a balanced life.

Yesterday morning I went for a bike ride through High Park. Instead of my usual loop through, I took a few extra side streets. Also, in light of the spin class I took last week, I tried to push myself to go faster and not just coast along whenever I could. So that was good! My thighs aren't thrilled with me today, but what can you do :)

Last night we played ultimate - and we won! /cheer!

We all played really well and there was lots of running. Lots of running.

The best part is that I SCORED A GOAL! YAY! And it was an epic score, too. So, it was the longest point ever and you can't sub out until someone scores. And I was getting tired! We were finally in our endzone and the frisbee came in low and I dove for it (aka crashed to the ground) and managed to catch it! GO ME! lol. The other team members made some more frequent epic catches and goals, but this was my first :)

I was soooo sore when I got home. Still from softball on Sunday and the bike ride Tuesday morning and then all the running from ultimate. But it's good. I feel good.

Tonight, as most of you know, a bunch of us are going camping then rock climbing tomorrow!

I'm so excited!

I think I've said this many times before but I just like to stop and marvel at the fact that I'm trying all these new things now. I feel like I'm chomping at the bit wanting to try everything. I really like it. I've spent a lot of my life reading and learning and it's nice that I am now balancing that out with being more active. I'm, like, perfect. ;D

Also, I can't actually see much difference, but according to my scale I'm at my lowest weight that I've been in a while. I still have a long way to go, but booty camp starts soon! /confetti

oh. my.

Where do I even begin??

I guess from the beginning :)

I don't think I wrote a blog for Friday so here's my delinquent post about that day.

Friday:

I ran Day 2 of Week 6 that morning. This involved:

5 minute warm-up
10 minute jog
3 minute walk
10 minute jog

I did:

5 minute warm-up
10 minute jog
3 minute walk
5 minute jog
2 minute walk
7 minute jog

Close enough, right? I hadn't run since Monday morning so I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. But I ran a little extra so that's something, I hope.

After work was, of course, beach volleyball. I was so late for that because of work so I really only played 3 games. So, all in all, not a super day for exercise. Ah well!

Saturday (aka my birthday YAY):

I slept in and got breakfast in bed a la Michael :)

I am trying to keep this about the exercise parts of my day so I won't bore you with the rest of my birthday minutiae. Except to say that I have never drank so much and therefore have never been so drunk as I was that night. I blame Chow and his dirty Jagr bombs. Before the badness happened though I had a great time! :) Thanks to everyone who made it out and I hope you all had fun, too! xo

Sunday:

I woke up way too early to play softball for work. It was such a rough morning. But I still went! Why, you ask? Because I'm a TROOPER :)

Michael and I got to the field at 8:30am only to find out we weren't playing right away after all and we wouldn't be playing until closer to 10-10:30am. -.- We were not very impressed, but what could we do! After some tea and forcing down a granola bar I felt a bit better.

Softball is actually kind of fun! Batting is the best part! I got the first run in in the first game! /cheer. I didn't make any fancy catches, but I had a lot of fun. I'd play again! So there was lots of running around and so I did get some exercise! Although I seem to have pulled a muscle in my hip/groin area :( It hurts like a bitch to walk.

Monday:

I went for a run this morning. I tried to do Day 3 of Week 6. From here on out they are all long runs - no more interval training. I was supposed to do 23 or 25 minutes, I think. With my injury I was only able to run for about 6 minutes and I had to stop :( Brutal. I walked for a bit and tried to run some more, but it was really painful! But I tried!

I will endeavour to run more frequently this week, but I am on the home stretch now! At this point I should be able to run for 25 minutes and will check in the next few days how far that actually means. And I am still at one month until the marathon! /confetti.

It is all going splendidly. Well, except for this gimp leg I acquired.

Oh! I also got 5lb weights for my birthday. I used them today!

I did 3 sets of 10 reps of bicep curls, tricep curls? (I'm not sure what they're called). Um, and shoulder thingies. Where my arms are to my side and I lift them straight up and out so I look like a T (or a cross, I suppose, if you count my head). Oh, I also did some more stair pushups.

