great advice

I loved this post from a triathlete & writer whose blog I read. I think it is terrific advice! If you are trying to lose weight and/or get healthier, these tidbits might help.

workouts

Sunday - very intense; 60 min on the exercise bike followed by 30 min elliptical. For the bike, I did the "Vindicator" on the video bike, with a pacer at 165 watts. It was pretty hard - my HR was about 150ish the whole time. Did about 3.5 miles on the elliptical in that 30 min, after the biking.

***

Monday - REST DAY. I intended to go to the gym for some cardio followed by weight training, but let's just say my body was screaming "REST", and I obeyed. Good Tammy.

Random gym observations

Just a few random things from the gym (Salt Lake City Sports Complex). I am actually growing to like it...of course, I vastly prefer RW, but the gym does offer a lot of variety and is better than I thought it would be at the outset.

*Master's swimming classes are full of very good swimmers and fit people. I'm not a bad swimmer, but I am definitely among the slowest in the class.
*There are more overweight people at the gym than I thought there would be. I am encouraged that they are there and are trying to lose weight.
*The water aerobics classes are a big contrast to the master's swimming classes. The women (all of them are women) are generally very large. I find myself rooting strongly for them to keep going and keep working for fitness. I do wonder, though, if any of them have success. I wish I could help.
*I'm starting to learn that there are certain people to avoid. There is one guy who always smells terrible. I was bummed the other day because he was on the elliptical right next to the video bike; I didn't do the bike just because I could not stomach the odor. I know that sounds mean, but I don't mean it to be cruel - it's just the reality of the situation.
*Some people intrigue me. There is one woman who is there every day really early, doing the elliptical and the treadmill. She appears very fit. She usually runs, but I have seen her walking at 5 mph with bent arms. I'm tempted to ask her if she's ever considered RW - I bet she'd be good.
*Other people surprise me. One woman regularly reads and STUDIES her Book of Mormon while on the elliptical. I kid you not, she actually sits there and underlines things in red pen while doing the elliptical. Now that's some serious multitasking.
*I like this gym because it's really not a meat market at all, that I can tell. I appreciate this.
*I like running into friends at the gym. I have made some friends there, and I also see a few people I know from other parts of life (work, church, etc.) and it's nice to see familiar faces.

People are interesting, and so the gym is interesting. I guess if I'm stuck there for a while, I might as well enjoy the people-watching.

overslept!

I overslept today, until 7:05 am. That never happens to me, so I guess I really needed the sleep. Plan was to get up at 5:30, hit the gym at 6:00, and go to my 8:00 Weight Watchers meeting. Oops. Instead I just went to the gym.

At the recommendation of my friend Gordon I tried the Expresso stationary bikes. It was a lot more fun than the regular bikes. I tried a "challenging" course called Sleepy Hollow, after warming up on a much easier course. The challenging course took about 30 min, and there was a pacer I had to try to stay with the whole time. It kept my HR about 150, and I was really sweating. It lived up to its name, and I was pretty glad when I finished the course. I did stay with the pacer, and I liked watching the other bikers & the fake scenery. It was fairly entertaining for an indoor cycling course, and definitely worked me harder than the regular stationary bike.

I followed the biking up with about 30 min on the elliptical. Home now and plotting my day. I think we might take the kiddos ice skating :). Could be fun!

off season

I guess when I have no racewalking to write about, I just don't post as much. Or maybe it's the general chaos of life lately. 3 colds in 4 weeks, plus working extra over the last couple of weeks has added up. Oh yeah, and helping my parents with stuff at their house.

Add in a fun-filled Saturday-Sunday (thanks to my parents watching our kids!) and I've been lame about blogging. So, I'll catch you up a bit.

***

Our weekend: dropped the kids off at my parents' house at noon on Saturday. We went to the football game (Utah-SDSU) at 2 pm, and had a great time. The game was a blowout, and the Utes won 38-7; it could have been more exciting, but it's always fun to see your team win. It was chilly but sunny on and off, and the weather was really pretty nice for late November.

