S U C C E S S ! ! !

Ok... there you have it kiddies... one week, 9 workouts and one possible overuse injury (top of my right foot)... that challenge is complete... HOO-FREAKIN-RAY!!!

Oh... and in case anyone is interested, here is the Boot Camp workout from Monday and today:

Station 1 -
Lap arround soccer field - 1
Playground to visitor lot run - 1 (this includes 4 sets of stairs and a run across the plaza which is nearly the length of a soccer field)
Alternating DB Chest Press - 15
Alternating DB Bicep Curl - 15
Incline DB Chest Press - 15
Incline DB Curl - 15

Station 2 -
Stairs - every step - 10 flights
Jumping Jacks - 100
DB Deadlift - 15
Close Grip Pushup - 15
DB Row - 15
Seated Dips - 15

Station 3 -
Lap Arround Village Center - 1 (this is the building the gym is housed in)
Run Across Sky Bridge and back - 1
Pushup - Feet up on a stair - 10
pushup - Flat - 10
pushup - Hands up on a stair - 10

Station 4 -
High Knees - 100
Jack Knifes - 25
DB Pull over on physio-ball - 15
Skull Crushers on physio-ball - 15
Chest Fly on ball - 15
Standing Hammer Curl - 15

Station 5 -
Jump Squats - 25
Stairs - every other step - 10 flights
Bar Pulls - Wide Overhand - 10
Bar Pulls - Close Overhand - 10
Bar Pulls - Close Underand - 10
Lap around the Salomon Building - 1 (this inlcudes 3 flights of steps)

Station 6 -
Flat Crunch - 50
DB Shoulder Press -15
Side Crunch - 50
wheelbarrows - 15
Legs out and down (body flat) - 50
Lateral/Front Raise - 15

8 down, 1 to go.

I don't know... but maybe... just maybe... I'm over training. We'll see how it goes on my recovery day tomorrow... if I feel great Sunday morning, I'm going to stick with the schedule for another week and then do a light week and start rotating that way... I have no real pains or even lingering soreness, just a general overall fatigue. My last workout of the week is Bootcamp this afternoon and it is my understanding that my arms, shoulders, chest, back and abs are in for a not small ammount of pain.

I wish I could say my eating was still on track... but its not. I am learning a lot about myself as I go on and off of challenges and such... it seems I am an all or nothing girl. When I am in a challenge I have the discipline and will to keep my self pretty damned clean in my eating... but if I say I'm going to allow myself a little sugar or caffeine or whatever here and there... from the first bite I allow myself to "loose control" and I just eat whatever I damned well please. I'm not a moderation girl... so I'm considering Jim's CKD recommendation as an option that could possibly work for me. It works out to 5-6 days of complete carbohydrate restriction (throwing the system into benign dietary ketosis) followed by a day or two of "re-feed" which allows the body to rebuild its intra-muscle glycogen stores as it preps for the following week... its my understanding that this is great for cutting... which is what I am really trying to do right now. IN any case Monday I am starting another 2 week challenge and whether its a CKD challenge or another clean eating challenge, it will be a challenge none the less!!

In December of 2002 when I started my blog, and really started this journey in earnest I put a sticker on my monitor at work. It simply said, "Shame Based Motivation." That sticker reminded me that I needed to get off my ass and exercise every day or face the wrath of Jim. People would ask me what it meant and I would tell them that it was what I used to motivate myself to go to the gym. They didn't really get it (not that they were expected to) so they would just look at me like I was a little wacko and move on. Early this year (in January I think) I got a shiny new monitor from the surplus PC equipment gods. I didn't put the sticker back up. I guess I dont need it any more because, despite its absence, I have still been getting up on a nearly daily basis to workout. My motivation is no longer shame based... my motivation has become internal and personal and it finally feels like I do this not because I HAVE to or I will die from being obese and have to be embarassed for being a lazy slug and not doing the work necessary to get in shape, but because I WANT to.

Isn't that weird. I've worked out 8 times this week so far... because I WANT to... yes, there is still the fat factor in my head... I have to stay active to keep myself from getting fat again, to keep myself able to do the things I want to be able to do with my kids and my husband and my friends, and well... with just me too... but I want to see where I can go with this... how far I can push my self, push my body... push push push. Does that make me an athlete? Am I finally an athlete? whoah... weird.

Expect Changes.

A friend who here-in will remain nameless has been helping me get set up in a more legitimate fashion... I may soon have many more wonderful features available (like server space to store photos... and nifty graphics and other pretty things of that nature) and so I am putting a halt to the horrible color changes until such a time as all of these things culminate into somthing (hopefully) very cool!

In other news, I just completed workout number 7 for the week. That is a LOT of freakin' exercise, and there are two scheduled for tomorrow as well. I am tired, but not totally burnt... I COMPLETELY blew my diet out of the water last night tho.

Mike had a friend over to work on his Mini Cooper, and there was pizza for dinner and Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream Cake for desert. I had 3 small slices of pizza and 1/2 a slice of the cake. Ugh. It was all pretty good, but I feel like crap today and low-and-behold I've bounced right back up to 150 again so I'm going to have to be super sugar/carb conscious for the rest of the week in an effort to return things to normal.

I am sick of eggs.

The pain on the top of my foot is fading already, so I'm fairly convinced it was the shoes.

I need to go get breakfast... and maybe today I'll have a latte... we'll see how I feel when I get up there.

cheers!

I am SUCH a girl!!!

Seriously. I am. A girl.

A few years ago you NEVER woulda known it. I was toolin' around in my jeep (check this out: LEXYCRAWL! But check it out soon cause Rockcrawler is ditching their free hosting and it will go away at that point)... yes, that's me... and I was NOT girley at all. I didn't like fitted clothing or flowers... I liked big tires and mud... and I was SO butch it was recockulous.

But today? Today I am such a girl. I like pretty things and jewlery and all the stupid occasions that give the opportunity for gifts of chocolate and shiny things that are deemed by the retail-chains to be tokens of my man's love and appreciation.

and I blush.

a lot.

Like today, for instance... headed down for Boot Camp class at noon and Linn (the instructor and a very hot, and very buff guy) looked at me and said, "Brenna I have to tell you that you look fabulous! I just saw your pictures on the bulletin board and you're looking amazing!" and I stammered and blushed and broke in to an embarasing cold sweat and managed to squeek out, "thanks so much... its been a lot of work... thanks!" before I was so red in the face that I had to take off for my warm up jog or I'd have melted into a puddle of ectoplasm right there on the weight room floor.

