21 December 2012

We're all still here


Damn Mayans!!! Got us all excited and worked up for nothing. Oh well, moving on.

I've been having some small groin pain on my right side and it's bugging me. I don't know what it's from or how to fix it. It's not bad enough to stop me from working out, but it's there. I'm wondering if it's from running on the treadmill. I didn't run yesterday but plan on running today.

Yesterday turned out to be an interesting day. I got up early to go to the post office and pick up a package and ended up not showering or getting dressed until 1pm. I spent the entire morning working on school stuff. It was good. I got a lot done. But it was weird for me. Once I showered and dressed though I got moving. Did a whole bunch of stuff around the house before Crossfit.

Speaking of Crossfit. I'm weird. I know that and completely accept it. One of the things I like about Crossfit - a lot - is the way it is structured. We start with a warm up, then we do some strength work - usually focused on Olympic lifting type moves - then the workout. That's the pattern most instructors seem to follow and I like it. I like being told what to do. If I knew what to do, and could do it on my own, I wouldn't need to go anywhere. But the Thursday night instructor is another story. First, he's kind of stiff and seems incredibly uncomfortable - so that's weird for an instructor. Second, he has up warm up on our own. He tells us we have 10 minutes to warm up any way we like. Then we never do any strength moves, it's always straight into the workout. He gives little feedback during the workout. Most instructors walk around and give hints and tips. Not him, he sits there. As you may have guessed, I don't like him. I had him last week for the first time and didn't like him, but I am sometimes quick to dislike things that are new. So I went last night to give him another try. No!!! Don't like him and I will not be going anymore on Thursday nights. If I really need to workout on Thursday I'll go to Kailua. On top of that, last night they were playing this insane techno music that was just driving me crazy. Techno music has the same beat no matter the song, and it all sounds exactly the same. By the time I left there I was getting a headache. I hate that sh*t. If that continues I will have to rethink my membership there and maybe move to Kailua permanently. So Thursday nights in Kaneohe are pretty much out for the foreseeable future.

My body is revolting again. For a while it was my ankle and knee. Now it's my groin and butt. Last night it was my mid back. That may have been due to the sit-ups we did, but still it was weirdly painful.

Alright, I guess that's it for now. I am going to force myself to get on the treadmill for a bit. 2 miles is all I ask......

19 December 2012

Yesterday was too busy


I like to be busy. One of the things I hate about breaks is that after about 2 weeks I run out of things to do and I start to get bored. So I like to be busy or at least have things to do. But yesterday was a little too much.

Yesterday I needed to go to school and finish my grading. Do a little work on my classroom - though there is lots more to do. Find a dress for the winterball last night. Get ready and go to the winterball. Hmmm... when I list it out like that it doesn't seem so bad, but it was.

I dropped Hubby at work and headed over to school. I was there for about 3 hours finishing up things I needed to do and doing some straightening up in my classroom. Then I headed over to Ross's. I looked around for awhile and found a nice dress. Then I needed shoes and accessories to go with it. I looked around Ross's for a while and didn't find anything I liked so it was off to Payless shoes. I found a great pair of shoes there that were on sale. Bonus. Why are all shoes such hooker looking shoes?? We used to call the CFM shoes when I was younger. Anyway, I also happened to find some great accessories there, so I was pleased. Then it was back home and lunch - I was starving. After I finished lunch I was sitting down to relax when I had to run and get Hubby from work. Off again. That involved a stop at a store and then finally I was back home. I was tired from my running around and so laid down to take a short nap. Then it was into the showers and getting ready to go to the ball. The ball went well and I left there about 8:15 and was home by 8:45. Finally I could relax.

If you look at that day what you will not see is a workout. No where in there is there any sort of workout. It's not for lack of trying, that's for sure. I was going to go to the 6am Crossfit class but ended up oversleeping. There was a 9am but that was right in the middle of my morning and I would have had to cut something short; grading, working on my room, shopping; something. The next classes were not until 4pm and I needed to be in Waikiki by 4:45. I was bummed. But, that's the way it goes sometimes. I will make up for it by working out the rest of the week.

Now, I need to get some water and hop on the treadmill.

17 December 2012

Food, fat, and calories


Something I have said for years, without any scientific data to back me up, is that your body does not hold on to what it gets regularly. This first occurred to me with water. If you don't drink enough water, your body starts to retain water and you get that bloated feeling. That's not the only reason you get that bloated feeling, but it's one of them. I can always tell when I'm not drinking enough water because of that puffy feeling. I can also tell when I'm drinking enough and it's not there. It's almost like your body can tell if you're drinking enough water. If you aren't it holds onto it because it doesn't know when it will get more. Hmmmmmmm.....

