Last Friday, I went to my first deep water aerobics class at the Y. Then on Monday, I returned, but was running late, so I ended up swimming laps for 30 minutes. The first 10 minutes I just dragged my legs, but then I got daring and I tried the breaststroke. It was strange and there were a few stinging sensations in my foot as the water ran over it. Once I got 4 laps done of that, I switched to backstroke and tried a little flutter kick. It was fine!
Then I rolled over and tried front crawl. It was a bit stingy at first, and certainly not fast. I wasn't trying to really motor at all.
After 30 minutes, I was bored and ready to get out. As I gimped back to the locker room, someone else with a foot issue was gimping over to my lane.
But still, hooray for the pool. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get to the Rec Center and to do some core/back and strengthening exercises, and then back to the pool on Thursday morning. Four 30-minute workouts per week to start, and then we'll gently add -- physical therapy -- after Thanksgiving.
Hopefully by February, I'll be back to my usual 90 minutes five times a week. The really nice part was that even after two months away, my lungs were fine in the pool. Usually after I haven't swam in a while, it takes me a while to get my breathing down. Maybe it's because of the slow pace I was going, but I actually was quite comfortable. My muscle memory kicked in, thankfully.
We'll see if that happens when I get to go back to Body Attack later in the winter! I've missed Melissa at the Y something fierce.
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Sweaty and Excited
I've been trying to keep up my physical activity since I finished my aqua running class and the H20 Bootcamp with Synergistic Effects in June. I've been attending the occasional Deep Water class at the Y. I've been on my bike and a stationery bike. I've been lifting weights (when I don't get bored of it -- I totally need to go to a class to get this stuff in. I don't push myself hard enough with the weights on my own) and I've been walking.
Mostly, I walk the same 5.5-mile path from my house down to the corner of Windsor and Prospect on the bike path and back. My goal by the end of the summer was to walk fast enough to theoretically be able to walk less than 16 minute miles. I've come close and then had some issue with my back or foot and had to slow down. But I have to admit that once the weather dropped to a normal temperature, I've been like a speed demon. And today, I averaged a 15'07"/mile time. That's good enough (if I can maintain it for twice as long) to walk a Disney Half Marathon.
Now that I know I can do it on significantly torn tendons (and probably shot ligaments) I have something to shoot for once all that damage is repaired in a few weeks.
The other happy I had was that I went to my weigh in yesterday at Weight Watchers. I had been up 1.5 lbs from my vacation to Montreal last week, but this week I lost that 1.5 and an additional 1.5, so I'm down 9.2 lbs overall in 3 weeks. Fifteen more pounds to go and I'll be where I was when I ran the half marathon in 2011, which is exactly where I want to be.
I've been putting together a food plan for when I'm laid up, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the loss even with the giant cast on. :-) I think I'll have to change days/times I weigh in though to make it easier on MacTroll to drive me up there. I guess getting up at 6:30 a.m. to get me to a weigh in at 7:30 a.m. isn't his idea of a great way to spend a Saturday. :-)
And guess who starts first grade on Wednesday!
Mostly, I walk the same 5.5-mile path from my house down to the corner of Windsor and Prospect on the bike path and back. My goal by the end of the summer was to walk fast enough to theoretically be able to walk less than 16 minute miles. I've come close and then had some issue with my back or foot and had to slow down. But I have to admit that once the weather dropped to a normal temperature, I've been like a speed demon. And today, I averaged a 15'07"/mile time. That's good enough (if I can maintain it for twice as long) to walk a Disney Half Marathon.
Now that I know I can do it on significantly torn tendons (and probably shot ligaments) I have something to shoot for once all that damage is repaired in a few weeks.
The other happy I had was that I went to my weigh in yesterday at Weight Watchers. I had been up 1.5 lbs from my vacation to Montreal last week, but this week I lost that 1.5 and an additional 1.5, so I'm down 9.2 lbs overall in 3 weeks. Fifteen more pounds to go and I'll be where I was when I ran the half marathon in 2011, which is exactly where I want to be.
I've been putting together a food plan for when I'm laid up, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the loss even with the giant cast on. :-) I think I'll have to change days/times I weigh in though to make it easier on MacTroll to drive me up there. I guess getting up at 6:30 a.m. to get me to a weigh in at 7:30 a.m. isn't his idea of a great way to spend a Saturday. :-)
And guess who starts first grade on Wednesday!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
On the Move Again
Since we got back on Thursday morning, I felt like I haven't worked out at all. Maybe because I haven't really put on clothes and gone out for a six-mile walk nor have I gone to do a strength workout where I leave my child in the childcare room at the Y.
MacTroll reminded me this morning that I did play volleyball on Thursday night. (Oh yeah... but maybe because we lost the championship and I felt like I stood around watching us not be able to return a specific girl's serves, it didn't feel much like a workout.)
Last night I met up with the rotary folks while they played a short 9-hole golf course out at Legends. Holy cow is that set of greens totally torn to shit. I specifically didn't wear "golfing acceptable clothes" because I was just there to socialize and go out for a drink after. But where as most everyone else drove a cart, I walked all nine holes. Was it slow, yes it was. But I did it. And I did it with no pain, so that's a workout, right? Maybe I should have worn my weighted vest. :-)
Today, I took Lily out for a 30-minute stroll around the neighborhood. She was going bonkers this morning because I had to move Maya into the spare guest room. She's getting worse and not better. The appetite stimulus shots don't seem to be working. I took her in yesterday for uber fancy bloodwork that will get returned with results on Tuesday. I've offered her every kind of food. I'm taking the boys in for their check ups on Monday, so I think I'll be picking up a giant syringe and starting to force feed her at that point. It's a messy job, but I did it with Clawdio and I think it ended up saving his life 7 years ago.
KTDID is doing me a ginormous favor and coming to spend the night with them tonight while MacTroll, X-man and I go to St. Louis to the Cubs/Cardinals game and then to the zoo tomorrow morning. We'll be back by 4 p.m. or so.
X-man and I are scheduled to go to Rockford next week, but I'm worried about Maya. I'll have to see how she's doing.
MacTroll reminded me this morning that I did play volleyball on Thursday night. (Oh yeah... but maybe because we lost the championship and I felt like I stood around watching us not be able to return a specific girl's serves, it didn't feel much like a workout.)
Last night I met up with the rotary folks while they played a short 9-hole golf course out at Legends. Holy cow is that set of greens totally torn to shit. I specifically didn't wear "golfing acceptable clothes" because I was just there to socialize and go out for a drink after. But where as most everyone else drove a cart, I walked all nine holes. Was it slow, yes it was. But I did it. And I did it with no pain, so that's a workout, right? Maybe I should have worn my weighted vest. :-)
Today, I took Lily out for a 30-minute stroll around the neighborhood. She was going bonkers this morning because I had to move Maya into the spare guest room. She's getting worse and not better. The appetite stimulus shots don't seem to be working. I took her in yesterday for uber fancy bloodwork that will get returned with results on Tuesday. I've offered her every kind of food. I'm taking the boys in for their check ups on Monday, so I think I'll be picking up a giant syringe and starting to force feed her at that point. It's a messy job, but I did it with Clawdio and I think it ended up saving his life 7 years ago.
KTDID is doing me a ginormous favor and coming to spend the night with them tonight while MacTroll, X-man and I go to St. Louis to the Cubs/Cardinals game and then to the zoo tomorrow morning. We'll be back by 4 p.m. or so.
X-man and I are scheduled to go to Rockford next week, but I'm worried about Maya. I'll have to see how she's doing.
Monday, June 18, 2012
I love food science
I'm halfway through the book, "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think" by Brian Wansink. He's the head of the food lab at Cornell and I'm so totally excited by the book, I think I may actually buy it to keep on my shelf. It's easy to read and hilarious and is NOT a dieting book. There's no lecturing involved.
Instead, he tells you how your brain processes the idea of food. Some of it is stuff you probably heard -- like we eat less if we eat off smaller plates. But other things are things I had no idea about... for example, your body has no idea how much it's consuming. Everything you do is basically done on visual and smell clues not your actual hunger.
So, if you see that the bowl is half empty, you'll assume you've eaten half of your soup. But what happens... if you eat from a bowl that is refilling without you knowing it and keeping it around half full? Do you feel more full? Not really. Instead you eat gobs and gobs of soup thinking that you haven't eaten much because the bowl is still half full.