I seriously wish I could be the person who says, "yeah! Thanks, I really appreciate that, you're lookin pretty amazing yourself!" with total confidence. But the truth is I am STILL embarassed by my body. It isn't where I want it to be, I will always have stretch marks and loose belly skin... and well... it makes me feel silly to be complimented. I SO need to get over this, it is not very Smashing! to be lacking in the self confidence arena.

Did feel good to get complimented by a hot guy tho.

:D

Now all I need is more shiny things and a bow in my hair.

Oh... and the workout was again BRUTAL!!! I really pushed myself because I felt like I had to in order to not look like an idiot... heh... it was legs again, and round the middle of the workout I got a weird pain in the top of my foot. I think my shoes were tied to tight because I'd also forgotten socks which I HATE so I'd cinched the laces down a bit to keep from slipping... guess I was a bit too overzealous. oh well... I'm sure it will pass in a day or so. At least tomorrow is only a single workout day. It's kind of cool to think that in the four days that have passed this week I have already done 6+ workouts. I give myself the + because yesterday at lunch I went for a 30 minute walk outside. It was gorgeous... I needed a powerball ticket, so I walked up to the 7-11 and got one. Not REALLY a workout, but wonderful activity none the less.

I suppose I'd better get back to work... still HATE the colors... give me time tho kids... I may get this right yet!

Playin' with colors

Not really fond of the "all red all the time" theme I've got goin' on right now, so expect changes. I am SO not a web-designin type of person tho, so beyond changing colors and font styles, don't expect big things. Maybe someday I'll get a graphic or a picture up, but don't hold your breath.

Swimming was marvelous this morning and I almost feel like maybe I can possibly perhaps mostly handle the Boot Camp leg workout that awaits me this afternoon... I think I'm insane... maybe...

In any case, I'm STARVING and I seriously want to take advantage of my 3 lattes per week allowance right freakin' now... but since I already had one on monday... that only leaves me two and that hardly feels worthy of a binge. Oh well!

Isn't it interesting that swimming in a great big tank full of water dehydrates me more than any other exercise I do? Damned osmosis!!!

Wendie Plan?

Ok... I keep reading little snippets here and there about the "Wendie Plan" that seems to consist of varying your caloric intake over the week to keep your body guessing and your metabolism high. My problem is that it seems totally geared to those doing the WW Points thing (which I don't do, I'm a calorie counter from way back and have NO idea how to convert points to calories) and I'm not sure how it would translate for someone like me who is getting one or two intense workouts per day 6 days a week and counting calories... does anyone know of a site that would help me? Are the low days too low for someone training as much as I am? Is there a pattern? How do you plan your week around it? I just want more info.

Please feel free to educate me!

Immediate Challenge!

(jumping on the bandwagon here!)

I have taken on an immediate challenge for this week! The first part of the challenge is to get in EVERY workout on my schedule for the week and I'm off to a rip-roarin' start. The second part of the challenge is to keep my eating on track... and aside from the one-single-solitary m-n-m I ate yesterday, that is going very well too!

I had a triumph last night on the eating front as well. I finally go the kids to bed around 9pm (one is sick and the other is teething, it was rough) and I was STARVING... all I wanted was a bowl of cereal and a big glass of OJ, but instead I drank a huge glass of cold water, watched some TV and went to bed... (and patted myself on the back a few hundred times for my restraint). Intellectually I knew I didn't need the food and that this close to bedtime it would just hinder my night long fat-burning cycle, so I made a choice not to eat... despite being hungry. And this morning I was no worse for the wear.

Yesterday's Bootcamp class in the afternoon was BRUTAL! Full body focus with LOTS of stair running, squat jumps, pushups, incline pushups, decline pushups, bar pullups, jumping jacks, shoulder presses, lateral raises, bicep curls, skull crushers, chest presses, incline and decline presses, etc... etc... etc... (did I mention how much I love this class?) Today's Dawn Patrol was all cardio intervals and it rocked as well. Jogging and sprinting, intervals on the stationary bike, intervals while running stairs, intervals on the eliptical, and jumping jacks and squat jumps and then we were done.

In other news... I hit virgin-thin-territory (as Erin said!) this week. I haven't wanted to say anything here, because... well... doing that tends to jynx me in the weight arena, but since the numbers keep showing up I hope it will be ok to announce that I am FINALLY below my pre-holiday weight of 148! Keep in mind I probably gained 5-7 over the holidays and the 148 was probably a rather dehydrated weight at the time... but now I have shown up as a solid 147.5 for nearly a week now and that is pretty durned cool.

For now, it's healthy breakfast time... oh and more water, I'm dien' ovah heah!

Late start, but FABULOUS swim!

Oh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new swimsuit!(the stripes on mine are purple rather than blue)

It fits right, doesn't bag in the butt and boobs and it feels sleek and fish like when I'm swimmin! (and it matches my purple swim cap so I feel especially fantastic and coordinated when I step out onto the pool deck!)

The Pool temp was 84 degrees today which they apologized for... I guess its usually a lot warmer than that... weird. I didn't really notice a difference except when I first got in it felt a little cool, but as soon as I got moving I couldn't tell the difference. I only had time for about 15 laps and my stupid goggles (well, just the right eye) insisted on leaking the whole time, but I didn't let it stop me. Boot camp is at noon, but I'm going to try to get started a little earlier than that because I have a massage scheduled at 12:40 and I'd really like to be cleaned off before that. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be to massage a panting sweaty person... YUK!

I'm pretty durned proud of the folks who participated in the 2 week clean eating challenge! Everyone did SO well and I think we all deserve shiny new mini i-pods... :D (can you tell I'm trying to justify buying myself one even tho I can't afford it and don't really need it?)! Ali NEARLY kicked the 200s to the curb, Lee lost 3, Brenda (despite the moving stress) kept with it, and finished strong, Megan left chocolate by the wayside for 2 weeks and April and Tim ignored the carbo call of the white rice, potatos and the fatty lure of cheese!!! WE DID IT!!

So what's next? What will YOUR next challenge be? Use this momentum to carry you further... to take you to the next step... make another challenge for yourself and then head over to the challenge forum and post about it!!!

She's a brick... HOUSE...

