Back on the exercise wagon

It took six weeks, but I am FINALLY back to exercising after our return home. The scary numbers on the scale were apparently not a rude enough awakening; it was the increasing back pain from kneeling in church that did me in at last! Daniel and I both came out of church complaining this week, and he gently reminded me that a pain in the back means the back is doing the work that the abs are supposed to be doing. So on Monday morning I called the gym and found, to my surprise, that they most certainly did have an opening for three spots THAT DAY (no procrastinating for me!!) and one every day this week -- though today is a little later than I prefer and tomorrow is only for 45 minutes. But it's something every day.

The first day back I ran a mile on the treadmill (with a .2 mile warmup and the same cooldown) and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by crunches and push-ups. I could only get through 75 crunches before my abs gave out -- wasn't it just six months ago I said that I didn't need that 200 crunches website? And I managed ten pushups in one set, and six in the next, and had to call it quits. I'm lifting more weight with less muscle. Ugh.

Yesterday I was astounded to find that my legs didn't ache, so I ran a mile and a half on the treadmill (at .1 mph faster) and did 30 minutes again on the elliptical. I'm keeping the levels easy but planning to increase them gradually. But I tried to do crunches and even two burned horribly, so I figured I should take a day off muscle work. Today I will try again. I will also aim for two miles on the treadmill, though time limitations will force my 30 minutes on the elliptical down a bit. I have a 5k to run a week from Saturday, so that gives me not much time to get back up to three miles! I would like to try for three miles THIS Saturday, since I have three days off from the gym (Friday is too busy, and Saturday and Sunday they don't really have childcare) and I need to try running on the road. There is a 5k across the street this weekend -- maybe I should be enrolling in that!! -- but I'd rather embarrass myself a little less publicly before next weekend.

No Excuses Day One - FAIL

So, as I am sure you all know, I have been JUST HORRIBLE about exercise this year. I have been doing my weekly yoga class like clockwork - but other than that I could probably name EVERY exercise event in the past calendar year from memory because there have been so few. I did some MINOR walking off and on during the spring. I took Davey for two short walks daily for two weeks in the summer. I went swimming once and did two sessions of water aerobics in August. I was doing weekly water aerobics in January - but none since Sarah's birthday party. THAT IS IT. I have been a big slug.

So this past weekend Sarah and I went to Girl Scout camp to check out the spider situation (and luckily, the road situation - spiders are fine, road is NOT). I was pathetically out of breath before I got 10 feet from the car. OK - maybe 10 yards... but we were doing NOTHING and I was huffing and puffing like the fat old lady I am! Sarah pointed out to me that if I were to have a heart attack she wouldn't be able to help me because we were too far from anything. I don't think it is LIKELY that I would have a heart attack. My heart rate seemed perfectly reasonable - but my lung capacity is absolutely nill. I have been noticing (and I think I have commented on it before) that I have been having a difficult time breathing for about six months now. No - difficult time breathing isn't quite right... I have been finding myself out of breath at unexpected times; in the shower, getting out of bed, when I am kneeling in church, etc. I have been paying more attention and I have noticed that I have developed this habit of holding my breath for no apparent reason. I know we all pause while breathing - it isn't a constant in out, in out. It is usually in out pause in out pause. OR - in yoga (and maybe this is more normal) you are supposed to pause on the inhale - in pause out, in pause out. Is that what you all do? Check for me because I am curious. My current habit is in out pause. My pauses are getting longer I think. Or I am more aware of my pauses now. I find myself gasping sometimes - or - as I said, out of breath.

So, I decided I have five days (this was Sunday night when I was smoking my knees, I am really beginning to question my sanity. Seriously.) to get myself in shape for Conowingo. This was going to involve five sessions at the gym walking UPHILL on the treadmill. Yesterday being day one. I knew I wouldn't be able to go during the day since I was doing payroll, so I would go afterwards. I ended up (and this was NOT because anything is better than working out!) staying at work until about 10:30pm. I didn't go to the gym. I ate a late dinner and went to bed at about 12:45. That wasn't enough wind down time because I lay in bed having - not a panic attack - but stress symptoms until close to 2am. I SHOULD have just gotten up and walked! That probably would have helped.

So - my plan for today is to go to the gym after my morning meeting. Oh - I just found out that is cancelled. Well - my PLAN is to go to the gym today. Maybe I will do that now... And then I want to do a make up session of yoga tonight - but that is at 7:45pm and I may not still be around for it. I wouldn't get home until 9:45 or so. I don't know how I feel about two late nights.

OK - My plan is to NOT have a heart attack at Girl Scout camp. I haven't quite decided how that will happen...

Holding steady

My weight crept up during the week but it was back at 156.5 today.  So my weight is keeping itself within a steady range of 156.5-158.  So far the only change I've made since Labor Day is in my snacking -- I'm not eating constantly during the day and I'm trying to remember to eat almonds instead of cookies when I want a satisfying crunch.  I'm not perfect, especially around dinner time and beyond, but at least my weight isn't rising anymore.  