He goes through studies performed by his lab and others about how important smell is for eating. The government did a "smell" test with soldiers (because they were worried their military wasn't eating enough to sustain the 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day they burn off in physical activity) where they served oatmeal in an unscented plastic bowl, then the next time they served it in a bowl that smelled like cinnamon and raisins and then the last study, they gave them oatmeal in a bowl that smelled like Macaroni and Cheese. Not surprisingly, the raisin scented bowls increased eating, the plain bowl was in the middle and the Macaroni and Cheese bowl apparently made the oatmeal very unpopular.
He even goes into studies where academics profess that intellectual people educated about the trickeries used in the food industry wouldn't fool the smart ones, so he gathered a bunch of academics, gave them a course on food portions, servings, the visual cues, etc. And then six weeks later invited them to a Super Bowl party... guess what happened?
It's really a pretty awesome book. And there are some suggestions on way you can rearrange your life in simple, simple ways. For example, variety causes overeating. Try not to have more than two or three types of food at a gathering (that is stay away from potlucks and buffets). People have been shown to eat less when there's less variety. In one experiment, some folks were given a bowl of M&Ms that were mixed colors and others were given M&Ms that were the same color. The people with the variety ate hundreds of calories more in M&Ms than the one colored.
Other humdingers that they found to be true:
You drink more fluid out of a short, fat glass than out of a tall skinny one.
The closer a food is to you the more of it you will eat. (Convenience.)
If food is out in front of you and you know it's there, you're likely to eat it... this can even apparently be true if scientists give you a bucket of 5-day old popcorn...
If food is hard to get into, people are less likely to eat it. (Offering shelled nuts versus nuts you had to crack experiment).
Anyway, it's a fun read, and the author admits straight out that he likes food. :-) But it does make you conscious that it's really NOT about willpower. It's more about biology, environment, childhood habits and marketing manipulation.
I'm giving myself kudos here because I have successfully tracked my food in Lose It! On my iPhone for a week. I also set it up to e-mail every Monday to my dietician (while I have her) at Carle. I guess I'm going to have to find a new one sooner or later. Part of me was thinking of trying Weight Watchers up north for meetings, but I'm not sure. I've got about 5 weeks left to find if I want to go -- anywhere else.
I'm also giving kudos to myself because I got on my bike for a fitness ride for the first time since last fall. I was slow, but it was windy. I rode my bike to the Y from Savoy, did my first 30-minute Crossfit Powertrain class and then biked home.
Tomorrow, I'm in for a doozy. I've got aqua running with Kari followed by her H20 Bootcamp class. We'll see if I can hold it together or not. The plus of my day tomorrow is that I have the Volleyball Rec League at Burwash Park in Savoy. If you want to get out, my team -- the Blockheads -- plays at 7:30 p.m. We'll see if we can go 2-0.
Instead, he tells you how your brain processes the idea of food. Some of it is stuff you probably heard -- like we eat less if we eat off smaller plates. But other things are things I had no idea about... for example, your body has no idea how much it's consuming. Everything you do is basically done on visual and smell clues not your actual hunger.
So, if you see that the bowl is half empty, you'll assume you've eaten half of your soup. But what happens... if you eat from a bowl that is refilling without you knowing it and keeping it around half full? Do you feel more full? Not really. Instead you eat gobs and gobs of soup thinking that you haven't eaten much because the bowl is still half full.
He goes through studies performed by his lab and others about how important smell is for eating. The government did a "smell" test with soldiers (because they were worried their military wasn't eating enough to sustain the 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day they burn off in physical activity) where they served oatmeal in an unscented plastic bowl, then the next time they served it in a bowl that smelled like cinnamon and raisins and then the last study, they gave them oatmeal in a bowl that smelled like Macaroni and Cheese. Not surprisingly, the raisin scented bowls increased eating, the plain bowl was in the middle and the Macaroni and Cheese bowl apparently made the oatmeal very unpopular.
He even goes into studies where academics profess that intellectual people educated about the trickeries used in the food industry wouldn't fool the smart ones, so he gathered a bunch of academics, gave them a course on food portions, servings, the visual cues, etc. And then six weeks later invited them to a Super Bowl party... guess what happened?
It's really a pretty awesome book. And there are some suggestions on way you can rearrange your life in simple, simple ways. For example, variety causes overeating. Try not to have more than two or three types of food at a gathering (that is stay away from potlucks and buffets). People have been shown to eat less when there's less variety. In one experiment, some folks were given a bowl of M&Ms that were mixed colors and others were given M&Ms that were the same color. The people with the variety ate hundreds of calories more in M&Ms than the one colored.
Other humdingers that they found to be true:
You drink more fluid out of a short, fat glass than out of a tall skinny one.
The closer a food is to you the more of it you will eat. (Convenience.)
If food is out in front of you and you know it's there, you're likely to eat it... this can even apparently be true if scientists give you a bucket of 5-day old popcorn...
If food is hard to get into, people are less likely to eat it. (Offering shelled nuts versus nuts you had to crack experiment).
Anyway, it's a fun read, and the author admits straight out that he likes food. :-) But it does make you conscious that it's really NOT about willpower. It's more about biology, environment, childhood habits and marketing manipulation.
I'm giving myself kudos here because I have successfully tracked my food in Lose It! On my iPhone for a week. I also set it up to e-mail every Monday to my dietician (while I have her) at Carle. I guess I'm going to have to find a new one sooner or later. Part of me was thinking of trying Weight Watchers up north for meetings, but I'm not sure. I've got about 5 weeks left to find if I want to go -- anywhere else.
I'm also giving kudos to myself because I got on my bike for a fitness ride for the first time since last fall. I was slow, but it was windy. I rode my bike to the Y from Savoy, did my first 30-minute Crossfit Powertrain class and then biked home.
Tomorrow, I'm in for a doozy. I've got aqua running with Kari followed by her H20 Bootcamp class. We'll see if I can hold it together or not. The plus of my day tomorrow is that I have the Volleyball Rec League at Burwash Park in Savoy. If you want to get out, my team -- the Blockheads -- plays at 7:30 p.m. We'll see if we can go 2-0.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Aqua Running it is
The podiatrist's initial evaluation is in. I've messed up my peroneal tendons on the lateral (outside) part of my foot. So, I'm in a corset ankle brace.
If the extra support doesn't help in the next three weeks, they're going to schedule me for an MRI. Fabulous.
I'm only allowed to walk, do the bike and swim. So I signed up today for the Tuesday morning Aqua Running class with Synergistic Effects and then I plan to get in some water classes at the Y instead of my usual favorites.
Luke's blood test came back that he has pancreatitis. I'm picking up his enzymes and anti-nausea shots today. Poor dude has me messing with him all day. I've got to pill him priolosec, put enzymes in wet food, shoot him up and clean his yeast ridden ears and put in meds twice a day.
So, you know, it's good school is ending... so I can be Dr. Quinn all summer. :-)
If the extra support doesn't help in the next three weeks, they're going to schedule me for an MRI. Fabulous.
I'm only allowed to walk, do the bike and swim. So I signed up today for the Tuesday morning Aqua Running class with Synergistic Effects and then I plan to get in some water classes at the Y instead of my usual favorites.
Luke's blood test came back that he has pancreatitis. I'm picking up his enzymes and anti-nausea shots today. Poor dude has me messing with him all day. I've got to pill him priolosec, put enzymes in wet food, shoot him up and clean his yeast ridden ears and put in meds twice a day.
So, you know, it's good school is ending... so I can be Dr. Quinn all summer. :-)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wishes
There are many, many fine fitness centers in the area. I've done group classes and massages at Mettler. I've been a member at the Fitness Center where I took classes, used their cardio and weight machines, had a Bodyworks Massage, sat in their sauna and received some personal pilates training. I've visited the Refinery and did their Body Attack and Body Pump classes but was too embarrassed to ever go downstairs and make use of their machinery. I've been a Family Member at the Savoy Recreation Center for the last year and a half. I've taken some of their classes, run a lot on their track, made use of all of their machines and child room, done personal training through iPower there and signed up my child for a lot of their programming. I've done personal training through Synergistic Effects as well as her circuit classes. I took exercises classes in the Urbana Park District and the Champaign Park District. I've had a membership to both Sholem and the Urbana Aquatic Center and I've taken semi private pilates instruction through the pilates center downtown. For a semester, I was even a member at the ARC, until I broke my foot and couldn't swim.