PS. I am never drinking again.

the long fight continues..

Yesterday after work I went to a softball practice. It was hilarious.

What I Learned at Softball Practice:

1. I am afraid of the ball. Therefore, I close my eyes when the ball gets close enough for me to catch, which luckily so far has only resulted in me missing it, rather than getting beaned in the head. Though I do catch it on occasion!
2. I have pretty good hand-eye coordination otherwise. In terms of hitting it that is. Nine out of 10 times I can connect with the ball. I mean it helps that our own team is pitching it, I suppose. Details, details!
3. Sun in the eyes is the absolute worst when trying to catch balls. The worst. I just want to duck and hide because I panic when I can't see it.
4. Apparently, you're supposed to run towards the ball when it's rolling/bouncing towards you rather than back up to let the ball slow down before you pick it up. I suppose I can see the logic in that.
5. I cannot throw a ball. I understand the basic principle, I do. I also know I have the power. I just can't put it into practice! I release too early or too late and can't channel the power into the throw itself. I think I use the wrong part of my arm for power, which is why it always feels like I'm going to wrench my arm right out of my shoulder socket. Ok, maybe I don't understand the basic principle after all. Hrm.
6. Batting hurts. The whole bat reverberates and now my hand hurts! I didn't notice until this morning, but using doorknobs and even holding a pen hurts. Stupid bats.
7. In light of all of the above information, I am going to predict that my gameplay on Sunday (in conjunction with the fact that the night before is my birthday party) will not be stellar. But hopefully still fun! :)
8. I don't like people who don't think I'm funny. Not just because I think I'm hilarious and everyone should, too. But these people just don't get me and it's hard to connect with people who don't find the same things funny, you know? It's awkward.

So there wasn't much exercise during the practice, but I was still out and about! Then I zipped off to pool and then, um, Korean all-you-can-eat BBQ. Oops. Although! I didn't eat as much as I could have. I did stop myself. Relativity!!

To make matters worse, I also did nothing this morning. But tomorrow morning I will run for sure! And will try to run Saturday again, too.

I'm really excited for boot camp to start, fyi. :)

j00 can DO it!

Morning!

This morning was the dreaded spin class. I trudged over to the studio for 7am!

I got all set up on the bike and away we went! It was actually pretty good! Though my knees were hurting a little, I enjoyed it! Admittedly, I did not go as hard or as fast as everyone else in the class (though everyone else seemed like spin class veterans!), I think I still pushed myself. All I know is that I was ready to quit after the first 15-20 minutes, but how embarrassing would that have been!! So I stuck it out. I got my second wind in the last 20ish minutes of the class and actually got "out of the saddle" for some of it and pushed even harder.

I was positively dripping. Gross.

I think I probably could have done more, but I'm pretty proud of myself for having gone and done what I did! Did what I did.. done what I done? Hm.

Anyways.

The good thing about the class was that it made me tough it out for the full 45 minutes because I didn't want to look like a pansy. And that there is so much room for improvement. It makes me want to go back and do more and do better. Good times!

Today after work I am going to a softball practice. That should also be interesting.

So, Chow brought up the issue of my diet these days. First, I have to say, I am hungry all the time. I am usually good for about half the day. Then start to slip.

Take last night for example. Gary came over after ultimate frisbee and we had pizza. And a few wings. It was SO GOOD. I felt like I hadn't eaten in days. I almost couldn't stop eating! HOWEVER, I did not have any pop. That's something, right? The coke was looking mighty delicious, but I refrained. I am off the pop. :D So even though I had a thousand calories - I didn't have a thousand PLUS 200 :)

This morning I had a piece of toast with peanut butter and jam before the class. Then I picked up a yogurt parfait (yogurt, granola/oatmeal, raisins, strawberries) at the cafeteria downstairs and a coffee. Oh and I bought a banana. Now I'm starving again.

