I guess I run now

No major plans for exercise today. I may try to hit the Y tonight, but for now it’s a mad dash to get everything done for the start of school. My inlaws (including BIL and grandmother-in-law) are coming to visit on Sunday & Monday…not a long visit at all (and I really like these people), but one that will require house cleaning & that will put me two days behind in my course prep & writing. Still, they haven’t seen the new house & they’re low-maintenance guests & it’s been a while since we saw them last, so it’ll be a lovely visit. I just have to put my head down & muscle through the next two days.

Okay, food:

Breakfast: (no milk in the house, so) 2 slices whole wheat toast with homemade jam

Lunch:

Dinner:

Snacks:

Exercise:

to school next week? huh? Forget the academic calendar, what about my needs?

Yeah, so yesterday was a long day of getting my course materials readied & online for my classes that start next Wednesday. The first day of school, I’m always a nervous wreck. I never know what kind of first impression I’m making, so I have to trust that the kids are more nervous sitting in their first college writing class than I am standing in front of them. With luck, they don’t even notice what a total geek I am…although they notice that eventually. How could they not?

Okay so tiny2b had a great idea for how I can get my speed up to what I think is my most comfortable stride. She suggested I try the c25k program again at that speed. So I think that would be 4.6 as a “walk” for 60 seconds, followed by 5.4 as a “run” for 60 seconds, and so on. I might give that a try this morning. I was thinking last night that if I can do 2 miles at a decent clip, even if I have to walk one mile, I’ll still have an okay time for my 5k on the 13th.

I’ve also been looking into boot camps, but the one that’s closest to home is pretty dear & I haven’t done a class in years, so I don’t know if I’ll even like exercising with strangers. Also, it meets at awkward (for my schedule) times. How’s that for a slew of excuses? So I’ve decided to buy a punch card for the express workouts at the Y instead…these are 30 minute pilates, bookcamp, and etc workouts scheduled in the middle of the day, usually around lunch time. I’ll see if I like attending classes & then sign up for the next boot camp if I’m sold on it.

Okay, I really need to get to the Y.

Food:

Breakfast: instant breakfast shake with protein (so there, I shook up breakfast a little)

Lunch:whole wheat PB & homemade J

Dinner:hard taco & tabouli with squashes & tomato

Snack: peach, chocolate pudding.

Exercise: Was lame…my stomach ache from last night returned. So I managed to do about 25 minutes of upper body work before I decided to call it a day. Not a day, really. A morning. I’ll have to make up the lost treadmill work tonight.

Don’t know.

First a couple of shout outs to a few of my peeps (is that the way the kids say it these days?): has everyone seen getupnow’s runner’s version of “Stayin’ Alive”? HILARIOUS! Feathers is recovering from her post-op cold & sounding very contented and resolved. And Eryn, the cheez its in question were a box of both White Cheddar & (wait for it) Queso flavored its….queso flavored Eryn! I should say no more about them, but I believe they may have been laced with heroine cause I’m addicted.

I need to get to the gym, but I also want to stop for a moment & reflect on “Back in the Day/But Now” stuff. I’ve not been great this past month & have seen basically no changes on the scale this summer, so I need some positive reinforcement to get me moving. So Back in the Day when I’d go for a walk with hubby (rare, mind you), I’d never be able to keep up with his long (6′2″) strides & I’d complain & get impatient to get back to the house to sit in front of the TV. BUT Now I’m the one suggesting (and nagging) about walks, I want them to be longer, and I’m the leader of the pack (or at least not having any trouble keeping up). Back in the Day, I’d have a gym membership, but never use it. But Now, it’s time to get to the gym.

Food:
Breakfast: usual

Lunch: chef salad

Dinner: 2 lean beef hard tacos with cheese, tom, lettuce

Snack: about 25 pretzels

Exercise:

• 20 mins lower body weights
• 2 mile walk/run

First mile run in 12:45 (speed of 4.6 until last .1, which I did at 5.4), second mile walking at 3.6, but with an incline of 2 for .15 and 4 for .35 miles. Threw in a .25 mile run during the “walking” mile at 4.6 & 5.4 and a .1 mile run at 5.4. I really do like the way 5.4 feels, but I can’t maintain that speed for very long at all. Total time for the 2 miles was 28:40, so I’m averaging just over 4 mph for the whole trek.