After the game we had a very good meal at Market Street Broiler, and then went to see the movie 2012 at the theater. We rarely see movies in theaters, so this was a treat. OK, the movie had a lousy plot with holes large enough to drive a truck through, plus some seriously bad acting, but the special effects were great. For some weird reason I enjoy end-of-the-world movies and/or books. I guess I'm interested in seeing how different writers envision the possibilities.

***

Exercise: I was too ill to work out last Sunday-Tuesday, but since then I've been exercising regularly and well. Stationary bike, elliptical, weight training. No swimming this week - just not in the mood. I'm more than halfway through my rest period from racewalking. I still miss it like crazy.

Speaking of racewalking, it sounds like they will indeed be holding the 20K in Huntington Beach, CA, on March 14th. I'm planning to treat myself to that race for my 40th birthday. In a few weeks the racewalking committee is meeting to decide which race will be the 20K National Championships, and it sounds likely that that will be the race. I'm excited!

***

Food: Um, yeah. Not a good food week. In fact, maybe the worst since joining WW 5 years ago. Well, maybe not the worst, but it was ugly. I actually gained 4.8 lb in one week. Obviously some of that (most!) is probably water, because I know I did NOT eat 17000+ extra calories last week. Still, a bit disconcerting.

What I learned: 1) When you fall down, pick yourself up and keep going. Saturday, Sunday, and today have been good food days. 2) I felt lousy last week while eating so poorly. Out-of-control, grumpy, and depressed. Hmmm, guess what? Remember why I joined WW? Yeah, I was really unhappy. Overeating really does make my life worse. Oh yeah! I remember that now! It was a very good reminder of why I want to eat well and treat myself right. 3) My lifestyle is changed now, and it was uncomfortable to go back to my old ways. I'm not the person I was before!

***

Sleep: Not so good last week. I have been doing better in general, but the last week wasn't good. Hmmm, maybe my bad eating has something to do with that? Yeah, probably. So, I am going to bed NOW. Good night!

a "triathlon" and a WW meeting

I'm getting bored with my workouts since I can't racewalk. So this morning I decided to do something novel: 25 min swim, 25 min stationary bike, and 25 min on the elliptical. I was going to go a whole month w/o the elliptical to rest my foot thoroughly, but 1) my doc said it was OK, and 2) I'm getting really bored, and 3) I figured I'd just see if my foot felt OK doing it.

The pool was recently drained and refilled, and the chlorine levels are, well, probably astronomical. Both times I've swum this week, I've had a lot of irritation of my nasal passages. Bummer.

This morning I shared a lane with a very fast female swimmer. Beat the heck out of sharing the lane with the guy I shared with on Thursday. He was a bit faster than me (not that it matters when you're just splitting it), but the problem was that he was a very violent swimmer. Every time he went by me, large waves splashed over my head. I guess it was good prep in case I ever do a real triathlon. However, it was still annoying. Anyway, the woman in my lane today was smooth and very fast. I really ought to get a few lessons so I can get faster. I'm too competitive to let it go and just do my slow thing!

I did 23 laps in 25 minutes, for 1150 yds total (1051 meters). Then I dashed into the locker room and threw on my biking shorts and other gear as fast as I could, and went upstairs and hopped on the bike.

I saw a couple gym friends (I met them at the gym in the last month) there, Jill and Chuck (both female). I got on the bike next to them and had some good conversation to distract me from the evilness of the stationary bike. After 25 min, I switched to the elliptical just behind them, and it was a bit harder to talk but we still did for a bit. I also read a bit of my book.

The workout passed really quickly (even the swimming part!), and I would definitely do that one again.

After I was done, I got a quick shower and went to my Weight Watchers meeting. I used to go on Saturday mornings before I coached for TNT, and I think I'm going back to that. My friend Dorothy (the friend I like to bike with, who was recently diagnosed with cancer) attends that meeting, and I enjoy getting to see her more often. Besides, there is something comforting about going to the meeting I went to for the first few years of Weight Watchers.

Dorothy was getting her LIFETIME membership today, and so I really wanted to be there. She lost 55 lb over 3 years, and she looks really great. She is the picture of health and you'd never know she has stage IV cancer. Even while undergoing chemo, she is out there biking. In fact, we made plans to bike tomorrow afternoon. Amazing.

