Well, after yesterday's lack of working out, I certainly made up for it today. It was my running clinic night and I knew that hills were on the menu, but I never really know how far we'll go in total. Tonight, we did five hills but our total mileage was just over 10K because we had a long run to get to/from the hills. I didn't push things too hard because I know that I have another tough workout tomorrow night.
This running on back-to-back nights thing has been a big experiment for me, because I normally don't like to (or rather, my body doesn't like me to). And it's been especially challenging because every second week I have back-to-back hard run nights with hills and/or speed those two days. So far, I've held up OK. After my race at the end of March, I'll go back to running only twice a week and increase my cycling to three times a week.
I'm scheduled to run 20K (12.5 miles) this Sunday, which is the longest distance I've done since my half marathon in November.
My training stats for this month are pretty impressive (well, the running stats are):
Running: 136.1K (84.6 miles)
Cycling: 221K (137 miles) - all of this on my trainer
Swimming: 3,250 meters (pathetic)
I also did some cross training in the form of:
Elliptical: 14.5K (9 miles)
Strength/Pilates: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Today's food was pretty good (I didn't log it, though). I had my normal breakfast, some yogurt for a snack, Lean Cuisine for lunch and some toast with natural peanut butter and some chocolate soy milk for a snack before my run. I had some leftover w/w pasta with pesto sauce after my run. And the last 1/3 of the carton of B&J's so it's now completely gone. Oh, and a glass of wine.
I'm reading this Carmichael book on nutrition for athletes and I may have to start increasing my calories. I haven't finished reading the book, but he seems to be suggesting keeping your intake of calories consistent on a daily basis during the four phases of your training year, regarless of the amount of activity you do each day. I find that a little weird, but I'm willing to give it a try. Right now, I take in the appropriate number of calories on a daily basis, depending on how many calories I expend through BMR and exercise, less 500 calories.
So, if I take the total amount of calories I burn in a week, subtract 3,500 (for a 1-lb weight-loss) and then divide the rest by seven, that should be what I eat daily. And he has a formula for how to calculate those calories based more on how many grams of carb and protein you need based on your body weight. I think I need to finish reading the book before I make any drastic changes to my diet, though.
But he did have two interesting points:
1) When you change your diet drastically, it takes your body a while to adapt to the changes as it isn't getting the food it expects to be getting. He suggests changing just one meal a day (i.e., breakfast) for a week before then changing your lunches for a week, then finally your dinners the following week.
2) Our bodies don't work on a 24-hour clock that re-sets at midnight as far as calorie consumtion and expenditure are concerned, so tracking things on a weekly basis might make more sense than daily. That way you can cut yourself some slack for those days where you go over calories because as long as it all balances out over the week (or, in my case, comes under), then you'll be fine.
Food for thought (sorry, bad pun).
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
No Workout = No Ice Cream
Argh! I bailed on all my workout options today. Instead of having some B&J I opted for chocolate soy pudding with strawberries marinated in balsamic vinegar. mmmmm.
Now, there is still a remote chance that I might drag my bike out into the middle of the living room, thereby requiring me to actually ride it while watching TV. But I haven't 100% committed to that.
I have two hard workouts coming up tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm resting up for that. Right... I'm resting up for that.
Actually, my sciatica is acting up today - it has been all weekend - so I'm not particularly motivated to exercise right now. Although it hurts more to sit than to actually ride my bike.
Today was an OK food day, but yesterday was kind of crappy, so I'm still trying to do damage control.
***
There was a bit of a situation happening on my on-line running club discussion board. Someone posted a "date report" (kind of the way people would post a "race report" had they just completed a race) and as these things go, the conversation quickly morphed into something different. I also added fuel to the fire by starting a post asking the other single people what they'd be doing for Valentine's day. Well, that thread also got majorly hijacked and went down a road that I didn't want it to go. Some of the awkwardness was because there are a few people on the board who have recently ended long-term relationships and marriages (involving children), and two of them actually hooked up with each other, which is what actually precipitated the breakups of their marriages. Although it's not entirely public knowledge on the board, there are a few of us who know (and with varying levels of support vs. contempt for the parties involved), whereas the rest are in the dark. I'm sure all will be revealed to everyone else as early as tomorrow, though.
I know that whole paragraph was pretty cryptic and you're probably saying to yourself, "So?" It's just that sometimes it's hard to separate your on-line life and friends from your "real" life and friends. And in the case of this club, I actually do know some of them personally "off-line".
And, I kind of got caught up in the mix as one of the newly-separated guys in the club (whom I've met once in person) started publicly flirting with me. He only just revealed to all of us today that his marriage has just ended, so it was news to all of us.
The trouble with flirting (for me) is that I have a hard time differentiating between flirting with intent and flirting without intent. My normal (fat girl) perception is that guys are never flirting with intent with me. And the times when I think there might actually be intent, I'm often embarassed to find out that there isn't.
All this flirting/inuendo was happening in full view of all the other members of the forum. I played along as best I could, but then I started to get uncomfortable with the responses, especially because it appeared that a few of the members were encouraging us to hook up. And this guy is really nice and sweet, so I wouldn't want to do anything to embarass him (or myself) publicly with anything I might say. I was just trying to keep the mood light and witty, without revealing my actual feelings in a public forum.
And it's not because I don't like him or wouldn't consider him someone I would date, because that's not the case. It's just that he's very newly out of a marriage with two kids and self-admittedly still has some issues to deal with and therefore not in any position to be dating just yet. Assuming that he was even flirting with intent, which I am still not clear on.
Anyway, there's a big group of us getting together on Saturday night, so we'll see where the conversation takes us. It's always a lot easier to get your point across and read people's true intentions in person as opposed to on-line.
The other thing that I'm dealing with is trying to move past an attachment to someone else that isn't very healthy for me at the moment. Well, actually it hasn't been healthy for me for a very long time, I just wasn't ready to let it go. I'm working on it, though. I'm just having a hard time switching off my feelings, but if I can work on switching off my overactive imagination/brain, then that will likely help. But it's a slow process. The "easy" solution would be to just replace my feelings for him with feelings for another, but that doesn't really solve my problem, it simply defers it and, admittedly, will likely compound it. What you resist, persists, right?