I can't seem to establish any kind of routine that will allow me to go to the gym.  With the start of school, our work is taking us through almost dinner time every day (should that be "dinnertime everyday"?) and we're still not getting much done, and when I'm not teaching I'm laundering ten years of children's clothes from the basement (actually at least half the boxes are mold-free, thank goodness, but it's still a lot of clothes, the hand-me-downs of five children since 1998).  And I'm co-leading the Girl Scouts this year and trying to get Xander back into Cub Scouts, in a reasonable troop, so that's two nights a week gone.  And Fridays are Happy Hour, though I'm only going every other week, but now one Friday a month I'm leading a craft project club (for grown-ups) and Fridays tend to be group activity day for school, so that's a third night shot.  And Sundays don't have childcare at the gym.  So I think I'm down to three days a week that I could go, IF I could get an appointment and if the kids don't have doctors' appointments (those should settle soon -- we were due for everything when we got back) that knock our day out of whack.  I feel better seeing this in print -- I've been wondering why on earth I don't have time, and now it seems obvious.  I AM procrastinating on calling the gym, but it's with good reason.

At any rate, my mental goal of being not-overweight for my class reunion seems unlikely at this point, unless I crash diet and actually DO exercise to lose the next four pounds before October 3.  Hmph.  I guess that's not SO unreasonable, but I'd have to do it, and *whine* I don't wanna.

Tuesday again

I didn't weigh myself last Tuesday - or today for that matter. I did weigh myself inbetween last week and today - and I was what I expected - about 10 pounds higher than my high water mark. Sigh.

My eating has gotten MUCH better. Katie and I are eating breakfast and dinner and I have been packing pretty healthy lunches. Last week I did a crock pot chicken and had chicken salad (made with pineapple and lime juice to reduce the need for mayo) all week. I also made a chicken and rice soup which we didn't eat at all. I had a bowl for dinner the night I made it - but it was very greasy. Then - since it is now a week old - Katie and I decided we should probably throw it out. I thought about freezing it early last week, but I realized that it was not appealing enough to me to make me ever want to thaw it to eat. Oh well. It only cost me a potato, a carrot, and a cup of rice. Anyway - in addition to the chicken salad I have been packing yogurt, grapes and almonds to go with me to work. Amazingly, this combo of food seems to be really appealing to me each day - and in most cases I manage to eat it all by the end of the day. I am going to see if I can make this my standard.

I still feel like I am eating too much sugar. I was threatening to go cold turkey last week - but I don't really think I can do that. I need to switch back to agave in my coffee. I want to make some crock pot yogurt which I can then sweeten either with JUST fresh fruit, or agave. OH! I just remembered that I have peaches in my freezer from this summer. Maybe I will experiment with that this weekend.

I have NOT increased my exercise. I seem to be paving a road to hell. Each morning I move my gym bag so it is more conveinent to taking with me to work - and each day I realize just about at this time that I have forgotten it. Sigh. We have had such beautiful weather lately - and I THINK about going out for a walk, but then something more facebooky comes up. I am giving up facebook for Lent!

Sunday I measured my hips. Actually I was measuring for a bra. I wanted to see if I need to increase a cup size (I think no, but a band size wouldn't come amiss). Anyway, while I was there with a measuring tape I measured my hips. I was 2"s smaller than I thought I was. I don't know if this is because I am actually SMALLER, I was measuring a different point on my hips, or if I was just mentally thinking I was bigger, but I was not sad by the discovery.

I then started thinking about how odd a size I am. I mean, I spend a good chunk of my time feeling really HUGE and fat. My reflection in my kitchen window (which probably isn't the best guide) and the reflection in the door approaching work CLEARLy hold up my theory that I am HUGE, but then I spend time telling my friends who are fatter than me that yes I AM as fat as them. It is odd. I regularly have friends (bigger and smaller than me) tell me that they don't think of me as fat. Maybe it is because I am tall and have long calves - or maybe I dress to hide it - or maybe I carry myself better than other fat people. Why is it that I feel the need to convince these poeple that yes I am indeed fat? Why can't I just believe them? I want to lose weight for MYSELF, because I know I look bigger than I feel like I should be. I don't know. I wish I could let go of my self impressions based on what others think. Maybe THAT should be my goal. Ironically, when I was feeling less concerned with what others thought I DID stop gaining. How can I get myself BACK to that?

The day after Tuesday

So... I haven't been exercising much (though I did take the kids out for a jog the other day, but that wasn't exactly strenuous for me -- well, except for Cecilia's whining) but I have at least been watching my intake (some of the time). Basically I've cut out the cookies and other junk food snacking, at least for a good chunk of the week. I can think of a thousand exceptions, though. OK, so I haven't been all that good. My weight went down to 157 by yesterday, and then I totally caved and ate badly from 4 pm on yesterday, and I was punished by a weight of ... 156.5 today? That can't be right.

Anyway, this tells me that I really am ready to shed this weight if I'll just get my act together. The 156.5 is the lowest I've seen except for the first day we were back, which was a fluke 156. Our routine isn't very well established yet, I'm sorry to say; we tried to get going as of Monday, but we wound up with a playdate that afternoon, and then today we had a dentist appointment. And yesterday Mary's math took her from 11 am to 5:30 pm. I keep thinking things will settle down but they haven't so far! I guess I just need to stop waiting for that and just schedule the gym appointments, and hope that the kids find a way to get their work done anyway.

