OK, my foot hurts today. Sad. Not sure if it was the track workout or the PT. It doesn't hurt a lot, but it's definitely achy and annoyed. So I took a rest day. Yeah, I could have gone weight training, but I just decided it might be good to give my body a break. Besides, I am a bit bummed about my foot feeling bad again. It's to be expected that there will be bumps along the road though.
I think it's more likely that the PT pushed me over the edge, as the foot was feeling OK yesterday until after the PT session. But it could also be the cumulative effects. Too hard to untangle the cause & effect here.
So tomorrow I have an easy 10k on the schedule. I think I will try it but will not go too far, so if things start getting sore I can stop. This is also subject to change depending on how my foot feels in the morning.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Starting over
I feel like I'm starting over from nothing. I guess I am, in a way. This is my first track workout since late August last year. That's 7 months ago but feels like an eternity.
I did a track workout this morning. It was about 60 degrees (warm! 15.5C) and VERY very windy (20 mph?). Every time I came around the final turn of each 400m, the wind socked me in the face and pummeled me relentlessly. On the other side of the track, I am sure I had a tailwind, but I did not feel it much.
I was SO slow. Despite working very hard, I was slow. My coach said to take it at about 85% effort. I probably gave it 90% effort, and I was still unbelievably slow.
I warmed up easy to moderately hard, doing 1600m in 10:21, but starting with a first lap of 2:45 and accelerating from there. Then I did some dynamic flexibility drills to stretch everything out, and started the real meat of the workout. I only had to do 2x2k @ 85% effort with a 4 min recovery. It was hard. 2k is 5 laps of a 400m track. By lap 3 on the first 2k, my legs were Jell-O. Sad.
Here are my 400m splits. I was thinking to do 12:00/2k, which is 2:24/400m. I thought maybe I could maintain that pace. NOT!
First 2K: 2:23, 2:26, 2:27, 2:28, 2:31 for 12:16 (ave HR 155, 164, 166, 167, 166)
Second 2K: 2:25, 2:30, 2:33, 2:32, 2:29 for 12:29 (ave HR 152, 162, 163, 164, 165)
UGH! I was able to do 3x2K in 11:28, 11:30, 11:37 last year. But that was last year.
I promised, though, that I would not beat myself up over this. When I left the track I was pretty bummed out, but then I realized, "Hey, I just GOT to do a track workout - my foot felt good enough to do it!", and "Wow, my foot feels OK!". That made me feel better. My fitness level might be abysmal, but I am able to be out there again. It will come back with some hard training, but it's going to hurt in the meanwhile, and I'm going to be slow. That is a bit hard to deal with, but I'm trying to remain positive. I just hope it comes back in time for the big races in July.
***
I cooled down by walking to my car and then jumping in the pool for a master's swim workout - it took me about 12 min to get from the track to the pool (and I mean IN the pool, swimming!). The swim workout was a good one. 300 warm-up, then 4x(50 kick, 75 free build-up (accelerate)). Then we did 4x100 IM (25 each stroke, on 2:10), 4x50 free (on 1:00), 3x100 IM, 4x50 free, 2x100 IM, 4x50 free. We didn't finish the last 4x50, so I did 2200 yd total. I got a nice compliment from one of the women in the lane who hadn't been in a few weeks - she told me I was getting faster quickly. She was surprised at how much I'd improved in the last 3 wk or so :). I was happy to have swum well today after doing a hard track workout; my legs were tired and my arms had to do more work than usual, especially at the beginning.
I did a track workout this morning. It was about 60 degrees (warm! 15.5C) and VERY very windy (20 mph?). Every time I came around the final turn of each 400m, the wind socked me in the face and pummeled me relentlessly. On the other side of the track, I am sure I had a tailwind, but I did not feel it much.
I was SO slow. Despite working very hard, I was slow. My coach said to take it at about 85% effort. I probably gave it 90% effort, and I was still unbelievably slow.
I warmed up easy to moderately hard, doing 1600m in 10:21, but starting with a first lap of 2:45 and accelerating from there. Then I did some dynamic flexibility drills to stretch everything out, and started the real meat of the workout. I only had to do 2x2k @ 85% effort with a 4 min recovery. It was hard. 2k is 5 laps of a 400m track. By lap 3 on the first 2k, my legs were Jell-O. Sad.
Here are my 400m splits. I was thinking to do 12:00/2k, which is 2:24/400m. I thought maybe I could maintain that pace. NOT!
First 2K: 2:23, 2:26, 2:27, 2:28, 2:31 for 12:16 (ave HR 155, 164, 166, 167, 166)
Second 2K: 2:25, 2:30, 2:33, 2:32, 2:29 for 12:29 (ave HR 152, 162, 163, 164, 165)
UGH! I was able to do 3x2K in 11:28, 11:30, 11:37 last year. But that was last year.
I promised, though, that I would not beat myself up over this. When I left the track I was pretty bummed out, but then I realized, "Hey, I just GOT to do a track workout - my foot felt good enough to do it!", and "Wow, my foot feels OK!". That made me feel better. My fitness level might be abysmal, but I am able to be out there again. It will come back with some hard training, but it's going to hurt in the meanwhile, and I'm going to be slow. That is a bit hard to deal with, but I'm trying to remain positive. I just hope it comes back in time for the big races in July.
***
I cooled down by walking to my car and then jumping in the pool for a master's swim workout - it took me about 12 min to get from the track to the pool (and I mean IN the pool, swimming!). The swim workout was a good one. 300 warm-up, then 4x(50 kick, 75 free build-up (accelerate)). Then we did 4x100 IM (25 each stroke, on 2:10), 4x50 free (on 1:00), 3x100 IM, 4x50 free, 2x100 IM, 4x50 free. We didn't finish the last 4x50, so I did 2200 yd total. I got a nice compliment from one of the women in the lane who hadn't been in a few weeks - she told me I was getting faster quickly. She was surprised at how much I'd improved in the last 3 wk or so :). I was happy to have swum well today after doing a hard track workout; my legs were tired and my arms had to do more work than usual, especially at the beginning.
Monday, March 29, 2010
French Toast Souffle
A Facebook friend asked for this, so as long as I was typing, why not paste it into my blog? Enjoy!
French Toast Souffle (from "The Best of Cooking Light"
***Start the night before!!!
10 cups (1-inch) cubed sturdy white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm Hearty White; about 16 [1-ounce] slices)
Cooking spray
1 (8-oz) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
8 lg eggs
1 1/2c 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3c half-and-half
1/2c maple syrup
1/2t vanilla extract
2T powdered sugar
3/4c maple syrup
1. Place the bread cubes in a 9x13 baking dish coated w/cooking spray. Beat cream cheese w/a mixer at med speed until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, half-and-half, 1/2c maple syrup, and vanilla; mix until smooth. pour cream cheese mixture over top of bread; cover & refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator; let stand on counter for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake at 375 for 50 min or until set. Sprinkle souffle with sugar; serve with 3/4c syrup.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice souffle and 1T maple syrup)
Calories 346, fat 11.5g, protein 11.6g, carb 51.7g, fiber 2.7g, chol 169mg, iron 1.9 mg, sodium 396 mg, calc 131 mg
French Toast Souffle (from "The Best of Cooking Light"
***Start the night before!!!
10 cups (1-inch) cubed sturdy white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm Hearty White; about 16 [1-ounce] slices)
Cooking spray
1 (8-oz) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
8 lg eggs
1 1/2c 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3c half-and-half
1/2c maple syrup
1/2t vanilla extract
2T powdered sugar
3/4c maple syrup
1. Place the bread cubes in a 9x13 baking dish coated w/cooking spray. Beat cream cheese w/a mixer at med speed until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, half-and-half, 1/2c maple syrup, and vanilla; mix until smooth. pour cream cheese mixture over top of bread; cover & refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator; let stand on counter for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake at 375 for 50 min or until set. Sprinkle souffle with sugar; serve with 3/4c syrup.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice souffle and 1T maple syrup)
Calories 346, fat 11.5g, protein 11.6g, carb 51.7g, fiber 2.7g, chol 169mg, iron 1.9 mg, sodium 396 mg, calc 131 mg
training again :)
Yesterday I did an easy and slooooooow 10K. But at least I was out there! It took me 68:24. 6:50/km; 11:00/mi. That's pretty darn slow, but I guess you have got to start somewhere? I have 4 months left until the USATF National Masters' Championships to get ready.
Today I was supposed to do an easy 6K. Around SugarHouse Park from my house is about 6K (well, 5.9ish?) so I did that. My muscles felt a bit tired after yesterday. How sad is that, that 10K tired me out a little? They aren't hurting or sore, just a little tired.
My foot is feeling good, though :). After yesterday's 10K, it was fine, and then I played the organ at church and even got in 30 min practice for Easter, after the service. THAT made my foot hurt a little! I went easy on it the rest of the day, and then did my PT exercises at night, and it was OK.
Anyway, back to today's 6K. I finished in 39:39 on the hilly route, for 10:49/mile or 6:43/km; ave HR 140. Foot is fine.
I am supposed to do a track workout tomorrow but might switch it to Wed so I can swim? Or I might just not swim...hate to give up the swimming skills I've gained, but sad to say I'd rather do a hard track RW workout than a swim workout (and hard track workouts are not pleasant while you do them!). I will sit down later today and try to figure out my schedule a bit.
After the 6K today I did some hard weight training - PT exercises like lunges on 2 BOSU thingies, calf raises, balance on Dyna disk and toss 6 lb medicine ball against the wall, etc., mixed in with one-legged squats, one-legged dead lifts, abductor & adductor cable pulls, plus some abs. I felt worked at the end, but it felt good.
Today I was supposed to do an easy 6K. Around SugarHouse Park from my house is about 6K (well, 5.9ish?) so I did that. My muscles felt a bit tired after yesterday. How sad is that, that 10K tired me out a little? They aren't hurting or sore, just a little tired.
My foot is feeling good, though :). After yesterday's 10K, it was fine, and then I played the organ at church and even got in 30 min practice for Easter, after the service. THAT made my foot hurt a little! I went easy on it the rest of the day, and then did my PT exercises at night, and it was OK.