Anyway, as a result of an interesting and revealing dream I had on Friday night (Saturday morning, actually), the pieces have finally started to come together, so I'm trying hard to work through that.
Now, there is still a remote chance that I might drag my bike out into the middle of the living room, thereby requiring me to actually ride it while watching TV. But I haven't 100% committed to that.
I have two hard workouts coming up tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm resting up for that. Right... I'm resting up for that.
Actually, my sciatica is acting up today - it has been all weekend - so I'm not particularly motivated to exercise right now. Although it hurts more to sit than to actually ride my bike.
Today was an OK food day, but yesterday was kind of crappy, so I'm still trying to do damage control.
***
There was a bit of a situation happening on my on-line running club discussion board. Someone posted a "date report" (kind of the way people would post a "race report" had they just completed a race) and as these things go, the conversation quickly morphed into something different. I also added fuel to the fire by starting a post asking the other single people what they'd be doing for Valentine's day. Well, that thread also got majorly hijacked and went down a road that I didn't want it to go. Some of the awkwardness was because there are a few people on the board who have recently ended long-term relationships and marriages (involving children), and two of them actually hooked up with each other, which is what actually precipitated the breakups of their marriages. Although it's not entirely public knowledge on the board, there are a few of us who know (and with varying levels of support vs. contempt for the parties involved), whereas the rest are in the dark. I'm sure all will be revealed to everyone else as early as tomorrow, though.
I know that whole paragraph was pretty cryptic and you're probably saying to yourself, "So?" It's just that sometimes it's hard to separate your on-line life and friends from your "real" life and friends. And in the case of this club, I actually do know some of them personally "off-line".
And, I kind of got caught up in the mix as one of the newly-separated guys in the club (whom I've met once in person) started publicly flirting with me. He only just revealed to all of us today that his marriage has just ended, so it was news to all of us.
The trouble with flirting (for me) is that I have a hard time differentiating between flirting with intent and flirting without intent. My normal (fat girl) perception is that guys are never flirting with intent with me. And the times when I think there might actually be intent, I'm often embarassed to find out that there isn't.
All this flirting/inuendo was happening in full view of all the other members of the forum. I played along as best I could, but then I started to get uncomfortable with the responses, especially because it appeared that a few of the members were encouraging us to hook up. And this guy is really nice and sweet, so I wouldn't want to do anything to embarass him (or myself) publicly with anything I might say. I was just trying to keep the mood light and witty, without revealing my actual feelings in a public forum.
And it's not because I don't like him or wouldn't consider him someone I would date, because that's not the case. It's just that he's very newly out of a marriage with two kids and self-admittedly still has some issues to deal with and therefore not in any position to be dating just yet. Assuming that he was even flirting with intent, which I am still not clear on.
Anyway, there's a big group of us getting together on Saturday night, so we'll see where the conversation takes us. It's always a lot easier to get your point across and read people's true intentions in person as opposed to on-line.
The other thing that I'm dealing with is trying to move past an attachment to someone else that isn't very healthy for me at the moment. Well, actually it hasn't been healthy for me for a very long time, I just wasn't ready to let it go. I'm working on it, though. I'm just having a hard time switching off my feelings, but if I can work on switching off my overactive imagination/brain, then that will likely help. But it's a slow process. The "easy" solution would be to just replace my feelings for him with feelings for another, but that doesn't really solve my problem, it simply defers it and, admittedly, will likely compound it. What you resist, persists, right?
Anyway, as a result of an interesting and revealing dream I had on Friday night (Saturday morning, actually), the pieces have finally started to come together, so I'm trying hard to work through that.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Blonde?
So, how do you think I look as a blonde? Ha ha - it's just a wig.
I got together with some friends today to film a video for a friend of ours who is in the hospital. First, we filmed a "sock puppet" play of the day she had a bike accident and slammed into a tree (a stalk of broccoli substituted for the tree). Then, we filmed a scene from an episode of Seinfe1d that she likes (the one with the black and white cookie). To do the scene, we had people off-camera who were reading the lines while the people on-camera were acting it out. We had this black wig for Elaine and we kept switching the person who was playing Elaine (and the wig along with it) in each mini-scene. There were five of us altogether who played the role of Elaine (the same guy played Jerry throughout). It was pretty funny and lots of fun to do.
I made a pretty decent dinner tonight, although it looked like a bomb went off in my tiny kitchen afterwards. I'm not the best at cleaning up after dinner - usually the TV or my computer are calling my name and I neglect to clean up right away. But then I end up with a mound of dishes to do at a later time, which is no fun.
I also remembered that my friends (enemies?) B&J were in the freezer, so I made a bargain with myself: no Ice Cream until I had fully cleaned up the kitchen. I know, I know... food shouldn't be a reward, but I was going to have it anyway, so I had to make a deal with myself to ensure that at least something good came out of it.
In the end, I did all the dishes and portioned out another 1/4 of the carton. The other half-carton is still sitting in the freezer. I will "earn" my next portion by swimming after work tomorrow.
This is a Test… This is Only a Test
Buoyed by my newfound self-confidence and self-control where food is concerned, I decided to test myself on Thursday. I bought a carton of ice cream. Zoiks!
Now, let me just say that ice cream (which, in my mind is personalized to be referred to as “Ice Cream”) is one of my biggest weaknesses. I cannot have it in my apartment as I do not know when to say, “Stop” or, “Enough is enough.” In fact, there probably isn’t such a thing as “enough” where Ice Cream is concerned.
It almost doesn’t even matter what flavour, although I do have my faves, which basically includes anything with chocolate, coffee, caramel, toffee, marshmallow, almonds, pecans or cashews. If someone made an ice cream with ALL of those ingredients, I would be a slave to its goodness.
The urge to buy the Ice Cream – which I had successfully controlled for longer than I can remember – was spurred on by a discussion on my running forum about ice cream. I mentioned that I had not been able to find my fave flavour – B&J’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch – as they ever only had the vanilla variety whenever I went into the store. Also, I’ve been very good about not buying Ice Cream and taking it home, rather indulging in a scoop here and there in a shop or restaurant.
Then, Thursday evening I was in the grocery store and my gaze was drawn to the freezer cabinet where the Ice Cream was. Normally, I spend my time in the Lean Cuisine section of the frozen foods aisle, then fixing my gaze straight ahead without a sideways glance into the frozen treats section. But all that talk of Ice Cream earlier in the day made me look.