In other words, I've gotten around. Today, I toured the new YMCA, and I'm sure it's going to do well. It's new and it's gotten a lot of community support (everyone's name is pretty much on EVERYTHING from wall plaques to banners to charter memberships). When we first walked in X-man was very excited because he could see the pool right away with the water slide and the alligator in it. I liked the large family bathroom that I could use with him. He was curious about the rock wall. And I was overwhelmed by the number of weight and cardio machines. I don't know if I have enough concentration left to be able to decide what I'd want to do and to find where it was. But then I walked into the group exercise area. The first thing I saw was a very fit blonde on a cellphone... from the back. I sighed. I like that body, I thought. Then I walked into the next room and saw a giant Les Mills BodyVive poster. Oooh... Les Mills and I remembered my favorite Les Mills class at the Refinery and the Fitness Center and my favorite teacher who taught it. "I really need to reconnect with Melissa. She's just the summer time chipper I'm going to need when I get my life back at the end of the school year."
We roamed around the rest of the building and ended up going through the locker room to the pool area. And boom, "Loosey?"
I turn around and there is the hot blond, but this time I can see her face. It's Melissa, and she's wearing make up and her hair isn't in a ponytail and she's not in her vibrant hot pink Nikes. OMG. I was so happy. So she and I talked for 15 minutes. Turns out she's the new director of wellness at the YMCA. I think that's awesome because she's perfect for it between her fitness experience and being a social worker in a past life. I did josh her a little about the fact that the "wellness room" was sponsored by Jimmy John's (no lie, I took a photo of it because it made me laugh). Nothing like a fast food chain sponsoring a wellness room.
Anyway, what I was hoping the Y would have was six month memberships, so that in the fall, I could sign up with X-man and have some place to swim and have childcare when the weather gets cold. They don't. MacTroll had already said as we hit Church and Mattis that we were driving too far. :-) (He's a total townie for someone whose never actually in town.) But I don't need a pool until I have time to go, which means September. Because let's face it, I can swim outside this summer at Sholem.
The other ugly part was the price tag. Since you can't purchase just a partial membership to only use some services or a partial year, for a family membership would be $978 a year.
I know there is no pool, but for the Savoy Recreation Center, which is 3/4 of a mile from my house, with the Feb. 1-March 31 Family Membership Special, I pay $245 for a year. Non Savoy Residents can get family memberships for $400 a year. And then, if I can figure out my lap swimming schedule, I can go over to the Urbana Aquatic Center and swim for a $45 punch card.
But here's the deal, the new Y is exciting, particularly for those in SW Champaign. X-man looked at the climber in the kids room and got excited, but I'm not sure how many days that excitement is going to last. I could join in the fall for $810 just for X-man and myself, and have the extra bonus of hitting Melissa's Les Mills classes, but I guess I have to prove to myself that I'm really getting back into my 60-90 minutes of exercise a day. I got 90 minutes in yesterday and 75 in today, that's a start, right?... Now if I can just keep going when MacTroll is gone and I have two weeks of Parent/Teacher conferences eating up my days.
I stopped scheduling my "Me" time much too long ago. And now I'm struggling to get it back and figuring out the best fit with my work schedule and energy level. I am happy to have so many good options, but at the same time, I'm frustrated that I can't get what I want custom made to what I need all in one place, particularly since there are so many fitness places in town.
In other words, I've gotten around. Today, I toured the new YMCA, and I'm sure it's going to do well. It's new and it's gotten a lot of community support (everyone's name is pretty much on EVERYTHING from wall plaques to banners to charter memberships). When we first walked in X-man was very excited because he could see the pool right away with the water slide and the alligator in it. I liked the large family bathroom that I could use with him. He was curious about the rock wall. And I was overwhelmed by the number of weight and cardio machines. I don't know if I have enough concentration left to be able to decide what I'd want to do and to find where it was. But then I walked into the group exercise area. The first thing I saw was a very fit blonde on a cellphone... from the back. I sighed. I like that body, I thought. Then I walked into the next room and saw a giant Les Mills BodyVive poster. Oooh... Les Mills and I remembered my favorite Les Mills class at the Refinery and the Fitness Center and my favorite teacher who taught it. "I really need to reconnect with Melissa. She's just the summer time chipper I'm going to need when I get my life back at the end of the school year."
We roamed around the rest of the building and ended up going through the locker room to the pool area. And boom, "Loosey?"
I turn around and there is the hot blond, but this time I can see her face. It's Melissa, and she's wearing make up and her hair isn't in a ponytail and she's not in her vibrant hot pink Nikes. OMG. I was so happy. So she and I talked for 15 minutes. Turns out she's the new director of wellness at the YMCA. I think that's awesome because she's perfect for it between her fitness experience and being a social worker in a past life. I did josh her a little about the fact that the "wellness room" was sponsored by Jimmy John's (no lie, I took a photo of it because it made me laugh). Nothing like a fast food chain sponsoring a wellness room.
Anyway, what I was hoping the Y would have was six month memberships, so that in the fall, I could sign up with X-man and have some place to swim and have childcare when the weather gets cold. They don't. MacTroll had already said as we hit Church and Mattis that we were driving too far. :-) (He's a total townie for someone whose never actually in town.) But I don't need a pool until I have time to go, which means September. Because let's face it, I can swim outside this summer at Sholem.
The other ugly part was the price tag. Since you can't purchase just a partial membership to only use some services or a partial year, for a family membership would be $978 a year.
I know there is no pool, but for the Savoy Recreation Center, which is 3/4 of a mile from my house, with the Feb. 1-March 31 Family Membership Special, I pay $245 for a year. Non Savoy Residents can get family memberships for $400 a year. And then, if I can figure out my lap swimming schedule, I can go over to the Urbana Aquatic Center and swim for a $45 punch card.
But here's the deal, the new Y is exciting, particularly for those in SW Champaign. X-man looked at the climber in the kids room and got excited, but I'm not sure how many days that excitement is going to last. I could join in the fall for $810 just for X-man and myself, and have the extra bonus of hitting Melissa's Les Mills classes, but I guess I have to prove to myself that I'm really getting back into my 60-90 minutes of exercise a day. I got 90 minutes in yesterday and 75 in today, that's a start, right?... Now if I can just keep going when MacTroll is gone and I have two weeks of Parent/Teacher conferences eating up my days.
I stopped scheduling my "Me" time much too long ago. And now I'm struggling to get it back and figuring out the best fit with my work schedule and energy level. I am happy to have so many good options, but at the same time, I'm frustrated that I can't get what I want custom made to what I need all in one place, particularly since there are so many fitness places in town.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Working It Out
This is the first week where I have managed to exercise every day this week since I got injured last May. It helps that Wednesday and this afternoon will be spent in the basement of Kari Gardner in session 2 of 6 of our personal training time together (and if you're reading her website, I am one of her "aging adult with a debilitating orthopedic condition" clients so don't think I'm going to have a body like an Athleta model or anything.). But the big news is that I'm back to running 3.5-4 miles on my "long" runs. It'll take another month or so, but I'm feeling like I might actually get back into having my long run be 7 miles, average run be 5 miles and my short run being 3 miles again. And it would be nice to move from 10 miles a week up to 15 miles a week, and then mellow out at running 20-25, which was my average before I started half marathon training last year.
The other nice news is that in the last four weeks, I was able to lose 7.7 lbs. I'm still "in the box" with Carle for another 8 weeks. My goal is to get back into that 160-165 lb range. So I'm 4.3 lbs away from hitting the high end of that range. I made it through Thanksgiving at Disney pretty well. I packed the meals and oatmeal (because I find it easier to travel without my Magic Bullet blender). I ended up eating out of the box (4 mini balls of falafel with a side salad) when I first got there because we were in such a rush to get to the parks that I forgot to eat some oatmeal before heading out. Then there was the issue that the hotel said they'd have a microwave available on their web site... but neglected to state it would cost me $35 a day. So, um, I just ate a lot of pasta fagoli cold. But I also went out of the box for a coconut mound from Babycakes, the Vegan bakery. It was a whole different kind of oral sex.