I need to get going to the gym. Today will be upper body & a run of some length or other (how’s that for noncommittal?). I’m going to try to keep eating on the natural side of things today, which to my mind means no dreaded cheeze its!

Food:

Breakfast: kashi & blueberries (I should just post about breakfast if it’s ever something different from kashi & blueberries, huh?)

Lunch: chef salad (so egg, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, low fat dressing)

Dinner: chicken sausage on whole wheat bun and pasta salad.

Snack: gee, let’s do try to keep it natural & vitamin-packed for a change…those peaches in the fridge aren’t going to eat themselves! A peach, a 100-calorie bag of popcorn, and a chocolate pudding (fat/sugar free stuff).

Exercise:

• 30 minutes with weights (upper body only).
• 2.1 mile walk/run.

1 mile run in 13 mins, then walks at 3.6 on an incline of 1.0 (first incline ever…so something new) for a total of .75 miles. Did .25 mile run in there with some of that run at 5.0 & 5.4 (I love my strides at 5.4 & it feels natural, but I can’t keep it going for long), and .1 at the end of the 2 miles at 5.2. An okay run. Started out wanting to stop at .25, then at .5, then at .75, but once I hit .75, it seemed silly not to finish the single mile. I feel like I’ve gone back in time here…rather than getting more endurance, I’m ending up with less. UGH!

• 2.5 mile walk with hubby and dog in the evening: overall, a good exercise day.

Have a great night ya’ll!

I wanted to get up early to run before hubby & I have a day filled with annoying errands…the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak & the muscles under the flesh were very ouchie. So the plan now is to run errands & then either run or swim in the late afternoon. There, writing makes it so.

Food:

Breakfast: kashi & blueberries

Lunch: on the go…but I did okay: 1 1/2 cup of bean soup at the campus caf with 2 bags of oyster crackers

Snack: peach

Dinner: chicken sausage, whole wheat bun, corn on the cob, kale

Snack: hubby made bread pudding out of the remaining buns, so 1/2 cup bread pudding with 1 tbs peach jam; AND 1 cup cheeze its (DAMN IT!)

Exercise: none…but we left the car in one place & walked everywhere we needed to get to on campus, including 3 trips to 3 different buildings to pick up 3 of the keys hubby needs for his office & classrooms…yeah, they gotta make this process easier for new faculty!

Having a great day myself: slept late & heading to the Y to do some weights. My goal is to jog a mile first: I was thinking last night that it’d be nice to have a mile become just a standard thing I do everyday…hoping that’ll make me stronger when it comes to those 3 mile runs. We’ll see. I have some resolve now & a chance to make working out a part of my new routine (yay routine!), so I’m feeling good about my chances of dropping 17 pounds by Christmas. It’s a humble goal, but I’m a humble (read: lazy) gal.

Food:

Breakfast: kashi & blueberries

Lunch: my own chef salad: hb egg, slice of swiss, slice of ham, lettuce, tomato, low cal dressing

Snack: will be a peach was 1 cup cheeze its

Dinner: 1 slice meatloaf & pasta salad

Exercise: upper & lower body, 1 mile run, .25 mile walk. Did the weights first so I wouldn’t sweat all over the machines & that actually had me looking forward to the run!

cause I have no idea how to push myself. Pushing myself runs counter to my personality. I am a marathon napper, an over-eater, an unmotivated couch potato.

Or maybe I’m a recovering couch potato. Maybe it’s time for a “back in the day” type of list…back in the day, I used to fight for the closest parking space, now I don’t even look for a close one…it’s nice in the back of the lot. Yeah…I need more of that in my life right now. Ya’ll got any?

Hit the Y today. Walked .1, ran 1.5, walked .1, ran .5, walked .1, ran .1, walked to round it out to 2.6 miles. The two miles mostly running I managed in 26:50, which would make for a decent 5k time if I could keep it going for another 1.1 miles. But I can’t…not yet anyway. Speeds at 4.4 to 4.8, 5.2 for the last .1 of the two miles and for the tacked on .1 mile at the end. Feeling good & ready to run again.