And then I saw it: B&J’s Coffee Toffee Crunch! My fave flavour had been RENAMED! But it was still my beloved! I guess the name change is because we don’t have Heath Bar here (the closest thing is called Skor). I was in heaven!
It was $6.49 (CAD$) for the 500mL carton. Without guilt, I picked it out of the freezer and popped it into my cart, right next to my fresh produce.
I never got a chance to have an afternoon snack, so I hadn’t eaten since 1:30PM. I did laundry after work and then grocery shopping, so by the time I got into the car to go home around 7PM I was ravenous. I find I get something akin to “low blood sugar rage”, which is that I start to get very angry and agitated when my blood sugar drops too low.
I managed to get some food into me relatively soon thereafter and then I went in for the kill… B&J’s Coffee Toffee Crunch has 300 calories per 125mL (1/2 cup) serving. That’s ¼ of the container. OK, I can do that. I portioned out what I thought was ½ cup into a little bowl and settled in for some cold, creamy goodness.
It was like heaven. I had missed it so much. I did have one scoop of green tea ice cream over Christmas, but that was no comparison to this. I don’t think I had had “real” ice cream since the summer!
After nearly licking the bowl clean, I hunkered down to watch TV and read some blogs. Just about the time The Office was starting, I could hear these muffled screams coming from the kitchen. I’m not sure if it was Ben or Jerry, but one of them was calling my name. I opened the freezer door and there it was staring at me – mocking me – DARING me! I opened up the lid and peeked inside. Hmm, there’s a little around the edges of that top quarter of the carton that never quite made it into my bowl – better clean that up.
But I’m happy to say that after that half-spoonful of Ice Cream, I put the lid back on, put the carton back in the freezer and closed the door.
And there it's been ever since.
I went out Friday evening and didn’t get home until late, so no temptation there. Saturday, I rode my bike in the morning and then went out for the rest of the day. I went to KH's place for dinner, so no opportunity to indulge as I went to bed as soon as I got home (although I did have cake at her place).
Today, I ran in the morning and then went for brunch at a friend's place. I think I overindulged a bit on all kinds of goodness there, but thankfully there was no ice cream.
So now here I sit on my couch. I KNOW that it's there in my freezer, untouched since Thursday. I think that's some kind of new record! My goal for the next few days: no more than ONE ½ cup serving at a time.
Now, let me just say that ice cream (which, in my mind is personalized to be referred to as “Ice Cream”) is one of my biggest weaknesses. I cannot have it in my apartment as I do not know when to say, “Stop” or, “Enough is enough.” In fact, there probably isn’t such a thing as “enough” where Ice Cream is concerned.
It almost doesn’t even matter what flavour, although I do have my faves, which basically includes anything with chocolate, coffee, caramel, toffee, marshmallow, almonds, pecans or cashews. If someone made an ice cream with ALL of those ingredients, I would be a slave to its goodness.
The urge to buy the Ice Cream – which I had successfully controlled for longer than I can remember – was spurred on by a discussion on my running forum about ice cream. I mentioned that I had not been able to find my fave flavour – B&J’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch – as they ever only had the vanilla variety whenever I went into the store. Also, I’ve been very good about not buying Ice Cream and taking it home, rather indulging in a scoop here and there in a shop or restaurant.
Then, Thursday evening I was in the grocery store and my gaze was drawn to the freezer cabinet where the Ice Cream was. Normally, I spend my time in the Lean Cuisine section of the frozen foods aisle, then fixing my gaze straight ahead without a sideways glance into the frozen treats section. But all that talk of Ice Cream earlier in the day made me look.
And then I saw it: B&J’s Coffee Toffee Crunch! My fave flavour had been RENAMED! But it was still my beloved! I guess the name change is because we don’t have Heath Bar here (the closest thing is called Skor). I was in heaven!
It was $6.49 (CAD$) for the 500mL carton. Without guilt, I picked it out of the freezer and popped it into my cart, right next to my fresh produce.
I never got a chance to have an afternoon snack, so I hadn’t eaten since 1:30PM. I did laundry after work and then grocery shopping, so by the time I got into the car to go home around 7PM I was ravenous. I find I get something akin to “low blood sugar rage”, which is that I start to get very angry and agitated when my blood sugar drops too low.
I managed to get some food into me relatively soon thereafter and then I went in for the kill… B&J’s Coffee Toffee Crunch has 300 calories per 125mL (1/2 cup) serving. That’s ¼ of the container. OK, I can do that. I portioned out what I thought was ½ cup into a little bowl and settled in for some cold, creamy goodness.
It was like heaven. I had missed it so much. I did have one scoop of green tea ice cream over Christmas, but that was no comparison to this. I don’t think I had had “real” ice cream since the summer!
After nearly licking the bowl clean, I hunkered down to watch TV and read some blogs. Just about the time The Office was starting, I could hear these muffled screams coming from the kitchen. I’m not sure if it was Ben or Jerry, but one of them was calling my name. I opened the freezer door and there it was staring at me – mocking me – DARING me! I opened up the lid and peeked inside. Hmm, there’s a little around the edges of that top quarter of the carton that never quite made it into my bowl – better clean that up.
But I’m happy to say that after that half-spoonful of Ice Cream, I put the lid back on, put the carton back in the freezer and closed the door.
And there it's been ever since.
I went out Friday evening and didn’t get home until late, so no temptation there. Saturday, I rode my bike in the morning and then went out for the rest of the day. I went to KH's place for dinner, so no opportunity to indulge as I went to bed as soon as I got home (although I did have cake at her place).
Today, I ran in the morning and then went for brunch at a friend's place. I think I overindulged a bit on all kinds of goodness there, but thankfully there was no ice cream.
So now here I sit on my couch. I KNOW that it's there in my freezer, untouched since Thursday. I think that's some kind of new record! My goal for the next few days: no more than ONE ½ cup serving at a time.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
This N That
So, we had a federal election here yesterday. Predictions came true and we now have a Conservative government, albeit a minority. It’s a small consolation, but at least they won’t be allowed to run amok with their right-wing agenda and will be kept in check. I voted for the incumbent in my riding and she won, so I’m glad about that. I hate voting for losers. Ha ha. The sad thing is, we’re likely to be headed back to the polls within the next 12-18 months as minority governments rarely last that long.
