Goals for December

Ah December… time for bundling up, Christmas lights, lots of tasty treats and weight gain! Nooo!! I’m finally getting to a happy weight (currently 156ish), I don’t want to undo all of my hard work.
So my goals for December:

• Strength workouts 3 X’s per week
• Indulge on Christmas treats only at holiday parties – this means no bringing home a bag of Christmas candy and having Starbucks baked goods everyday (the mint brownies did me in last year – they don’t have them this year). And if I do indulge, move on and get back on track as soon as possible (not waiting until January 1st).
• Keep spending in check
• At least 1 good sweaty cardio session a week.
• Don’t beat myself up if I don’t work out 5 or 6 times a week.
• Relax.

My Marathons

Spoke to my father on the phone this morning. He asked me if I've done any more marathons lately. By marathons he means races, in my case 5K's. I told him that  are nowhere near a marathon.  And he said "to most people they are".
Gave me something to think about.
I work out 5 - 7 days a week. My husband works out 5 - 7 days a week. I read fitness and weight loss blogs daily, listen to weight loss and running podcasts, read books and magazines on fitness, weight loss and running. So in my world, working out 5 - 7 days a week is normal.
But to most people, it's not. Not everyone gets up early to hit the gym before work or come home from work and do 40 minutes of cardio before making dinner at 7 p.m. Most people don't get excited about sweating, work out DVD's and running races (that they have no chance in winning). Most people don't look forward to the week-end so that they can get in a good 40 minute run.
I should be aware of this. Fall 2008, I'd get out of bed and every joint in my body was stiff. I had to stand in the shower for 20 minutes to allow the hot water to loosen up my joints. I limped to work. I was given a special elevator key so that I wouldn't have to take one flight of stairs down to my office. My physiotherapist recommended that I try swimming twice of week, but not to push myself, so limit my pool time to 20 minutes. I was overjoyed when she gave me the okay to try using an exercise bike - but only on the lowest setting and only for 10 - 15 minutes at a time.
I need to keep this in mind every time that I go out for one of my "marathons". No matter how hard it is, how slow I am, it's an accomplishment.

Recap

• Out of the 160’s!! Only took 9 months but I’ll take it. Currently hovering between 156 and 158. I haven’t seen 156 on the scale since 2007.
• Loving Turbo Jam Cardio Party and Booty Camp Fitness's Intermediate workout DVD.
• Husband is still P90X’ing and looking buff.
• I’m finally following a good running plan and improving my stamina. However, its getting chilly. Either need to invest in winter running gear or hibernate on the treadmill for a couple of months.
• October 5K was good – time was exactly the same as Island Girl 5K in September but had lots of fun! And the husband is considering starting racing too! (he’s already faster than me). Did not run the 10K which I think was a good decision.
• Eek! It’s November already. How’d that happen???

 
October 5K – wearing my new favourite running top.

Monday

So dark and dreary outside today. Cold, rainy.
My plan for today was to go for a run after work, but by the time I got home, I was slightly soggy and just felt like staying in. So instead, I dug out an old favourite:


Turbo Jam!
I did the 20 minute workout which was perfect for me today. Tons of fun. The music in Turbo Jam is great, not the usual non descript techno music that’s in most videos.

Week-End Over

Sigh… I need more week-end.
I’ve been on a money saving kick so part of that means limiting my week-end activities to things that won’t lead to spending money (i.e.. walking around the mall to browse = not good). This past week-end, I decided to just veg at home. The husband is at work during the day so good opportunity to get some stuff done.
Saturday morning, after spending an hour watching Gossip Girl and knitting, I set off on a run. I set the nike+ for the basic setting as I just wanted to see how far I would go. I’d turn around once I felt like it.
I ended up running 7.5km in 58 minutes. This is the furthest I’ve run, my pace wasn’t too bad (8ish minute/km – combo of running and walking). I was pretty beat for the last 2km though. Hopefully this will make 5K seem like a walk in the park.
Note to self – when its 10 degrees Celsius outside, a t-shirt doesn’t cut it. I was chilly for the first 20 minutes of my run. Time to bring out the long sleeve shirts.
Saturday evening I did half of the husband’s P90X Kenpo video with him but my legs were pretty tired out, so I left him to go read a book.
Sunday morning I did half of Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones with my 3 pound weights. I like the moves in that video and it feels challenging, but I’m not feeling it at all today. Maybe need to move onto the 5 pounders.
Sunday evening did another P90X video with the husband – Stretch X. Exactly what I needed! Felt wonderful. It’s really a good full body stretch – you even stretch out your fingers. I was jelly afterwards.
Eating is on track (I’m targeting 1700 calories per day), joints don’t hurt. Overall a good week-end.

