Mis-Spent Energy

Norwalk: the worst way to lose weight

2010-03-29T15:34:00.005-04:00

You know all those ads in magazines that promise that you will lose 10lbs in a week? I think they send you a bottle of the Norwalk virus. I bet those people don't know what they're getting into. I do.

So last night Dave and I were in the new GolfTown and I started to feel a bit nauseated. I thought it would pass so we left and went to my sister-in-law's place for dinner. Unfortunately it didn't go away so Dave went out and got me some gravol and ginger ale. We left after dinner because I was feeling progressively worse. We brought a plastic bag in the car on the way home (I had to use it!!). The rest of the night was just fubar. I'll save you the details. With all the water weight gone I weighed 5lbs lighter this morning. Craziness. It's taken me almost four hours today to eat a bowl of soup. Hopefully I feel better soon!

Off the wagon

2010-03-29T15:27:00.002-04:00

I'm well into the "chip depression." Winter funk mixed with other stuff such as my thesis had compounded into a gigantic mess. On the upside eating has been delious. On the downside I probably can't do any manly pushups and I gained back all the weight I lost since christmas. I weighed in at 153.4lbs yesterday. It was the first time I stepped on the scale since I leap off the wagon.

I am planning to make next Tuesday back on the wagon day. Dave has promised to do a round of P90x with me. This plan is the goal. If I'm not ready then just some small steps in a postive direction would be good.

Winter done, bring on Spring!

2010-03-23T22:10:00.002-04:00

So I actually learned a couple new things this winter in the department of fitness. I started hiking with snowshoes and I learned to snowboard! Snowboarding was great, except I have to learn to go faster! I have since found that it has made my ankle a lot stronger than it was before the surgery. I am pretty happy with that development.

Now on to Spring and Summer sports! I have already taken my bike out for it's first ride of the season! Did 11.97 km while Jim chased behind me on his rollerblades (it really wasn't fair but who is counting right?). He actually grabbed onto my seat at one point and dragged himself behind... that was a little tougher... made the legs burn!

I have been trying to do the gym at least 3 times a week, if not more. So far I have been succeeding... hoping to keep that up, but I am not sure what is going to happen once summer hits. I am going to want to be outside, not in a dungeon of a gym! No windows makes for a boring workout... more so when you get down there only to discover your ipod is dead... oh yeah, it happened. I am now doing this hybrid arm workout where I use the ball as well as a set of weights.

I also started Wii Activ. So I did a 20 some odd minute full tone workout last night on it and now it kinda hurts a little bit to walk. Basically if I did the exercise wrong it would wait until I got it right or it would make me redo it. So basically without screaming at me it made me do an entire workout properly. The music kind of sucks on it though, wishing I could plug some of my mp3's into it... but oh well. I have to admit I did swear at the virtual trainer a couple times... basically asking her in not so many words why she was making me do such an exercise. Gonna give it another try tomorrow night... maybe there will be less... or maybe more... swearing. Will report back with findings.

Mel

Good Riddance February!

2010-03-02T23:13:00.003-05:00

February was not a super great month. I pulled my groin and skipped a week of workouts. Then I threw a temper tantrum and skipped another half week. Check out my workout schedule. Even though it's exactly half full, (which is great!) it's technically supposed to have only 4 days off. Oops! Due to my lack of effort in week 7 I am adding another week of P90x. A week 7 do-over.

My March resolution is to do much better. I want March to be pumped and as full of workouts as January was. Okay so at very least I will aim for 80% completion - honestly bad days are bound to happen.

Get "Beach Ready!"

2010-02-28T18:08:00.001-05:00

Compliments of Failblog

Feeling Blah

2010-02-24T13:05:00.005-05:00

I've skipped my workouts for the last two days. Monday I was feeling sore and tired. I just wanted to sit on the couch and watch the oylmpics. Last night I actually got through 10 minutes of Legs & Back before I threw a temper tantrum and called it a night. I did the stretching routine and then I tried to attach my resistance band to the door attachment. Well for some reason this took me almost 15 minutes to accomplish. My cat has this irrational thing for the hallway in my apartment building and kept going outside. To go get her I have to open the door wider to get myself through and then the attachment falls out. I was really frustrated. Then I went to move some big tupperware boxes out of the way to make some room for the workout and the top one fell on me. So I threw a hissy-fit. I've been feeling overwhelmed lately with my thesis and life in general. Apparently it's not taking much to go over the top. I stopped the video, put on my PJs and sulked the rest of the night.

Trying to summon some motivation to get back to it today.

New Toys

2010-02-20T21:19:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of starting P90x I bought some cheap resistance bands. I did some searching and I couldn't find any resistance bands that were latex-free. I figured I would try some latex ones out because the handle was made of a different material. So after many weeks of periodic hives I found some latex resistance bands with covers (sort of like the one shown) at Akfit, a local fitness store. I hope they work out!! I got the extra-heavy ones so my back routine should be much more intense.

While at Akfit I picked up some 8lb dumbells. There are a couple routines that I find 5lbs too easy and 10lbs too hard so I thought something in between will help me transition better. Maybe in another month I'll pick up two 12lb dumbells to add to my collection.

Week Six = Sore muscles

2010-02-19T14:30:00.003-05:00

After a week off I was really feeling week six.

Core: I was feeling pretty energized for this one and I was particularly happy with my improvement with "Superman/banana." My abs were sore for a few days after this one. Laughing hurts!

Cardio: I finished this DVD for the first time without any unscheduled breaks. I was quite proud of myself about that. The pylo section always gets me with the 'wacky jacks.'

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps: I was really not in the mood to workout when I pushed play on Sunday. I was feeling low on energy and motivation and this DVD is my new least favourite. I grunted through the whole thing. My arms were shaking. I could barely prop myself up for in/outs and bicycle during the ab ripper. One a positive note. I tried out 'manly' push-ups at the beginning and managed to get through a whole TWO!

Running: I ended up with really sore shins after this run for a few days. I suppose trying to push myself after a three month hiatus was not a good idea. I'll have to ease back into running more slowly. Which means that I'll be doing pylo this coming week. Oh no!

Rest day: Way too sore to workout. Sore everywhere. I need a massage!

Legs & Back: Performing this workout with sore shins was interesting. I went to bed covered with A535. I haven't done this workout in 3 weeks so it was tough to get through.

Kenpo: Who came up with putting Legs & Back right before Kenpo? My glutes were super sore. Kicking with a sore ass just sucks. I quite enjoyed the punches and blocks but any lower body sections were killer.

My first run since Athens

2010-02-15T22:19:00.005-05:00

My time is Athens was so spectacularly sucky that I arrived back in Canada feeling particularly down. I felt like I had failed and it didn't help when dozens of people wanted to know how it went. Each time I told the story it got shorter and shorter. Now that I've written it down on my blogs, I can just say "It sucked - read the blog." My treadmill has sat annoyingly in my living room as a constant reminder. Mostly it has collected dust, clothes, and other exercise equipment.