(I know... duplicate title, but I like it... so get over it!)

It was GORGEOUS today. Sunny, blue sky, 80 degrees, and fan-freakin-tastic for the mood. My brick workout was an 8 mile ride and about 1.5 mile run. I had wanted to go 2 miles on the run today, but it didnt' happen, the extra distance on the ride killed my still recovering legs and they weren't happy about having to carry my giggly butt for even the mile and a half that I made them do. Oh well. The problem I'm having now is that ever since I got inside after the workout, I have been dizzy. I've eaten, had LOTS of water (going on 50 oz right now) and yet the dizzyness just is NOT passing, and it's really starting to piss me off.

Oh, and I finally got a new swimsuit... and it doesn't bag in the ass, and that makes me happy. Hubby said I looked good in it, and then he smacked my butt... he's cute that way! ;)

In other news, today is the FINAL DAY of the B, B and Lee 2 week clean eating challenge!!! We only lost one participant along the way and everyone has been doing SO well!!! I truly believe that challenges are learning experiences, and so I'm trying to line out what I've been learning these last two weeks.

Well... ok, here's the bigest thing I learned - Freakin' Processed Sugar is in EVERYTHING!!! If it isn't just "sugar" it's high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, sucrose, fructose, blah blah blah blah and on and on and on. If you don't want refined sugar in your diet you pretty much have to make 90% of your food from scratch. Not that this is a bad thing, but man... when you're a busy full time mom and full time professional and home maker and just want to be able to not have to spend an hour making every meal... you're just about SOL (shit outta luck) if you don't want the processed white crap in your food.

What else did I learn? Well... I learned I can live without caffeine even in really stressfull situations, but that I really do miss and love the taste of coffee and I am not sure its somthing I want to give up for ever.

Also, there is a whole grain alternative for just about anything that is made from white flour... which I find to be very cool.

My PMS cravings are not necessarily chocolate based, they are primarily sugar based and I just tend to feed them with chocolate... which I didn't this time... which is kinda cool.

And I learned that I want to keep eating this way. Its not hard, I am ok with being a little more lenient with the alcohol and caffeine, and I can easily get by with having the whites once a week or less (special occasions and such)... so that's what I'm going to do. Is this the dawning of a brave new world? Ha! I think my penchant for the grandiose is gonna bite me in the big fat butt one of these days! :)

rest days

well the workouts that were scheduled for Friday didn't happen, but I'm really not too worried about it as I know that next week will be deadly intense and a couple days of rest after this last week arent going to kill me... and to be honest... I think I needed it.... badly.

I was so sore yesterday that it was hard to get comfortable enough to fall asleep last night, and while I am a HUGE advocate of using movement to help move the lactic acid out of the muscles... it just wasn't happening for me, so I didn't sweat it and just took the time to rest and recover.

Tomorrow I'll ride 7m and run 2m and get a jump start on my week.

I've decided to extend my clean eating challenge for another week (and probably for many weeks there after) with two slight modifications.

Denying myself all caffeine forever will not happen. I love coffee WAY too much for that to happen, so I'm going to allow myself up to 3 lattes per week (I know that may sound excessive to some, but for me... it's like desert!) And I am going to allow myself to drink alcohol one night per week... and no more than 3 drinks on that night (I usually only have 1, and 3 would have me trashed... but hey, I'm an adult!)

Otherwise, no white flour and no refined sugar all week long.

Ok, gotta get to the store to stock up on good foods!

PMS and no Chocolate?

I know I said a while back that I wasn't going to fight the monthly hormonal swing that causes undeniable cravings, and that I wasn't going to beat myself up if I gave into them here and there...

but I just realized that this may be the first month I've gone thru the PMS cycle and NOT eaten chocolate. None. Zero... and I really feel ok right now... which is pretty cool!

Now, bear in mind that I dreamed of creamy vanilla lattes and huge chocolate ice cream sundae's all last night and woke up wondering how I didn't have hot fudge and whipcream all over my face. But since it was just a dream... I bear no guilt for my cerebral indescressions!!! HOORAY!

I love the fact (sarcasm here) that at nearly 30 years old I still get two zits, in the same place, every freakin' month when I'm PMSing. One at my hair line and one on my chin. Sometimes they're small... more often they're huge hulking buhemoths of puss filled irritated folicle and they piss me off... and it seems that my chocolate consumption (or lack there of) has very little influence on their appearance... because right now the chocolate hasn't happend and yet, still the zits appear.

Oh... and a note to the makers of the "Playtex Beyond" tampon that I just heard a radio commercial for this morning: Its a TAMPON. We know its a TAMPON. We are not idiots, we've been using tampons for generations!!! Nothing you can do to a tampon is going to make it "Beyond" any other tampon on the market.... whoopdeedo you put it in a fancy new aplicator so our dainty fingers don't have to come in contact with our dirty little naughty bits while putting the glorified and insanely expensive BLOOD SPONGE into our vaginas!!! We're still gonna have to touch 'em to get the sucker out!!! "Beyond" what? "Beyond" the inevitable mess that happens when we menstruate (hmmm... nope!) "Beyond" the absorbancy so we don't have to make our ritual trek to the restroom every couple of hours to change the soaked one out? "Beyond" WHAT??? Cripes...

Fuck Tampons... if you've never heard of an "Instead Cup" find them... try them... you'll never go back to tampons. I swear... oh and YES... you have to touch your dirty little naughty bits to get them in and out... but if you aren't comfortable touching your OWN naughty bits... you have other issues dear.

oooh... hey... there it is... PMS BITCHYNESS is ON!!! Yippeee!!!

(someone warn my all male-coworkers...) :D

And a BEAM of light Shown Down...

Uppon the little exercise enthusiast...

and it was warm and radiant and pure...

and it illuminated the changes that were forthcomming:

In the SIX MONTHS between November '03 and March '04 she had lost .22% (that is POINT 22, ie... less than 1/4%) body fat.

In the SIX WEEKS between March '04 and late April '04 she had lost 1.3% body fat.

2.5 more lbs of body fat gone.

.5 more lbs of lean on her body.

And she saw that it was good, and the PMS cloud was lifted from her brain and the day seemed brighter still.

Again with the sore and the pain...

and the completely exhausted!

Did Alissa's Dawn patrol class again this morning, and I'm realizing that this new training regimine is REALLY going to kick my butt. Want the scoop?

