21 June 2008

I am exhausted...

I was sitting around last night wallowing in my satisfaction with the test when I spotted a mouse. Now I should clarify that we live in country area. Our property backs up to a very large creek across which are farm lands. Also, the back door is always open because of the dogs. So we frequently gets a random mouse here and there, once in a while even a rat - yuck!!! Anyway, I'm sitting at my computer and I see a mouse scoot along the wall. Oh no!!

So this morning, after WW, I started tearing the room apart. I had been wanting to rearrange and get rid of some stuff anyway. It's the computer/birdie room and it just kind of evolved, there was no planning in it. So first I took almost everything out of the room. I ended up getting rid of a dresser, a ton of old clothes, and a bookcase. I cleaned and scrubbed then put everything back together. It took me about 6 hours and I'm wiped out.

I didn't get my bike ride in this morning because I was eager to get this room started. But with all the work I did today, I'm sure I got a decent workout.

I'm tired also because the neighbors had a baby visiting last night and that brat woke up every 2 hours. I have nothing against babies in general, except that I want them kept away from me. But screaming babies are something else entirely. I only had one child because I did not want to put up with that. Why exactly do I have to suffer through it when it's someone elses kid?? I know I have a bad attitude about this but those neighbors piss me off anyway. If it was the neighbors on the other side it probably wouldn't bother me :) But, it has firmly convinced Hubby and I that when we move to Colorado we want 40 acres with the house smack in the middle. Then they could drop a nuclear bomb and I probably wouldn't hear it.

Okay, that's it, I'm off to bed...

20 June 2008

All Done!!

I took the test and I did fantastic!!! On the math portion I got 187, I needed 171 to pass. On the reading I got 185, again needed 171. I'm all good. Unless I really, really bombed on the essay portion I should be good to go.

I am glad that is over. I hate the waiting. The build up to the event. I'm find once it starts, but the waiting could kill me.

In other news, they are apparently interviewing someone to take my place at work. Yeah!! It's going to take a pretty long time to get someone trained to handle the lab by themselves like I do, so the sooner they get on it the happier I am. Also, with someone on board I can easily take the time off I'll need to visit classrooms and such. It's all very exciting stuff.

The eating today has not been good. I had my lunch planned, a sandwich at Blimpie's, only to discover that the Blimpie's I wanted to go to was closed. Ugh!!! I had allotted enough time for lunch but not enough time to drive around and find someplace else to eat. The only place nearby, short of a pub, was Burger King. I got a Whopper Jr. meal and had a soda which I haven't had in months. It was yummy. Then when I got home I had 3 small brownies. Thank god my day ends today. Hubby is gone tonight, maybe I'll just have a bowl of cereal for dinner.

Okay, I'm relieved and happy and can relax now. I'm going to watch some trashy TV.

Test Day

I'm not sure if I mentioned this here and I'm too lazy to go look, but I'm going back to school. In preparation for the big move to Colorado, I'm going to get my teaching certificate and become a teacher :) Today I take the Praxis or PPST, pre-professional skills test, in order to gain entrance to an institution of higher learning. That's kind of why I've been so distracted the past 2 weeks. I've been studying. The test is not that hard, reading, writing, and math, but I'm nervous. I've taken a number of practice tests and gotten well above passing marks, so I shouldn't be worried. The one thing I was concerned about was the essay question. They give you a topic and you have 30 minutes to write for or against it. I was really kind of sweating that part. Then last night, as I'm complaining to my husband, he looks at me and says 'you write 4 blogs!! What the heck are you worried about writing for?' Huh..... I guess he's right, huh? I tend to have fairly strong opinions about most things and I write - a lot - so theoretically this should be the easiest part for me. The really good part is that I get preliminary results as soon as I finish the test because I'm taking a computer based one. Do you love computers????

Because of all of the above, I did not train this morning. I was supposed to run and swim and I was prepared to do it, but I decided I did not want to be getting sleepy and tired in the middle of the test. Tests are boring enough, if I'm tired that could be disastrous. So the alarm went off and I turned it off. I slept in till 5:30 - woo hoo - and got up and had a leisurely cup of coffee, got ready for work, and left. It was nice and relaxing. Now I'm here at work until around 11, then it's a nice lunch and off to take the test at 12:30.

Well, obviously I have nothing to say so I'll go now. I'll let you know how the test goes tonight. Send smart thoughts my way :)

19 June 2008

This may not be the best idea

I had such a good ride on Tuesday on the stationary bike doing my intervals, I decided to ride it again today. A small part of the reason was that it was raining this morning too. Not heavily but last time it rained there was some minor landslides along the backroads and I thought I was going to damage my bike. Plus it took me almost 45 minutes to clean my bike. So I hopped on the stationary bike for my hour long ride. And I grabbed a book to read while riding. I'm not sure that's such a good idea but, in my defense, I was sweating up a storm, my thighs were screaming, and my HR was up there. So I got my hour in, got a good workout in, and got to read my book for an hour. A very good morning.