I'm baaack

Hi all,

I just got caught up on the blog. I've been out of my normal routine and kept forgetting to read. But I'm happy to see that we're all on the same page.

First, I may be interested in the Iron Girl. Maybe, based on who signs up, we could do a team race. Just a thought. I'm not terribly motivated to do a tri but I recently decided that I have to a goal to reach.

I've been trying to get back into a routine that I can fit into my work sked. What I'm opting for is 2-3 different morning workouts. Something short and quick -- mostly involving planks, ab work, some stretching and weight work. Then I try to do 20-30 minutes on the bike (on the trainer).

But the idea is to get in a workout of some kind in the morning. Then when I get into town I'm walking from the parking garage to the Capitol (about 15 minutes).

I have found in the past that doing two 20-minute walks a day after lunch or dinner not only spurs weight loss but has gotten me into condition to start running. I ran the Army 10-miler a bunch of years ago and that's how I prepared. But I found it really reduces stress and as I get faster and walk farther I want to increase my time. I'm trying to figure out the best routes around the Capitol. I prefer being outdoors but that's not always possible so thank goodness for the habitrail underground.

Considering my good eating habits it seems like I should be losing weight but I am maintaining, which might not be possible otherwise. Aging really sucks. But I've cut way down on meat consumption and try to eat loads of fruits and veggies. I'm working at the Reston farmers market and getting my produce free. So tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, eggplants, apples etc. fill my kitchen. I love it. I've been trying to get ALL sugar out of my diet and I avoid white flour, sugar and rice. I found a great red jasmine rice and some kashi pilaf that looks good. I roast veggies and enjoy.

My normal routine looks something like this:

Breakfast: Plain Stonyfield or greek yogurt with whatever fruit I want -- some cinnamon, golden roasted flax seed, sliced almonds and sometimes bear naked granola. Yum. I have the occasional OJ but it's loaded with sugar so I try to get water going early. I always bring my 16 oz water bottle in the car to drink for the commute.

Lunch: All summer I've eaten greens with loads of tomatoes, onion, sunflower seeds, goat or blue cheese, red pepper and anything else that looks good. I use an organic salad dressing called Drew's or plain ol' balsamic, which is so good on fresh tomatoes.

Snack: Yogurt/almonds or fruit/almonds

Dinner: I've been trying to mix it up but love making chicken and bean or just bean tacos with corn tortillas, fresh salsa, an excellent taco sauce I make. I buy amazing heirloom beans that cook up much faster than hard store-bought beans. I've also trying to use a grain such as rice/quinoa/pilaf with roasted veggies.

I do keep organic dark chocolate around.

So now I just have to get into a good exercise routine. I'm getting there.

Happy Anniversary

I see we all had the same idea - Tuesday after Labor Day - a new year. I made cookies last night. I don't remember the last time I made cookies that WEREN'T for Christmas. Anyway - they were whole wheat cookies... if that makes a difference. I didn't think so... I at three of them today - so I am off to a REALLY bad start to my new year.

I brought my gym clothes with me - but I didn't take a lunch break. I am planning on going to the gym tonight - but it is already after seven, so I am not sure if I will make it. I wish Katie would join the gym so I could meet her there. That would help.

I didn't weigh myself today. I didn't want to see that I am carrying around 100 extra pounds. I am sure I am up.

I had split pea soup for lunch, poached eggs and toast for breakfast (with orange juice) and a serving of 2 Fruit a Day (which is like pre chewed fruit and not as good as I thought it would be. I am sorry I bought it...). And three cookies. No coffee. Red tea. With the exception of the cookies, not a bad day so far. I am not sure what is for dinner.

Starting the new year

I was 159.5 this morning. So that's 20 extra pounds I'm carrying around! My clothes don't fit -- I've had to pull jeans out of the "give away" pile that's been sitting in the corner for over three years. (There are some advantages to being a packrat.) Today is supposed to be the first day of my diet and exercise routine, so with that in mind I went to Daily Plate to count calories.

Except it's not working. As soon as I try to add anything to my plate it sends me to these text-only LiveStrong pages where nothing works. It let me log in, but then it went back to being no good at all! So I'll post here for now, to keep me honest -- I've had a half cup of Honey Nut Shredded Wheat (95 cal), a cup of skim milk (80 cal), 6 slices of ham on a slice of bread (180 cal) and 1/3 serving of almonds (50 cal), which puts me at 405 calories today. I have to figure out how to get in some exercise -- I need to call the gym and start making appointments.

Tuesday post on Tuesday

It's just not the same Tuesday, so this'll be two Tuesday posts in one--I meant to post last Tuesday as well. I was getting back into exercising last week, after taking the week off after the triathlon. I want to spend the fall focusing on two things--strength training and weight loss. I was up to 148.8 last week (yikes!), although I'm down this week to 146.4. That's still about an extra 10 pounds or so I'm carrying around, and I really DO mean "carrying around." If I can maintain my aerobic conditioning and increase or maintain muscular strength, then think how much easier it would be to run four miles or bike 20 miles if I weren't carrying a ten pound weight around my waist! So as of last week I was back to a plan of three days of weight training and three days of aerobic training per week, only I immediately fell off the bandwagon and only managed two of each. But at least it's something, right? And I'm already behind this week since I wasn't at work on Monday and thus wasn't at the gym on Monday.

