Week??? Truly can't remember

Hello all!  Sorry, I took last week off from writing but it was worth it.  I am full swing back into a running and working out routine and it feels great!!!!  Of course it didn't start off like that.  When I was lacing up my shoes the only thing going through my head was the country song lyrics, "This is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt like hell...."  Then a short ways into it the lyrics changed to something a little less painful but for the life of me I can't remember what.  And finally we ended with some Lady GaGa, "I'm on the edge of glory...."  All this without an iPod.  I have been running at night so it doesn't seem prudent to wear earbuds.  I have also switched to wearing white shirts only so as to be more visible to random inattentive drivers.  I don't think it matters what I wear, there is always going to be someone not looking.  So I will always be ready to jump the curb into the grass.  I am also suddenly afraid of dogs.  I can just be cruising along minding my own business and Cujo starts barking at me.  Then begins my silent prayer, "Please be on a leash, please be on a leash, please be on a leash."  Fortunately some of them are.  I know one day I will not be lucky and will get bit.  This brings back memories of the time I was 4 or 5 and viciously stalked and attacked by the neighbor's chihuahua.  Laugh if you must but that dog was evil.

I have also been back to BodyPump!  I still love it but my favorite instructor has been gone the last few weeks.  Apparently she is also a firefighter and that can interfere with my workout schedule.  The fill-in instructor is also nice but I am patiently awaiting the return of Sue.  She challenges me. I have successfully upped my weights.  Nothing too dramatic but some of them I have doubled.  More weights=more progress.  Right?  I hope so.  Today also marks my return to the treadmill.  I didn't run because I ran lastnight and then did BodyPump so I didn't want too many workouts so close together.  I walked a 5k at a brisk pace instead.  I wish I could run the whole thing already.  I feel like I am not making enough progress.  It mostly feels like a breathing thing.  I just get too out of breath and have to stop.  I have been practicing taking and holding deep breaths in order to increase my lung capacity.  Riveting material isn't it.

I was having a moment of weakness this weekend.  I was at Target and turned down the bread aisle.  I stopped short in front of the boxed doughnuts and Hostess cakes.  I was mesmerized by all the chocolate, powdered and cinnamon goodness.  I was in the middle of justifying a purchase for my daughter (of course) when the lady who scans my membership card walked passed me.  She didn't have to see me or say anything.  Just the sight of her snapped me out of my sugar reverie and I proceeded down the aisle without a purchase.  We had a good laugh about it today when I got to the club.  I could have had a doughnut and not ruined everything but honestly if it was a box of twelve, I would have eaten at least four.  My willpower starts and ends at the store.  Something else I am going to work on.

So, it has been to wet to do any serious riding.  I really miss it.  I thought I was going to get some miles on Sunday morning but as soon as I had that thought I saw a flash of lightning and and instant crack and sizzle of thunder.  No bike riding for me.  Though it probably should have been a sign I needed to go to church instead.  My Monday ride daye was cancelled as well.  I was told the 400 trail was more suited for swimming after all the recent rain they had.

I think I have finally located all the ingredients to start making some of the Paleo recipes I have been wanting to try.  Scored some coconut oil today so maybe can make the scones tonnight with Ana.  I will keep you posted if they are any good.  I sure hope so.  Meats and vegetables with some fruit is great but it gets a little boring. 

Sorry I haven't found a good free photo editing website yet so I can't impart all the wonderful words of inspiration I have found to push me through.  I will keep working on it.

Week 10 Back on track!

What a day!  I was fortunate enough to get my butt out of the house yesterday and today and get on my bike and ride!  What gorgeous weather we had here in the badger state.  I will admit today was a bit chilly but not enough for me to wear a jacket while riding.  Yesterday I was lying in bed thing, "I feel like a bike ride."  So I texted my friend Damara and asked if she was feeling it too.  She was!!!!  So I packed me up and she packed her kids up and we met for a last minute rendezvous in Reedsburg to do some of the 400 Trail.  It was a great day!  I had more stamina than a seven year-old.  Any parent knows they have a lot of energy!  We are cutting her a lot of slack because it was also her first ride of the season.  It made me feel good not to be the first one to peter out for once. We rode five miles in and five back.  Not bad for a fun-filled day.  We saw beautiful graceful cranes and one was even nesting.  The best part was when we were back to the vehicles just sitting around and Damara looks up and spots a big bald eagle circling above us.  It is amazing to think they can see mice from that far up.

