Tammy's Tidbits

feeling down

2010-01-07T17:19:00.002-07:00

This morning was ugly. I felt so lousy (mood) that I just stayed in bed, and skipped my workout entirely. That was probably a good thing from the standpoint of recovery for my foot, so I guess it could be worse. However, that did not benefit my mood at all. I felt rotten from the time I awoke until about 10:30 am. Getting some stuff done at work helped lift the dark clouds, and I'm feeling all right now, but not great. I haven't had a mood this black in quite some time. I'm a little concerned, but hopefully it's only temporary. And, there are lots of reasons for me to feel down, so it's understandable. Foot injury, weight gain (about 149-150 right now) and Copper's illness top the list, though there are some minor things going on as well. Anyway, I'm hoping that a good night's sleep and some exercise in the morning will help.

another trying day

2010-01-05T19:57:00.002-07:00

Today was at least better than yesterday. But it was still not easy.

I got in only 45 min of working out because I got up a bit later than I intended; not much, but enough to delay me. I did 25 min on the bike and 20 min on the elliptical. The foot felt fine.

I wore a different more cushiony pair of shoes today to work. I think that helped. I was on my feet a fair amount but the foot still felt fine.

Work was fairly stressful. Some rather icky interpersonal crap of the kind that happens to me quite rarely. I get along very well with most people, but now and then, something happens to disrupt that. Today was that kind of day. The good news is that the situation is resolved, and I feel like the relationship will be the better for it in the long run. Still, it was icky, and I wish I hadn't had to deal with it today.

I had to leave about 45 min early to pick up the dog before the vet closed. We are quite happy to have Copper home. The kids were really happy to see her, and I was too. She looks quite well now - much better than yesterday, despite the surgery. Believe it or not, she was bounding up and down the stairs tonight. Crazy dog! I guess she is feeling all right. Our wallet is a lot lighter though...oh well.

Oh, and I did have time to call my doc today. I am going in to see her (the sports med specialist) next Tuesday to get some answers. Until then I'm going to racewalk sparingly, on the treadmill only, and quit at the first sign of ANY discomfort of ANY kind. I would say that I am not going to RW at all, but I'm not sure that is the answer either. I want to have something to tell the doc regarding what seems to bring it on. The first time it bothered me was last week at WORK, not while RW. And it might be nothing serious. Anyway, we'll see. I figure I am also going to ask about my piriformis pain; it hasn't been too bad but the RW does seem to aggravate it.

cuddling with Grandpa

2010-01-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Calvin and my dad enjoying a cuddle together. One of the better moments of my day was watching them :).

Hard day

2010-01-04T21:41:00.005-07:00

It's been a rough day in more than one way. Before I even knew Copper was sick, it wasn't good.

Sunday night I popped on the treadmill and did 1.77 miles with the Wii Fit Plus on the running mode. It actually worked pretty well, and I was having a good time, until my foot started aching in the plantar fascia behind my big toe joint. Not good. It may be unrelated to my earlier problem...but seems to me it's more likely that it is connected. Especially because I had this same Charley-horse type pain as my first symptom back in August. Ugh. I had a twinge on my walk Sunday morning around Sugar House Park (which I forgot to blog about - a walk with Copper, nice and speedy, and felt good except for that small twinge in the muscles), too, but the pain Sunday night was worse. I took some anti-inflammatories right away and this morning I did the bike & elliptical and did not RW at all on it. I was already feeling lousy at the gym - felt pretty sorry for myself with the foot problem cropping up again despite all the rest and the care I have exercised in returning to RW.

I decided to call the doc today and try and get in to see her soon, but with Copper getting sick and a rushed vet visit, etc., it just didn't happen. I guess I'll call tomorrow, but I'm working all day and will probably be so busy I'll forget or something.

I'm feeling a bit down, I must confess. Between my foot and the dog, it's been a hard day.

Oh, and now TCU lost to Boise State. Bummer. Was hoping they'd win big and make the MWC look good. Oh well. Icing on the cake of a crappy day.

having fun

2010-01-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Calvin's having fun with his erector set, and I'm having fun with my new camera. I have a lot to learn about it, and haven't had much time at all to play with it since I got it, especially with Copper getting sick.

Copper

2010-01-04T21:35:00.001-07:00

Copper is very sick :(. She didn't eat last night, and this morning she not only wouldn't eat, but she also wouldn't move. At all. We were alarmed and took her to the vet. First I had to carry her up the stairs and then Loren carried her out to the car. The vet checked her over and found that she had blood in her abdomen. Not good. He recommended surgery, because though some of the items on the differential diagnosis were terminal diagnoses, some weren't. We opted for the surgery. He found a 2-lb tumor on her spleen, and no metastases. He removed the spleen and the tumor, and sent the tumor to pathology. We'll get the report on Friday. It will be a long wait, as Copper is a wonderful dog and we love her to pieces. She is my constant racewalking companion, and can keep up with me even when doing a fast 5K. Hopefully it will be benign, and we will have her with us for a few more years (she's only 8 1/2). By the way, this is one of the first pictures I took with my new digital camera. Looking at it, I miss her. She's staying overnight at the vet's tonight and we'll pick her up tomorrow.

totals for 2009

2010-01-02T10:43:00.002-07:00

I racewalked 1340 miles in 2009.