Sunday - Biking/running brick workout - Bike 7-10 miles, run 1-3miles.
Monday - 5:45am: swimming for 40 minutes, Noon: *Boot Camp (1 hour)
Tuesday - 6:15am: **Dawn Patrol (45 minutes)
Wednesday - 5:45am: swimming for 40 minutes, Noon: *Boot Camp (1 hour)
Thursday - 6:15am: **Dawn Patrol (45 minutes)
Friday - 5:45am: swimming for 40 minutes, Noon: *Boot Camp (1 hour)
Saturday - FULL REST

*Boot Camp is a self paced strength training class - with VERY VERY VERY challenging very targeted workouts
**Dawn Patrol is an intervals based cardio and strength class that is very high energy... each week the workout cycle changes... this week was strength + cardio, next week is pure cardio, the week after... who knows?

Now, granted I've already missed one workout this week... Boot Camp on monday did not happen because I was queasy... but I think this is probably the most intense workout schedule I've ever had.

I was talking to another woman in the dawn patrol class today who said that if she was going to do a sprint distance tri she wouldn't really train for it, she'd just do it... and it kinda pissed me off, but the truth is, she's young, she's very obviously always been in great shape, was a sprinter in highschool, etc... so she probably wouldn't have to train for somthing like a sprint tri... and as annoying as that is to me (Jealousy rears its ugly head) I keep trying to remind myself that this is MY body and its the only one I've got, and if it needs to train for a tri, then I'm gonna damned well train it.

Not comparing myself to the other women in the gym is hard as hell.

Not constantly picking myself apart bit by bit is also hard as hell.

Being happy with the body I've got? Being satisfied with the things its capable of doing now and in the future? Hmmmmm... still a lot of growth potential in these areas for me it seems.

ok... time to brush the toofes (again!) and go see a man about a body-fat percentage... (yeah... Dave Ryan is here again... with his little ultrasound machine... to tell me I'm STILL 25% body fat... joy!)

whoah.

Boot Camp class is hard.

Today was "leg day" and there were 6 "stations" and at each "station" there were 6 exercises for you to do... let me just give you an example of what "station 1" was:

Stairs - run up and down 5 flights
DB squats - 25
1 leg squats - 25 each leg (one leg extended to rear and resting on bench behind you... perform squat on remaining leg.
Straight leg deadlift - 25
Stationary DB Lunges - 25 each side
Wall Sit - 30 breaths

now repeat that with varying exercises 3 more times, throw in a cardio station that includes stairmaster, treadmill AND bike, and finally an abs station including Boat pose, plank, side plank, ball crunches and side ball crunches and you're Done! And it only took an hour and you can barely climb the stairs to get back to your desk.

I think I may be doing that one again. :D

Water and stretching, water and stretching, and a few cal/mag suplements when I get home!!!

Nothing Profound to Say...

Nobody here but us chickens.

I rolled outta bed at 5:30... wasn't a struggle, but wasn't a joy either. Got to the pool, swam crawl for 40 minutes straight... except that I had to keep going around the two boys dog-paddling in the "medium" lanes. Got out and realized I'd left my bra on the bed... oh well, put on the sportsbra I brought for boot-camp class later on... and now, here I am... at work.

Like I said, nothing profound.

I want a coffee

I want a krispy kreme donut (and I don't even like krispy kreme donuts... its the principal of the thing).

I want a clean house and to be independantly wealthy and lots of land with a big house on it with employees who take care of the house and the land its on... and to travel... with my kids (screw the public school system I'm gonna REALLY educate my kids!)... and lots and lots of sleep.

5 more days and I need breakfast!!!

SO much better.

Dawn Patrol class was GREAT this morning... I expect to be feeling it tomorrow. Plus I get to swim again tomorrow and I'm just stoked for that. Despite getting sick yesterday I am SO glad I went swimming. I have always been a water-bug. My grandpa taught me to swim around 3-4 years old in the river near his house. Swimming feels natural to me. I know a lot of people struggle with it. My husband HATES putting his head underwater, but for me, swimming is like flying... totally free.

I ate nearly 0 protein yesterday... lots and lots of carbohydrates tho. One thing this clean-eating challenge has shown me is that I had been allowing myself WAY WAY WAY too many licks, bites and tastes of things through out the days. A few goldfish crackers here, a bite of ice cream or two there, a few corn chips and pretty soon you've got an extra 500+ calories that you haven't even written down. Whoah! Maybe I thought I was eating 1500 calories but really, with all of the licks, bites and tastes I'd been creeping up toward 2000 or even 2200... no WONDER I have been stalled for so long!

In any case, it is a good lesson to learn... and I truly believe that if I keep even that ONE lesson in mind for the next few months, the scale will move again and maybe I'll finally leave the 150s behind for good. We can always hope, right?

Oh... and I added links to some pics of the boys in the stats-section... but all of the pictures are at LEAST a year old, so when I get around to putting up the France pictures, I'll put up some more recent ones of the boys as well!!!

Today my baby is 2 years old.

and I finally planted his placenta.

(I know TMI)... but Nate was born at home with only my husband and the midwives in attendance and I've just never made the time to burry his placenta in the back yard like I've been meaning to since the day he was born. Oh well. Now it is done and will nourish the tree it is beneath... and I have more room in my freezer!

I can't believe he's 2 already. He'll be potty training soon. He talks up a storm... and it makes the baby lust well up like you wouldn't believe...

ah well...

Happy Birthday Nate!!!

blargh...

ever wake up with a just not quite right feeling? That was me this morning. Just a little dizzy, kinda off kilter. So I got up, went to the pool swam my 12 laps, got out and was still just not quite right. If I didn't know better I'd say I was pregnant (which is a physical imposibility, but that's what it felt like... early morning sickness). I had a few sips of water at the fountain and headed to work. By the time I got there my skin was buzzing and I was seriously woozy... I made it to the bathroom and heaved up the water and decided this was NOT going to work. Told my boss I was going home and that's where I've been all day. In bed mostly, with some short trips to the bathroom. The first thing I ate today was some OJ at around 10am... since then I've had water, toast, and some shreaded wheat. I have zero appetite, but the dizzyness and nausea have pretty much passed. I have two theories, the first is extremely low blood sugar and the other is my body rejecting the red-meat I ate yesterday. Both are plausable, but at this point I just don't want it to happen again.