Today we ditched the kids and headded out for our first time on the Glacial Drumlin Trail out of Cottage Grove.  I have to admit I have never realized that trail was there.  I even remember parking in that lot to go to the fireman's festival and had to drive past it to get to my friend Cathy's house.  Kind of feeling like an idiot for all the times I wanted to ride but was too lazy to head out to the west side of Madison or "up north."  It is just over 15 miles from my house so I think I will be headed there a lot more often.  Today we rode ten miles in and went through Deerfield and made it to London.  No we never did find the queen.  But they had the cleanest port-a-potties I have ever seen.  We even saw the company picking them up.  I sure hope they replace them.  It was a benefit that the 400 Trail and Elroy-Sparta Trail are lacking.  Maybe someday we will go all the way to Waukesha where the trail ends.  It sure was a scenic trail.  Saw more cranes, geese, a ton of butterflies and horse farms.  The last five miles back were the hardest.  I wanted to be done at about mile seventeen.  So I had to ask myself, "Do you want to be a quitter or a finisher?"  I decided to be a finisher because I doubt Damara would bring the car back to get me.  Really what choice did I have?

As far as my running goes, I haven't been doing it.  There I said it.  I plan on restarting tomorrow evening.  I would start tonight but I rode my bike twenty miles today!  Ten miles killed my right knee lastnight so I am waiting to see what tonight brings.  Fortunately, I awoke this morning with no pain.  I popped a couple ibuprofen before and after todays ride just in case.  So far so good.  Back to the running...I started this blog to hold myself accountable to myself.  I thought it would keep me on track if I had to admit to my family and friends when I was not keeping up with my goals.  It has helped because otherwise I probably would not have stuck with it this long or felt the need to get back on this horse.  So tomorrow without fail I will begin training for my half marathon...again.  I also have to train for my weekend overnight bike ride with Damara later this summer or early fall.  We want to do the whole Elroy-Sparta trail both ways.  It's about 32 miles in and another 32 back.  I am really looking forward to it.  We thought about camping but then decided on a hotel with a hot tub for overnight muscle recuperation.  If you would like more information regarding bicycle trails in Wisconsin please google Wisconsin State Parks or go to www.dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/findapark.  They have a great interactive map of all the trails and state parks.  Clicking each one takes you to that parks/trail page where you can find directions, maps, what each offers, and even nearby restaurants and shopping.  I use this site all the time.

I am still on the paleo diet.  Mostly.  I tried eating chicken fried rice Saturday night.  Within a half hour I felt all bloated and basically yucky.  I had pasta at my Mom's Sunday and that fared a little better.  I think I will stick with lean proteins, vegetables and fruits for a little while longer.  I even subscribed to the blog paleotable.com for more recipes.  I like a lot of variety and this site even had a recipe for chocolate chip scones made with blanched almond flour.  So if anyone could direct where the easiest place to buy that is I would appreciate it.  Definitely not at Target and doubtful if Pick'n Save carries it.  Also tried my first coconut water today.  I paid three dollars for a carton of pineapple coconut water and it was gross.  I made myself drink it because I paid for it.  I will admit the taste did grow on me a little but not eneough to pay another three dollars.

So folks send me some encouragement to get my but moving.  Lord knows I need it right about now.  Hopefully the sunshine I absorbed the past two days will keep me moving too!  Also does anyone know of a great free graphics software I can upload my phots to so you can actually read the words of inspiration I am putting on them?  My daughter told me about Picnic but they were bought out by google so I have just been using my Microsoft Paint.  I would like something a little more versatile.