January: 81 miles (IT band injury)
February: 140 miles
March: 129 miles (Canyonlands 1/2 marathon)
April: 146 miles (SLC marathon)
May: 159 miles
June: 152 miles (Seattle RNR marathon)
July: 164 miles (Deseret News 10K)
August: 185 miles (Portland-to-Coast relay; injured foot)
September: 85 miles
October: 69 miles (Portland Marathon; Nike Women's Marathon)
November: 0 miles (foot injury rest period)
December: 30 miles (foot injury rest and begin rehab 12/18)

Here's hoping for an injury-free 2010 :)

overslept!

2010-01-02T10:35:00.002-07:00

I overslept today, until 7:05 am. That never happens to me, so I guess I really needed the sleep. Plan was to get up at 5:30, hit the gym at 6:00, and go to my 8:00 Weight Watchers meeting. Oops. Instead I just went to the gym.

At the recommendation of my friend Gordon I tried the Expresso stationary bikes. It was a lot more fun than the regular bikes. I tried a "challenging" course called Sleepy Hollow, after warming up on a much easier course. The challenging course took about 30 min, and there was a pacer I had to try to stay with the whole time. It kept my HR about 150, and I was really sweating. It lived up to its name, and I was pretty glad when I finished the course. I did stay with the pacer, and I liked watching the other bikers & the fake scenery. It was fairly entertaining for an indoor cycling course, and definitely worked me harder than the regular stationary bike.

I followed the biking up with about 30 min on the elliptical. Home now and plotting my day. I think we might take the kiddos ice skating :). Could be fun!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T14:18:00.003-07:00

Started the new year with some seriously great orange sweet rolls. Um, yeah, I know, I need to watch that stuff. But I also need to be realistic. Yeah, my weight is up a little again. I do seem to fight this last 5 lbs over & over, but I think it's mostly because I have a wicked sweet tooth. The good news is that I'm quite optimistic that I can get it back off again, rather than being depressed about it. The scale said 149 this morning.

The Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon is my next race, on March 20th, and I want to be back at 145 by then. I'd also like to have a shot at a new PR, but that depends on how my foot is doing. It's also really not a PR sort of course, but considering that my last PR for the 1/2 was set there last year, I think it's not unreasonable. But also not a lock.

So, this week has been pretty good. I think my recovery is progressing well. After the 8 miles Christmas Day (in two separate 4-mile walks), I took 2 days off racewalking. Saturday I did the bike & elliptical at the gym for an hour, and Sunday I went snowshoeing with my mom. Monday I decided to do 30 min on the treadmill, for 2.8 miles (more on this later), along with 30 min of biking, and 30 min of elliptical. Tuesday I decided to do 2.2 miles on the treadmill to make 5 miles total between Monday & Tuesday. I did that in about 24 min or so, and then biked for 40 min. In general, the treadmill went better than last week - I was able to do 5.5 mph (about an 11-min mile) fairly comfortably. However, on Tuesday night, after a long day at work on my feet, my left foot was a bit achy. It didn't ache in the joint where I had the pain previously, but rather in the plantar fascia right behind the ball of my foot. Not sure what it was about, but on Wednesday I skipped any thought of RW and did the bike & the elliptical. It felt fine, but hey, I wasn't going to take any chances. Thursday I decided to RW for 3 miles (took 33 min) on the treadmill, followed by a 1-hr swim with some friends.

More on Tuesday's workout: I actually did a little speed work! I am hoping that was not the cause of my pain, in retrospect. But it could have been. Still, things are fine now, so we'll just keep watching it and see how it does. Anyway, on Tuesday I was bored at the prospect of 30 min straight on the 'mill, so I opted for a 10-min warmup followed by 4 x 2 min at 6.5 mph. That got my HR up to about 160 on each one, and it felt great. I rested 1 min in between each with some slower walking, and then cooled it down. Felt good to do some speed work, but I kept it to 4 intervals because I didn't want to push things.

Total for the week: 16 miles. This week I think maybe 18 miles if my foot is still feeling OK.

So back to today...I thought I was ready to try 10K racewalking, the longest since my 2-month layoff. I got out there a couple hours after the aforementioned sweet rolls. It was overcast but relatively warm (mid-30s?), and I did a very hilly route in 1:10:13 for 11:18/mile. Yeah, it was slow, but considering the hills and my stomachache from the rolls, I think it was an acceptable effort. It was one of those days when it doesn't come easily, but you just push through it, and later you are glad you did. It's great to be back.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T23:57:00.005-07:00

We had a lot of fun today. My day started with an awesome racewalk during which I enjoyed the Christmas lights and the peace & quiet in the neighborhood. It was about 10 degrees, so pretty cold, but beautiful. Good news...the no treats for the past few weeks has paid off. The scale read 147.0 this morning :). Of course, after the treats I enjoyed today it might not stay that low. No, seriously, I did indulge but had saved points, and I exercised a lot, so probably will be OK.