Anyway, back to today's 6K. I finished in 39:39 on the hilly route, for 10:49/mile or 6:43/km; ave HR 140. Foot is fine.
I am supposed to do a track workout tomorrow but might switch it to Wed so I can swim? Or I might just not swim...hate to give up the swimming skills I've gained, but sad to say I'd rather do a hard track RW workout than a swim workout (and hard track workouts are not pleasant while you do them!). I will sit down later today and try to figure out my schedule a bit.
After the 6K today I did some hard weight training - PT exercises like lunges on 2 BOSU thingies, calf raises, balance on Dyna disk and toss 6 lb medicine ball against the wall, etc., mixed in with one-legged squats, one-legged dead lifts, abductor & adductor cable pulls, plus some abs. I felt worked at the end, but it felt good.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday hard workout
This morning was my last workout before my new RW training schedule starts. I wanted to have a really good workout and push hard. So I hopped on the video bike and did the "Gut Buster" workout for a hard 45 min. I set the pacer at 180 watts, which on the bike I was on kept my HR about 155-165. Whew. I was pouring down sweat by the time I finished after 45 min. Then I did 20 min on the eliiptical and was off to my Weight Watchers meeting.
I was down 0.8 lb from 2 weeks ago :), which is good progress. I haven't been perfect about keeping my goals, but on track enough to lose a little and feel like things are moving in the right direction.
I was down 0.8 lb from 2 weeks ago :), which is good progress. I haven't been perfect about keeping my goals, but on track enough to lose a little and feel like things are moving in the right direction.
promised photos
Here are a few photos from Canyonlands NP, taken last Sunday. We hiked 0.5 mile to Mesa Arch for some great views. Lots of fun!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
getting psyched for the season
I'm getting psyched for the upcoming season. Today I was upbeat and thinking about how much fun it was going to be to get into the groove again. I've actually taken the step of getting a racewalking coach. Yeah, I really did find someone crazy enough to coach me :). More details soon. Coach says my program is going to start on Sunday; I don't have it yet but am looking forward to getting it.
***
Yesterday I took Calvin to the track and got in a couple miles myself while coaching him to complete 3x400 with some rest in between. I told him to take it easy and go slowly enough that he could run all the way around without stopping and without walking. He did great - he was able to run the whole way for each 400.
Meanwhile, I did 4x400 - the slowest was 2:35 and fastest 2:17; then I did a 1600 in 10:09. Slow, but I also wasn't pushing as hard as I could and was taking it a bit easy on my foot. I had a vigorous PT session on Tuesday and it's been a bit achy since then. It actually ached a bit while I was doing my intervals, but nothing serious, and it's fine today.
I also did 30 min on the stationary bike (video bike) yesterday. I was going to do more, but had to go to work quickly before my workout, and I managed to lock my keys in the lab as I was leaving. By the time hospital security let me back in the lab (our lab is in a building attached to University Hospital), I didn't have as much time to work out. Grrrr!
***
Today was a swimming day. I wasn't in the mood at all, but it turned out to be a pretty good workout. That seems to happen often enough that I need to remember it. After our warm-up (I got there a couple minutes late and only had time for about 200), we started off with 4x150 (100 kick, 50 free) on the 3:20. I don't think I did them that fast, but I wasn't leading so I'm not sure. Then we did 2x200 with negative splits on each 200 - we were supposed to do the first 100 easy and the second 100 hard. I think I did that :). Next, we did 4x100 with each 100 faster than the previous 100, on the 2:15. I did them in 1:55 (going what I thought was really slow - it wasn't!), 1:50, 1:43, and then I still managed one a little faster in 1:40! I was pretty pleased with this one. OK, by real swimming standards it's slow, but for me, that was fast. Finally, we did 8x50 in IM order (2x), accelerating on each 50. I still can't do the fly, so I just did the one-arm version and that worked OK.
My foot is feeling fine now, so I plan to racewalk a little in the morning, and maybe do some bike or elliptical at the gym, too. We don't have weight training this week because it's spring break at the U. I probably should lift a little at the gym, but doubt I will have the time, since I have to work all day tomorrow.
***
Yesterday I took Calvin to the track and got in a couple miles myself while coaching him to complete 3x400 with some rest in between. I told him to take it easy and go slowly enough that he could run all the way around without stopping and without walking. He did great - he was able to run the whole way for each 400.
Meanwhile, I did 4x400 - the slowest was 2:35 and fastest 2:17; then I did a 1600 in 10:09. Slow, but I also wasn't pushing as hard as I could and was taking it a bit easy on my foot. I had a vigorous PT session on Tuesday and it's been a bit achy since then. It actually ached a bit while I was doing my intervals, but nothing serious, and it's fine today.
I also did 30 min on the stationary bike (video bike) yesterday. I was going to do more, but had to go to work quickly before my workout, and I managed to lock my keys in the lab as I was leaving. By the time hospital security let me back in the lab (our lab is in a building attached to University Hospital), I didn't have as much time to work out. Grrrr!
***
Today was a swimming day. I wasn't in the mood at all, but it turned out to be a pretty good workout. That seems to happen often enough that I need to remember it. After our warm-up (I got there a couple minutes late and only had time for about 200), we started off with 4x150 (100 kick, 50 free) on the 3:20. I don't think I did them that fast, but I wasn't leading so I'm not sure. Then we did 2x200 with negative splits on each 200 - we were supposed to do the first 100 easy and the second 100 hard. I think I did that :). Next, we did 4x100 with each 100 faster than the previous 100, on the 2:15. I did them in 1:55 (going what I thought was really slow - it wasn't!), 1:50, 1:43, and then I still managed one a little faster in 1:40! I was pretty pleased with this one. OK, by real swimming standards it's slow, but for me, that was fast. Finally, we did 8x50 in IM order (2x), accelerating on each 50. I still can't do the fly, so I just did the one-arm version and that worked OK.
My foot is feeling fine now, so I plan to racewalk a little in the morning, and maybe do some bike or elliptical at the gym, too. We don't have weight training this week because it's spring break at the U. I probably should lift a little at the gym, but doubt I will have the time, since I have to work all day tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Injury update; workouts as of late
After Saturday's race and subsequent hike, my foot felt fine. So I was crazy enough to do another 4.8 miles on Sunday, this time at an easier pace. I needed the exercise, and I sure as heck couldn't bike or swim, as we were staying in a friend's condo. I am still staying within my allotted miles for the week, though, just frontloading them a bit :).
I felt good Sunday morning and did the 4.8 miles (7.7k) in 53:33 for an 11:08 mile (6:57/km). Pretty slow and easy, but that was the idea. I just wanted to get a little cardio without trashing my foot. Later, we hiked 0.5 mile to Mesa Arch and took in the view. My foot felt pretty good the whole time, though it was a bit achy later that night and some on Monday morning. I'll take it, though! A bit achy is just fine, and I am feeling stronger and stronger with all the PT exercises.
I have some more pictures from the trip but haven't downloaded them yet - later I will post some of the kids at Mesa Arch. They came out pretty cute, I think; at least they look good on my camera's LCD screen :).
So yesterday I decided to take it easier on the foot and biked for 45 min moderately hard (video bike) followed by 20 min on the elliptical and some PT exercises.
Today was a swimming day, and I got there a bit late. I only had time for an easy 50 warm-up. Then we did 6x50 fingertip drills (freestyle), which I felt really helped me to roll just a bit more and get my elbows up (coach keeps chastising me about this; I should listen to her - in addition to being a great swimmer, she got 12th place in the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon on Saturday as a runner!). Next we did 2x(6x25, 6x50, and 6x100), first with strokes then freestyle. We only got through 3x100 of the freestyle before we had to quit, but I did the whole workout with my lane and only had to drop one 50. Not bad for me! We did the strokes on :35, 1:10, and 2:20, and then the free on :30, 1:00 and 2:00. I was pretty tired when we got to the free, but despite that I had no problem doing most of the 50s in :55, leaving 5 sec rest. For me, this was pretty good - I think my technique is getting a little better. I'm still slow, but it's feeling better anyway.
After swimming I went to PT and they really worked my foot hard. It's pretty achy now - way more sore than after the race, but in a good way I think. I'll take it easy at home tonight (hahahaha - maybe I will!) and try to stay off it when I can. All in all, I think it's coming along very well. I do feel stronger, and ready to take on some challenges. Ready to eat right, too. I think I'm getting back in the mental game, which is the most important thing, and maybe the hardest.
I felt good Sunday morning and did the 4.8 miles (7.7k) in 53:33 for an 11:08 mile (6:57/km). Pretty slow and easy, but that was the idea. I just wanted to get a little cardio without trashing my foot. Later, we hiked 0.5 mile to Mesa Arch and took in the view. My foot felt pretty good the whole time, though it was a bit achy later that night and some on Monday morning. I'll take it, though! A bit achy is just fine, and I am feeling stronger and stronger with all the PT exercises.
I have some more pictures from the trip but haven't downloaded them yet - later I will post some of the kids at Mesa Arch. They came out pretty cute, I think; at least they look good on my camera's LCD screen :).
So yesterday I decided to take it easier on the foot and biked for 45 min moderately hard (video bike) followed by 20 min on the elliptical and some PT exercises.
Today was a swimming day, and I got there a bit late. I only had time for an easy 50 warm-up. Then we did 6x50 fingertip drills (freestyle), which I felt really helped me to roll just a bit more and get my elbows up (coach keeps chastising me about this; I should listen to her - in addition to being a great swimmer, she got 12th place in the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon on Saturday as a runner!). Next we did 2x(6x25, 6x50, and 6x100), first with strokes then freestyle. We only got through 3x100 of the freestyle before we had to quit, but I did the whole workout with my lane and only had to drop one 50. Not bad for me! We did the strokes on :35, 1:10, and 2:20, and then the free on :30, 1:00 and 2:00. I was pretty tired when we got to the free, but despite that I had no problem doing most of the 50s in :55, leaving 5 sec rest. For me, this was pretty good - I think my technique is getting a little better. I'm still slow, but it's feeling better anyway.