Other than that, the foot and back are doing well. I'm still taking 3 iron pills a day to keep my iron up, and will likely do that for life. I'm also on a B complex since I became a vegetarian. It's made me make much healthier choices eating overall, which is what I was hoping for. Now the next big challenge is that I have to bake 5 dozen cookies for a bake sale at work on Dec. 19-20. I guess I'm going to have to have X-man and MacTroll do my taste testing. And I'm quite sure they'll hate that. :-)
The other nice news is that in the last four weeks, I was able to lose 7.7 lbs. I'm still "in the box" with Carle for another 8 weeks. My goal is to get back into that 160-165 lb range. So I'm 4.3 lbs away from hitting the high end of that range. I made it through Thanksgiving at Disney pretty well. I packed the meals and oatmeal (because I find it easier to travel without my Magic Bullet blender). I ended up eating out of the box (4 mini balls of falafel with a side salad) when I first got there because we were in such a rush to get to the parks that I forgot to eat some oatmeal before heading out. Then there was the issue that the hotel said they'd have a microwave available on their web site... but neglected to state it would cost me $35 a day. So, um, I just ate a lot of pasta fagoli cold. But I also went out of the box for a coconut mound from Babycakes, the Vegan bakery. It was a whole different kind of oral sex.
Other than that, the foot and back are doing well. I'm still taking 3 iron pills a day to keep my iron up, and will likely do that for life. I'm also on a B complex since I became a vegetarian. It's made me make much healthier choices eating overall, which is what I was hoping for. Now the next big challenge is that I have to bake 5 dozen cookies for a bake sale at work on Dec. 19-20. I guess I'm going to have to have X-man and MacTroll do my taste testing. And I'm quite sure they'll hate that. :-)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Foot Doctor
I finally got a referral appointment to go see a podiatrist. The first one that was available during a "convenient" time was Oct. 6, so I guess that's when I'm going. :-) We'll see if I need orthotics or not. As it goes, I seem to be walking around fine (minus the first four minutes after I get up). And I'm great in the pool, on the bike and doing the Nike Training workouts. The elliptical also works (but is boring as all get out), but running outside and the treadmill tend to cause pain, so I'm avoiding.
In other news, I'm participating in a charity event this Saturday at the County Fairgrounds and Crystal Lake Park. It's one of those 5k romp in the mud things called CrazyK. I'm doing it as part of a team with a friend/neighbor of mine and 8 of her other friends. We'll have a team tent and bright orange shirts and green hairsprayed hair. I am happy in the fact that it's for charity, so I feel no need to go fast, just to have fun.
Because that's the point, right?
At the same time X-man and MacTroll are going to head down to Charleston/Mattoon to check out the airshow. And then Saturday is Parent Date Night at the Recreation Center. We were going to go see Harry Potter, finally, but the times don't work, so we'll have to check out something else.
In other news, I'm participating in a charity event this Saturday at the County Fairgrounds and Crystal Lake Park. It's one of those 5k romp in the mud things called CrazyK. I'm doing it as part of a team with a friend/neighbor of mine and 8 of her other friends. We'll have a team tent and bright orange shirts and green hairsprayed hair. I am happy in the fact that it's for charity, so I feel no need to go fast, just to have fun.
Because that's the point, right?
At the same time X-man and MacTroll are going to head down to Charleston/Mattoon to check out the airshow. And then Saturday is Parent Date Night at the Recreation Center. We were going to go see Harry Potter, finally, but the times don't work, so we'll have to check out something else.
Monday, August 1, 2011
I Think I had a Brain -- Once.
In my dreams and twisted memory, there was a time when I had game. I could out multi-task anyone. Seriously, I had eyes in the back of my head, super ears and an instinct that was pretty dead on.
Now, I'm like a wilted spy. The instinct for information and how to best use it is still there, but my extra eyes are reserved for people under four feet tall, my ears appear less adept at hearing (probably due to the noise volume of my iPhone when I exercise), and my instinct, well... it's -- distracted is putting it nicely.
For the last several months, I've been using Powerstep inserts as a way to help with my Plantar Fasciitis. I only got to run once in my shoes with them, and then I noticed that I felt like I was loading my right foot heavier. The inserts were perfect in my left foot, so what gives?
Today, I decided to take the inserts out of my shoes and put the original brand spanking new Mizuna supports back into my tennis shoes. It was a great plan. When I first got the shoes I remember sitting on the stairs and putting the Powersteps into the shoes and putting the Mizuna bottoms into the Mizuna box, which I then dutifully carried upstairs and put on the top shelf of my closet.
When I went to retrieve them, I only found the left one. Well, crap. It has to be around here somewhere. I started to search. Then I decided to put the left one into the shoe before I lost it. I pulled the shoes out, and I noticed that there was already a Mizuna support in the right shoe. Thus, I was wearing two levels of support, which explains to me why my foot felt so heavy and way too lifted when I wore them. It also might explain why I had so much trouble balancing on my right leg during physical therapy. So, now I'm trying the insert without the Mizuna bottom in. It still feels way heavier than the left foot, but then again, my senses down there are a little messed up from the nerve entrapment.
Sigh. I feel like a moron. Where is my brain?
Next week, I plan on going to the ARC at the U of I to look into a membership, so I can use their 50 meter pool at my leisure rather than having to abide to specific early morning/late night lap swim times. We'll see how it works out.
Now, I'm like a wilted spy. The instinct for information and how to best use it is still there, but my extra eyes are reserved for people under four feet tall, my ears appear less adept at hearing (probably due to the noise volume of my iPhone when I exercise), and my instinct, well... it's -- distracted is putting it nicely.
For the last several months, I've been using Powerstep inserts as a way to help with my Plantar Fasciitis. I only got to run once in my shoes with them, and then I noticed that I felt like I was loading my right foot heavier. The inserts were perfect in my left foot, so what gives?
Today, I decided to take the inserts out of my shoes and put the original brand spanking new Mizuna supports back into my tennis shoes. It was a great plan. When I first got the shoes I remember sitting on the stairs and putting the Powersteps into the shoes and putting the Mizuna bottoms into the Mizuna box, which I then dutifully carried upstairs and put on the top shelf of my closet.
When I went to retrieve them, I only found the left one. Well, crap. It has to be around here somewhere. I started to search. Then I decided to put the left one into the shoe before I lost it. I pulled the shoes out, and I noticed that there was already a Mizuna support in the right shoe. Thus, I was wearing two levels of support, which explains to me why my foot felt so heavy and way too lifted when I wore them. It also might explain why I had so much trouble balancing on my right leg during physical therapy. So, now I'm trying the insert without the Mizuna bottom in. It still feels way heavier than the left foot, but then again, my senses down there are a little messed up from the nerve entrapment.
Sigh. I feel like a moron. Where is my brain?
Next week, I plan on going to the ARC at the U of I to look into a membership, so I can use their 50 meter pool at my leisure rather than having to abide to specific early morning/late night lap swim times. We'll see how it works out.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Putting the pieces together
I've started back to running -- slowly. I made it out 3 times last week. All very low mileage runs (between 1 and 4 miles). There's a bit of walking involved. There's lots of stretching of the calves, the feet and the achilles area. I also did Body Attack twice, physical therapy and some weight training.
I've got my second half marathon to do in October, so I'm keeping an eye on the calendar. But at the same time, I'm not pushing myself to go any faster than my foot can take. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.
What I'm more concerned about right now (particularly after attending two birthday parties today) is the amount of food that has been passing my lips. It's not hunger need. It's an "I want" need.
And running is always dangerous, because when I do it my brain gets happy and I feel great about my body. But it also makes me think I can eat whatever I want "because I ran today."
But we all know that's not how it works.
So, gotta readjust that one this week.
P.S. It's weird not to have someone greet you at the door when you get home from a night out...
I've got my second half marathon to do in October, so I'm keeping an eye on the calendar. But at the same time, I'm not pushing myself to go any faster than my foot can take. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.
What I'm more concerned about right now (particularly after attending two birthday parties today) is the amount of food that has been passing my lips. It's not hunger need. It's an "I want" need.
And running is always dangerous, because when I do it my brain gets happy and I feel great about my body. But it also makes me think I can eat whatever I want "because I ran today."
But we all know that's not how it works.
So, gotta readjust that one this week.
P.S. It's weird not to have someone greet you at the door when you get home from a night out...
Monday, June 6, 2011
There, right there. This moment. Now.
So, you know how I've lamented losing two fitness instructors over the last year?
