Sweet Success

I went climbing again, and yet again I have survived!!! I did 5 walls and completed them 3/4 of the way.  My last wall I pushed myself and finished it! It was a grey wall, all holds at a 5.6 rating!  My ankle was none to happy having been walked on all day and then put through a traumatizing two hours in tight little shoes, but my body was happy for the workout.  I am now rewarding it with an early nights sleep.... good night....

Feeling a little alone...

I realized today that I still don't have a post following my last one in the colours of blue...  You need to blog! I know you stopped your exercise when I broke my ankle (yay solidarity!) but come on now!  Time to get back at it!!!

For the past couple days I was supposed to go to the pool for some good workout swims. This unfortunately hasn't happened yet.  I have however kept up my almost nightly routine of crunches and a few yoga moves as well as anywhere from 15-45 minutes of wii fit every few days.  It isn't much but it is better then nothing!  

I did end up at the gym last Friday where I did the bike for 15 minutes and the weird machine that lets you lift your legs to do curls (rather then lifting your upper body).  This was fun, felt alright afterwards as well.  Next weeks plan is to go swimming at least once and to the rock gym with Mimi on Tuesday (I can't wait!!) I know it is going to hurt like hell two days later, but you gotta start somewhere right?

I didn't die...

On Friday I went back to the climbing gym. It was weird, and I will admit I was pretty scared to get back at it. I got changed, got my harness on, clipped on my chalk bag and then went for my refresher lesson. A coworker had gone with me and it was her first time. I was the one who had to climb the wall twice while they taught her how to belay. I was exhausted after the first climb, and they made me do it AGAIN without a break... I was starting to remember what a workout felt like. We did about 5 walls each, I went 3/4 of the way up everytime, I think I went all the way up on one wall. The thought of falling is still in my head and slightly paralizes me at times but I think I just need to get used to the feeling of being held up in the air by a piece of rope. My ankle was swollen after all this but no more then on a regular day. If anything I got some good stretches out of it. I got home around 10:30pm and my whole body was tired. My muscles have not been that tired in at least 6 months which makes me sad. It hurt but it was a good hurt. Yesterday there was no pain and I walked around a mall for about 7 hours. Today is when I felt the pain, I can feel it in my shoulders, my armpits and my elbows. Best best I can figure is that I was pulling myself up on the wall to compensate for the lack of strength in my right ankle. Hopefully next time will be a little better... all in all was a good first time back.

Victory!

On June 29 '08 I finished my FIRST half marathon in Rio de Janeiro Brazil! Due to the completely different environment I ended up with heat stroke or dehydrated and hurled 15 mins after I crossed the finish line. Next time I will bring a fuel belt with me no matter how many water stations they 'say' there is. The last three kilometers were sure a struggle! But I made it!

I'm contemplating a full marathon for 2010. We will see what my schedule is like into the future. Marathon training takes considerable time. Four hour run every Sunday anyone? yuck.

baby steps forward... with matching shoes!

On Friday I went to physio and with a doctors note basically saying I can progress as quickly as my body will allow. This being established with my physiotherapist, I was told to put my right running shoe on... I was actually wearing a matching pair of shoes! Seems like a small thing, but in my head it is pretty huge! I then walked around with the aid of crutches for about 2 minutes perfecting my new gait and then trying it between parallel bars. This is something new that I can practice at home. I also walked around my apartment and cleaned it today without crutches. I am not going to lie, I am really tired now... but being tired in a clean apartment is quite a nice feeling! Hopefully I will be able to walk without crutches or the aircast soon and look like a normal person... I mean I don't mind the stares but it is getting to be annoying, three months of questions and sad stares start to get to you... I would just for once like someone to smile at me or just say hi without asking me questions about my bum ankle... yes I am starting to get jaded by this whole experience...

That's one small step....

I am back, and I am alive... and even semi-walking sans-crutches! That is right, Wednesday of this week I took my first tentative yet somewhat graceful (read: not a step and then a STOMP) steps. I am no roadrunner just yet but hopefully eventually.... Every day since then I have been waking a little more, trying to build up the muscles. It hurts a little, but almost a good hurt. My ankle sorta gives me a feeling like the bone is itchy (so it hurts but it is tolerable at the same time...) Doctor wants me to be walking without the crutches completely by July 1st... which is maybe possible depending on how much of a tolerance I build up in the next couple days. I am still wearing the BOOT.... which you can sneak a peek of here. Anywho... not much more to report as I am just working on physio exercises to get my range of motion back and working on the whole walking thing. Hopefully more news to come!

Updates! Updates!

Bad Taylor Bad! Another bout of sickness brought on another stall in training. Almost fainting during the last sickness run I decided not to try that again. So this time the week and a half off to feel better turned into three weeks due to sheer laziness.

On Monday I started back at the gym with a solid 10 km run. I had promised Dave (pinky-swore promised) since I had ditched the long run on the weekend. Oops. tee-hee. I wore the new shorts I picked up at lululemon in Toronto - it turns out the ride up, give me one hell of a wedgie and allow my thighs to rub against each other. Terrible. So terrible that after 1.5 miles I went to the change room and changed into my old shorts. So I guess I have a fancy pair of lululemon shorts for strength training or something...Oh yeah - I saw Kai Santala at the gym.

On Wednesday I hit the gym for another 10 km run. This one was bad. Super bad. Super-duper bad even. I watched every excruciating minute pass on the treadmill. My energy was low, my legs were burning and I had to take several long walking breaks. 94mins later and I was done - my back was killing - I went home and took a tylenol and recuperated on the couch. Ouch.

Today I was surfing around for marathon quotes for my website facelift and I found the cafepress website with a bunch of running t-shirts like this one.

13.1 Because I can.

Lol - 2 weeks until I leave for Brazil. We'll see if I can make it.



This weekend is the 18km run. oh my.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Pikature

Here is the pic of the last cast I will hopefully ever sport...

P.S. I love my new cell phone!

Grrr.... Arg....

So sick of my couch...

Here are some more tips when trying to get around on crutches...

10. A backpack has a dual use, to carry everything and anything you need to have with you, and a counterbalance for when you get a little too enthusiastic with the crutching.

11. It is the best ab, arm, and back workout you will ever have (besides working 7 days a week with a personal trainer and lifting more than your body weight...)

12. Wait until the bus has completely come to a stop before attempting to stand up while having to use crutches... no matter how stable you think you are... you are wrong

13. No matter how independent you think you look on "walking sticks" you will still get looks with sad puppy dog eyes from 50% of the people you see, from 25% you will get the knowing glance, and the other 25% will not give you a second look or thought even if you are yelling at them to move....

14. Your balance will increase exponentially, you will feel like a graceful ballet dancer when you go to pick something up you have dropped... although to the rest of the world you probably still look pretty clumsy.

15. Your palms will hurt, no matter how good you think the muscles in your hands are, it will get worse before it gets better (think cracking muscles).

Just a few more observations from this peanut gallery. Maybe some comments to add as well, the bathtub does start calling your name... and it gets increasingly louder as your "cast destruction" date nears. I am currently T-6 days and it is currently screaming at me. If you know how I can shut my bathtub up (short of smashing it) please let me know...

WOOT! (That is what is going through my head...)