I am not hungry. I just ate breakfast and I feel all bloated now. I wasn't hungry before I ate and now I feel a little sick.. Yuck!!!

I woke up in the middle of the night with some stomach pains. I thought it might have been something I ate, but there was no corresponding intestinal problems, just pain in the stomach - like a cramp. I did have a little blow-up with one of the girls form the bird club and I'm wondering if that's what's behind this. It's mostly my fault as I failed to disseminate some information to her. So it's either stress from that or I'm dying from stomach cancer. You're right, it's probable stress.

That is all.

Me and Timothy Leary




Your Aura is Orange



You're a bit of a loner, but you're never lonely. You know how to entertain yourself.

Whether you're trying an extreme sport or a new weird food, you always live on the edge.



The purpose of your life: testing limits - both physical and mental... and then telling people about it.



Famous oranges include: Timothy Leary, David Blaine, Tony Hawk, Carey Hart



Careers for you to try: Snowboarder, Circus Performer, Undercover Agent

18 June 2008

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat.

This morning was swimming. It was to be my longest swim yet, 3,000 m. I was really not looking forward to it. I hadn't been looking forward to it since I saw it on the schedule last week. I was not up for this. But I got up and got everything ready this morning and headed out. Another thing I was questioning was the timing. I only had about an hour, hour 15 to swim this morning. I did not think I could do 3,000 m in that short a time. Last week 2,700 m took me an hour and 15 minutes.
But, I head out. I get to the pool and start in. I did my 4 x 50 m warm ups and couldn't think of drills to do. Huh! How's that! Couldn't think of any drills. Then it was 5 x 100m. I took off swimming hard and just couldn't keep it up. My mind kept wandering. I was looking at the stuff on the bottom of the pool, it's summer fun at the Y and the kids are in the pool every afternoon. I did my 5 x 100 and the next thing was 600m straight. Ugh!! I did it but my heart was not in it.

I was supposed to repeat these laps, 5 x 100 and 1 x 600, and then do some more 100's. I just couldn't do it. I could not see doing 3,000m. I just couldn't. I realized what was the problem. The program I have is for an Olympic distance. The Tinman is almost an Olympic. It's a 25 mile bike and 10k run, but it's not a 1500 m swim. It's only 750 m. So my program is to get me ready for 1500 m while I only need to do 1/2 of that. So I've decided that I'm only going to do the entire swim workout if I feel like it. 3,000 m is just too long for me - at this point in time. So after 1350 m I packed it in and headed to the showers. And I'm glad I did.

Michelle, yes I do use the online tracker - I love it. Speaking of which, I have zero appetite and have been forcing myself to eat all my points. I hate that. I lose the taste for food. Nothing is particularly attractive and eating becomes another chore. I hate that.

Okay, that's it for now. I should do something constructive :)

17 June 2008

Food

Huh!! I was just logging my food in WW and realized I didn't eat enough yesterday. I'm supposed to eat 26 or 27 points, I forget which, and yesterday I accidentally logged one food twice. I thought I had broken even for the day when actually I hadn't eaten enough. Huh!! Could that be why I'm a little hungry today?? Huh..... I was planning on a very light dinner tonight since Hubby is playing golf. Him and his friends are trying out some new golf clubs so who knows when they'll be home. Maybe I can have a little ice cream tonight. Yummmm......

Victory is mine!!

In spite of my body, I got up this morning and did my scheduled workouts.

When the alarm went off I did not want to get up. As usual, I was lethargic. But I forced myself out of bed and tried to plan my workout. I was supposed to do 5-3 minute intervals on the bike with 4 minutes rest. I was also supposed to do 3-1 mile sprints. Huh?? 1. mile. sprints. I don't think so. That was really hanging me up. I know I can't do those and I'm fairly certain I don't want to do them, but I couldn't decide what to do instead.

I did chicken out and rode the stationary bike. This actually may be better for intervals . I found I could push really hard the entire interval. When on the road I sometimes have to slow down for traffic, or suddenly the road will go downhill and I lose intensity. I think I may do my intervals on the stationary bike. I got a helluva workout this morning.

When it came time to run I decided to do just that, run. I headed out at a slow pace and decided I'd just run for 30 minutes. The first few minutes were tough, but after about 4 minutes my legs felt great. My legs have not felt this good in a long time. I also did my standard 30 minute run in less time :) I definitely did a negative split, on tired legs, and kicked it up a notch on the last quarter mile. It really felt like something changed in my run. It's a feeling I've been waiting for, especially after Sundays crappy run. I generally have a couple of not so hot runs, then there will be like a breakthrough and the running gets better. I think today was the breakthrough. I felt better then I have in a long time.

So in spite of the fact that my body is wrecking havoc, I emerged victorious. One good thing about approaching menopause; I no longer have to look for the best acne treatment ;)

16 June 2008

A wild rant

and way, way too much information. If you are squeamish at all or male, you probably want to leave now. Trust me, it's going to get ugly.