I am sure this play-by-play of my food intake is fascinating - too bad. :)

I will try to eat better the rest of the day, but it's hard when I'm so hungry and food is so delicious. And when I'm not at home. Le sigh. Life is hard. :)

PS. Don't forget to read yesterday's post. I posted it late last night, but I did post!

the problem with exercise..

Good evening, folks!

I am clearly a little delayed today. I actually had too much work to do today :(

Today I finally dragged myself out of bed around 7:30 and went for a little bike ride. I prayed that the gears would be ok and that no one would hit me because I hate helmets. (NB: I would wear one if I was city cycling :) Randomly my gears like to f*ck up and either fall off or just grind like something is dying.

Praise be!

Nothing calamitous happened! Well, except :( hmph. Except for the fact that as I was cycling along I passed a jogger. I didn't think much of it until! I heard him picking up the pace behind me and he passed me.

What the shit.

Is that supposed to happen?? So then _I_ picked up the pace and finally managed to pass him and I was triumphant! I can cycle faster than a jogger! -.-

Clearly I need to work on the cycling! I was talking to this girl who did the triathlon recently. It was 750m swim, then 30km run, then 7.5km run. So, maybe a triathlon won't be in my future for the next year. But I would really like to do one of those Ride for Heart or whatever cycling things. I'll show that jogger!!

So anyways. I was out for about 25 minutes and forced myself to do one last lap around the block before going home. Good times.

Although, I still don't like bikes and I still am not quite able to sort out the gear business. I just stay on 2 or 3 and go with it.

Tonight I went to play Ultimate Frisbee. We lost. Again. 16-6. Brutal. But seriously, those guys could run. They only had 2 girls who had to stay on the whole time and they were go! go! go! for the entire game! It was disgusting. :P

So, ya, they creamed us. But this one girl I was following kept making me sprint across the field to chase her down. Also disgusting! But I think I noticed a difference when I was doing it. If they had been one of the teams we played before I started running, I think I would have been dead on the field a lot sooner. Admittedly, we had more subs this time, but still, I think I ran a lot! Not faster than that damn girl, but still! Fun!

Tomorrow is *gulp* spin class day! dun dun dun. It keeps slipping in and out of my mind. I think part of my subconscious is trying to make me conveniently forget it. But now that I have written it out here, I have no excuse!

I am going to get up at 5:30am. Then get down to Spadina and Adelaide for 7am. SEVEN IN THE MORNING. It is going to be torture, especially since it has been getting increasingly harder to drag my ass out of bed in the morning. I am scared.

Also, after work, I promised a co-worker I would join a baseball practice. The hospital puts on an intramural softball tournament every summer and our department always puts a team together. They bullied me into joining even though I will suck. And they caught me at a weak moment when I was contemplating other sports/activities I could do. The big problem is that the tournament itself is the day after my birthday. I warned them I might still be drunk then. So I agreed to go to the practice tomorrow and if I absolutely hated it then I wouldn't play, but if it was bearable then I would come on Sunday. I do like to try to hit the ball...

This is the same co-worker I am going to spin class with. She is hardcore.

So then I have to go to pool afterwards, which means I will be bringing like 8 changes of clothes.

Oh! I almost forgot - the reason for my title.

Now, I don't know how many of you read my Facebook note about 25 things about me, but one of them is about showering. I know, it's gross, and it will probably make me out to be some kind of pariah, but I just don't like to shower. I do it. I just don't like it. It's so much work. I just want to be clean and smell lovely all the time with no work. So the problem with exercise is that it is making me shower twice a day most days! This is unacceptable. :P Clearly this means I have to do less exercise :D

Just kidding. I guess. ^^

/sigh. Wish me luck for tomorrow!

It's-a me! Wario! I'm-a gonna win!

Hahaha. First, I would like to share that there is a Mario Wiki! How fantastic is that.

http://www.mariowiki.com/Main_Page

Anyways, back to me :)

Busy, busy weekend. Filled with a bit of overeating, but also activity! And though it may not have seemed like it, I actually didn't binge as much as I could have. If that's any consolation. :) It's all about relativity, right?