Today I gathered the courage to actually turn on the treadmill. I went in with low expectations. It's been three months since I went for a run. I know I've been doing P90x but running is a whole different thing. I felt like for a 5km run I was at about 70% of where I left off. With that said I don't mean that I could run a half-marathon tomorrow. But I wasn't as winded as I had expected. Each time that I stop running and go back to it it's like starting at day one when I can't run more than 5 minutes at a time. Surprisingly I hit 10 minutes at 5 mph right off the bat. I really felt it towards the end though.

Conclusion: running is way better than Yoga X

Cheers,

Ouch!

2010-02-14T13:21:00.001-05:00

Taking a week off might have been smart for my injury. But man am I sore everywhere. It's almost like it's week one again. Ouch. I need a massage!

Time out

2010-02-04T19:06:00.005-05:00

Taking a week off - I've pulled my groin. Sadly I did it getting out of a car. Hopefully I will feel better next week and I won't reinjure myself.

Cheers,

Day 31 - Chest, Shoulders and Triceps + Ab Ripper X

2010-01-31T20:39:00.005-05:00

It's official. I suck at push-ups. Actually since I started this program I suck a little less at push-ups. And by this I mean that I can do push-ups on my knees with proper form now. What I can't do is the crazy bullshit that P90x wants me to do in the "Chest, Shoulders and Triceps" DVD.

For example, the Plyo Push-Up: At the bottom of a standard push-up, explode up -- launching both hands and both feet up off the floor -- clap your hands in mid-air, and then landed in a push-up position again.

Okay. Okay. Technically that was the "advanced" version. The beginners version was the clap version on your knees with no exploding.

But seriously. Wide arm push-ups, military push-ups, one-arm push-ups...etc etc. There were way way too many push-ups in this DVD leaving me feel quite inadequate.

At least 3 of the 5 weeks in phase three don't have this DVD in the schedule...

Cheers,

P90x Day30 Results

2010-01-30T16:01:00.005-05:00

Since P90x is supposed to be 90 days long there are three major milestones - 30, 60 and 90days. Each of which I have given myself rewards for not quitting the program. Because I met my 30 day goal today I get to go and have my first Pedicure ever! It also means that I got into my bikini and took some pictures for comparison.

If you look for it there are some changes in the belly and in the back near the bikini string. And I know I'm my own worst critic but I wish the back of my legs weren't so ... so wrinkly. Maybe that will go away...

On a positive note here are some of my results stats:

Weight: 152.6lbs (-3lbs)
Chest: 36" (-1")
Waist: 30" (-2")
Hips: 41" (-0.5")

Gives me a reason to continue to push myself through 6 workouts/week. Well that and the 60 day reward!

Cheers,

Week 4 - "Recovery Week"

2010-01-30T15:54:00.003-05:00

Week 4 is the last week in "Phase One" of P90x. It is also a 'recovery week,' which basically means I got an extra rest day and my strength training workouts got replaced by yoga x and cardio x. Since I passionately hate yoga x and curse constantly at the tv, for my mental well-being (and the well-being of my tv) I have vowed to never complete the yoga x dvd ever again. So that meant that I replaced yoga x this week with cardio x and that I ended up doing the same cardio x tape three times last week which was getting a little monotonous. So this coming week I think I will replace the yoga day with Pylometrics which is a dvd not done in the Lean version. There is a section in cardio x that shows some pylo moves and its basically jumping around alot. It's also the section of the cardio dvd that consistently kicks my ass. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers,

House Cleaning

2010-01-24T16:45:00.006-05:00

Alright, so I have finally sat myself down at the computer to type out what I have been up to.

I got the metal removed from my ankle December 18th. This caused me to sit still for about 2 and a half weeks. It was, how shall I say.... frustrating. Over Christmas I wasn't able to move very fast, plus if I was seated at the table where everyone was there was always a TON of baking there to which I couldn't escape (well very quickly anyway). Will power is low over Christmas... that is all I have to say.

Back at work in the new year I went back to the gym. I have been going ever since! I am quite proud of myself for this actually. This past week I went Monday to Friday! I can't wait until February 14th until all the New Year's resolutioners leave. It is not that I wish them to fail, not that I wish that they wouldn't get themselves into shape, it is the simple fact that they are just very awkward in the gym. The people I have been dealing with have gone out and outfitted themselves head to toe in lulu or something similar. All matching, not a hair out of place, and brand spanking new sneakers. This is fine except for the fact that they do maybe 15 minutes on the treadmill or other machine, do about twenty crunches and then they are done! They leave and then I hear them complaining that they aren't losing weight.... well I wonder why? (I use my inside voice for this last one). The only thing is I am the one getting the dirty looks from these people! I am working my butt off! I do 30-35 minutes on the elliptical like machine or on the spinner (if I can survive that l

ong), then I do weights, about 15 minutes, I move on to either do a ball routine or I do my crunches and the like for the remainder before my stretches. Okay I am done....

Also new... We bought snowshoes!!!! They are GV, so Canadian made. They work r

eally well. We have been going out every weekend, except we missed this one cause I was tired.

So last weekend and the weekend before (both happened to be Sundays) we went up to the Gatineau hills to do some winter hiking. We brought Jim's Forerunner with us and logged how far we went. The first weekend we went up to the Wilson Carbide mill ruins. Last weekend we did a trail further up Meech lake. We decided to follow some other snowshoer's trails... we sorta came to a dead end two hours later and had to just turn back. Fun though! Thank god we had the forerunner though because

we took so many twists and turns that it would have been next to impossible to find our way back otherwise.

I have also gone skating twice now!!! Wednesday night and yesterday. Decided to get some skating in before it goes to +8 tomorrow. This winter kind of sucks for outdoors things. Skating was great, the canal is awesome this year. The only downside is my ankle is still healing and gets really bruised after a long skate. It isn't too bad now after the second time, but the first time took until yesterday to heal. I am going to keep pushing it until it gets back to where it was.

Keep going with your workouts and your thesis! You can do it! Proud of you for sticking with your diet even though you aren't at home, I know I couldn't do it... Let me know when you get back home and the thesis is next to being done ;)

Melanie

Week 3 - starting to lack motivation

2010-01-21T11:24:00.003-05:00

In week three now. I'm starting to lack motivation. I ended up skipping three days in a row. I was just in a bad mental place. I didn't want to get out of bed let alone do an intense workout. To help me snap out of it I went to visit my cousin for a change of scenery. We've been doing our thesis work together and I've been doing my workouts everyday. To make up for my 3 day loss I am skipping the Thursday rest day and doing one of the missed workouts and doing two of them today (shoulders/arms/abs + kenpo). This way I *technically* only missed one day. Huzzah! Plus I'm kind of proud that I've still managed to track my diet and stick with it even though I'm not in my own kitchen.

Cheers,

Week 2 Update

2010-01-21T11:20:00.003-05:00

The second week of P90x went by pretty quickly with not much to say. I redid the same schedule as the first week. I had to pause the video for breaks much less often and I was back to walking like a regular person again - sore but not crazy sore.

Cheers,

The Cost of Weight Loss

2010-01-06T22:12:00.003-05:00

MSN Money had a feature today about how much it costs to lose 30 pounds. The results were somewhat startling.

