Aches and panes

Ohh...I am sore. And if I weren't sitting in front of a window, in an office building, I would probably lie on the cool, cool floor to try and find relief. I hate it when I take a break from weight lifting. On the day that I get the brilliant idea to go back to it, I wreck myself for the rest of the week. I know, I know. The key is "Don't stop". But...there are so many more interesting places to be than the gym! It doesn't help that I can't hike, or swim, or do any lovely outside activity because the East Coast is locked in a death match with the sun (and losing). It's miserable outside. But on a positive note, one of the shows I'm working on is finished, the other is in rehearsal, and I'm down another couple of pounds. A few more, and it'll be noticeable on my frame. I'm excited. And...that's really all the news. It's a cruel, cruel summer.

Paint on my hands, a smile in my heart, and an ache in my hamstrings

Hey faithful friends! It is I, one of the Mcbloggers. It has been three weeks since implementing the plan, and so it's time for some feedback. As you know, I broke down my 13 week plan into weekly "bites". I was going to tackle one thing each week. Week 1 was intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is basically the idea that if you regulate when you eat, it serves your body better. Medical science is starting to back this up (in rats), and fitness gurus support it as well. In fact, all my life I've heard "Don't eat after 8. Ladies can't burn fat as well after 8". Well, what I'm doing is not so startlingly different - I eat now from 11am - 7pm and fast the rest of the time. I have water,and unsweetened tea, though, so it's not a complete fast. The goal of the rest period is not to get the hackles of my insulin receptors up. And let me tell you, I feel pretty good, I sleep well, I don't crave a sugar shot first thing in the morning anymore, either. Week 2. Week 2 was all about working out. I got to yoga three times a week, and added in some commute walking. The original plan was to start going back to the gym but that'll be difficult til W get's out for the summer. What I'm really digging though, and the one thing I thought I'd have a crazy hard time with,is the idea of the "active recovery day". These are days that I don't specifically set out to work out,but maybe I'll hike a little, or take a stroll, or play frisbee in the park. This week, while my show is in tech week, I've been squatting, stretching, and lifting set pieces to paint them. I am covered in paint, I'm exhausted (I've had about 6 hours of sleep in the past two days), and my legs hurt. Yay for THAT! There is not one day this week that finds me sitting on my ass the entire day. And I'm completely fine with that. Week 3 was supposed to be a meditation day, but honestly, I'm not ready to move from fasting and working out yet. So I pushed off a week, and will start meditating again, 10 minutes of sitting a day, on Sunday. Things are otherwise good. I'm down 3 lbs this month (!), my best friend graduated, and my show is going up. I had what I think was a good audition last week, and I get to spend all next week with my sibs. And their pool, stocked fridge, and better cable package. A good way to start summer, I think!

I'm here, I'm here

I'm just very sore. Aggressive working out combined with intermittent fasting in addition to my successful quest to add my silly name to the Dean's List means that I'm a tad bit sleep deprived. BUT I'll be back, and in full force soon. Maybe even later on this evening, if you play your cards right, you saucy minx.

Health Transcendentalist

Emerson said "Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience". Well, I'm always working toward being a little more patient, especially with myself, but this week I did more tromping through nature than I did emulating her. The B's, one of my favorite families, and I went on a long, long hike on Sunday. 5.5 miles to be exact. Not bad for a few hours worth of walkin'. I kept up with an elementary schooler, so that's something :) We walked dirt paths, stream beds, rocky trails. I took a tumble, and have some nice, yellowing bruises for my effort. And I got to spend my afternoon with great, likeminded people. Pretty good for a lazy Spring Sunday. I like Emerson, and the whole transcendentalist thing; sparks of the divine everywhere you look, communing with nature, seeing G-d in the great outdoors. It's easy to feel spiritually attuned when gazing at a waterfall, or out over a flowery meadow. It's less easy to keep your breath steady when the way to said meadow is fraught with hills and streams to fjord. I love hiking because, well, I can set my own pace. The hills that I'm trying to climb will be there whether I pump up them at 4 miles an hour, calves a'screaming, or go slower, at 2. And when I get to the top, I'll have a beautiful view waiting for me. This kind of reminds me of my weight loss goals in general. I've crawled along at turtle's pace, and just lately I've been chugging along a little harder. The hill is still there, when I wake up and whenever I can't get out of seeing myself nekkid (I guess I don't NEED to shower so often), and when I have to buy clothes. But when I reach my goal, the top as it were, there will be some great things waiting for me. I'll be able to run, jump, keep up with my younger siblings. I'll have energy, I'll feel better, and I'll know that I can take care of myself. That I can set and meet a goal, wear a swimsuit without fear, NOT get the beetus. Paint my toenails without contorting. Or maybe you always contort when you do that? I don't know. I repeat this to myself over and over again, that I'll be better if I just get off my ass. After seven hours of classes when I just don't want to move, after hours behind a desk, or a book, or the computer, I try to motivate myself. Until I can keep pace with my friends and their 5ks, I'll continue to keep Emerson on the brain, and keep pace with nature, and the hare, and all those other patient people who did not take all their weight off in a day. This next hike is for you.