After swimming I went to PT and they really worked my foot hard. It's pretty achy now - way more sore than after the race, but in a good way I think. I'll take it easy at home tonight (hahahaha - maybe I will!) and try to stay off it when I can. All in all, I think it's coming along very well. I do feel stronger, and ready to take on some challenges. Ready to eat right, too. I think I'm getting back in the mental game, which is the most important thing, and maybe the hardest.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Canyonlands 5-miler
It went just about how I thought it would. Hmmm, wonder if it was a self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, I thought I'd be able to do about a 10-min/mile pace, and that's what happened. 49:52 chip time, 17th of 57 in my age group (put on FB 17/53, but some more people finished after I looked @ the results), 9:58/mile or 6:12/km. Compared to last year, it was slow...I did the 1/2 marathon at a 10:04 pace last year! However, I cannot compare it with that at all. It's a totally different race. I wasn't trained at all! Big difference. I am actually pleased, because 1) my foot doesn't hurt after a hard 5-mile race followed by a 3-mile hike (to Delicate Arch :)), and 2) I raced hard and did my best, and 3) I had FUN! I missed racing! This is my 1st race since the Portland Marathon on Oct 4th last year.
The first mile was interesting - I dropped my iPod, took off hat and gloves, etc. Wardrobe adjustments! I guess I haven't raced in a while, huh? Split was 9:58.
In the second mile, I realized that though I FELT like I was pushing really hard, I wasn't. At least, not by my heart rate. It was only 157 on average. Hmmm. I guess that's what lack of training does. The scenery was great, though, and the hill? Steep but short. Split was 10:00.
The third mile started to get painful. About the halfway point we left the beautiful canyon behind for highway 191, which is the ugliest part of the race. It started to get a little warm. It wasn't actually that hot; the temps were mid-40s (7 or 8 C) and I had on tights and a long-sleeved shirt, which is normally fine. I guess it was just the black road and the sun. Plus my lack of hard training was showing. My legs felt tired. Drat. Split was 10:07
The fourth mile felt worse but was actually better. I kept trying to keep up with an older guy who was spitting every 30 sec or so. I was worried he'd hit me and I wanted to pass him. I finally did pass him at the beginning of the 5th mile. Anyway, I was able to push a little harder and my split was 10:00 again with an average HR of 161.
The last mile just HURT. Yeah, I really felt the lack of training. I pushed as hard as I could and still my average HR was only 168. Usually in the last mile of a hard race it's in the 170s. But I just didn't have it today. I've never been so undertrained for a race, so I'm not surprised. However, the positive was that I managed a negative split and the last mile was ever-so-slightly uphill. I had 9:53 on my Garmin but that's at least 3-4 seconds too long since I waited several seconds to hit stop.
It was so great to be out there again, even if most of the race was relatively painful. Everything hurt, except my foot, which is great news. I'm going to start training hard again soon. Will talk to my PT on Tuesday and see, but I think I'm good for some tempo work now and some speed work soon after.
I noticed in a few pictures my husband took at the finish that I was leaning forward a bit again. Hmmm, may have to focus on form a little more. But probably it was just because I was tired from lack of training.
Side note - my swimming coach (who is also a runner) finished 4th in her age group (30-34) in the 1/2 marathon. Wow!
Here are more pictures.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Off to the races :)
I'm actually doing a race this weekend. Yeah, I know, it's soon. But the thing is, I entered the lottery for the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon in December, when I thought my foot would be better by now. And I got in! Now, I know I cannot do a 1/2 marathon right now, so a few weeks ago I switched to the 5-mile race instead. That I can do. And it's this Saturday! I have not been able to do any speedwork yet, though I have done some very hard swimming workouts. I'm sure there is some transfer of aerobic capacity, but I'm equally sure that racewalk-specific training is necessary to be fast in the race, and that I have not been able to do (yet). Soooo, I'm going to see where I'm at, and I am not going to be disappointed if I stink. I may be a little discouraged about how far I've fallen, but it's probably better to know that not to know. I have mixed feelings about doing this race because of how out-of-shape I am. On one hand, I feel so lucky to be able to be out there. But on the other hand, I know I'll be slow, and I have never been so unprepared for a race, ever. Oh well!
***
Wednesday workout: 30 min easy racewalking, followed by weight training (legs mostly, with some PT thrown in for good measure).
Thursday workout: PT exercises & 10 min on the elliptical. Then swimming for 1 hr. I did about 300 for my warm-up, then 20x25 alternating fast/easy. First 10 free, next 10 breast. Finally, 3x(200 steady (supposed to do it on 3:45 but I was more like 3:55 or 4:00), 3x100 descending (getting faster each one; on 2:00)). I did finish this, but I was slow. I was kind of discouraged when I got out of the pool. I feel like the coach has helped me a lot w/my technique, but I'm only a few seconds faster than a few months ago, really. I think swimming takes a long time to master. Either that, or I'm not cut out for it. Or both.
Tomorrow: I plan to do 25 min racewalking and then some elliptical and then weight training. We'll see how much time I have. I then have to go to work for about 30 mins to finish up some stuff before we go to Moab for the weekend. Then home to eat breakfast, pack up, and get on the road! I'm at least excited to do some hiking with the kids and get out of town. We'll be back Sunday night.
***
Wednesday workout: 30 min easy racewalking, followed by weight training (legs mostly, with some PT thrown in for good measure).
Thursday workout: PT exercises & 10 min on the elliptical. Then swimming for 1 hr. I did about 300 for my warm-up, then 20x25 alternating fast/easy. First 10 free, next 10 breast. Finally, 3x(200 steady (supposed to do it on 3:45 but I was more like 3:55 or 4:00), 3x100 descending (getting faster each one; on 2:00)). I did finish this, but I was slow. I was kind of discouraged when I got out of the pool. I feel like the coach has helped me a lot w/my technique, but I'm only a few seconds faster than a few months ago, really. I think swimming takes a long time to master. Either that, or I'm not cut out for it. Or both.
Tomorrow: I plan to do 25 min racewalking and then some elliptical and then weight training. We'll see how much time I have. I then have to go to work for about 30 mins to finish up some stuff before we go to Moab for the weekend. Then home to eat breakfast, pack up, and get on the road! I'm at least excited to do some hiking with the kids and get out of town. We'll be back Sunday night.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sorry for the hiatus
We had a busy weekend and so I haven't posted in a few days. We got Calvin some new furniture from Ikea and spent the weekend putting it together and rearranging his room & Michelle's room, purging old toys, and giving everything a new home. It feels better. In this picture, he has his feet on the ceiling, because he has a new loft bed. He and Michelle both love it. Here are more pictures of his furniture.***
Update on exercise:
Saturday I gave the racewalking a rest, because last week I actually did 20 minutes more than my allotted 2 hr. I just couldn't resist, and because of that I decided to take it easy. Nothing is hurting, mind you, but still, I want to be cautious. So instead I did the video bike and the elliptical for a total of 1 hr 15 min.
Sunday I forgot the time change. I was all dressed in my RW gear and ready to walk out the door at 6:45 am, when I realized that it was actually 7:45 am. This was a problem, because I was scheduled to play ALL the service music for church this week. Church doesn't start until 10 am, but I wanted to practice alone from 8-9 and with Gordon (who played the piano; I played the organ) from 9-9:45. Oops. I did make it there by 8:30, despite everything, and enjoyed practicing. The service went reasonably well, and it felt so good to play again. I haven't played a service since Christmas Eve, and I do really enjoy it. In the movie "Chariots of Fire", Eric Liddell says that when he runs he feels God's pleasure. I feel that way when I play service music well - it just feels good to use one's gifts in a positive way.
Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. I ended up racewalking during nap time instead. Afternoon is NOT a good time for me to racewalk, in general. I just hit a lull, and it is hard to get out there. I tried to push it and get my heart rate in a reasonable range, but all I could muster was an average of 133. Despite that, I averaged a decent pace of 10:54/mile for 4.3 miles. It just didn't FEEL good. Sometimes it's just like that.
Monday morning I just could NOT get out of bed. The time change is messing with me! I did make it to weight training class, but didn't do anything before class. Weight training was good - we did a seriously hard upper body workout, and my chest is still sore today. The series of bench press x 2 (slow w/heavy weight, then fast w/lighter weight) + push-ups was quite difficult, especially when repeated 3x. After weight training I racewalked slowly...very slowly. I felt OK but only managed an 11:12 mile for a little under 3 miles. Later that morning, I had PT, which included 10 min on the stationary bike.
Today I still had trouble getting out of bed but did manage my physical therapy exercises before getting into the pool for the swimming workout. I did about 300 free to warm up, and then we did a drill-intensive workout, for which I was thankful. I thought if I had to do hard intervals I'd die. We did 4x(6x50 drill/swim (25 drill, 25 swim), 8x25 stroke: 2x (easy/fast, fast/easy, fast, easy)) in reverse IM order (free, breast, back, fly). I feel like my free and breast are reasonable now, but my backstroke is very slow and my fly, well, it's awful. The drills helped, though, and the coach was very encouraging. I need to get my head down and rear end up more during certain parts of the stroke to get the undulating motion for the fly. I'll keep working on it, and maybe someday I'll get it. I've improved, but not sure I'll ever be much of a swimmer. At least I can do it and get some good exercise, which is the main point for now.
Actually, I'm debating what to do re: swimming. My racewalking miles will be sufficient by the end of the month that I could probably drop the swimming. I might NEED to drop it in order to have enough time to train well for the 5K & 10K I plan to race in July at the USATF Nat'l Masters' Championships in Sacramento. I feel like I've made good progress, though, and am reluctant to drop it entirely. In addition, I enjoy having the gym facilities at my disposal, in case the weather is lousy or I need a change of pace. True, I own a treadmill, but I don't have an elliptical or bike, and those are sometimes handy. But it's hard to justify the cost. I'll keep thinking about it and will decide by the end of the month, I guess. Input is welcomed :).