Happier news is that I had another cast change today! Apparently everything is going well... my stitches have almost completely dissolved and my next cast change will be in two weeks. The next time I will get a walking BOOT! The picture here is a walking boot which is uglier than a cast... but it is removable! I will be able to take an actual bath and take it off to scratch and even stretch more than I am able to now!!! It seems like such a small thing but I am so excited! I also snapped some pictures while the cast was off... pretty gruesome here but still kinda cool. This is the inside ankle, a little nicer than then outside. My ankle is a little sore today because it is at a higher ankle than before. Should be better by tomorrow.... still really happy! WOOT you're getting a BOOT !!!!!

Progress.

Today it has been exactly a month since I crushed my ankle bones. On just such an occasion I thought it fitting to attempt something a little more difficult.... I took the bus to work. That's right, I waltzed right out to the bus stop, waited, and got on at the appropriate time. I even got off and on to another bus before getting to work. I worked for 8 hours and then I repeated this process in the reverse order to find myself back at home, muscles a little sore, but none-the-less unharmed. Yes I realize this is a little step... but it is HUGE for my independance. I can't go anywhere that requires me to crutch for too long at a time... but it is still progress!

Lessons Learned

I did it. I didn't want to. I went for my Tuesday run. I decided that it was a really nice day and I should run outside. It was so nice outside that I would have liked sunglasses and a hat maybe. The week runs are more of a timed run than distance so it didn't matter where I went. It would have been nice to have a watch on mind you. I was feeling really nauseous around kilometer two and had to walk the rest of Walford. I figure this had to do with the curry I had for lunch. Curry + running = bad. I stopped halfway on Regent at my grandparents for a drink of water because I was dying of thirst and too embarassed to go into a fast food joint and ask for free water.

So I had some lessons learned:

- buy sunglasses and a hat

- get a digital watch, a heart monitor would be nice

- do not eat curry on run day

- bring water on your run (buy a water belt)

Like a Hamster on a Wheel....

On Sunday I went to my dad's to jump on the treadmill. The dreaded 14.5km run was upon me and I wasn't happy about it. The treadmill is located in the basement in Fiona's father's equivalent of a 'man-cave.' It's where he has his lazyboy and a tv that he can turn up real loud. The lazy boy is surrounded by various papers, magazines and stock markety things. The tv is usually turned on to some business channel. So I was kind of intruding. This time the tv was broken and he kept coming in and out of the room fiddling with the remote. It's hard to watch someone tinker around with technology they know nothing about (I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it either mind you). So I was a little distracted.

The run went okay. It was long. Very long. Two hours and ten minutes long. God I'm slow. I started with 10-1 intervals (10min run - 1min walk) and then it went to 5-1 intervals then 5-2 and before long after the 10km mark I was doing 5-5 intervals. I stopped at some point to stretch. My legs get really tight after a while. Man this half marathon is going to take me like 3.5 hours at this rate lol. I'm going to be walking all funny I bet. Sigh. Now it's countdown to the dreaded 18km run which should be next weekend (but I'll be in TO) so I'm moving it to the weekend afterwards. When I come visit you this weekend I have to go to Carleton on the treadmill or on the canal for a 10km run at some point.

Sneak attacks are impossible on crutches

A few things I have learned:

1. You cannot, no matter how hard you try, sneak up on someone while using crutches
2. Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night is made harder as you have to fully wake up before setting out on crutches... or face the alternate outcome.
3. Socks last twice as long
4. You can totally rock the one pant leg up look with a cast and no one will judge you (also, sneakers go with any outfit while on crutches...)
5. People who you have never met will randomly break out into long dissertations on how they, their child, or a friend of a friend broke ANY bone in their body...
6. A Chair in the kitchen is a god-send
7. Anything slippery on the floor is the devil incarnate
8. Being able to bring a whole plate of hot food from the kitchen to the living room without spilling it WHILE using crutches IS and artform
9. The insanity resulting from cabin fever will either crush you or comfort you... the voices aren't all bad...

As I continue to learn my lessons I will share them... just in the case that you run into someone with similar circumstances to mine whom you've never met, you can tell them "A Friend of a friend of mine had this blog and she said...."

oh the newness....

That is right, I got a new cast today! And yes, it is that exciting. So I got to the hospital, and was waiting in the waiting room after checking in. They finally call me after about 20 minutes, time for x-rays! I said "allo" to the lady who came to tell us where to go and because of my first name she talked french to me the whole time. I find this very strange... but oh well. So I had three x-rays taken, one which was very awkward... but I held it until the took the picture of my bones. Then back to the waiting room for another while and then into a plaster room.

Here Mr. Plaster Man cut my cast with a saw and some cool scissors. He then handed me a washcloth which I got to wash down my leg, which felt way better then it sounds. He also took off the tape holding my incisions together (besides the stitches) and I got to see them. There is about a 2" incision on the inside ankle and about 1.5" incision on the outside ankle. I then sat there for awhile which was weird, because I can move my toes, but really can't move my foot from side to side or up and down. Also the top and bottom of my foot are numb, apparently that feeling comes back... but still a very strange sensation. Then the cast was put on and it felt nice and warm. This whole experience showed me how much muscle I have actually lost in my calf and how much my ankle has lost it's range of motion. This is slightly dissapointing as I might need way more physio then I thought I did... I can't let it bother me though because I don't know what is actually going to be perscribed until I get there.

Sudbury Rocks Marathon

Yesterday I ran the 10 km race at the Sudbury Rocks Marathon!

It certainly was an interesting race...I got dropped off at the Y in the morning. I really didn't want to get up in the morning! My race was supposed to start at 9:35am. I didn't have a watch and it was cold outside so I found a guy inside all decked out in running gear to stand beside. He had a watch and seemed to know what was going on. We waited and waited. So I went outside to check. The 10 km start had already left! Some confusion ensued about what I was exactly supposed to do at this point and I was off (in the right direction).

I was feeling anxiety in the morning going to the race. When I missed my start it definately shot up, and therefore my heartrate did too. I also hadn't warmed up at all; no stretching, walking etc. The first 3 kms were not good. Not good at all.

I've been posting about the doom and gloom of the weather forecast for this day. I wore a rainproof shell to keep dry, so did everyone else. Well it turned out to be much warmer and sunnier! So overheated. I ran with my sleeves rolled up and my shell tied around my waist. When I went to take my shell off I had to unpin my number bib, and I lost a pin....so I was walking backwards to find it. Some nice ladies behind me were packing some extras and helped me out!!

After the 5km mark I was feeling much better and able to run continuously. I had calmed down from my terrible start. Plus at this point I had passed all the walkers. The course took me around one hell of a scenic route through the flour mill and back downtown.
And the end of the race when you come to the finish line, the announcer calls out your name. I thought that was nice. And because Jennifer from the CDA office was up on stage too they called out I was a Team Diabetes Participant. Awh sweet.

My official chip time was 1:18:01. Something to beat next year.

Second Week Back at it

Tuesday I did a 6.4km run on the treadmill. I'm still trying to gain back my endurance. This time I increased the speed but kept the number of walking breaks. I did over an hour of strength training afterwards. I was feeling energized so I uped all of my weights. I normally do 'endurance weights' aka lower weights for higher reps. I do 3 sets normally so I decided that my second set I would try a much higher weight for lower reps. I left the gym with my legs shaking. Good for them, bad for me when I got home and the elevator was broken. sigh.

