Biggest Loser

I feel like I should preface this with "I'm not dead yet!" because it's been so long since I posted. It's been a mixed summer - I've gained back some weight, not as much as I had thought, but more than I hoped. I'm getting back into going to the gym regularly, which should help. Routine helps - I'm very bad about mindless eating when we're just hanging out around the house. Although given how badly I've binged and the crap that I've eaten, I don't feel too bad about the weight gain. Not like it was a surprise.

I've signed up for the Biggest Loser competition at the gym again. Based on last years experience, I could win this time. But I did it in the spring and didn't take it seriously. Feeling more motivated now. If I can really focus on the eating plan, I know the weight will come off - I just have to maintain focus. And I'm going to try to add in some other exercise as well. Last time was only Curves, now I hope to add some aerobic something on other days as well.

Anybody else feeling motivated with the new school year?

Stretch

It has been awhile since I have posted...mostly because I have been busy and I have not been doing so well with the exercise thing (or even just the drinking enough water thing).\

So I have been cleaning and sorting and decreasing our amount of stuff around the house.

I have gained back some of the weight that I have lost but not all of it. Part of this is due to Jim looking for a job so that they end up dropping me off on campus and not me parking and walking. I am hoping that with the kids starting back to preschool next week that it will establish more of a routine for us which should help.

I also have realized that I have been feeling stiff lately. Some of this is due to my children's amazing knack for sliding across my knee cap (ow) but I realized that I miss stretching and that having to sit in front of a computer a lot this summer has not helped that.
So....I decided to DVR a yoga show and at least do some of the stretching in it.
Since Jim accidentally erased my first two recordings (he didn't realize I wanted it recorded) today I did my first one.
It felt good but I realized:

1. I can't do it with children around. Whenever I sit on the floor the kids want to sit on me. Perhaps I can work on getting them to do it with me.
2. I like the stretching because it feels good
3. I'll have to work on the transitions between poses.
4. I'll have to work on my breathing. Most of my breathing was exactly opposite from what they were telling you to do during movement.

Anyway, hoping to get back on track.

One down, one to go...

Yesterday I did the Littleton Appleman Triathlon. I wasn't really well-trained, but it was a fun race and I finished. With a better time than I expected, really. I though it was very well run, it wasn't too competitive, there were lots of women, the water was warm, the bike ride was hilly but very do-able, and the run was... well... interesting. The run actually went partly through a field and then through the woods. This trail portion was about 1/3 of the run. Kind of fun! I didn't do much (read: almost none) training with the swimming or biking. So my swim was incredibly slow, but I was expecting that. I did better than I expected on the bike because I only had last year's tri to estimate. Last year my brake was rubbing and apparently it slowed me down a lot because now I'm riding much quicker.

Next week I'm doing the Danskin in Webster, MA. I'm looking forward to it, I guess, but I'm dreading having to go for an overnight just to do the Tri. It should be really fun because there's 5 of us going together. The swim won't be too bad because, if it's the same as last year, it's way less than the 12 mile it claims to be. The bike should be easier because, well, I just explained that, and I'm running much better than I was last year.

Now let's hope there's not too much rain this week so I can go out and swim and bike and run. And let's hope that there's not thunderstorms, as predicted, on the day of the race.

Checking In

Hi! It's been a while since I've checked in here.

For a while I was trying to go to 3 classes per week at the gym. That was working fairly well for a while, and then some other stuff came up. One of the things that came up was my trip to the Grand Canyon!

Yes! I did it! Starting on the north rim, we did a loop down to the Colorado River, along the river a way, and then back up to the north rim. It was challenging but doable. It was strenuous, yet relaxing. Pushing myself to go, go, go, (slow and steady) every day was not so hard without the mental burdens of kids, house, phone, computer, etc. I could just let my mind go, enjoy the scenery, and will my feet to keep moving! I will be posting some pics and/or a video on my other blog shortly.

Next up are the 2 sprint triathlons that I've signed up for this summer. Today I went to the pool for the first time. I'll never be a strong swimmer, but hopefully I'll get into a swimming groove that will get me through the 1/2 mile in a reasonable time. I need to do a little maintenance on the bike, but hopefully my spinning classes will have paid off once I do get on the bike. (I need to keep going to those classes.) I have some training routes planned out for the bike -- I just need to put some dates on my calendar to do them. I've been running. Not enough, but some. I still maintain my 11+ min mile, but that's just my pace. I'm able to keep going for a whole 3 miles. My next step with the running is to do some slightly longer distances so that 3 miles seems like cake. Next Monday I'm going with one of my Tri buddies to do the run route from one of the races. It has a large section off-road that is rumored to be challenging because of rocks and roots. We'd like to have done it once.

If I could just watch my eating more, perhaps I would lose weight. Even though I'm definitely stronger, I'm really not losing my big bowl-of-jello belly. Sigh. Will-power. I need some.

Finally, I've got to start thinking about a goal to put on the schedule after my races. Historically, once my event is over, I give myself permission to relax a bit, and then I never get back to the workouts. I will be a member at the gym until next January, so I at least need to keep the classes on my schedule. If you have any ideas for goals, let me know!

Official

Well, it's official. I had my post-partum appointment yesterday. And while I've lost an amazing amount of the weight (only about 8 pounds to go) thanks to Breastfeeding, I'd like to lose the additional 10-20 lbs I wanted to lose before I got pregnant. I'm counting on nursing to make it easier since I've always struggled to lose weight normally unless I got sick. Since I'd rather not get sick anyway, I'm back to walking to start with. I started walking about two weeks after Matt was born, but it's been very irregular since I've been tired (imagine that!) and his schedule adds one more thing to work around. But, hopefully that will all get easier sooner and we can get out and a about as things get more predictable. I need to get work scheduled in all this (I've unofficially started working again, but am a little lazy about it since I'm so tired).
At least the weather has been better and that should help us get out as lon gas it doesn't get too hot. Wish me luck!

One Week!

In a week, I'm headed off on a 5-day backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon!! I'm a bit nervous about it, but mostly just excited.

Yesterday, as a sort of warm-up, I went by myself to hike up Mt. Monadnock in NH. The interesting thing about trails in NH is that you can always find one that goes straight up from the parking lot to the top. So it was 2 miles in each direction, steep, and rocky. My heels were getting pretty hot, threatening to blister up, so I need to figure out how to best lace my boots. I appear to not have blisters, so that's good.

Anyway, I felt pretty good about the hike. I was slow and steady. I never got so tired or winded that I couldn't keep going. My knees feel it this morning, but not too badly. In all, I'm feeling ok about the trip next week. I know I could be (should be!) in better shape, but I'm fairly confident that I can get through the whole trip. I'm really excited about my week away and seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time!!

dragged kicking and screaming

So, my awesome office mate has been dragging me (not really kicking and screaming) running at lunch on Tuesdays. We ran a 5K both last Tuesday and today. Last week the run kicked my butt. This week, I managed to make it to the end without keeling, but didn't have enough oomph to run run at the end. I'm hoping that soon, I'll be able to not only complete the run, but also have enough to sprint a bit at the end. Am I asking for too much? We'll see if my knees and feet hold out.

But, I've managed to lose NO weight. blah.