Lifetime membership is achieved when you reach your goal weight and maintain it for 6 weeks (within 2 lb of goal). Then you no longer have to pay for meetings, as long as you attend once a month (minimum) and weigh in within 2 lb of your goal. As of Thanksgiving weekend, I'll have been a lifetime member for 3 years. Wow. I joined WW on 2/5/05, and it's almost been 5 years since my life has turned around for the better. It's been great - the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Speaking of weight, I weighed in at 145.8 this morning. Not bad. I have a lot of food challenges in the upcoming week. I'm thinking about my goals for the holiday season. I want to set up a realistic series of goals, with a good reward that will be worth striving for. Input is welcome.

This is what I'm thinking of ---
1) a weight goal; i.e. stay under 148 lb at my Saturday morning weigh-ins (remember, I said REALISTIC, and if I gain 2 lb during the holidays that's probably normal, and not too hard to take off later).
2) a sleep goal. I'm not good at these so not sure I should set one, but I need more sleep and need to get motivated to get to bed earlier.
3) a relaxation goal. Something along the lines of a certain amount of time reading, doing hobbies, playing music, taking a hot bath, etc.

Please give me feedback and/or input, even if you don't usually comment. I want to be fit and feeling good on January 1st. This is a seriously do-able proposition!!!

Outdoors again!

This morning I did my usual weight training, with a really killer ab set. Felt good. Then I went home and managed 22 min on the bike trainer with the kids watching Super Why on TV.

This afternoon, I had an orthotics appt at 1:30 pm. Mike Epperson of Wasatch Orthotics is awesome, if you are in the area and need someone. He was right on time for the appt, and filed down my left orthotic to ease the rubbing on the top of my foot. He has no idea why my L foot is different and rubs, but whatever... who knows? I was out of there in 15 min, and so I had time for a bike ride --- OUTSIDE!

I'd left the kids at my parents' house during my appt, and I had conveniently thought ahead to bring my bike and my gear in case I had time for a ride. So I hopped on my bike and biked up, up, and up some more. From my parents' house at 4700 feet elevation (more or less), I biked up to about 6100 feet. I discovered that it's not a long ride from their house to the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon; I think it took me about 25 min to get there. I rode up the canyon for 20 min, turning around at 45 min elapsed. It was warm in the valley but I did get pretty cold biking down (I wore shorts and T-shirt because it was in the 60s); the canyon was cold enough that I could see my breath at 6100 feet. Total time of my ride: 1 hr 4 min. Distance: 11.8 miles.

The photo is from my ride, before I entered the canyon.

Tomorrow I'm planning a ride with my friend Dorothy :). I think we might do City Creek Canyon. We're lucky to live somewhere with such amazing scenery!

a bit better

I'm feeling a little better. The fatigue from the cold is easing up, though after staying up late last night to attend the symphony w/my mom, I'm still tired enough to nap now.

I did manage 1 hour on the stationary bike this morning. I still hate the stupid thing, but it does have one advantage in that I can read while I do it. I read the current issue of Runner's World & thoroughly enjoyed it. I have Scientific American magazine and a Michael Connelly thriller on deck for the next week or so. You can't read while you swim or racewalk (well, maybe on the treadmill, but I haven't been able to do it effectively). Still... would rather be racewalking. It was 36 and clear this morning; really nice RW weather. On the bright side: 2 weeks down, 6 to go.

After my workout, I showered, fed the kids, got everyone dressed, and then headed to work for a little over an hour (with Michelle in tow...doable, but interesting & challenging), and then went to Kid-to-Kid to try & find some boots for the kids. No dice. Guess it's Payless buy-one-get-one-half-off for us this year.

Fed everyone lunch and now it's time to nap.

still sick but still here...

I'm still sick. No, not H1N1, just a nasty cold (no fever; fatigue, congestion, sore throat). The fatigue is horrible. I have managed to do the bike 3 days this week (M, Tu, & Th) despite it all, and it actually makes me feel a bit better. But I'm incredibly sleepy all the time, congested, and exhausted.