So Friday I finally got to play volleyball again! Apparently taking a few weeks off means one forgets how to play and is dismal. I started getting it together a bit more near the end, but it was a rough start! But fun! I definitely missed volleyball. I'm sad about the end of summer, which spells the end of beach volleyball. But I am really interested in playing indoor court this fall/winter!

Saturday was d-

Urgh. I think I just swallowed a hair. Gross.

As I was saying. Saturday was do or die day. Mostly because, as I had previously mentioned, I needed to finish up week 4, which involved a 20-minute run. Also, it was an especially important day because not only was it the weekend, but since I stayed out a wee bit too late on Friday night, I could not get up for 7am. Therefore, when I finally did get up and was ready to go around 10:30am, I didn't want to! I have never run during the day before. Only in the early morning or in the evening once the sun had gone down. I was scared :( But I knew that if I didn't run then, it would only get hotter in the afternoon and then I was going to be out all afternoon/evening and wouldn't be able to run in the evening. And I'd most likely be out a little late and so would repeat this whole conversation again Sunday morning. And! The more I put something off, the less likely I am to want to do it.

Therefore, with all of this in mind, I finally forced myself out the door around 11am. I armed myself with sunscreen and a hat. It wasn't as horrific as I expected it to be. I think the hat really helped!

I was supposed to run 20 minutes. I tapped out at 15 minutes. Although I wanted to quit at, like, 8 minutes. So it was quite the achievement for me! I walked for a minute or two, then finished up the last 5 minutes. I'm quite proud of myself! /beam

Not only because I ran 15 minutes, but also because I actually went out running.

Let's recap:

1. One month ago I was thrilled to bits when I ran my first 6-minute stretch. Now I have successfully run 15 minutes. If that's not progress, I don't know what is!


2. Last year the idea of running a 5k marathon would have reduced me to tears from laughing so hard at the idea of it. Now it's almost a reality!


3. Three months ago the idea of taking a spin class would have left me horrified at the prospect. Who would subject themselves to such a thing!? Apparently I plan to! Although I'm still dubious about the enjoyment factor. We'll see.

There are probably more things, but I need to get back to work and still have more to write about!

On Sunday we went to High Park and we biked there and back. There was also a bit of frisbee playing. Not terribly active. But! Ara said that I was the most active person he knows! He was probably exaggerating slightly, but it still made me feel warm and fuzzy. ^^

Mondays are rough. I had to force myself out of bed and out the door this morning for my run.

Today's regime was:

5min walk

5min run

3min walk

5min run

3min walk

Much more manageable! Though my leg muscles did protest quite a bit. But even my thought processes have changed. I used to think, "Oh man, 5 minutes??". Now I think, "5 minutes should be easy peasy!". Amazing, isn't it? Granted, it was still harder than I expected it to be, but I did it! Despite the screaming leg muscles. Brutal. I need to stretch more. It just seems like such a time-waster. :)

In addition to all of the above, I discovered that my friend Mai is a personal trainer! She is going to help me come up with a program to do in addition to the running. I'm really looking forward to it!

Lessons Learned:

1. I do much better with following a program (ie. the Couch to 5k program). I think if I had continued on as I was originally doing, I would have quit by now.
2. I have to work further on my diet. I need to make better choices :( Why does food have to be so delicious!
3. I have to stop talking about the people I work for when I keep my doors open. It never fails that they walk by just at that moment. Ok, maybe I should stop talking about people, period. But I feel it's ok to bitch about the people you work for (not with) because it's expected. I just have to find a more private place to do it :P

Happy Monday, folks!

new pain, new gain..

When I was running this morning I developed a new pain. It didn't last the whole time, but it felt weird. I guess it was my Achilles' heel on my left leg. Like I said, it went away, but it was new so I thought I would mention it.

