First work out of the Year brings some not so profound thoughts...

Rejoined with a gym. Got in with TAC just before they (apparently) upped the prices as of the first of the year. I really thought I could try to exercise at home and I didn't do too badly over the summer/fall when the weather was good. I ran 2-3 times a week and running outside beats the treadmill any day of the week. No comparison at all. However the bad weather came and my reluctance to run outside in the cold grew inversely proportional to how much daylight we had throughout November & December....speaking of awful weather , December 2013 - less said the better. Bleh. January picked up where December thumbed its nose at us (freezing rain wasn't it New Years?) and so I decided that I took steps, my waistline was going to continue to expand and whatever toning I might chiseled was going to blur back into soft fleshy curves.

Unacceptable...on so many levels. It would mean that all that effort I put out in 2011 and 2012 was going to waste. Or back on my waist. Meh. I know I can do it.

With my 40th birthday last month came a way to afford going back to a gym, and with deep gratitude to my mother and father, I was able to sign up with TAC for 2014. I fully intend to make good use of it, and make the following resolutions:

1. To take classes and do what I can. Why try to reinvent the wheel and become an expert when the gym fee pays for other people to become experts in how to make the most from an ab crunch? Really....I have better things to do and if you tell me I can do 5 more seconds of this side plank with my top leg raised in the air, the least I can do is try.

2. Run. Alot. I now have magic shoes (I really want to apologize to my friends and family who, I am sure, have been politely bored to tears listening to me go on about my new orthopedic inserts for my shoes...but seriously. I didn't know what I was putting up with in terms of pain and discomfort until it was mostly gone) and now I have rested my eyes on 10k. No race...just...10k. In one go. Start to finish...me.

3. Take Yoga. Learn Balance. Learn to focus on the now. Really....does this need more clarification? Just read it again until it makes sense.

That's the plan. Just to go, do what I can, all year. 3 times a week is not an overwhelming expectation. Just focus on one workout at a time.

Peace!

 

...on her own...

....I had a GREAT workout tonight. Worthy of note for the following reasons...

Most of my weight loss journey - with the exception of my running outdoors or on a treadmill, has been conducted in a classroom with the instructor yelling "Jump" and me trying to gasp out "HOw High?!?" My reasoning is that these fine instructors already know what they are doing, my job is just to move like them and get my heart rate up.

The 2nd thing being easier than the first thing.

But now my life is changing and morning workout classes are not as easy to get to as they used to be and soon I might be employed normal daytime hours so that means either trying to catch a class at night (doable) or ...

.....maybe figure out how to do a good work out on my own? With weights?

I understand the following to be true....today. Tomorrow might be different, but today these are widely believed to be true...

1. It is better to vary the workout from day to day, or at least workout to workout. The body is sneaky and can get used to a certain exercise and when that happens, that exercise loses it's efficiency...

2. In order to run properly, you need to have strong muscles. This means incorporating weight lifting into the mix.

3. You run faster if you don't have as much weight on the body, so cardio needs to be a priority as well.

4. If my legs wobble going down the stairs after a workout, and I have to clutch the handrail - it was a good workout.

5. Good upbeat music greatly assists the workout, inspires the athlete and makes it a more enjoyable experience. 

I attempted a workout tonight at the Y with the following changes to my usual attempts.

-I uploaded new music to my mp3 player - which meant I finally figured out how to do on my own. Point of pride!

-I had a small notebook to write down what I wanted to do, exercise by exercise and gave myself permission to write down what really happened.

- Stretched for 10 mins first.
-20 mins of weights, mostly upperbody but managed a set of squats as well.
-15 mins on the treadmill in which I reached a top speed of 4.5 mph for 10 mins (new goal to get up to 5mps so MFP can log my runs correctly)

I was doing sets! I remembered to take breaks in between sets! I alternated between exercises one set. The music was good and kept me revved! I almost looked like I knew what I was doing. Hope!!!

And when I walked down the steps, I wobbled all the way clutching the rail.

Time to dust off the blog...

..it wasn't much of a blog but it deserved a bit better than this...

Anyways - new year - new goals. Random thoughts.

My WORD of the year - one little word. Can't get much smaller than the word I picked so get ready...get set...