I'm working 3 full days this week as well, which is tough under the circumstances. I have switched to alternating 2 days one week and 3 the next, with my mom watching the kids every other Friday instead of paying for day care 4 hrs each Friday. I think that will work really well in the long run, but it's hard this week with this rotten cold.

***

In other news, I have decided not to coach TNT for the spring. I had totally planned on it, but at the last minute I just decided it was too much. I've been on overdrive for too long, and I need some rest. I do feel a little guilty, because I really love doing it, and it's for such a good cause. But they have another marathon coach who was already planning on co-coaching w/me, so he can just go it alone; he's a really good coach and will be fine on his own. As much as I love LLS and TNT, and feel like I'm helping my dad when I do it, I just needed to have some more time with my family and more time to myself. I feel like it was the right decision, though it was hard to say no.

quick post

It's been busy around here. I had to go to the dentist Tuesday, and got behind on the housework last week, so am trying to catch up. Plus I baked whole wheat bread from scratch on Monday (Yum!) and this morning I staked our tomatoes (have cages, but they are overflowing them!) and planted some more basil, since something ate the first plants I bought. Also taught 2 piano lessons this morning, and took the kids to a friend's house to go swimming this afternoon. Oh, and wrote the TNT team route for Saturday.

***

In workout news, I did a hard 6.5 mile workout on Tuesday. Was going to switch it to Friday to get more sleep, but then woke at 4 am w/nasty nightmare and couldn't sleep, so decided to just go do it. I warmed up for 2 miles easy, then tackled a very steep hill (~175 feet total in 0.3 miles). I did 9 repeats, though only one was all the way to the very top; 5 were halfway up or so, and the other 3 were about 3/4 of the way up. Then I cooled down easy on the way home. It was a pretty tough workout and my right piriformis was quite sore. I finally made a physical therapy appt, but my PT is out of town until the 18th. Drat. Still, at least I can get in. Of course, it's been feeling better today, since I made the appt. If it is better in 2 weeks I can cancel, but I doubt it will be since it's been bugging me for months.

This morning, I biked to my weight training class and back and did a good hard set of lifting. Hip machine, then hamstrings, chest machine, overhead press, push-ups on the ball, bicep curls, glutes w/pulley machine, and a difficult set of abs. It was good.

Tomorrow: 9 miles planned, 7 at marathon pace.

***

Now: clean up because our small group is meeting here tonight. Better go and get ready. Still wearing my swimsuit (w/a shirt over it) from this afternoon.

1 mile up

Looking UP at the 3 mile point on my walk yesterday; same route as my ride today.

I did some cross-training today. Had to get up early again because Loren had his dentist appt today and he had to leave at 6:45 am, so I had to be back by then. I normally have my weight training class on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:20, so obviously that was out of the question. But after 10 miles on Monday and 6 miles of hills yesterday, a day of rest from racewalking was in order.

So I hopped on Loren's hybrid bike (more gears than mine), complete with bike light and rack for carrying stuff, and up the hills I went. I decided to do the same route I did yesterday racewalking, only I wanted to go farther up the hills. I biked up as high as I could going that way (a road I thought I could take was actually private and gated, with no access), which turned out to be 5280 feet = 1 mile up (1.609km)! OK, so I didn't actually bike up that far...I started at 4350 feet, but still, that is 900+ feet of elevation gain. Not too shabby on a heavy commuting bike (someday I'd like to get a real road bike, but it's kinda low on the priority list at the moment).

Photo looking down when I started down the hill yesterday on my walk (same route as bike ride today).

It was about 3.3 miles up, and then I went on more level roads up there for a bit, and then I biked home (fast... very fast... topped out at 31 mph = 50 kph). Total workout was 7.59 miles in 43:46; ave speed 10.4 mph and ave HR 135 (ave HR going UP was more like 142, and going down it was about 115).

I felt great when I got home, and now I have piano students in 5 minutes.

What is an athlete?