***
Update on my foot:
My foot has felt pretty darn good this week. It was a little achy Saturday (after I did the 4 miles on Friday), and it hurt some on Sunday after I played the organ (hmmmm...didn't think about how much I might use my foot for that!). It's felt fine since then, despite being on my feet a lot today at work. I definitely think the PT exercises are helping a lot - strengthening my intrinsic foot muscles seems to be easing up the burden on my inflamed tendon. Or something. It has felt much better overall the past few weeks, but maybe it was just going to get better anyway? In any case, I'm relieved that I seem to be on the mend.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Food for 3/11 & 3/12
OK, this is the last of my food posts for a while. I told my friend Dorothy that we'd track and share it with each other for 2 weeks, and this will be the end of that.
Thursday 3/11
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean Crunch and 1/2c vanilla soy milk & 1/2c mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: 1 can Light Progresso Beef Soup (3 points), 1 banana (1 point ), and 1 tangerine (1 point). (5 points).
Snack: we had cake at work for my birthday. Lucky for me, it was yellow cake with chocolate chips and NO frosting (saved points!). My boss actually made it for me, and it was SO good! I estimated that I ate 10 points of cake.
Dinner: Homemade mac n cheese (WW recipe) & 2/3 c peas. 6 points total.
Dessert: Small piece cake and healthy choice fudge bar. 6 points.
Activity: 13 points.
Total: 31 points - 18 allotted - 13 activity points = 0. Perfect. In = Out. Bank is still -2 from the other day, but that can't be helped.
Friday 3/12
Breakfast: Homemade yogurt smoothie w/Splenda & mixed berries (2 points), and a banana (1 point). (3 points).
Lunch: Rico's pork tamale, med grapefruit, and 1c grapes (6 points).
Snack: tangerine (1 point) and baby carrots with 1/4c homemade hummus (2 points). (3 points).
Dinner: At Noodles & Company. Bangkok Curry Trio w/shrimp and asian fat-free dressing on salad (7 points).
Dessert: At Ikea (we went shopping for Calvin's room --- more to come on this later), 1 frozen yogurt cone (3 points). Later, hot cocoa (no sugar added), 1 point. (4 points).
Activity: I racewalked 40 min at lunch (5 points).
Total: food 23 points - 5 points RW = 18 allotted for the day. Still -2 for the week, but I'll take it.
It's been an interesting experiment. I thought having to post publicly would give me more restraint. Ummm, not really. Apparently my restraint has to come more from within. I need the motivation of upcoming races to keep me on track. Seriously, I am very motivated by the recent thought that my big races this summer are just over 4 months away. That doesn't give me much time to get my foot better, lose the weight I need to lose, and train hard.
At Weight Watchers this morning, I weighed in at 151.0. That's only 0.4 lb more than a month ago. Not too bad, given all the celebrating. But still not very good.
Now that all the birthday celebrating is over, I'm ready to focus. I have made some new goals for Weight Watchers for the next 6 weeks:
1. Lose 3 lb (that's only 0.5 lb/wk). I can do it!
2. Sleep at least 8 hr, 4x/wk. I need the sleep to accomplish #1, and to train well.
3. Curb the night time eating. I know I've been working on this, and too often failing, but I am approaching it with renewed determination. So, for at least 6/7 days each week, I will not eat after the family leaves the table. If we eat dessert, we usually do it as a family right after dinner, sitting at the table. The only thing I can have after leaving the table is hot tea or hot cocoa. The exception is if I am going out, and then of course I'll do whatever everyone else does.
That's it. If I do this, then I'll get to buy myself a summer dress from a catalog I like :). Maybe this dress, in the hot pink/black. Or maybe some racewalking apparel. Something :).
Thursday 3/11
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean Crunch and 1/2c vanilla soy milk & 1/2c mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: 1 can Light Progresso Beef Soup (3 points), 1 banana (1 point ), and 1 tangerine (1 point). (5 points).
Snack: we had cake at work for my birthday. Lucky for me, it was yellow cake with chocolate chips and NO frosting (saved points!). My boss actually made it for me, and it was SO good! I estimated that I ate 10 points of cake.
Dinner: Homemade mac n cheese (WW recipe) & 2/3 c peas. 6 points total.
Dessert: Small piece cake and healthy choice fudge bar. 6 points.
Activity: 13 points.
Total: 31 points - 18 allotted - 13 activity points = 0. Perfect. In = Out. Bank is still -2 from the other day, but that can't be helped.
Friday 3/12
Breakfast: Homemade yogurt smoothie w/Splenda & mixed berries (2 points), and a banana (1 point). (3 points).
Lunch: Rico's pork tamale, med grapefruit, and 1c grapes (6 points).
Snack: tangerine (1 point) and baby carrots with 1/4c homemade hummus (2 points). (3 points).
Dinner: At Noodles & Company. Bangkok Curry Trio w/shrimp and asian fat-free dressing on salad (7 points).
Dessert: At Ikea (we went shopping for Calvin's room --- more to come on this later), 1 frozen yogurt cone (3 points). Later, hot cocoa (no sugar added), 1 point. (4 points).
Activity: I racewalked 40 min at lunch (5 points).
Total: food 23 points - 5 points RW = 18 allotted for the day. Still -2 for the week, but I'll take it.
It's been an interesting experiment. I thought having to post publicly would give me more restraint. Ummm, not really. Apparently my restraint has to come more from within. I need the motivation of upcoming races to keep me on track. Seriously, I am very motivated by the recent thought that my big races this summer are just over 4 months away. That doesn't give me much time to get my foot better, lose the weight I need to lose, and train hard.
At Weight Watchers this morning, I weighed in at 151.0. That's only 0.4 lb more than a month ago. Not too bad, given all the celebrating. But still not very good.
Now that all the birthday celebrating is over, I'm ready to focus. I have made some new goals for Weight Watchers for the next 6 weeks:
1. Lose 3 lb (that's only 0.5 lb/wk). I can do it!
2. Sleep at least 8 hr, 4x/wk. I need the sleep to accomplish #1, and to train well.
3. Curb the night time eating. I know I've been working on this, and too often failing, but I am approaching it with renewed determination. So, for at least 6/7 days each week, I will not eat after the family leaves the table. If we eat dessert, we usually do it as a family right after dinner, sitting at the table. The only thing I can have after leaving the table is hot tea or hot cocoa. The exception is if I am going out, and then of course I'll do whatever everyone else does.
That's it. If I do this, then I'll get to buy myself a summer dress from a catalog I like :). Maybe this dress, in the hot pink/black. Or maybe some racewalking apparel. Something :).
Thursday, March 11, 2010
things are looking up
I think things are looking up. I've had a challenging food week, and have gained a little weight, and wish I could get it off. That is frustrating. Not being able to racewalk as much as I'd like is frustrating too. However, I'm in a little better mood today and I see that as a trend. This winter was hard, and I'm looking forward to spring. My friend Lisa (who I weight train with) told me yesterday that I'd get the weight off --- spring is around the corner and with that comes better mood, more activity, and hopefully therefore less inclination to overeat.
This morning's workout was awesome, too, and that also puts me in a good mood. I started with 50 minutes on the video bike; I did the "Temple Ridge" workout, which takes you all around a South American Mayan-type temple. It was a good hard workout; I kept a 170-watt pace the whole time and averaged about 18 mph with hills and everything. My legs were really burning. Next, I did some PT exercises, and then I went to my swimming workout.
I figured the hard biking would be OK with swimming to follow, as swimming is so much arms. Well, today the coach decided we'd do some kicking. Figures! I warmed up with 400 free and then did 4x150 kick: 50 easy, 50 med, 50 fast. I was slow after biking, so it took me about 3:45-4:00 for each, and then I rested 30 sec in between. Next I did 12x100 in descending sets: on the 2:05, 2:00, 1:55, and 1:50. Repeat twice. Whew. That was tough for me, but I got it done (was a bit slow on the last 100 in the first set, because I went out too fast, but by the 2nd and 3rd set I got it). Total: 2200 yds.
Activity points: Biking 6, Swimming 7. Total 13.
After my workout, my mood was pretty darn good. It's sunny today (but it was chilly heading into work; 34F) and the air was clear and the mountains were beautiful. Gotta love those endorphins, though. That's the best thing about regular exercise; I used to be pretty gloomy about half the time, and now it's much less frequent, thankfully.
This morning's workout was awesome, too, and that also puts me in a good mood. I started with 50 minutes on the video bike; I did the "Temple Ridge" workout, which takes you all around a South American Mayan-type temple. It was a good hard workout; I kept a 170-watt pace the whole time and averaged about 18 mph with hills and everything. My legs were really burning. Next, I did some PT exercises, and then I went to my swimming workout.
I figured the hard biking would be OK with swimming to follow, as swimming is so much arms. Well, today the coach decided we'd do some kicking. Figures! I warmed up with 400 free and then did 4x150 kick: 50 easy, 50 med, 50 fast. I was slow after biking, so it took me about 3:45-4:00 for each, and then I rested 30 sec in between. Next I did 12x100 in descending sets: on the 2:05, 2:00, 1:55, and 1:50. Repeat twice. Whew. That was tough for me, but I got it done (was a bit slow on the last 100 in the first set, because I went out too fast, but by the 2nd and 3rd set I got it). Total: 2200 yds.
Activity points: Biking 6, Swimming 7. Total 13.
After my workout, my mood was pretty darn good. It's sunny today (but it was chilly heading into work; 34F) and the air was clear and the mountains were beautiful. Gotta love those endorphins, though. That's the best thing about regular exercise; I used to be pretty gloomy about half the time, and now it's much less frequent, thankfully.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
workout & food for 3/10
Today was better. Whew.
Workout: took it easier today for a little break. Did 50 min weight training/PT exercises first, and then racewalked 2 miles in 21:40ish. My legs felt really heavy when I started the RWing, but after about 10 min I felt better. My foot felt totally fine. I think the PT exercises are really helping my foot a lot. I totally notice the achy feeling when I do them, but I feel stronger now, and the racewalking is not hurting at all! YAY!!!!!
