5K --- nope, 3K ---- fartlek; GI distress

Dang it. Just not meant to be.

Went to outdoor track with Calvin at 6:35am; it was LOCKED. GRRRRR. Came home. Changed into shorts. Went to indoor track. They wouldn't admit anyone under 18 because it wasn't "family hours", which are very limited at Friday after 5pm, Sat & Sun all day. Geez.

Calvin and I had doctor appointments this morning at 8:50 and 9:30, so we had to get dressed and get going to those. That all went fine; everything good so far - had some blood work done and my cholesterol is nice & low with good HDL:LDL ratios (big surprise there, with my diet and exercise - NOT!) - CBC good, with hematocrit at 40.0 the best I've seen it. Waiting on B12 and serum ferritin, but expect those to be normal with the oral supplementation I've been doing after having deficiencies in B12 and iron.

Anyway, had to head to the track at 2pm because work was busy, including a birthday lunch for me and for the PI in the next-door lab (her birthday was today, and mine yesterday). I didn't eat much, but I had eaten a lot yesterday, and something caught up with me. At the track, by 9-10 min into the fartlek I was nauseated and having some intestinal rumblings. By 3K I was worried and had to call it quits after one extra lap. It was ugly, and I'll spare you the details, but at least I made it to the restroom.

I was slow, too - as you might expect given the GI distress. Geez. Can't catch a break.

Total time 18:01 for 2926m, which is 18:28 equivalent for 3000m. Terrible. Garmin data here. 

Hamstring: felt decent during at 0-1/10 pain level, but bothered me a bit afterward; sciatica.

Hopefully next week I can actually do the 5K fartlek and it'll be better.

birthday bash walk! 18K!

Yesterday: supposed to cross-train, but rested. My foot was achy and so I decided rest would be better - ice and naprosyn helped a lot :).

***

Today: 18K! My birthday treat to myself. I slept in until 7 am (late for me!) and enjoyed a kid-free morning courtesy of my parents. Loren slept much later, and while he slept in, I read a book for an hour, then tidied up the house, and left for my walk around 9 am. Luxurious! Thanks, mom and dad!

The weather was absolutely glorious. Our first daffodil bloomed today, in honor of my birthday. Loved it! It was 40F (4C) at the start of my walk, and about 50F (10C) at the finish. Sooooooo beautiful - sunny, warm, amazing. Just a slight breeze, but I got pretty warm in my long-sleeved shirt and capris and gloves - took off the gloves at 3K, and rolled up my sleeves above my elbow at 10K. LOTS and LOTS of runners, rollerbladers, strollers, dog-walkers at Liberty Park, all with spring fever!

The 18K went well. My foot ached a bit from 14K-18K, but I iced it afterward and paid lots of attention to my technique and that paid off. It feels good now. My legs were pretty darn tired from 15K-18K but I kept a good pace and finished well.

Total time: 1:55:22 for 6:25/km with ave HR just 144. I'm getting more fit!

Garmin data here.

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.

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!

Day 40: 40 days 'til 40

From Zermatt

This was our last day of anticipation. The big day is tomorrow! I'm actually very excited to turn 40 - new racewalking age group, and besides that, I think that my 40s will be fabulous. I feel fit, healthy, and life is good. No sadness here to move on, and I am certainly not feeling over the hill. Just feeling more mature and more confident and ready to ENJOY the time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Day 33: 40 days 'til 40

Today we took a few minutes to take pictures of something. Of course, I chose my favorite subjects: my kids and my dogs :). Here are the rest of the photos. I didn't edit them all yet, just cropped a few (someday maybe I'll have time to do some editing).

Day 32: 40 days 'til 40

Today we took the kids to McDonald's to play in the Playplace. This was fun for 2 reasons: 1) the kids amused themselves there for an hour and a half with minimal intervention from us, and 2) we got to sit and chat and enjoyed some serious unwinding while hanging out. Very nice. More pics here.

Also nice was the WEATHER today! I racewalked outside for 20 min around 10:45 am and it was delightful. 48 degrees and sunny. I wished I could racewalk more than 20 min, but I was good and didn't do more than that. I did about 2 miles at a 10:37 pace, ave HR 145. OK, yeah, a little fast, but it was an easy-moderate pace and it was SO nice that I just couldn't go any slower :).

Because of the nice weather, I took the kids to the park before we met Sarah & the kids at McDonald's. Most excellent - they ran around for 30 min and I took pictures.

In more workout news, earlier this morning I did the video bike (about 25 min) and the elliptical (20 min) at the gym, before my Weight Watchers meeting. The meeting was good but very crowded and long weigh-in lines. I skipped the weigh in because of the lines and because I knew I was up a few lb anyway; as a Lifetime member I only have to weigh in once a month. I typically weigh in weekly to stay accountable; I will weigh in in 2 weeks when I go back (we'll be at Zermatt Resort next weekend). I feel very motivated right now by the warm weather and by my good news about my injury, so I should have a good food week :). Plus, Dorothy and I are going to show each other our journals in 2 weeks, so I have GOT to stay disciplined or face owning up to failure!!!

Hmmm, maybe I should post what I eat here? That might be too much work (and too boring for all of you). I'll do some but may not continue if it's too taxing!

Breakfast - 1/2c oatmeal prepared with water, 1 med apple (some sliced into oatmeal), 1/2 t brown sugar splenda, a few shakes cinnamon.