Dr. Bernstein Health and Diet Clinics - $2,032.50 to $2,311.05 plus food
Herbal Magic - $1,958 plus food
NutriSystem - $1,435.96
Weight Watchers - $320 or $149.70 online, plus food
The Zone Diet - $3,264.09 to $4,348.79

I had some concept of the 1k+ weight loss plans but I didn't realize there were so many. When I was in Ottawa I went into LA Weight Loss. The experience was sad and almost comical. The ask you to fill out a questionaire that basically makes you feel bad about yourself. They go over the program with you for over 40mins just to find out it was around $1000 for the year. And that didn't include the highly recommended supplements. They were a bit confused with what to do with a vegetarian but they would work around it they said. For the program you were supposed to go in 2-3 times per week. That's a lot! And then they would weigh you. If you lost weight then they would ring a bell and everyone would cheer, if not then sad sad silence. wow. just wow.

Days 2-6: sore, very sore

2010-01-06T13:56:00.007-05:00

Day 2: Cardio X
So this workout also kicked my ass. Many dvd pauses to catch my breath, although a few less than with core synergetics. Cardio x adds elements from the other p90x workouts. The one section that I appreciated was Kenpo. Because of my martial arts background I could go through the entire section without stopping and I picked it up really fast. It was nice to feel less pathetic for a 10min span :)

Day 3: Shoulders and Arms + Ab Ripper X
Since my legs were sore from the last two days I was happy to see that I would soon be sore everywhere. This workout was fairly straightforward with some new things to pique my interest. I was feeling pretty confident with the exercises until I began the ab section. Wow. I spent more time rolling on the ground in pain than actually doing the ab work!! Apparently if you successfully do all of the routines then you would do about 350 reps in 15 minutes! I maybe did 75 lol. But good news I found out that the "ins and outs" that were in my fit test I was doing totally wrong and that's why I failed the minimum 25.

Day 4: Yoga X
I hate yoga. I wasn't pleased to see that this workout was 90 minutes long. Seriously? The makes matters worse there are a million "downward dogs" - no really a million, I swear. I almost turned off the dvd in order to go for a run. Luckily it picked up have way through with some balance stuff and then onto more abs. I got through it but I probably told the tv to fuck off at least a dozen times. It's hard to take advice from a gymrat about yoga stuff.

Day 5: Legs and Back + Ab Ripper X
My legs were finally back to normal enough to even attempt this workout. Some of the leg routines were intense. There were a couple really cool ones too. The back workouts were mixed in between to give the legs a rest. Unfortunatly the back routines are all pullups. I don't have a chinup bar so I'm stuck with the bands. I also don't have a door attachment so I had to rig up something. The resistance bands I bought at Sears aren't heavy enough so the routines for the back were super easy. I think I'll have to buy the ones that P90x promotes.

Day 6: Kenpo X
I ended up eating dinner kind of late so I was still pretty full when I started the Kenpo X DVD. This was ultimately stupid and I spend most of the time feeling rather nauseous as a result. With some Kenpo teasers from other workouts I figured I would be good to jump into the routines. Actually there were a few times I had to rewind to figure out what the hell they were doing. The P90x editting guy likes to mix up different angles all the fucking time. So if you are trying to figure out what the move is it's hard when part of the move is camera head on, part from the side and the rest from an angle downward. I can't imagine someone who doesn't know what a cross or uppercut is trying to complete this DVD. Maddness.

Cheers,

Day 1: Core what?

2010-01-01T23:17:00.004-05:00

Fitness: Wow. Apparently I am not fit whatsoever. I completed the first workout for P90x called "core synergetics." Actually 'completed' might not be the best term. I had to stop and pause the DVD many many times to catch my breath. I was wearing a heart rate monitor and many times my heart rate was in the 170s. You would think all that running would have helped my cardiovascular health, but no. There were a good range of moves that I won't get bored of because I think I will still suck at this in three months. It's hard to be bored when you're concentrating on surviving. Tomorrow is Cardio day. Oh dear.

Diet: As mentioned before P90x comes with a diet program which calls for high protein intake for the first 30 days laid out portion-wise (5 proteins, 2 dairy, 1 fat, etc). So I make a spreadsheet (I heart spreadsheets) with my meal selections for a week. Dave and I even went out grocery shopping yesterday and picked up a week's worth of food for my planned meal selections. Today I learnt some very valuable things. First, taking a multivitamin on an empty stomach makes me feel nauseous. Second, fake lunch meat is terrible and very hard to eat while nauseous. Third, the cookies and creme protein bar has this weird chalk aftertaste which wouldn't be so bad if you could wash it down with something other than water. Finally, the equivalent of 2 servings of protein in the form of firm tofu is entirely too much food for me in one sitting.

Modifications: okay fuck the high protein thing. Some simulated meat stuff is okay, but some is downright terrible. I cannot eat soy burgers and tofu en mass for that long. I have decided to revert to good old fashion calorie counting. As a picky vegetarian I really would appreciate more than 200cal from carbs per day. I mean who can go without cereal???

Cheers,

P90x Fit Test

2009-12-30T18:46:00.006-05:00

The P90x system has a pre-fitness test which recommends some minimum requirements (noted in [] below) before starting the program. Here is how the test went:

• Resting Heart Rate: 65
• Pull-Ups: n/a [min 1]; I don't have a chin-up bar, I plan to use the resistance bands instead
• Vertical Leap: 11.5" [min 3"]
• Push Ups: 15 on knees [min 3, or 15 on knees]; squeaked by with terrible form
• Toe Touch: -3" to my toes [min -6" from being able to touch your toes]; I have never been able to touch my toes
• Wall Squat: 1:00 [min 1 minute]; tougher than I expected, legs at more like 100 degrees instead of 90
• Bicep Curls: 26 reps @ 10 lbs [min 10 @ 8 lbs]
• In and Outs: 23 [min 25]; total fail
• Heart Rate Maximizer (jumping jacks 2min with sprint at end): Heart rate at end and every minute: 189, 163, 140, 105, 98

So I can't do a single "manly" pushup, and I barely squeakly by most of the areas and failed the in/outs. It just means that I'll look pathetic in the comfort of my living room and that I'll be really really sore for the next three months. It also means that I did too many bicep curls with the 10lb weight and I should consider buying a 15lb set.

Cheers,

New Years Resolution: P90x

2009-12-27T22:08:00.004-05:00

Starting this Friday I will start a 90 day exercise program called P90x. It is an at-home exercise dvd series with different routines such as cardio, chest & back, kenpo and the ab ripper X. There is a different routine each day for 6 days a week. It also comes with a nutrition plan. There are varieties in both the fitness and nutrition plans; I will be following the P90x lean routine and the portion approach. The greatest challange for the next month will be the high protein portion (50%) since I'm a vegetarian. I forsee a lot of soy burgers and egg whites in the near future lol.

The best nerdiest part of this program is the most-awesome-excel-spreadsheet-in-the-world that was provided to me online. I usually track my progress but this does it even fancier. I have all my initial measurements done as of today. I will do the initial fit test in the next few days. Also some "before" photos - which will only be shared at 30 days assuming there is some improvement.