Week 9ish

Wow! I can't believe I missed two weeks of blogs. I had a nice vacation in the Promised Land. Florida aka my fountain of youth. I think the real youth potion is all that sunshine. I felt remarkably alive! Then I came home and all I wanted to do was curl up under blankets and sleep. It has been so cold here! I know I will eventually retire somewhere warm. At this point I think it would be prudent to start searching and researching other warm weather locales. I may have finally had my fill of Disneyworld. At least until they finish the new construction in Magic Kingdom. I would like to say that while on vacation I adhered to my exercise and diet strategies but I would be lying, again. The first few days of my vacation consisted of a walk, swimmming laps in the retirement village pool, and battling the surf at Caspersen Beach. I didn't eat a lot but I also didn't eat healthy. The second half of my vacation was spent at Disney and the only exercise was hours and hours of walking and standing in lines. The food was phenomenal, turkey legs, pineapple soft-serve, fish and chips, nachos, soft pretzels, chocolate croissants.....where was I? Remarkably, when I got home I had only gained two pounds. I didn't think that was too bad considering there was not a real workout in ten days.

Sadly I have not yet found my workout groove since I have been back. I think I need the sunshine. Or a drill sargeant. I need to get out of this funk. Getting back to healthy eating has not been a problem. In fact, I started the Paleo diet for fun. I even bought and read the book. Sounds logical enough. Kind of goes along with my idea of cutting out absorbent foods. Eat like a caveman. Cut out grains and dairy. I have been doing this since last Wednesday and I lost the two pounds I gained and lost another. That brings my grand total to six.

I have not weighed myself all weekend because my daughter and her boyfriend came home and we ate out twice. We had lunch Saturday at the Flat Top Grill at Hilldale. This place is great! I was able to eat there according to the caveman code and still be entirely satisfied. The food tastes great too! It is like a more casual Hu Hot but nicer than BD's Mongolian BBQ was. If anyone ever wants to go give me a call! Sunday we went to the Nitty Gritty. We were trying to show her boyfriend Jeff something that was truly Madison and we didn't have a lot of time before they had to head back to Minnesota. So I epic failed and ordered chicken strips with fries and gritty sauces. It was good. The down side was my youngest daughter and I succumbed to the stomach flu that has been making it's rounds. Nasty! That is why I have time to type this right now. While I was getting ready for my noon bodypump class, the school called. Ana has a stomach ache and mild fever. She threw up before I got to the school. At least the school nurse got to do cleanup this time. Sadly I am missing my workout and run. I might have to go down in the basement and figure out how to hook up the dvd player so I can do Jillian Michael's Thirty Day Shred instead. Jillian is not my favorite person but she gets the job done. The workout is only 22 minutes so there is another reason to like it. I always aim for Jillian's face during the punching session. Makes me feel better about her kicking my ass.

Well that is all I have for today. I am going to go figure out how to paleo my favorite beeftips with mushrooms recipe. I bought coconut milk to substitute for the heavy cream. That ma be the only change I really need to make. If you are curious about the paleo lifestyle try googling paleoeveryday or paleOMG blogs. They are the two I like best so far and have even made a couple of their recipes already. It is even pretty easy to look at recipes for meat and vegetables you already have and make minor changes to make the more caveman like. I am hoping to hit that ten pound mark by next Monday. Wish me luck!!!!

Week 8 already?

Wow what a crazy busy week.  What with work, new fitness classes, parenting and losing a total of five pounds I am exhausted!  Yes that was the five pound mark as of Saturday morning. I am very excited.  I know it is only five pounds and I have many to go but it is a step in the right direction.  Yay me!

