A revision in the plan

I began the new year on a quest to work out 365 days, which I was doing fairly well at until I caught a nice winter cold. I attempted push ups for a few days just to keep the streak alive yet I wasn't truly accomplishing my goal of actually pushing myself everyday. Which ended in frustration and the death of the streak. However, my goal didn't die entirely, I continued to run and visit the gym but I was floating around without a goal. A dangerous play to be floating. Without a goal I lacked purpose, dedication and really was running so the dog would shut up and going to the gym if it meant getting to see Merry, Sunnira and Ryan for awhile. We have an excellent goal in place of running Cascade Lakes this summer, which cannot be accomplished if I'm not in good shape but I still lacked the structure I needed to commit to a running/workout schedule. The problem is now solved though! At a family gathering Diana discussed the organization she'd joined called Portland Fit and mentioned they had a Vancouver chapter also. So I went to their website read a little of the description and decided $125.00 was worth 6 months of training! A small price to pay for accountability and the best part is Maureen is on board as well! Vanessa and I ran the Corvallis Half Marathon on April 10th , I finished in 2:35, not spectacular but a good beginning point. I placed 69th in my age group... Well, well, well..... So while meeting up with people and being social is not my most favorite thing to do I think it will help me get through the next few months and I'll be in better shape as a result! I hope the Portland Marathon doesn't fill up before the 25th! I plan to conquer that course once again!

V-Day Workout

Workout #46 was a success. What better way to spend Valentine's Day morning than a Step Sculpt class with favorite crazy instructor lady May. She gave me a nice Valentine's Day gift of pain and an energy bar. Which was very sweet of her. Might be the only Valentine's Day present for me. Took my car to the shop today so I'm walking home in the pouring rain. You'd think on Valentine's Day of all days I might get offered a ride home from someone just sitting at home. Alas, perhaps I could decide not to be stubborn and ask.
I made tuna casserole healthied up last night for dinner. Comfort food sounded good after driving and how cold the weather turned. Used whole wheat pasta, reduced fat cheese, broccoli, carrots and celery for veggies, turned out pretty excellent.

Workout #33

The plan to rise at 5am ready to face instructor May again was foiled by teenage drama. In her defense, Carissa's IPOD dock/alarm was not functioning. The problem connected somehow with a great universe threat against her belongings in that "all of her things break". I somehow managed to point out in my half slumbering state the positive, when her skull candy headphones broke she got an upgrade from the company with a 50% off coupon. After the consoling and thinking of work until 2am, the alarm at 5am was too much. I reset to 7am and made a promise to get a decent sweat on after work. Minds out of the gutter please. :-) I decided to tackle the Insanity fit test again to see if I'd improved. I still cannot do the jumping jack pushups but made it through all of the other exercises despite the residual pain from May's workout lingering.

Jan 25 to Feb 1st

The streak still lives although my Fridays have consisted of walking and pushups for good measure.. The problem with this is we're then on to the Blind Onion for pizza and beer afterwards.. I suppose there need to be a fun life balance but this really kills my weekly progress.
Work has been so busy and home has been a little off which has zapped my energy for writing this blog but I'm going to get back at it even if I write lame things that aren't as entertaining sometimes.
The weather has provided some decent running days and Wally is always ready for an outing. We've worked up to five miles which is easy for him and he's still spry as ever when we return home. I'm feeling pretty good about my cardio fitness at a comfortable pace however, my my upper body and core is so weak. Last night I met Merry at LA Fitness for an hour long session of fun with May who teaches an excellent BodyWorks class. Sadly my body does not work as well as this May who is well over 60 and looks better than most of the 20 and 30-somethings desperately trying to keep up. In the beginning of the class she says its okay if you need to rest but there's no excuse for not doing your best. She not only leads us through a variety of poses I would never have thought to invent all the while counting, encouraging and yelling at us to get it in gear. Sometimes throwing in a threat about when we get older we should be stronger than we are today and more flexible. We need to work hard!!! She is amazing, when she told me good job after class was over I felt like a puppy getting a reward. Although I wondered if she threw me the bone just so I'd return... It worked.... 5:00am tomorrow I am getting up and dragging myself to her morning class. I hope this will be a nice way to start the day. After our session yesterday my shoulders, abs and butt are still pretty sore, hopefully hitting it hard tomorrow will do just the trick to loosen things up.
A note on flexibility or I should say lack thereof, I wonder how long one has to consistently stretch before you see improvement? I'd maybe just like to not feel my achilles are about to pop off when trying to do a stretch while seated. My legs are so tight, it feels I might just flop backwards at any moment from the resistence put forth by my hams and calves. The special highlight is when we're supposed to push our stretch a little further and I'm already at terminal stretch hold with nothing left to give just from a sitting positing. No elbows on the floor for me.