Cheers,

Athens Sucked

2009-12-27T21:41:00.008-05:00

On Nov 8 '09 I failed to finish the Athens Classic Marathon. The day began very early at 4am. Our team headed to the Olympic Stadium at 5am to get on the buses to transfer us to the start line. Unfortunately it was 15C and pouring buckets. Everyone was soaked by the time we got onto the buses. A chilly 45 minutes later we were standing in garbage bags shivering at the start line. A two hour wait later we were off. I think the wet and cold really contributed to the end result. I knew within the first few kilometers that I was going to have trouble. The aches and pains I usually feel after 20km were beginning really early. I think my legs had cramped up. The woman that I was running left me behind and I was on my own fairly early. The pack kept thinning out until I couldn't see anyone else competing in front or behind me. I also learnt early on that the race closed at a six-hour-pace not at six hours. This meant that there were no course markers, water, powerade, bananas, gels, medics, etc. for most of the race. I had counted on the electrolyte replacements so this lead to me feeling really sick later on. At one point I was hit from behind by a bicyclist. Around that time I was feeling uncomfortable with my situation. I stopped, sat down and waited for the next people to come by. Luckily they spoke english. I power-walked with a father-daughter team until the race officials aggressively suggested we get into their van. After a drive to the finish line I walked back to the hotel. I was really sick and feeling very lonely since I couldn't convince anyone to help me find something to eat. I was worried that I would pass out if I went out by myself. I suppose I wasn't thinking straight because after 2 hours I finally realized the hotel had room-service. I managed to eat a half cup of pasta, took a shower and went to sleep. I ended up with a really bad flu for the rest of the trip.

Cheers,

Possibly the last bike ride...

2009-11-01T17:20:00.002-05:00

...of the season. It was beautiful today so we went out on a nice bike ride around the city ending at 25.65 km.

Of Europe, gyms, and spinning...

2009-10-23T10:14:00.005-04:00

Today I am sick with some weird stomach bug BUT I was really good this week and actually went to the gym Monday to Thursday. This is actually the first week I have gone more than two times since getting back from Europe.

I travelled at the beginning of September to France, Italy and Greece. I did the whole backpacking thing where I only had what I could carry on my back and stayed in hostels. What I saved in accommodation I spent on food! The food was amazing if lacking quite a few veggies. I was craving veggies like crazy when I got back. I ate bread at every meal, sauce on everything and basically everything that is bad for me I tried. My theory was that I wouldn't be there for a long time, if at all, so why not try everything?

We did do a lot of walking which is what saved me, except that my shoes actually ate my feet. I couldn't walk for a long time after the first couple days because of all the blisters on my feet. Warning to all, you need more than a week to break in good hiking shoes! I also walked up all the stairs up until the second level of the Eiffel Tower and many sets of stairs everywhere else. Most of our hostels were 5 or more floor walk up buildings and many of the museums and buildings did not have elevators available to the general public. I don't think my legs have ever been in as good of shape as they are now. Who needs expensive gym equipment? After two weeks of fine dining and nothing but walking I thought that I had gained at least 5 pounds but I was actually one of the lucky ones and stayed exactly the same weight as when I left! Don't hate me! I think the only thing that saved me was I avoided a lot of the cream sauces, cheese, milk products and the like as I would have been very ill had I consumed more than I had.

There is a charity spinning challege at work happening in December where you can spin anywhere from an hour to 10. I have signed up for an hour and my goal is to raise at least $15 to do this. My only problem is I have never used a spinning machine before. I tried it out this week and actually worked my way up to 20 minutes, although I was very sore the next day (read: just like the first day of biking in the spring... ouch). Now the goal is to get it up to 50 or 60 minutes in the next 15-30 days. Claire has decided she is going to try the spinning class on Tuesday at 6am :S I am going to join her.... I will report on the exercise productivity at an insanely early hour later...

Lacking Motivation

2009-09-29T18:18:00.003-04:00

I have been feeling so blah lately. My body feels tired. My mind feels tired. I just don't want to run. I only managed to get in one run last week and that's only because I forced myself. Everyday I justified that I would run the next day...I would make it up later. Now I am onto the next week (my weeks start on Tuesdays) and I should run but I just don't want to. I want to watch tv and relax. There are less than 40days left until the marathon. My long runs are ramping up - I'm supposed to complete a 29km run this sunday. I thought I would start getting excited, you know get into this running thing, but no I feel quite the opposite. Maybe it's just that winter is coming and I always get down and feel this way in winter - but really it's just the end of September, am I to feel this blah until April? No wonder I always gain back the weight over these months....

Ottawa Army Run 2009

2009-09-21T21:16:00.007-04:00

On Sunday I took part in the Army Run in Ottawa. It started off with a bang - literally - they shot off a cannon to start the race. It was a beautiful course that started downtown and ran along the Ottawa canal all the way to the experimental farm, around Dow's Lake and then onto Queen Elizabeth Drive back downtown. Dave followed me the whole way cheering me on every 5kms or so. It meant a lot to have someone on the course with me since I was running alone. I started out pretty strong setting a new personal best for the 10km with a time of 73'49". The second half of the run slowed down as I was having a lot of pain in my lower back. My new orthotics have been great for my feet, no pain there, but they are a killer on my lower back. I think I need to make an appointment to check them out. I came across the finish line at 2:47:22 coming in 317/334 in my age/gender group (yay not last!).

After the race Jen, Melanie, Jim and I went to Le Nordik to soak in the nordic baths. Jen asked about massage cancellations and luckily there was an opening so I had a 60min swedish massage to aid in recovery. Thanks Jen! I love massages! We stayed at the spa for almost 4 hours - I love that place - especially the hot tubs.

Check out happy Taylor in the hot tub with the sunglass burn:

Big News.

2009-09-13T12:27:00.004-04:00

I got married at the end of August at Vineland Estates Winery (Niagara area). We had 49 people join us for our little celebration. We even had a mario brothers themed cake! Originally I had this nieve idea that I could run the 14km chocolate race in st catherines the next day. Eventually I decided it might be nice to visit with friends and family and get a bit more sleep.

Milestones abound.

2009-08-20T15:05:00.001-04:00

You know it's kind of great being a 'newish' runner or at least a sucky one. Improvements happen all the time! When I was a kid I always got the "Most Improved Player" award just because I sucked so much to start off with. Since I've recently become more comfortable running a slowish pace for longer periods I've recently started to challange myself other ways: running faster, or longer. Today I beat my record and ran continuously for 40 minutes straight plus I beat my 5k personal best record which was previously 36'05"!

New Milestone

2009-08-16T13:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I had a good run. I did my 5 minute walk warm-up and then started into an easy jog on the account of my leg injury. And this something surprising happened...I didn't feel like stopping. So I jogged 35 minutes straight! And I could have gone longer but my scheduled run was up. I felt good, I was able to ignore pretty much everything and think about something other than running and the moment (don't worry I still kept an eye out for cars and bears and such...). Hopefully I have more runs like this one in the future. More good news, my thigh doesn't have pain which is great since my long run is scheduled today.

Personal Best

2009-08-12T20:22:00.004-04:00

My Fastest Runs

Before Today's Run: After Today's Run:

Check it out! I left today with the mission to run fast instead of my usual mantra, "just survive." As you can see I destroyed my 1 mile and 5km personal best times. I have a goal of completing a sub-30min 5km run at some point and have decided that after the marathon training is over that is what I will concentrate on. This is just a step to completing that goal.