Thursday I started with a 'time test.' I tried to see how far I could run in 30 minutes. Good recreational runners can do 5km in 30minutes. I did 3.86km! yuck. I can typically do 5km in about 40mins or so. Realistically I'm going for endurance running but I would still like to be able to go much faster without hyperventilating. I ran for an additional 30mins and walked another 10mins combining to make 8km total. I did strength training afterwards. I skipped any torso work and the glute machine. I hate the glute machine.

Today I picked up my race kit at the Y. It's pouring today. Tomorrow is now forecasted for 12C and raining. I'm planning to go sit in my dad's hot tub afterwards.

Confirmed

Well it is confirmed. I have just registered for the Sudbury Rocks Marathon 10km event. It's this Sunday and the weather is forecasting 8C with light rain. Gross! Wish me luck!

Bumpy road to health

So I still have my cast and on Friday it will be two weeks since the operation. I have an appointment at the hospital on Tuesday to most likely take out stitches (if there are any... I am not sure if they put self disolving ones in there) and to put a new cast on. The last couple days I have found that if I move in a specific way that my cast will kind of "rattle" around my leg... which leads me to believe that more swelling has gone down (or muscle mass) around my ankle itself and because of this I will need a new cast. I am actually quite excited to get my cast changed because when they put the new fiberglass around my leg it actually heats up to set which feels really really (I can't stress this enough) good on my ankle. I have also decided not to take any medication unless I really need it because it seems to be doing more damage than good, such as messing with my sleep, appetite, and energy levels.

Crutching is going better. I went to work Monday and Tuesday, but I took today off because I was exhausted. I am planning on going back to work tomorrow and Friday. I didn't realize how hard this would be on me to go back to work. I have also realized how many muscles using crutches actually uses. After my first day at work I was so sore in the obvious spots, legs and arms. Less obvious was my chest and abs, almost like I was doing bench presses. Today I am trying to stay off them as much as possible so that I am able to get around at work tomorrow.

One Year Weightloss Anniversary!

I began my weightloss journey on April 29th 2007. I have been on again, off again dieting and exercising to achieve my goals. Interestingly enough my goals keep changing. There is definately still a minimum weight that I would like to have. I would not like to go under it because I think the skinny and definitely the super skinny are weak and unattractive (in my opinion). I thought that this was at 150lbs, which I am currently hovering above, but it doesn't match the image of my goal that I can visualize. The more recent goal change is for 140lbs. We will have to see how I feel upon reaching this goal whether it is too high or too low.

Here is my past and current measurements:

2007
Arm 13
Bust 38.8
Waist 36.0
Hips 46.0
Thigh 22.8

2008
Arm 11.75
Bust 36.0
Waist 31.3
Hips 42.0
Thigh 19.3

Update

It's been a LOOOOONNG time since I posted. I took 2 weeks off of training. The first week I was recovering from the sickness. After I almost fainted on the treadmill I figured I should be 100% before getting back in routine. The second week I was cramming for my quantum exam.

Last week I got back to it. On tuesday I did a 6.5km run on the treadmill at the Y. The first 20mins were horrible! I lost endurance for sure - I had to slow down the speed and increase the walking breaks. After the first 20-30mins though my lungs were feeling a bit better. I had a lot of energy that day and had a kickass time with the strength training. bigger weights. On thursday I did 5km on the treadmill and 10mins on the elliptical and 10mins on the wave machine followed by a less intense strength training session. Wednesday and Friday I used my free weights at home to do an upper body workout. I missed the weekend long run due to the huge presentation that I had yesterday. Spent way too many hours on that. wow.

I'm looking forward to the runs this week and getting back into my old routine.

Recovery Sucks

Up until yesterday I have been doing pretty good. I have been moving around on my crutches, trying to do everything for myself and just generally trying to relax and heal. I have managed to figure out how to bend down to pick things up without falling (one crutch balancing act), and even get everything I need in the bathroom to get ready in the morning without standing or looking in the mirror. Today I was going to attempt to wash my hair by myself but I just really don't want to now. My ankle hurts more then it has ever before. It is an achy pain (almost arthritic like) and I just can't get into a comfortable position. Not in a good mood today, very mad at myself for falling actually. I know I am going to have these dark days but I hate feeling like this, I just don't know how to snap out of it.

I've been reading posts online about people who have a similar fracture to mine, some are hopeful, others not so much. I have also been trying to figure out if it is possible that the pain I am feeling is the bone actually reforming, if it is then that would be something to be happy about. I don't like not being able to control my emotions in regards to this. Usually if I am feeling like this I would go for a good climb and then I would feel so much better.... I am not sure what to do to replace that feeling or the means to get to that feeling. Any suggestions?

Sad times....

April 15th,

I am bouldering, having a good time, made it to the top of boulder route 5, reaching for the last hold to complete the route. I miss it by cm's. My right hand slips, then my right leg. I swing back from the force of the slip causing me to lose my left foot and hand holds. I fall towards the crash mat. My right half makes it safely to the mat, my left side is not so lucky....

My right foot hit the very edge of the mat and then rolled off, causing me to pretty much take the brunt of the fall on my right leg. After some maneuvering and A LOT of help from some of the guys and girls at the gym (to whom I am eternally grateful) I made it to the emergency room, where after a few hours I was on a stretcher awaiting x-rays. Diagnosis was a broken ankle, but not just any broken ankle, I broke both sides. I was in the hospital from Tuesday until Monday. The Friday in between I had surgery to hold everything together which resulted in what I like to call my new Bionic ankle. I have a plate and four screws on my outside right ankle and three pins in my inside right ankle. I am casted for 6 weeks, no weight, and then hopefully I will get a walking cast for the same amount of time, and then I have physio to go through. Long process, but I am committed! I want to get back at all my goals eventually.... they have just been diverted for the time being.

Present,

Right now small goals are big accomplishments. For example, I made it from the kitchen to the living room (10 feet) with a whole plate of food without dropping it yesterday! Seems simple enough, until you realize I was on crutches. Today I am going to start doing some laps on crutches in my hall as I was told by my dad that I need to work up my endurance on the crutches. They are seriously harder to use then they look! You get tired really really quickly! So for now my blog posts will consist of my mini-accomplishments and my progress through this fun broken ankle. I hope I don't bore you too much....

Happy??

I went to the gym today after work, I did 25 minutes on the treadmill, and then did some weight machines for my legs as well as a standalone structure thing where you can hold on and pull yourself up... I decided to do vertical curls using my grip to hold on, my arm strength to keep steady and my legs were getting a good workout at the same time. I also did some stretching and some work with a medicine ball. It was all good... I think I am going to loose the competition though because I weighed myself at the gym and it said I was 165 while my scale at home says 155... Not too happy about that. To look on the bright side though, I have lost weight since last month according to that scale... only a few pounds, but progress is progress none the less right?

So lately I have been super tired. I have been eating enough iron rich foods as well as eating health, drinking water and getting sunshine (wow... sounds like I am a plant...) Anyway, I thought exercising was supposed to create endorphins which make you happy... why am I not?

