13 July 2007

Have I mentioned what an idiot I can be???

I've been suffering with plantar for a while now. I've been doing everything I can think of; ice, ibuprofen, stretching,; nothing was working. I had discovered that my arch was falling and I kind of assumed that I may have to live with this for the rest of my life. One thing that I could not figure out though is that it never bothered me when I ran. It never bothered me after I ran until I took my running shoes off, then it would start to hurt. Finally, on Tuesday, it hit me - maybe my insoles were helping?!??! I have those Spenco insoles in my running shoes because I need more cushioning then the regular insole provides. Since I use them mainly for cushioning, it never occurred to me that the arch support might actually be helping. So since Tuesday I've been wearing my old running shoes with the insoles and my foot has been a lot better. It's still not 100% but it is much better. I ice it at lunch and at night and I'm probably taking too much ibuprofen but hopefully it will pass soon. Sometimes I am such an idiot!!

The best laid plans

still seem to go awry. I got my Precision Nutrition yesterday. There are some great recipes. The eating plan is pretty simple and basically what I have been doing for the last 6 months. Eat 6-7 times a day. When I follow this I find that I don't need to eat a lot, in fact I can't, and none of my meals end up being over 300 calories. Eat lean protein with every meal. This one I have a little trouble with and I'm really going to have to work out a menu over the weekend to get more protein. Don't drink your calories. That's easy I drink water almost exclusively, except for the occasional beer :) Eat veggies with every meal. I eat a lot of veggies, probably 10-12 servings a day, but there is always room for more. There's more I just can't think of them right now. Anyway, it's pretty straight forward I just need to follow them.

The last couple of weeks I've been slacking in my eating and it's really showing. My pants are a little tighter and I'm way more tired. The best part about eating right is the energy, and it's not this frenetic energy, it's steady state energy all through the day. It's the energy where I look at my watch and realize it's 4:30 already. It's the energy to come home and do things then go to bed and fall quickly to sleep. I like that kind of energy.

So tomorrow is inventory of the food stores here. See exactly what I have and what I need to get. Then Sunday is shopping, chopping, and cooking. I'm going to chop up veggies so I always have them available. I'm going to cook all my lunches for the week so I don't even have to think about it, just grab out of the freezer and run. I'm also working up a menu for dinners that hubby (who does almost all the cooking) has agreed to follow. It should be a really good week. I know what I want, I know what I need to do to get it, I have a plan. I think I'm ready.

Failure to plan is a plan to fail.

Right, so the title of this post..... I got up this morning with every intention of working out. As I brushed my teeth I did something to my neck and it's now sore as hell. I didn't know brushing your teeth could cause injury:) Well, that's okay, I feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy know, not working out will insure I feel that way all day. Yet more inspiration for my weight loss battle.

11 July 2007

A decision has been made.

I've been doing Afterburn and Turbulence Training for most of this year. I've been working hard on getting my eating in order. The body has been changing. I have muscles popping. My bodyfat % has gone down. Things are improving. But not enough, or should I say fast enough, for me. I know the weak link is my nutrition. I'm vigilant about my workouts but I let the nutrition slip - frequently.

I've done a lot of research on nutrition. I can't go back to Weight Watchers, it won't work for me. They are a great program and they got me this far but they are not for people who want to do what I want to do. I've spoken to 2 dietitians. They were really no help at all. They tend to follow the pyramid type eating and they tell me to lose weight cut calories and increase my activity level. Okay, I know that doesn't work.

I've even spoken to personal trainer types. They tend to push supplements and bars and such (at least the ones I spoke to did) and I don't want to eat that stuff. I'd rather eat whole foods in the natural state (or close to it). I knew I needed help with my nutrition but was out of ideas on where to turn.

Then I started reading about Precision Nutrition. While I couldn't read the whole program without buying it, I liked the bits I saw of it. It seemed to follow exactly what I want to do yet helped you dial in nutrition just for your body and activity level. I also read a number of blogs where the people rave about it.

So 2 weeks ago I broke down and bought it. I haven't received it yet but I should get it tomorrow. It turns out they are starting the Precision Nutrition Challenge on Monday July 16th. It's a 4 month challenge and there are some great prizes. Groceries for a year. 3 months of meals. Free digital cameras. Very cool.

After reading and rereading about the challenge and tossing it around in my head, I've decided to enter the challenge. I should receive my kit tomorrow, that will give me a few days to read it over and stock up on everything. Monday morning I start in and don't stop until November 16th. Four months of kick ass workouts and nutrition. Four months of no excuses. Four months of reshaping this old body. I will enter the holiday season in amazing shape, which will put me in a great position to get ready for a fantastic tri season next year.

I'm very excited about this. It will not be easy but I could win groceries for a year. WooHoo!!! So there you have it. I've now publicly declared my intentions and you follow my journey right here.