Let me tell you about my new fitness class at Prairie Athletic Club.  I have been doing my old standby BodyPump for a few weeks now and I still love it and it is still a challenge.  I have decided however that if I am going to run a half marathon, I need to up my cardio endurance.  Not just by running but taking other measures.  I set my sights on BodyCombat.  It was one of the few classes I could get to on time after work.  I was a little afraid of starting a new class not really knowing what it entailed or who would be in it but I bit the bullet and pulled it off.  I LOVED it!!!!!!!  I have been told it is a lot like Tae Bo.  Not sure if I spelled that correctly so try it phonetically.  I was punching and upper-cutting, bobbing and kicking.  Some of the choreography was a little tricky for me but I am sure with time I will get the hang of it.  I was even sweatier than after a run.  I took this class Thursday evening and it took till Sunday for my calves to stop aching, not to mention my upper back muscles.  I could feel the muscles surrounding my scapulae.  The next day I was still so excited I couldn't stop demonstrating the move where you grab your opponent's head and smash your knee into their face.  It was great!

I managed to get a short bike ride in Saturday also.  It was just the Yahara River trail in DeForest.  I took Cat's advice and really pumped some air into my tires.  It helped immensely!  Here I thought the tires looked flat from my weight being on them.  Nope, they really were just low on air.  I still have a lot of work to go before my 60+ mile ride in August with Damara but I am on my way.  Other great news!  Cat gave me a pair of bicycle shorts with built in gel padding and they fit!  I haven't tried them out yet but I am sure they will make riding more comfy on the nether regions.  The downside is they add padding to the buttock region.  Oh well.  Just keep pedaling!

I have taken my running to the next level as well.  I was doing my normal run walk and was thinking how I didn't really feel I was making progress.  So I asked myself, "Self, are you really pushing yourself?"  The answer was most decidedly no.  I upped my running speed to 5.3 mph and my walking pace to 3.5 mph.  Then I made myself add more running segments in to my workout.  It wasn't so bad.  My knees still feel great, my feet feel great and I have been mostly warding off the shin splints.  So the end of another successful week.

Here is the part were you can stop reading if you don't want to hear about PMS.  I gave you a warning.  It is not pretty from here on out.  To put it mildly, I never had the urge to tell a co-worker off, I did not have that week of intense cravings that could not be satisfied, and most noticeabley I did not have low back pain or constipation.  So yes, when I did get my period I was completely surprised.  Not sure I like that but I can do without all the other symptoms.  I don't think I had a headache all month either.  Lately I have been developing some wicked migraines.  Hopefully diet and exercise is the cure.

Also wanted to let you that all the photos in this weeks blog and from here on out will be my own.  You may recognize some images of Devil's Lake or the tunnel from the Elroy-Sparta trail.  Others were taken from last years trips to Florida.  I wish I could say I was clever enough to come up with the inspirational quotes myself but I would be lying.  So let's just be happy with knowing copyright infringement is not in my future and all quotes are from Anonymous.  See you next week?  I am not sure when I will post next as I am leaving for Florida on Saturday and will be gone for a little over a week.  Need to get more pictures!

Week 7 and holding

Welcome back to this little portal of a glimpse into my life.  I have kept active this past week and even managed my first bike ride of the season.  It was really more of a bike/walk.  It seems all the squats I did in BodyPump last Monday really tightened up my quads by Wednesday.  I was a whiny little girl out there.  I made it three miles in before I begged Cat and Damara into ditching the bikes and walking some more of the trail.  Normally I would feel like a failure but honestly every pedal was excruciating.  I would have rather walked twenty miles than rode my bike back the three miles to the car.  The positive was my tush did not hurt.  That is not bad for the first time out.  Thursday night I dragged myself to the gym and after my run/walk decided to try what looks like an electronic spinning machine.  Up and down about five times to get the seat in position so I could reach the pedals.  Then we were tender.  I only did about five minutes on a low level but I had sweat dripping in my eyes.  I had hoped to get out on the trails again this weekend but that never happened.  I feel I needed the chance to redeem myself.  Maybe Thursday evening if the rain holds off.