The Pain! The Pain!

So today I went climbing, pretty much my first real climb in two and a half weeks. I went last week but it wasn't very long or intensive. So today I did bouldering for an hour and a half... tried route #5 again about 6 times (or more!), I did one of the 60 degree sloped walls for awhile. On the 60 degree wall I made some progress but I had to lay it to rest for today. Then I did some climbing on the boulder with some help from a friend. I was trying to do route #10 which is a little brutal for anyone under 5'4"... I can get 75% of the route done but then fail. I have to figure out how to dyno up to the rock I need and switch my hand position from a grab to an undercling to be able to get the leverage to move my feet up higher. I had to leave after an hour and a half because my grip was actually failing which wasn't happening a few weeks ago. My forearms are pretty sore and my grip is pretty weak. Gonna have to go Saturday to build up my endurance again.

Check this out! Cool homemade climbing wall.

Running While Sick is Stupid!

So yesterday when I tried to run through my cold....that was stupid. Very stupid. Realistically I had no energy, the increased air intake with a sore throat, etc. It was probably a bad idea. I ran for two 5 min intervals and then had to lay down on the floor because I was light headed. I tried to run again after to that but no energy and I only lasted 2 mins. So I just walked a whole bunch. 6.25km in all. Oh well. Fucking up my running schedule was to be expected at some point. Going to have to cancel my personal training session for tomorrow. Hope I Get Well Soon.

Getting back at it

So after two weeks of being pretty much sedentary in the area of workouts I FINALLY made it back to the rock gym. I went with Mimi and we did some top roping. I am not going to lie, it hurt a lot! Basically I had gotten too used to bouldering and shorter routes, so much so, that even one top roped wall was considered long. My forearms were not happy. We climbed for about an hour and a half, about 5 walls each and then we decided to go swimming at the college.

There were some classes going on at the pool when we got there so we did the whole sauna thing first and then hit the water once the classes left. I did 7 laps of the semi-Olympic pool (4 straight without breaks) and swam around the pool for about an hour. Basically we turned into 5 year olds after not long by throwing in quite a few floating toys. I am sure the commissionaire was a little confused watching us through the security camera... Oh well. Today I am forgoing the usual workout to clean my apartment. Yes I know this sounds like an excuse... well I guess it is, but I really, really need to clean as it is driving me closer and closer to that all to near breaking point. Hopefully tomorrow will be another climbing day.

Question: Why are there only cute guys around when you haven't shaved in a few days? This perplexes me...

Exhausted

Yesterday I did a 8.5km run at my dad's house. It was a good clean run. Not easy but not hard. The time went by fairly quickly. But today I woke up after 11.5 hours of sleep absolutely exhausted. This feeling came with me to the gym. I ran at a much slower rate and had about 3x as many walking breaks. I did a short run and followed it up with the wave and elliptical machines. It was a tough cardio day. The rest of the day felt just the same. I hope tomorrow I'm feeling a little more with it.

Yet another 'recovery' week

Back to the gym in a more regular manner again.

On Monday I got new shoes! This should have been really exciting but....first the saleswoman was kind of a bitch and completely unhelpful. It was like I was taking up her time even though no one else was in the store. This-is-your-job-moron! She seemed annoyed I didn't want to buy the pink shoes because they are pink. I don't like pink. So I got some blue/white but still kinda ugly shoes.

On Tuesday's scheduled run I wanted to take them off within 15mins. Pain. Ouch. They had a lot of stability in them. Too much stability. The shoes were overcorrecting and I was running basically on the outer edge of my foot. This also somehow absolutely killed my arches. Even the next day they hurt. I did finish my 35min run that day, plus 10mins on the wave and 15mins on the elliptical, finally an hour of strength training.

Wednesday I returned to the gym in my old runners and did some cardio. I skipped the strength training because I overdid it the day before on the inner thigh machine thing. oops.

Thursday I returned to the Running Room to find a very likeable and knowledgable saleswoman who helped me return the sucky shoes and find better ones. They are also much prettier :) Don't you think?

Friday I tested out these new shoes on the treadmill. I found that the left foot was absolutely perfect but the right foot was overcorrecting a bit. After the horrendous test on the Tuesday this was great and I was happy enough. I expect my foot to adjust to the shoe in time. It doesn't bother me too much, just at the beginning. I finished the cardio hour with the wave machine and the elliptical. I'm starting to really not enjoy the elliptical. It makes my toes numb.

Finally today I did some cardio at the gym. I had to cut my gym session short to go to porketta bingo with my parents lol. Don't worry I just had the bread! So today at the Y I ran into Evan Caldbick on the treadmills. After his run we walked around the track and talked. When the snow clears we are going to try to meet up and do some runs together outside. He is training for a full marathon for september or october. So that should be fun - except he has those long legs and therefore will run so much faster. I'll have to try to keep up!

Tomorrow is the weekend long run. 8kms - man 'recovery' week is starting to not feel like much recovery. 'Building' week next week. Bring it.

Do I have to???

So I have taken a week and two days off so far... not to mention the amount of junk I consumed over Easter... so bad. I had good intentions of going to the rock gym today, but sadly I was not to make it there. I hung out with Mark and Micheline for most of the night which was really nice. It has become my mission now to get to the rock gym tomorrow... yes I have to make it a mission otherwise I will put it off.. and just feel even more horrible then I already do. So my mission should I choose to accept.....

Week Off - Oops

Due to a stupidly hectic academic schedule I managed to skip the gym for an entire week and a half! I did the tuesday fun on Mar 11th and didn't get back until Mar 21st! I ended up missing 3 scheduled runs in my program. The book suggests to ease back into the schedule if you miss a week or two but what do they know lol? So right into the end of "Building week" I went. I did a 50min run on Friday at Melanie's parents place on their treadmill. Motivation was very low that day because I could hear people having fun upstairs. ugh.

Today I did my long run at my dad's house on their treadmill. (man I wish I owned my own treadmill! It would life so much easier!) 10km took me 96mins. I'm still saddened by my terrible running times. I just have to remind myself that I'm doing this to finish. The first half was difficult - I had many walking breaks as I was having troubles with cramping again - this time in my left side. The second half I put on some of my favourite songs on the shuffle, uped the volume and ran through the pain. I worked pretty well. ouch though. I had a good 3-4 kms without much pain which was appreciated. I was getting bored the last 2 km so I uped the speed and sprinted to the end.

Thank Goodness this coming week is "Easy/Recovery!" But I have a personal training session on Tuesday.

Observations at the Gym

#1) Okay so there is this machine at the gym that you exercise your back with. It’s angled at about a 45 and you lay on it stomach down. You swing the top half of your body down and up again. Like a crunch upside down maybe? Do you know which one I’m talking about? Either way, I’ve noticed lately that when women in tight pants are using this machine they get the camel-toe effect in the back. It’s hilarious! Stay away from this equipment! Not flattering.

#2) So I go to the Y gym and therefore that comes with people from all walks of life. But my question is – where are all the really hot people? Shouldn’t there be really hot people at the gym because well that’s where you go to be this way? There are a couple mind you but in general most people at the gym – you would never know they worked out. This begs the question – If the gym doesn’t make you hot and vanity is out of the question, then why do people go? The perceived hotness goal?