After returning home, I got a quick shower and made some coffee, and my parents showed up. Calvin was awake and ready to see what Santa brought - so fun to see how excited he was! Michelle was still asleep, so Loren went in to wake her up. She said, "Don't wake up me, Daddy. Don't wake up ME!". 3 1/2 year old grammar is totally cute sometimes.

Once she was up, however, she was so thrilled to see that Santa had brought her a toy kitchen. She and Calvin both loved it, and they also loved their stockings, full of candy, fruit (pears and grapefruit, which seemed to be as much of a hit as the chocolate!), crayons, coloring books, and more. The cutest thing she said all morning was very early on - she had looked at her new kitchen carefully for 30 seconds or so, and then she said, "But there's NO FOOD!". She really wanted some toy food! Calvin then pointed at a present with her name on it, and she opened it immediately - it just happened to be one that had some toy food in it :). Very funny!

Speaking of food, we had the traditional Christmas bread my mom makes for breakfast, plus some pineapple, and of course, chocolate from our stockings. Later in the day we snacked on veggies and a light dip, a few crackers, and a cheese ball (I ate very few crackers and skipped the cheese to save calories for the good stuff). Then we had a beef roast for dinner, asparagus w/hollandaise, spring mix salad with walnuts, apples, feta, and homemade raspberry vinaigrette, and some more pineapple. For dessert, we enjoyed a peppermint stick torte I made, which is one of Loren's favorite desserts. Delicious. All the same, while I was racewalking today, it felt so great and I knew that it was worth it to keep my indulgences (like today) to a minimum so that I can stay fast :). Crazy, huh? But a good kind of crazy.

I got Loren the Wii Fit Plus for his big present. He's actually excited to use it. We tried out some of the games and they're really fun. I like the balance games (favorites were snowboarding and ski jumping), though I clearly need practice to excel at them. I tried the step aerobics, and while it was fun, it was too easy for me - barely got me breathing. Hopefully after I do it a while it will get harder Regardless, it was quite entertaining.

Oh, almost forgot...was going to mention last night, too. Our church moved to a much nicer building - we were meeting in a dingy basement (for 9 years!) but outgrew it and started renting a beautiful chapel at Rowland Hall St. Mark elementary school. It has a STEINWAY grand piano, and a PIPE ORGAN. I swear I'm in heaven!!! Our first service there was last night, and I played both the organ and piano. It was beautiful. I haven't had so much fun with music in a long time. It probably helped that I got to accompany a very good trombonist who attends our church; he played Ralph Vaughan Williams' Greensleeves. Plus I enjoyed the postlude on the organ: JS Bach's In Dulci Jubilo. Awesome.

Feels like there is so much more to tell. I know I'm missing a lot but I need to get some sleep, so will post a pic or two with this and head off for some shuteye. I will be working on more photos and a movie of the day, but that will take a while, so hang on!

Update: Pictures posting too slowly for some reason. Need sleep. Will try tomorrow, sorry!

getting back in the swing of things

2009-12-25T23:43:00.002-07:00

Racewalking has been going better :).

After Sunday's 3.7 miles, I didn't RW on Monday. I did the bike & elliptical instead. On Tuesday, I opted for 35 min racewalking on the treadmill (about 3 miles), and 30 min biking. Wednesday, I did 44 min on the treadmill (about 4 miles - faster!), and Thursday I skipped RW to do 30 min swim, 30 min stationary bike, 30 min elliptical. The swim was fun! I did 5 laps freestyle, thinking about my new technique pointers from Chuck, and then did 2 laps kick and 3 laps pull. I repeated that and then ended w/5 laps freestyle. My freestyle laps have improved a lot with the tips from Chuck - I think now that I could average 1:00 laps instead of 1:05-1:10. But the big news is my racewalking - after a week I feel back in the groove, and the foot is good. Yay!

Mileage totals for week 1 back:
Friday - about 1.2 miles
Saturday - about 2 miles
Sunday - 3.7 miles
Monday - none
Tuesday - about 3 miles
Wednesday - about 4 miles
Thursday - none
TOTAL: 13.9 miles, and the foot is fine :)

Week 2 started today. I decided to push it a little. Hopefully not too much; everything still feels fine. The gym was closed today, but I knew I needed the cardio because of the Christmas dinner to come, so I walked a hilly 4 miles (600 ft up, then down) in 44:24, for 11:06/mile. Not bad in my current state. This afternoon, we were at my parents' house, and I went out for a walk there for the first time. They moved here in October, but I haven't been able to RW since then, and so this was new for me. I did another very hilly route, covering 4.23 hilly miles in 45:56 for 10;52/mile. YES! Under 11:00/mile AND on a hilly route. I was pushing a little at times, but my average heart rate was only 143, so not too hard.

I'm on my way back! Now I need to be good and not increase mileage too quickly. No RW tomorrow to save on miles; Sunday I will probably do some though, because the gym doesn't open until 10 am. Unless I decide to go snowshoeing...my parents got me SNOWSHOES for Christmas!!! My mom is getting a pair tomorrow too, so we might go together. FUN!