This hill is rated what?

2009-08-12T18:52:00.003-04:00

So on Saturday Jim and I decided to go mountain biking in the Gatineaus, which, according to their website is rated at beginner to intermediate for all trails. So we set off with our bikes to Pink lake with the intention of doing the trail to Mackenzie King Estate and back. We ended up pushing the bikes up the hill for about half of the way there and then on the way back I got this pretty cut.... Turns out (according to the trail markers) that this is a black diamond trail. Ask me how happy I was 600m from finishing the trail when I was thrown from my bike? My right knee is scraped and bruised and I have some awesome purple bruises down my right side in addition to scrapes on both arms (the one pictured being the worst... even after a cleaning and a couple days to start healing). I have a picture of the big mess just after it happened. Those pictures will be uploaded shortly. You can't say I do anything halfway... go big or go home!

Ewww.

2009-08-12T13:05:00.003-04:00

So after being pathetically weak and nauseous after my 19.4km run Sunday I decided that I could not longer delay the inevitable. I would need a supplement other than just water. I need gels. Ewww. I think of gels kind of like hair gel that happens to have a hint of strawberry or chocolate. Okay so the taste is usually not great but it's the texture that gets me. Yuck. So I went to my friendly Running Room and got some answers on what the salesman though was the least offensive. On a positive note I picked up some "Sport beans" which are jelly beans instead of gel!!! Lots of people don't like them because they think it's not good to walk during a run because that would make them less of a runner. I can imagine trying to pop in a bag of jelly beans while running could prove to be difficult. But for me (I walk through every water station) walking and eating jelly beans sounds like a nice break and a hell of a lot better than gel. Alas the beans are a bit bulky so I bought a selection of gel to try out. I'll give you my first review this weekend. Here's to low expectations....

Injured

2009-08-01T13:40:00.003-04:00

After some internet self-diagnosis and subsequently paranoid I went to the sports injury clinic to find out if the nagging pain in my thigh was going to be a big problem. If you drew a line down the centre of my thigh and then moved the line 2 inches from center towards the left, I had a 5" x 0.5" area of pain. The sports injury clinic determined that I had full range of motion so it was mostly likely just a muscle strain. This diagnosis made me happy but simultaneously embarassed. So I am taking the week off of running to let this injury heal. I'll start with an easy run on Tuesday.

Fat Talk?

2009-07-25T18:09:00.003-04:00

That is a great video and speaks a lot of truth... but on that same note I do not believe our blog promotes "fat talk". I think there is a big difference between "fat talk" and unrealistic goals and the term healthy. Healthy means that you are happy in your own skin, your body is functioning as it should, and will not shut down on you in times of need. I think we have goals, healthy ones.

You are striving to run a marathon, which to run you have to train, eat properly, and be healthy. To get healthy sometimes it requires a loss of weight but that doesn't mean that getting healthy is "fat talk".

My goals are mainly fitness goals. I strive to get up more difficult climbing walls and get faster/go further with my bike in single spurts. Yes I do talk about weight loss only because of my ankle and the weight that it can bear having been previously broken. When the doctor told me I will have a permanent disability due to the weight that that ankle was being made to support I vowed to prove him wrong.

That is my two cents...

"You are Beautiful"

2009-07-23T11:15:00.002-04:00

I came across this interesting video today via Operation Beautiful. What do you think? So...is our blog fat talk?

I'm an overpronator

2009-07-21T16:49:00.001-04:00

Last week I went to the foot doctor to see about orthotics. The running stores always tell me that one foot pronates more than the other (sometimes they ask me if I've broken my ankle before!). I believe that this imbalance explains why my sore ankle changes sides with different shoes (different levels of support).

So it turns out the running store people are not full of it and all they said was true. Apparently I have excessive overpronation. This means that my foot rolls inward too much, the foot and ankle have problems stabilizing the body, and shock isn't absorbed as efficiently.

So I have ordered some orthotics and they should be in in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to try them out but a little worried that its going to hurt and take a while to adjust.

Found a worse hill...

2009-07-20T17:28:00.004-04:00

So I had to go pick some things up at the mall today and ended up taking a slightly different route home. So I think that there can't be a hill worse than the Pleasant Park hill.... oh but there is! The Kilborn hill is a lower incline and longer hill. I make it up the hill (surprisingly) and think that it would be a good time for a drink of water, so I reach down and realize that my water bottle is still in my backpack (so convenient!) I think "whatever I am only 2 minutes from home", so I continue and make it back in one piece... for now. I am now dubbing that hill, evil hill of doom because I don't think I will ever be able to do it without thinking that I may die before I get to the top.

This is me blogging...

2009-07-16T17:01:00.003-04:00

See... I am here... still alive... blogging (just not as usual.)

Basically the last two months have been pretty devoid of rock climbing, which makes me really sad, but I have been biking. I have been updating my kilometer log with the daily kms that I accumulate and then at the end of the month I add them all up. In June I did 189.97km and so far in July I have done 131.15 which means I am only 58.82 km off from beating last month's total! Come on... it is the little things you have to get excited about!

Yesterday I went in to get my bike tuned up. I decided I couldn't wait anymore when I really didn't have any back brakes left... The bike was brand new when I bought it so after 3 months of riding it the brakes have stretched. The guy at the store said that was about 80% or more of the stretch that was going to happen so I am happy about that. They also put quite a bit of air in the tires (more than I am used to) so the ride to work this morning was quite a bit more bumpy and rough than in previous mornings.

I will try to blog more... I am just so boring! I do the same thing all the time.... hopefully I will have some fun rock climbing, or high ropes stories soon ;)

14.5km Long Run

2009-07-13T20:53:00.004-04:00

Today I finished another 'longest training run to date' with a scenic tour of the south end of Sudbury. Check out the loop-de-loops. The run felt pretty good. My lungs were doing good for the most part. My legs started to feel heavy towards the end. And I got nauseous once again but this time it only happened once the run was over. I really have to get this nauseous thing under control. The first time I thought it was because I was just really really hungry. The second time I thought it was because I had a huge dinner the hour before and it wasn't agreeing with me. This time though I was hungry (I finished at 5pm) so maybe I should look into some gels or schedule my long runs so that they don't end at dinnertime. Suggestions?

Graph It!

2009-07-07T16:34:00.004-04:00

Total Kilometers Ran Over Time: Weight Over Time:

Since I love spreadsheets so much I thought I would share my progress to date. As my long runs get longer and my runs become more efficient I expect my kilometers to increse dramatically assuming I don't get injured. But check out that weight graph!! At least it's in the downwardly direction lol.

100km total

2009-07-01T20:54:00.004-04:00

Check it out! I have reached a total training distance of 100km! It's kind of insane when you think that some people run further this distance in a single race (ultra-marathons).

I'm happy to report that today's run was back to normal. Which is great considering that my legs are a little tight from yesterday's horribleness. I did a 15min run section at my regular pace, a walk break followed by another 12min run section and a walk break.

