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.

I reek of Tiger Balm

This week, I have covered my arm in Tiger Balm because of a muscle injury.
Did I injure myself lifting more weights? Doing yoga? Saving kittens from a tree? Something awesome?

No. I did not.

Fucking. Bowling.

I twisted my elbow bowling.

Now I'm getting shooting pains in my elbow. I can't support myself, so no weight lifting, no yoga, no frisbee or catch...my arm being immobile effectively nixed all of my favorite sports activities this week, and I have rarely been more frustrated with my body.

The upshot is that, while I haven't worked out much, my diet has sped along this week. Pesach forced me to cut out cookies, white bread, soda, etc, so I've eaten my weight in veggies. My cupcake cravings haven't subsided, but they're MUCH more manageable then they were at the beginning of the week, when I was headachy and grouchy.

I was surprised that I had such a visceral reaction to my lack of sweet stuff. I didn't think I was that sugar dependent. I went through a withdrawal period of a few days though, snapping and feeling ill, and being miserable. I'm torn between allowing myself a post Pesach celebratory cookie...and continuing to stay off the stuff. Because I'm still not sure I can stop at just one. I am still the girl who once ate an entire box of Thin Mints.

Right here and now, Jacky!

I had a fitnissy week (yes, I know it's not a word, just go with it), and it's inspired me to updates. Also, the only things that aren't sore today are my hands, so I might as well put them to work.

Wednesday, I went bowling...which I didn't think was giving me much of a workout, until I woke up with forearm pain - I DID do it for three hours straight...and I wasn't scarfing down bad bowling alley pizza.
Here's a question. If someone bowling next to you orders pizza, and leaves half of it on the table when the leave the lanes...is it totally gross to want to take it and eat it? I was watching. They didn't spit in it or anything. That pizza was perfectly good!! I'm sure W wouldn't have appreciated my pizza pilfering though, so I left it.

Thursday, yesterday, I went to the gym. W has been on me about getting back into weight lifting (I PICK THINGS UP AND PUT THEM DOWN!), and so I did a 5xx5 shoulder press at 55lbs, a 1x5 deadlift at 95, and worked on my squat form. I used the rowing machine to warm up. The rowing machine - is that hell on a track, or what? I was on that damned thing for ten minutes, and I thought I was going to die. Although I did stare at my legs for ten minutes, and that was nice, in a completely conceited way. Parts of me are quite tubby, but I've got great legs.
Anyway, after the gym, we picked up T and headed to Soldier's Delight for a 2.5 hike. If you've never hiked SD before, you should. The Serpentine trail is great, full of hills, and scenic. I like to imagine that I'm walking across America. I start in the tree heavy south east, near the mountains. I move downward, onto the prairie, toward the plains, and end up back again in Northern California.

Full disclosure here. What I really do is pretend I'm Jack Sawyer, walking across America, going to retrieve the Talisman. I'll give you a minute to google that.

I was so exhausted by my "day of health", that I skipped yoga, but I DID go this morning. Lots of stretching sore muscles. An ex-boyfriend told me once that if you continue to use your muscles while they're hurting, they'll hurt less. I did not find this to be entirely inaccurate, actually. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that was a load of crap, but apparently not.

I'm down seven lbs since the last time I posted, which was a few months ago. That's not SO bad, but I could have done better. On the weeks when I lose, I stand on the scale and think "I CANNOT keep up with this level of activity". I do, though. I'm outside a lot more, and I'm starting to feel the benefits. I can run up a hill without panting. I can play frisbee for an hour without wishing for death. When my muscles hurt, I think "Man, I didn't know I had muscles there! I wonder what they're called! That's neat!" (and then I take an aspirin).

I could get used to this. I mean, I'd better get used to this, but...it's starting to not be so hard.

K


PS - If you have five minutes, please read this blog post. Even if you don't read mine, read this one. It's important.

Verily, I have a new reader

It works, D!

Also, I should update.

I'm down five lbs since the new year!! And, although my cravings for chicken breast (of all things, don't as me why) have not subsided, my overall meatlessness is still working for me.

I'm starting the couch25k (again) tomorrow, and am about to do Day 2 of the 100 push up challenge. Oh, the things I get talked into.


Happy New Year!