Gotta start somewhere

2009-12-20T07:43:00.003-07:00

I racewalked about 3.7 miles around SugarHouse Park this morning. It was damp, foggy, and chilly (21F; -5C), and I didn't see a single person out there. I guess 7 am on a chilly Sunday is too much for people? Or maybe I'm crazy :)?

I was very slow, as I expected. 11:15/mile average pace, keeping my heart rate in the low 140s (which is an easy-moderate HR for me). What surprised me was that my legs felt tired and a bit heavy after only 1.5 miles. I guess that shouldn't have surprised me, given that I haven't racewalked in 2 months. I suppose I figured that the elliptical and the bike were closely enough related that I'd keep a lot of my racewalking fitness; not so. It's OK. I'm sure that after a few weeks it will improve a lot. But today I felt pretty tired for only 3.7 miles. I wouldn't be surprised if my shins were sore tomorrow :). They feel fine now; actually, everything feels fine, just a little tired.

It was good to be out there - I enjoyed exercising outside for the first time in a while. However, I think it's going to be a few weeks before racewalking feels really good again. Gotta start somewhere though. I have a half marathon to train for on March 20th!

I'm baaaaaaack!

2009-12-19T22:39:00.003-07:00

I racewalked today. And, truth be told, I racewalked a little yesterday, too :). I figured one day early wouldn't hurt! Yesterday I did 15 min on the treadmill, and honestly, it felt a bit on the awful side. I did the treadmill after bike & elliptical, so I was a bit tired to start with. My racewalking muscles are out of shape, and so I was slow (12 min mile; 5 mph!). And my right piriformis was bugging me almost immediately (it has never really gotten better, despite no racewalking for 2 months - that's another story, but I think I might have something else going on w/it - might be a disc problem, sadly). But I was racewalking, and that was great. My foot did not bother me at all, which was great, too. I didn't really expect it to be a problem unless I did a longer workout or more miles, but you never know.

Today I did 20 min on the treadmill, after 45 min of swimming. The treadmill felt much better today. I was able to do about 5.3 mph, and the piriformis didn't bother me much. After that 20 min, I did a couple minutes on the concrete around the ice rink at the gym. That felt even better :). I felt much smoother today than yesterday, and my foot didn't hurt. Good stuff. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning, when I plan to RW around SugarHouse Park. Yay!!!!!

Back to the swimming for a second. The gym has been a good thing - I met this woman, Jill, who works out there all the time. We've hit it off and often chat while we exercise. She knows a ton of people and is always introducing me to someone. Anyway, she has a friend, Chuck (female, believe it or not), who is a pretty darn good swimmer. Chuck was going to give Jill some pointers at the pool this morning, and Jill invited me to tag along. I'm SO glad I did. It was amazing. Chuck said I'm actually looking pretty good, but she gave me a few tips about my swimming that I think will really help a lot. I wasn't reaching as far forward as I could with my arms, and I was reaching toward the middle of my body (head) rather than to my shoulders (straight ahead), thus wasting several inches or more with each stroke. In addition, I wasn't bringing my elbows high enough on the recovery part of the stroke (was dragging my arms sideways a bit in the water, wasting energy). Finally, I was doing a few minor things wrong with my hand position, and my kick was mostly good but she did have a few tips for me there as well. I think that if I actually practice the stuff she showed me, I'll be able to average 57 or 58 sec/50 yd rather than the 1:05 (or more) that I've been doing. Of course, now I can racewalk again, so I'm not sure how much I'll swim. But it was great to get the pointers and I do plan to do a little swimming in the near future so I can practice them.

***

Personal life --- work has been busy but good. I feel like I'm finally getting into the groove of the new job and the new relationships in the lab seem to be settling in. Whew. However, I've worked a lot of hours in the past few weeks, and that plus the computer problems I've had AND all the holiday stuff has meant little sleep. Not good. Oh, and I've also had a bunch of stuff going on with special music for church...as if the above-mentioned stuff wasn't enough? Ah well...'tis the season I guess.

My weight is up a bit (150 this morning) but I've been really good about my eating so probably just some water retention. Still, I'm staying on it, and no treats until Christmas is still in effect (and I'm doing well with that - not easy; my piano student brought me a thing of Dove chocolates today. I gave some to the kids but am saving most for when I can have them again!). Anyway, I'm just persevering through it all. The craziness will not last forever.

waaaay tired...but only 7 days until I can racewalk again :)

2009-12-12T21:03:00.003-07:00

I'm exhausted. Not enough sleep. I keep trying, but I think it's useless. Too much to do, too little time. Maybe once the Christmas stuff is done it will be better? Maybe not, but I can hope. I'm going to say no to anything extra, that's for sure.

***

Only 7 days until I get to racewalk again. I think I need to find some different shoes, though. With the orthotics, my left foot is rubbing the top of my shoes. It's OK with my everyday shoes, but my RW shoes are worse. I have some running shoes that seem OK, but the heels are too high for comfortable RW. But this is not really a good time to buy new shoes, not with just having bought 2 new car seats because Michelle outgrew her toddler seat. In addition, it's Christmas, AND we just went to Seattle and that cost a bit too. I think I can wait until January for some new shoes. Besides, I won't be RW that much to start with, since I want to be very cautious in increasing my mileage after not walking for 2 months.