Activity points earned: 5
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c oatmeal with 1/2t brown sugar splenda, a shake of cinnamon, and 1/2c blueberries. This tasted great this morning (3 points).
Lunch: 1c homemade potato soup (leftover from last night) + 1/2 graperfruit and 1 banana and some baby carrots (5 points).
Snack: 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced, and 1c grapes. Later: 1 tangerine & about 15-20 goldfish crackers (3 points).
Dinner: Quinoa, potato, & veggie bake, 2.5 cups, guesstimate 8 points (it was heavy on the veggies & light on the quinoa); ate this at our friends' house so had to guess at amount and points, but this is pretty close. She cooks pretty healthy - i.e. uses less oil, etc.
Dessert: healthy choice fudge bar (1 point)
Total: 19 points; used 1 activity point = 18 points. Banked 4 AP for tomorrow. I'll need them; we're having chocolate cake for my belated b-day celebration at work.
Workout: took it easier today for a little break. Did 50 min weight training/PT exercises first, and then racewalked 2 miles in 21:40ish. My legs felt really heavy when I started the RWing, but after about 10 min I felt better. My foot felt totally fine. I think the PT exercises are really helping my foot a lot. I totally notice the achy feeling when I do them, but I feel stronger now, and the racewalking is not hurting at all! YAY!!!!!
Activity points earned: 5
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c oatmeal with 1/2t brown sugar splenda, a shake of cinnamon, and 1/2c blueberries. This tasted great this morning (3 points).
Lunch: 1c homemade potato soup (leftover from last night) + 1/2 graperfruit and 1 banana and some baby carrots (5 points).
Snack: 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced, and 1c grapes. Later: 1 tangerine & about 15-20 goldfish crackers (3 points).
Dinner: Quinoa, potato, & veggie bake, 2.5 cups, guesstimate 8 points (it was heavy on the veggies & light on the quinoa); ate this at our friends' house so had to guess at amount and points, but this is pretty close. She cooks pretty healthy - i.e. uses less oil, etc.
Dessert: healthy choice fudge bar (1 point)
Total: 19 points; used 1 activity point = 18 points. Banked 4 AP for tomorrow. I'll need them; we're having chocolate cake for my belated b-day celebration at work.
Workout & food for 3/9
Workout: 30 min elliptical, then 1 hr swimming. Oh, and a little PT thrown in for good measure. Swimming: 350 easy warm-up, then 8x50 in two sets of 4, descending time (i.e. each 50 a bit faster). We did free for the first 4x50 then back for the last 4x50. My backstroke still stinks, but I got a few tips and it's getting better, but I'm very slow. Finally, we did a monster set of 10x150 as follows: 5x(150 stroke, 150 free) on 3:20 (stroke) and 3:00 (free). The stroke portion was 50 fly (I did one-arm fly), 50 back, 50 breast. I could barely keep up with the 3:20 and 3:00 - so essentially had no rest. I have to work on my strokes a bit more I guess. I was a bit discouraged when I got out of the pool.
Activity points earned: 11.
Food:
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean crunch with 1/2c soy milk & 1/2c mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: Progresso light chicken noodle soup (3) and a banana and a medium graperfruit (5 points total).
Snack: 1/4 c hummus and baby carrots, and a tangerine (3 points).
Dinner: 2c homemade potato soup and 2 pieces bread (9 points).
Dessert: Healthy Choice fudge bar (1 point).
Then it all went downhill...I got tired, and worked on the taxes, and started eating. Not good. I know this is a bad pattern, and I just can't seem to break it. I know I need to just go to bed when I'm tired and quit doing stuff, but I feel like I HAVE to do it then or I will never get to it. And then I do it, and stay up late, and because I'm tired, I start to eat. Last night I ate 4 girl scout cookies (6 points) and about 6 points of pita chips. ARRRRGH! Why do I sabotage myself this way? I work so hard all day to eat well, I exercise well, and then I go and ruin all my hard work.
Total food points: 34 :( minus 11 activity points = 23 - 18 allowed per day = 5 used from points allowance. Seeing as I only had 3 left in there, I'm now at -2 with 3 days to go. Not good. But I am going to keep trying; after all, the alternative is to make things worse.
The other bad news: weight was up to 152.6 this morning. That's really very very bad (racing weight is 145). My pants are tight. I feel miserable. Granted, probably 2-3 lb is water weight from all the crap I've been eating, but it's still not good. I think I've got several things going on here 1) sleep deprivation (chronically running on 6-7 hrs sleep/night when I know I really need 8), 2) birthday celebrating, and though I did track points, a lot of it was guesswork and maybe not good enough guesswork - i.e. I underestimated points or portion size. Eating out is always challenging. 3) not as much motivation to eat well because I feel like I'm not in training mode for racewalking.
I'm quite unhappy about all of this and would like to change it but feel a bit powerless. I wish I could start some hard racewalking training - that always makes me want to eat better, because I know I need to be at a good weight for racing, and it makes me feel better. But I can't do that yet with my foot recovery (though maybe soon? Things are going well in that department). Meanwhile, I am at a bit of a loss. I'm working hard but then sabotaging myself and it's a vicious cycle that is wearing me out. Sorry for the downer post, but realistically, that's just the way things are right now. I will turn this around somehow, but I'm just not sure how to find the way out.
Activity points earned: 11.
Food:
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean crunch with 1/2c soy milk & 1/2c mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: Progresso light chicken noodle soup (3) and a banana and a medium graperfruit (5 points total).
Snack: 1/4 c hummus and baby carrots, and a tangerine (3 points).
Dinner: 2c homemade potato soup and 2 pieces bread (9 points).
Dessert: Healthy Choice fudge bar (1 point).
Then it all went downhill...I got tired, and worked on the taxes, and started eating. Not good. I know this is a bad pattern, and I just can't seem to break it. I know I need to just go to bed when I'm tired and quit doing stuff, but I feel like I HAVE to do it then or I will never get to it. And then I do it, and stay up late, and because I'm tired, I start to eat. Last night I ate 4 girl scout cookies (6 points) and about 6 points of pita chips. ARRRRGH! Why do I sabotage myself this way? I work so hard all day to eat well, I exercise well, and then I go and ruin all my hard work.
Total food points: 34 :( minus 11 activity points = 23 - 18 allowed per day = 5 used from points allowance. Seeing as I only had 3 left in there, I'm now at -2 with 3 days to go. Not good. But I am going to keep trying; after all, the alternative is to make things worse.
The other bad news: weight was up to 152.6 this morning. That's really very very bad (racing weight is 145). My pants are tight. I feel miserable. Granted, probably 2-3 lb is water weight from all the crap I've been eating, but it's still not good. I think I've got several things going on here 1) sleep deprivation (chronically running on 6-7 hrs sleep/night when I know I really need 8), 2) birthday celebrating, and though I did track points, a lot of it was guesswork and maybe not good enough guesswork - i.e. I underestimated points or portion size. Eating out is always challenging. 3) not as much motivation to eat well because I feel like I'm not in training mode for racewalking.
I'm quite unhappy about all of this and would like to change it but feel a bit powerless. I wish I could start some hard racewalking training - that always makes me want to eat better, because I know I need to be at a good weight for racing, and it makes me feel better. But I can't do that yet with my foot recovery (though maybe soon? Things are going well in that department). Meanwhile, I am at a bit of a loss. I'm working hard but then sabotaging myself and it's a vicious cycle that is wearing me out. Sorry for the downer post, but realistically, that's just the way things are right now. I will turn this around somehow, but I'm just not sure how to find the way out.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Happy 40th!
In the morning, I took the kids to the park for a bit. It was gorgeous outside & they had a blast. After that we went to my parents' house for a quick lunch and some scrapbooking. Then I had to go to my PT appointment (4 pm). At 6 pm we all converged on Buca di Beppo for a fun birthday dinner. We got the "Pope table" which is full of pretty kitschy Italian Catholic decor, including a bust of the pope on the lazy susan. The kids were entranced by the little water fountain of a boy peeing :). It was pretty cute. One of the funniest things that happened was that Sarah's little boy, Sam, sang "Happy Birthday" to us and then either couldn't remember my name or couldn't figure out how to get two names in the song. It was darling. Finally, we went to Sarah & Bryan's house for ice cream cake. A very fun day with the family, which was perfect after our weekend away at Zermatt. Here are more pictures.
Workout & food for 3/8
Workout: 21 min on the elliptical, and then I had to rush off to weight training. I did my PT exercises, did some abs, did one set of what everyone else was doing (a total body workout; they all did 3 sets), and then 10 min on the exercise bike. Went home, and racewalked outside for 25 minutes as a birthday present to myself. I don't remember exactly how far I went, but I did about a 10:50 pace, and didn't push too hard. Later in the day, I had PT for an hour, and warmed up with 10 min on the bike. Total activity points: 10.
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c Fiber One pancake mix (=5 very small pancakes; usually I make 3 medium but today small was fun) with blueberries inside and a few mixed berries on top, a few sprays of butter spray, and some no-calorie strawberry syrup (3).
Lunch: Large green salad with tomatoes, carrots, and 2T light fantastic cheese fantastico dressing (0), 1.5 cups Pacific ginger-carrot-cashew soup (3), and 1c grapes (1).
Snack: 1/4c hummus (homemade, 2 points) and carrots.
Dinner: At Buca di Beppo (delicious...but a WW nightmare! Only on my birthday :)!). Apple Gorgonzola salad, large serving (about 8 points), 1.5 cups lasagna (9 points), eggplant parmesan (not sure how to count this - varying points values listed in my book and my palm; I'm calling it 6 points), 4 small pieces garlic bread (excessive, I know, but I love it...10 points), 1/4 of cupcake (2), ice cream cake (6).
Total: (EEK!) 50 points. Minus 10 activity points = 40 points. Minus 18 allotted = 22 used of points allowance. 2 remaining of points allowance. Uh-oh. This is not good. Will just do my best to stay in points for 4 more days...time to get this in check a little!