This is spurred by Ollie's post on Facebook, in which he remarks that he considers himself a "faux" athlete. For those of you who do not know Ollie, he has done countless 5Ks & 10Ks, numerous marathons, and even several 24-hour (or more) walks. He trains hard with racewalking, running, swimming and yoga. He does care about his finishing times and has specific goals he sets for himself. However, because he is not fast enough to be winning or placing in his age group in running races, he doesn't consider himself an athlete.

Now, for some more background: I never considered myself an athlete until a couple years ago when my friend Sara from church remarked that I was an athlete. When she said that, at first I rejected the idea, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided she was right. I was training hard, wanted to compete, and was engaging in physical activity for more than just staying in shape.

Here's the definition from Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry:
ath·lete
Pronunciation:
\ˈath-ˌlēt, ÷ˈa-thə-ˌlēt\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Latin athleta, from Greek athlētēs, from athlein to contend for a prize, from athlon prize, contest
Date:
15th century

: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

Notice that it says "trained OR skilled". You can be trained without being particularly skilled. I personally think that people who train to compete are athletes, regardless of skill.

What do you think? Comments please.

Workouts Tues-Thurs

Got behind again. My mom has been visiting, which is a big help, but because I had help I schedule extra stuff this week, silly me. I have a bunch of stuff to post about, but we'll start with my workouts.

Tuesday: easy 1.7 miles to the track in case some TNT people showed for the workout (no one did...sigh), dynamic flexibility drills, and then an easy 1 mile around the track while waiting for people to show up. I then stretched some more and did an easy 1.7 miles home. Total of 4.4 miles in about 47 minutes, with HR of upper 130s on average (didn't pause Garmin during stretching so these are approximations of when I was actually racewalking). Average was about 10:40/mile. I felt really, really tired and realized I needed to take a day off from racewalking. Gee, wonder why ;)?

Wednesday: drove my car to weight training and did a good hard lifting workout and drove home. Went swimming with the kids in the afternoon at Liberty Park, though that was NOT a workout :).

Thursday: Plan was to do 6 miles at marathon pace (10:30-10:40ish). I ended up going faster because I just felt like it. 6.11 miles (just under 10K) in 1:03:30 for 10:23/mile w/ave HR of 142. Good workout; wow, my HR was lower than I thought it would be, because I did push quite a bit at the end, which was uphill. The only thing that marred it was my dog, Sahara. I made the mistake of taking her, thinking she could keep up. Not only did I have to finally let her off the leash (because I was dragging her), but she managed to have diarrhea while we were out; embarrasing, and impossible to clean up w/o a hose :(. I have reluctantly decided not to take her with me on walks any more. I can take Copper, who can keep up just fine, and will continue to do so.

catching up

Been a little busy so let me update you as to our goings-on.

Sunday: 3.94 easyish miles around Liberty Park; a bit stiff from Saturday and thought I'd be slow, but averaged a 10:34 mile pace with ave HR of only 135! Pretty fast for that HR!

***

Monday: Weight training in the morning. Then in the late afternoon, Kat (former co-worker) and I ran/hiked up to the Living Room together. It was quite a sight w/the storm brewing. It was very windy and a bit cold, but we managed the 2.43 mile (by Garmin) round-trip in 48:30; the elevation change was 1000 feet each way (wow!) in that distance. My heart rate averaged 145 on the way up, for 18:56/mile. Yeah, it was steep. We went down more slowly than we came up, though, because the footing was not easy and I'm kind of a hiking wuss.

Here are more pics on Flickr.

***

Tuesday: Track workout. Yasso 800s. Hey, does anyone know if these are predictive of how fast you can RW a marathon just as they are for running? I'd guess the answer is yes, but I'd like to know, because I was pretty fast today! (For the uninitiated, Bart Yasso of Runner's World is known for 800m repeats; he says if you can do about 8-10 of these at a certain pace, e.g. 4 min 35 sec in my case, that predicts a 4 hr 35 min marathon). Anyway, after a warm-up and stretching, I did 6x800 (not that many, I know - but I will do more as the season progresses) in 4:36, 4:32, 4:33, 4:37, 4:31, 4:31. Despite feeling pretty sluggish (not enough sleep) and having a bit of soreness from last night's hike, I surprised myself with the fast pace that I did these at. I am sure I could have cranked out a few more at 4:36-4:38 if I had to. So... maybe a 4:35 or 4:40 is possible this fall in Portland? I'd like to think so :).