The swimming (amazingly enough) felt great. 12 laps, all crawl. I stopped after lap three to stretch my arms and shoulders which were burning from the new movements but after that it was pretty much non-stop for the remaining workout. I don't think I'll get another workout in today (surprise, surprise!) but it's back on track with Alissa's Dawn Patrol class in the morning... time to update fitday.

WooHOO! What a day

We did another group Mini Cooper drive today and had some WONDERFUL fun twisting our way thru the back roads south and east of Portland between Estacada and Mt. Angel, it was a BLAST, and we had 23 cars in the group which is plenty enough to get noticed wherever you go. What fun.

Today I also did my first "Brick workout" It was a 7 mile ride followed immediately by a 1 mile run. I think I'll keep the rides in the under 10 mile range for a while and try to build up the runs post ride to get my legs used to the transition. Boy, the first 1/2 mile of that run was HARD, my legs felt like BRICKS, and I didn't even really push too hard on the bike... biking is so much fun because its so much faster than running, you just cover SO much more road when you ride. It was a fun workout too and I just missed the rain. It literally started POURING as I jogged into the garage at the end of the 1 mile run.

Tomorrow I hit the pool! HOORAY! It's been a LONG winter since last I swam, but I am SO looking forward to it. I still don't have a new suit, but I figure I'm going bikini shopping in 2 weeks with Donna so I can always try to find one then.

Speaking of bikinis... I tried on the one I've had since I bought it in Hawaii when I was 14 and while the triangle-top didn't provide the support I need at this stage in my life it didn't look entirely disgusting which made me feel VERY good!

Eating today was a HUGE challenge, what with the long drive and a late lunch at the Mt. Angel brewery, but I am happy to say I stuck to the plan and while the calories were a little high, I had NO sugar, NO white flour, NO caffeine and NO alcohol! Only 7 days, 1 week left! I haven't lost an ounce, but I don't care. I'm feeling good, feeling focused and ready to keep faithful and fight the good fight to loose these last 15 lbs (at some point).

Sleep tight everyone, time to update my fit-day!

Here it is, Saturday

and somehow the day is already over and I didn't get my run in. I've made Mike promise to kick me in the ass in the morning to get my butt out the door and on the road. I need to run. I need to get the funk worked out of my legs. I'm getting pissed at everyone around me (and even those who I normally have endless tollerance for are grating on my nerves)... I just want to yell at so many people... SHUT UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE!!!! QUIT BITCHING AND WHINING TO ME AND TAKE THE ACTIONS NECESSARY TO MAKE IT BETTER BECAUSE I AM SICK TO DEATH OF HEARING ABOUT IT!!!! Cripes!

Honestly, I know it's bitchy and I would probably never say that out loud to people (except here, where its relatively safe to say that they will never read it and know I am talking abou them) but sometimes I wonder why I don't. I mean, I know it would ruin the friendship, but I wonder sometimes if thats the kick in the ass they need to actually do what they need to do to fix the problems that plague them day after day, week after week, year after year... ugh!

Have a crappy relationship? Figure out how to communicate with your significant other and tell him what you want and need (or QUIT EXPECTING that he's gonna somehow telepathically KNOW these things) so that they have the tools and infomation necessary to be an active participant in the relationship and if they make the choice to NOT take that information and run with it, then cut your losses and get the fuck out!

Sick of your inlaws bossing you around? Tell them its your house, your rules and if they can't deal with it, they can piss off... I mean seriously... do you really have to be a doormat for a GUY???

Unhappy with your weight, level of fitness? Hmmmm.... lets not go there... my level tollerance for whining on this subject grows thinner and thinner by the day. Suffice it to say, get help, do the work, or STFU, get over it, and learn to love yourself the way you are.

No self esteem? TOO FUCKING BAD! It is not my nor anyone elses job to validate you so you can feel better about yourself... that's YOUR job. Figure out why you feel you need someone else to make you feel worthy of being loved and FIX IT.

Seriously, I think I'm a better person with caffeine...

whoah.

time to get some sleep before I bite someone elses head off.

remember when I said...

yesterday that Alissa's class was intense?

well I wasn't kidding.

I can hardly walk. I can't climb a stair to save my life. There are lumps and bumps in my back and abs that I'm assuming are muscles, but I've never seen nor felt them before so I'm not sure.

So I made and executive decision and I am NOT working out today.

I will go for a ride/run brick tomorrow, but until then I am recovering.

Next week should be FABULOUS!!!

Eating today has been right on track (I'm making up for my little carbohydrate and fat laden indescression last night with lots of protein and veggies today). Its Day 5 and we are OFICIALLY into the single digit count down now! ONLY 9 days left, ladies and gentleman!!! And as I have shown with my flub up last night, one little indescression does not a challenge distroy!

Keep it up, everyone... I'm going to go check the CHALLENGE FORUM and post some encouragement to everyone there too.

I didn't cave

Thanks so much for the encouragement, ladies!!! It means a LOT to me!!!

but I did slip up... if you check my fit day you'll see I made deviled eggs (we had a dozen hard boiled from easter and they needed to be eaten!) and ate one (one half of one egg) and didn't even THINK to look to see if the mayo (all of 1tbs for 6 egg yolks) I used contained sugar... low and behold... IT DOES!!! ARGH!!! Things like this only serve to prove to me that processed sugar is in everything and the more I am able to create food myself from raw ingredients and the less I rely on pre-processed foods the better. I can make my OWN mayo without sugar in it, and I know how... I have the tools... I just have to do it. I am SO glad I don't eat crap like that very often.

In any case, I didn't stuff my face with chocolate, or down half a bottle of wine, or run off to the local Krispy Kreme for a sugar fix or anything like that, and I'm willing to forgive myself the minute ammount of sugar in the one deviled egg because it was probably less than a gram worth by the time it was diluted by the eggs.

Pick up, dust off, move on.

the thing I do need to watch more closely tho is my late evening eating... like so many others I need to stop and not consume anything further after 7pm. I don't need it, its just boredom eating... and that's one of my biggest pitfalls.

Overall my calories and macro nutrient ratios for the day arent too far off, and the 300 cals I ate at 8pm (hubby made Welsh Rabbit also known as Welsh Rare Bit and I had to give it a try, but with my legal sprouted wheat bread, not his bakery fresh rye!) probably won't kill me in the long run, they just won't get me to my goals any faster either.