Go to hell, stairs.

No matter how much weight I can lift, how long I can run, or how many flows I can sweat through (okay, the answer to that is still that if you make me yoga for more than 20 minutes, I will lie, defeated, in child's pose for a bit), stairs still give me trouble. I'm down 20 lbs since I started paying attention to this blog (which is not the same as when I started it), I feel great, I eat healthily...and I still get completely winded when I have to go more than 3 flights of stairs at a go. We're all told that if we want to be healthier, we should take the stairs. This is utter bullshit. Opting for stairs over elevator is not going to get us out of heart attack country unless we're climbing ten flights, multiple times a day. And how cringeworthy is it to truck up a couple flights and have to fight to hold your breath at the top so that your mates don't see you gasping. Like they don't notice you turning red, right? Right. It's embarrassing. It's discouraging. And I think it might be partly psychosomatic. I wonder if, knowing stairs are trouble spots, I freeze up a little. Are my eyes sending signals to my brain - "Brain to Lungs. Brains to Lungs. Attention. Stairs Ahead." To which the lungs shout back "Shut down like Madagascar during a sneezing fit. Got it" I dunno. You guys got any athletic hiccups? PS - As you can see by my not blogging Sunday, hot yoga was a tad traumatic. I think that once I get more sure of my poses, and can flow better, I can focus a little. I can't deal with both the heat and the lack of prowess. One's okay, but not both.

Another goal, another muscle ache

I've got a couple new short term goals that I'd like to share with you, Internet.

Goal number 1 - Complete the 30 day yoga challenge! I started today - the plan is to do AT LEAST 20 minutes of yoga a day, for 30 days. This should hypothetically be easy because I have an internship in a yoga studio...but I make it to a class MAYBE once a week. That's got to change because I'm working for free if I don't go. I'm one of the 87 people on the yogachallenge subreddit. See if you can guess who I am.

Goal number 2. Even though I haven't officially been invited...and I'm pretty sure it's a family only event...my friend and fellow blogger D, is hiking our state's part of the Appalachian Trail for his birthday. It's a good 40 miles. It'll take a week. And he's totally inspired me. So, even though I'm not going, I'm training like I am. I've been doing 5k plus miles every day, plus hitting the bike and the rower extra hard (that rower is worse than a bag full of kittens on fire. I hate it so much), and still lifting. We'll see...hopefully I'll be in shape...D...if you change your mind... :)

If you're a reader, I highly recommend A.J. Jacobs new book "Drop Dead Healthy". It's a great look at faddy nutritional frenzy done "off the deep end" style, which is what A.J. does best. When you've finished laughing your ass off, consider picking up his other books. Listen to his Ted Talk. Follow him on Twitter. Stalk him on Facebook. Like ya do.
Disclaimer: Jacobs doesn't pay me to promote him or encourage cyber stalking...but I'm hoping he'll come across this in a fit of narcissistic googling and give me a shout out.

My platonic lifemate, T, is doing the Warrior Dash! He's raising money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, a great cause. If you know him, or don't, and want to donate, you can find him here.

Tomorrow is my first hot yoga class, and I'll report back if I survive.

Namaste, you crazy kids.

Elbow powers, activate!

My elbow is no longer shooting painful spikes into my arm! It still hurts, but I think it'll be all right by mid-week. Til then, no bowling, no lifting.
I did play some catch today in the yard. Does anyone else get as excited as a laundry basket full of puppies at the thought of playing catch?

Today I did not work out. It's post-Pesach weekend...I can't say I ate very well, either. But I did get the chance to do something nice for someone. I learned a bit. Despite the discomfort I was in, it was a great day. I hope you had a great day, too.