My Bum Hurts

My bum hurts and here is why:




My workout tonight was to do a 90 minute ride and then run 3 miles after the ride. It was terrible weather today, so I didn't want to take my bike out, so up to the gym I went.

I got up to the gym and the only spinning bike available had the seat picture above. The cycling still had to be done so I hopped on. Oh dear Lord it was painful. I'm sure it was quite humorous to see. I felt like I was on a unicycle because you were constantly trying to balance your weight in hopes of keeping the seat in a flat position. It never happened. I stayed on the bike for one hour and then switched to the other bike, but it wasn't any better because you can't adjust how far back the seat is, so it was uncomfortable too. BUT...it was less uncomfortable than the other bike.

I have now emailed the SDRC to let them know they need to get that fixed pronto.

What Do You Do?

I used to over train. I used to over train ALOT. Then...I got shin splints and I learned my lesson.

My question/predicament is even after I've done my daily workout I get the craving to just go running or biking. It's like I wanna go out & hit the pavement and not come home until I'm tired.

I don't do it though because I don't want to overtrain. Last time I overtrained my pace slowed down and I got shin splints. This is all kind of counter productive.

Do you ever feel like this? How do you deal with it? What do you do? Do you just take your chances & go out any ways or do you stay home?

Paint Fumes

The two weeks following Labor Day, my gym does their annual cleaning. They close & drain the pool, the locker rooms and the raquetball rooms and deep clean them.

I went up to the gym tonight to do my workout on a spinning bike and as soon as I walked in the door, I knew I wouldn't be there long. I walked in the door & paint fumes hit me like a TON of bricks!

I still went and got on the bike upstairs and I was able to do 20 minutes of cycling, but the paint fumes were just too much to handle. The only circulation they had was fans sitting on the floor going full blast, but other than that, it didn't seem like they had any circulation.

So, I cut my workout short tonight and instead of only having to run 6 miles tomorrow, I now need to incorporate 90 minutes of cycling in to my workout as well. And NO I won't be going to the gym. I won't be going to the gym until they open the pool back up in 1 1/2 weeks.

I just think that if they can't properly circulate air in the gym so that the paint fumes are so strong, they should close the entire gym down for 2 weeks. I'm thinking it's kind of dangerous to be working out in those conditions.

Awesome Workout Today

Today I had an AWESOME workout! I'm just so happy from it! First off, I have to say, I absolutely love when a workout can change my attitude or grumpiness from negative to positive.

I had a super rough day today. I got to work at 8:44 a.m. this morning and was ready to throw the towel in at 9:00 a.m. But, as soon as I got in the pool tonight, all my grumpiness disappeared along with the stresses of the day. :)

My scheduled workout from BJ today was:

Swim:
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
10 x 100 with 30 sec rest
cool down

Run:
warm up 1 mile
5 x 1,000 meters with 90 sec rest
cool down 1 mile

I normally get up at 4:45 a.m. and go swimming so that when I get home from work I don't have to deal with all of the kids at the pool and all I have to do is run, but this morning I woke up with a killer headache and I was just tired, so I just went back to bed, so I had to do both swimming & running tonight.

My swim tonight was one of the best swims I've had in a loooooooooooong time! Every 100 I did, with the exception of the last 3 100's I did, were all done in 2 minutes or less!!! One of the 100's I did I was able to do in 1:56!!! I haven't swam that fast in a long time. It was nice to know that I'm finally back on the training band wagon and I'm making improvements...thanks to my awesome trainer BJ.

My run, it was hard, but I did it. the 1,000 meters I did, I did at an 8:30 mile and then slowed down to a 10:00 mile for the 90 second rest. Oooopppss...I just realized I was supposed to do 5 x 1000 meters and I only did 4. Oooooopppss...there's always tomorrow. :)

Weigh In

Last week was a rough week. Like I said in my post about my Tsunami Triathlon, I had just got done running the Ragnar Relay & I was EXHAUSTED, so I didn't work out hardly at all.

A week ago today I weighed myself and I had only gained 2.6 lbs. I was pleased. I thought I had gained ALOT more weight than that.

This week, it's been a good week. I worked out every day this week. I went swimming every morning and then went biking and/or running in the evening.

It's weird because sometimes I can tell when I lose weight by how my body feels, etc. Last night I told my dad that I hope I lose weight this week 'cause I don't feel like I have.

After I got home from my run this morning, I weighed myself and I lost 5.8 lbs!!! Yay!!! It totally made my day!!! I feel like I'm back on track again.

Big Changes on the Way

This week, things are going to change. Drastically. I'm EXTREMELY nervous, but I'm excited too.

First off, I need to get serious about my working out again. I've been kind of relaxed about it, and I need to not be. I've found that I've been using excuses lately and I need to not use excuses. If I want to be an Ironman (one day it'll happen), I can't not take my workouts seriously.