Last Week's Wrap-up

Last week was a little bit of a write-off in the exercise deptarment. I had my major quantum mechanics assignment and the quantum midterm PLUS the diabetes Fundraiser. I'm surprised I got to the gym at all. I was supposed to do the long run day on saturday, but my feet and calf muscles killed from running around in dress shoes at the fundraiser for 8 hours! So I went on Sunday instead - with Sydney and Romi. It was great to have someone else in the gym, even if they were doing their own thing while I sat on the hamster wheel for 80 mins.

Here's a summary;

Tuesday
Warm Up: Walk 5 mins
Jog 6 mins, Walk 1 min, repeat 7 times
Cool Down; Walk 5 mins

Sunday
Warm Up: Walk 5 mins
Jog 4 mins, Walk 1 min, repeat until 8 km
Cool Down; Walk 5 mins

This page is getting a little too orange for my liking...

Hey you! Yeah you! Blog!

Okay.. that is about all I have left in me tonight after doing some bouldering. I've been trying some new manoeuvres that are making my muscles fail a lot earlier than before. Today I fell off one slanting wall about 10 times, and this one guy took pity on my and showed me a new move to try to get to the next hand hold which involved dropping my right knee and twisting my right hip towards the wall while reaching up for the next hold with my right hand. I made it one rock higher which is progress for progress' sake... but still have not completed the route. I suppose this is a vendetta wall to be defeated at a later date...

Other then that I am done with snow... done you hear me? The snow banks are officially half my height in most places and where they haven't been religiously plowing, it is 3 feet over my head!!! 33.9 cm to go to beat the record of 444.6 set in 1970/1971. And guess what the weather man is telling me to expect for tomorrow.....

Snowed In...

So as you have probably heard Ottawa is getting a 50cm dump of snow between Friday and Saturday (in addition to the 35cm we got on Wednesday). So I am pretty much hermiting in my apartment and refusing to go outside until it stops. Good thing I am too tired anyway otherwise I would be getting cabin fever fairly soon.

Wednesday: I went at lunch time to the gym at work. I did 13 minutes on the treadmill, with two minutes of that being running (in sequence). Yes I can hear you laughing... I didn't want to die, but it did hurt a little, I am not going to lie. Then I did 10 minutes on the bike, and then ten minutes of various things like medicine ball exercises, crunches and pushups on a stability ball, and stretches. I felt pretty good going back to work actually.

Today: I went to the rock gym again. I did about an hour of attempts at a few routes. I did most of route 5. I gave up on that after falling off it 6 times. I moved on to route 2 which I completed and felt very accomplishy. Onto a new route... #9. This one is on a wall that is about a 60 degree slant the whole way. I can get halfway up the wall but then can't get good enough balance or foot holds to move up to the next hand hold. I am definitely getting better at falling though!

Support

You are not allowed to eat your way out of your apartment even if someone does fill it with chips, you are only allowed to crush them to fight you way out! Crushing is fun right? Chips are evil, they are the devils food!

I went climbing yesterday for about 2.5 hours. It was fun! I beat route 5!!! I was so happy. I was a little tired after doing that so I went down and watched a group of guys going at the boulder and one randomly asked my name, apparently I look exactly like this girl he went to university with. Whatever, all is good... I went on my way. Later I went to go try the bouldering room above the office, there was about 10 of us up there including this guy. Only one climber can climb in this room at a time so the rest of us spotted them because it actually goes pretty high. He was really cool though because he kept encouraging me to try this route even though I don't think I can do the whole thing yet because it is a crazy underhang, and then up at 60 degrees and then it is a rounded edge to the top... I just really like the random support that happens there. I like being able to go by myself but not having to be completely alone. Yeah I know it sounds weird but it makes me happy. I am hopefully going to go on Friday... probably not today or tomorrow as the stupid snow won't stop!

Chips are Delicious

We were talking about chips tonight. My greatest temptation of all - Ruffle bbq chips awwww. You know if someone played a joke on me and filled my apartment with chips, I would eat my way out. Yum.

But there is a new development on the chip front these days. I spend way too much time at the bus terminal and when I'm there there are always a couple vending machines just staring at you. I can resist these just fine on their own. But then people will buy them, and you sit there for 30 minutes waiting for the bus watching this person in front on you enjoying! crunch crunch crunch... I actually don't feel tempted in a way that makes me want to jump up and go buy them, rather I get like angry at this person for eating them in front of me. A teenager on the Paris Loellen bus scarfed back a big bag of ruffles sour cream and onion. Grrr...why can't I have some. So jealous. No one eats chips in front of me....unless I'm on public transit...maybe this should tell me something about the avoidance of this drug because well the bus terminal people are just plain weird....

Interesting...

I somewhat knew this little fact, but they way they put it here is quite interesting...

"Losing muscle is a bad thing. Muscle tissue is very active--it burns a lot of calories. Every pound of muscle burns about 35 calories per day. Using the above example, if you lost 12 pounds, then, you lost three pounds of muscle. You would be burning 105 less calories per day or 3150 per month. Since there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, you would gain almost one pound of fat per month just from the muscle mass that you lost!"

"Contrary to what many people think, strength training is as important, maybe more important to successful fat loss than aerobic exercise. The reason lies in the amount of calories that are burned when you aren't exercising. Depending on the intensity and your weight, an aerobic workout (walking, cycling, stair stepping) will burn approximately 300 calories per hour. If the exercise is strenuous enough (which is unlikely in the beginning exerciser) the RMR will be elevated temporarily up to a few hours afterwards. Compare this to strength training which elevates the RMR permanently. The RMR accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your daily calorie expenditure, so even a modest increase will help burn off more fat."

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article887.html

"The flat-stomach myth: Fact: Many people are on a quest to achieve a "flat stomach". Unfortunately, this is not physiologically possible. The obsession with the abdominal area can cause frustration, anxiety, and can even lead to eating disorders. The truth is, our abdominals aren't designed to be flat. Instead, the abdominal muscles form a rounded--not flat--shape. The torso is shaped like a cylinder, not a laundry aid (the washboard!) Gender, age, and individual body types can effect the size and shape of your abdomen."

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article881.html

Just some fun food for the brain....

Week Recap

Monday:
I was really tired on Monday. I woke up at 7am to get my posters at Staples at 8am. Various obligations throughout the day I didn't make it to the gym until 7:30pm. Here's what I managed:
- 30min elliptical
- 20min bike

Tuesday:
Beginning of 'recovery' week for my running program. I was scheduled run 4mins, walk 1 min and repeat 6 times. I managed to stick to this routine and felt great after the run. It took 40mins. I finished up the cardio on the bike and did some strength training.
- 4.6km treadmill
- 10min elliptical
- 10min bike
- Leg/torso weights

Thursday:
Second run of the week went smoothly. Run 2mins, walk 1min and repeat 10 times. This was great with all the walking. I uped the speed on the treadmill to 5.0mph instead of the 4.4-4.8mph that I usually do. I completed the same distance as tuesday's run in the same amount of time, even with all the walking!
- 4.6km treadmill
- 10min wave
- 10min bike
- Leg/torso weights

Friday:
The elliptical is very boring. I feel like a hamster on it's wheel. The gym was busy so I was on the elliptical facing the pool instead of the tvs. The pool is not overly entertaining. The strength training for arms is going pretty well.
- 30min elliptical
- 10min wave
- 10min bike
- 10min row machine
- Arms/torso weights

Saturday:
Long slow run today. There was a really chatty lady on the treadmill beside me. It's hard to keep a conversation while running. Luckily as part of recovery week, I was to run 2 mins and walk 1 min. I told her all about Team Diabetes and school and such. Apparently her daughter has 2 master's degrees and is now in med school - see there are people who like school more than me! I also had a nice conversation with a guy during strength training. I think I'm becoming one of the regulars!
- 6.5km treadmill
- Leg/torso weights

Was that my muscle crying?