Tuesday Check-in On Thursday

As I reported in my last post (or the one before that) I have been steadily gaining again. I think it was because I was eating like crap all summer - but now I am not so sure. Katie and I have been back to our breakfast routine for the better part of three weeks, yet today (when I finally weighed myself) I was up AGAIN! So, after holding steady (an increase of about two or three pounds) for close to 18 months I have jumped up 10-12 pounds in three months. This, I think, is cause for alarm. My added bonus to this is over the past several weeks I have noticed myself getting breathless very easily. It takes VERY little to make me start breathing like I just ran several miles. Again - cause for alarm from my perspective.

The sad thing is that I feel absolutely NO motivation to do anything about this. Usually, when I would see my weight increasing or my activity ability decreasing I would get excited about planning healthy meals - or a new diet - or something. Now, I just feel tired of it all. Not discouraged exactly, more like resigned. My weight is increasing again? Oh well. Nothing I can do about it. Out of breath? Maybe I better start exercising... tomorrow... I don't feel like making a plan - and I LIKE to plan!!

So - Here is my half hearted plan... I am going to start going to the gym during my lunch breaks again. I am going to change HERE go there and then walk (or run slowly!) on the treadmill for half an hour. That is it. I can handle that... right? I still have the swimming goal in mind too, but that will be IN ADDITION to this other workout. Besides, getting my aerobic capacity up again through walking will help with the swimming too. I don't know what to do about the eating. Katie and I HAVE been eating pretty well for the past three weeks. I have increased my fiber dramatically - although, I haven't really decreased my sugar. I really AM like an alcoholic. I was fine with my minimal sugar in my life up until the last several months and now I can't imagine how I will purge it again. Darn me!! (Oh - connection much between when I started eating cookies, etc. again and when my weight started increasing? And - now that I think about it THAT was triggered by eating yummy candy in Norway. I AM an alcoholic!!! Only with sugar!!! GRRRRR! Although, now that I think about Norway, my out-of-breathness started with the swine flu I had in Norway. I was having AN AWFUL time breathing there ((lung sickness and mountains)) that has never gone away... I need to strengthen my lungs!! I wish I could quit smoking again, but that horse has already left the barn...)(I wonder if that aside should have been it's own paragraph?)

So there we have it. I will start walking again. I will continue my GOOD eating habits and reduce (stop) my sugar intake.

Tuesday check-in

I've had a busy week -- at home I did a lot of yard work (and basement work), and at the Crawfords I went running once (but only once; I was sore for three days, and then on the road yesterday), though it was more VERY slow jogging and surprisingly slow walking. I'm at 159 today, but now I enter a full month of no travel, so I should be able to get into a routine and start eating better and exercising more. I desperately need it! My jeans today barely went on -- I'm OK if I don't wash them, but these were newly washed, and the muffin top is really gross. My "fat" jeans that I wear when I'm working in the garden fit much too nicely right now! Ugh.

Taking the week off

I didn't weigh myself this morning. I didn't do anything this morning related to health or wellness. I had an English muffin with butter and coffee for breakfast. So there. I'm taking this week off and will get back into the swing of diet and exercise next week.

I've gotten my official race results back from the triathlon and I am finally admitting that I didn't completely suck. My times were 28:26 for the swim, 1:10 for the bike, and 34:05 for the run. All of these times were within the top 1000 finishers (994 for the swim, my slowest event; 757 for the bike and 574 for the run) and my overall place was 748 (out of 1722 finishers) and 162 out of 351 in my age group. So well within the top half overall. But my transition times were awful! 4:25 for the first transition and 2:27 for the second--1054th in the first transition and 1063rd in the second (yes, you get place times for transition!). So that's an area where I can make some gains without too much effort, I think. I was especially pleased with my run time, even though it wasn't really fast. But keeping up a 10 minute per mile pace has always been difficult for me, and in this race I came out with a 9:45 pace. The bike leg was also good--my average speed was just a hair under 15 m.p.h. (my computer said a bit over, but the official time had it at 14.9). My best for that course has only been a little over 14 m.p.h. and my usual average for most rides is more like 13 m.p.h. My total race time was 2:19:44

General race report: I didn't sleep well at all the night before. I tried going to bed at 9:30 but wasn't able to fall asleep. Finally fell asleep after 11, then woke up at 2:45 and never got back to sleep. I gave up at 3:30 and got up and ready for the race. I couldn't eat much breakfast--too nervous, so I only got down half a bowl of oatmeal and some cantaloupe. I left the house at 4:20 and was one of the first 100 people or so on site. And then we stood in line and waited and waited. They were supposed to open the site at 4:45 but it was more like 5:00--the first of many delays of the day. I got to my soaking wet bike (lots of rain the day before--the hill down to the transition area was treacherous and there was lots of talk about people likely falling on their butts coming back from the bike portion of the race when we'd have to run down that slippery, muddy hill with no-traction bike shoes at top speed rolling our bikes alongside us) and it took just a few minutes to get my area set up, then I had two hours to kill. I walked around and found the few people I knew who were racing that day, then walked the course a bit (the swim course looked frighteningly long), kept calling Amy (who wasn't answering-her phone was off. She had volunteered to arrive early and be my official photographer), and kept drinking water because my mouth was so dry from nerves.