So, my workouts this week are going to be:
Monday - Swim (200 swim/kick/pull, 4 x 200 swim with 100 pull).
Bike (90 minutes)
Run (4 miles)
Weights

Tuesday - Swim (200 swim/kick/pull, 4 x 200 swim with 100 pull).
Bike (90 minutes)
Run (4 miles)

Wednesday - Swim (200 swim/kick, 4 x 100 drills, 4 x 100 swim, 200 pull, 4 x 100
swim, 200 pull)
Bike (90 minutes)
Run (4 miles)
Weights

Thursday - Swim (200 swim/kick, 4 x 100 drills, 4 x 100 swim, 200 pull, 4 x 100
swim, 200 pull)
Bike (90 minutes)
Run (4 miles)

Friday - Swim (200 swim/kick/pull, 1000 swim, 4 x 100 drills)
Bike (90 minutes)
Run (4 miles)
Weights

Saturday - Run (9 miles)

Now, I'm going to put a disclaimer in here that some of the running might be done on the eliptical trainer just because I'm just getting over shin splints and I don't want to get them again.

The other thing that is changing this week that I am SUPER nervous about is my eating habits.

I have a dear friend that is a dietician. I went and saw her yesterday and we sat down and consulted about my food, etc., and I've got to make some major changes. This is probably why I'm having such a hard time losing any additional weight.

With the amount that I workout, I haven't been eating enough. This could contribute to my lack of energy as well.

My normal eating schedule Monday through Friday is:

Breakfast - Grits, lowfat yogurt, and a piece of fruit.
Lunch - A Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine Frozen meal (less than 300 cals) and a home made salad and maybe a piece of fruit.
Dinner - A Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine Frozen meal (less than 300 cals).

If I'm lucky, I'm consuming 1200 calories a day. Just on the bike, when I ride it for 90 minutes, I burn 1400+ calories.

I told Maria that I'm really nervous about eating more because I'm not used to it. For the past 3 years since I started training for triathlons, and losing weight, it's always been eat smaller portions and workout.

Well, Maria said that for starters, I need more protein in my diet. I'm not getting near enough protein. This will help with my hypoglycemia too.

So, my new eating schedule is going to be:

Breakfast - Grits, lowfat yogurt, and a piece of fruit.
Snack - A piece of fruit or a veggie and some sort of protein, whether it be cottage cheese, string cheese, vegetable and hummus, crackers, etc.
Lunch - A Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine Frozen meal (less than 300 cals) and a home made salad and maybe a piece of fruit. My salad that I used to make was using iceberg lettuce. She wants me to start using darker lettuce.
Snack - A piece of fruit or a veggie and some sort of protein, whether it be cottage cheese, string cheese, vegetable and hummus, crackers, etc.
Dinner - A Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine Frozen meal (less than 300 cals) and 1 cup of vegetables.
Snack - A piece of fruit or a veggie and some sort of protein, whether it be cottage cheese, string cheese, vegetable and hummus, crackers, etc.

Hopefully this will help with my weight loss and it will help with my energy. I'm just super nervous because to me, that sounds like a TON of food.

I will keep you all posted this week on how it goes.

Down 5.2 Lbs

The week of Easter was not a good week. It was a very emotionally exhausting week, so working out and eating healthy went right out the window. In that one week, I gained ALOT of weight.

Well, last week, I jumped back on the band wagon and worked out every day. I worked out hard too. There was only one day that I didn't go swimming and one day that I didn't bike and run. I was physically exhausted.

But, even without that working out, I'm happy to say that I lost 5.2 lbs this week! I'm so excited! I can't wait to workout again this week and see how much weight I can lose this week.

I want to get back to the weight I was before Christmas. I want my weight to be back in the medium 160's.

Tomorrow Is a New Day

Tomorrow is a new day! It's been a few days since I've been able to workout. I've honestly been SO busy that I just haven't had time; therefore I've gained weight. :(

I can't wait until tomorrow morning when I can get up before the rooster crowes & go up to the pool and swim.

Disappointed

I'm so disappointed in myself. I am honestly not looking forward to weighing in this Saturday.

I am such an emotional eater. It started Sunday night. I got my feelings hurt really really bad and so I became depressed. Because I'm an emotional eater, I turned to food. I started eating everything in sight.

Then on Monday morning, I didn't get up to go swimming because I was staying at a friend's house 30 minutes away. I had plans to go swimming Monday night after work; however, I was still holding a grudge against my parents who hurt my feelings really bad, plus I got home late from work.

When I don't workout in the morning, my self control goes out the window. So, Monday I once again ate everything in sight. Needless to say I didn't work out Monday.

Tuesday, I didn't workout until after work...and I didn't even do a full workout. I only biked & did the elliptical trainer.