As far as running is going, I am holding steady.  Run one minute, walk two.  I have had less pain in my knees, which is making me very happy.  It was a rough couple of weeks at work.  The twelve hour shifts were killer.  Today I went to BodyPump again.  I am really glad I picked the noon timeslot.  The instructor, Sue, is funny and very upbeat.  Not only does she explain the moves well, she can call you out for bad form and you will not feel embarrassed.  We all laugh along.  She wants good form to avoid injury.  After class I even approached her regarding elbow position for triceps pushups.  I can't make my elbows point in the right direction.  They keep pointing out to the sides.  She said that was a strength issue.  I will keep working on it and try to do the easier version if my pride lets me.  One  thing I have noticed in BodyPump is that I have a great smelling deoderant.  I am too lazy to go out to the car right now to tell anymore that it is Suave something like fresha as a daisy.  I know it has the word daisy in it.

In less than two weeks I will be headed to Florida!  I will admit to being worried about not sticking with any exercise routine while I am  gone.  The Disney hotel I am staying at does not say it offers any kind of workout facilities.  I am hoping all the walking in the parks will account for something.  Did I mention there are food stands everywhere down there?  We have already scoped out where to buy turkey legs, pineapple soft-serve, and Ana wants to eat in one of the French restaurants.  I still need to make those reservations.  Fortunately, most places offer some sort of salad or healthy option.  I will try to control myself for the most part but bring on the turkey legs!

I actually had a person say to me this week, "At least you have time to work out."  I wanted to respond, "You have time to be on Facebook, watch TV and drink beer.  You have time to workout.  You are choosing not to."  But I didn't.  She needs to come to that realization herself.  If it is important to you, you will find a way.  If not, you will find excuses.  So I would like to leave you with Sue's words of wisdom today.  It is not about how much weight you can lift, it's the fact that you got off the couch.  I agree.  My favorite Pinterest motivator is "No matter how fast you are running you are still lapping everyone on the couch.  So what are you waiting for?

The end of week 6!!!

Hello all!  I am feeling great right now.  I am not sure if it the endorphins from doing Les Mills BodyPump then a two mile run walk, or the fact that I lost 2.5 pounds last week!  Saying it loud and proud!  What did I do to make the scale swing in the right direction?  I really started packing my body with fruits and vegetables.  Every snack and meal was at least fifty percent produce.  I also cut down on what I like to call "absorbent food."  Absorbent food is bread, rice, and pasta in my book.  I don't count potatoes they really don't soak too much up.  I tried to have homemade oatmeal for breakfast every morning.  That wasn't too hard because I had made some baked oatmeal and froze it in individual servings.  Mostly salad for lunches.  My salads are not a lot of lettuce with a few toppings.  They are a little lettuce loaded with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs and cottage cheese.  I like the cottage cheese because then I don't need as much salad dressing.  Dinner is usually a protein and vegetables.  I can eat whatever and how much ever I want to as long as it is produce.  Who knew following the rules would work?  I have treated myself with string cheese, Nature Valley granola bars dark chocolate flavor, and a big splurge of baked Cheetos.  Let's not forget I have been drinking a lot of water.  My co-workers are probably going to designate the restroom as my office soon.  My theory is if you don't eat absorbent food, your body won't hang on to the water as tightly.

I did not miss any workouts this week!  I even got up before 6am so I could be at the club when it opened Saturday so I could run before work.  As I was getting dressed in dusky morning haze, trying to find a matching pair of sport socks, all I could think was, "Who is this person?  What have I become?"  Am I addicted to that feel good high after a particularly sweaty workout?  I think so.  I just want to get past the part where it hurts. The only progression I have made with my running this week is to up my running/jogging speed from 4.5mph to 5mph.  It's not really too much difference but it makes my foot strikes a little faster and I think it is causing less impact on my knees and other joints.  I started taking glucosamine this week for my knees as well.  I haven't remembered to take them everyday yet, so I don't know if it is helping.  From what I understand glucossamine is supposed to help rebuild cartilage and keep joints healthy.  Of course none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA.  Can't hurt.  I invested in the 500 capsule bottle of ibuprofen as well.  It has been put to good use.  It is weird that I hurt the worst two days after a running workout.  I have decided to try deep water running at my gym this upcoming weekend.  Hopefully it will save a little wear and tear on my joints.  It is too bad Ana's confirmation class interfere's with the schedule or I could go twice a week.  I made up for that loss by going to BodyPump instead.  I love that class.  It is fast-paced weight training to loud music with energetic instructors.  Today's instructor was Sue.  She was funny and broke out into song all throughout.  I will definitely make sure I make her Monday class at noon a part of my ritual.  The class itself was a little tough today.  I haven't been to one in months and have not gone regularly in years.  I used to go three-four times a week before I started x-ray school but between work, kids, and studying it was a habit I let go.  Let  me tell you the pain of quitting was far worse than the pain of restarting.   I could feel my muscles atrophying and there were deep aches everywhere.  Someday I will work up the urge to try more Les Mills classes.  I know what I need to do is ramp up my cardio for endurance as well.  So I will also be trying to include more elliptical time and anything else I can think of.

