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…