Days 17-24

Any good plan is often flawed in implementation however, the important thing is to stick to it and roll with what unfolds. I spent the past few day fighting off a lovely cold in combination with work and home stress which resulted in feeling like the world's challenges just might be too much. After a few days and a couple of nights of good sleep I realized what a huge ninny I was being (literally and figuratively) and devised some schemes to make it through the various challenges and have some fun in the process. Through all the sniffling and sneezing I managed to stay the course and get in pushups, situps and walking with Wally. So the streak lives! Not the stellar end to January I had planned but today I redeemed myself and ran for an hour along the Vancouver waterfront with Wally prancing happily at my side.
A difficulty on the diet front: Grandma is entirely too excellent of a cook. Last weekend was National Pie Day. Which I do not think she knew until Uncle Nels told her but she still had a peanut butter pie and two types of berry pies on the counter. They are entirley too excellent to pass up and I suppose why should we? I hope a balance can be found between being 30lbs overweight and wanting to lose it yet still getting to have some pie now and again. In an effort to curb my dessert craving in the evening I purchased some Skinny Cow ice cream. Although milk from a skinny cow just can't be as tasty. Oh what a lame joke.. I must not be all the way recovered or perhaps it was just too full of a day for this old lady....

Day 16

20 minutes of Insanity cardio/abs today. Not as long as I intended but it was still challenging.
Stayed the night at the farm last night, Grandma made chili and cornbread and I took a sauna which was glorious!!!! Was sort of like a mini-vacation.... They suffered more barking but Wally did pretty well.

Days 13, 14 and 15

Day 13: 40 minute run with Wally but pushed it harder than normal to get rid of the day.
Day 14: As a result of running a little too hard, my hip flexor (aka old lady injury) acted up again. So I was relegated to a brisk two mile walk around the perimeter of the dog park. Also had to ice said hip all night...
Day 15: Woke up feeling better about the world today and wasn't too sore so Wally and I did a nice easy paced 6 miles. I didn't anticipate the core workout which was a result of a rather large number of squirrels on the route. The problem is my fault... I thought it was fun one day to send Wally after squirrels we came across. I didn't account for the fact he would never forget the fun of squirrel chasing.
Over the course of the past 15 days I have dropped six pounds which didn't really start happening until I changed my diet over the past six days. The week was actually excellent with all meals planned out and we all ate a much better quantity and variety of fruits and veggies. Well by we all I mean Carissa, Wally and I... Carlos is still on the white bread sandwich plan which involves incorporating whatever meat is with the meal or leftover in the fridge into a sandwich with miracle whip on both sides of the bread.. YUCK!!!
Something I realized through talking with our VP this week which applies to more than work is we have a greater responsibility in life and work than just keeping the peace. Learning how to keep people happy and navigate their various systems is a good skill but is ultimately tiring and doesn't make a person happy. Perhaps you had to be there but thought I would try to briefly summarize my epiphany.

Day 12

Workout: 40 minute run with the hound

B-fast: Kashi Heart to Heart

Snack: Lowfat String Cheese

Lunch: Chix salad healthied up

Snack: Wasa and cottage cheese

Dinner: Turkey burger with tomato, lettuce and avocado on wheat with slaw and mushrooms on the side
All in all a successful day. Long day at work today, was nice to end with a run to clear my head out and give me some perspective. Something strange, I like a cheeseburger but I really don't think eating a turkey burger is too much of a comprimise in taste depending on seasoning. I'm amazed at how many things my familial unit will balk at diet wise. In fairness to Carlos this evening, he did vow to not eat a cheeseburger until he could consume one from Dicks in Seattle. The original committment to this was a few days. Will be fun to see how long he can last...