10 July 2007

I rock!! It's true!! I have a badge to prove it!!!


The intelligent and wise Ladyrunner said it so it must be true :) So now I'm supposed to tag 5 more girl bloggers who rock. There really are so many, but okay, here goes.

Trifeist
Skirough
Ellie
Linda
Waddling

These ladies definitely rock!!! In all kinds of ways. So pass it on ladies :)

09 July 2007

This is something I didn't know.

You can actually buy travel insurance. Now I remember the travel insurance you would buy at the airport when boarding a plane. We always used to laugh and say you were betting on whether or not the plane would crash. Okay, it was funny in the 70's.

Anyway, I knew you could purchase travel insurance when you purchase a trip. What I didn't know is that there are actually companies out there that sell this stuff without selling you a trip. You can also get insurance if you have special circumstances, pre-existing medical condition, are taking an adventure trip doing hazardous things, just about any situation they cover.

They also issue age concern travel insurance for those over 65. Even if you're over 65, retired and travel a lot, they can get you long term coverage so you covered when you travel.

So there you go. You learn something new everyday and I guess this was mine :)

Sometimes.....

shipping companies just piss me off.

I ordered something and it was shipped on July 2nd. Initially the tracking info said it was to be delivered last Friday. It didn't come. Since it was UPS I had to wait till this morning to get an update on the website. Today it says that the delivery has been rescheduled for July 12th. Why is that?? No reason, it just is.

I hate that stuff. I hate having to rely on someone else and having no control. I hate it!!! Okay, I'm going back to work.

Interesting pains.

I woke up this morning with some interesting pains. My left calf hurts. I'm not sure why, but it does.

My right shoulder is acting weird. It's almost like it's not in the socket correctly. It doesn't really hurt, it's just moving weird.

Finally, my low back is sore. It feels like I did a thousand back bends. I didn't, but that's what it feels like.

So I don't know what's going on, but these are weird pains.

In spite of the pains, I got up and did my strength training this morning. I tried to push it but a lot of the moves are body weight and I don't know how to make them harder.

So there you have it. My Monday morning in a nutshell. Hope yours started better :).

08 July 2007

I swam!!!

I am really on a roll this week!!!

First, I headed out to the Botanical Garden for a run and to test Garmin. I must say, Garmin rocks. I kept checking my pace and how far I'd gone, I am loving this. Anyway, the Garden was beautiful.

However, I wasn't in as good a shape as I thought. I ended up walking a good portion of the way, but I had a good time. It's 5.1 miles from the front gate to the back gate over rolling hills. I went up 441 feet and down 515 feet - rolling hills. It took me 1 hour 28 minutes round trip. This is probably the best time I've gotten in here in a long time and I wasn't going very fast at all, so I am getting faster.


Then it was time to face the ocean. I have not been in the water in 7 months. Since I do freak a little in the water I knew I had to get back in before it became an insurmountable problem. So once I was done with the run/walk I headed to the beach. It was only 9 in the morning and there was no parking. I almost used that as an excuse and went home, but I had to really try. I headed to the secret parking lot, which was almost full, and finally found a spot. I got my stuff ready and headed down to the water. There was a lot of wave action, I think the tide was coming in, though the waves weren't very big it was just choppy and not so nice.

I found a spot to put my stuff and headed to the water. I was at Kailua Beach. This beach is regularly voted one of America's best beaches and it's usually crowded. Today was no different. I got in the water, it was cold, and started swimming. I was so proud of myself for just doing it!! So I swam out to the "No Wake" buoy and back. I decided to do it again and headed back out. About 1/2 way there I ran into some unwanted swimmers.

The Portuguese Man of War. Those purple tentacles contain stinging cells, just like a jelly fish. I apparently swam into a school of them. As I was swimming along I suddenly felt pain along my arm and hand, on my stomach, and down my leg. Although I couldn't see anything I quickly figured out what it was. I turned around and headed back to shore. When I got there I rubbed the area with some sand and then a towel. Whether this works or not, all I could think about was the firing action of the nematocysts and that I needed to get them out of my arm. By the time I got to the car the pain was all gone and I knew I'd live. By the time I got home this is what I found on my arm.








This confirmed what I had thought it was. That straight line of bumps is typical man of war. I had those lines all over my body. Luckily they had stopped hurting and now, 2 hours later, they are gone completely. I'm really lucky in that I'm not highly sensitive to this poison. I know people who get stung and it burns and is red and angry for days. They are very sensitive to the chemical.

So that was my morning. Even with the man of war sting I'm very happy with my day. I plan on doing this every Sunday, my long run and an ocean swim. I have got to back into swimming and this is a great way to start.

Okay, my housecleaning is all done. Laundry is in the washer. I've got nothing left to do today except eat lunch, watch soaps, and relax. A perfect Sunday.

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...