***

The past few weeks have been a little computer hell. My PC randomly shuts itself off at inopportune times, so my boss offered me his old Mac laptop. I gladly took him up on it. Of course, that brought the usual amount of challenge of transferring data, plus more, because much of my software won't work on a Mac. After I had solved most of the problems, it still wouldn't print at home, or weirdly enough, at work. The computer guy at work looked at it and said the hard drive was iffy, and that I should get a new one and transfer the data. I did that, but during the data transfer to the new hard drive, the old one died. Grrrrrrrrr. So, now I have a Mac with a nice big hard drive and nothing on it except the applications that come with OS X. So, until I get some more applications for it, I'm back to the PC that works on and off. Wheeeeee.

***

At Weight Watchers this morning I was about the same weight as 3 weeks ago. Still 4 lbs above where I want to be, at 149. I've had a good week since Tuesday when we got back from vacation, and I'm hoping to stay strong. I'm definitely skipping the women's cookie exchange tomorrow! I'm going to save up points this week to enjoy a nice meal with Loren on Friday instead.

***

My mood hasn't been so good. The exercise in the morning is keeping me from feeling too down, but the lack of sleep and lack of sunlight isn't helping. I'm glad I get to racewalk again soon. Meanwhile, I just have to remember that winter won't last forever, and I need to hang in there.

one foot in front of the other

2009-12-10T13:43:00.003-07:00

Sometimes you just have to keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other. That's how it is right now. I have been waking up in pretty rotten moods, and the exercise at the gym staves it off for the most part, but I still don't feel great.

Since we got back from Seattle on Monday night after a harrowing drive home through the snow, I have been eating better. I decided to swear off of treats of any kind until Christmas Day, to try and jump-start some good eating. Seems to be working so far. I have to decide on a good reward for doing it, and I'm still thinking about what it will be. There will be one exception - on Dec 18th I'm planning on a date with Loren, and I'll be permitted to have dessert if I have the points for it. Other than that, no treats at all. I've been having fruit for dessert, and though it's winter fruit (i.e. mostly frozen berries, apples, whatever is around) it's helping me deal with nighttime cravings.

Now hopefully this will all show up on the scale, given time. The scale has been ugly - 150 lb this morning. Well, nothing I can do about it except eat right and exercise, and it will come back off. Too bad it's so easy to gain and so hard to lose.

***

Only 9 days until I can racewalk. I am really looking forward to it. I'm getting used to the bike & elliptical, but it's just not the same. I'm very nervous that I will have a recurrence of my injury, though. I will have to take it very easy to start with and listen to my body. I've heard that sesamoiditis is very hard to recover from, so I'm hoping I'll be lucky and get over it easily. I do have the new custom orthotics, and I might look into some new shoes as well. Something, anything, to be able to racewalk pain-free.

***

The kids have been tough lately. They favor their dad, and sometimes that's hard for me to take. I think maybe it's because he's not around as often, and so when we are both around they would rather be with him. But it's still hard. I wonder what I am doing wrong as a mother that they just don't want to be with me. I probably need to spend more time doing fun things with them, but it's so hard to find time to get everything done that I really don't know where I'd fit it all in. And I'm not sure it would help - I did a lot of fun stuff with them on the family trip to Seattle and it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference.

***

I bought my first painting this week. My friend Sue painted it, and I loved it because Michelle enjoys pomegranates so much :). I couldn't resist, and so here it is :). If you like the painting, she has more to sell - just let me know.

***

More racewalking stuff: trying to figure out which races to do next year. I was going to do the 20K in Huntington Beach in March (and still might) because it was to be the National Masters' Championship and would have $200 prize money. Well, they are still having the race, but now it is not the championship (it went to Florida, in November) and no prize money. Hmmmm. That was to be my 40th birthday present to myself. Not sure what I will do now, especially since I declined to enter the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon with my walking club so that I could do the 20K in CA. Drat. I know I'm going to go to the National Masters' Championship USATF meet in July in Sacramento to do the 5K and 10K, but other than that, I have no idea. I probably should start making some goals, but feel unmotivated and too stressed & busy to think right now.

the good and the bad

2009-12-06T08:26:00.003-07:00

The good: I've been exercising well, except for the couple days I missed due to traveling (1 day) and no gym access (1 day). Mostly elliptical and bike; yesterday I did an awesome Body Pump class at Gold's Gym with my cousin Heidi. It felt great to work out after missing the 2 days.

The bad: Traveling = lots of restaurant food, more temptations than usual, and well, big eating problems. I can't blame it all on traveling, as I know I've been eating just for pleasure (not necessarily hungry, but delicious food available...sigh) and because I'm tired. I have noticed I eat when I'm tired, which is helpful to know, but combating it will be a different matter. One step at a time I guess. I'm full of excuses right now and need to just wake up and remember that the food does NOT make me happy. DUH! Man, I'm grumpy this morning.