Worst-Run-Ever

2009-07-01T17:27:00.002-04:00

Last night I set out on my longest training run this year - 13km. It occurred to me that my long runs were about to be true long runs from here on out. I will be running minimum 10km weekend runs from now until the marathon. This made me a little sad because basically long runs really screw up your weekend, which is one of the reasons I was doing my long run on Tuesday since I was out of town Fri-Sun. Mentally I wasn't in the best of places. I was running this run because I had to. I've been slacking lately and I found a new resolve lately to keep at the running/dieting so this meant I really did need to run no matter how much I just wasn't in the mood. All of this thinking may have contributed to the worst-run-of-my-life. I have no idea why but I just couldn't run for more than 5mins at a time even from the beginning. I have been running 10-15min run stretches lately with walking breaks in between. In fact last Friday I increased my pace while maintaining my normal run/walk ratio. So it was odd when I had to scale back the speed 0.2mph and struggled to make 5min stretches. I have never watched the clock on the treadmill so much in my life! I would say that I walked half, perhaps more than half of this training run. Towards the end I began to feel nauseous. I stopped and ate an apple because I thought it would boost my sugar or something. Basically I thought eating would help. I didn't. I finished up my 13km and lay on the floor for a bit. I had to take a break showering because I felt too nauseous. I also had to take a break after toweling and changing. I felt worse than I did after the Rio Half Marathon! But I finished it - it is done. I am in 'recovery week' so it will be 2 weeks before my 14.5km run. Hopefully that one will go better.

Diet? What Diet? Oh...that diet....hummm

2009-06-30T12:27:00.003-04:00

So I went away for a week and a half for a conference/vacation in the east coast. The first half had me eating solely at restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The diet can't really come into play for this sort of situation. To make matters worse on the first day there Steve and I went for a long walk; which is great except I was in new flipflops and ended up with 6 limp-worthy mega-blisters-of-death. I would post a picture but I will spare you the horror. So I spent near a week gorging at restaurants and limping (aka not running). The second half of my week I stayed with my aunt/uncle in Halifax. My aunt Kathy is a feeder in the truest sense of the word. For example at one lunch for four people the following was laid out on the table: onion rings, fries, potatoe salad, cucumber salad, spring rolls, asian noodles, and stirfry with rice. How no one in that family is overweight I will never know. On the plus side I stopped limping and was able to do two runs. To make up for the gluttony I did a 10km and an 8km run. Which by the way also doubled as hill training because the street they live on is all over the place.

When I got back home the gluttony continued one more week until yesterday when I summoned the willpower to stop eating everything in sight. But on the downside since its been 30C all week I have only ran once and delayed my weekend run until today...13km run here I come!

Another week begins...

2009-06-02T22:28:00.002-04:00

The week was off to a great start on Monday. I went to the gym and did weights and subsequently paid for it today (good burn though... good burn...) Today, however, was a different story. I got so busy that I didn't make it to the gym for my cardio day, so I decided to go biking when I got home. I went to pick up some food and decided I should eat first before going out biking. This was mistake number one. So I make dinner, get settled to watch about 20 mins of TV while eating. I then put my plate down to finish the last 10 minutes of a show before going out. This was mistake number two. I woke up 2 hours later, somehow I had pulled a blanket over myself and turned the TV down without waking up. I am blaming the weekend and it only hitting me today. I guess I needed the sleep but I feel pretty bad about not doing any workout today. Tomorrow I will pick up a cardio day and Thursday I have plans to go climbing so hopefully my body won't hate me too much after this week.

I am still alive... I think.

2009-05-26T21:13:00.002-04:00

Alright, so I have been active. I went to the gym I think 3 times last week, AND did a ton of biking. This week so far I have done a 21km bike ride on Monday and I did about 1.5 hours of rock climbing today.

I am still on my weight plateau but I think I need something to kick start that... unfortunately I am starting to think it might be my diet. I really hate having to change how I eat AGAIN. I already eat healthy with my occasional slip ups, (which realistically aren't slip ups... they are there so you don't gorge) but I think my problem is I really have to watch portion size. Also I don't eat cheese or milk anymore (or any derivatives) due to my stomach now rejecting lactose... sooooo I have to eat more dark greens to get my calcium. This isn't a huge deal but I do need to start watching it.

Other than that things are looking on track. One more thing... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!!

I ran 20 minutes straight - and look I have proof!!

2009-05-24T11:27:00.004-04:00

Look at the big plateau after my 5min warm-up walk. Yes, that my friend is me running at 4.7mph for 20mins solid. I rock. Now if you would only ignore the last half of the run, where the 20mins of running obviously made me tired and I couldnt keep a consistant pace to save myself, it would be all good. Please give me that luxury and focus on that beautiful plateau!

So Nike+, after its terrible beginnings (see bad exercise karma) I have really grown attached to the sensor in my shoe and my trainer letting me know periodically how much time I have left. To top it all off after I finished my run Friday, the nice man who counts down the time/distance left to my goal sums up the run stat's as usual and then who should I hear - Tiger Woods.

"Hi, this is Tiger Woods. Congratulations, you have just run your fastest mile"

I have heard about the infamous celebrity quotes but until Friday I haven't recieved any of my own. Okay so it's a little cheesy - but let's face it I'll take whatever support and motivation I can get!

Official training program begins!

2009-05-12T21:57:00.001-04:00

I plan to follow "Marathon and Half Marathon: The complete 26-week training program (The beginner's guide)" to train for the Athen's Classic Marathon. I used this program for the half marathon in Rio and found it quite effective. The program consists of three weekly runs; two timed weekday runs and one long distance run on the weekend. Each week is classified as moderate, building or recovery. I enjoy the fact that after the building week you can look forward to an easier week following. I think that for me this is the best course of action compared to steady moderate weeks. The long runs begin with 5km the first week and "gradually" increases with a 10km run on week 6, a 21km run on week 15 and then the peak mileage of 32km on week 23. I interpret the peak mileage being dramatically under the overall distance is that you should have the last 10km in shear determination left over.
Until now I have been in "pre-training" trying to get re-accustomed to exercise. In theory I was hoping to do three runs a week during pre-training but as the record shows that didn't always happen. I am writing today to ask that you hold me accountable to my training program, no excuses.

Driving Range

2009-05-11T20:38:00.003-04:00

Today Dave, Natelie, Mark and I hit the driving range for the first golf outing of the season. It turns out I still suck at golf and therefore haven't technically "lost my swing" over the winter. Too bad there isn't a most improved player for golf courses. (I always won that title at sports growing up - it's easy to improve if you are terrible.)
Now I just need to work on taking criticism. Playing at a sport with your spouse that you suck at can be trying when you are bad at taking advice. Example: Dave says "Don't do this, do this" to which I respond "Dave that looks exactly the same, seriously." Dave, "You can't see the difference between this and this?" Taylor, "No." And then I tell him the story about Tyra banks on America's next top model because tyra always does stuff like that (ie, don't do this, do this) Dave, "Tyra banks is stupid, are you calling me stupid?" Ummmm....

And so the golf season begins. I believe success shouldn't be measured by the score I get over nine holes, it should be whether I resisted throwing my clubs in the lake. Wish me luck!!

