There is no “Can’t” in Candace

Ems spouted this BS quote at me last weekend while we were running. I suppose it was said to encourage me to finish my run strong, but I am not sure it helped as it made fantasize about punching her in the nose. NOW she is encouraging me to participate in the Mini-Marathon in May. By participate I mean RUN the mini-marathon. I do believe she has lost her mind.

Every time she says encouraging things like “There is no CAN’T in Candace” I have a messed up tape in my head that says I can’t do stuff. However, with her encouragement and my ignoring the bad tape I began a couch to 5K program about four weeks ago. This week I am working on the week four workout redux. This workout has me running twice for five minutes. FIVE WHOLE MINUTES WITHOUT STOPPING. I think that will be a little less than .4 mile and very hard. During this week’s interval I am running a total of 16 of the 21 minutes. FYI…four weeks ago I would have said that was impossible.

Even though I have achieved what I deemed impossible a mere four weeks ago I still cannot possibly conceive of running 13 miles when five minutes is a challenge. But why?

A few weeks ago I was at a Rock Band party with several friends and I was playing the drums. The drums are my nemesis. They are hard for me and I don’t seem to correlate the sound of the drum stick hitting the drum to the pictures of the notes on the screen. If the beat is slow I can muddle my way through, but if it gets faster I cannot stay on beat. Sigh!!!

So I was playing the drums and I decided to play on the medium level for a while as I usually lounge in the easy level. I failed out. Not just once but I failed out three times in one song and that kicked me out of the song. Hm… I commented to my friends that in the year that I have been playing Rock Band I have never failed out of a song.

The first response I got was “If you have never failed out of a song then you must have never pushed yourself” and the others in the room nodded in agreement (I should mention that the room was full of athletic competitive males). At the time I ignored the comment off but I find that it is still haunting me.

If I have never failed….then I must have never pushed myself.

I quit running last year after two weeks. Was that failing or quitting. I suspect quitting. Why do I think it is better to quit than to fail?

Should I look at this as a challenge? I really really have a hard time believing that I could run 13 miles. I guess I could run and walk it but I WOULD NOT want to be picked up by the loser bus. Really…there is such a thing. If you don’t keep a pace to finish in an 18 minute/mile minimum pace they make you get on the loser bus. That would be four hours start to finish. Eeek. FYI my comfortable walking pace is a 20 minute mile.

It is interesting to me that I am scared of a 13 mile run but I think nothing of starting a 66 mile ride on my bike and I know that I will finish no matter what.  I no longer have any fear of what I can accomplish while cycling and I often think that I am Superwomen and I can do anything.  This is not the case with running.

Is it really fear that is preventing me from entering? Am I really afraid of failing. I think it is everything. I still don’t know. Like most people I really hate the feeling of failure. On a bike ride this summer I was scheduled to ride the 50 mile course and I discovered that my legs and body did not want to cooperate with me that day so I ended up doing the shorter course of 30 miles. I felt like a quitter and a failure all at the same time. It was horrible and I don’t want to repeat that feeling. Plus my friends got sick of me complaining about how horrible it was that I ONLY rode 30 miles.

Perhaps I should start with a smaller goal. Say running an entire 5K before I commit to a half marathon.

New Gym

A month ago I was able to get a free 30 day trial membership to a gym near my work.  I have a couple friends who utilize their facility as well as several co-workers.  My free membership was expiring this week so I decided to officially join tonight after my workout. 

Let me start by saying that I really HATE salespeople.  I often find them smarmy and not genuine.  I remember going to buy a car one time and telling my brother in advance that I wasn't going to talk to the salesperson.  It was his job to ask all of the questions and talk because I knew the salesperson would annoy me.  He did.

This particular gym has an entire staff of sales people in charge of getting new members and they are everything I dislike about salespeople.  I took a deep breath before I began this transaction but it didn't take long before it went downhill.


As we were walking to his office he looked at me and asked me when was the last time I worked out.  I gave him a blank stare and said that I didn't understand the question.  I didn't understand the question because I was wearing my bike shorts and athletic shirt and I just finished a 60 minute spinning class and 30 minutes of running and walking intervals.  I LOOKED like I just finished working out.  My hair was all wet from sweat and very messy.  My cheeks were pink from exertion and I was carrying a bag of my street clothes.  So...stupid or just unobservant?


I glossed over that question and we moved forward.  At one point he displayed the website that shows their extra fee services.  There was a listing of three classes.