Go!

Did you miss it? I almost did. I almost missed out on some pretty important parts of my life. I think I have pulled out in time to make the changes I needed to make to get back on track and this small precious word is going to help me. So watch carefully this time...cause here...we....

GO!!

Yup. Go. go. gO.

doesn't seem all that impressive but I thought about it and all the things that have been going on lately and I have come up with a few of the following very helpful sentences.

It is time me to GO...

...outside for more fresh air. I missed out on some pretty spectacular days in the sun, looking out and wishing I was out there...

...see what my daughter is up to.  The looks of surprise and welcome on her face is the best feeling...

...to Scrapfest and experience all that I have only heard about. It's my turn now...

...out of business.

...for more runs. I have made a GOal of 10k on Race Weekend...a whole lot of GO before that happens. I haven't GOne for 10 K straight running so this will be interesting...

...have fun. A friend's place, a crop, a trip, on the floor playing a game with E.

And it is also time to let go. Things I can't change. Things I don't have control over. People who engineer  stress and drama for no other reason because they can. Oh yes they are the first to go...

And so here I go with my first, but I certainly not my last blog post of the year, which will return to our usual health related topics.

Health tip #1 - get enough sleep, to give your body *enough* rest.

GOod night...

...I'm one of those crazy people...

I finally crossed a line today that I never thought I would. Typical for this sort of action - I feel terrible.

I ran in 30 degree plus weather, no shade, in black work-out clothes. I managed to do 3K with one walking break. Don't ask me how long I took to do it, cause I didn't time this absurdity.

I used to drive by people running in hot weather and wondered why the hell would they do such a stupid thing, or hear on the radio that folks collapsed during a physical activity in hot weather...well yes! What would you expect?

I haven't been running in over 2 weeks and I can *feel* the army run getting closer. I have had back problems these last couple of weeks and work has made it hard to fit time in and I have tried to avoid this weather for as long as possible. I NEEDED to run and for the first half of my run, I felt pretty good. It was the last half that dragged my ass along, and at one point I was driven off the path by cyclists. So not my best run but it was great opportunity to work on my mental game and to taste insanity.

Other updates - early July I was at the Dr. office and weighed myself in at 245.6 lbs - just over 31 ls lost in total this year. Very happy about that. I am going to go see my Dr. again about my back because it's just not healing up like any other muscle strain I have had and want to make sure I am not making it worse with certain kinds of exercises...

Excuse me while I go to the bathroom to shake a fist at my reflection in the mirror and mumble "...crazy woman!"

Jenn

the journey of the jeans...

It is a conspiracy I tell you. I was, at my heaviest, convinced I was no bigger than a size 22 jeans. All the proof I needed was a pair of jeans that I bought at a second hand place (that was a gift from the gods at only $8) *that fit me*. It was last spring 2011 and even though this pair of size 22 jeans were straight cut when the world was trying to cram their asses into "skinny jeans" (isn't that a great name for them? You can't wear them unless you are 'skinny'. Thanks lots.) I thought I looked good in them too. Here there are now.

I had some assistance, completely unrequested. 

 Ok she really didn't want to leave the photo shoot so I had to lock her out of the room.

 Alright here we go. Size 22 jeans - or so the tag says.

 Aha - but what about these black jeans that are also a size 22 according to the tag?

Let's get a closer look.

 The black are smaller. No question. So what gives blue jeans? You look more like a size 24 to me. I almost felt like I had been lied to.

 To check out the rest of my jeans to see where they 'fit', I laid down a Size '20' that I just bought at Value Village a week ago Sunday, May 6th. The Blue and Black Size 22 jeans were way to loose and baggy on my I decided I needed transition jeans that didn't cost 50 quid a go.

 So far so good. They did seem to be a size smaller than the black even upon closer scrutiny. And since I was at Value Village anyways, I decided to pick up a pair of jeans to work towards, a blue pair in a Size 18. How do they measure up?

 Confirmed - a good size difference so I consider that a worthy goal.

 And now for the last pair of jeans, in actuality just shorts, which I have saved for over 20 years. I have not been able to fit into them since my 2nd year of university but there is so much history in each threadbare patch I just couldn't see fit to donate them or put them in the bin .