Inspiration from the biggest loser

2009-05-06T13:25:00.005-04:00

Okay, make fun of me all you want. I like watching 'reality' tv shows. I show that I really like is 'The Biggest Loser.' I find it really motivating. They show the contestants grueling through their workouts. These people are stubborn and determined. It makes me feel like these people get how much running can suck. Or at least how much STARTING a running program can suck. And they make me want to be even for stubborn and determined than I already am. Some may question if that is a good thing.

So I thought I would share last night's episode because honestly I was crying at the end. So the show is down to 4 contestants and in their final challenge they are asked to do a marathon. First thing - I get really emotional when anyone finishes a marathon. I have a few marathon documentaries and they always get me teary. One of the contestants is Ron. He started the show over 400pounds and is now under 300. He has bad knees and therefore cannot run and a variety of health problems. Ron walked the full marathon with a cane. He took over 13 hours but he did it. I cried.

At the Athen's marathon there is a 6 hour time limit for running (there is an 8 hour time limit for powerwalking and maybe I can sneak into this section). I have been concerned that I won't make the 6 hour time limit. I finished the Rio half marathon in just under 3 hours. A full marathon would be more than double the time when you factor in exhaustion. Plus there are also just really bad running days. They are random but sometimes 1km can feel like 100. If I had a bad running day the day of the marathon my time would be significantly worse. So I have been wondering what would I do if I was still on the course at the 6 hour mark. (They open up traffic and start taking down everything at this point) and you know what I think that I would just finish anyways. I would have the assistance of Team Diabetes. Someone would know where I was at all times and probably a trainer would come and run with me at the end. So I would be okay. I wouldn't get a metal. But I would finish the &^$*ing thing. Huzzah!

Sudbury Rocks Race, Run or Walk for Diabetes

2009-05-06T13:10:00.004-04:00

On Sunday I ran the 5k race at the Sudbury Rocks Marathon! I posted a chip time of 42:04 and came in 45/64 of women in my age range (20-29). 332/520 overall. Yay for being not last! And not completely terrible considering I had only 4 training runs before the race. Procrastination in my name!
What was extra special is that I started the race with my friend Ching. She, however, is not into the endurance running and took off like the wind finishing under 30minutes! (Which by the way is my 5km time goal). I was doing okay for much of the run. The last kilometer I had a side stitch on my left side and ran with my fingers pressed into my side. "I can't walk now, the finish is just around the corner...sort of." Ching and Dave were waiting for me at the finish! I have another metal to add to my collection! Go figure that I would start having a collection of running metals and bibs.

not cool...

2009-05-01T22:32:00.003-04:00

Monday and Tuesday were devoted to cardio workouts. I did at least 30 minutes on the eliptical hybrid machine thing and some core workout.

Wednesday my gym buddy and I did weights with a coworker. He had us doing arm, back, and chest workouts in a circuit type training method. We did an hour long workout with about 5 mins of cardio to start it off. I felt pretty good after that workout... until the next day. My arms were SO sore I couldn't really even open doors. Everyone was warning me that the second day is worse but I still think the first was the worst!

Thursday was a day of rest.

Friday, today, was spent doing a workout on the ball with a few coworkers (the one leading has been doing this for 5 years). You think it is all childs play until you get into it! I have never sweat so much, and I am pretty sure I am not going to be able to sit up in bed tomorrow.... hopefully I will still be able to move next week because I have been promised at least one day of climbing! Oh wall... how I miss thee...

Nice Weather...

2009-04-27T22:34:00.005-04:00

... is the best thing ever! Today it was something stupid like 30 degrees with only a few degrees of humidity. I decided to go out biking after work (I still did my cardio at the gym, half an hour on the running/stepper machine). I started out wrong right off the bat by forgetting my sunglasses so I had to go all the way back up in the elevator to get my sunglasses... nobody likes driving blind right? So I get them and go back down, sunglasses - check, helmet - check, water bottle filled - check, working bell - check... so then I am off to the races, or so I thought.

I started down my street having to avoid cars more than usual because the wind is ridiculously strong and is trying to kill me. Why is it a

lways attempted death by cars? I really should figure that one out. Anyways... So I get down near the river and I am biking on the path, and the wind is against me the WHOLE way. So not fair. I got about probably about 5-6 km before I decided to turn around (Mooney's Bay). The wind wasn't as bad coming back... but still pretty brutal.

I had just passed Carleton University when I see this g

uy with his bike on the ground and he has his ear to the ground. So now I am

thinking either this guy is crazy or he has fallen. I am wrong on both counts. Turns out there w

as a turtle that had just crossed the path. Of course I had to stop and take a few pictures...

The rest of the trip was pretty normal... no wind trying to kill me as I learned how to handle it (trips into the river at this time of year are not my idea of fun). Hoping to get some more nice weather soon!

Bad Exercise Karma

2009-04-27T21:59:00.004-04:00

My mom got me nikeplus for christmas. I bought an ipod nano specifically to use the nikeplus with around boxing day. I have been most lazy and haven't used it until today...at the end of April. Apparently this laziness resulted in bad exercise karma which played out this evening.

It's 4:30pm. I turn on the computer so that I can update itunes. The computer crashes. hum...I restart. It crashes again. I have always hated that computer. I figure Dave will fix it later. I probably don't need to update itunes anyways I figure. I plug in the nikeplus receiver, take some time to go over the manual and change some settings etc. I try to calibrate the device. It says something like "walk around so that the sensor will become activated" so I do for a couple minutes, randomly walking around my apartment. It fails to find the sensor. Odd. I try again. Random and more impatient walking results in another failed screen. Back to the manual. You have to "wake it up" it says. I take it out and press the button to wake it up. Walk around some more. Nothing. Much more impatient. So I will call Apple I figure. After having to sign up for an account, tracking down the serial number and filling out a bunch of questions I am told before I am allowed to speak to someone I will be charged $30! Excuse me? This stupid thing is brand new (well never been used) and it only costs like $30 to begin with. WTF? Dave comes home. Venting ensues. He reads manual and tries basically everything I did. Except when he tried to "wake it up" it actually worked. Miracle! My problems are over!....I thought....So I do the calibration walk. No problems. But all this maddness has killed the battery and I have to recharge. I plug it into the computer (the good one) and leave it for a while, eat dinner and such. I return to the computer and 'safely remove hardware." The ipod screen is now frozen to the "please eject before disconnecting screen." You can't be fucking serious? My ipod better not be broken. (Do I have to spend $30 to talk to someone to confirm that I have to spend another $$$ to buy a new one?) I troubleshoot this for a while and find a forum that tells me how to save the day. I start my run. It's now 8:30pm. What a night.

Taking a few days

2009-04-21T12:42:00.003-04:00

I am taking a few days off of running. I went to the walk-in clinic last night and it turns out that I have a viral infection. The result is that my jaw/ear/head on the right side has been throbbing for days. Some of the nerves near my jaw/ear are inflammed and thus causing the aching. The doctor told me to take more tylenol and told me to pick up this ear-canal freezing ear drops stuff. A frozen ear canal feels funny I have to say. So needless to say that I am taking it easy until the pain subsides. Poor me :(

Bridal Shower = Gluttony

2009-04-21T12:30:00.004-04:00

I made a trip to Windsor on the weekend to attend my cousin's bridal shower. I tried to be very good before and after the shower but saturday was fairgame. Oh the sugary goodness! Most of the appetizers and main course was meat and/or fish so this gave me the excuse to make it up at dessert. Yum! I had like ten of the chocolate strawberries. There was also a baked brie with filo dough, carmelized onions, apples and nuts (HEAVEN!). Oh and then there was the cheesecake...and the lemon cake....and the chocolate mousse cake. Yes I tried all three. (Hey I restrained myself there were 5 cakes total) Ummmm I miss the strawberries...