So let me first talk about last night. We had an ultimate frisbee practice at Trinity-Bellwoods Park. It is actually quite a nice park! And pretty big! Lots of trees, too. So we found a nice shaded patch of field to run around in. I practiced a few different throws and have decided that the hammer throw is where it's at. I'm getting pretty good at it! Also, I'm getting pretty good at throwing curving frisbees. I'm less good at throwing them backhanded or other variations, but I'm getting better. It's fun to do the hammer!! Also I need to work on catching the frisbee and being able to tell where the frisbee is going to end up. I am usually running all over chasing a curving frisbee and I have to stop that :P

We played a bit of 4v4 and it was fun. The more I play the more I get a sense of what to expect and what I am supposed to do (weird how that works out, eh?). Although during a real game I am still a bit like a chicken with its head cut off :( But I can only get better, right?

Also! Tammy said my calves looked more muscle-y. /beam

Therefore, even though I did not run yesterday morning, at least I ran around for a couple hours last night!

This morning I was determined to make it out for my run because I knew the longer I kept putting it off, the harder it would be to start again. So I did it. I am a little messed up on my Couch to 5k training sessions because of the various missed days. I should be on Day 3, Week 5, so I skipped a couple sessions over the past 2 weeks and today I did Day 2, Week 5. That's not too shabby, eh?

This morning's plan:

5 min warmup
8 min jog
5 min walk
8 min jog

Easy peasy! I did it with barely a hitch (except for the aforementioned new pain). I think I probably could have run a bit longer than 8 minutes, but it was getting rather hot outside!

I plan to run this weekend and finish off Week 5 so I can transition into Week 6 without being behind. However, day 5's plan is: 5 minute warmup followed by 20 minute run.

What the hell?

What kind of transition is that?? So I'm not going to lie, my friends. I am a little nervous. But the only thing I can do is try, right? :D I'm such an after-school special. You can do it, Duffy Moon! (That was for you, Denise).


Lessons Learned:

1. I think my cardio has improved slightly. The reason I want to stop running is not usually because I can't breathe, but because my legs are tired. Although when I do stop I am breathing pretty hard.
2. I need to strengthen my legs. Are there home exercises for that? Other than the lunges and squats for my upper legs. Any actual exercises to strengthen my lower legs or do I just have to keep running?
3. I need to stop buying cheap flip flops. Another pair just bit the dust. Sigh. Luckily it happened while I was already in the hospital and luckily I have a pair of shoes here. But I really didn't feel like wearing heels today :( And! I have to go to the beach after work and can't wear heels! Brutal. You know what this means, right? Yup, I will have to go find another cheap pair of flip flops before the beach!
4. Lunges and squats seriously work. Or at least they seem to since I'm still feeling it a million days later.

In addition to the boot camp and the rock climbing, I am also going to try spinning! I am going with a co-worker to a Wednesday morning spin class at 7am (eep) . I'm a little scared, but looking forward to it, too!

I just want to say that having started running has really expanded my life in a lot of unexpected ways. I am trying things that even a year ago I would have seriously scoffed at or been horrified by. Taking this spin class is just a further progression of that. I know this sounds smarmy, but I am really looking forward to the new direction my life is taking :)

Life's good! And my future looks even better. /dimple

ah shiz.

So last night was pool. Gary's birthday is today (Happy Birthday, Gary!) and so we had to buy him some shots, which meant we had to have one, too. Obviously. So I didn't get plastered, but I got a wee bit tipsier than I meant to get. Oops.

This meant I got home later than I meant to, which means I got to bed later than I meant to. And the point of this story is that I did not get up in time to run this morning. /sheepish.

I didn't even have any rational thought processes happening this morning, though. My alarm went off as usual at 6:30am and I just insta-snoozed until 7:30am. I didn't realize until around then that the loud noises every 10 minutes actually mean something!

So then I actually got out of bed closer to 8am and had to scurry off to work. The only plus side to this sad little story is that I have an ultimate frisbee practice tonight so I will be working up a sweat tonight at least!

And tomorrow morning I will go running. FURREALZ.