1.  Team Boot Camp
2.  Team Fitness
3.  Team Weight Loss

He looked at the list and then he looked at me.  He then said that there are three options.  The first one was Boot Camp but that would probably be to hard for me.  The next is a group fitness class but he would suggest the Weight Loss class.

Um...WHAT!!!!  You know I am an easy going girl and I often let many things roll off my shoulders but this pissed me off. I know that I am overweight but I am not really used to such blatant rudeness from people in the industry to help fat people.  I sat there in shock for a minute and I told him I wasn't sure if I was interested in any of the classes and we moved on.

But the longer I thought of this incident the angrier I got.  WTF was wrong with him.  Was he just an idiot.  Is this how he talks to all of the overweight people. How can he look at me and decide that the Boot Camp class would be too hard?  He doesn't know my capabilities or my workout regime.  I am not interested in the Boot Camp class but I don't want him to tell me that I COULDN'T DO IT!  Fucker!!!!

I like the gym for their great group cycling classes and I finished my membership process but the gym is now tainted for me.

Progress Report

As many of you may know, I have been on a long and winding road of weight loss and exercise. On November 30, 2009 I took body measurements in several key areas with my trainer at the gym. I decided to update my measurements tonight and to my great delight, I have made some noteworthy progress in the last two months.

1. I have lost a total of 17 inches in 14 areas.

2. I have lost 3.5 inches in my chest. I know...girls don't usually like to loose in this area...but I am quite happy with the results.

3. I have lost 1 inch in each bicep.

4. I have lost 2.5 inches in my hips.

5. I have lost 1.5 inches in my R thigh and .5 inch in my L thigh. But, at least they are now both the same size.

I have been doing a ton of weight training so I began to think that I was getting stronger.  Last week I was feeling especially cocky so I wrote my little brother an email requesting an arm wresting contest.  I was humble when I wrote this email and said that I didn't think I could beat him but I wanted to try.  What I really was thinking was there was an itsy bitsy chance that I might actually beat him.  My brother doesn't do any working out but he is a normal enough man when it comes to his natural muscular abilities.  He is also about 10 inches taller than me and I think his femur is a good four inches longer than mine. So just with leverage he had quite an advantage.

Friday came and I went to his house for some homemade pizza and Mario.  Shortly after I arrived I reminded him of my proposed contest.  We sat down at the kitchen table and a couple of the children gathered around us.  However, I am not sure who they were rooting for.  We clasped hands and WHAM...my hand was immediately on the table.  I tried again and again and again...and he kept easily beating me.  Little Bastard!  I  told him to give me a slight break and let me try my hardest without him immediately laying me out on the table.  I still didn't win but I held him off for a good 20 or so seconds of me scrunched up my face and groaning.  He told me when we were finished that I made him use about 75% of his available strength. 

So I think we should have a rematch in about four month and I can measure that progress.  However, if I actually do get close to beating him I am not sure his pride will actually let him admit it;)  Game on Lou!

Workout Stats:

I can do about 15 traditional push-ups without collapsing.  Hell Yea...there are no girlie push-ups in my regime!
I can do about 30 leg lifts with 160 pounds.  My god that is another person!
I can do about 50 lunges holding 40 pounds.
I can bench press about 30 pounds.
I can endure Evil Trainer Mandy for 60 minutes;)

O...I have also lost about four pounds in January so my no eating in the evening decision could be working.  This brings me to a total weight loss of about 35 pounds in the last year or so.  Woot!  Woot!

"The strong-minded overcome the weak-minded!"

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast (How Stuff Works) and at the end of the podcast one of the commentators said my now infamous quote:

"The strong-minded overcome the weak-minded!"

As soon as I heard him say the quote it immediately appealed to me. I quickly wrote it down. There has been much conversation about this new tag-line that now appears on my outbound emails. Some of it involved me become an evil queen and controlling the world. Other people were worried that I was becoming a dictator or a cult leader. We finally determined that I wouldn't be a good fit in any of those categories (primarily because I would not be able to control my minions) but I think it fits me nonetheless.

I was thinking about this today when I was emailing a friend about my goal of running a 5K. I have been having some reservations of my physically ability to complete this task. Every day that I work on my running I think about quitting. The logical part of my brain doesn't want to quit but the emotional part yells to me "YOU ARE FAT AND SHOULD NOT BE RUNNING".

I was watching "The Biggest Loser" this week and one of the contestants was having a mental block that wouldn't allow her to jump up on this one foot high platform. Every time you saw her it appeared that she wasn't really trying. The fear was holding her back. I think I feel the same way. I really don't think that I will ever be able to run 3.1 miles. It seems an impossible task so why would I spend time trying.