I still have not overcome my pool agoraphobia. Well, that’s what I’m calling it, anyway. Apologies to those of you who do suffer from real agoraphobia. I’m not sure what the word is for “fear of inconveniencing other people and being inconvenienced.” Because whatever it is, that’s what I have.
An extension of that has to do with personal space. I try very hard not to take up more than my fair share of personal space, I don’t like to infringe on other people’s space and I resent it when people infringe on mine (or take up more than their fair share). It could be in the lineup at the coffee shop, on the streetcar or in cars on the road. I just think it’s very inconsiderate, bordering on aggressive. Just give me a reasonable amount of personal space. Please!
Last Friday at the pool, CL and I were commenting to each other about a woman we observed in the shower and change room. Honestly, she was naked (and that’s not the worst part) and felt the need to scrub every single part and orifice of her body! In front of everyone else! I mean, honestly… I don’t appreciate you hoisting your leg up in the air so that you can dig into your crotch with a loofah! Sheesh! Then, while changing (and drying herself with the same diligence with which she had washed) she used two locker spaces, PLUS she hung her wet bathing suit to drip dry on the door of the locker right next to mine – when the TWO she was already using were on the opposite side of the change room! Argh.
Anyway, all of this as my pitiful excuse as to why I didn’t go swimming last night. I just couldn’t bear the whole “production”. While I am swimming, I am very content (although usually bored) while doing my workout. But if anything disrupts my pace/rhythm – watch out! I had packed all my gear yesterday morning. I had a 7AM appointment with the Marquis (my athletic therapist who enjoys inflicting pain on me) and had planned to swim after work. In fact, I even took the time to redesign and print a swim workout before I left the office. Even put it in a plastic sheet holder to protect it from the water! But something happened on my walk towards the pool…
I was debating the logistics of whether to get my car and drive to the pool, or whether to leave it where it was, walk to the pool, pay the extra few dollars to park after 6PM and just leave it there. Well, I wasn’t half way to the car when I just made up my mind that I was going to bail on swimming altogether. My rationalization included the fact that I still had to vote (the polls were open until 9:30PM) and that I could do a bike workout on my trainer instead. The bike trainer won.
So, I got in the car, drove to the polling station, cast my vote (the whole process from the time I parked my car until I was back on the road couldn’t have been more than 90 seconds), drove home (just around the corner), changed into my cycling gear, set up my bike and rode for 40 minutes while I watched Ellen on TV.
I ate some of my leftover pumpkin soup and a tiny little (200-calorie) frozen dinner, then TWO little chocolate soy puddings (103 calories each) and I was STILL almost 500 calories under for the day (that’s 500 more than the 500-calorie deficit I was already working with). I just wasn’t hungry.
Today, I went to the gym at lunch. The Marquis gave me some hamstring-strengthening exercises to do, as well as some stretches for my hip flexors. It seems that the combination of weak hamstrings and tight hip flexors is tipping my pelvis out of alignment, which is putting a strain on the hamstrings. At the gym, I warmed up on the elliptical for 15 minutes then did 30 minutes of core, hamstrings and stretching. I only held the plank for 60 seconds, but I did manage 2x15 girlie pushups.
Tonight, I have my running clinic and I think we’re doing hills again. Probably four hills this time. I don’t have my speed clinic tomorrow night, so I can go hard tonight and then just have an easier (but longer) run tomorrow. Normally, Thursdays are my recovery days, but I’m going out after work on Friday so I won’t get a chance to work out. I think I’ll go to the gym again on Thursday.
Things are quiet at work this week because I met the deadline I had and got the stuff to the printer by noon. I have a few exams and assignments to mark, but I should be done that fairly quickly tomorrow morning. I’m back in the classroom for two more weeks starting next week, then I’ll get a bit of a break again.
Oh, I had another epiphany while in the shower today. I was thinking about how when I move I will likely want to install a new showerhead. I like the hand-held kind with different settings (as opposed to the “rainfall” type that are so popular right now). Just like in that Seinfeld episode, I like a shower with good pressure. The rainfall showerheads don’t have enough pressure to get all the shampoo out of my hair. Anyway, the epiphany was about whether to install it myself or ask someone to come and do it for me. I installed the one I have now, but it does leak because I didn’t have the right tools and I didn’t have enough thread tape. But I know that I CAN install one properly. I was thinking about the perception that we “independent women of the new millennium” give off that we don’t “need” anything (i.e., from men), which is why they are intimidated by us. Well, part of the thing with me is that I don’t want to be a burden or inconvenience on anyone, which is why I just learn to do things myself.
There is this woman I know who is a little socially awkward and nobody really likes her much. It’s kind of sad, really. But in a way, I identify with her. In my mind, I AM her, and I’m worried that people look at me with the same pity and disdain as they look at her. A while back she needed with something in her apartment. When she asked a couple of guys in the group to help her out, nobody wanted to help her and they all made excuses that they were busy or something. My heart sank for her. And, granted, it was a pretty shitty thing of those guys to make excuses just because they didn’t like her (although, she does have a reputation for sucking you into her vortex if you allow her to get too close). So, cut to me: part of me doesn’t want to ask anyone (man or woman) for help because I’m afraid that they will feel the same way about me as they do about her.
I now know this not to be true and that there are a bunch of guys I know (both single and married) who would happily help me out with stuff like that, should I only ask. I still feel weird asking, though.
I still have not overcome my pool agoraphobia. Well, that’s what I’m calling it, anyway. Apologies to those of you who do suffer from real agoraphobia. I’m not sure what the word is for “fear of inconveniencing other people and being inconvenienced.” Because whatever it is, that’s what I have.
An extension of that has to do with personal space. I try very hard not to take up more than my fair share of personal space, I don’t like to infringe on other people’s space and I resent it when people infringe on mine (or take up more than their fair share). It could be in the lineup at the coffee shop, on the streetcar or in cars on the road. I just think it’s very inconsiderate, bordering on aggressive. Just give me a reasonable amount of personal space. Please!