I'll feel better after a good workout. I am going to the gym!

Challenging time

2009-12-01T12:49:00.003-07:00

This is a challenging time of year for me. The food issues are pushed to the forefront, and it takes a lot of energy to deal with it. Add in the holiday madness, driving to Seattle this weekend for my grandpa's 90th birthday (which I'm looking forward to, but it will be hard food-wise and will take more energy), and the late sunrise/early sunset, and it's just a bummer.

I love Advent, actually, so I want to have fun. We did get out the Christmas decorations, the Advent wreath, and Advent calendar, and we decorated the house. I made hot cider and hot buttered rum, listened to seasonal music, and attended the Messiah sing-in at Abravanel Hall with my friend Elizabeth.

Still...it's not been easy. I have been exercising very diligently, which helps my mood. I shudder to think what it would be like without that. I woke up super grumpy this morning, but 15 min into my workout (exercise bike 35 min, elliptical 30 min) I felt a lot better. I've been doing better on the food, but not good enough to lose the weight I gained a couple weeks ago when I ate a large excess of cookies and candy for a week straight. I was 148 lb this morning, which isn't too bad, considering.

I miss racewalking a lot. Haven't found anything yet that holds a candle to it. The elliptical is at least tolerable. The stationary bike? Ick! Swimming? So-so, probably better than the bike, but the hassle factor is higher. Today is December 1st. That means I only have 18 days until I can start to add in some racewalking again, when my two months of rest are up. And I will be counting every one of them! Even when I can start to RW again, I will have to build up slowly and carefully to make sure I don't re-injure my foot or hurt something else by doing too much too soon. So I'll still be in the gym for a while, doing the elliptical and the bike.

I'm muddling through, I guess. Just keep on going, one foot in front of the other, and look forward to the little things in life.

off season

2009-11-23T20:54:00.007-07:00

I guess when I have no racewalking to write about, I just don't post as much. Or maybe it's the general chaos of life lately. 3 colds in 4 weeks, plus working extra over the last couple of weeks has added up. Oh yeah, and helping my parents with stuff at their house.

Add in a fun-filled Saturday-Sunday (thanks to my parents watching our kids!) and I've been lame about blogging. So, I'll catch you up a bit.

***

Our weekend: dropped the kids off at my parents' house at noon on Saturday. We went to the football game (Utah-SDSU) at 2 pm, and had a great time. The game was a blowout, and the Utes won 38-7; it could have been more exciting, but it's always fun to see your team win. It was chilly but sunny on and off, and the weather was really pretty nice for late November.

After the game we had a very good meal at Market Street Broiler, and then went to see the movie 2012 at the theater. We rarely see movies in theaters, so this was a treat. OK, the movie had a lousy plot with holes large enough to drive a truck through, plus some seriously bad acting, but the special effects were great. For some weird reason I enjoy end-of-the-world movies and/or books. I guess I'm interested in seeing how different writers envision the possibilities.

***

Exercise: I was too ill to work out last Sunday-Tuesday, but since then I've been exercising regularly and well. Stationary bike, elliptical, weight training. No swimming this week - just not in the mood. I'm more than halfway through my rest period from racewalking. I still miss it like crazy.

Speaking of racewalking, it sounds like they will indeed be holding the 20K in Huntington Beach, CA, on March 14th. I'm planning to treat myself to that race for my 40th birthday. In a few weeks the racewalking committee is meeting to decide which race will be the 20K National Championships, and it sounds likely that that will be the race. I'm excited!

***

Food: Um, yeah. Not a good food week. In fact, maybe the worst since joining WW 5 years ago. Well, maybe not the worst, but it was ugly. I actually gained 4.8 lb in one week. Obviously some of that (most!) is probably water, because I know I did NOT eat 17000+ extra calories last week. Still, a bit disconcerting.

What I learned: 1) When you fall down, pick yourself up and keep going. Saturday, Sunday, and today have been good food days. 2) I felt lousy last week while eating so poorly. Out-of-control, grumpy, and depressed. Hmmm, guess what? Remember why I joined WW? Yeah, I was really unhappy. Overeating really does make my life worse. Oh yeah! I remember that now! It was a very good reminder of why I want to eat well and treat myself right. 3) My lifestyle is changed now, and it was uncomfortable to go back to my old ways. I'm not the person I was before!

***

Sleep: Not so good last week. I have been doing better in general, but the last week wasn't good. Hmmm, maybe my bad eating has something to do with that? Yeah, probably. So, I am going to bed NOW. Good night!

adorable

2009-11-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Good thing they are adorable, with how much trouble they are ;)!

Last roses of the season

2009-11-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

These were the last roses of the season from my rosebushes. No more until next year :(.

Certificate of Analysis fail

2009-11-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the Fail Blog. I received this in a package of hydrogen peroxide from Sigma the other day. It was good for some serious and much-needed laughs!

Catching up

2009-11-15T16:36:00.004-07:00

Haven't posted in almost a week. I was sick Monday & Tuesday and that threw me off a bit, and spent the rest of the week catching up. Then I had to work Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, so it was busy, too.