This is where my quote comes into play. I have to approach this with my "Strong-Mind" and not my "Weak-Mind". I know that a good portion of my battle with this new challenge is going to be mental. I also have some physical obstacles to overcome. I need to work on my cardio fitness. I still get very winded and my heart rate skyrockets after one minute of running and logically I know that I just need to work on conditioning my heart. Secondly, I am having some discomfort from the ankle that I sprained in May. I was in some pain today and I had to downplay my training today. UGG...

Does anyone have any advise for me. Are there any tricks to conditioning my heart. I should tell you that I am currently working out six days a week. I usually alternate my exercise days with hard and easy workouts. This is an example of what I have done in the last week.


Friday - Day Off
Saturday - 60 Minute Walk
Sunday - 60 Minute walk/run Intervals - 60 Minute Horseback riding
Monday - Group personal training Class - 60 Minutes
Tuesday - 35 Minute running/walking intervals
Wednesday - 60 Minute walk
Thursday - 30 Minute Personal Training

Any advise or encouragement on how to overcome my mental weakness would be appreciated as I am struggling with this goal.

Walking

Part of the wellness challenge at work involves a weekly walk on Wednesday's during my lunch hour. This walk usually lasts about 30 minutes. I am trying to become a regular member of this group but I sometimes forget or get busy or just don't want to do it.

The thing is that I really don't like to walk. I cannot explain how I like to ride my bike for 20 or 30 miles, but the thought of walking a mile exhausts me. It is a conundrum. There were only three of us that participated in the walk this week. This included to guys, one of whom is very tiny and runs five or more miles several times per week. He is extremely athletic and fast. The other guy is almost seven foot tall and his legs never end. I am friends with both of these guys but I didn't think that I could keep up so I took my IPOD to entertain me.

I surprised myself by keeping up with them. I was walking a a pretty fast clip for me and I think that they were walking at their normal walking pace. I felt good that I could even keep up with that. Next week I am supposed to lead this walk and I hope that they don't expect me to walk up front.

On a side note of walking I have been having these weird reoccurring dreams/daydream that I am running down the street. No one is chasing me, I am just running for fun and exercise. I find this to be very odd considering that I don't even really like to walk. This has been happening for the last two weeks or so. I told this story to some friends and acquaintance on Friday night just for some fun and laughs. Someone tried to give me the deep meaning behind my dreams. She asked me if I have a goal that I am working towards. I said yes, to not be fat anymore. She thought it meant that I was running toward this goal.

I guess I can either think that or that I am going to become a runner sometime in my future. I would guess that it is the goal thing.

Energy

I would like to tell you all the my energy levels have returned to normal today! I am so excited after feeling so lethargic the last three days. I don't like it when I feel so un-energetic. I want to do things and have fun every day. I am glad to have ME back.

I went on a 20 mile bicycle ride yesterday and Ems mentioned that she missed my enthusiasm. I missed it to. However, I find it astounding that I was able to go on a long ride feeling that way. Secondly, I am no longer having any side effects from such a long ride. My legs and butt were fine after the ride. I even went grocery shopping afterwords. I think that I need to add some challenge to these rides. Perhaps go faster? Or add some sprints or intervals? Ems did comment that my average speed has increased from 8.5 to 10 mph.

I had my 45 minute personal training session tonight. I think that I am beginning to really like it. I wish I could afford two sessions per week. I don't know how I am going to add it to my budget after my flex spending money runs out. I did 45 "big girl" push ups tonight. I was leaning on a bench that was about a foot from the floor, but I was not on my knees and I could push myself up and down. I was very excited at this progress.

I have relatives coming into town on Wednesday evening and I am sad that I am not going to have any bike riding time this weekend. So I have decided that I need to add some in on Saturday or Sunday. If any of my friends have time on Saturday or Sunday let me know because I think I will need the stress relief.

Concentration

I am not sure if any of you have noticed but I am easily distracted. I will be talking to you and all of a sudden my mind will wonder off in a different direction. While I am at work I often try to think of way too many things at one time. I think that I have made some strives to solve this problem. I think that using my energy for biking and exercising has allowed me a bit more focus. I feel that I have been less distracted by outside influences. What do you think? Have you noticed a change in this area?