1/11/11

Another successful 40 minute run this evening. The snow just started falling, was chilly but helped me shake off the work zombies. I feel a little bad for the driver who didn't stop at the crosswalk for me, you'd think when you're being followed by Vancouver's finest and you see a runner and her hound equipped with flashing lights for better visibility, you might pull up the Accord and give me the five seconds to cross. Instead though, they were still pulled over when I made my way back home, sorry bad driver.
While on our evening outting, I decided there was a need to clarify the structure of my quest for improved health and fitness. After a google search I learned as I suspected, I'm not the only genious to think of working out 365 days in a row and blogging about it but I do hope mine is more entertaining and successful. I was hoping to find some sort of structure to my workout plan but at this point I'm focusing on the routine of accomplishing a workout everyday to get the heart rate up, sweat rolling and my mind a little clearer. After a day of work the easy way to end the day which actually results in still feeling tired and done, hit the couch with a bag o' the closest fast food and watch TV. However, having spent evenings participating in such slackitivity, I know you don't feel any better afterwards. After a run in the crispy winter air, I catch a second wind, and also a nice case of windburn. Someone at work suggested Vaseline but I just didn't have the guts to ask if they meant before or after the run....

As for the "lifestyle" change in terms of food consumption. I have read countless books on diet, exercise and healthy cooking, joined weight watchers and the best life diet once or twice. While we do a decent job of making our meals from scratch, I'm tired of having to come up with a menu every week on top of doing everything else which is when I happened upon the Clean Eating magazine in B & N. Upon page 73 of this edition I came across the Holy Grail of healthy meal planning, not only was there a menu packed with fruits, vegetables and healthy portions of protein and carbs but the damn thing included a SHOPPING LIST!!! WITH CHECK BOXES! In addition, you actually utilize leftovers and are not asked to buy an entire box of cereal only to never have cereal come up on the menu again. BRILLIANT! While the menu is only two weeks long, the magazine is packed with other menu options and recipes and the best thing is they actually taste good. So I am pleased I knocked off another pound today. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Day 10

Another successful run this evening with Wally for 40 minutes. He was literally doggin it, I think he was sore from all his running with his buddy Fonix. As for my performance, my stamina is improving. Still pounding that pavement though.

Today's menu consisted of because I know people really want to know:

BFast: Egg White sandwich on whole wheat with low fat cheddar

25 almonds (yes, I'm obsessing enough that I counted my nuts)

Lunch: Salad with pears, walnuts, lowfat cheddar, turkey and bal sal dressing
Carrot sticks with hummus

Dinner: Healthy Reuben, which was a slaw with yogurt based dressing, lowfat cheese and a tomato, yogurt sauce.

Today's BMI: 26.97 :-(
Carlos just figured out our vegetable and fruit to meat ratio has been drastically changed and might be in a panic. He is currently fighting back by refusing to eat the dinner sandwich and cooked collard greens from a can instead.... So he didn't want to eat the vegetables in the sandwich, but a bowl full o'canned goodness is better... Frustrating....

Day 9

Yesterday marked the last day to eat anything I want for awhile, so I celebrated with some IPA, burgerville and flanken syle ribs and mashed potatoes. As a result I woke up feeling horrible. After two cups of strong coffee and my first Clean Eating breakfast which consisted of steel cut oatmeal, apple, flax and walnuts I rallied and began the day. Lunch was a turkey sandwich with avocado, no mayo and reduced fat cheese. Dinner, small pork chop, brown rice, black beans, green beans and a salad with vinaigrette. YUM!!!
Today's workout I'd planned to hit the gym with Mer, but it didn't work out so I ventured into the realm of Insanity again. I chose a workout labeled cardio and balance, which I later discovered was a "recover" workout however, I was dying half-way through. Mission accomplished though. Day 9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BMI to come tomorrow.

