Buffets

Although I've probably known it all along, I just realized last weekend how evil buffets are.

After the Run for the Cure my colleagues and I went out for brunch. We ended up at a place near the office that was offering a buffet. We didn't see how much it cost (later discovered it was $16.95, not including beverages - even basic coffee).

The queue for the food was insanely long. They put the desserts right at the beginning of the line, followed by the waffles and then the custom omelettes. There was another section for the salads and hot foods. I was ravenous after my run, but I also didn't want to overindulge given that I'm still doing Boot Camp and all.

I took very small amounts of this and that - whatever looked good - including some roast beef carved right there. I wouldn't say that my 10" plate was mounded over with food (like some people's were), but it was definitely full. I ate the amount I was hungry for, but there was that little niggling voice inside of me that was saying, "You're paying $16.95 for this brunch - you better get your money's worth!" I didn't even finish everything on my plate and I didn't go back for seconds. Oh, the dessert table was very appealing (and some of my friends did go back for dessert), but I just stayed seated and drank more coffee.

But a little part of me inside was feeling a little ripped off. More in a financial sense than anything else, really. I think I did a pretty good job of taking foods that appealed to me, but in very small portions (just a bite or two of each thing). And I abstained from the bacon, saussages and lasagne that were offered (and looked soooooooo good). When it came time to pay the bill, I realized how much I had to pay for such a small portion of food. But I was also very proud of myself for not letting that part of my brain take over and say, "Well, you're paying for it; you might as well eat it!"

I doubt that I will be going to another buffet any time soon...

On a completely unrelated note, I had an awesome run yesterday evening. I had brought my workout gear to the office so that I could pop over to the gym at lunch and do some strength training, but when I got there, I realized that I had forgotten to pack my shoes! D'oh! So, I got re-dressed and headed back to the office without a workout. Whaaa! So when I got home, I changed into my running gear right away and headed out the door. It was overcast, drizzly and quite chilly. I ran 7K (4.3 miles) in about 44 minutes. That's a bit slower than I would normally go for that distance, but I was really feeling "in the zone" on my run. The first part of my route was fine, but I did get held up by stoplights a bit. Once I got down to the recreation path down on Lakeshore, I just fell into my pace and had an awesome run. I can't even say that it was just me and my footsteps because I couldn't even hear those as I was running so "quietly" (which means I had good form). I only saw one other runner once I got closer to home. I just love those "in the zone" runs where you feel like you could go on forever.

I did not ride my bike this morning as my friend FS was busy. I opted to do some housecleaning instead. I've managed to clean out my dresser drawers and closets of unwanted clothing, so I'll have to drop that stuff off at G00dwill later today. Now, I didn't actually "clean out" my closet; I simply removed clothes I never wear. I still have a whole load of crap in there to deal with, but I'll get to that in due time.

The sun is starting to come out now, so I think I may head out for a bike ride.

Update (6PM):

I did go for a bike ride and it was a lovely ride, although a little windy. Went for coffee afterwards and then came home, took my old clothes to G00dwill, dropped off my duvet at the dry cleaner and then did my grocery shopping. Tonight, I'm just going to hunker down with some DVDs I rented.