I have also decided to break my no-running-on-the-weekend rule because I've been such a dirty slacker all week.

AND! My thighs hurt from the lunges/squats I did yesterday! Brutal.

I am going rock climbing in a few weeks! On a real cliff face or whatever they are called. Shyn assures me I can trust him and he won't let me die.

That is all. Have a lovely day!

"vanity is my favourite sin" -al pacino

Morning!

Of all the times of the day I prefer to look at myself in the mirror, it has to be in the morning. From what I understand (and what I see to be true), the body is at its lowest weight of the day at that time. So even though I don't think I have lost a significant amount of weight pound-wise, I think the last few weeks have still made a difference. Or maybe my view of myself is skewed because of the morning mirror looks. Either way. It works for me! I think I might be ready to start measuring myself.

Last night I played ultimate frisbee finally. It was slightly easier to run around than it was the last time I played, which was 3-4 weeks ago? I was told that I did run a bit faster and didn't seem as winded as quickly. All good things! Although it was bloody hot last night! And we lost. By a lot. Really a lot.

Oh! I usually got shin splints playing ultimate frisbee, but not a twinge last night!

As I mentioned on Charles' blog, I am all about the small triumphs and victories. So I am a happy camper today all things considered.

This morning I did 3 sets of 10 lunges and squats. I should feel that tomorrow or even later today.

The one thing I have been slacking on is snacks for the day. I am constantly starving between meals, which can't be good for me. I really need to work on this!

Also, I am excited for September when booty camp starts! I haven't signed up yet, but I will soon! Oh, that reminds me, I should also sign up for the 5k marathon :P

I have been considering signing up at the UofT Athletic Centre to use their pool and track in the winter. As long as it is not too expensive. But that would be good. It's close to my work so I could go afterwards maybe. Or zip over early in the morning. So that's an option. Or maybe the Y.

Or maybe I will hibernate all winter and pack on the pounds. So I can struggle through this all over again next summer!

the importance of being earnest

So the last time I went running (other than this morning) was Friday morning. Then I went up to a cottage (a fancy one! :) and ate and drank way too much! But, hey, I was on vacation. And while on vacation - anything goes! :) There was bacon. Mmm bacon.

Tomato carbonara sauces are really quite tasty! So there was much food and alcohol with sweet juices. However, on the Sunday we finally made it out to the swimming pool. It was a humid day, which made it perfect for the pool! It was rather small, but luckily not terribly busy. We tried to swim laps when there were gaps in the crowds. I love swimming and being in the water! :) Have I said that enough?

Along with that and my issues with feeling self-conscious and all that, which I mentioned in my last post, I have decided to just suck it up (literally and figuratively ;p ) and get over it. If strangers are judging me - who cares? If my friends are judging me, well, then maybe we're not really friends and in which case - who cares? So there.

So anyways, I got home late on Sunday night and just wasn't feeling it Monday morning. I now regret not having gone for a run, but there's nothing to be done about it now. So this morning I did finally go out for my run.

During the running bits I was trying to focus on the song I was listening to. I have decided to try to take this time and learn the lyrics! I figure that will get my mind off the running. I had some success with it. I am seriously considering books on tape, though. I worry that it won't really give me energy as music might, but maybe it'll work for me. Now I just have to figure out how to do the audiobook thing. :P And soon because I will be doing 8-minute running

So. The reason for my title is that I had to give myself some serious pep talks during this run. Especially the last 5-minute run. I had almost convinced myself to walk the rest of the way home. I was too tired. I was too much of a sloth this weekend to recover so quickly. I couldn't do it. Etc.

But! I forced myself to again suck it up and man up! I told myself not to be such a sissy and just do it. I told myself if I wanted to make a lifestyle change I couldn't just keep quitting. Did I want to be 40 and still a lazy bum? Did I want to continue to feel self-conscious about myself (even though I'm supposed to be over this, too :D ). If I didn't do it, how was I going to run the 5k and continue to progress. Etc. I pretty much berated myself into submission.