Amy arrived just as they were closing the transition area (meaning I had to get out and go to the swim start). I heard on the way that they were starting the race 15 minutes late. The rumor was that the pros hadn't shown up yet, but the newspaper later reported it was because the traffic was so backed up that a LOT of people were having difficulties getting onto the site. By the time I got to the start they had pushed it back further and would ultimately start 25 or 30 minutes late. Amy managed to find me in the huge crowd clogging up the lakefront and got a picture of me with my nervous smile, then gave me a couple of grapes that were perfect--enough sugar and juice to finally take care of my dry mouth.

So to start this race you wait for your wave (going off about 10 minutes apart each), then wade into the water and tread water for four minutes before starting the swim. While waiting for my wave I caught up with Jenny and Maura, two women I went to college with. We were friendly but not really friends in college, but it was so nice to know two people there in my wave (Jenny very kindly married a man with a name in the first half of the alphabet so we could all be in the same wave. I'm sure that's why she chose him.) and not feel utterly alone. As soon as we were in the water I lost them--I moved to the back so I wouldn't hinder the faster swimmers and they both finished the swim well ahead of me. I didn't see Jenny at all the rest of the day, and I only saw Maura from a distance.

Surprisingly, the swim went really well. This was the part I was dreading after my disastrous dress rehearsal a few weeks ago. But I had none of the same problems--I never went off course, never felt out of breath, my cap stayed firmly on my head, my goggles didn't leak. I alternated breast stroke and freestyle and just took it easy, rolling on each breath to get a good look at the sky and repeating Dory's song in my head ("just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim."). The water felt good, the sun was coming out and it was just nice out there. I gave myself 32 minutes for the swim and was pleased to look at my watch afterwards and see that I finished in under 30.

I thought I hurried through transition, but obviously I didn't! I got the nasty grass and mud off my feet as best I could, shoved on my shoes and helmet and gloves and glasses, downed some water and energy gel and took off with my bike. My legs felt like lead--I've never done the swim to bike transition before (except at the tri in April, but that was such a short swim I didn't have time to tire out) and there's a steep hill out of the transition area that you have to push your bike up. The first two miles on the bike were similarly tiring, but after that I loosened up and just enjoyed the ride. I've said before that this is a fun ride--nice roads and beautiful scenery, and it was even better without having to stop at intersections and with lots of people cheering us on along the way. I saw Sara (Connor's teacher) when I was about five miles from the finish and she was five miles into the ride (she was in a later wave), and she noticed me at the same time. Kinda cool that out of 2000 people we managed to pass each other and wave.

Through transition again, where I was happy to see that they put a long fake grass outdoor carpet over the muddy hill so no one was falling down, change of shoes and hat, more water, got ten feet from my spot and realized that I still had on my gloves so I wasted time going back to take them off and drop them. Then off on the run and dreading the hills at the halfway point in the race. I've only managed to run the whole course once before and I really wanted to run the whole thing that day, but I didn't make it--I slowed to a walk at the top of two hills and once more to get some water at one of the aid stations. For a while, until the real hills hit, I was neck and neck with another runner who was using the strategy of walking up the hills and then running fast on the downside. That worked pretty well--she was keeping up with my steady pace (I'd pass her going up, she'd pass me going down) but I lost her at a long flat bit where slow and steady won out. After that I tried keeping up with other runners as much as I could and ended up in a pack of Team Fight runners at the 3 mile mark. Two of them dropped back so I was with the one remaining one and she and I sprinted when the finish line was in sight. She won--I couldn't keep up at that point--but that group was probably responsible for my 9:45 pace. I really think my last mile was faster than my first.

The finish line was a madhouse. I heard Brian yelling as I passed (while sprinting) but Maureen and Claire missed me entirely, and Amy and Katie were waiting at the finish and missed seeing me cross in the scrum of people there. I saw them before they saw me. No one except me heard my name announced (I was listening for it since of course I knew I had just hit the timing mat close to the finish). The cold wet sponge at the finish was one of the best things I've ever felt, and mostly I was just happy it was over. The mean, mean, mean race organizers put the finish line party/food at the TOP of a steep hill. Ugh. And I couldn't eat anything--my stomach was a bit upset (probably from the disgusting lake water!) and I didn't start to feel better until much later in the day.

So overall--fun. Tiring. Worth the effort, but no big sense of accomplishment (I kept saying it wasn't as if I learned a new skill--I just stuck together several things I already knew how to do and just did them each for longer than usual). I'm already planning how to improve my times for next year (better bike, more interval training in all three events to increase my speed, upper body work to improve my swim, new legs). Amy, Emily and Katie all want a piece of the action, which would be really cool. I'm wondering if I should aim for the triathlon on the same course they are doing in June, but that might involve a wetsuit (something I'm not opposed to--it would make the swim easier--but I don't like to take on the expense if I'm not going to use it more than once). And the June date isn't great since I did next to no training in late May and early June this year when Girl Scouts got crazy busy. But I can decide that another time.