Lunch - McDonald's Bacon Ranch Salad with grilled chicken and the light balsamic vinaigrette instead of ranch dressing.

Snack - Healthy Choice ice cream bar.

Will post more later... want to nap for 30 min, teach 2 piano lessons, then dinner and off to a concert. Utah Symphony - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3 :).

Days 29-31: 40 days 'til 40

Day 29 - another day of good plans gone bad...was going to play with the kids with some "Goop" but just didn't have a spare minute. Oh well; not going to beat myself up over it. Sometimes things just don't happen.

Day 30 - we wrote a card/note and sent it snail mail to someone. Just in case that someone is reading this blog, I'm not saying who I sent it to :).

Day 31 - ahhhhh, the Cliff Spa. One of our favorites from last year. We began with a good workout; Sarah opted for 20 min weights and 40 min treadmill. I chose 30 min elliptical, then 20 min racewalking on the treadmill (max allowed today) and then another 10 min elliptical. My racewalking was super slow due to the altitude and also due to my lack of racewalking fitness at the moment. I had to slow the treadmill down to 4.9 mph ... really pathetic! But it was fun to racewalk anyway.

After that we stretched out really well and then put on our swimsuits. We took a dip in the pool; I did a few laps but it was HOT for lap swimming - maybe 90? - and so we didn't stay in too long. Next we hit the hot tub for probably 30 min or so (don't know; wasn't wearing a watch! yay!). The pool and hot tub are on the roof, open to the (cold!) air, with spectacular views.

Next we each got a lengthy hot shower. We were hungry, so we headed down to the snack bar for a bowl of veggie chili & banana (me) or an apple (Sarah). Finally, we relaxed by taking 30 min to read in the solarium. We wished we had more time, but alas, we had to head back to relieve the babysitter. It was a wonderful afternoon. More photos here.

Day 28: 40 days 'til 40

Oops. Today I just ran out of time to do what we had planned. By the time I got home from work, made dinner, and had Calvin practice the piano and work on his preschool computer program, it was past the kids' bedtime. We were going to sing some songs w/the kids :(. I will do it tomorrow instead, in addition to the planned activity for tomorrow.

On the plus side, I did firm up our birthday plans :)!

Day 27: 40 days 'til 40

Today was one of our favorites from last year, and we enjoyed it just as much this year. We tasted gourmet dark chocolate! So much fun!

I got a couple of tips from a guy at Liberty Heights Fresh, where I bought the chocolate. 1) Use good quality apples in between to cleanse the palate, and 2) follow that with a little water. Good advice. We did that, and it worked quite well.

We tasted four chocolates, ranging from $6.99-$7.99 per bar; each bar was 2-3.5 oz. Yeah, they were expensive, but well worth it. We only ate just a little of each, letting them melt in our mouths and savoring each. I definitely liked these a lot, and felt like I would not overeat them. It just is something you have to savor in small amounts, believe it or not. Cheap chocolate is easy to overeat, but not this!!!

I'd describe these more, but it's late and I'm tired. I will post our rankings:

Sarah: 1) Rogue Chocolatier Rio Caribe, 2) Michel Cluizel Noir Cacao 72, 3) Sambirano Valley Madagascar Chocolate, 4) Amano Artisan Dos Rios.

Tammy: 1) Michel Cluizel Noir Cacao 72, 2) Rogue Chocolatier Rio Caribe, 3) Sambirano Valley Madagascar Chocolate, 4) Amano Artisan Dos Rios.

Now this makes it sound like we didn't like #4...but in reality, it was delicious. They were ALL very good, it's just that some were a little better. But I'd eat any of them again. This year's picks were better than last year's. I guess I'm learning something? Or maybe just got better advice this year. Regardless, it was fun!!!

Day 25: 40 days 'til 40

 Yesterday was day 25. We watched "Chariots of Fire"; awesome movie which gave me pause for reflection on the whys of sport. Whatever you think of his beliefs, Eric Liddell showed an incredible joy in his sport that is admirable and beautiful. I think being injured for so long has given me a new appreciation for my sport, and I do hope that I enjoy it this year as deeply as he did.

Day 26: 40 days 'til 40

This morning we enjoyed breakfast together at the Belgian Waffle & Omelet Inn. Very kitschy diner atmosphere, and pretty yummy diner food. I had some hot tea (ahhhhhh...it was snowing lightly outside) and a Belgian waffle with hot apples on top. Delicious. The conversation was great, too. We plotted for our birthday celebration (gonna be fun! I'm not telling you what it is yet!) and rearranged our schedule a bit as needed; only 2 weeks left to party, so we want to do it right :). We also had a good time reading more about Eric Liddell from Wikipedia and discussing the movie from yesterday.

I forgot to get a picture of us, but as we left I did shoot one of the restaurant :).

Day 24: 40 days 'til 40

Today was blow-off-cooking-and-take-the-family-out-to-dinner night. Perfect for a Friday, especially after working Tu, Th, and F this week. It was up in the air a bit as Loren has been home sick and wasn't sure he was up to it, but he mustered up the strength and we drove up to Zermatt and enjoyed the Friday night seafood buffet at Schneitter's restaurant. :) :) :)!!! Ate more dessert that I should have, but I planned to indulge. I am working on unwinding a bit about things, and not getting too tense if I overdo it. One thing I've learned in the last 5 years is that once in a while if you overdo, it's really OK! It's what you do day-to-day that really matters.