Exercise Overload

I went a bit overboard on the exercise today. Let me start by saying that my sleep is all Fuc*ed up! I didn't go to bed on Sunday night until 3:30am. That is way too late for me. I worked all day and I was actually productive. Imagine that!

I then attended my first personal training class with Hadley. She was great and worked me very hard. She had me doing what seamed like an endless set of lunges. I think that they are evil. I felt good after our 45 minute session and then drove to meet ems and zlionsfan for a short bike ride. I think that short is a relative term. I traveled 15.3 miles and rode for 1:45 minutes. This was not short considering I had already had a hard workout for 45 minutes. But, I did have some fun with my friends. I was dragging a bit for the last two miles and zlionsfan had to push me along.

I traveled the shortest distance of my friends. I think that zlionsfan traveled over 40 miles. Isn't that incredible. I don't think he meant to but it just happened. We had some conversation tonight that involved me getting a new bike (I am seriously lusting after a new one with gears but it isn't in my budget) to make these long distances easier. We even talked about eventually riding a 100 mile marathon in a day. Doesn't that seem impossible...But I now know that it isn't. It would just take some training to work up to that level. Perhaps I need to increase my average speed above 8.5 mph.

Thanks for hanging in there for my biking obsession and consequent blogs relating to the topic.


Stats:

Distance: 15.3
Odometer: 164
Average Speed: 8.7
Max Speed: 13
Time: 1:45

More Biking Fun

Today I accomplished one of my summer goals. I biked thirty miles with three of my friends (we missed you Ems). Doesn't that sound crazy and impossible! We did virtually little training to accomplish this goal. Basically, it was just me saying last weekend that we should do bike a marathon and we did it. Up until this point my maximum distance was 16 to 17 miles total distance.

We met at the Greenway at 146th Street in Carmel and we biked to the end of the Monon at 10th Street. Everything below Broadripple was boring and uninteresting. We got to see several abandoned warehouses and the back end of the Indiana State Fairgrounds. We even passed a police officer twice as we were riding.

We finished the day at Bub's restaurant for a diet Coke, burger and fries. It was exactly what my body wanted. This was an excellent way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Stats:

Time: 3:12 actual riding time
Distance: 30 Miles
Odometer: 136 Miles
Average Speed: 9.3 mph
Max Speed: 19.6 mph

Biking

I realize that there has been one or two or six blogs already about biking but it is one of my favorite activities. I think we have become obsessed! Ems, zlionsfan and I are able to talk about it for hours on end several days a week. I am not sure anything ever really comes of our talks except that we like biking and all of the accessories associated with biking.

I went on a biking adventure last night after work. When biking with friends I usually don’t care where we bike or if there is a specific aim involved but when I go by myself I like there to be a destination. When I went riding last weekend I went to the grocery store to purchase items to bake brownies. BTW…they were horrible because I am not a good baker…but that is for another blog.

My monthly book club was scheduled for Thursday evening so earlier in the week I decided that I would like to bike there from my work. I had a friend look to make sure that there was a sidewalk the entire length of 82nd/86th Street. I also did a map on my phone and it told me that it was exactly 7.2 miles each way. I decided that it was a doable amount of biking, so I told my friends of my intentions which cemented the idea in my head.

Thursday’s weather was dry but a bit cold, so when I set out I had wished for a longer pair of pants and a jacket but I quickly got warmed up. As I was leaving the parking lot I got several waves, honks and positive comments about my dedication to biking. I also think there were a few head shakes. I proceeded down the road listening to “The Cat Empire” and enjoying my quiet time as I was looking forward to this ride all day. I encountered my first problem at the fashion mall. The sidewalk ended. I stood there for a few minutes contemplating what I should do. Should I turn around and go back to work, should I try to find an alternative root or should I forge ahead. I decided to act tough and ride on the road. I had to ride about a ½ mile on the side of 82nd Street in front of the section where you enter and exit Keystone Avenue. I turned off my music and increased my awareness of my surroundings and proceeded forward. I tried to make eye contact with drivers and I made it safely to the next section of the sidewalk.

I was ecstatic that I had made it. Hurray for me…no one tried to run me over. The rest of the ride was nice and there were a couple obstacles, trees so overgrown that I had to duck to get by and hedges encroaching on the sidewalk so I had to ride in the grass. The ride there was athletically tough as I think that it was a very slight grade uphill and the wind was blowing against me. I was breathing hard often. I was very excited when I arrived because my phone told me I was 7.2 miles from my destination and my bike odometer said exactly 7.2 when I arrived. This means that it was probable calibrated correctly.