Registration for next year's Iron Girl opens on November 3 (and closes about two days later when it fills up) so if you're going to do it, make up your mind soon!

Holy COW, that was a lot of chocolate!

My weight was 156 when we got home last week -- and now it's up to 159 despite five days of hard labor and not much snacking (but I'm probably retaining water -- and I also dropped two pounds when I took my nightgown off before my shower, and it doesn't weigh two pounds, so I think my scale is as flaky as ever). So I'm up somewhere around 15 pounds from last winter. Yikes!!

I am very glad that Labor Day is coming. That has always been our reset point and I've always found it easier to lose weight in the fall than any other time of year -- the first two months are before the candy holidays hit, and I'm back into my routine so I do less snacking and more gym.

And now I have a triathlon as my mental goal, even if I just do a piece of it! My bike tires are pumped up and one of these days I'll get brave and fix the derailleur, and in the meantime I can ride my bike at least a bit. I rode it back from the car place today (I left the car for new tires, ugh) and couldn't believe how out of shape my riding muscles are -- that teeny little trip made my thighs work, and I was winded when I got home. At the gym I'll start running some each trip (and at the Crawfords' this weekend I'll run my usual 5k, which is to say I'll jog-walk it) and work back up to that kind of fitness. I'm not sure how I'll work in the swimming fitness but I'll get there somehow, too! Next week the kids are out of town -- I could at least go over to the pool and try out my old muscles. Swimming always kills me after a long break.

Exercise is probably not enough to get my weight back down, though. I am officially overweight again, so I'm giving myself until Labor Day to merely eat sensibly, and then I'm starting the food diary again. My class reunion is the first weekend in October and I'd like to qualify as not-overweight again by then. We shall see.

Today Tuesday post

My stomach is making noises. Very gurgly. I think it is because of all of the increased fiber I have been eating over the last several days. It is kind of entertaining since it isn't causing any embarassment or pain.

Katie and I didn't exercise last night. I told her this morning that we need to discuss this tonight - or actually exercise, as the case may be. Katie is jonesing for a bike. I just joined the Owings Mills Freecycle group.

I have gone to bed at a reasonable time the last two nights. It has been VERY nice. My new plan is to set an alarm clock by my computer to go off at 9:30pm. At that time I either have to go to the gym or go upstairs and get ready for bed. I was reading old blog entries from last year and at that time I WAS going to the gym nightly. I am going to start that up again. I also am going to clear out the upstairs bedroom and start using that for exercise - even if I don't have the money to put in a new floor yet. I will soon...

Oh! My weight was down three pounds from last week - but still up about four (seven) for the summer.

Post meant for last Tuesday

OMG! No more skipping breakfast for me!!! My weight was up a million pounds since the summer started (OK - well 7, which in reality was more like 10 from where I want it to be BEFORE I lose weight).

That was really all I had to say last week. So here is my post from today.

I was really impressed by how many VERY overweight women did the Iron Girl yesterday. I don't know how many of them actually finished it - but I was mostly noticing them before they started the swim and then as they were RETURNING from the bike ride - so I am guessing if they made it that far, the 5k was cake... especially knowing that it takes no particular skill to walk or run a 5k - just stamina. Although, being in the ranks of the VERY overweight of the world, I have got to say that we fatties are in many ways stronger than you skinny minis. I have said it before and I will say it again - strap on a 100 pound fat suit and live like that for 10 years and you will know how I feel. 8-) Seriously though, I was thinking this yesterday... If I somehow figured out a way to rid myself of this burden of weight (I can't exactly say it is all fat, although that was my first word choice - I have a LOT of fat, but you can see the muscle I have in my legs - so there is muscle there too) anyway, if I could lighten up so to speak, I could probably do REALLY WELL in a tri-athelon... if only I could ride a bike... Sigh.

Sarah, I know you will do it again next year - or the year after - or eventually, just because I think that is very much your style - but I think we need to add to your training schedule "Teach Amy to Ride a Bike"

I am going to buy goggles today - and a swim cap - and start to do laps at the pool. My training scheduled is as follows - Day one - one lap. Day two - two laps. Day three - three laps. Day four - four laps. The following week - four laps each day. Week three, day one five laps, day two, six laps, day three, seven laps, day four, eight laps. Week four - eight laps each day. Etc. I will be impressed if I make it through day one. Seriously though... I want to start swimming. I used to like it a lot - although I liked the diving stuff and goofing off in the pool stuff much more.

Vickie, I never learned form. You gave great pointers to Sarah last year when she started swimming again - but from my perspective, is it OK if I just do that sort of underwater breast stroke that people who can't swim do until I build up some stamina - or should I flail around with my really inadequate freestyle so as to not reinforce bad habits?