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c Fiber One pancake mix (=5 very small pancakes; usually I make 3 medium but today small was fun) with blueberries inside and a few mixed berries on top, a few sprays of butter spray, and some no-calorie strawberry syrup (3).
Lunch: Large green salad with tomatoes, carrots, and 2T light fantastic cheese fantastico dressing (0), 1.5 cups Pacific ginger-carrot-cashew soup (3), and 1c grapes (1).
Snack: 1/4c hummus (homemade, 2 points) and carrots.
Dinner: At Buca di Beppo (delicious...but a WW nightmare! Only on my birthday :)!). Apple Gorgonzola salad, large serving (about 8 points), 1.5 cups lasagna (9 points), eggplant parmesan (not sure how to count this - varying points values listed in my book and my palm; I'm calling it 6 points), 4 small pieces garlic bread (excessive, I know, but I love it...10 points), 1/4 of cupcake (2), ice cream cake (6).
Total: (EEK!) 50 points. Minus 10 activity points = 40 points. Minus 18 allotted = 22 used of points allowance. 2 remaining of points allowance. Uh-oh. This is not good. Will just do my best to stay in points for 4 more days...time to get this in check a little!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Day 40: 40 days 'til 40
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| From Zermatt |
Today we were to finish reading a classic piece of literature. I (wisely, in hindsight) chose a book of short stories by Dostoyevsky. The book is lengthy but there were only 5 stories - they ranged from maybe 30 pages to 150 (not very short!). I ended up reading 3 of the 5, and will get to the others later. I did enjoy them, but they were not easy reading. I suppose great literature tends to be that way. Dostoyevsky has a knack for getting inside the human psyche, and it made for some interesting stories. My favorite of the three I read was "White Nights", about a romance between two very lonely people.
I have really loved doing this 40 days adventure this year and last year, and would highly recommend it as a way to celebrate any big event in life. The best part was sharing it with my dear friend and birthday twin, Sarah :). Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!!
Day 39: 40 days 'til 40
Today we were to watch the sun rise or set, alone or with someone. I decided to watch the sunrise alone, while racewalking. What better pleasure could there be in life? Enough said. Enjoy the photo. It was as beautiful as it looked with the fresh snow.
Photos from the weekend
Our time at Zermatt Resort this weeekend was fabulous. Highlights: snowshoeing in Wasatch Mtn State Park, visiting The Crater at the Homestead Resort, floating in the hot pots at the resort, soaking in the hot tub, reading in the relaxation room at the wellness center, and in general, just being away for 2 days with no responsibilities. Ahhhhh. Click here to enjoy the photos!
food for 3/6 and workout & food for 3/7
a little catching up to do!Food for 3/6:
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean Crunch (1c) with milk and 1 orange (5 points)
Lunch: at Tarahumara restaurant in Midway - FABULOUS and amazing salsa bar! 1 oz chips & salsa (3 points), 1/2c rice (2 points), sauteed green beans (1 point, a little buttery), tuna and scallops with salsa (4 points) = 10 points total
Snack: 1 apple (1 point)
Dinner: Oh. My. Gosh. The most AMAZING restaurant meal that Loren and I have ever had. It was even superior (just barely) to Bobby Flay's Bar Americain in New York City, IMHO. The Blue Boar Inn in Midway (pictured) is NOT to be missed. We started off with warm crusty bread (1 large-ish piece wheat, 2 points), scallops with mango and kiwi (1 point) and beef carpaccio (very thin sliced beef with small toasts and manchego cheese & arugula; 2 points). Next we were blown away by the soup of the day (beef vegetable) - simple soup but the beef was SO tender, the stock SO rich and complex, vegetables so delicious. We shared this along with French onion soup, which was also amazing - surely based on the same stock, but they tasted so different yet equally amazing. (4 points for soup, about 1 cup). Then the entrees - Loren had wild boar spare ribs, which were unbelievably tender and flavorful, and also very lean. They came with pureed yams and some greens, which were quite delicious. I enjoyed rock shrimp & quinoa risotto with seared salmon and asparagus. The fish was terrific - moist, mild flavor, very fresh - but the quinoa risotto was to die for. It was NOT a cream sauce risotto (thankfully) but rather made with fish and vegetable broth, so it was healthy AND delicious. I have no idea how the chef makes his broths, but they are so incredible! My entree (I ate only 1c of the risotto and gave the rest to Loren; also gave him some of my salmon) was about 10 points; 5 for the quinoa risotto, 5 for 5 oz salmon, and 0 for the asparagus is my best guess. Finally, we had dessert. It was a taste sensation, but wasn't as amazing as the rest of the meal to me; I like the Zermatt desserts a little better. We shared chocolate mousse layer cake; 1 smallish round cake about 2.5 inches high and 2.5 inches in diameter was (I guesstimate) about 8 points for my half. That may be a high estimate, but it was rich. Loren had some fine Tawny Port along with the cake, and I sipped a black vanilla tea. Total for dinner & dessert: 27 points.
Day total food: 43 points
Activity points: 15 (12 for racewalking, bike, elliptical; 3 for snowshoeing)
Food-activity = 28 points - 18 allotted = 10 points of points allowance used, and well worth it!
***
Activity for 3/7: I had to lay off the racewalking because otherwise I'll go through my allotted 120 minutes too fast this week after the 55 minutes yesterday. So I did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike (I hate those, but that's all they had at the fitness center) and 45 minutes on the elliptical (9 points). My glutes are hurting from the elliptical, as it has a slightly different angle from the one at the gym at home.
Food for 3/7:
Breakfast at Matty's Bistro at Zermatt: Oatmeal with berries (3 points), 2T raisins and 2T granola (2 points) = 5 points.
Lunch at home: 1 asian pear, 1 lg green salad, 1/2 grapefruit, 1/2 grilled cheese using butter spray and only 1/2 slice cheese (3 points), one brownie bite from Zermatt (about 1x1.5 inches; 2 points) = 6 points
Snack: 1/4c homemade hummus (2 points) and 9 baked pita chips (2 points) = 4 points
Dinner: turkey enchilada casserole (homemade, 6 points' worth) and cauliflower (0 points) = 6 points
Dessert: 3 girl scout cookies and 1/3 of chocolate bombe from Zermatt (small, but amazing!) = 7 points; I just can't resist a good dessert....sigh.....
Total: 28 points - 9 activity points = 19 points; used 1 of my points allowance so I have 24 left. I still have dinner tomorrow and Costco cake (at work) on Tuesday to get through (I enjoy the food, but it's challenging to stay within points)...I can do this though! I can I can I can!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Workout for 3/6
I worked out hard today. After all, I'm on vacation and I have more time to do it! Yay!
I racewalked 5 miles (8 km) easy (ave HR 136) but very slow, in 56:45. That's 11:21/mile. In my defense, 1) it was a hilly route, 2) I was not pushing much at all, and 3) the elevation here is 5800 feet, which is about 1500 feet higher than at home. Still, I am thinking I'm going to be very slow for the 5-miler in Canyonlands in 2 weeks. No speed work and racewalking muscles unused to the activity = slow Tammy.
Then I hit the gym at the resort and did 25 min on the elliptical and 15 min on the bike for a total of 97 minutes of activity (12 points). I then did a bunch of PT exercises: calf raises, lunges on the BOSU, balance on BOSU, and inversions/eversions of foot with elastic band.
We ate breakfast at the Bakerie & Eis here - amazing pastries, but I am saving the points for later, so I just had a small bite of Loren's and contented myself with cereal (brought from home) and milk, and an orange (5 points total). The clerk looked at me kind of funny when I ordered milk in a cup with a bowl and a spoon on the side; I had to explain that I brought my own cereal :).
After breakfast, we went snowshoeing for an hour, at moderate intensity (3 points).
Total activity points: 15, and lots of fun!!!
I'm taking lots of photos but no time to post now. Will share them later.
I racewalked 5 miles (8 km) easy (ave HR 136) but very slow, in 56:45. That's 11:21/mile. In my defense, 1) it was a hilly route, 2) I was not pushing much at all, and 3) the elevation here is 5800 feet, which is about 1500 feet higher than at home. Still, I am thinking I'm going to be very slow for the 5-miler in Canyonlands in 2 weeks. No speed work and racewalking muscles unused to the activity = slow Tammy.
Then I hit the gym at the resort and did 25 min on the elliptical and 15 min on the bike for a total of 97 minutes of activity (12 points). I then did a bunch of PT exercises: calf raises, lunges on the BOSU, balance on BOSU, and inversions/eversions of foot with elastic band.
We ate breakfast at the Bakerie & Eis here - amazing pastries, but I am saving the points for later, so I just had a small bite of Loren's and contented myself with cereal (brought from home) and milk, and an orange (5 points total). The clerk looked at me kind of funny when I ordered milk in a cup with a bowl and a spoon on the side; I had to explain that I brought my own cereal :).
After breakfast, we went snowshoeing for an hour, at moderate intensity (3 points).
Total activity points: 15, and lots of fun!!!
I'm taking lots of photos but no time to post now. Will share them later.
Day 38: 40 days 'til 40
This will also be my food post for today, because today we were eating out and/or going away for the night with our spouses. Loren and I did both! We are at Zermatt Resort in Midway, UT from Friday-Sunday, relaxing and enjoying :).
Workout for Friday:
30 min racewalking outside (slushy/snowy - did 2.75 miles in 31:12 for an 11:21/mile pace. Slow, but the footing wasn't the best and I couldn't get a good toe push. Still happy to be outside though - it was beautiful. Got my feet very wet, but I stayed warm anyway :). Then went to the gym and did 45 min on the exercise bike (video bike - they are both fixed now! Yay! The smelly guy was on the elliptical but I was able to be one bike over since it was fixed, and that worked out fine). Finally, about 10 minutes of PT exercises, moderate intensity. Total: 10 points.
Food for Friday:
Breakfast: Yogurt smoothie (homemade - 1c fat-free homemade yogurt, 3t Splenda, 1/2c mixed berries) & apple (3 points)
Lunch: 1c red bell pepper & tomato soup (Pacific brand, from Costco; 2 points), 1 grapefruit (lg; 2 points), 10 baby carrots, 1 orange bell pepper sliced (0 points for veggies); 4 points total.