Wednesday I FINALLY got a decent workout in. I got up at 4:30 a.m. and went and swam a mile and then rode my bike home from work and then went running.

This morning I didn't get up to go swimming. I don't know why. I was feeling lazy. Since I didn't workout this morning, I ate EVERYTHING in sight (brownies, cookies, potato chips, etc.) I had grand plans to go workout when I got home from work but after lunch I was feeling REALLY sleepy. So much that I could barely keep my eyes open at work. So...off I went to the vending machine to buy a Diet Mountain Dew.

Now, carbonation and working out do not mix. :( Carbonation really cuts down on your oxygen intake making it much harder to breathe when you are working out...so, no workout again tonight.

I HAVE to get up tomorrow morning and swim that mile. I HAVE to. I've got to figure out a way to force myself to get up.

Now, if my Saturday morning wasn't jam packed, I would go to the gym and swim a mile, bike 90 minutes & run 6 miles to try & burn off some of this fat I've gained, but I'm volunteering at a race Saturday morning and then I'm going with my friend Heather to try on wedding gowns.

My pants are insanely tight, I feel like crap and I'm dreading weighing in on Saturday morning.

Off the Wagon...Kinda

I feel like I've falled off the wagon of working out. Granted I only didn't work out on Monday this week and I didn't get a full workout in on Tuesday, but I ate like crap on Sunday and Monday. Serious. Absolute crap!

When I get upset (if you read my personal blog, you know why I got upset), depressed, anxiety, etc., I eat. I eat EVERYTHING in sight. And, when I don't workout in the morning, I lose all self control. :(

Today is the first day that I've done a full workout since last week. I got up and went swimming this morning. I swam 72 laps (1 mile), I rode my bike home from work *(16.3 miles) and then went up to the gym and ran 4.29 miles on the treadmill. It felt great!

I'm probably not gonna lose any weight this week, but starting today, I've seriously gotta jump back on the bandwagon and get working out...hard!

One problem though...how am I gonna get my workout in on Saturday? I honestly have no clue and it is kind of causing me some stress. I'm volunteering at a race on Saturday, so I'll be at the race from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then from there, I'm going with my friend Heather to try on wedding gowns (she's getting married in Sept.).

Excuses Don't Cut It

In my book, excuses don't cut it. If you're going to complain about being overweight and you keep saying that you need to get out and exercise, don't make excuses!

My mom and dad both complain about being overweight, but when I offer to pay for them to go to the gym with me or go out on a bike ride with me, they make excuses. If you're going to make excuses, then don't complain.

I don't recall complaining when I was overweight about it. If someone offered to workout with me or something, I just laughed at them.

Gah! It just bugs me SO bad!

Weight Loss Progress

My last post talked about how I was scared about changing my workout regimen and stuff like that, because I still have about 11 lbs I want to lose, to reach my goal weight of 150.

I'm pleased to announce that after my first week of BJ writing my workouts for me, I lost 0.6 lbs. Now granted, I wouldn't be surprised if I lost more weight than that, but since BJ has me doing so many weights, I'm building muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat, I wouldn't be surprised to see the number go up on the scale.

We shall see how it goes again this week.

Scared to death

To be honest with you, I'm scared to death. My trainer (BJ) has started emailing me my weekly workouts and they are VERY different than what I have been doing.

Here is what I WAS doing:
Monday - Swim 72 laps, bike 50 minutes
Tuesday - Swim 72 laps, run 6-8 miles, do weights
Wednesday - Swim 72 laps, bike 50 minutes
Thursday - Swim 60 laps, run 6-8 miles, do weights
Friday - Swim 50 laps, bike 50 minutes
Saturday - Run 6-10 miles, do weights
Sunday - No workout

Here is what BJ has me doing this week:
Monday - Swim 48 laps, run 3 miles, do weights
Tuesday - Bike 60 minutes, run 2 miles
Wednesday - Swim 48 laps, run 3 miles, do weights
Thursday - Run 45 minutes (4.5 miles), do weights
Friday - Swim 40 laps
Saturday - Run 5 miles
Sunday - Bike 60 minutes

Because I'm working out less, even though I'm doing more weights, I think I'm going to have to drastically change my eating habits...again. Like I said, Saturday & Sunday were my "cheat" days where I would eat anything I want. I think it was getting to the point where I was gorging on food and eating everything and anything in site and taking advantage of the fact that I was working out SO much during the week, ya know? I think I can still have a "cheat" day, I just can't cheat as much.

But it just scares the livin' daylights outta me. I've been doing what I'm doing for 18 months now. It's just scary. I'm just afraid of gaining all my weight back again. I realize that some of the weight gain I'm going to see is muscle, but I just have to keep reminding myself that BJ knows what he's doing and he knows what's best for me.