Okay, you've been warned.

I'm 49 years old and face it, I'm staring menopause right in the face. In the last year things have started getting a little weird and I keep holding out hope that menopause is imminent. Every time I go 2 months without a period I'd get all excited. It would always return, but I keep my fingers crossed that is the time.

This, though, has gotten freaking ridiculous. 4 weeks ago I had my regular period on time. 2 weeks ago I had another full blown period that lasted longer and was much heavier. And now today we start again. This is just so wrong.

I wish there was something I could do to hasten the arrival of the long awaited menopause. I know there are drugs and stuff I could take, but I'm not that desperate yet. I wish there was a switch we could flip that would turn it on and off. Face it, we only need it if we are going to have a baby. That ain't happening, that's for darn sure.

This is freaking crazy. It seems to be getting progressively worse. If this time is worst than last time, I may not be able to walk for 2 days. Ugh!!!! I do not like being a girl. At least at this point in time.

Oh, oh, yeah, the other effects of this. I'm more tired, so my workouts suffer. I'm either very hungry or not hungry at all, either way my diet goes to hell. And I'm freaking bloated!!! So even if I'm losing weight I feel like the Goodyear blimp!!!

Okay, I'm done now. I'm going to go get some macadamia nut ice cream and whine on the couch.

15 June 2008

How could I forget this??

The most important part of my weekend, WW weigh-in. That was Saturday morning. A quick side note, I've been going to the 7:30 meeting on Saturday mornings. That means I have to get up at my regular time and leave the house by 6 or a little after to ride my bike there. Friday night we had dinner with some friends and one of them was starting WW the next day. I told her to come to the 7:30 meeting. She said that was too early and was going to the 9:00 one. I started to say that I have to go to the 7:30 meeting but then I couldn't figure out why. I had no reason to go to the early one and no reason to get up so stinking early on a Saturday. I felt like a real idiot. But I did sleep in a little on Saturday and go the the later meeting. That worked out fine :)

Anyway, weigh-in. I was down 3 lbs for a total of 5 lbs in 3 weeks. Woo Hoo!!!! Every 5 lbs you get something, in this case a bookmark. I was so excited and it's so silly but it really makes the weight loss kind of fun. I've very happy with myself. Of course now I've spent the weekend drinking beer. It will be a very slim week :)

Now I'm off to enter a contest. It's a patriotic pet picture contest. The prizes are some very nice candles. I'm off to see what I can come up with. Something patriotic with Sammy.

Why did I have to respond??

I'm out on my run this morning, which was brutal!! I chose to run along the highway here because it has a few hills and I stink at hills. 6 miles was on the schedule so that would incorporate 4 hills of decent size. Just what I needed. Now I'm running along a 4 lane highway, but the highest speed is 45 mph, and it's not that long so while cars speed it's not crazy fast. As I head out I'm running on the side of the road facing traffic. I should point out that there is a huge shoulder and that's why I like to run here. The shoulder must be 10-12' wide. So I'm running along facing traffic. When I hit the 3 mile mark I turn around and run back. Now I'm running with my back to traffic. I do this for a couple of reasons. The highway is way too dangerous to cross where I am. When I'm heading out the shoulder slants down to the left so my right foot is higher. If I run on the same side back, my left foot is higher and my back is not screwed up. So I'm running back and this old fart running with no shirt and earbuds in, feels the need to stop and tell me how dangerous running with my back to traffic is. Now that in itself wasn't so bad, but then I tried to explain to him why I was running that way?!?!?! Why did I feel the need to respond??? I don't know. I should have just said 'yeah' and ran on. What an idiot I am and how annoying is that man???

So the run wasn't so great again. I think I'm pushing myself to the very edge. That's good but it makes for some horrible training sessions. I should back up just a little to cover the last few workouts.

Friday I had a run before my swim and it was fantastic. It felt good, I ran good, it was a pretty darn good run.

My swim was okay. I wrote about my paradox and I'm working on it. I did pretty good, at least I was pleased with it.

Yesterday was supposed to be a 25 mile bike ride, but, because I ran out of time, I only got in 21 miles. They were good miles though. I pushed it but not too hard. I tried to maintain a steady pace even up hills. It was good and I felt great afterwards.

Today was the run. 6 miles. Again, I didn't get out as early as I wanted too and so it was pretty stinking hot by the time I left. Running up and down those hills you run in and out of the wind. So there were parts that were unbelievably hot. I ran pretty good for 5.5 miles then I just couldn't take another step. I walked the last 1/2 mile home. It was brutal and sitting here typing this I can feel it in my legs. Wow, that was tough.

Looking at my schedule for the next few weeks I can see what's happening. It's gets farther and farther, pushing me harder and harder, and then backs off to race distances. That's pretty cool, by the time race day comes 25 miles on the bike and a 6 mile run with seem like nothing.

Alright, I've got to go. Major house cleaning and room rearranging today. Also, taking hubby out to lunch for Father's Day, maybe try and find some new toys....

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...