Snack: 1 asian pear (1 point) and some more baby carrots (0)
Dinner: Zermatt buffet! I used to avoid buffets when I first joined WW, because I thought if you can't eat and eat and eat, what's the point? But now I realize you can try LOTS of things, just with small portions of each, and it's fun! It's still hard to stay within points but I did it. I had 22 points allowance and 18 for the day, plus my 10 activity points (which I am keeping ALL of today), for a total of 50 points. Breakfast & lunch & snack were 8 points, leaving me 42 for dinner. This is what I had, with my points guesses in parentheses.
Tilapia salad (salad with chunks of breaded tilapia, about 1c salad) (2)
Shrimp cocktail 2 oz (2)
bread (small slice, about 2.5 inches round diameter, and 1/2 inch or less thick) (1)
3 medium coconut shrimp (5 but OH SO GOOD)
2 oz tilapia w/veggie salsa (2)
2 oz salmon with 1/4c rice (3)
1/2c New England clam chowder (2)
1.5T artichoke dip and 3 chips (3)
Total dinner: 20
Now for the good part - dessert!
2 sm chocolate dipped peanut butter cookies (8)
chocolate mousse cup (1"x1") (1)
white chocolate cheescake bite (2)
chocolate truffle tart, 1" wide slice (5)
bread pudding, 1/4c (3)
2 cups coffee (0)
Total: 19
Total for the day: 39; so 3 points left. Yay! I did it!
Next week will be harder though - have more eating occasions with all the b-day celebrating. Realistically, if I can just stay within points eating ALL my activity points this week, that will be good. That's my plan - just maintenance this week.
Workout for Friday:
30 min racewalking outside (slushy/snowy - did 2.75 miles in 31:12 for an 11:21/mile pace. Slow, but the footing wasn't the best and I couldn't get a good toe push. Still happy to be outside though - it was beautiful. Got my feet very wet, but I stayed warm anyway :). Then went to the gym and did 45 min on the exercise bike (video bike - they are both fixed now! Yay! The smelly guy was on the elliptical but I was able to be one bike over since it was fixed, and that worked out fine). Finally, about 10 minutes of PT exercises, moderate intensity. Total: 10 points.
Food for Friday:
Breakfast: Yogurt smoothie (homemade - 1c fat-free homemade yogurt, 3t Splenda, 1/2c mixed berries) & apple (3 points)
Lunch: 1c red bell pepper & tomato soup (Pacific brand, from Costco; 2 points), 1 grapefruit (lg; 2 points), 10 baby carrots, 1 orange bell pepper sliced (0 points for veggies); 4 points total.
Snack: 1 asian pear (1 point) and some more baby carrots (0)
Dinner: Zermatt buffet! I used to avoid buffets when I first joined WW, because I thought if you can't eat and eat and eat, what's the point? But now I realize you can try LOTS of things, just with small portions of each, and it's fun! It's still hard to stay within points but I did it. I had 22 points allowance and 18 for the day, plus my 10 activity points (which I am keeping ALL of today), for a total of 50 points. Breakfast & lunch & snack were 8 points, leaving me 42 for dinner. This is what I had, with my points guesses in parentheses.
Tilapia salad (salad with chunks of breaded tilapia, about 1c salad) (2)
Shrimp cocktail 2 oz (2)
bread (small slice, about 2.5 inches round diameter, and 1/2 inch or less thick) (1)
3 medium coconut shrimp (5 but OH SO GOOD)
2 oz tilapia w/veggie salsa (2)
2 oz salmon with 1/4c rice (3)
1/2c New England clam chowder (2)
1.5T artichoke dip and 3 chips (3)
Total dinner: 20
Now for the good part - dessert!
2 sm chocolate dipped peanut butter cookies (8)
chocolate mousse cup (1"x1") (1)
white chocolate cheescake bite (2)
chocolate truffle tart, 1" wide slice (5)
bread pudding, 1/4c (3)
2 cups coffee (0)
Total: 19
Total for the day: 39; so 3 points left. Yay! I did it!
Next week will be harder though - have more eating occasions with all the b-day celebrating. Realistically, if I can just stay within points eating ALL my activity points this week, that will be good. That's my plan - just maintenance this week.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Day 37: 40 days 'til 40
I flaked today. I totally forgot about this until about an hour ago. I was working on the finances and on the taxes and it sucked me in.
I worked for several hours on the taxes and all I have to show for it is printouts detailing my self-employment income & expenses for my piano studio and my TNT coaching, my charitable contributions, my child care expenses, and everything organized into a folder. I'm finally ready to actually start doing the taxes now; just have to download a program and get started. Wheeeee.
I worked for several hours on the taxes and all I have to show for it is printouts detailing my self-employment income & expenses for my piano studio and my TNT coaching, my charitable contributions, my child care expenses, and everything organized into a folder. I'm finally ready to actually start doing the taxes now; just have to download a program and get started. Wheeeee.
workout & food for 3/4
Workout: 15 min stationary bike, some PT exercises, and then 1 hr swimming. The swim was really hard today. I'm not sure why, but it was just a difficult workout for me. Warm-up 300 free, 50 breast. Then 20x25 free with the following pattern: 25 easy/fast, 25 fast/easy, 25 fast, 25 easy; repeat 4x. Then 2x300 free on the 6:00 with negative splits (um, yeah, right...not good at pacing myself swimming, but it was a good hard set for sure). Then 3x200 free with the first one easy, 2nd medium, 3rd fast (on the 4:00). Then 50 easy before 2x100 FAST (sprint) on 3:00 (lots of rest). 2300 yd total.
Total activity points = 9 (good thing, since the food was not good).
Food:
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean crunch cereal with 1/2c vanilla soy milk and 1/2 mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: 1 pork tamale from Rico's (4 points), green salad leftover from last night + spray dressing (0), 1 med grapefruit (1).
Snack: 1 asian pear and 1 Fiber One oats & chocolate bar (3 points).
Dinner: leftover night - 1 slice veggie pizza (homemade, small slice) and 3/4c paella (7 points) + green salad w/spray dressing (0).
Dessert: 2 Samoas (Girl Scout cookies) - 3 points
After dessert screw-up: Yeah, I keep doing this. Not sure why. 7 points of snacking (cereal, crackers). GRRRRRRR!
I'm going to count all my activity points today because 1) I usually do that 2x/wk when on weight loss, and 2) today was not a good day and I need it.
Total: 31 points food - 9 points activity = 22 points. 4 points used out of my points allowance. Drat. That leaves me 22 for tomorrow at Zermatt. Wish I had 35, but I guess reality is that I still get out of control at night a couple times a week. I've tried everything I can think of with not much success. My saving grace is that I eat well the vast majority of the time and I exercise a lot (and enjoy doing it!).
Total activity points = 9 (good thing, since the food was not good).
Food:
Breakfast: Kashi GoLean crunch cereal with 1/2c vanilla soy milk and 1/2 mixed berries (4 points).
Lunch: 1 pork tamale from Rico's (4 points), green salad leftover from last night + spray dressing (0), 1 med grapefruit (1).
Snack: 1 asian pear and 1 Fiber One oats & chocolate bar (3 points).
Dinner: leftover night - 1 slice veggie pizza (homemade, small slice) and 3/4c paella (7 points) + green salad w/spray dressing (0).
Dessert: 2 Samoas (Girl Scout cookies) - 3 points
After dessert screw-up: Yeah, I keep doing this. Not sure why. 7 points of snacking (cereal, crackers). GRRRRRRR!
I'm going to count all my activity points today because 1) I usually do that 2x/wk when on weight loss, and 2) today was not a good day and I need it.
Total: 31 points food - 9 points activity = 22 points. 4 points used out of my points allowance. Drat. That leaves me 22 for tomorrow at Zermatt. Wish I had 35, but I guess reality is that I still get out of control at night a couple times a week. I've tried everything I can think of with not much success. My saving grace is that I eat well the vast majority of the time and I exercise a lot (and enjoy doing it!).
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Day 36: 40 days 'til 40
Today we took the kids to the Kangaroo Zoo. Awesome. They got to run around & expend energy, and we got to sit and chat, and take photos of them! It was very enjoyable :).
Here are the rest of the pictures.
Workout & food for 3/3
Workout: 25 min elliptical, then 45 min weight training (last 15 min I did my PT exercises for my foot), then 20 min racewalking. OK, about 21:and change, for 2 miles. My foot has been very achy today, maybe from the PT exercises yesterday & today? I'm not sure if it's supposed to be achy, but it is. I will ask on Monday at my next PT appt.
6 activity points for the cardio and 2 for the weights = 8 points; use 4 toward daily food.
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c oatmeal, prepared w/water, 1/3 diced apple, cinnamon, and 1/2t splenda brown sugar (3 points) plus 1 morningstar farms veggie sausage patty (1 point)
Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich on orowheat sandwich thin with PB2 and jelly made w/splenda (2 points), one large green salad with tomatoes and carrots and vinaigrette spray (0 points), 1 asian pear (1 point) and a couple apple & orange slices and a bite of banana bread (1 point).
Snack: 1 apple and about 35 goldfish crackers (3 points)
Dinner: homemade vegetarian pizza with lots of veggies (roasted) and small amount cheese; 2.5 pieces = 9 points. Large green salad with bell pepper, tomato, carrot & spray (0 points).
Dessert: pineapple, 2c, and hot chocolate (no sugar added) = 3 points.
Total: 23 points; 18 + 4 AP = 22; so used 1 of points allowance & still have 26 points allowance left for the week.
6 activity points for the cardio and 2 for the weights = 8 points; use 4 toward daily food.
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2c oatmeal, prepared w/water, 1/3 diced apple, cinnamon, and 1/2t splenda brown sugar (3 points) plus 1 morningstar farms veggie sausage patty (1 point)
Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich on orowheat sandwich thin with PB2 and jelly made w/splenda (2 points), one large green salad with tomatoes and carrots and vinaigrette spray (0 points), 1 asian pear (1 point) and a couple apple & orange slices and a bite of banana bread (1 point).