Day 7 and 8 of 365

Planned a trip of Insanity but settled on a 40 minute run instead due to football.... The Seahawks won!!!!! I looked for pigs flying on our outting but haven't seen any yet, although a larger than normal population of gulls has inhabited the Clark campus but I think that might just be a conspiracy employed by the $5.00 car wash place. A gull on every pole could turn them a nice profit. My Jeep was so bad the other day I had to get in on the passenger side, they must have found some spectacular scavenge.
Spent over $100 on groceries today (resolution phase 2), as we were bagging our supplies for the week, Carissa asked if we were "planning to feed the local wildlife or was this part of a resolution?" I replied while the wildlife survival rate is very important, our purchases were actually to sustain our household, not Bambi's. I purchased the magazine Clean Eating again, I love the menu, you actually use leftovers for something else in the week and they include a shopping list. The menu is not vegetarian but includes whole grains and healthy portions of fruits and vegetables. We'll see how the week goes!
No BMI for you all today. Tomorrow morning.. :-)

Day 6 of 365

Another 40 minutes out hitting the pavement with the hound. Calves are sore, quads tired but cardio is good. Could not resist weighing in again this morning but sadly still floating at 188... Or should I say flabbing? :-) Carissa for some reason was not open to doing another insanity DVD today and Wally needed to get some miles in so off we went. No rain which was nice, just cold and crispy. Tomorrow is going to be the test, Friday, going to dinner with the family. Off at 4:3o though so should be doable. :-) Run then Blind Onion. A perfect trade off!
Resisted office cake today, perhaps I'll implement a "healthy only" snack rule... Should make me real popular like with the group.
A Carlos update: Asleep again before 5:00.... An interesting defense tactic against family involvement....

5 of 365

40 minute run with the hound, felt mildly tired.
I am not willing to admit the reason is a "fit test" from some DVD but alas. I would have done another DVD today except Carlos has been asleep on the couch since I got home... Must be a nice day.....
Decided to wait until the end of the week to weigh in again. Daily is a bit too obsessive.
Sticking to all resolutions thus far though. Shall be implementing a different cooking regiment this weekend. More information to follow on that one soon.

Workout 4 of 365

Subjected myself and Carissa to the Insanity Fit Test portion of their DVD series. She got all geared up in her workout stuff, was too cute. We started out working hard, then she left to get some shoes after exercise 3. Then she took her shoes off to get a rock out mid-way through exercise four. Then again in exercise five. All right, I bribed her with waffles for breakfast this weekend to get her to do participate. Either way we were off the couch and working together! Well sort of....
Pros: The instructor is ridiculously hot and very cheerful about his participants progress. He smiles so pretty the whole time you're dancing on his puppet string of exercises and tortures. I loved it, I really, really did. Staring at his biceps makes the pain a bit more tolerable

Cons: I was sweating and panting like I'd run 10 miles in 90 degree heat and this was just the "fit test"!!!!. While I like the intensity I was completely disappointed in myself at how many times I had to quit and two exercises I could hardly do. A jumping jack type move while in a push up position? REALLY?! Also, the vertical, used to be able to grab the rim, now I'd be lucky to jump and reach the top shelf at the grocery store. Which actually works out well since I don't have very tall ceilings.

Summary, my mental picture of what I am physically capable of still includes the haze of what was however, that which was, can be fought back.... Notice I don't say bought back.... Doesn't come in a pill and can't be found on the couch or at a desk.. Nope, the new and improved and much more determined version of that chick will only be found after miles run, sweat and a whole host of other tortures planned for this year. All in all day 4 a success.

Day 1-3

Decided to channel my compulsive behaviors into something positive..... Was planning on having an ellaborate blog each day about how the workout went etc. but have thus far not had the time. I shall get there though!! Perhaps after workout 4 tonight...... Doing an Insanity DVD for the first time, should prove interesting and hilarious!

Day 1: 40 minute Jog

Weight: 190 :-( Yep, all those Christmas cookies caught up with me.
BMI 27.26


Day 2:

Weight/BMI Didn't weigh in


5k time: 30 minutes and 42 seconds.



Day 3:

40 minute Jog

Weight: 188

BMI:26.97