The ride back to my car was uneventful and I was able to coast a good portion of the time. These are my stats:

Time 1:40
Distance: 14.5
Average Speed: 8.6 MPH
Max Speed: 17.7 MPH
Total Odometer Reading: 88 Miles

Ems, zlionsfan and I were planning some of our summer biking goals today and we decided we needed to do a bike marathon. We think that we are ready to bike 26 miles in a row and with my average speed of 8.5 mph it should take us about 3.5 hours to complete. I think that we will need to make specific plans for this soon.

Some of my other goals include riding up the hill at Crown Hill Cemetery without walking and getting my total bike odometer to read 500 miles.

Biking Stats

Ems came over today to have a biking adventure and these are our stats. She is going to write a story next week so I will send you the link when she is finished.

Total Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
Total Distance: 15 miles
Average Speed: 8.1 mph
Highest Speed: 16 mph

Bicycle Riding Stats

I had another relaxing bike ride tonight after work. I caught the Monon trail in Broadripple and I cycled up into Carmel and back. It wasn't super fast or an extreme cardio workout, but I had great fun!

Total Riding Time: One Hour
Total Distance: 7.4 Miles
Average Speed: 7.4 MPH
Max Speed: 10.3 MPH

Bicycle Fun

It seems as Spring is finally here. I am so happy and it makes me want to go outside and ride my bike. Last weekend I tried riding and I only did two miles because it was so very windy, and as I was riding into the wind I was hardly moving.

Last fall I purchased a bike odometer on clearance for seven dollars and I had my brother install it last Sunday. It is a fun gadget that tells me how long I have been riding, how many miles I have gone, my average and my highest speed. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see the odometer increasing after every ride.

Yesterday, I took a bike ride to the Hamilton Town Centre mall to purchase a gift for my nephew who turns five on Monday. It was a rather short ride of two and half miles each way but I felt good when I was done. Five miles seemed a good accomplishment after not riding at all for the last six or so months.

Today, I wanted to be lazy. I was lounging in my bed and all I wanted to do was watch TV and Internet. I just signed up for facebook and I wanted to spend some time there trying to understand the fuss. Then I looked at the widget on my laptop and it told me that it was 57 degrees outside and it was yelling at me to get up, and to go outside and ride my bike. I got off of my but and got dressed, packed up my backpack, strapped on my IPOD and headed outside.

I brought up Jamie Cullin on my IPOD and headed out with a vague idea that I might ride over to the Fishers library to pick up a book that I have on hold. I wasn't sure that I had it in me to go that far but I wanted to try. My brother lives en route to the library so I stopped by there for twenty minutes to visit with the children, rest and decide if I was going to head home or continue on my journey.

I was determined to make it to my destination, so I headed out on my bike and continued on to the library. I went inside and got my book and a couple CD to listen to and decided to reward myself for the exercise with a decadent ice cream from Handles. This is my favorite ice cream ever. It is so very rich and creamy....I am dreaming of the wonderful taste right now. I ordered peanut butter brownie in chocolate ice cream...that is what I call heaven!

The ride home was fairly uneventful and I didn't have any stops, but it was much more difficult. I was riding into the wind for most of the time, and I have to exert much more energy to keep up a steady pace. When I got home I removed some of my layers and I fell down exhausted into my bed. I couldn't even bring myself to answer the phone when it rang. I just watched Monday's episode of Dancing with the Stars until I recouped some of my energy.

These are the final statics:

I rode 16 Miles
I rode for 1:58 hours
My highest speed was 18.2 MPH (This was downhill)
My average speed was 7.8 MPH (I would like this to be higher, but he wind was kicking my but)

So where should I go next time to beat that length? If I ride near my home I like to have a destination rather than just aimlessly riding. The library was a good goal. Will I one day get all the way to Castleton and back? Time will tell!

Push! Gym

I decided to join a new gym last week. I let my membership at the YMCA lapse in February and I was having an inner debate whether or not I should renew it. I probably would have if NM hadn't introduced me to Push! Fitness. She has a membership there and she encouraged moorewrites and I to take a free two week trial so we could attend a couple classes together. After the first visit I liked it but I still thought that the YMCA was better. Initially, I had a couple negative thoughts about Push:



1. They only have one location

2. The price is a bit high, $50 per month with a one year contract

3. There is no pool

4. The building is small

5. It is not near my house



However, after my second visit I began to notice the positive things:



1. There were NEVER any children at the facility and the YMCA is crawling with children...they are everywhere...please don't judge me for this being in the positive column