Last Friday at the pool, CL and I were commenting to each other about a woman we observed in the shower and change room. Honestly, she was naked (and that’s not the worst part) and felt the need to scrub every single part and orifice of her body! In front of everyone else! I mean, honestly… I don’t appreciate you hoisting your leg up in the air so that you can dig into your crotch with a loofah! Sheesh! Then, while changing (and drying herself with the same diligence with which she had washed) she used two locker spaces, PLUS she hung her wet bathing suit to drip dry on the door of the locker right next to mine – when the TWO she was already using were on the opposite side of the change room! Argh.
Anyway, all of this as my pitiful excuse as to why I didn’t go swimming last night. I just couldn’t bear the whole “production”. While I am swimming, I am very content (although usually bored) while doing my workout. But if anything disrupts my pace/rhythm – watch out! I had packed all my gear yesterday morning. I had a 7AM appointment with the Marquis (my athletic therapist who enjoys inflicting pain on me) and had planned to swim after work. In fact, I even took the time to redesign and print a swim workout before I left the office. Even put it in a plastic sheet holder to protect it from the water! But something happened on my walk towards the pool…
I was debating the logistics of whether to get my car and drive to the pool, or whether to leave it where it was, walk to the pool, pay the extra few dollars to park after 6PM and just leave it there. Well, I wasn’t half way to the car when I just made up my mind that I was going to bail on swimming altogether. My rationalization included the fact that I still had to vote (the polls were open until 9:30PM) and that I could do a bike workout on my trainer instead. The bike trainer won.
So, I got in the car, drove to the polling station, cast my vote (the whole process from the time I parked my car until I was back on the road couldn’t have been more than 90 seconds), drove home (just around the corner), changed into my cycling gear, set up my bike and rode for 40 minutes while I watched Ellen on TV.
I ate some of my leftover pumpkin soup and a tiny little (200-calorie) frozen dinner, then TWO little chocolate soy puddings (103 calories each) and I was STILL almost 500 calories under for the day (that’s 500 more than the 500-calorie deficit I was already working with). I just wasn’t hungry.
Today, I went to the gym at lunch. The Marquis gave me some hamstring-strengthening exercises to do, as well as some stretches for my hip flexors. It seems that the combination of weak hamstrings and tight hip flexors is tipping my pelvis out of alignment, which is putting a strain on the hamstrings. At the gym, I warmed up on the elliptical for 15 minutes then did 30 minutes of core, hamstrings and stretching. I only held the plank for 60 seconds, but I did manage 2x15 girlie pushups.
Tonight, I have my running clinic and I think we’re doing hills again. Probably four hills this time. I don’t have my speed clinic tomorrow night, so I can go hard tonight and then just have an easier (but longer) run tomorrow. Normally, Thursdays are my recovery days, but I’m going out after work on Friday so I won’t get a chance to work out. I think I’ll go to the gym again on Thursday.
Things are quiet at work this week because I met the deadline I had and got the stuff to the printer by noon. I have a few exams and assignments to mark, but I should be done that fairly quickly tomorrow morning. I’m back in the classroom for two more weeks starting next week, then I’ll get a bit of a break again.
Oh, I had another epiphany while in the shower today. I was thinking about how when I move I will likely want to install a new showerhead. I like the hand-held kind with different settings (as opposed to the “rainfall” type that are so popular right now). Just like in that Seinfeld episode, I like a shower with good pressure. The rainfall showerheads don’t have enough pressure to get all the shampoo out of my hair. Anyway, the epiphany was about whether to install it myself or ask someone to come and do it for me. I installed the one I have now, but it does leak because I didn’t have the right tools and I didn’t have enough thread tape. But I know that I CAN install one properly. I was thinking about the perception that we “independent women of the new millennium” give off that we don’t “need” anything (i.e., from men), which is why they are intimidated by us. Well, part of the thing with me is that I don’t want to be a burden or inconvenience on anyone, which is why I just learn to do things myself.
There is this woman I know who is a little socially awkward and nobody really likes her much. It’s kind of sad, really. But in a way, I identify with her. In my mind, I AM her, and I’m worried that people look at me with the same pity and disdain as they look at her. A while back she needed with something in her apartment. When she asked a couple of guys in the group to help her out, nobody wanted to help her and they all made excuses that they were busy or something. My heart sank for her. And, granted, it was a pretty shitty thing of those guys to make excuses just because they didn’t like her (although, she does have a reputation for sucking you into her vortex if you allow her to get too close). So, cut to me: part of me doesn’t want to ask anyone (man or woman) for help because I’m afraid that they will feel the same way about me as they do about her.
I now know this not to be true and that there are a bunch of guys I know (both single and married) who would happily help me out with stuff like that, should I only ask. I still feel weird asking, though.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Why I Hate Swimming
I met CL on Friday after work and we went for a swim. I had planned to do 1,600m and that's what I did. It took me just under 32 minutes, so I maintained a sub-2:00/100m pace, which is exactly where I want to be.
During the swim it came to me: I don't hate swimming - I actually love the feeling of moving though the water; I hate sharing a lane with other swimmers! My aversion to swimming is based in the fact that everyone else gets in my way, and I am also worried that I am getting in other people's way. Swimming is not a social sport like running or cycling, so I don't actually enjoy swimming with others (except to meet up so as to provide motivation to each other).
So, if I were to ever win $1MM, I would rent myself a pool for the days and times I want to swim and keep one lane just to myself. I'd let my friends swim in the other lanes. Generous of me, isn't it! Ha ha.
Seriosuly, I'm going to have to get over this as my training starts to ramp up. Luckily, once the lakes warm up, I won't have that problem.
I barely worked out yesterday. I met H&P for dinner/drinks on Friday night and, although it was not a late night, I slept right through from 11:30PM until 9:30AM Saturday morning! I spent the morning cleaning and re-organizing my boxes so that I don't have to play "moving box obstacle course" in my living room anymore. I met J for coffee in the afternoon and then came home and baked a cake for a party I was going to in the evening. I snuck in a bike ride for 58 minutes while my cake baked.
This morning, I ran 18.5K with my friend BG. The group we started out with took off like a flash and we couldn't keep up. Well, HE could have, but not me. The weather was perfect for running today: sunny, no wind and temps just around the freezing mark. Lovely! Our total time was 2:10, but that included my pee break and all the stoplights along the way, so BG said that our pace was likely about 6:47/km (right where I wanna be).