Well, this spring I got a wonderful surprise. Melissa, my old Body Blast instructor from The Fitness Center, returned! So I got a summer membership. And I plan on going to her Les Mills Body Attack every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning that I can get there.
I forget how isolating running can be. It's not like I talk a lot in class, as Quigs will attest, because holy cow, it's hard to breathe in an interval, high intensity class. But we jumped and kicked and lunged and had a great time sweating. Seriously, when we got done and were cooling down I felt this whole, "Ohhhh, yeah!" moment when I realized how much I enjoyed something that I had to give up.
It's not like I didn't try to follow it, but the other gym that she was teaching classes at was way out of my way and the vibe just wasn't the same. But this felt perfect. I saw people I hadn't seen in 10 months. It was very pleasurable. Next time though, I'll remember to bring a water bottle. :-) No open containers in the fitness rooms on the shelves any more.
Here's to burning 700 calories an hour or so.
Nice.
Well, this spring I got a wonderful surprise. Melissa, my old Body Blast instructor from The Fitness Center, returned! So I got a summer membership. And I plan on going to her Les Mills Body Attack every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning that I can get there.
I forget how isolating running can be. It's not like I talk a lot in class, as Quigs will attest, because holy cow, it's hard to breathe in an interval, high intensity class. But we jumped and kicked and lunged and had a great time sweating. Seriously, when we got done and were cooling down I felt this whole, "Ohhhh, yeah!" moment when I realized how much I enjoyed something that I had to give up.
It's not like I didn't try to follow it, but the other gym that she was teaching classes at was way out of my way and the vibe just wasn't the same. But this felt perfect. I saw people I hadn't seen in 10 months. It was very pleasurable. Next time though, I'll remember to bring a water bottle. :-) No open containers in the fitness rooms on the shelves any more.
Here's to burning 700 calories an hour or so.
Nice.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
He Could Walk 100 Miles
X-man and I signed up for the 100-mile club at the Savoy Recreation Center. When I was running for the half marathon, I accumulated miles much, much more quickly than I do now. But since I've been limited to walking, biking and swimming, it's slowed down a lot. Mostly because unlike the Walk to the Moon competition last year, this program doesn't count other forms of exercise that's not walking or running.
Anyway, today X-man wanted to go mini putting. He was going to go with Papa yesterday, but the course was closed due to the weather. So even when the storms stopped, it was a no go (Papa made it up to him by taking him to Marble Slab. He was quite keen on the idea that X-man could totally direct him straight to the ice cream store from mini putt. :-)
I told him that if he stopped whining (because holy cow that's been terrible for the last two days), we could walk as a family to Old Orchard Links. He was great on the way there, but then he golfed 36 holes and was really tired walking back. He swore his feet were hurting him, so I told him he could walk barefoot after we stopped for drinks at Sonic, and we'd carry him over the roads where there was gravel.
He did okay. We even got to stop and wave at Rogers and see a train go by up close. The engineers waved, and he had questions about everything in the cars, as usual.
When little legs only walk .25 or .5 miles at a time, two miles is a lot. He's only got until September to finish it, and he's just past a half marathon (he started a month ago). So, I'm hoping that he enjoys the quiet time until dinner and then is still tired enough to fall asleep relatively early after bath. My plans are to finish laundry hell 2011, and MacTroll is going to mow the yard before it rains again.
That is after I finish rolling a frozen bottle of water under my heel for 15 minutes and MacTroll finishes watching Young Justice with X-man.
Anyway, today X-man wanted to go mini putting. He was going to go with Papa yesterday, but the course was closed due to the weather. So even when the storms stopped, it was a no go (Papa made it up to him by taking him to Marble Slab. He was quite keen on the idea that X-man could totally direct him straight to the ice cream store from mini putt. :-)
I told him that if he stopped whining (because holy cow that's been terrible for the last two days), we could walk as a family to Old Orchard Links. He was great on the way there, but then he golfed 36 holes and was really tired walking back. He swore his feet were hurting him, so I told him he could walk barefoot after we stopped for drinks at Sonic, and we'd carry him over the roads where there was gravel.
He did okay. We even got to stop and wave at Rogers and see a train go by up close. The engineers waved, and he had questions about everything in the cars, as usual.
When little legs only walk .25 or .5 miles at a time, two miles is a lot. He's only got until September to finish it, and he's just past a half marathon (he started a month ago). So, I'm hoping that he enjoys the quiet time until dinner and then is still tired enough to fall asleep relatively early after bath. My plans are to finish laundry hell 2011, and MacTroll is going to mow the yard before it rains again.
That is after I finish rolling a frozen bottle of water under my heel for 15 minutes and MacTroll finishes watching Young Justice with X-man.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Selling the Drama
I haven't run since last weekend because of my heel pain and it's totally flipping me out. I miss it. I know I've cycled at the gym and swam twice this week and done Tae Kwon Do pretty much every day, but at the same time, I'm depressed without my endorphins. I feel bloated and gawky. I'm constipated. And yet, I'm more tired than I am even on days when I used to do a long run.
It's hard to believe running could be so different than other forms of cardio, but it is for me. In addition, there's the mental damper that I SHOULDN'T do something, even though I probably could do it. I have to remember that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. So, tomorrow, I'll be heading back to the pool for another 60-minute swim sometime in the afternoon. Maybe the boys will want to come along.
I've got to get in as many meters as I can swimming before the Urbana Aquatic Center closes on May 22nd for it's annual cleaning. But I also need to take X-man and MacTroll in to get our summer pool passes on Tuesday afternoon. I might get in a few more lap swims after the Champaign Park District Pools open for the summer on the 27th. But we'll see. I just don't want to feel like a cat in water when it comes to the Sprint Triathlon I'm doing the first weekend in June. At the same time because of the rain, I've been clocking more time on the bike in the gym rather than my actual bike.
This week I need to go to the bike store and get fitted for a new helmet. I've decided that the one I have from Target circa 1998 is probably up for renewal. While I'm there I have to purchase a bike rack for the RAV-4.
In other news, I got re-certified in pediatric first aid and CPR today. Provena held a course down at the Tolono Library for $20, so I went with two of my colleagues. It was totally filled with babysitters, and I know that times have changed when a 7th grader said she was going to be looking after a 3 year old and I flinched. I know I watched after a 4 year old by myself when I was 12 and didn't think much of it. And I know most 3 year olds weren't as crazy as my kid, but I would never have felt like I was leaving him in a safe situation with a 12 year old. A mother's helper, no problem, maybe if it was a neighbor and I knew their mother was home I could go to the grocery store for an hour, but she just looked so small to me.
You know what this means, right?
I'm old.
But X-man and I did get our orange belts this morning.
It's hard to believe running could be so different than other forms of cardio, but it is for me. In addition, there's the mental damper that I SHOULDN'T do something, even though I probably could do it. I have to remember that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. So, tomorrow, I'll be heading back to the pool for another 60-minute swim sometime in the afternoon. Maybe the boys will want to come along.
I've got to get in as many meters as I can swimming before the Urbana Aquatic Center closes on May 22nd for it's annual cleaning. But I also need to take X-man and MacTroll in to get our summer pool passes on Tuesday afternoon. I might get in a few more lap swims after the Champaign Park District Pools open for the summer on the 27th. But we'll see. I just don't want to feel like a cat in water when it comes to the Sprint Triathlon I'm doing the first weekend in June. At the same time because of the rain, I've been clocking more time on the bike in the gym rather than my actual bike.
This week I need to go to the bike store and get fitted for a new helmet. I've decided that the one I have from Target circa 1998 is probably up for renewal. While I'm there I have to purchase a bike rack for the RAV-4.
In other news, I got re-certified in pediatric first aid and CPR today. Provena held a course down at the Tolono Library for $20, so I went with two of my colleagues. It was totally filled with babysitters, and I know that times have changed when a 7th grader said she was going to be looking after a 3 year old and I flinched. I know I watched after a 4 year old by myself when I was 12 and didn't think much of it. And I know most 3 year olds weren't as crazy as my kid, but I would never have felt like I was leaving him in a safe situation with a 12 year old. A mother's helper, no problem, maybe if it was a neighbor and I knew their mother was home I could go to the grocery store for an hour, but she just looked so small to me.
You know what this means, right?
I'm old.