2. It was quite and serene

3. It is within five minutes of my work

4. Everyone is super nice and they gym has a very personal touch



Suddenly, the positives were tipping the scales in my head and I decided to join. However, my major objection of the high price was still weighing on my mind. Last year the owner, Jason, came to my work and gave us an exercise demonstration and hinted that if we were to join we would get a discount. When I arrived for my third visit, I asked the desk worker what the discount for my company would be? She didn't know but let me come in and get ready for my Zumba class. When I came back she announced that my employer gets a $39 monthly rate, no joining fee with a one year contract. I was sold! This was just the news I was looking for. I am always driven by price, however, if I really want something I act as if price is no object (this is in reference to me taking exotic trips each year that I probably cannot afford, but I go anyway). I gave them my credit card and I was officially a Push! gym member.

With my membership I get two training sessions with a personal trainer to explain how the weight machines worked and put me on a plan. It also includes a one hour personal training session. Another cool benefit is that the person who recommends you to the gym gets a one hour complimentary massage. Getting these free things was a nice compliment to the membership.

I arrived for my first training session on Thursday evening at 6:15 ready for my new journey. Jason, the owner, was to be my trainer until my actual trainer was ready for me. He greeted me and I chatted with him a few minutes. He mentioned that he remembered me from my employer and he was happy that I decided to join. He is a very affectionate person because he stood next to me and put his arm around my shoulders and was completely touching me. I am not used to such physical affection from strangers and it weirded me out.

The first step in my training was to get fitted with a heart rate monitor. Jason got one out and indicated that we should head to the locker room. I was confused. Was he really going to come into the ladies locker room and help me into the heart strap that goes around my middle just below my bra strap? That would have been very intimate for a strange man! I lucked out because just then my regular (female) trainer came and took over. It would have made me extremely uncomfortable to have him assist me in the locker room. As it was, I had the lady trainer help me and it made me only slightly uncomfortable. I am usually comfortable changing in the locker room in front of others but the touching is weird. As we were finishing up a lady walked into the locker room and began talking to my trainer. She asked me if I was new and after I affirmed, she began to gush and say how much she LOVED it at Push and how much I would love it also. Then she walked over to me and gave me a great big hug. Was I putting off pheromone's that I was in need of hugs? Two unsolicited hugs in one day was a bit unsettling.

After the locker room debacle I was lead over to a treadmill that is located off in the corner. She asked me to lie on the floor for five minuets to get my true resting heart rate. So there I lay on the floor...it felt like I was in the middle of the gym for everyone to ogle. I cannot believe that they got a real resting heart rate as I was extremely uncomfortable lying on the floor. When I was done she had me get up and get on the treadmill and she wanted to see how long it would take to get me up to my target heart rate. I assure you it didn't take long.

She had me on for about ten minutes and determined that I should be walking at a 2.9 rate at a 3% incline. The pace is good but walking up the hills is NOT fun. While I was walking she began asking me questions on my fitness goals. Somehow the question always makes me clam up. I think to myself...duh I am fat and I no longer want to be....why do they always ask me these questions. I just don't understand it. I gave her some lame thing about wanting to have accountability to come to the gym more often. I wish I was able to express myself better in this situation. I guess this is another thing I have to work on.

After I finished my ten minutes on the treadmill she had me lie on the floor again to see how long it would take for my heart rate to normalize. Apparently, it took too long and she told me and then she told Jason. I guess that was the indication that I was out of shape! DUH!

After the treadmill she took me to five different weight machines to get me set up with the proper settings and weights. While we were on the leg press I told her the weight was good enough, but of course she could see it in my face that I wasn't working hard enough and she had me add more and more weight. Before long I was up to 170 lbs, I guess my legs are super strong. I was OK with this exercise until she wanted me to just hold the weight up. That HURT! I guess that is the purpose.

My entire upper body was in pain the all day Friday and Saturday. I wasn't used to the weight training and my shoulders and chest area were bothering me. I know it will get better the more my body gets used to it.

Next Tuesday will be my second orientation day. I hope it goes well. I just have to learn to LIKE the gym. My first goal will to go three times a week. Currently, I am on a once a week plan.

Fun at Push! Gym

I have made a pact with two of my friends to get together once a week to work-out. This agreement has significantly increased my motivation level, at least to me working out once a week now, opposed to never going. We have been trying different locations and programs and we went to Push! in Castleton today. As usual there was a funny series of events that occurred while we were there.