I'm a little stiff and sore right now, but I have an appointment with my AT tomorrow morning (7AM). I'm also planning to swim after work before I go to vote (don't even get me started on this stupid election). So, busy day all in all tomorrow.
Food-wise, I didn't even log my food yesterday and have no clue how many calories I consumed. I ate hors d'oeuvres at the party as well as a piece of the cake I had made. I earned a few more calories today with that long run, but I'm not really that hungry. I had bacon after my run (!) along with French Toast. Oh, and a pint of beer (it was almost noon). Yeah, not the best choices but I don't think I went over calories. I just finished a bowl of pumpkin soup I made this afternoon. Yummmmm!!
During the swim it came to me: I don't hate swimming - I actually love the feeling of moving though the water; I hate sharing a lane with other swimmers! My aversion to swimming is based in the fact that everyone else gets in my way, and I am also worried that I am getting in other people's way. Swimming is not a social sport like running or cycling, so I don't actually enjoy swimming with others (except to meet up so as to provide motivation to each other).
So, if I were to ever win $1MM, I would rent myself a pool for the days and times I want to swim and keep one lane just to myself. I'd let my friends swim in the other lanes. Generous of me, isn't it! Ha ha.
Seriosuly, I'm going to have to get over this as my training starts to ramp up. Luckily, once the lakes warm up, I won't have that problem.
I barely worked out yesterday. I met H&P for dinner/drinks on Friday night and, although it was not a late night, I slept right through from 11:30PM until 9:30AM Saturday morning! I spent the morning cleaning and re-organizing my boxes so that I don't have to play "moving box obstacle course" in my living room anymore. I met J for coffee in the afternoon and then came home and baked a cake for a party I was going to in the evening. I snuck in a bike ride for 58 minutes while my cake baked.
This morning, I ran 18.5K with my friend BG. The group we started out with took off like a flash and we couldn't keep up. Well, HE could have, but not me. The weather was perfect for running today: sunny, no wind and temps just around the freezing mark. Lovely! Our total time was 2:10, but that included my pee break and all the stoplights along the way, so BG said that our pace was likely about 6:47/km (right where I wanna be).
I'm a little stiff and sore right now, but I have an appointment with my AT tomorrow morning (7AM). I'm also planning to swim after work before I go to vote (don't even get me started on this stupid election). So, busy day all in all tomorrow.
Food-wise, I didn't even log my food yesterday and have no clue how many calories I consumed. I ate hors d'oeuvres at the party as well as a piece of the cake I had made. I earned a few more calories today with that long run, but I'm not really that hungry. I had bacon after my run (!) along with French Toast. Oh, and a pint of beer (it was almost noon). Yeah, not the best choices but I don't think I went over calories. I just finished a bowl of pumpkin soup I made this afternoon. Yummmmm!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Speed, baby!
Just got in from my speed workout. We did 7x300m (or so). The entire loop was a 1K rectangle, so we ran hard on the long sides and recovered on the short sides. The hard intervals took me between 1:32 and 1:35, which is good that I was at least consistent and was able to maintain my pace throughout the workout.
I was also glad that I was not the slowest in the group. I was running with two other women and I managed to stay with them the whole time. I suspect that they were not giving it as much as I was on the hard intervals, though. In any case, there was still one guy who was behind us, so I was not the slowest.
The entire workout took about an hour, including the warm-up run, the drills we did before/after and the cool-down run. I think we ran about 7-8K (probably closer to 7).
I felt really great after the run; must be the endorphins. I then met up with my other running friends at the local pub for some food. When I'm feeling particularly naughty, I indulge in the group portions of wings, nachos and beer. Tonight, I was feeling virtuous, so I opted for a salad with grilled chicken and a ginger ale. Came in under calories today. Woo!
Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day, but I feel like I should ride my bike or something. One long bike ride per week just isn't enough and I don't know how else to fit one in before Satuday. I'm supposed to swim on Friday evening, so that means I won't get an "off" day this week. Swimming is good for active recovery (I won't push my pace), so I think I can manage it.
In the long term, I'm going to have to plan in a bike ride earlier in the week, probably Monday evening after swimming (once I start swimming on Mondays again, that is). Either that, or do a workout in the morning before I go to work. It's just so hard to fit it all in!
Time for bed... want to get back to the sweet dreams of my hot running coach that I had last night... zzzzz
I was also glad that I was not the slowest in the group. I was running with two other women and I managed to stay with them the whole time. I suspect that they were not giving it as much as I was on the hard intervals, though. In any case, there was still one guy who was behind us, so I was not the slowest.
The entire workout took about an hour, including the warm-up run, the drills we did before/after and the cool-down run. I think we ran about 7-8K (probably closer to 7).
I felt really great after the run; must be the endorphins. I then met up with my other running friends at the local pub for some food. When I'm feeling particularly naughty, I indulge in the group portions of wings, nachos and beer. Tonight, I was feeling virtuous, so I opted for a salad with grilled chicken and a ginger ale. Came in under calories today. Woo!
Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day, but I feel like I should ride my bike or something. One long bike ride per week just isn't enough and I don't know how else to fit one in before Satuday. I'm supposed to swim on Friday evening, so that means I won't get an "off" day this week. Swimming is good for active recovery (I won't push my pace), so I think I can manage it.
In the long term, I'm going to have to plan in a bike ride earlier in the week, probably Monday evening after swimming (once I start swimming on Mondays again, that is). Either that, or do a workout in the morning before I go to work. It's just so hard to fit it all in!
Time for bed... want to get back to the sweet dreams of my hot running coach that I had last night... zzzzz
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Rain, rain, go away!
After last week's "heat wave", the weather has gone to pot in the last few days. Saturday and Sunday we were in the deep freeze. Then today, pouring, driving rain, wind and barely-above-zero temps. Grrr.
Tonight was my clinic for the Around the Bay race. It's a small group and I really didn't much want to go for a run in this shite-for-weather, but we were having a nutrition talk, so I went because I wanted to hear what the RD had to say.
The winds had blown down a tree on the main street in my neighbourhood so, couple with the rain/wind, that made for horrid traffic getting to my clinic. When I got there, I found out that the RD had bailed at the last minute, so we were just going to run - no nutrition talk. Grrrr. Oh, and we were doing hills. I hate hills.