Naked bike and ballroom dancing

Three days until race day and I'm finally getting anxious. This started yesterday when I spent some time reading other people's race reports, looking at finishing times from last year, and making a list of what I'll need on race day. Suddenly this all seems so real--up until now it was just a fantasy thing sometime in the future. Last night the anxiety dreams started--the usual stuff about being late, not knowing where I'm going, tires underinflated, etc. But the best one was where I realized I hadn't trained AT ALL for one event of the triathlon--the ballroom dancing portion. I think this is all Tom DeLay's fault! Good news, though--I made it through even that part of the race.

Yesterday I had Brian strip my bike down until it was nearly nekkid. No more rack, bell or fenders. The fenders and bell were new last year, but this is the first time since I bought the bike in 1990 that it's been without a rack. I took it in today to Princeton Sports to get the required safety inspection done, so now I have a little inspection sticker, kinda like the ones you find on meat in the grocery store, showing the bike has been approved for takeoff.

Next up is packet pickup and pre-race meeting (tomorrow) and bike racking (Saturday) and long night of upset stomach and no sleep (Saturday night to Sunday morning). I think once I'm five minutes into the swim I'll be fine, but getting to that point is absolutely NOT half the fun!

It's all bad and ugly for me!

My diet - It has been crap. I haven't been eating breakfast in the mornings before I leave. Last summer I stuck with the morning routine, even without Katie getting up also. This year I don't think I have had breakfast one single time!! I haven't even been making coffee... This means that if I DO stop for coffee I buy some horrible pastry (which, for the record, although I find hypothetically appealing, in reality my body just DOESN'T like it!) or I carry a yogurt with me and then don't eat it... I am really excited about Katie going back to school so I WILL start eating breakfast again.

Katie and I were so clever last week. We did Let's Dish, but I had the foresight to bring with me a big jar of that clear fiber stuff. So we added fiber to all of our dinners as we prepared them. I went to see Rebecca a few weeks ago. I told her that now that I had been holding steady for the better part of a year (although, in reality I have been gaining over the summer - darn lack of breakfast!) I want to start thinking about LOSING weight. I had been thinking about a low glycemic diet for a while. This is mostly because it seems as though it is the white rice, flour, and (of course) sugary foods that brings on my reflux so badly - so eliminating them seems logical. Also I think that a true low glycemic diet is the ONLY diet that I haven't tried. Although, most of the diets that I have done HAVE been low glycemic by accident. So - after discussing it with Rebecca she gave me lists of foods and told me that more importantly than just choosing low glycemic food I need to increase my fiber intake. (This I thought was very ironic since when I FIRST started seeing her - two, three? years ago - I had JUST increased my fiber dramatically and she asked me why I was eating so much fiber... I didn't have an answer, other than it seemed like a good idea at the time, so I backed that down.) Unfortunately, I have had a hard time jump starting this diet, because I have not been able to find a good guideline for planning a diet. I am GREAT at planning diets if I have a format of somesort to follow. I think I am going to have to email her again before she goes out on maternity leave so I can get more info from her....

Exercise has been minimal to say the least. I am still doing yoga - and I am still seeing improvement from that. Of course, one thing I really LIKE about yoga is that it doesn't matter what level you are doing it is RIGHT - you just gradually get better over the years. What I would have loved is to have started when I was 10 and kept it up. Kids naturally bend and stuff where they are supposed to. We stop when we hit about 12 and start ONLY doing toning exercise - which means our bodies get tighter and tighter over the years - which results in pain and injury. We ALL should do yoga our whole lives! Kick ball followed by yoga; softball and soccer followed by yoga, running, biking, swimming, then yoga. Then when we get REALLY old - standing up and walking, followed by yoga. 8-)

I did water ballet on Saturday because Sarah woke me up at 7:45 to say she was going to my gym and did I want to come too. Sheesh! So I went. It was HORRIBLE. It was water ballet at the senior center. Not the group - they were the usual people, but the teacher was a sub and she was WAY too old for our group and the exercise she did was WAY too slow and passive. I didn't get my heart rate up at all until the very end when I decided to ignore her and just tread water for a bit. I got out when she started the "cool down" (I had never WARMED UP!). I wasn't the only one feeling this way. The whole group was looking at each other and rolling their eyes. The usual Saturday teacher has us panting and sweating within 10 minutes. So I think I will start back with that again next week.

I need to pretend like Davey is still living with me. I need to get up and walk for 20 minutes each morning and then again at night.

I should, should, should all the time. I don't know if I ever WILL! Sigh. Katie has been feeling the middle age spread creeping up on her too. I am hoping that once she is back into her school routine we will start our 10 minutes of exercise in the evenings. That actually DID seem to help when we did it before - four years ago!!!

While I'm here ...

watching that hysterical commercial I figured I'd write a few words.

The good: My diet is great. I'm going to the farmers market weekly -- the stand I frequent just offered me a cashiering gig for all the produce I can haul. So think I may do that for a few hours each weekend. The food I eat now is mostly fresh -- tons of salad with fresh tomatoes from my deck garden and the market. I'm also eating a lot of stone fruit right now -- peaches, nectarines and plums. There's a nice variety so I don't get bored.