So my co-worker Amy and I decided we were finally going to hit the gym after work today. She tried to talk me out of it at the end of the day, but she really wants to go down a few sizes before her wedding in October so I wouldn't let her. So at 3:15 we were off to go try this out.

So we get down there and changed... me in my rock climbing pants that I had used the night before and were COVERED in chalk (even smelled of it) because I had been attempting route 5 again, which I am proud to say I have now successfully completed 3/4 of it! Yay me!

Anyway, Amy basically showed me all the machines as she used to use them (or ones quite similar) at another gym. She made me do 15 reps at least at the highest weight setting I could go at on all the machines we tried.... which were a lot!

We tried the following: Ab machine which you twist around in, pull down weight machine, thigh press weights, leg curl weights, a weird machine where you are lying down and pushing the weight up with your legs, straight weights while lying down and then standing up (squats), and then behind our head while sitting down., arm press machine thing..., and another one where you basically use your upper body to support your lower body while moving.

It was a good day... however my abs have started whimpering which pretty much guarantees they are going to be crying tomorrow... along with many other muscle groups. Should be interesting. Amy wants to go at least three times a week, so I have to motivate her with the cardio and she is going to motivate me with the weights. So Monday, Wednesday, Friday is going to be gym, and two other days somewhere in there (where I am not in complete pain) is going to be my rock climbing days (which are so much more fun!). We shall see how this goes...

My rock climbing has resorted to mostly bouldering as people have gotten more busy or unable to join me. This is okay I guess as I am getting quite a bit of time in on the under hangs where I am learning to use more of my leg strength and co-ordination to get around corners while hanging upside down. Hopefully good news to come soon....

Way to go Melanie!

I DID IT!!!

Today I did the scheduled Long Slow Run. 10 km. Oh-my-God. This was the best run combined with the worst run. The first 35 minutes were hell. I had menstrual cramps that amplified with each and every step. The only thing that stopped them was digging my fingers into my stomach while running. I did a lot of walking for the that period of time waiting for this death pain to hopefully go away. And it did. I was supposed to be running on the prescribed schedule: run 4 mins, walk 1 min. But pretty much if I didn't have pain I ran until I did. So my times were all over the place. After about 50minutes running I started to feel much better. No random ovary pains. I started running in 8min intervals now. At the end I felt great. Not only was I going to finish this run but I found a great rhythm. I was able to run continuously with much less effort. Due to the slow start this entire process took exactly 93mins. (I was wondering what would happen after 99 since there was no space for 100) Now I am in recovery mode. Legs are a bit stiff. But I took a nice nap on the couch in the sun.

Runners Are Better Lovers

I came across this article tonight and thought I would share: A Sunday Times survey confirmed that runners have better sex; it also showed that runners who have sex the night before the London Marathon do better, on average, than those who do not.

So want to join me in this running thing? 10 km race in Ottawa May long weekend...tempted?

Bouldering blues...

So I went bouldering by myself on Tuesday and with Mike on Thursday.

Tuesday was good, I actually got to try out all the routes that were set up for the competition. I started at 1, worked my way to route 3 and then got stuck at 4. Route 4 was pissing me off because I was too short to do it the way the others where showing me how, and were stumped when confronted with my height dilemma. I decided to leave it be and went on my way.

Thursday Mike picked me up from work and we went to go do some routes. I finished route 4 with Mike's help and then tried some of the upper numbered routes (one was 24... which is an over hanging route... still working on it, I can do one third of it so far.) I had to give up after just over an hour as I had ripped open my hands pretty good. I am leaving it for the weekend and going to go try again early next week. I might go on Sunday if I get the itch to go... but otherwise I think a break is needed.

I might be going skating on the canal this weekend with my little cousins as my Aunt Mary and Uncle Scott are in town for the Sens/Leafs game. I am hoping to hear from them tomorrow....

Running Program Day 2

Yesterday, I completed the suggested routine of the running book. A warm-up, and then jog 4 mins, walk 1 min and repeat 6 times, finally cool down. I sure like the last two rounds of running, almost done I think. Both last session and this one I did more than a 1 min walk in between some of the sets. I need a breather and I think I'm okay with that - overall it makes me slower but man who cares, all I want to do is finish this thing. I also did 15 mins on the elliptical and then lower body strength training. Tomorrow I attempt a Long Slow Run (LSR) of a peak mileage 10 km !! I'll be all rested up from today's rest day. Wish me Luck!

Help from Books and Movies

Right now I'm watching Nova's Marathon Challenge. Here's the description:

What does it take for the average person to run one of the world's toughest road races? Find out with NOVA's "Marathon Challenge," a one-hour special that's both a human story and an intriguing scientific exploration of the way our bodies respond to intense exercise demands.


Yesterday I made it back to the gym after a week hiatus. I started the program from one of my new books: "Marathon and Half-Marathon: a Beginner's Guide." Yesterday it had me jog 6mins, walk 1mins and repeat 6 times. That took me 5.25 kms. I finished off with strength training for legs and back.

Today the book said today was an off day, but meh I went anyways. I did the elliptical for 30mins, the wave for 10mins and 2km on the track. After the poor showing at rock climbing on the weekend I decided to add some arm/upper back strength training. I'm notorious for terrible arm strength. Some of the exercises weren't bad but the chest press and shoulder press - wow did they suck. The shoulder one - embarassing; it was hard on only the 5lb setting - ugh. Vendetta machine!

Busy, Crazy Week!

This week I've only managed to get to the gym on Monday. It really has become a routine and breaking it is actually a little weird. Monday was fun since Dave came too. He was kind of all over the place so I never really talked to him much but at least I knew someone was there AND there was a nice warm car to shelter me home.
This week has been absolutely crazy. I knew that I was going to get slammed with work one of these days and oh yes it's happened!

Coming to Ottawa

I'm coming for a visit on the 15th, and I want to get my rock climb on. Are you in?

Diet? What Diet?

Last Night Natelie had her boardgaming night. She's in english lit and so are her friends so although you would appreciate their conversations Dave and I were getting bored. So we busted out RockBand for awhile - actually had every instrument in use for a while. We also kicked ass at some cranium. But the food! wow Nat went a little overboard, so did her friend Angel. Homemade pizzas, bread and dip, crackers, nacho dip, sandwich thingys, chocolate, cookies...I could continue but you get the point. Yummy....

