Ramblings

There is really no theme or specific reason for the posting today. I plan to jump around and hit several things.

Yesterday was the first of two mid week runs with my training group. We did 7 sets of 90 seconds of running with 75 seconds of walking. All total, we went 2.27 miles. I actually think the front runners went further. Since there is a large gap in the running abilities of everyone in our group, we get really spread out during the running bits. When we get to a certain point, Grant has the front runners turn around and go to the back of the last runner. This is done several times over the course of the run so I think we run a bit further since Grant stays mainly back with the slower runners. He does come forward to the front people though.

I find it interesting that I am consistantly one of the front runners. Why do I find it interesting? Mainly because I know I am ssslllloooowwww as a runner, I really am. I know this for a fact but I am still up front during the run. I am not trying to keep pace either, I am just going at my own speed.

I have mentioned that I am on a plateau and I wonder if some of it is from adding weights into my routine. Muscle weighs more than fat and I know I am down inches if not pounds. I know my pants are looser too. People have commented that I look better.

My oldest daughter was stunned when she saw me in early January. I was down 40 lbs from the last time she saw me in August. Now, before you think I have some miracle weight loss secret, no such luck. She saw me right after I had given birth and a good portion of that weight was baby weight.

We get so hung up on the scale number that we watch that almost to the exclusion of all other signs of change and improvement. It is funny because with my children, who are smaller than they "should" be, I am always saying that the doctor should look at the baby not the scale. I guess we should heed that advice as well, look at the person and not just the scale.

My lil man Rhys was not feeling well today so I ended up skipping the gym this morning. Following dinner, I did go out to the gym. I got in 25 minutes on the elliptical and did my weights.

Am I the only one who finds it ironic to watch people heading into the gym, presumedly to get in better shape, smoking their last cigarette in front of the door before they go in? Beyond the yuck factor, it seems just stupid to be smoking prior to going in for a workout.

Tonight, in the weight room, I was waiting on the Ab Cruncher machine. It is a popular machine so I usually have to wait for a break between people and dart in to do my little sets. There was a woman hogging it tonight, yes hogging it. She would do a few reps and take a break, do a few reps and take a break. I know that is what you are supposed to do but the thing that really irked me about this is that she was yakking on her cell phone (loudly and in spanish) the entire time!! Get off the phone and do your workout or get off the machine to let others do their work out. I don't mind waiting if someone is working out but I thought this was asking a bit much. I finally did get my Abs worked out when she finally got off both the phone and the machine.

I do most of my weight work on my arms/shoulders since David, the trainer, said that my running will tone and work my legs. I start with a lateral pull down doing 30 lbs, 3 sets of 10. By the time I get to the last two, bicep curl and shoulder press, I am at 20 lbs and 15 lbs. It depends on which machine is open as to which I do last. Tonight it was the bicep curl and let me tell you, it was WORK to get 3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs.

Tomorrow is another run day, we are meeting at a local high school and I think we will be doing a track run.

Monday, Monday

Even though it was President's Day and the kids were home from school, I still managed to get a gym work out in. After I got dinner put in the oven, I dashed off for my workout.

I did my weights first. This is a new routine that David set up for me next week and let me tell you, my muscles are feeling the additional weight. I am not really working any different muscles, the same ones just in a different way. He also added weight to a few of them.

Apparently everyone else in town had the same idea to work out this evening so I had to wait for an elliptical to come open. Okay, well, really, I could have gotten on an elliptical right off but I admit it. I like a specific one so I try to wait for that one.

I did 25 minutes on the elliptical. ::huff, huff, pant, pant:: I tell you, that gives you a workout! What is disgusting is when you are standing there going, sweating and thinking you are doing great to see Calories Burned: 225 225??!! That isn't even a candy bar!! I am putting all this effort in for a stinking candy bar? Makes you think twice about eating that candy bar though.

When I first started going regularly to the gym again, I set the elliptical on manual settings. I started at level 1 and tonight I bumped it up to level 3. I didn't feel much of a difference except that my workout seemed to go faster. Of course, that could be because I wasn't worried about Rhys since he was with his daddy rather than with the sitter.

Yes, before you ask, today was Monday and thus a weigh in. I am holding steady at 213.8. I want to see a drop next week, I am tired of being in a holding pattern but no gain/loss is better than a gain, right?