I've got all processed foods out of my diet -- no high fructose corn syrup, aspartame or the like. I've almost completely eliminated sugar. I have made some homemade ice cream /sorbet/gelato this summer and that's been responsible for most of my processed sugar consumption. I'm still eating chicken, but I buy it from a local organic butcher. It's so good. I haven't eaten ground beef all year and I love hamburgers. I've also kept red meat to a minimum. In addition, I'm buying dried heirloom beans from a shop in N. Cali and they are great and last for quite awhile.

The bad: My exercise level is light years away from where I want it. But I am ramping it up a bit and hope to increase it during the Congressional recess when I'll have some time.

The ugly: My exercise has been hampered by some unexpected shoulder issues that are making a lot of exercises difficult to impossible. I woke up one morning and boom my right shoulder wasn't happy. I treated myself to a couple of massages lately and that has helped but the shoulder needs more time. Hopefully it will return to normal soonish so I can attack the pounds from all sides.

Best open water swim training video

This one made me laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk

Is anyone still here?

I have no idea if anyone still checks this blog, but I thought I'd post an update about my triathlon training. The race is now less than three weeks away, so whatever level I'm at now is about as good as it's going to get!

Going on vacation at the end of June/beginning of July may not have been such a great idea. Between preparations, the vacation itself, and jet lag (which hit me really hard when we got back--I didn't start to feel normal until Thursday of that week) I took three weeks off of training entirely. When I was 20, three weeks of no exercise was no big deal. At 40, it's like starting all over again from square one. I can never believe just how much fitness I've lost after taking time off! So my first few days of training again were just awful, but I got back into the swing of things pretty well after about a week.

I've been working out six days a week, alternating between running, swimming and biking, with one brick each week--usually bike/run on Saturdays, but last week was swim/run as part of a "dress rehearsal" for the Iron Girl. Each workout is either the distance of the race or slightly longer. I'm aiming for three runs each week and two sessions each of biking and swimming. I figure running is where I can use the most work--I'm comfortable and happy with biking and swimming is just a lost cause for improvement at this point!

I've been doing my bricks on the actual courses for the race. The bike course is just plain fun--there are four climbs, but only one is particularly steep and it's mercifully short. The roads and scenery are just beautiful. My average speed is low--about 14 m.p.h. (compared to people I know who are "real" triathletes and maintain an average speed of 20 m.p.h. and really competitive racers who average 23+ m.p.h.), but that's faster than I was last year by a good 3 m.p.h. and faster than my average on my commute (which involves the long, grinding hill along Frederick Road where I may as well be walking). I bet I could improve my speed significantly with a lighter bike! A red one. Or maybe orange. It's hard to go fast on a baby blue bike with fenders and a rear rack and a bell.

The run course is awful. I don't do well running hills at all, and this course has three bad ones. I've only made it running the whole thing once--every other time I've had to stop and walk portions of it. But the worst section, I think, is a long flat section (over a dam that forms the lake we'll be swimming in) towards the end that should be fast but I think is brutal. I like the tree covered portions with short rolling hills best. There's a lot of that on the course, too, so I shouldn't complain.

Swimming. Ugh. I've gotten to the point where I can swim the whole distance of the race without pausing, but it takes about 26 - 27 minutes. Then when I went for the "dress rehearsal" and had to actually swim in the lake (not the actual course, though--they started us from the finish and just had us do an out-and-back loop that, it turns out, was actually longer than the race distance), it was as if I had never learned how to swim in the first place. Between the flailing people, the murky water, and the lack of walls and nice black lines to show me where I'm going, I was a mess. I wore out way too fast, kept having to pause to figure out the best way around other people, ran into problems with my swim cap (which kept slipping back on my head), and had *serious* problems sighting along the course. Twice I went so far off course that I was well into oncoming traffic! Eventually I gave up with my freestyle entirely and went with breaststroke the rest of the way. So my *new* goal for swimming during the race (my old goal was to try to finish in 26 minutes) is to just finish at all and not worry about the time in the least! Back at the pool today I swam 1.5 times the race distance, practiced breathing in a way that lets me look forward to see where I'm going during freestyle, and swam 11 laps (half the race distance) without touching the walls or bottom of the pool at all. That was awkward--at the end of each length I had to stop, tread water while turning around, then wiggle myself into position to start swimming again without kicking the wall. That was some serious slow going, but probably closer to race pace, where I also had to stop and tread water from time to time to figure out my next move. I don't know what to do about the swim cap. I don't have slippage problems with it in the pool. I think the lake water was just slimy and it got under my cap. Maybe glue dots would keep it on? ;-)

So, two more weeks of hard training and one week of tapering and then race day. You all are welcome to come see me gasp my way across the finish line (barring major mishaps, that is). The race is at Centennial Park in Columbia on August 23. I have no idea what the parking situation will be. Probably dismal. There are 2100 competitors plus lots of volunteers, so anyone arriving after about 6 a.m. is going to have a hard time of it with finding parking. My swim wave starts at 7:30, and with any luck I should cross the finish line shortly after 10:00. It's humbling to realize that the elite competitors will be crossing the finish line as I'm finishing up the swim portion of the race.