But X-man and I did get our orange belts this morning.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Fitness Realities
At Weight Management on Wednesday, a trainer from the Carle Training Group came and talked to us. He focused on the importance of weight training for overall health. Most of the people in WM tend to be over the age of 45, so he addressed the issue that after 35, your bones don't really absorb calcium any more. What you have, is what you have... So you want to use weight training to keep those bones strong. He also talked about how it's virtually impossible for women to bulk up too considerably and that any exercise regime that you undertake needs to change every six weeks or your body will become used to it and plateau.
He talked about other things, but these were the highlights that made it into my notebook. The one big eye opener... as your body ages, you will need to increase the calorie burning of your workouts by 10 percent each year just to stay the same.
I raised my hand and said, "So, by the time I'm 70, all I'll be able to do is move for 15 hours a day in order to fit into my pants?"
He looked at me, smiled and pretty much nodded before going into talking about how the metabolism slows down with age. How menopause can affect the body, etc., etc. I kind of tuned that out as I thought about who would still be active at 70 and be willing to work out with me for 15 hours a day. Madonna will be 86, maybe by then we'll finally have gotten acquainted.
In other news, I ran my first half marathon today. I got to see a WM buddy at the start who was doing a 10k. Then I got to see a neighbor and a former Millikin student of mine. It was chilly out there waiting to start, but the weather was perfect. I took a GIANT chance and changed up my attack plan for the run. Instead of running the first mile and then walking .2 and running .8 for the whole thing, I ran until I couldn't run any more, stopping only to take in my Gu and G2 at miles 4, 7.5 and 11. I ended up making it to mile 8.5ish before I started the walk/run trend as originally planned. Of course, it doesn't help that Nike+ somehow dropped the GPS at mile 1.5... so I have no pretty map of my run with my paces to show you. I can tell you that the 25 mph wind coming over the hill at mile 6.5 was met by me with a "whatever" but the three additional "hills" where we bottlenecked at Meadowbrook made my heart sink. Not enough to curse them because it wasn't their fault that they got paired with the wind. But it didn't stop others. That whole park was nothing but runners whining, "Fast and Flat course my ass!"
I also know that my heel hurt mildly until mile 10, and then it caught fire, so I walked more at the end than I wanted too. I can also tell you that I felt nothing for the last .4 miles but glee. And I was ever so happy to see MacTroll and X-man on the corner of Pennsylvania and Fourth Streets.
I was also happy to run with and see my friends along the route. But I was sad that the crowds were not nearly as inspiring as I would have liked. I'm a big cheerer. I believe in being loud and proud at these kinds of things. But when I passed by most people (if they didn't have cowbells), they were sitting silently staring.
I still feel smart for packing my own aid. I know others didn't because I felt like I was the only one with a water bottle, but by the time I got to the stations they had mostly fruit Gu left. And vomiting was NOT in the cards today. :-) I'll stick with my Chocolate Outrage, thank you.
Anyway, here's the photo MacTroll clicked of me at mile 12.5 just before I hugged X-man. As you can see, I was deliriously happy.
He talked about other things, but these were the highlights that made it into my notebook. The one big eye opener... as your body ages, you will need to increase the calorie burning of your workouts by 10 percent each year just to stay the same.
I raised my hand and said, "So, by the time I'm 70, all I'll be able to do is move for 15 hours a day in order to fit into my pants?"
He looked at me, smiled and pretty much nodded before going into talking about how the metabolism slows down with age. How menopause can affect the body, etc., etc. I kind of tuned that out as I thought about who would still be active at 70 and be willing to work out with me for 15 hours a day. Madonna will be 86, maybe by then we'll finally have gotten acquainted.
In other news, I ran my first half marathon today. I got to see a WM buddy at the start who was doing a 10k. Then I got to see a neighbor and a former Millikin student of mine. It was chilly out there waiting to start, but the weather was perfect. I took a GIANT chance and changed up my attack plan for the run. Instead of running the first mile and then walking .2 and running .8 for the whole thing, I ran until I couldn't run any more, stopping only to take in my Gu and G2 at miles 4, 7.5 and 11. I ended up making it to mile 8.5ish before I started the walk/run trend as originally planned. Of course, it doesn't help that Nike+ somehow dropped the GPS at mile 1.5... so I have no pretty map of my run with my paces to show you. I can tell you that the 25 mph wind coming over the hill at mile 6.5 was met by me with a "whatever" but the three additional "hills" where we bottlenecked at Meadowbrook made my heart sink. Not enough to curse them because it wasn't their fault that they got paired with the wind. But it didn't stop others. That whole park was nothing but runners whining, "Fast and Flat course my ass!"
I also know that my heel hurt mildly until mile 10, and then it caught fire, so I walked more at the end than I wanted too. I can also tell you that I felt nothing for the last .4 miles but glee. And I was ever so happy to see MacTroll and X-man on the corner of Pennsylvania and Fourth Streets.
I was also happy to run with and see my friends along the route. But I was sad that the crowds were not nearly as inspiring as I would have liked. I'm a big cheerer. I believe in being loud and proud at these kinds of things. But when I passed by most people (if they didn't have cowbells), they were sitting silently staring.
I still feel smart for packing my own aid. I know others didn't because I felt like I was the only one with a water bottle, but by the time I got to the stations they had mostly fruit Gu left. And vomiting was NOT in the cards today. :-) I'll stick with my Chocolate Outrage, thank you.
Anyway, here's the photo MacTroll clicked of me at mile 12.5 just before I hugged X-man. As you can see, I was deliriously happy.
Oh, and my time... for those who are curious was 2:32:11.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Dear Sir, I Like You. Please Don't Kill Yourself Working Out
I work out at my little local rec center. I love the people there. But since I currently only have a paying job two mornings a week, I'm there with a legion of retirees and a few stay-at-home moms. The moms are usually in a rush to get their toddlers into the child care room and then to the class so they can get them home and to their morning naps by 10 a.m.
The retirees and I get some time to chat. I don't mind the chatter before class or in the cardio room, but there is one man that I refuse to go into the weight room with not because of what he says, but because of how he works out.
I'm quite sure as I watch him huff and puff and count his reps that he's either going to a) throw his back out, b) give himself a hernia or c) have a heart attack. It's too much weight. It's improper form. It's testosterone at its worst.
You might think I'm getting carried away. But one of the retirees that used to walk on the treadmill passed away earlier this year. I'm not sure what he was doing... Over the weekend, one of the main landowners in Central Illinois passed away as well. The chatter in the cardio room this a.m., was that he had a heart attack. They were both sad that he was only 65, because one of them was 66 and graduated the year ahead of the deceased from the same high school.
Between my iPhone and the company, it makes 60 minutes on a stationary bike on Alpine Mode go pretty quickly. Almost 20 miles in an hour was a good workout. Now I just need to get it to translate to an actual bike. :-) My problem is that I get way too distracted out in the world. Too many things to look at, which is funny, because mostly, I'm just biking through farmland.
Of course, now that I've blogged this, I'll be the one who a) throws out her back, b) gives herself a hernia or c) has a heart attack. Because that's how Loosey's life is played.
The retirees and I get some time to chat. I don't mind the chatter before class or in the cardio room, but there is one man that I refuse to go into the weight room with not because of what he says, but because of how he works out.
I'm quite sure as I watch him huff and puff and count his reps that he's either going to a) throw his back out, b) give himself a hernia or c) have a heart attack. It's too much weight. It's improper form. It's testosterone at its worst.
You might think I'm getting carried away. But one of the retirees that used to walk on the treadmill passed away earlier this year. I'm not sure what he was doing... Over the weekend, one of the main landowners in Central Illinois passed away as well. The chatter in the cardio room this a.m., was that he had a heart attack. They were both sad that he was only 65, because one of them was 66 and graduated the year ahead of the deceased from the same high school.
Between my iPhone and the company, it makes 60 minutes on a stationary bike on Alpine Mode go pretty quickly. Almost 20 miles in an hour was a good workout. Now I just need to get it to translate to an actual bike. :-) My problem is that I get way too distracted out in the world. Too many things to look at, which is funny, because mostly, I'm just biking through farmland.
Of course, now that I've blogged this, I'll be the one who a) throws out her back, b) gives herself a hernia or c) has a heart attack. Because that's how Loosey's life is played.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Love 'em and They Leave Ya Every Time
Grrrr. I went to Body Bar class at the Savoy Recreation Center today expecting to see one of my two favorite Park District Fitness instructors: Emily. I didn't get to go last week because of Jury Duty, and as it turns out... Emily accepted a job in Chicago and is moving ASAP. But she gets benefits with that job, so who could blame her?