Happy sleeping all!

rollercoaster cravings...

so today has been very up and down and now I'm sitting here with deep gutteral cravings for all things sugary and chocolate. Its almost painful how badly I want a mocha with whipcream on top. As I sit here there is a big box of sugar-free swiss miss packets in the drawer to my left. There is a chocolate-pecanpie luna bar in the drawer to my right. Both of these, while fairly safe, are not in my clean eating plan as they contain caffeine (swissmiss) or caffeine and sugar (luna). So what's a girl to do? Seriously. I think I need to get up and go for a walk... maybe I can get a carton of milk at the caffeteria... I'm doing SO well, that I am not going to blow it now. I mean hell... there's only 10 days left!!! We're almost into the single digits here folks!

ok... I'm gonna go pound my head against a wall or somthing.

Have you had enough ass talk lately?

Well too freakin bad, because you're about to get some more of it!!!

This morning I previewed Alissa's new "Dawn Patrol" class that she'll be teaching every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6:15-7:00 am. And for a 45 minute class she packs a HELL of a lot into it. She packs so much into it, in fact, that several times I felt as tho I was having my ass handed to me on a platter because it had fallen off somewhere along the way. WOW! I'm excited to be doing that class next Tues/Thurs!!

I almost slipped up on my clean eating challenge last night.

I was getting out the ingredients for my tofu stirfry when I decided to check the bottle of spicy sechuan sauce "just in case" and low and behold, the fourth ingredient was sugar... and the 7th was corn syrup (that damnable stuff is in EVERYTHING!!!). So I ditched the sechuan sauce and made my own sauce. It turned out ok... not as good as the spicy sechuan sauce would have made it... but ok none the less.

Brenda, Ali and Lee are ROCKIN their challenges... Shonna had a minor hiccup on Tuesday, but I know she's back in the swing of things!

Tim resisted Krispy Kremes and April has been true to the plan. Megan just joined on Wednesday and we should be hearing how her first days went soon.

Keep it up EVERYONE!!! Drink your water, remember WHY you're doing this... (no matter what those reasons are!) and know I'm rooting you on, every step of the way.

Someone remind me...

that a lower intensity workout every now and then is better than no workout.

5 min walk (4mph at 3% incline) to warm up
30-40 reps on each exercise... basically to failure
Ball Squats
Ball chest presses (8lbs dbs)
Shoulder Press (ditto)
Tricep overhead press (ditto)
15 minute walk (4 mph at 4% incline)
Ball lunges
Ball Squats
Concentration Curls
One legged ballanced rows
Bent over rows
Ball crunches
10 minute walk (4.1 mph at 4% incline)
Abdominal work.

heartrate stayed midline the whole workout... I did sweat quite a lot and fatigued a lot of muscle groups, which is nice... but like I said, the intensity just wasn't there. Hump-day indeed.

did I mention my ass hurting?

well it hurts even more today! I don't care what anyone tells you, stairs are good for the glutes!

I had a hooray moment this morning when I discovered that the whole wheat english muffins in the caffeteria contain no white flour and only honey for sweetener!!! I won't be eating them every day, but it was a hooray moment none the less. I had an egg sammich for breakfast with the newly discovered legal (for this challenge) treat.

Todays plan includes a big salad for lunch again and some yummy tofu stirfry and asparagus for dinner... hot chilli-oil here I come!!! One loverly thing about not eating white flour and sugar is that is allows me a lot more caloric-wiggle-room for things like nuts, seeds, olive oil, and butter. Not that I consume mass quantities of these things ever, but I feel more free to use them in my cooking when I'm not already skimping to stay under my daily limit... and really, they're good for me.

I'll be working out at 2pm... some cross training, and probably a lot more stairs. I'm looking forward to it!

Lee, Brenda, Emily, Megan, Shonna, April and Tim are all doing EXCELLENT on their clean-eating challenge! Its Day 3 for me and I am feeling great. The fog is finally lifting and I'm not sure how I did it, but the caffeine headache never hit... weird. Ok, I'm off to meetings, must get my tea!!!

Getting Faster

Its so cool to see real live improvements in my fitness. For example, today was intervals day! Today I ran a base pace of 5.5mph to start, did two hills and then started my speed work. My first sprint was 6.5mph for 2:10. After two minutes of recovery at 5.7mph my second sprint was 6.7mph for 2:10, after two minutes recovery at 5.7mph and another hill (same speed) my final sprint was 7mph for 2:10.... holy crap! I ran 7mph for over 2 minutes! That so totally rocks!!! The best part is that now I know I can sustain that speed for a couple of minutes, and I can start building on it. So I got my 35 minutes of intervals out of the way and then did some major abs and now my ass is hurting from yesterdays stairs! Hooray!!!

Everyone in the clean eating challenge is rocking along! We're on Day 2 and I'm totally stoked for the excellent food choices we're making! Is everyone drinking their water too???

My aunt who is a doctor of accupuncture and chinese herbal medicine has recommended a liver flush for my tendonitis, and I think I will do that after we're done with our challenge. I'm not sure what it will entail, but I'm getting the info and I'll post more about it when I have the full details.

I am going to start swimming next week as well. 1/2 hour swimming in the morning and then Alissa's training class in the afternoon on Monday and Wednesday should be fun. Next I need to get my freakin' bike out of storage and get out on it on the weekends! Brick work (two events in one workout) is the next step for my triathlon training, so expect more info on that in May.

Ok... time for tea and water and advil... (here it comes...)

feelin foggy.

One of the primary symptoms (other than the brain splitting headache) of caffeine withdrawl for me is the feeling of being inside a fog filled box. My brain doesn't want to put two and two together to come up with any sort of a logical answer on anything today.

I feel like I haven't slept in days.

Daffy Caffy... that's what it is.

and I'm certainly glad to be getting rid of it.

Was too tired to make my stir fry for dinner so I just threw a buffalo burger on the george foreman and had some left over roasted dijon roasted taters and steamed broccoli.

Now I have to feed the kids... what is WITH all the freakin' easter candy in this house anyway???

Stairs!

Here was my workout today:
7 minute jog on the Treadmill (warmup)
Stair running (2 flights) up and down 6 times alternating singles and doubles.
Step ups with knee lift on a bench out side
Ball squats with bicep curls (5lb dbs)
Single leg lunges (rear leg on physio ball)
Stair running (repeat above)
Tricep bench dips
Repeat ball squats and lunges
Stair running (repeat above)
Abs

It was a good workout. I used a heart rate monitor and was up in the 160s for the stairs and down to 110-120 during the strength intervals.