Anyway, I sucked it up and ran the hills. It was dreadful outside, but I still managed to squeek out three hill repeats. The entire workout only took 28 minutes, which is about all I wanted to do tonight. I have another tough workout planned for tomorrow (not on purpose, but I have two clinics running concurrently so every second week I have two back-to-back tough runs).
I've been doing pretty well calorie-wise this week, but I've only seen the scale creep up and up every day. I'm sure it's just PMS, but I still hate seeing numbers go UP instead of DOWN. Grrr.
Oh, and I gave Coffee/Pilot Guy the easy let down. You know, he may just be shy, but I don't really go for shy guys. I like confident guys. Guys who have social ease. And that doesn't mean loud and overbearing - quiet and shy are mutually exclusive characteristics. Quiet confidence is a good thing; cocky confidence is not.
Example: a few years ago, I needed a date for a work event I was going to. I asked a friend (who was actually engaged to someone else at the time) to be my escort. Even though he had never met any of those people before, he didn't need me to hold his hand. He jumped right in and held his own in conversations with my boss and our VP. That's the kind of confidence and character I want in a guy. "Shy" just doesn't cut it with me.
Tonight was my clinic for the Around the Bay race. It's a small group and I really didn't much want to go for a run in this shite-for-weather, but we were having a nutrition talk, so I went because I wanted to hear what the RD had to say.
The winds had blown down a tree on the main street in my neighbourhood so, couple with the rain/wind, that made for horrid traffic getting to my clinic. When I got there, I found out that the RD had bailed at the last minute, so we were just going to run - no nutrition talk. Grrrr. Oh, and we were doing hills. I hate hills.
Anyway, I sucked it up and ran the hills. It was dreadful outside, but I still managed to squeek out three hill repeats. The entire workout only took 28 minutes, which is about all I wanted to do tonight. I have another tough workout planned for tomorrow (not on purpose, but I have two clinics running concurrently so every second week I have two back-to-back tough runs).
I've been doing pretty well calorie-wise this week, but I've only seen the scale creep up and up every day. I'm sure it's just PMS, but I still hate seeing numbers go UP instead of DOWN. Grrr.
Oh, and I gave Coffee/Pilot Guy the easy let down. You know, he may just be shy, but I don't really go for shy guys. I like confident guys. Guys who have social ease. And that doesn't mean loud and overbearing - quiet and shy are mutually exclusive characteristics. Quiet confidence is a good thing; cocky confidence is not.
Example: a few years ago, I needed a date for a work event I was going to. I asked a friend (who was actually engaged to someone else at the time) to be my escort. Even though he had never met any of those people before, he didn't need me to hold his hand. He jumped right in and held his own in conversations with my boss and our VP. That's the kind of confidence and character I want in a guy. "Shy" just doesn't cut it with me.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
I am Athlete, hear me roar!
Yesterday's workout:
After getting up at 6:20 and driving 70K in a near-blizzard to get to my workout, I did the following:
3-hour indoor bike ride. On one side of me, an Elite-level 20-something cutie named James. He races at the ITU level (i.e, the same guys who go to the Olympics, although he has not yet made the Canadian Olympic Team). On the other side of me, a 60-year-old, 4-time Ironman and his 5-time Ironman age-group winning wife. Although I'll never race at the ITU level, I hope I'm still doing Ironman at 60!
60 minutes of the hardest core workout I have ever attempted. And I say "attempted" because I couldn't do all the reps of the workout as I am just not strong enough yet. I'm only mildly sore today, but I know that by tomorrow I'll be in agony. Don't make me laugh, OK?
60-min swim workout. Since I was so bagged from the other workouts, I kind of sandbagged this one and only swam about 1200m in total. I still managed to stay under/around 1 min/50m, so that's good.
I was so bagged when I got home at 6PM that I just got Swiss Chalet and called it a night.
I didn't log or journal any of my food yesterday, but whatever I ate, I'm sure I more than burned that in exercise.
Today's workout:
16K run. Temp, -12C with wind chill of -20C. Brrr! Considering I ran IN SHORTS on Thursday, it was a bit of a brutal awakening. We ended our run downtown at a coffee shop and then took the streetcar back to the store. Well, in the 2-3 minutes I spent standing in the shelter waiting for the streetcar to come, I completely froze up and my fingers actually turned white! They didn't thaw out until I was in the shower later.
===========
Flo made an interesting comment in her post yesterday. She said, "I am an athlete" and (I'm paraphrasing) that makes her different than all the other weight watchers. No truer words were ever written!
I've known this about myself for a while, but never really knew how to make the distinction. Or even how important it is to make that distinction. My nutritional needs are very different than someone who does 30 minutes of aerobic activity 3-4 days a week. In a normal week, I work out 5-6 days for at least an hour at a time, and much longer than that (2-4hrs) on the weekends. That's why I've always said that I can't "diet" while in heavy training mode. I need all the calories I can get!
My goal is to lose up to 15 more pounds by the end of March, because after that my workout mileage and intensity is going to ramp up significantly and I won't be able to focus on weight loss at that mileage/intensity level.
So, if anyone has any suggestions on how this athlete can lose weight, I'm open to hearing them!
I've also started to make this distinction with respect to dating. I am not "active", nor am I interested in dating someone who is simply "active". I am an athlete. I train. A lot! I'm interested in dating another athlete, not someone who's idea of activity is "rollerblading on the boardwalk". That might sound harsh, but this is a HUGE part of my life, including my social life. Anyone who does not already lead that kind of life (or is actively trying to get into it) is only going to feel left out of mine. I know of two couples (off the top of my head) who broke up after a couple of months because the other person thought their partner spent too much time running/training and socializing with other runners.
That's not to say that I don't also enjoy other things. But someone who would rather sleep late on a Sunday morning, then head over to the Home Despot to look at lawnmowers is not really going to "get" me.
Oh yes, and this very well could all be a huge rationalization/excuse on my part. Sigh.
After getting up at 6:20 and driving 70K in a near-blizzard to get to my workout, I did the following:
3-hour indoor bike ride. On one side of me, an Elite-level 20-something cutie named James. He races at the ITU level (i.e, the same guys who go to the Olympics, although he has not yet made the Canadian Olympic Team). On the other side of me, a 60-year-old, 4-time Ironman and his 5-time Ironman age-group winning wife. Although I'll never race at the ITU level, I hope I'm still doing Ironman at 60!