I hate that. It's like when I was at the Fitness Center and the Magnificent Melissa took a job with Les Mills and stopped teaching Body Blast, which was my favorite class there.
Mmmm, maybe I need to stop getting attached to classes that start with double Bs?
Either way, the sub today was very nice, but holy smoke the class was overcrowded.
I saw a mess of people at the ARC this weekend when I was running, too. So many that they were walking to parking spaces over by Assembly Hall after their workouts because the lot next to the building was full.
And today Body Bar really needed to be moved to the gym. Since it didn't look like it was moving, I left and went to the weight room. I'm guessing people tried on their shorts this weekend and didn't like what they saw. Or they know that swim suit season is peeking around the corner...
I have yet to try on any of my summer clothes yet. So they're braver folks than I. :-)
I hate that. It's like when I was at the Fitness Center and the Magnificent Melissa took a job with Les Mills and stopped teaching Body Blast, which was my favorite class there.
Mmmm, maybe I need to stop getting attached to classes that start with double Bs?
Either way, the sub today was very nice, but holy smoke the class was overcrowded.
I saw a mess of people at the ARC this weekend when I was running, too. So many that they were walking to parking spaces over by Assembly Hall after their workouts because the lot next to the building was full.
And today Body Bar really needed to be moved to the gym. Since it didn't look like it was moving, I left and went to the weight room. I'm guessing people tried on their shorts this weekend and didn't like what they saw. Or they know that swim suit season is peeking around the corner...
I have yet to try on any of my summer clothes yet. So they're braver folks than I. :-)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Runnin' Down a Dream
I haven't written about running in a long, long time. I'm still keeping at it. In fact, I'm participating in my first half marathon on April 30th. I'm hoping it's the first of many (Particularly since I registered for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in October.)
I've gotten into a comfortable 3 runs a week rotation. During the weekend is my long run where I run the first mile and then I walk .2 miles and then I run .8 miles (wash, rinse, repeat) until I reach my goal for the day. It's kind of my own version of Jeff Galloway's walk/run system designed to keep me from injury.
Today's run was 11 miles. I have one more long run next weekend and then I taper until the race. On Tuesdays, I do a 60-minute fitness run with little to no walking, if possible, and on Thursday I do a 1.5-mile jog and then do 50-100 meter intervals for 1 mile, attend a yoga-lates class and then jog .75 miles home.
In between, I do some in-the-gym biking and now that I've passed the two-week post surgery mark for my Lasek, I can get back in the pool. It all seems to be working to avoid reinjuring my back. I've also noticed since I moved from the indoor track to outside I've gotten slower (Thank you to Mother Nature and her natural resistance through 25-40 mph spring wind gusts), but I don't have any runner's knee symptoms, either.
I love the feeling I get when I'm done with my workout for the day. But I do wish every long run wasn't met with me thinking of all the things I could be accomplishing at home. The first 4 miles is always full of the desire to go back home and start gardening or laundry or something stupid like that. It's funny, because post-run moments like now, all I want to do is shower, eat lunch and take my family to Brain Awareness Day at the Children's Museum. I could give a crap about my garden or turning mulch. Although I did come home to a sparkling front porch, since MacTroll took X-man outside to do his favorite thing -- play with our garden hose and soap. When it's dry, my rocking adirondack chairs will be outside, and I can hang out and read out there.
Oh, and a note for fitness guru Matt Fitzgerald. I finished your Racing Weight book during jury duty this week. In it you mention that if some random CEO can find time to run a company and train to be an endurance athlete anyone can. At that moment I wanted to shake you, Matt. Find me a single parent with kids who need constant care or pick up and drop off at their fitness events, without the economic resources to hire cleaning people and yard people and other people to care for their homes (i.e. they make less than $40k a year), and/or are expected to put in 8+ hours, as needed, per day at their job (or maybe two jobs to make ends meet or have a 2-hour commute) without any financial extras or incentives and we'll talk about people who are role models for endurance athlete training.
Either way, I'm meeting my long-term goals as a runner to 1) Survive the run 2) Not get injured (or injure anyone else) 3) To not vomit. Every run where I meet those goals, I pat myself on the back. It's a good run. How's that for motivation?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Assessment Take 2
Last week I broke the iPower Vo2 assessment machine from New Leaf technologies simply by sitting in a chair with a mask on my face. Today, I was able to do the full assessment.
It was pretty good news. My Aerobic Base, which is the maximum heart rate at which I burn fat as the dominant fuel in my body went from a 141 to a 152. And my Anaerobic Threshold, which is the maximum sustainable rate at which I burned calories (fat and carbs) was a 169. This number was up from a 156 last May. In a perfect world, I'd be able to have an athletic performance that hung around my Anaerobic Threshold during my whole performance. I'll be working on that one for a while...
The good news is that I can run harder, longer and still burn fat at a higher heart rate. I got a giant high five from Jeff, who ran my assessment. This is reassuring as I'm hoping to enter the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Florida at the end of September. I can't register until February. Given my current medical issues, I thought it might be good to give my body some time to adjust, and I want to make sure I'm taking it slow and steady. Keep training. Keep sweating.
I checked out Born to Run by Christopher McDougall from the library the other day. I guess I was expecting it to be this manual on how to run barefoot. But so far, it's actually reading as a really fun adventure travel journal. My favorite aspect of the book is that the author (and several of his medical care providers) clearly state that people with his body type weren't meant to be distance runners.
He found running later in life (40) and enjoyed it and wanted to keep doing it and improving. But in the five years he'd been running he'd "ripped my hamstring (twice), strained [his] Achilles tendons (repeatedly), sprained [his] ankles (both, alternately), suffered aching arches (regularly), and had to walk down stairs backward on tiptoe" from sore heels... But McDougall wasn't a fitness novice when he started running. He was the "Restless Man" columnist who did extreme adventure sports to write about them. He was also a wartime correspondent for AP and spent some time in some dangerous parts of Africa. So he's not a wuss. He did all of that without ever hurting himself. "But jog a few miles down the street, and suddenly I'm rolling on the ground like I'd been gut shot by a drive by."
And he states that in any other sport, that kind of injury rate would kill his chance at success, but in running, injuries like this are -- Normal.
Crap.
Thank goodness for the bike at the gym. And, yeah, I really gotta get back to the pool once a week... And maybe I'll just head on back to spend some time with Garin at iPower this month while I'm starting the 12-week workout program that Jeff gave me.
It was pretty good news. My Aerobic Base, which is the maximum heart rate at which I burn fat as the dominant fuel in my body went from a 141 to a 152. And my Anaerobic Threshold, which is the maximum sustainable rate at which I burned calories (fat and carbs) was a 169. This number was up from a 156 last May. In a perfect world, I'd be able to have an athletic performance that hung around my Anaerobic Threshold during my whole performance. I'll be working on that one for a while...
The good news is that I can run harder, longer and still burn fat at a higher heart rate. I got a giant high five from Jeff, who ran my assessment. This is reassuring as I'm hoping to enter the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Florida at the end of September. I can't register until February. Given my current medical issues, I thought it might be good to give my body some time to adjust, and I want to make sure I'm taking it slow and steady. Keep training. Keep sweating.
I checked out Born to Run by Christopher McDougall from the library the other day. I guess I was expecting it to be this manual on how to run barefoot. But so far, it's actually reading as a really fun adventure travel journal. My favorite aspect of the book is that the author (and several of his medical care providers) clearly state that people with his body type weren't meant to be distance runners.
He found running later in life (40) and enjoyed it and wanted to keep doing it and improving. But in the five years he'd been running he'd "ripped my hamstring (twice), strained [his] Achilles tendons (repeatedly), sprained [his] ankles (both, alternately), suffered aching arches (regularly), and had to walk down stairs backward on tiptoe" from sore heels... But McDougall wasn't a fitness novice when he started running. He was the "Restless Man" columnist who did extreme adventure sports to write about them. He was also a wartime correspondent for AP and spent some time in some dangerous parts of Africa. So he's not a wuss. He did all of that without ever hurting himself. "But jog a few miles down the street, and suddenly I'm rolling on the ground like I'd been gut shot by a drive by."