Friday Night Bouldering Session

I went bouldering last night by myself at about 7:30. I wasn't sure what to expect on a Friday night, but it turned out to be a good night. There were no more then 15 people in the gym. About 6 of them were newbies and they were top roping. There were a few regulars doing the top roping as well, but the rest of us were bouldering. I did a few warm ups and then tackled the top out bouldering wall. Wanted to give up so bad near the top but would not let myself. It took me about 3 minutes just to roll over the top (it is way more awkward then it seems!!) I sat up there for a good 5-10 minutes revelling in the glory that it was to actually make it to the top.

I met one girl who climbs at this gym once and awhile, we ended up helping each other with some of the problems. At one point we were talking to a few of the regulars and one of them actually helped us out for close to an hour to improve our bouldering techniques. He taught us how to "back step" which is where you go for your next hold with your back to it. So if you want to reach a rock on your left you would cross your left let over (or under the right) so you back is to the rock and then reach with your left arm. Sounds complicated, and it is something I need to really work at, but it really improves my reach which is super useful as I am not very tall!

I also learned how to relax my arms and just use my hands to grip so that they don't tire out. I thought bouldering required way more arm strength then it actually does. In reality leg work is what is needed most because you need to push into the rocks to keep yourself on the overhang walls and core work to twist to stay closer to the wall. I am slowly but surely getting used to moving in such a different way to make it easier on my body.

I was there until 10:30... and then had an hour long bus ride home (3 transfers later...) All in all a very productive night!

Maybe too much skating???

Today I took on the Rideau Canal once again. I skated from downtown, to Dows lake, and back again. This was about 14km when all was said and done. It was a good day, sunny, and pretty warm, only -6 with windchill. I fell 5 times over the course of 3 hours. I was really impressed by how many people actually stopped and asked if I was okay when I fell. It really didn't hurt when I hit the ice, only once did it catch me because it knocked the wind out of me. I then hopped on a bus and walked 1km home. Now trying to figure something out for supper...

WTF?

I was very motivated this week. I did a Long Slow Run (LSR) on Sunday, subsequent trips to the gym mon, tues and fri and played squash wed. I kept it strict and kept within my weight watchers calories for the week. What do I get for all this hard work? (Other than getting in better shape blah blah blah...) 0.6lbs. Oh-My-God. You know sometimes when I diet I'll be counting for two weeks in a row and the first week will suck for absolutely no reason but then the next week will pull out like 3lbs. You know this better be one of those times because I'm kinda pissed. lol

Complaining...

I am very very sore. I need a massage. Ugh.

Bouldering sores...

Well it is the day after and my forearms still hurt and my shoulders as well... I guess I need to get used to holding on while hanging upside down.

I am pretty happy today at finally seeing some results. I had to go try on a dress today for my friends wedding in August (I am a bridesmaid). So I tried it on (fully expecting to fit into a 12) and I had to size down twice! That's right... I am now a dress size 8! I am pretty sure pants are a different size as the dress is A line (guy speak... flares out at the hips)... but still pretty proud of that!!! Not much more then that to report except that I am very proud of Taylor for playing squash! I want to try but I think I might injure myself with that tiny ball coming at me at high speeds (think slightly larger paintball with the same force...) What is it they say? No pain no gain?

Master of the Court?

Squash! Today I took a break from the gym....sort of. I hid from the wind and the cold and went to Boreal with Will to get my ass kicked at squash. We didn't actually play a game or score points etc. which was basically determined after my first 3 failed attempts at hitting the ball. Oh dear. So just rallying really. Luckily I began to remember what this squash thing was all about and played with significantly more dignity. I really enjoyed myself and hope to play again soon!

Lacking Motivation

I went climbing today with my friend Mike. I only did bouldering today and my hands are quite sore... I was mostly trying out the over hangs and slant walls which takes way more upper body strenght and hand grip then I am used to.
I realized that I really need to learn how to balance my body weight when in different stances, such as leaning to one side, crouching... etc. It was a good night, but I realized how much I need to work on my upper body strength if I want to do some outdoor climbing in the spring or summer. Some of the guys at the gym who were bouldering with us where kind enough to dispense some advice on some good exercises to increase strength in legs and arms. I guess that will be my interm project between climbs.... now to just get some motivation as it is not as fun (nor does it have the adrenaline rush) as climbing...

Were the guys giving you advice hot and half naked?

Sore Legs

Ugh. Feeling sore after another cardio day. I skipped the strength training due to the soreness. I also mixed it up today - it felt like add gym day. Here's the rundown;

10min wave
10min row machine
10min elliptical
2.0km track run
1.0km track walk

Taylor's List of Gym Fashion No-Nos

Since I go to the Y there is definately a wide range of characters. There is some interesting things I've noticed in the last couple of weeks and I thought I would share my favourites...

1) Female - late teens or early twenties -> Tight black tank top, super large white basketball shorts - so large they looked like capris, and get this steel toed work boots not tied up. Hot.

2) Female - late thirties or early forties -> Cat-eye makeup - thick black liquid eye liner.

3) Male - forties -> Spandex pants so tight they become shiny, baggy tshirt, and a weight lifting belt. Balding with a 3 inch pony tail in the back.

Workout Update

Feeling rather pathetic after my tetanus shot and blood tests I took a bunch of days off from the gym. When back today but only with encouraging words. I would have been quite content sitting my ass on the couch. Here's a look at what I accomplished:

10min wave
4.0km track run
2.0km track walk
Leg/torso weights

I did a 2.1km straight jog today....

Backwards Progress?

Thursday: I went climbing again today after work. I tried the bouldering wall again about 5 times first off... got incredibly close to the top and then would either fall or jump down before making it to the top. Why? I think I am scared of slipping and hitting the wall before falling... falling has it's own dangers, but to hit the wall with rocks sticking out and then falling has me slightly terrified to go any higher then I have already been. Something to work on I suppose. I then did quite a few top-roped walls. I was pretty impressed when I did one wall where I couldn't quite move my feet up because the rocks were slightly too high or awkward to reach, so I grabbed a rock with both hands and pulled my entire body up until I could secure my footing on the higher rocks. My arms hurt the next day, but I am still impressed that I did it!

Saturday: The Rideau Canal is now open (between Bank and Somerset... but it is still something!) I did this stretch quite a few times. If I had to guess I would say I skated around 12-15 km. It was about 2.5 hours of skating time. Was happy about the good workout, but I think I sabotaged myself by having not only the coveted kilaloe sunrise beavertail, but also a hot chocolate and a hot dog! I am going to blame it on the fact that when you skate you HAVE to have a beavertail, and it was cold so I HAD to have hot chocolate to warm up, and the hot dog was because I was so darn hungry and I knew the sugar rush would not get me to the end of the canal! Yes, I realize this is a lot of rationalizing... but right now my muscles hurt a little too much to care...

Progress

Monday. I conquered the vendetta machine - The wave! Only ten mins though. I will defeat this machine with dignity one day, not all hunched over in pain. lol. I also checked out the rowing machine - quite fun. Oh and I had a 15 min conversation with some lady around the track. Talked about travel, running, her kids, dating, adoption, lots of stuff! It's nice to talk to new people.

10min wave
20min row machine
2.0km track run
1.5km track walk
Leg weights

Tuesday. Exciting news. I jogged 2km in a row!!! Yep that's 22 laps around that track. I am building endurance, now jogging the track starts to suck around lap 8 instead of lap 5-6. Is that progress?