60 minutes of the hardest core workout I have ever attempted. And I say "attempted" because I couldn't do all the reps of the workout as I am just not strong enough yet. I'm only mildly sore today, but I know that by tomorrow I'll be in agony. Don't make me laugh, OK?
60-min swim workout. Since I was so bagged from the other workouts, I kind of sandbagged this one and only swam about 1200m in total. I still managed to stay under/around 1 min/50m, so that's good.
I was so bagged when I got home at 6PM that I just got Swiss Chalet and called it a night.
I didn't log or journal any of my food yesterday, but whatever I ate, I'm sure I more than burned that in exercise.
Today's workout:
16K run. Temp, -12C with wind chill of -20C. Brrr! Considering I ran IN SHORTS on Thursday, it was a bit of a brutal awakening. We ended our run downtown at a coffee shop and then took the streetcar back to the store. Well, in the 2-3 minutes I spent standing in the shelter waiting for the streetcar to come, I completely froze up and my fingers actually turned white! They didn't thaw out until I was in the shower later.
===========
Flo made an interesting comment in her post yesterday. She said, "I am an athlete" and (I'm paraphrasing) that makes her different than all the other weight watchers. No truer words were ever written!
I've known this about myself for a while, but never really knew how to make the distinction. Or even how important it is to make that distinction. My nutritional needs are very different than someone who does 30 minutes of aerobic activity 3-4 days a week. In a normal week, I work out 5-6 days for at least an hour at a time, and much longer than that (2-4hrs) on the weekends. That's why I've always said that I can't "diet" while in heavy training mode. I need all the calories I can get!
My goal is to lose up to 15 more pounds by the end of March, because after that my workout mileage and intensity is going to ramp up significantly and I won't be able to focus on weight loss at that mileage/intensity level.
So, if anyone has any suggestions on how this athlete can lose weight, I'm open to hearing them!
I've also started to make this distinction with respect to dating. I am not "active", nor am I interested in dating someone who is simply "active". I am an athlete. I train. A lot! I'm interested in dating another athlete, not someone who's idea of activity is "rollerblading on the boardwalk". That might sound harsh, but this is a HUGE part of my life, including my social life. Anyone who does not already lead that kind of life (or is actively trying to get into it) is only going to feel left out of mine. I know of two couples (off the top of my head) who broke up after a couple of months because the other person thought their partner spent too much time running/training and socializing with other runners.
That's not to say that I don't also enjoy other things. But someone who would rather sleep late on a Sunday morning, then head over to the Home Despot to look at lawnmowers is not really going to "get" me.
Oh yes, and this very well could all be a huge rationalization/excuse on my part. Sigh.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Endorphins
Now I remember why I love running so much: endorphins!
I had an endorphin-filled run today. We've been blessed with warmer than normal temperatures the last couple of days. It was 8C (about 46F) and sunny here today. I don't know if it was the sun (which we haven't seen much of the last few weeks), the fact that I ran in SHORTS, or the endorphins from the 8.5K run I did this afternoon, but I feel awesome!
I finished up my training course early today (just after noon), so I was home by 2PM, which was great. I threw on my running gear (shorts, l/s shirt, vest and cap) and head out for my planned 8.5K run. The route I took was great because there were long stretches without stoplights (as hitting red lights just interrupts my rhythm).
I'm way under on calories today, so I need to get some in me pretty soon. I didn't have time for a proper lunch, so all I had was a multi-grain bagel with a slice of cheddar. I think I'll put a sweet potato in the oven as that is my current favourite treat. And much better for me than plain old white potatoes.
I'm back in the office tomorrow so I'll try to head to the gym at lunch or right after work. I have a 40th BD party to go to in the evening, but I can't drink up a storm as I have Mega Training Day on Saturday.
MEGA TRAINING DAY! Say that like it's being spoken through an echo machine, just like MONSTER TRUCK JAM! Ha ha.
Full report to follow on Sunday.
On a completely different note...
I was watching TV and the Pussycat Dolls came on singing their latest song. What the heck does, "I'm a stick with you" mean??
Yeah, yeah, I know... it's just the "hip" way of saying "I'm GOING TO stick with you." Sometimes I really hate the way people in popular culture speak, especially in the hip-hop culture. Actually, the thing I hate is that it's become acceptable - cool, actually! - not to enunciate or pronounce things properly. Grrrr.
[La gets off soapbox and ends rant]
I had an endorphin-filled run today. We've been blessed with warmer than normal temperatures the last couple of days. It was 8C (about 46F) and sunny here today. I don't know if it was the sun (which we haven't seen much of the last few weeks), the fact that I ran in SHORTS, or the endorphins from the 8.5K run I did this afternoon, but I feel awesome!
I finished up my training course early today (just after noon), so I was home by 2PM, which was great. I threw on my running gear (shorts, l/s shirt, vest and cap) and head out for my planned 8.5K run. The route I took was great because there were long stretches without stoplights (as hitting red lights just interrupts my rhythm).
I'm way under on calories today, so I need to get some in me pretty soon. I didn't have time for a proper lunch, so all I had was a multi-grain bagel with a slice of cheddar. I think I'll put a sweet potato in the oven as that is my current favourite treat. And much better for me than plain old white potatoes.
I'm back in the office tomorrow so I'll try to head to the gym at lunch or right after work. I have a 40th BD party to go to in the evening, but I can't drink up a storm as I have Mega Training Day on Saturday.
MEGA TRAINING DAY! Say that like it's being spoken through an echo machine, just like MONSTER TRUCK JAM! Ha ha.
Full report to follow on Sunday.
On a completely different note...
I was watching TV and the Pussycat Dolls came on singing their latest song. What the heck does, "I'm a stick with you" mean??
Yeah, yeah, I know... it's just the "hip" way of saying "I'm GOING TO stick with you." Sometimes I really hate the way people in popular culture speak, especially in the hip-hop culture. Actually, the thing I hate is that it's become acceptable - cool, actually! - not to enunciate or pronounce things properly. Grrrr.
[La gets off soapbox and ends rant]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