 I have decided that I want to fit into them before Halloween 2012.

Since there is no label I would guess that they are a size 16, going

by the visual comparison I have here.

I am HERE now. Firmly and comfortably in a Size 20, and sliding my way down into my 18's. 

Since these pics, I have bagged up the two size 22's and other jeans of similar size and have donated them to Value Village. 

I don't need them anymore.

Jenn

PS I have also since weighed myself at a friend's place and I now at 253. Total loss of 23.6 lbs to date since the beginning of the year. Huzzah!

jog log

Did 3.4 k today in 30mins 30 seconds which brings me to just under the 9 minute/km mark.

Happy about that since lately I am having some diet and workout blues. I think the problem is that I haven't been able to weigh myself so am feeling a bit directionless. I tell myself not to rely on that number but I do like seeing it go down anyways. Except it's been about 3 weeks since I last weighed myself and celebrated being just under 260. I want to know if my efforts have kept me in the 250s and if so...where?!?

I guess I just also wish that Spring would show up. Tired of the cold and damp. I need some sun dammit!

Jenn

at Bust A Move!

What a day. I have never before seen or done anything like it.

I decided to do a bit of 'prepping' for the day by making cute little hair clips with a bunch of pink ribbon attached. I altered a white t-shirt with Bubblegum pink dylusion sprays (works awesome btw, but haven't tried to wash it yet) and in black sharpee marker I wrote on the back of the t-shirt the name of everyone who donated to my fundraising effort.

I knew that the day was going to be hard to endure but with all these fine folks 'behind me' why was I worried?

Then I dumped more "Flamingo Pink" Manic Panic Hair Gel into my hair than is recommended (it didn't really work but it was there) and did my hair into pig tails and off I went.

I met up with my awesome team "Losing It In Ottawa" and got settled in for a day of fitness and Richard Simmons!

I like this picture because I am trying to pose like a body builder - thank you Liz for the tip!

We get our spots (the organizers taped down 'corners' so we knew which spot was ours) and started with a one hour hi-lo impact cardio that got me doing some things I have never done before. I did pretty good I thought so went to take a pic of me in between classes.

So yes after my first hour long workout, still feeling pretty perky. Then came Richard Simmons!!! I didn't' know much about him personally, other than he seemed to have no shame in who he flirted with and loved to make people sweat. But his energy was palpable in the room and he seemed to excited to stay in one spot.

After the cheque presenting ceremony ($349,000.00 raised woot!) he started his hour long cardio dance work out and it was almost schitzofrenic the way he jumped from exercise to exercise. He called up women to the stage to dance with him by age group and started with the folks under 20. They would be up there with him for about 10 minutes then the next group was invited up. So when the 30-40 year olds were invited up I was ready!

I ran up to the stage to get in line to get on the stage and just as I was about to step up, a volunteer stuck her arm in front of me saying that the stage was full. WTF?!? Nononononono...and I am very ashamed of what I did next.

I pulled the longest, the poutiest, the most puppy-dog eyed expression and I hit Richard with it full bore. Poor man didn't stand a chance, and told me in his most fantastic voice "YOU - Get up HERE" and he pointed at me then beside him. I brushed past that volunteer and got a big hug and kiss from him and spent the next 10 minutes dancing on stage with him!!! I was OVER the moon happy! Can you tell from this after picture?

Suffice to say that I have NEVER had so much fun working out. More than worth the price of admission. Sadly I did not get a picture of me up there with him but I do have the memory and that is good enough for me.

After that, the day grooved along. I wasn't too fussed on the zumba - largely because it wasn't really instructional and because very hard and jarring on the knees. The Kickboxing was awesome - the instructor actually instructed and encouraged us along. The yoga was lovely too (for me to say that is something) and I even got a free 20 minute massage half way through the day.

I was very done by the end of the day. I was very happy to be picked up by my DH and DD and be driven home to a shower (the hair gel was really starting to itch) and go visit the inlaws and watch the Sens beat the Rangers (you listening boys? you did it once, you can do it again!)

Thank you so much to my fabulous team, my family, friends and supporters. I am so happy I am on this journey because I know you "have my back".

hugs

Jenn