Snack: 1 apple and about 35 goldfish crackers (3 points)
Dinner: homemade vegetarian pizza with lots of veggies (roasted) and small amount cheese; 2.5 pieces = 9 points. Large green salad with bell pepper, tomato, carrot & spray (0 points).
Dessert: pineapple, 2c, and hot chocolate (no sugar added) = 3 points.
Total: 23 points; 18 + 4 AP = 22; so used 1 of points allowance & still have 26 points allowance left for the week.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Day 35: 40 days 'til 40
Today we were listening to a song we hadn't heard in a while, and sharing it. I decided to remind myself of the fact that I used to play the piano before I had children. I really wish I had more time to play now, as I miss it a lot.
Here's a piece I played for my senior recital - I love the way it turned out. It really sounds like the melody is singing. I worked very hard to get it that way, and wonder of wonders, it actually did sound that way in the recital.
Here it is: Lizst's arrangement for piano of Schumann's art song "Widmung". A translation of the words for the art song is below as well.
You my soul, you my heart,
you my bliss, o you my pain,
you the world in which I live;
you my heaven, in which I float,
o you my grave, into which
I eternally cast my grief.
You are rest, you are peace,
you are bestowed upon me from heaven.
That you love me makes me worthy of you;
your gaze transfigures me;
you raise me lovingly above myself,
my good spirit, my better self!
Here's a piece I played for my senior recital - I love the way it turned out. It really sounds like the melody is singing. I worked very hard to get it that way, and wonder of wonders, it actually did sound that way in the recital.
Here it is: Lizst's arrangement for piano of Schumann's art song "Widmung". A translation of the words for the art song is below as well.
You my soul, you my heart,
you my bliss, o you my pain,
you the world in which I live;
you my heaven, in which I float,
o you my grave, into which
I eternally cast my grief.
You are rest, you are peace,
you are bestowed upon me from heaven.
That you love me makes me worthy of you;
your gaze transfigures me;
you raise me lovingly above myself,
my good spirit, my better self!
workout & food for 3/2
Workout: Swimming. 500 easy warm-up, then 12x75 rotating IM ( on the 1:40. Next, 3x150 kick on 4:00, 1: 50 fast, 100 easy, 2: 50 easy, 50 fast, 50 easy, 3: 100 easy, 50 fast. Then 3x150 free, same fast/easy pattern as the kick, on 3:20. Finally 8x25 alternating fast/easy on the 0:35, last 2 easy. 1 hr total = 7 activity points; use 3 toward food for the day.
Food
Breakfast:
1c Kashi GoLean Crunch, 1/2c vanilla soy milk, and 1/2c mixed berries (4 points)
Morning snack:
10 baby carrots (0 points)
Lunch:
Progresso light beef soup, 1 can (3 points), 1/2 grapefruit and 1 med banana (2 points; 5 total)
PM snack:
1 med apple, 1 Fiber One oats & chocolate bar (3 points total; 12 so far)
Dinner:
Skinless turkey breast (crockpot recipe - yum!), 4 oz (4 points), mashed potatoes 1c (4 points), peas 2/3c (1 point) = 9, for 21 so far
Dessert:
very small (1x2") chocolate cake at Wasatch Walkers meeting (2 points)
hot chocolate, no sugar added (1 point)
Total: 24 points, 18 daily + my 3 activity points, + 3 points allowance.
I tried to not use any points allowance. Too hard today. Now down to 27 left. Grrrrr. It's really hard to eat so few points. I wish I could lose on more. Oh well! I had the fun of putting it on and now I have the work of taking it off.
Food
Breakfast:
1c Kashi GoLean Crunch, 1/2c vanilla soy milk, and 1/2c mixed berries (4 points)
Morning snack:
10 baby carrots (0 points)
Lunch:
Progresso light beef soup, 1 can (3 points), 1/2 grapefruit and 1 med banana (2 points; 5 total)
PM snack:
1 med apple, 1 Fiber One oats & chocolate bar (3 points total; 12 so far)
Dinner:
Skinless turkey breast (crockpot recipe - yum!), 4 oz (4 points), mashed potatoes 1c (4 points), peas 2/3c (1 point) = 9, for 21 so far
Dessert:
very small (1x2") chocolate cake at Wasatch Walkers meeting (2 points)
hot chocolate, no sugar added (1 point)
Total: 24 points, 18 daily + my 3 activity points, + 3 points allowance.
I tried to not use any points allowance. Too hard today. Now down to 27 left. Grrrrr. It's really hard to eat so few points. I wish I could lose on more. Oh well! I had the fun of putting it on and now I have the work of taking it off.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Workout & food for 3/1
This morning's workout was 25 min on stationary bike, 20 min elliptical, then 45 min weight training class. I decided to do the regular stationary bike because I wanted to read my Scientific American magazine. I got the new one and hadn't read last month's, so I thought I'd better get on it. I read the letters, the news scan, an article on Titan (moon of Saturn), and started a fascinating article on what the human brain might do with its down time (when resting, daydreaming, or not actively thinking of something).
Then it was time for weight training class. We have a new instructor (since Matt, who we've had for 2 years, left to go work for the Angels as a strength & conditioning coach), Elise. Normally Lisa (my weight training buddy) and I just kind of do our own thing, since we've been lifting weights for 5 years now. However, Elise was leading a very interesting-looking set working on balance and strength, so I opted to go along. We did abs first - planks and "cobras", followed by some broad jumps, which I was a bit too nervous to do many of because of my foot. Then we did one-legged squats, one-legged dead lifts, chest press with dumbbells with head & shoulders on exercise ball, cable rows, bicep curls while balancing on one leg, tricep extensions with stomach on exercise ball, and finally military presses while seated on the ball. We repeated all of those 3x. Good workout.
Total activity points: 8
Food for today
Breakfast:
1c Kashi Go Lean Crunch with 1/2c vanilla soy milk and 1/2c mixed berries (4 points)
Morning snack:
baby carrots
Lunch:
Large green salad with grape tomatoes, 4 lg olives, and Cheese Fantastico Light Fantastic dressing (1 point)
Turkey roll-up: 1 slice Costco turkey on FlatOut bread with honey mustard and mixed greens (2 points)
1 med grapefruit and 1 banana (2 points)
PM snack:
1 apple and 2T craisins (2 points)
Dinner:
Pork roast (pictured) stuffed with bell peppers (yellow, green, & orange from Costco - yum!), garlic, herbs. I had 4 slices, which was 5 points according to the recipe from Weight Watchers Magazine.
Leftover "funeral potatoes" made with low-fat substitutions (4 points)
Asparagus (0 points)
Dessert:
Healthy Choice fudge bar (1 point)
Total food points: 22
Activity points used: 4
:) yay! I'm 3 days into my week and have not used any of my 35 points allowance yet. I'm saving it for this weekend...gonna need it to get through and still stick to weight-loss points.
EDITED to add:
Grrrrrr...sitting here working on stuff and got the munchies. Ate 6 points in GoLean crunch and goldfish crackers. Stupid. Oh well. So much for not using any of my 35. Didn't have the hot chocolate after that, so still have 30 left. We all mess up sometimes, so I'm just going to keep on going.
Then it was time for weight training class. We have a new instructor (since Matt, who we've had for 2 years, left to go work for the Angels as a strength & conditioning coach), Elise. Normally Lisa (my weight training buddy) and I just kind of do our own thing, since we've been lifting weights for 5 years now. However, Elise was leading a very interesting-looking set working on balance and strength, so I opted to go along. We did abs first - planks and "cobras", followed by some broad jumps, which I was a bit too nervous to do many of because of my foot. Then we did one-legged squats, one-legged dead lifts, chest press with dumbbells with head & shoulders on exercise ball, cable rows, bicep curls while balancing on one leg, tricep extensions with stomach on exercise ball, and finally military presses while seated on the ball. We repeated all of those 3x. Good workout.
Total activity points: 8
Food for today
Breakfast:
1c Kashi Go Lean Crunch with 1/2c vanilla soy milk and 1/2c mixed berries (4 points)
Morning snack:
baby carrots
Lunch:
Large green salad with grape tomatoes, 4 lg olives, and Cheese Fantastico Light Fantastic dressing (1 point)
Turkey roll-up: 1 slice Costco turkey on FlatOut bread with honey mustard and mixed greens (2 points)
1 med grapefruit and 1 banana (2 points)
PM snack:
1 apple and 2T craisins (2 points)
Dinner:Pork roast (pictured) stuffed with bell peppers (yellow, green, & orange from Costco - yum!), garlic, herbs. I had 4 slices, which was 5 points according to the recipe from Weight Watchers Magazine.
Leftover "funeral potatoes" made with low-fat substitutions (4 points)
Asparagus (0 points)
Dessert:
Healthy Choice fudge bar (1 point)
Total food points: 22
Activity points used: 4
:) yay! I'm 3 days into my week and have not used any of my 35 points allowance yet. I'm saving it for this weekend...gonna need it to get through and still stick to weight-loss points.
EDITED to add:
Grrrrrr...sitting here working on stuff and got the munchies. Ate 6 points in GoLean crunch and goldfish crackers. Stupid. Oh well. So much for not using any of my 35. Didn't have the hot chocolate after that, so still have 30 left. We all mess up sometimes, so I'm just going to keep on going.
Day 34: 40 days 'til 40
Only 1 week until our birthday! Today Sarah and I were to work on our scrapbooks for even just a little bit. I spent about an hour doing 3 pages in Michelle's baby book. Here's Michelle with the first page (which I did a couple months ago). I took photos of all the other pages I've done so far and uploaded them here. Unfortunately the photos are really grainy for some reason - took the pictures with my cheapie camera, so that probably explains it. Low light + automatic high ISO = grainy. Oh well. You can still get the idea. I am about 1/3 done with the album, and it's been fun to revisit those baby days. It has reminded me that I do NOT want to go back and do all that again. The baby stage is just too much work!
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