After I arrived and took the tour, N and I were waking around waiting for our class to start. I realized that I had left my water bottle in the car so we headed back to the locker room so I could grab my keys, and as I was walking there was a step down. I guess I didn't see it because the next moment I was lying on the floor. I looked around in shock and started to laugh. I cannot believe that I fell down in the middle of the gym. I just got up and shook it off. I did skin my knee a little bit, but I was fine. I headed out to my car to get my water bottle and it wasn't there. I wondered to myself where I could have left it, and when I walked back in, i spied it on the front counter. Duh...it was right where I left it.


I had expected this dance class to be similar to the Zumba class I have attuned at the YMCA. I was very wrong. Basically this class was comprised of a slow warm up and stretching, some ab work and then he taught us steps to the Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) music video. I should mention that I am aware of who Beyonce is, but I am not familiar with her music. I know...I know...where have I been? Even my 5oish roommate knew the song. I think that I kind of like it.

Here is the link to youtube so you can enjoy the tune while I finish my story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g


The instructor was a very flamboyant black male who really likes the girls (Beyonce, Christina, and Brittany). He liked them so much that he named each of the students in the class after a famous female singer, I was Christina. Is there any resemblance? I didn't think so! N was Brittany and she objected, but he didn't rename her.

There were only four of us in the class so we each got extra special attention and I could not hide in the back. I guess my body is just not made for dancing. I have no rhythm and I cannot seem to remember more than three steps at once. I got confused and I was always on the wrong beat. I just flayed all over the place. I was very grateful that there wasn't a video camera in the room, or at least one that I saw. Even thought I looked like a complete dork, I had fun, and I am glad that I went to the class. The downside is that it really wasn't much of a workout. I don't think that this is the type of group exercise class that I can use for a cardio workout.

Sledding Adventure at Fort Ben Harrison State Park

I convinced my brother, his wife and four of his children to go sledding with me on Saturday afternoon. I just thought that it would be a perfect way to spend the afternoon. I wanted to go to Fort Ben Harrison State Park because they have this fabulous gigantic hill.

The hill was fairly busy when we arrived and quite crazy. There were no rules! There was a path on either side of the hill that was textured a bit to make it easier for the long climb, and I was out of breath every time I reached the top. This is a photo of Lou and Paige (she is wearing the pink snow pants) making the arduous climb.

When we first arrived and were waiting at the top for our turn we saw a horrible accident. There was a kid about six years old standing at the bottom of the hill and he was facing away from the hill and the sledders. Then this other kid gets on top of his sled and zoomed down the hill. We all watched in horror as he gained speed and SMACKED into the kid. The kid flew up in the air and over the sledder onto his back. The parent was at the top of the hill and saw it all happen. I think that the kid was OK, but it was funny and scary at the same time. We learned our lesson pretty early to keep a close eye on the crazy sledders.

This is Paige and I getting ready for the long descent. I was fairly scared the first time I went down, I didn't want to hit anyone or anything. I kept my feet off the sled as we went down to use them as brakes so I wouldn't go too fast. The side effect was that I would kick snow up on to our faces the entire ride. I don't think it was the brightest idea.



I never did get cold when I was outside for two and a half hours even though it was in the 20's. I wore an enormous amount of clothing. I had on a pair of sweet pants and then jeans. I had on a t-shirt, a sweat-shirt, and my jacket. I had on two pairs of socks as well as my running shoes. I thought that I would get better traction with my running shoes rather than my boots. I also had on two scarves, my hat and gloves. I even think that took off some of the layers at one point.

This is a photo of Sarah and I chilling at the top of the hill waiting for our turn on the sleds. You can see all of the snow accumulated on my scarf.

This is Lou and Paige preparing for their ride. He is a daredevil and he liked to go super fast.


We had a complete BLAST! I am glad that we went on this little adventure.

Working Out

In August I decided I needed a two week holiday from exercise. Yesterday, I decided that the two week break was over. Being an accountant I realize that perhaps that period of time was a bit longer than two weeks….closer to three months. I have to wonder what goes on in my brain that would allow me to completely stop exercising for so long. I did enjoy it this summer. I enjoyed seeing new muscles popping up on my body. The area most improved by the weight training was my chest area right above my breasts. I would look at in the mirror and be astounded that I could have a defined muscle in that area of my body. So why did I stop. I haven’t figured that out yet.