As I was driving back to the gym, I was thinking about candy (yeah, still stuck on that 225 calorie mark I saw...you see why I normally cover the display with a towel when I work out). From mid September until April, there is just entirely too much candy available at stores. I know it is there all the time but starting in mid September, you get the holiday candies.

October: Halloween candies - suckers, taffy, Halloween Peeps
December: Christmas candies - mint M&M's, crimped candy, candy canes, peppermint nougat, Hershey gift baskets from relatives
February - Valentine candies - Dove chocolates, chocolate overload
April - Easter candies - jelly beans, Dove truffle eggs, Cadbury eggs

These all overlap too! The halloween candy is on the clearance aisle when they are stocking the Christmas stuff. I was looking for a heart shaped cookie cutter (no luck!) 2 days before Valentine's Day and they were stocking Easter candy. It is a conspiracy. It sucks. It sucks because I like candy, I want to eat candy but if I do, it is not a good thing. Moderation and chocolate just don't co-exist in my vocabulary so I have to stay away or I go overboard.

Another board I belong to, someone put these shirts up that I am going to order. It sums up things very nicely. The front says "No Excuses" with the back saying
No Emotion.
No Event.
No Party.
No Holiday.
No Family Member.
No Friend.
No Co-worker.

will keep me from my goal.
Today I will have no excuses.

Frost Bitten Polar Bear

We had bad weather blow in overnight and I checked before I left to be sure the run was not cancelled this morning. There was no email so I bundled up and headed down to the fairgrounds.

The roads were not too awful, some patches of ice but still tricky in places so it was not surprising that there was little traffic on the roads.

Out of a group of nearly 30 in the class, 6 of us were dedicated (or stupid!) enough to show up. Grant, the trainer, said we could consider ourselves members of the frostbitten polar bear club for running this morning.

It was 23^oF out when we started the run. There was ice on the road, a stiff cold wind blowing off the river (which finally was at our backs on the way back but made it feel like it was about 4^oF out) and little sharp pellets of ice hitting my face while we ran. I say run but I know I was being much slower and cautious rather risk slipping and getting hurt.

We did 6 sets of 90 seconds of running, 2 minutes of walking. We had 5 minutes of warm up/cool down walking as well. We did stretch before the run but after the run, they shooed us to the cars and said take a warm shower at home and then stretch.

It dropped 5^oF while we were running since it was 18F when I got back into the truck.

GPS said we ran 2.177 miles this morning.

The temperature continues to fall, it is now 10^oF outside.

Wow!

It has been much longer since I updated, longer than I thought.

First up, weight. :::sigh::: I have hit a plateau but I know why. Read my last post, I have weak will power when it comes to eating out. I have lost but it is such a dinky amount. I am back down to 213.8, where I was several weeks ago.

One thing I did was start going faithfully to the gym again. I have been going twice a week and doing 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. I do the manual setting and started at level 1, I am now up to level 2. Next week, I will go up to level 3. I would like to add one more gym day, where I swim rather than do weights/cardio but I need to work up to that.

When I first joined the gym, I met with a trainer to take my measurements and see what kind of weights I needed to be doing. I met with a different trainer today but we had my old measurements on file. My original measurements and weight was taken in November 2004. All of my measurements (tricep, chest, waist, hip and thigh) were down from those initial measurements. My weight was down 20 lbs as well.

This trainer changed some of the weight machines that I had been doing, adding different ones and taking away ones that I don't need as much since I am running.

Another change I have made was signing up with a running program through a local running store. This is a program designed to take a nonrunner to the point they can run a 5K race. I can run already but I still felt this was for me.

We meet for a group run on Saturday mornings and then during the week, we are asked to do 2 runs. I meet with some of the group and one of the trainers at the store for the midweek runs.

I feel pretty darn good about it, I am not the fastest runner there but I am consistant with my running and run towards the front of the pack.

Another good thing about the program is that I was able to have my gait anyalyzed to make sure I was wearing the correct kind of shoe. I over pronate so I now have running shoes that take that into account.

The end goal of this program is that we will take part in a 5K race here in town scheduled for April 9th.

Right now, my exercise schedule is like this:

Monday - elliptical/weights
Tuesday - group run
Wednesday - elliptical/weights
Thursday - group run
Friday - walk
Saturday - group run

I am still having issues with eating out but this week I have done much better. I have made myself better meal options and when the rest went out to dinner, I had a large salad at home instead. Of course, in that incident, it helped that I didn't even go with them since I was doing a group run.