalunya. A farmers style market for Catalan tourism. Passing through the arc, I noticed on either side 2 bat statues that I’ve never noticed before. Bats are cultural important to Barcelona. Back in the 13C, the tale goes a bat flew into the then Kings tent waking him up warning of an impending attack. These 2 must be female bats or Amazon judging by their armour. 
Sunday was Mr AJ’s birthday! Usually on the cats birthdays they get tuna or chicken. As they’re on chicken everyday, vets orders, the next best thing is a cat nip theme party. Diesel took to the new Kong catnip squirrel quicker than AJ. AJ preferred his stinky catnip teabag he’s had for ions. (Please excuse the quality, my camera battery died)
When the rain eased up I braved the bike ride I’d been looking forward for a few days thanks to finding out them wind direction. Once a month I’ve been replacing a long run with a long bike ride to build up endurance. I usually head up the coast and battle the wind coming back. This time it was the other way around. Easy ride back and thanks to the weather few people out. It was also the perfect opportunity to take out for the first time, my Camelbak hydration pack. Though I’ve still to register, Spartan Race Beast requires a hydration pack and with 5 months to go, I’ve got 5 months to get used to it. I hardly noticed it cycling and I managed to fit snacks, money, puncture repair kit in the pocket, with a bike pump and sunglasses (yes sunglasses, there was a lot of glare even though grey) tucked down the sides of the hydration pack. If I could fit a small make up bag and a (coin) purse it’s the prefect size for out and about! It fitted snug on the upper back, but running with it will be completely different. My plan is to start with shorter runs getting used to it.
This might have been the last long ride along this route until autumn. At the moment you can pick up speed, but soon it’s beach season and no way can you race along the path. Crack of dawn, maybe. I pushed my luck making the zoo with a 10 minute turn around into clean clothes, but missed it. All up a 28mi/45km ride spilt in 2. My longest ride yet. But I’m not ready to invest in padded pants yet!
Monday and Tuesday the surfers have been happy. Large sea swells and on/off rain had them bobbing up and down like seals. Tip. If you cycle to the gym in the rain or post rain in workout gear, make sure you get all the mud off leggings before working out. It wasn’t until I was post workout changing I realised I been training with a mud splattered bum. Opps!
Have a great week and most embarrassing gym moment?! My are quite tame. I’m sure things have got lost in translation and people think eh? A few years ago before Panache made the best sports bars for girls with small backs and a lot up front, one sports bra had hooks that attached the adjustable strap to the strap that attached to the band. Not the most effective bra as I found out but it more or less fitted. One hook kept unhooking jumping or during any type of row. It wasn’t an all out bounce out, but enough to pray nobody noticed a bra strap flying around. Most embarrassing running moment. That would be the time a cup of coffee got things moving and I ain’t talking number 1!