My Food plan for today:
Veggie omelette - 1 egg + 2 egg whites, tomato, mushroom, spinach + a little cheese
Herbal Tea with honey and lemon
cottage cheese and 1/2 apple
Big Salad - with protein and oil/vinegar dressing
Banana
Veggie and Tofu Stirfry - broccoli, mixed greens, cubed firm tofu, carrots, onion, garlic, hot chilli oil, soy sauce
cottage cheese 1/2 apple
Plus at LEAST 64 oz of water, but I'll be pushing for 80.

I'm hoping that the flushing with herbal tea and water will help keep the caffeine withdrawl at bay. I started the weaning process on saturday, and only had a single instead of a double latte... Sunday I had no caffeine other than the chocolate with no major ill effects, but for me its usually the second day that begins the pain... meaning today... wish me luck.

Are you Ready for Tomorrow???

And every tomorrow thereafter?

Emily has joined the challenge, she will be eating clean for the next 2 weeks (14 FULL days!) as well! She'll be dumping white flour, diet coke, and refined sugar.

Ali is my hero and is going for no processed foods whatsoever! Wow!

April came over last night and taught me how to cook with firm tofu (I didn't know it had to be "squeesed" free of its water so it could absorb flavors)... we made an AWESOME dish with the tofu, garlic, onions, various greens, cherry tomatos (seeded), and a little orzo. GOD it was good. Salt and pepper were the only spices but you could have thrown in some chili peper flakes, or just about any savory herb for another flavor kick.

Hooray for TOFU!!! Now... to figure out the whole fin-fish thing... *sigh*

Ok, I need to go email all of the challenge participants to get everyone psyched for "day 1" and hopefully we'll all be posting daily food logs to keep each other motivated and HONEST!!!

cheers!

The brace is starting to piss me off.

Seriously... how am I supposed to type with this thing on??? ARGH!

I did NOTHING on the workout front yesterday (oh freakin' well!) but today I've got a date with Alissa at 2pm to start the weekend off right.

I'm stoked about the Clean Eating Challenge, and I'll try to contact everyone who has joined off list to make sure I've got all the info right and figure out how we'll check in with each other. I LOVE the idea of daily food-logs and daily support because I know stuff like that.

For now, here's what I've gleaned from the comments from yesterday:

Brenna - Giving up refined sugar, caffeine, white flour, and alcohol.
Brenda - Giving up refined sugar, white flour, alcohol (which she doesn't drink anyway) and soda (replacing soda with water).
Lee - Giving up sugar in her coffee, ice-cream sammiches, late night carbs and committing to her water intake.
Ali - who hasn't posted details but will be Eating Clean for 2 weeks with us!!
April and Tim - Giving up white rice, alcohol, potatos and all cheese other than string and cottage.
Shonna - NO carbs after 7pm!!!

Remember, this challenge is YOURS ALONE... it will benefit no-one but you... I want everyone to come up with a non-food reward for themselves for the end of the week. We are human, we will err... we will also promise to forgive ourselves when we do and get back with it!

yippee!!

The B-B&Lee 2 week CLEAN EATING challenge!!

WOOHOO... its been a while since I did a challenge, so I'm totally STOKED for this!!!

We need to define the "clean eating" rules, but to get started I would like to completely eliminate refined sugar (I will still use honey in my herbal tea), white flour, caffeine and alcohol... hell, its two weeks, I can do ANYTHING for two weeks right?

I'd like to start next monday (the day AFTER easter!)

Anyone is welcome to join, just post in the comments your commitments and definition of "clean eating" (yours does NOT have to be the same as mine!!!) and I'll make a running list!

Yippee!!!

terra firma

My basic daily diet (at least 5 days a week) is this:

Morning - 16 oz double, non-fat vanilla latte, english muffin toasted with pb and drizzle of honey (or 1egg+2egg whites scrambled and fruit)
Mid morning snack - fruit
Lunch - big salad with some sort of protein (chicken, egg, tuna) assorted veggies, 3 or so cups of greens and a tablespoon or two of dressing
afternoon snack - yogurt
Dinner - chicken breast orzo, with tomatoes and spinach, garlic, a little butter, salt, pepper and steamed broccoli.

Weekends are usually less structured but no less healthy. I do cook, I love to cook... I'm pretty good at it. I need more protein thru the day, I know... consistancy is key, I know... I don't take "free days" anymore, but I do have treats when I feel like it (perhaps once a week) a desert here or a beer there (or both like last night which was the first date night Mike and I have had in ages)...

Of course I drink water all day... I have no idea what my maintenance calories are right now because it seems that if I eat anything above 1500 calories per day I maintain but even if I eat 2200-2500 calories per day I don't gain... at least not in the short term.

So this is where I stand. I am more than willing to go alcohol or sugar free for a measured duration of time... its just a matter of comming up with the plan and making the commitment again.

I forgot to set my alarm last night and thus missed my morning session with Alissa... I'm pretty pissed at myself right now. I'd better go over there and apologize.

Ugh!

NSV!!!

I forgot to mention that my blood pressure when I went to the Dr. on Monday was the lowest it has ever been in my adult life... 90/56 (does that still technically count as alive?). That was pretty cool... and my last recorded Dr. Office weight was 174 and I was 154 fully clothed (including boots!) on monday, which was also pretty cool.

Life is mundane. The fridge is fixed, I've got the itch to buy another motorcycle that I can't afford, we're going to meet with a financial planner today, the kids are healthy, the dog is shedding up a storm and there is ALWAYS laundry to be done.

Workout this morning was supposed to have been self guided spinning but my MP3 player wouldn't turn on when I got to the gym this morning (I suspect a dead battery) so it was 45 minutes on the treadmill instead. The first 20 was a very long hill that I walked at 4.1mph, the next 20 was another hill (increasing grade) that I ran at 5.5-6.0... the final minutes were a solid 6.0mph run. Did crunches, oblique crunches, swiss-ball hand-leg pass crunches, supermen, alternating supermen and I was spent.