***

Happy me! I was down 1.2 lb at Weight Watchers again, for the 2nd week in a row. Morning weight still around 146-147 but hopefully we'll get it down to 143-145 and keep it there by fall.

If anyone is still reading this...

Yeah, I know, it's been 3 days since I posted. Sorry. I'll write more about the busyness later.

Meanwhile, if anyone is still reading this, yes, I am still here. I'm pretty exhausted - have not been going to bed early enough (tonight is an example - I have to be up around 5:00 am and I'm still here on the computer finishing things up), and have been getting up early and having busy days. Tomorrow should be a bit more restful; after the morning TNT workout I should at least have the rest of the day to relax a bit, as my usual piano student is not coming tomorrow due to a swim meet. We're going out to dinner w/a friend, so I won't have to cook, either :).

So, what have I been up to? I'm up late enough that I want this to be brief... so I'm just going to write about my workouts, quickly. Wed & Fri I had weight training; on Wed I racewalked 2 hilly miles in 22 min before my class, and today I biked to class and back. Thursday, I was very tired from being up late at our small group (a church group; we had an amazing discussion that I hope will lead to some very good community-building - I'm quite excited about it) and I was worried about my IT band, which was a bit sore after Tuesday's track workout. I had planned a tempo workout but decided to start easy and see how it was. It felt OK, so I started to accelerate. I did a 6-mile acceleration, with HR ranging from 140-160 by the end. Average pace on a somewhat hilly route: 10:34/mile (ranging from 12:00/mile (uphill, 1st easy mile) to 9:46/mile). Then I cooled down for 0.5 mile and stretched. I felt pretty good and am hoping that I will be trouble-free tomorrow for the TNT workout.

head cold

Ugh. I have a head cold. Just enough to feel rotten but not enough to get out of doing anything :(.

I racewalked 1.6 miles and did weight training this morning. It felt OK despite the congestion, etc.

Now going to grocery shop. Desperately in need of a nap so I hope the kids will cooperate after we shop & have lunch.

Workouts since last Saturday

Sunday - REST day. My IT band was a bit sore Saturday after the fast 5K so I took it easy. I even got in a good nap :).

Monday - I thought it would be wise to keep taking it easy on the RW muscles, so I did 30 min on the stationary bike at my weight training class, and then lifted for a little and did some abs.

Tuesday - Easyish 3.75 around SH Park. I pushed a little (ave HR 144) but not too hard, and finished FAST in 38:40 for 10:19/mile.

Wednesday - easy 0.6 miles (1k) warm up for weights, and then weight training and some really tough abs that left me sore through today (!). I have GOT to do those again! Then after class I did another 1.6 miles or so on the treadmill for 2.2 total.

Thursday - Hard treadmill speed workout. I was going to go outside, but the kids woke early so I decided to do some serious speedwork and hill work. Portland-to-Coast, which I'm doing at the end of August, has some major hills (4% grade for 4 miles is part of one of my segments). So I warmed up for 10 min or so, stretched on the foam roller, and got back on for my speed work. I did 8 x 2 min at 6.5 mph (~5k pace) with 1' rest in between each. Then I recovered for 2' and then did 2 x 5 min at 5 mph (12 min/mile) at 4% incline. After a short recovery, I cooled down for about 10 min and stretched. I felt great. This was the first speed work I've done in a while, with all the distance stuff I was doing for the marathon, etc. Time to get going on this again with the races I have planned for fall looming closer.

Today - easy 3.9 miles around Liberty Park in 40 min and change (not sure exactly how much); my Garmin read 3.94 miles at a 10:21 pace or something like that. Haven't downloaded it yet.

Tomorrow - TNT workout planned - 12 miles for most full marathoners and 8 for half marathoners.