I just realized I sound crazy :P But whatever works, right?

Lessons Learned:

1. Scolding works.
2. I need to figure out audiobooks. Free ones preferably. I have a blackberry, an ipod, and an itouch. One or more of these things must be amenable to audiobooks :P Oh, I suppose this isn't so much as a lesson I learned as it is something I need. :)
3. I need a part-time job. This isn't so much a lesson I learned during running, but well, I am quickly learning I need one. Anyone know of a place I can work a few hours a week and make hundreds of dollars? I'm pretty sure we can leave stripping/escorting out of the brainstorming process, though.
4. Running early in the morning is really the best way to go. I need to go and be back before the sun starts cresting the houses, which is usually around 7am.

I have also been rather remiss in going out on alternate mornings for a blade or bike ride. And doing my lunges/squats/dips. So I am going to start being more regular about my workouts/runs again. I was so good for a while! I will try to be again! :)

..and boredom hits..

I have to admit - now that I am running 5-minute stretches, it's getting rather boring. I listen to music, but my brain is so unstimulated! I'm going to have to start doing multiplication tables or something.

Ah well. I will keep putting along!

I did not go out for a bike ride last night because I'm a lazy mofo :( I got home late, had dinner, and then watched Hell's Kitchen for the rest of the night. :D In my defense, I was at work for almost 10 hours! I was sleepy.

But I did run this morning extra early! Since I'm leaving work early today I figured I would come in to work early to make up some time. Went out around 6:30am this morning. It was c-c-c-cold! I was shivering! Although the running definitely helped and I really appreciated the cooler temperatures! Running early in the morning really is the best (as for as running at any time goes). At that time there were very very few other runners about. A few dog walkers, but not many runners. Usually I see a bunch in the morning. I liked it this morning! Nice and quiet.

So my shin splints are not so bad anymore, which is wonderful. I try to remember to stretch them before I go running or I will stretch them during the run when they start to hurt and they have vastly improved! However, now I have a new problem. My lower calves are starting to hurt now when I run. I stretched them during and after the run so hopefully they will be ok, but that's a good sign, right? That my shin muscles aren't doing all the work now and it's starting to even out? Does that make sense?

So here's possibly too much information for my dear readers. But it is about bathing suits and swimming. Now, I love water as we all know, but I think the reason I am only starting to rediscover my love for it is because of the whole bathing suit issue. I haven't been comfortable enough in many many years to wear one. And I'm still not really, but I'm trying not to care because if I go somewhere with a pool or a body of water I really want to swim in it! And I realize the only way to truly get over this is to become comfortable enough with myself and the only way I can see my way to doing this is to keep doing what I'm doing. But it's such a slow process and I want to swim now. So I don't really know what the point of this over-sharing was except maybe I'm hoping that by saying it "out loud" it will help me to overcome my issues. I try not to be too insecure because no one likes to be around that, but like the fear of floating body parts, I get twinges. Otherwise, I know I'm fabulous :D You don't need to comment on this part, by the way - I'm just sharing. :)

Questions!

1. How do you occupy your mind while running? Or do you? I assume some people just go blank and just focus on the running?
2. Oh. I can't think of another question. Oh! Who wants to do a triathlon with me next year?? That involves swimming!! :)
3. Speaking of swimming. I'd like to go swimming more on a regular basis. What are my options? Get a stupid gym membership? Icky public pools? Someone needs to move downtown and get a condo with a pool :) Especially in the winter when I feel I will be lazier.

go big or go home!

Welcome back!

So instead of making one incredibly long blog, I think I will probably split up the news about my weekend into a couple of blogs so stay tuned!

Friday we got up at the crack of dawn to drive to Ottawa/Quebec so there was no running. In fact, it might have even been before the crack of dawn! It was damn early.

However, there was much swimming to be had!! I have discovered that I love love love the water. I think I was a fish in another life. Or maybe a mermaid. Yes, a mermaid.