10min row machine
3.0km track run
2.0km track walk
Leg weights

Adventures in Climbing

Wednesday: Went climbing with a co-worker. We climbed quite a few top roped, straight, vertical walls... but we were hung up on an overhang wall. This wall goes up 10 feet and is built in a corner (so two sides to climb), and then from the back wall, it juts out 6 feet at a 90 degree angle, and then straight up again from that at a 90 degree angle for another 10 feet. Quite the predicament when trying to climb. We successfully climbed it after 3 attempts each. Very proud of ourselves for defeating another vendetta wall!

Friday: Another climbing adventure with my co-worker. We tried the overhang wall again, just to prove to ourselves that it was not a fluke the first time that we beat it... and we defeated it yet again! Although we were using all the holds (in contrast to doing a marked route which makes the climb significantly harder) we were still pretty content with our progress. We also decided to do some bouldering with the help of a fellow gym goer. He was trying to help us with our holds... my friend made it up a couple times, while I made it within half a food of the top 3 times and then could not take the pain in my arms anymore that I let go/fell. Quite frustrating for me... but it taught me a lesson, don't try something hard at the end of the day when your arms cannot take anymore! Needless to say I went to failure that day, which I haven't done in quite awhile... my arms were quite sore for about 4 hours after. Endurance while climbing is the next goal...

Healthy Cooking

Today my sister and I decided to do a whole bunch of cooking of meals that can be frozen. So basically we made a lot of lasagnas, stews, and chicken pot pie! Hopefully this will encourage us to eat better by making cooking easier after work when we are tired and usually just grab something premade and filled with a lot of sugar or salt.

I also bought a scale today. This is something I have been putting off for quite awhile now. I was a little hesitant to step on.... but was relieved to find out I have lost 5 pounds since the middle of December when I was last weighed! Very good day :) Now to go enjoy some of the things I spent all day cooking!

Need a massage!

Yesterday. I had yet another of a series of 10min conversations at school that could have easily been done by phone or email. Afterwards I went to the gym. I did 2km on the track with the usual walking breaks. 15mins on the elliptical while watching this amazing aerobics class. The aerobics teacher was very motivating and not perky at all. Amazing. A round of strength training and I was done.

Today. Feeling a bit sore today. I would love a massage! Today is a rare day off so to speak...well from the gym anyways. Tackling the TO DO list: christmas tree put away - check, clean the kitchen - check, laundry - check......etc etc.

Temptation

The gym smelled like fresh bread out of the oven due to the bistro downstairs. Not fair!

Endurance

Okay so a 3.0km jog doesn't seem like endurance but I was going really really slowly. I also did a 1.0km walk before, 0.5km walk between each kilometer jog and 1.0km walk afterwards. So really that's like 6.0km! My current goal is to run/walk for specific lengths of time, this set-up actually took an hour due to the abundance of walking. Speed will come as I get more in shape and conditioned. I will work on speed later. For now endurance is in. I'm happy to say that I ran each kilometer stretch without stopping! No side stitches! Although I did have some trouble with the left ankle. I also managed a strength training circuit when I was done with the track.

Victory is mine!

I went climbing both yesterday and today... a lot of climbing...

Today Mark and I decided to tackle some of our vendetta walls. I actually surmounted one of the ones that has been plaguing my brain for about a month and a half now. I conquered it! I had to jump for about three rocks on different occasions... but I made it to the top! I was so happy when I touched the top rock and could let go of the wall to be let down. I now have a new vendetta wall, it basically goes up about 10 feet and then jets out at a 90 degree angle for about 6 feet and then goes straight up at a 90 degree angle from that another 15 feet. I can make it just to the second flat part, but can't get over the corner.... something to conquer another day I suppose.

I realized yesterday that I am getting some wicked calluses from climbing on a regular basis. I am pretty happy because that means I am getting used to it, and actually going enough to make a difference. I am finding I can do more difficult holds, or hold myself on the wall in certain places longer... but going to failure is coming more and more quickly. Since I am doing harder walls, I am getting stronger but my endurance seems to be going down, so I guess the next thing to work on, my next goal if you will, is doing the harder holds while still having the endurance. Also I am very excited for my shoes to be broken in... I am getting some awesome blisters... oh well, a minor thing when compared to the awesome rush of finishing a climb...

Temptation

Need motivational words. Craving yummy things. The first week is always the hardest. There was a guy on the bus next to me with a bag of fast food. Fries smell so good. Yum....

A535 is my friend

Yesterday. I hit the gym again, this time well before closing time (I checked). My legs were tired before I started anything which made the elliptical absolutely terrible. 30 minutes of death and a disaterous attempt at the track. ugg. The weight routine went smoothly and I decided to start taking one lap on the track between machines. This will increase cardio and walk out the leg muscles before they are tortured again. A535 is my friend.

Today. More time at the gym! Today was much much improved. I tried out "the wave" machine. OH-MY-GOD is it terrible. It's like a step machine combined with an elliptical making it the machine from hell. It was kind of a skating motion. Killed the quads. I survived 15mins of that and then did another 20mins on an elliptical. Wow after that wave thing the elliptical felt so easy - I had to up the effort level! And then very exciting I managed a whole kilometer on the track without stopping!! Maybe the side stitches are coming to an end!!! More time on the weights after that and I was done. Running out of muscle rub....

Climbing Supplies

Well to the surprise of most I have continued my rock climbing endevours into the year 2008. Some new gear has been purchased. My beautiful (if not quite painful still...) shoes, a harness, chalk bag and chalk, as well as a carabiner and atc belay device. The carabiner and belay device I won't be using just yet as the gym provides the gri gri belay device (thing that holds the rope and stops it from slipping when you fall..) which is bolted into the ground. Today I went bouldering with my friend Mike. We did about 1.5 hours in which I was exhausted afterwards as I was trying new holds which pretty much destroyed my hands and grip for a few hours. Ah well. Hoping to get some top roping in on Wednesday.

P.S. Awesome job on the layout Taylor!

Follow Through.

Did you doubt me? Today at 5:00pm I stepped through the doors at the YMCA for my first gym session of 2008. Back to the routine I start with the Elliptical machine for 30mins. I’ve decided that this will get my body used to the idea of exercise before I torture it with running on the track. I only managed a half kilometer of walking and a half kilometer of jogging on the track before I was notified at 5:56pm that the Y closes at 6:00pm. So no weights today. I am only going to focus on legs and abs/back for the weight lifting routine since I’m primarily focused on this stupid idea of a half marathon and who needs arms for that?

Does Running Suck or is it Just Me?

I believe that is an excellent theme for most of my blog entries. Oh the motivation is lacking badly these days. The motivation was high, very high. And then I got stressed out with exams and in tradition that gave me one killer cold. Damn you immune system! I should be free of stress colds until April when the next set of exams roll around. So I’m working on getting back the drive that I had pre-exams. Just writing this entry and acknowledging my patheticness is good enough to get me into the gym in the next couple of days and I think that’s all I need. Must-step-through-the-doors. I’ve also vowed to restart the weight watchers thing now that holiday eating is almost over – well after I host a very fattening but utterly delicious fondue party tonight! I wouldn’t call either of these new years’ resolutions but January is a good month as any.

And so it begins…