I am so looking forward to the upcoming dry warm weather.  I can feel the breeze on my face as I am riding my bike down the 400 state trail.  Hopefully Wednesday will be dry and the trails not too mushy.  Hope you all get a chance to get outside.  I truly believe the outdoors can keep you young, healthy, and happy.  Think back to when you were a kid and could run the neighborhood, the farm or if you were really lucky the woods.  I feel bad my kids didn't really have the freedom to roam that I did.  That's probably why I insist on so many trips to Devil's Lake and the biking trails now.

Week five is over!

Week 5

I would love to tell you week five was as successful for me as week four, but I might be lying.  In terms of number of days worked out I believe I had two run/walk days and one core dynamics DVD day.  I did up the amount of running time in my run walks, so I will consider that a small victory.  I also achieved leg pain.  Inner thighs and quads were the most painful parts.  I reread a few parts of my Chi Running book that I mentioned in my first post just so I could remember the important parts of my form I needed to work on.  I personally need to remember to keep my feet pointing straight.  My toes tend to want to point outward and I suppose that makes me look like a duck waddling.  Why did none of my friends tell me????  So I used this pain and a busy weekend to skip the gym and recover a little.  With four days off I only had some knee pain which I was able to mask with ibuprofen.

This is also the week of the healthy eater.  I dropped some serious money at the grocery store this past week on fresh fruits and vegetables.  Then again today as well.  I loaded my cart with berries, apples, kiwi, oranges, bananas, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, and cherry tomatoes.  The most unhealthy item in my cart was a box of granola bars.  I even turned down the pretzels.  It's not that they were high in fat or calories, but I wanted to make sure I didn't eat pretzels instead of fruits and vegetables.  Over the past years of packing a lunch, I have noticed I will eat everything but the fruits and veggies.  I don't understand why.  I love fruits and vegetables.  Most all of them taste great.  I think they are just not what I crave.  I go for the carb heavy, salt laden entree first.  I will admit that produce does not give me the same feeling of fullness or satisfaction that a carb meal does.  So here's to conquering that!  My epiphany this week was also the thought that maybe running would be easier if I didn't weigh so much.  I want to run to lose weight but I need to lose weight to  run.  No wonder so many fat people (myself included) can't stay motivated.  I will be retraining my brain to crave fresh produce.  I will not buy chocolate anything and will stay out of the candy dish in Kathy's office at work.  I don't think we have anymore birthdays to celebrate anytime soon so I don't need to worry about cake for awhile.

This switch up in my diet also comes from not seeing any results on the scale or the way my clothes are fitting.  I know it has only been five weeks, and the first three were just walking three to for times a week, but I wanted to be down a few pounds at the very least.  The only bit of encouragement I have noticed was when I was putting lotion on my legs at the gym this morning.  My calves looked a little more muscular.  Not super cut by any means but definitely some improvement when I flexed.  Maybe that is where I found the motivation to do 3.5 miles of run/walk today.  I have Wednesday off this week so it will be easier to fit in another midday workout.  I am even thinking about getting out of bed earlier so I can get to the gym before work instead of trying to do it all after.  Of course that means getting up before five so I can have time to shower and get the kid ready before my long drive.  I'll let you know how I did!