Speaking of TNT, I decided to pay for my ticket to Seattle; our team is small so they aren't paying to send a coach, but I thought I'd go anyway so I can visit my grandpa while I'm there. He is 89 years old and I would like to spend some time with him while I still can. I'm going to go on June 25th and return on the 28th; my mom is going to come here and help Loren w/the kids so I can go.

if it's not one thing, it's another

Yeah, my IT band is better, which is GREAT. But, now my right hip is really bugging me - I think it's my piriformis. The good news is that I can walk even when it hurts, unlike the IT band which hurt too much to continue. The bad news is that I think I'll really have to rest it for it to feel much better, and that's not happening before the SLC marathon. However, I can get by as is, and the pain isn't that bad - it's more discomfort, eased by stretching and massage. If it's not better in a little while, I will probably make another PT appointment. Yes, if it's not one thing, it's another.

Despite that, I did Liberty Park yesterday (3.9 miles) in 40:58 for 10:28/mile, nice & speedy. Today I did an easy warm-up for weight training, and did 1.5 miles in the usual, about 15:55, for 10:31/mile. Then I made sure to do a bunch of hip exercises, and got in some serious abs and stretching too.

I know my posting has been a bit sparse of late... I usually put up pictures of the kids and stuff, but I just haven't been in the mood to post a lot recently. I'm feeling fine, but just trying to read more books and do other stuff, like cleaning my house! Speaking of that, duty calls...

Friday weights

It was cold & rainy this morning, so I opted for a warm-up on the treadmill at home; only did 1.5 miles and then off to weight training, where I did a total body workout. All was fine, except my right piriformis is STILL bugging me. Drat. At least it's merely annoying, not incapacitating like the IT band problem. Stretchs and anti-inflammatories for me!

Tomorrow we have a team workout. One team member is supposed to do 20 miles (but may not due to injury). Most of the team is doing 12 or 10 miles though. It's going to be interesting.

Here's our weather forecast. It's ugly :(. Gotta love spring in Utah - on Monday it's supposed to be 60 & sunny, and in the upper 60s and sunny on Tues & Wed. Grrrr.

Tonight...Snow. Accumulation up to 2 inches. Lows near 30. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 80 percent.

Saturday...Snow in the morning...then a chance of snow in the afternoon. Cloudy. Accumulation up to 2 inches. Highs in the mid 40s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 80 percent.

More details on haircut; workout update

At risk of boring you all, a little more about the haircut. The reason it was so important to me is that I had very short hair when I joined Weight Watchers in Feb 2005. I just didn't feel like it looked good long on my (then) very round face. But when I joined WW, I decided to start growing my hair out. I figured that by the time I lost the weight, it would be long. I did lose the weight, and it was long :). After a little while, I decided to donate the hair to Locks of Love, and so I had to grow it vey long, since they needed 10 inches in a ponytail (not just 10 inches long, but a 10 inch ponytail!). I get regular trims, so it took me FOUR long years to grow it out. But it was my weight-loss hair, and it really meant something to me to cut it and donate it.

And happily, when I was choosing hair styles for short hair, my hairdresser said that anything would work with my new oval face shape :). Yay! I've enjoyed the surprised looks on people's faces this week when they see my new 'do!

***
Workouts: Wed - went running for 1.5 miles in my running shoes. I was hoping that I could do 1.5 w/o pain, but no dice. The IT band pain was back after 1 mile. I switched to racewalking (still in my running shoes...weird, but do-able), and the pain was gone. Yeah. I wish I could run a little for my TNT coaching, but apparently I'm not healed enough yet to do it w/o risk. I will probably still do it, since I need to run to keep up w/our fastest summer team membe, but I will only do about 0.5 mile w/her, and only on Saturdays through May, so hopefully I won't aggravate anything too badly. Anyway, after my run/racewalk, I did a serious arm/chest/back weight training session - my legs were still sore from Monday so I gave them a rest.

Thurs - I did 5.1 miles easy (a little over 8k) around Sugar House Park 2x. It was relatively warm at 35 degrees (1.6C; still cool for this time of year by a few degrees, but warmer than it has been this week with all the snow) and it felt great to be outside. I felt fast and fluid, with great technique this morning (no, no one was watching or videotaping me, but I just felt that it was good - I'm sure my RW friends know what I mean). My time was 53:41 for about 10:32/mile. Nice!