Week in Review...

2009-04-19T20:04:00.003-04:00

This week has been a little more than sad for the workout portion. My workout week in review goes as follows:

Monday was a holiday and so I probably ate a little too much and didn't exercise enough.

Tuesday we did cardio at the gym but only at 1:30pm which is really late for us (we usually go at 9:30am). Then at 3:45ish we went to the climbing gym and it was absolutely abysmal! We each did about 3 walls and then called it quits as we were both too tired. So sad about the poor climbing performance.

Wednesday I did cardio at the gym and some stretches (only 15 mins of cardio... very bad). When I got home it was beautiful out so I went for an hour long bike ride along the river. It made me happy.

Thursday I didn't do anything. Uh huh, yeah I know!

Friday consisted of nothing again, do you see a trend?

Saturday was spent in Montreal. I actually got somewhat of a workout even if it wasn't intentional. Walking around Montreal for 8 hours was what came out of Saturdays activities.

Sunday I went out for a bike ride with my roommate (she rollerbladed while I biked) along the river. I made it all the way to hog's back!!

Needless to say I was a bad girl this week and didn't stick to my workout goals. Hopefully this week will be better...

Hi Body, meet exercise. You've met right?

2009-04-13T16:34:00.003-04:00

Oh exercise and I have met. We have an on again and off again relationship. And as of today it is on the 'on again' cycle. There's nothing like a looming marathon to get your ass moving. LoL it's going to be terrible.

I bought a treadmill two weeks ago. I put it together about a week and a half ago. I went to use it and Dave noticed that the floor vibrated with my foot strikes. He was in a completely different room and I was only doing fast walking speed on the treadmill. I have tried to get a hold of our downstairs neighbour repeatedly to see if this is going to be an issue. It's a good thing and a bad thing I suppose. Good thing, our neighbour is never home - bad thing, I have stalled beginning my exercise program. So today I slipped a note under the door of our neighbour and used the treadmill.

The plan for the next few weeks is to reintroduce my body to exercise. 5minutes walking, 5 minutes running. I starting the run section at 5.0mph and I felt great! I was thinking "this is great maybe I haven't completely lost my endurance!" Unfortunately on my second running section I started at 5mph and then got tired and then changed it to 4.8...4.7...4.6...4.5mph and suffered for the last minute. lol nope endurance completely gone. I did the third and final running section at 4.5mph. So today I did a total of 2miles. Hopefully my body and exercise don't have a falling out too soon. Only time will tell...

OUCH!

2009-03-23T18:13:00.003-04:00

I am still on the gym workout schedule with Carmen where we do weights mon/wed/fri and cardio and core tues/thurs.... but you know what? It hurts! We did arms, back, and legs today along with 10 mins of cardio and stretching at the gym to make a 1 hour workout. Then tonight I went climbing... well it went less than stellar. I did manage to climb 6 walls though! One of them I missed the top by about 5-7 feet but it is because it is a 60 degree overhang which is killer when you are tired. Next time I will conquer it.........

Routine

2009-03-14T00:18:00.002-04:00

I am sore again. My arms and legs hurt... but it is good. I have climbed four times in the past two weeks and I am starting to get back into it. I can now do some pretty good inclines (if not for very long) and my endurance is getting better.

I have also been going to the gym 1-3 times a week for about an hour where I do a step/elliptical/running machine (it is weird) which lets me run without the impact. I do that for about 15 minutes and then I do some reverse crunches and sit ups on one of the machines and then ball exercises with and without weights.

I am now down to 143!! My body test says I need to lose 21.8 Ibs of fat... but that isn't just weight it is just fat I need to turn into muscle. I have been working on toning for this reason and will go back for the body test in a few months. I am in a size 4 pant though so really I can't complain :)

Skating!

2009-02-22T22:49:00.002-05:00

I went skating today... and it was epic! I started at 5th Ave and basically did 3 passes of the canal complete from Dows to downtown and a few extra km... which by rough calculations adds up to about 20km of skating! I am going to be so sore tomorrow but I am really happy that I did it. My ankle stood up to the test but I have one heck of a bruise (it is about a 1 cm round visible bruise and about 3cm non visible) right where one of my pins in my ankle is hitting the padding of my skate. Oh well. In other news, I reached my goal weight of 140Ibs and as a reward I was allowed to buy some lululemon pants! They are awesome. I now have a smaller goal of getting down to 135 and basically just toning up. At least wii fit can't yell at me anymore!!

Curling

2009-01-27T14:07:00.007-05:00

Okay so I haven't even began running yet. But now I have an excuse - I'm injured! On Saturday night I went with Dave and Robyn to her work curling tournament. I curled once in grade 12 with my gym class but that's about it. On my very first practice throw I was just about to let the rock go and I hear 'rrriiiippp.' Yes I ripped my jeans. Oh dear! On the very second throw I fall to the right and smash my knee into the ice. Ouch! I had a half inch egg on my knee for the rest of the evening. The picture just doesn't give it justice at all as I took it on monday night when most of the swelling went down. The remainer of the night went without much incident - I continuously ripped the hole in my jeans wider and wider lol and I was probably one of the least graceful curlers as I would just flop over after a throw to avoid ice-knee contact. All and all it was a lot of fun! And sadly enough it is Tuesday and my muscles are still sore - apparently they previously knew nothing about sweeping.

Sweet Success

2008-12-02T21:56:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-11-25T20:19:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-11-09T18:27:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-07-22T20:41:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-07-05T14:49:00.004-04:00

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....

2008-06-28T20:07:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-06-12T23:54:00.006-04:00

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

2008-05-29T21:29:00.002-04:00

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

P.S. I love my new cell phone!

Grrr.... Arg....

2008-05-28T20:30:00.002-04:00

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...)

2008-05-20T21:01:00.003-04:00

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.

2008-05-15T21:25:00.002-04:00

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

2008-05-13T19:01:00.003-04:00

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....

2008-05-13T12:25:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-12T17:29:00.005-04:00

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....

2008-05-06T16:35:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-05T09:50:00.005-04:00

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

2008-05-03T16:43:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-30T21:04:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-30T16:52:00.005-04:00

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!

2008-04-29T16:41:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-29T16:32:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-25T10:47:00.000-04:00

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....

2008-04-23T09:03:00.002-04:00

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??

2008-04-10T22:12:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-04-09T19:32:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-04-07T14:01:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-02T18:36:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-31T21:48:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-30T02:05:00.004-04:00

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???

2008-03-26T22:28:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-23T22:54:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-12T22:29:00.002-04:00

#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

2008-03-12T11:53:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-03-11T21:50:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-03-07T22:49:00.004-05:00

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

2008-03-05T19:22:00.003-05:00

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

2008-03-03T20:51:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-03-01T23:00:00.004-05:00

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....