Juju said yesterday that she gave up the cream in her coffee and the holiday weight came off. I know I need to shake up my diet a bit again... I'm shaking up my exercise routine as well, but my diet has been stagnant for a while, so its gotta happen too... so where do I go? Do I give up my morning n/f latte? Do I give up caffeine all together? I really believe that I eat well 90% of the time, and I KNOW its what I do MOST OF THE TIME that matters, its just a matter of keeping that most of the time really MOST of the time.

If anyone has any dietary suggestions I am very open to any and all wacko ideas!!!

GREAT workout with Alissa today

and it seems I am getting faster! I did hill intervals on the treadmill for 30 minutes. My BASE speed (on the flats) was 6.0-6.2 mph and on hills I went to 5.7. Then we did 3 sprints at the end, 2 for 60 seconds at 6.5 and one for 30 seconds at 6.7. That was pretty cool. After a cool down we did some awesome abs work for about 15 minutes.

Alissa is getting a real challenge from me tho... its kinda cute how she freaks out when I suddenly show up with an injury or completely shift my goals all of a sudden... she goes into this little brainstorm frenzy (she's so smart and has so much going on up there that sometimes stuff comes out so fast its hard to keep track)... "ok, then we'll do this, and this, and this instead... oh, but you can't use your hand so... etc" I think my goals and limitations are keeping her on her toes, so to speak.

Today, this is my very favorite cartoon ***WARNING*** There are MAJOR explicatives used, turn down the volume, wear headphones or DON'T WATCH THIS AT WORK!!! Star-Schmucks and the Squirrel

Edited to add:

THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY WRIST!!!

improving attitude

just because I can't do bicep curls and pushups and hold dumbells in my hands and such does not mean I am dead in the water.

I can still run, eliptical, bike... and even work the hell outta my lower body and abs... right? Lunges and squats require no hand strength whatsoever. I can still eat right and exercise and improve my fitness. I don't have to wallow in self pitty, stuff my face with empty carbs and crap... I can still progres... its only 2 weeks.

And so I will.

Honestly, the brace is already helping. It makes it hard as hell to type and sign my name, but the pain has actually subsided significantly for the first time in a week, so I'd call that progress.

Our fridge is currently on the fritz tho, so that's a huge annoyance and will probably be a pretty big expense after the repair guy comes out tomorrow... a 3.5 year old fridge should not just stop running!!

Ok... fresh start in the morning and Alissa will help me get re-motivated (again!)

I shouldn't be typing.

my right wrist has been shot full of cortisone and anesthetic and I'm supposed to get a wrist brace with a thumb imobilizer to wear pretty much constantly until the grinding sensation and pain subside. Advil every four hours is also on the bill.

GOD DAMNIT!!! No use of the wrist for any load bearing exercises for 2 weeks at least!!! GOD DAMNIT!!!

this sucks.

more later maybe.

Grrrrrr...

Injuries I can handle.

repetative motion injuries piss me off.

My tendonitis is getting worse. I'm going to have to call the Dr. tomorrow and actually get it looked at I think and it pisses me off. I can actually feel the tendons catching when I flex my hand and I know that is not a good thing. I didn't end up going to bootcamp on Friday so I did my run yesterday and today has just been resting and trying not to piss off my wrist any further.

My Father in law attempted to run with me but he made it about 1/2 a mile and then had to walk (hehe!) so he jog/walked behind me and took a shortcut to meet up with me on the back half of the course. I still dusted him at the end tho cause he had to walk again. For the record, he's 6'5" and I am 5'5"... so he's definitely got some leg-length advantage... he has been doing a lot of work on his eliptical at home but he hasn't acutally RUN in a long time, so I think that's what killed him.

I'll update on the tendonitis after I call the Dr. tomorrow... I wonder if this is going to be classified as a work-related injury.

Slept in this morning...

and it was OH SO GOOD! Mike snuggled up to my back after the alarm went off for the third time and I said I had to get up and he told me I could wait a few more minutes... he was right... *sigh*

I'm going to do the "boot-camp" class, which has been guaranteed to kick my butt, at noon... my understanding is that it is comparable to actually being in boot camp but only for an hour at a time (rather than 24x7) which sounds really scary to me.

My worry today is that I seem to have developed a stress injury in my right wrist and forearm. I've never had tendonitis, but a couple of folks who have are telling me that it could very well be tendonitis. Basically I have a dull achey tenderness that runs from my right thum, up along the radius bone to about midway up the forearm where the tendon would cross over and connect on the inside edge of the bone. It hurts and it sucks cause it makes my right hand feel weak and I can't do pushups! I've prescribed myself single arm rest, ibuprofen and alternating ice and heat tonight... if it isn't better by monday I'll head to the pysician and see if I'm developing the real deal. Joy!

There is some happy news tho. My inlaws arrive for a week of visiting tonight, and my Friend Laura is comming down from the Seattle area for a visit tomorrow. Next week is spring break so the kids will get to play in the sun for a week, and Val's teacher called me up the other day to tell me how wonderfully he is doing in school these days. Nate is talking up a storm (and voicing an opinion about everything from diaper changes to what there is to eat to bed time routines... usually via screaming)... and we might be able to afford to put in the front patio we want this summer!!! HOORAY!

Its a sunny day, moods are high... I'll update after the pain!

Today I feel healthy.

and I am trying to really absorb the feeling. My allergies are at bay (thanks to allegra), I have no real lingering aches, pains or issues. I don't feel bloated, fat, or fatigued. My skin is exposed to the cool air this morning and it tingles with the goosebumps that are rising from the morning breeze. My lungs and sinuses are clear, my stomach is full but not disdended from my breakfast (eng muff with pb and coffee) and I can honestly say that today I feel comfortable in my body.

I feel good.

I feel healthy.

I feel fit.

And damnit if it doesn't make me worry!

Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough... shouldn't I be sore? Maybe I'm eating too much... shouldn't I be hungry? Maybe there is some unknown disease, tumor, allergy, infection just waiting in the wings for me to let down my guard so it can pop its nasty head out if its cave and really screw with my day/week/month/life...

and maybe there isn't... and maybe I am pushing hard enough but my body is getting stronger and is able to recover more quickly... and maybe I am not eating too much and my stomach is actually shrinking so I don't NEED to eat as much to feel full...

and maybe I should quit my bitchin, and just ENJOY feeling good... and take advantage of not being sore by going to the park with my kids this weekend... and stop worrying about what might happen tomorrow and just enjoy my healthy fit feelings today...

I'll give it a shot.

Oh... and happy April Fools... try not to be a sucker. ;)