Partly I think it's that I usually write about racewalking on here, and when there's no racewalking, I don't think it's going to be that interesting. But for the racewalkers that read this, I know that some of you will be injured some of the time and might find it useful. Or not. But in any case, I should continue to write. My apologies!

So, Monday & Tuesday I didn't work out. Monday I was too ill to do much at all. Tuesday I did drag myself to work and managed to get in a full day, but that was all I could do.

Wednesday I worked out again, and it felt great to be back! 30 min stationary bike, 30 min elliptical trainer, and then weight training class. I was going to stay off the elliptical for one full month, but just have gotten way too bored with only the bike and swimming.

Thursday I did 30 min bike & 30 min elliptical before work.

Friday I intended to go to weight training, but then realized I'd have to take the kids to my parents before work (my mom is now watching them every other Friday so I can work), and it's a long drive. Long enough that I'd be late if I did weight training, so I skipped it and did 40 min bike and 25 min elliptical.

This is getting repetitive! Stationary bike, elliptical, ad nauseum. So, Saturday morning I did the same "triathlon" I did last week: 25 min each of swimming, bike, and elliptical. The pool seems to be somewhat less chlorine-y than it was last week, which is an improvement.

After I worked out on Saturday, it was off to Weight Watchers. I weighed in at 144.4, the lowest at WW in quite some time (2 yr? I'd have to look to know.). I had a pretty good food week, so I was pleased. Though I don't know that I really need to be any thinner at the moment. The receptionist who weighed me in was wondering if I really wanted to lose. I thought about that and decided maybe not... so I made up for it by eating an excessive amount of cookies this weekend :). We attended my boss' 40th b-day party last night, and everyone brought him cookies. I made three different kinds, because I like to bake, and well, yeah, I ate a lot of them, between yesterday & today.

Actually, I do need to be careful. Don't want to start any bad habits. So it's back on the wagon tomorrow.

This morning I woke up with YET ANOTHER COLD. What IS it with this? I got a lot of sleep this week, because my friend Sarah and I are challenging each other to get more sleep. I guess that despite working out and sleeping and eating well most of the week, I managed to pick up another stupid virus. Annoying! This one is just nasty head congestion and fatigue, so I am taking a rest day and eating more cookies today :). I got in a good nap and am sitting here with the family (at my parents' house) watching football, after putting a pot of split pea soup on the stove for dinner. It snowed here yesterday, and the soup seemed just right. Anyway, I'm going to get off the computer and enjoy the time :).

Emigration Canyon ride

2009-11-09T10:08:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I biked up Emigration Canyon with my friend Dorothy and her friend Marina. I'd heard a lot about Marina since she bikes regularly with Dorothy but had never met her, so it was a pleasure. I started from my house and biked to meet them at the entrance to the canyon. I was running late, because right before I left, my parents' dog (we're watching her while they are out of town) had diarrhea all over our bedroom carpet. Grrrrrrr (in fact, she also did this in the middle of the night Saturday and last night too; she's now banished outside until we figure it out). Anyway, after cleaning up after the dog, I had to really rush, and managed to bike the 3.3 miles (600 ft uphill, from 4300 to 4900 or so) in just 18 minutes.

Then we enjoyed a leisurely ride up the canyon. This was Dorothy's first time biking all the way to the top since her surgery, so we didn't want to push too hard. She did great, though! The top is just shy of 6300 feet, and it's about 7.5 miles. When I got to the top, my Garmin said 10.87 miles, not including a bit at the start that I lost due to my haste in leaving my house (couldn't wait for the satellites to be located before I started). It took us a total of 1 hr 23 min to get to the top (from my house, so about 1 hr 5 min from the canyon bottom). That's about 10 min slower than Dorothy normally goes, which is impressive for her recovery! Not to mention the fact that she had a chemo treatment on Thursday.

It was a nice warm day in the valley; about mid-50s and sunny. I wore running tights (I don't own biking tights, only biking shorts) & a long sleeve shirt. I carried gloves and a jacket for the way down. Well, I got cold. It was quite chilly at the top of the canyon and my hands were cold because I didn't put my gloves on until I got to the top. Still, the jacket plus gloves were not quite enough. By the time we got down to the bottom of the canyon, 25 minutes later, my hands and feet were numb. I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to keep holding on to the handlebars! All three of us were frozen, but it was still fun. Next time I'm going to dress MUCH warmer, though! I'm still not used to how many layers you have to wear biking vs. racewalking.

Dorothy gave me a ride home, because I was so cold I didn't want to do the easy downhill 3 miles to my house. Totals: 18.39 miles, 1 hr 52 min, about 2000 ft of elevation gain. Speed: 9.8 mph average, 22.9 max (could have gone faster on the way down, but too cold!!!). Garmin says 1119 calories burned :). Summary: A great time was had by all, despite the chill, which was ameliorated by a hot shower.