So in order to jump start my exercise regime again I decided to join a weight lifting class at the YMCA. This is the second WOW class (Women on Weights Class) as I had taken the first WOW class earlier this summer. So I show up last night at 7pm a bit nervous as I was feeling completely out of shape. As I meet the people in my class I realize that everyone just finished the first class the prior week and they all knew each other. I hate being the new kid. The instructor asked us if we wanted to take a pre-test to see how we are going to improve over the next six weeks. I was the only one as everyone else had finished that task last week. The test consisted of 1 minute of sit ups, 1 minute of push ups, a flexibility test, chest presses and a 5 minute cardio test. This was awful and seriously lowered my self esteem.

The first things that we did were the sit ups and push ups. So I had to do the sit ups in the traditional way, you know the instructor sat there and held my feet down and then I had to lift my body up. After I endured doing six with much exhaustion I asked how much time was left….she said 30 seconds. I felt like I couldn’t move at all. I pulled out one more and I was done. I could only do 7 sit ups. Whatever! Then I did 1 minute of push ups, at least they were the modified push ups. I start off strong and complete about 12 and then I began feeling tired…I asked how much time left and the response was 30 seconds. I had to quit again after I had done 17. So I couldn’t even complete 1 minute of either exercise.

The next item was the flexibility test. She had me sit on the floor on a mat. She put a measuring devise on the floor next to my legs and I had to bend over and stretch out far. I assure you I didn’t get very far. If you had ever noticed my body shape you might notice that all of my weight is carried in my front. I don’t have any room to sit on the floor and bend over. So I measured a 15. I don’t have anything to compare that to except that I know that it wasn’t very far. The next item on the list I couldn’t even do. It was an assisted pull up. Basically you do pull ups on this machine that has counter weights up 100lbs which somehow reduce the amount you are pulling up by 100lbs. Even with that assistance I cannot pull myself up at all. I didn’t try last night because when I tried this summer I was an utter failure.

The final test was a cardio test. I had to go hard on any cardio machine and mark how far I went, how fast I was going and what my ending heart rate was after 5 minutes. So I chose the elliptical machine and I get going and it was fine enough. I went at about 100 spins per minute, and completed .25 miles in the five minutes. The astounding thing is that my heart rate was 170 after only 5 minutes. What a poor showing. It is going to be interesting to see how much I am able to improve over the next six weeks. I somehow need to figure out why I keep quitting and change that habit.

Orienteering

As a larger girl you would think that I would have learned my lesson of what I can do with my body. Apparently, that is not the case. I have a very adventurous side to me so I decided to go orienteering on Saturday morning. If you know me you would have to know that I must have REALLY wanted to do this because it involved me being somewhere at 9am on a Saturday. I normally like to sleep till 10am and I don’t like to make commitments before noon.

Orienteering is a sport where you use a compass and a map to hike around the woods looking for flags and then you punch your card to show that you reached the flag. I struggled using the compass…I couldn't seem to get the hang of it. Reading the map was also a struggle. It wasn’t a normal map. There were several keys indicating what type of terrain you might encounter around the park, like bogs, hills, trails and ponds. At the beginning of the second course I separated from my friend to go to the bathroom and when I came out I couldn’t find her. I had to call her and we realized we were in the same parking lot…we just couldn’t see each other. I defiantly don’t want to go to the woods by myself.

So we got through the first course in 45 minutes and fairly easily. This was the beginner course and you were basically walking around on marked trails. We then took the second course which was a bit more difficult. You had to pay more attention to the map and think about where you were going to go next. As an example the most direct route to the next flag may be through swampy water, as I wasn’t interested in getting all wet we needed to plot our way around that area. As a side note, we encountered a fellow orienteer who decided to take the direct route and she was completely wet up to her knees. I guess she was trying to go fast or…just couldn’t read the map. So we finished the second course in 1 hour and 4 minutes. The website hasn’t posed our results yet...but I will let you know how we compare to the other teams.

So after we were done orienteering I decided to go to Home Depot to buy some lawn improvement items. I bought four perennial flowers, a bush and some mulch. So after an hour of rest and TV I decided to go to the front yard dig holes and redo my front flower bed. It was two hours of very physical work. I worked up lots of sweat and I had dirt and mulch all over me. When I was done I had dirt smeared all over my shirt.

So I now come to the part of knowing my body. It is still hard for me to walk today. My hamstrings and calf’s are so sore and tight it is still difficult to walk on Monday. Perhaps I could have waited to do the lawn work on Sunday?? I hope my body recovers soon. I do not like to have physical limitations; I just want to be able to do anything. Is that too much to ask?