And he states that in any other sport, that kind of injury rate would kill his chance at success, but in running, injuries like this are -- Normal.
Crap.
Thank goodness for the bike at the gym. And, yeah, I really gotta get back to the pool once a week... And maybe I'll just head on back to spend some time with Garin at iPower this month while I'm starting the 12-week workout program that Jeff gave me.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Bearing Weight
I've been going to the Body Bar weight lifting class twice a week at the Savoy Recreation Center since I joined at the end of September. I was sad because my favorite class at the Fitness Center went away due to the instructor's new job. I tried out her classes at the Refinery -- and I still loved the instructor, but the gym was out of my way.
Emily is the Body Bar instructor. She is very fun and provides a challenging work out. The class is mostly made up of women (in that 9 a.m. hour) and on occasional husband. I've been feeling self conscious because the bars in the room stop at 27 lbs. I squat and lunge with the 27 and then I use the 22 lb bar for all other lifting. When I started, I was squatting the 22 and using the 18 lb bar.
But I noticed that when I moved up, several other people in the class also moved up. The two women that were using 15 lb bars moved up to 18 lb bars. But today was awesome... today, the woman who always stands behind me and lifts a 9 lb bar while her husband does a 12 lb bar, went and got a SECOND bar of 6 lbs and started doing shoulder work with it. I totally noticed and I thought it was awesome. I think her husband thought it was pretty awesome, too.
A room full of strong ladies. Before you know it, the SRC is going to have to purchase bars with adjustable weights at the ends... because we'll all be fighting for higher weights. :-)
Emily is the Body Bar instructor. She is very fun and provides a challenging work out. The class is mostly made up of women (in that 9 a.m. hour) and on occasional husband. I've been feeling self conscious because the bars in the room stop at 27 lbs. I squat and lunge with the 27 and then I use the 22 lb bar for all other lifting. When I started, I was squatting the 22 and using the 18 lb bar.
But I noticed that when I moved up, several other people in the class also moved up. The two women that were using 15 lb bars moved up to 18 lb bars. But today was awesome... today, the woman who always stands behind me and lifts a 9 lb bar while her husband does a 12 lb bar, went and got a SECOND bar of 6 lbs and started doing shoulder work with it. I totally noticed and I thought it was awesome. I think her husband thought it was pretty awesome, too.
A room full of strong ladies. Before you know it, the SRC is going to have to purchase bars with adjustable weights at the ends... because we'll all be fighting for higher weights. :-)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Boredom, with a capital B
I'm playing the role of cheater this week. I'm visiting another gym in the area that is not the gym where I belong. Why? Mmmm. I'm not sure.
For two years, I've been a member of the Fitness Center. I like it there. I enjoy the people, instructors and atmosphere. I like that childcare is included in membership, as are the classes. And they offer a lot of classes -- except, this time around, the schedule is pretty dull around the time I usually work out. Most of that has to do with the fact that Body Blast, my most favorite class no longer exists. I still really enjoy the cycling classes and the Absolute Body Conditioning class, but the way the schedule is this fall, I can really only make two classes a week regularly. Plus, I wish they had a track. But the schedule is full of Zumba, Step and Kickboxing, none of which I'm a big fan of.
So, I decided to follow the instructor of the Body Blast class to the other gym where she teaches, The Refinery. I received a 14-day visit. I toured it once before, but never got the free pass. It helps that I know other people at that gym, and really like them. Four or five other folks I know go there. But let's face it. I'm not a usual gym user. I don't get on a treadmill for 60 minutes or an elliptical. I use it to do some cycling in the winter and some weight training, but I'm primarily there for group fitness. My favorite instructor teaches two days a week. That's two classes. I looked at the schedule, and I'm not really interested in going to Body Pump (a weight training class) three days a week. The membership there does not include childcare (not that I've used the free childcare at the Fitness Center more than once in two years, since I go when X-man is in pre-school). I was going to go check out the rest of the equipment this a.m., but on my way there, my stomach felt yucky, either from anxiety about going to a new place or about guilt. I ended up driving home and walking with the dog. I LOVE that instructor, but I don't know if I want to pay more for my gym membership, just to see her twice a week. If only the Refinery sold class passes like Mettler does to non-members. Geographically, it's also out of my way. With the Fitness Center, it's right across the street from X-man's school.
Part of me is leaning toward just joining the Savoy Recreation Center. They have all the same equipment, a couple classes I'd be interested in trying that are new to me and the gerbil wheel indoor track. I'd get a discount off of personal training, free child care for even evening classes, that maybe I'd use if I got daring enough to try boot camp, and it's within walking distance from my house. The staff know me there since I ran 2-3 times a week on the track all last winter. And it's a lot more intimate than the Refinery. On the other hand, if I'm unable to run for whatever reason this winter, I'll feel lame being there and seeing a track every day.
In a lot of ways, I wish I wasn't such a lone exerciser. That might make the choice to change easier.
Mostly, I want more cardio dammit. But I want it to be like cardio class for a 3 year old. I want fun music that I learn to sing with choreography that changes every 3-6 minutes for an hour. I want to bounce around and burn 600-700 calories in an hour. Fun and efficient. I'm getting bored with my current scene, and if I'm bored, I won't go. And I have to keep going.
Want to know what my biggest motivator is today to keep myself in line? It's not willpower, not health -- but a new friend who introduced herself to me in my weight management class. Ms. M. -- thanks for letting me know that you're out there reading. It makes me want to regain my focus on what's really important to me, and what's not. See you next Monday!
For two years, I've been a member of the Fitness Center. I like it there. I enjoy the people, instructors and atmosphere. I like that childcare is included in membership, as are the classes. And they offer a lot of classes -- except, this time around, the schedule is pretty dull around the time I usually work out. Most of that has to do with the fact that Body Blast, my most favorite class no longer exists. I still really enjoy the cycling classes and the Absolute Body Conditioning class, but the way the schedule is this fall, I can really only make two classes a week regularly. Plus, I wish they had a track. But the schedule is full of Zumba, Step and Kickboxing, none of which I'm a big fan of.
So, I decided to follow the instructor of the Body Blast class to the other gym where she teaches, The Refinery. I received a 14-day visit. I toured it once before, but never got the free pass. It helps that I know other people at that gym, and really like them. Four or five other folks I know go there. But let's face it. I'm not a usual gym user. I don't get on a treadmill for 60 minutes or an elliptical. I use it to do some cycling in the winter and some weight training, but I'm primarily there for group fitness. My favorite instructor teaches two days a week. That's two classes. I looked at the schedule, and I'm not really interested in going to Body Pump (a weight training class) three days a week. The membership there does not include childcare (not that I've used the free childcare at the Fitness Center more than once in two years, since I go when X-man is in pre-school). I was going to go check out the rest of the equipment this a.m., but on my way there, my stomach felt yucky, either from anxiety about going to a new place or about guilt. I ended up driving home and walking with the dog. I LOVE that instructor, but I don't know if I want to pay more for my gym membership, just to see her twice a week. If only the Refinery sold class passes like Mettler does to non-members. Geographically, it's also out of my way. With the Fitness Center, it's right across the street from X-man's school.
Part of me is leaning toward just joining the Savoy Recreation Center. They have all the same equipment, a couple classes I'd be interested in trying that are new to me and the gerbil wheel indoor track. I'd get a discount off of personal training, free child care for even evening classes, that maybe I'd use if I got daring enough to try boot camp, and it's within walking distance from my house. The staff know me there since I ran 2-3 times a week on the track all last winter. And it's a lot more intimate than the Refinery. On the other hand, if I'm unable to run for whatever reason this winter, I'll feel lame being there and seeing a track every day.
In a lot of ways, I wish I wasn't such a lone exerciser. That might make the choice to change easier.
Mostly, I want more cardio dammit. But I want it to be like cardio class for a 3 year old. I want fun music that I learn to sing with choreography that changes every 3-6 minutes for an hour. I want to bounce around and burn 600-700 calories in an hour. Fun and efficient. I'm getting bored with my current scene, and if I'm bored, I won't go. And I have to keep going.
Want to know what my biggest motivator is today to keep myself in line? It's not willpower, not health -- but a new friend who introduced herself to me in my weight management class. Ms. M. -- thanks for letting me know that you're out there reading. It makes me want to regain my focus on what's really important to me, and what's not. See you next Monday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)