***

Today is a rest day because I am not feeling well. I think I have some virus; I was feverish in the night, and had a sore throat last night as well as some GI upset last night and this morning. The kids have Kindermusik this morning, but we're not going to make it, sadly. I am wondering how to muster energy to do the grocery shopping. I think I may e-mail Loren a list and have him go on the way home from work or something.

a "triathlon" and a WW meeting

2009-11-07T10:42:00.007-07:00

I'm getting bored with my workouts since I can't racewalk. So this morning I decided to do something novel: 25 min swim, 25 min stationary bike, and 25 min on the elliptical. I was going to go a whole month w/o the elliptical to rest my foot thoroughly, but 1) my doc said it was OK, and 2) I'm getting really bored, and 3) I figured I'd just see if my foot felt OK doing it.

The pool was recently drained and refilled, and the chlorine levels are, well, probably astronomical. Both times I've swum this week, I've had a lot of irritation of my nasal passages. Bummer.

This morning I shared a lane with a very fast female swimmer. Beat the heck out of sharing the lane with the guy I shared with on Thursday. He was a bit faster than me (not that it matters when you're just splitting it), but the problem was that he was a very violent swimmer. Every time he went by me, large waves splashed over my head. I guess it was good prep in case I ever do a real triathlon. However, it was still annoying. Anyway, the woman in my lane today was smooth and very fast. I really ought to get a few lessons so I can get faster. I'm too competitive to let it go and just do my slow thing!

I did 23 laps in 25 minutes, for 1150 yds total (1051 meters). Then I dashed into the locker room and threw on my biking shorts and other gear as fast as I could, and went upstairs and hopped on the bike.

I saw a couple gym friends (I met them at the gym in the last month) there, Jill and Chuck (both female). I got on the bike next to them and had some good conversation to distract me from the evilness of the stationary bike. After 25 min, I switched to the elliptical just behind them, and it was a bit harder to talk but we still did for a bit. I also read a bit of my book.

The workout passed really quickly (even the swimming part!), and I would definitely do that one again.

After I was done, I got a quick shower and went to my Weight Watchers meeting. I used to go on Saturday mornings before I coached for TNT, and I think I'm going back to that. My friend Dorothy (the friend I like to bike with, who was recently diagnosed with cancer) attends that meeting, and I enjoy getting to see her more often. Besides, there is something comforting about going to the meeting I went to for the first few years of Weight Watchers.

Dorothy was getting her LIFETIME membership today, and so I really wanted to be there. She lost 55 lb over 3 years, and she looks really great. She is the picture of health and you'd never know she has stage IV cancer. Even while undergoing chemo, she is out there biking. In fact, we made plans to bike tomorrow afternoon. Amazing.

Lifetime membership is achieved when you reach your goal weight and maintain it for 6 weeks (within 2 lb of goal). Then you no longer have to pay for meetings, as long as you attend once a month (minimum) and weigh in within 2 lb of your goal. As of Thanksgiving weekend, I'll have been a lifetime member for 3 years. Wow. I joined WW on 2/5/05, and it's almost been 5 years since my life has turned around for the better. It's been great - the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Speaking of weight, I weighed in at 145.8 this morning. Not bad. I have a lot of food challenges in the upcoming week. I'm thinking about my goals for the holiday season. I want to set up a realistic series of goals, with a good reward that will be worth striving for. Input is welcome.

This is what I'm thinking of ---
1) a weight goal; i.e. stay under 148 lb at my Saturday morning weigh-ins (remember, I said REALISTIC, and if I gain 2 lb during the holidays that's probably normal, and not too hard to take off later).
2) a sleep goal. I'm not good at these so not sure I should set one, but I need more sleep and need to get motivated to get to bed earlier.
3) a relaxation goal. Something along the lines of a certain amount of time reading, doing hobbies, playing music, taking a hot bath, etc.

Please give me feedback and/or input, even if you don't usually comment. I want to be fit and feeling good on January 1st. This is a seriously do-able proposition!!!

swimming

2009-11-05T13:01:00.002-07:00

Went swimming this morning. After yesterday's bike ride and today's planned bike ride (this afternoon with my friend Dorothy), I thought stationary bike would be overkill.

So I suited up and hit the pool at Steiner Aquatic Center. The indoor pool is newly refurbished; they had drained it and repaired it. Not sure what they did, because it LOOKS the same. They must be having some trouble with the chlorine/chemicals, because my nose has been irritated ever since my swim this morning. Grrrr!

I started off with 10 laps freestyle (1 lap = 50 yd) and then got bored. I did 2 laps of breaststroke and then 8 laps freestyle. That was still too much freestyle in a row, so for the rest of the workout I alternated 1 lap breaststroke and 4 laps freestyle, which worked out pretty well. One guy who shared the lane with me for a while was a very vigorous swimmer, and every time he passed me he generated waves which swamped me; I breathed in a fair amount of water :(. Other than that, and the usual boredom, it was fine. I checked my heart rate a few times and it was around 140-150 each time. I do have a hard time judging intensity in the pool, so was pleased that I was able to keep my HR in the right zone most of the time.

I did a total of 55 laps, or 2750 yd. That's 1.56 miles, or 2.5 km. It took me about an hour to finish my workout.