The cottage is on a secluded bay with clear water. A wee bit cold, though!

So let me tell you what else I learned about myself. I'm kind of a sissy. My whole childhood was spent watching horror movies and I was very rarely affected (unlike Charles who got nightmares - haha). But this is how it chooses to manifest itself! I'm kind of afraid of bodies of water. Every time I think about going in I picture creepy zombie hands reaching up from the depths trying to grab my feet and pull me down. Or I picture happily swimming along and discovering a dead body. Or killer monster fish trying to eat me. Or random body parts floating up from the bottom. Really, I could go on. Needless to say, at first, it took me a little while to actually go in. And the first time I went swimming in the lake on my own was an ordeal. And no matter how often I went into that lake I would still get twinges of panic that I would have to quell so as not to flail about and drown myself. :P

Otherwise though - it was great! So for exercise I would swim across and tread water. Really felt it in my arms! Did I mention I love swimming?

Speaking of things I love - remember how I love boats? Well, there was a motor boat and I love just zipping around in it! I'm constantly marveling at my newfound love of boats, the beach, water, etc.

I think I need to move closer to an ocean or something. Or at least a swimmable lake (Lake Ontario is the ew).

There was also some kind of party on the Saturday going on and they lit fireworks that night, which we saw from a boat. Olessia - I now fully appreciate your love for fireworks and boats. Love it.

It makes me want to live on a boat. A big luxurious boat.

Ah, screw it. I will just write about all my adventures in this one big long post.

On Saturday we decided to go climb a mountain. I should attach pictures but they are at home. :(

We took the boat across the lake to the start of the "trail".

There was no trail.

We hiked and pushed our way through this muddy, steep, bug-infested wilderness until we finally reached the top. It was not easy, my friends!! Although I had a walking stick - that helped :)

It was worth it, though. Absolutely beautiful view from the top. The pictures will eventually be posted on Facebook when I get my computer back (in 3-4 weeks!!!!!). We rested a bit, took some pictures. It was no boat, but it was lovely. Then the hike back down. Just as bad - maybe slightly easier. But there was definitely more falling! Did I mention the mud? It was hot and I was sweaty and gross, but then when we got back - more swimming! It was glorious.

I think I could have spent the entire weekend in the water.

So Sunday evening we headed back to Ottawa. We went to a swimming pool on Monday and I got to swim some more! Pools are nice, too! That was, admittedly, the last of my exercise until I got back.

I was supposed to go to ultimate frisbee Tuesday evening, but after the ordeal with the car breaking down on the highway (!) and trying to get home, it just didn't happen. Then I realized the warranty on my laptop was up that night (not Wednesday night as I had thought) and I had to back everything up so I could get it to the Future Shop before it closed because my DVD-ROM has been broken for 2 years! So I finally get there at like 8:10pm and drop it off. Now I'm *twitch* without my laptop *twitch* for 3-4 weeks *twitch*. But at least I have my Blackberry!

So, back to the topic at hand.

First, I apologize for the lack of blog yesterday! It was my first day back after a 5 day weekend and I just didn't have a chance.

But I did go running! I entered week 4 of the training session. I had briefly debated doing week 3 again since I only did it twice at the beginning of last week, but I decided screw it! I will just keep moving forward. Go big or go home!

This set consisted of:

5-minute warmup
3-minute jog
90-second walk
5-minute jog
2.5-minute walk
3-minute jog
90-second walk
5-minute jog

and scene.

So I jogged for a total of 16 minutes. That's pretty good, eh? I seem to be progressing along quite nicely! This is a 9-week program so I will be done with 2 weeks left to practice and improve my speed. I'm very excited! I think this may actually be possible after all!

After the run I did some pushups. I was way too tired to do anything more than that, though. I actually thought I was going to throw up :P But I didn't :D

So ok - that is the long and short of the past week or so. Not terribly exciting, but there you have it.

Oh, I didn't do anything this morning :( But I think I'll go for a bike ride this evening into High Park! I'll keep you posted :D