Then a few years ago I noticed a friend who would end every run with salt all over her. You could see it on her arms and legs. I also knew for a fact that this friend put salt on everything. Every. Thing. At the same time I noticed that friends who stayed away from salt did not have that after a run and, in fact, usually had to take salt pills or else their electrolytes would get all screwed up. It's almost like their bodies knew they didn't eat much salt and therefore held onto it. While my other friend, who salted everything, her body didn't need to hold on to it because it knew it was going to get more. Interesting.

Recently I'm thinking that it's the same way with fat. Your body needs fat. It needs it to run your brain and some other organs. It also needs it to keep everything lubricated. It most definitely needs it. But it needs good fats. Not man-made, hydrogenated crap. It needs eggs and meat and nuts, etc. It needs good fats to function properly. And I think that if you give your body good fats it will not hold on to fat but let it go. Possible????

The Paleo diet includes a lot of good fats and I am consistently losing weight. I'm down 2 more pounds. I find it amazing that I'm eating things I've been told for years I shouldn't, and yet I'm losing weight. Good food and consistent exercise and I'm losing weight consistently. Wow, who would have thought??

I really think that the diet industry, and it is an industry do not doubt it, is leading the American people seriously astray. I don't know how to combat it or what to do about it, but I know I'm feeling better then I have in years and I'm never going back.

Running


Yesterday I got on the treadmill and I ran for the first time in forever. I've been doing some running at Crossfit but that is always part of a workout. On Saturday we had to run 800m, then 400m, then 200m. But that is different because it's in the midst of other things like push presses and pull-ups and that running is ugly.

Yesterday though, I got on and ran just to run. I had decided to do 2 miles (no time of any kind), in any way that I could. I warmed up for 5 minutes then started running. My though was I would run until I was tired then walk for a bit, then run again, etc. Well I ran for 5 minutes straight. Wow!!! I then did some walking/running for a while and when I hit 1.25 miles I ran the rest of the way. It felt really good. And apparently doing Crossfit has helped my running since my legs/cardiovascular are much stronger then they were.

Now I'm going to try something that I've never considered before. Running every day. I've always played it careful, especially with running, because of my knees and possible injuries. But the way I'm looking at it now is, I do Crossfit 5 out of 7 days and it's not been a problem. I know we don't do the same thing every day, but I'm still working really, really hard. I'm going to start easy with the running. 2 miles a day for a couple of days, then 2.5 miles for a couple of days, then 3 miles, etc. And I'm not going to go crazy fast or anything. Right now I just want to get used to running again. One of the things they say at Crossfit and I've heard about other things, is if you want to get good at something - do it. A. Lot. Want to get good at squats??? You need to squat. Pull-ups??? Do them. Handstands?? Spend time on your hands. Swimming??? Get in the pool every day. So yes, running puts a lot of impact on your body but I think if I start easy when I get to the point where there are lots of miles, or I want to go faster, I will then ease back to 3-4 times a week. So that's my plan. For now run every day.

Also, 5 days a week of Crossfit. That's not going to change. And cooking/eating like a caveman. I have other things I want to do also. I dug out the camera last night and charged the battery so I can play with that. I've got some school planning to do. I want to do some major cleaning around here. It's going to be an awesome break.

Now, I'm off to the treadmill......

16 December 2012

Now for something different


Every break I usually have "BIG PLANS" Of course, up until last break those plans generally involved writing my thesis. But that has been removed from the equation. Other plans generally include working out and losing weight and blah, blah, blah. This break I'm going to try something a little bit different.

Over the past few weeks I've discovered the joy of cooking. I've also developed a hankering for getting back into photography. So this break is going to focus on things that bring me pleasure. I find pleasure in cooking so I will be doing that. I find pleasure in getting things organized, so I will be doing that. I find pleasure in Crossfit, so I will be doing that. I find pleasure in running, so I will be doing that. I've purchased an online photography class and am looking forward to that. Things like that. Instead of making huge plans; workout 2x a day, cook every night, etc.; I'm going to focus on enjoying myself. I would like to start doing some crafts too. We'll see how it goes.

Today though, I do have plans to finish my grading so that I can focus on me and put school behind me :)

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...