But I need this place cause without it, I wouldn’t have gotten on the treadmill this morning. Maybe one day, but for now I have to blog, just have to.

& I need this place cause tiny2b’s got me thinking about signing up for boot camp & that’s not something I’d ever think about doing without this place.

Okay, food:

breakfast: kashi & blueberries

Lunch: pasta-zilla (recipe below)

Snack: (after dinner) fat free/sugar free chocolate pudding & coolwhip free

Dinner: One slice of meatloaf (yum!), pasta-zilla, beets, salad

Pasta-zilla–a giant pasta salad…nutritionally sound if the pasta is whole wheat & the veggies make up at least 50% of the salad, I think. This one reflects my attempt to expand my veggie horizons…first time using kale in a pasta dish & only second time eating pattypan and yellow zucchini.

Okay, I don’t measure stuff, so not the best of recipes, but..cook whole wheat rotini & chopped kale together & run under cold water when pasta is done (note: I gave the kale a 2 minute head start on the pasta, which seemed to work). In the oven, roast onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow zucchini, carrots, & pattypan until squashes are done (carrots will retain some crunch). Chop tomato & fresh chives, basil, & parsley. Pour roasted veggies over pasta, add tomato, herbs, and pinenuts. Sprinkle with olive oil, vinegar (I used basalmic, but red wine would work too), salt & pepper. It’s a pretty dish, so maybe I’ll post a picture of it later. Thinking this with hubby’s meatloaf, a salad, & some lovely beets for dinner.

Cheers ya’ll!

To see Feathers has already posted a post-op photo!

Off to ikea with hubby…our second trip this week, but the house is FINALLY starting to come along: I have an awesome new bookcase in the office & our closets are actually going to work now that we have new shelves. This trip is for a kitchen island to expand our galley kitchen out into the dining room (which is rectangular and really long).

No posts cause we’ve been busy with the workshops, some stupid meetings, house stuff & I managed to get another article off to a journal yesterday My eating’s been good, but no exercise to speak of, so I’ve remained mum.

Okay, no exercise, but I need to get back to recording my food at least:

Breakfast: WW toast with homemade cherry jam

Lunch: big salad with hb egg (my first salad in days, so this is me turning over a new leaf)

Snack: peach

Dinner: meatballs & mashed at ikea

Snack: kashi & blueberries

Found out the guy who runs the local feed store (where I get the dog’s food) brings in fresh veggies from his farm every morning. I’m planning to go back for green beans tomorrow (he promised them fresh off the vine & they’re hubby’s favorite) and maybe a giant cantaloupe, but for now the fridge is already packed with local corn, tomatoes, kale, potatoes, squash, zucchini, beets, and peaches, so this weekend we’ll eat like kings on nothing but the good stuff. For kicks I might just plan meals around the colors of the rainbow.

Okay, we’re off to shop again!

to help give a 2-day workshop for a local school district. Very tired, not eating well, no exercise. On top of that, the site for the workshop didn’t even have wireless, so I had no online access even during the down times & breaks.

Meetings for the next two days & they’re going to be miserable…

But hubby’s moved down & is slowly unpacking & school starts in 2 weeks, so life is about to settle down nicely. At least, I hope so!

I will say that this workshop had me in last winter’s dress slacks (our meeting room thermostat was set at about 50 degrees) & I like the way they hang so loose…so that’s an incentive: I started to imagine myself in smaller & cuter dress clothes for the winter…instead of wearing the same stuff over & over again cause nothing really fits.

So by the time the cooler weather rolls around, I want to hear myself utter the words, “gee, I guess I better go shopping cause everything I own is miles too big!”

That’s all for now…these workshops really drain me & I’m sitting here just dreaming of crawling into bed, which isn’t good since we really need to get some groceries into this house tonight or I’ll be eating crap for breakfast tomorrow. Okay, time to motivate!

Cheers ya’ll!

I’m battling a stomach bug or food poisoning or something, so light posting, no exercise, no eating until further notice

Hey, maybe I’ll drop some weight, although not my preferred method of doing so.

No need to come looking for me tiny2b, but thanks for the threat, which was my first smile all day.