Rainy than Sunny Day?

Weird weather today. It was just pouring cats and dogs and now sunny and lovely outside. Weird.
As expected, I didn't work out last night. Got home from work around 7 than just wanted to veg. It was raining too so not the best weather for running.
Woke up early this morning and hit the gym for a shoulders/chest/triceps/quad workout.
The husband started P90X yesterday. He was doing the plyometrics DVD today when I got back from the gym and yesterday he did the Chest/Shoulders dvd. I asked him how it went and he said he felt like he was going to throw up. I think I'll skip that.
Having doubts about the 10K race in October. I'm definitely not going to be ready for it and two races in one week-end is a bit much. But I get a shirt! (I run for swag). I don't know. I'll see how I'm feeling in a couple of weeks.

Island Girl 5K

Couple of weeks ago, I participated in the Island Girl 5K on Toronto Island.
Morning was pretty chilly. Took the ferry over around 7:30. The race didn’t get underway until 8:45.

(Yes, that’s me. Looking very incognito).
There was only 75 people or so doing the 5K. The Island Girl half marathon was starting after the 5K was done.
As per normal, I was pretty slow and near the back of the pack. It was fun running on the island. I didn’t feel like I was moving very quick though. I wasn’t feeling great for the entire run but I just wanted to do it and finish.
One thing I didn’t like about this race is that the route was open to the public. Which is fine when you’re getting passed by bikers and other runners, but at one point I had a truck behind me. Good incentive to run faster.
The finish line of this race was pretty cool. The half marathoners were lining the chute and cheering and clapping. I know they were cheering were everyone but it was a great push at the end. I saw the clock just over 40 minutes and thought “there’s no way I’m not finishing this race faster than the last” and booted it.



Results:
Time: 40:31
Chip time: n/a (not sure why I didn’t get a chip time but it didn’t take me long to cross the start line)
Pace: 8:07
Place: 60/75

My time for my first race was 41:26 and my pace was 8:22 so I’ve improved! Yay!

Oops

Yesterday morning I signed up for another 5K - Toronto Women's 5 miler/5K on October 23rd. It's the same course I ran on August 28th so I figure it'll be a good opportunity to see how much (if any) I've improved.
Than after work I stopped by the Waterfront Marathon expo . I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some info on other races (which I did).
The booth for an upcoming 10K had a wheel to spin and you could win a discount off the registration fee or free registration. I won the free registration so now I'm registered to run the Audi Best Buddies 10K on October 24th. Oops.
Back to back races in October? And a 10K????? EEEKK!!!

Week-End Recap

Started Sunday morning with a great 5.5km run. At least 5.5k according to my nike+ which I think is off a bit. The 5K race I did the other week came out to 5.2 according to the Nano.
My speed has improved since my race and the first 3K were a breeze. The last two and a bit, bit harder and I have to walk more. Need to work on that. The weather though was perfect – bit cool, sunny.
Only other thing I did on Sunday was pop up to the mall to pick up a new under armour t-shirt and try on some longer bottoms. I’ve built up a summer running wardrobe, but my little shorts and sleeveless shirts won’t cut it once it starts getting cooler.


I tried on the Run Fast Crop at Lululemon and quite like them, but I can’t justify spending Lululemon prices right now.

Saturday, the husband and I went to the CNE to walk around.

We avoided the chocolate covered bacon and the deep fried butter. I did come home with a slice of Irish Cream Fudge though (yummy).

Long Week-End!

Actually just a regular week-end for me, I had to work yesterday.


(random cat photo)

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Went to the market yesterday and got local strawberries and wild blueberries!! The husband doesn’t understand the point of paying more to buy local berries. He complains that they’re too small (that’s cause they weren’t pumped full of crap to make them grow to the size of small apples – strawberries are not supposed to be hand fruit) and he doesn’t find a difference in the taste, but I disagree. We’ve gotten California strawberries from the grocery store that taste like nothing. These berries are full of flavour and the strawberries are actually red inside, not white.
It’s pretty cool here today, 19 degree high and sunny so perfect day for a run!

Toronto Women's 5K 2010

I had my first race on August 28th, 2010.

I wasn't feeling overly prepared. I did one 3K run the week prior and two weeks prior, I was in Vegas drinking too much and not excercising. Also, I didn't sleep very well the night before.
I followed some good advice from the web, and prepped all of my stuff the night before. The husband rented a car for the morning, so we didn't have to take the bus which was fantastic.
We got there nice and early. Was a bit chilly which makes for good running weather.
I brought my ipod with me so I could use my nike+ but I hadn't brought my ear phones as it was "strongly discouraged". But lots of people had earphones in so the husband was nice enough to let me borrow his. Need my tunes!

I was flipping nervous and stayed near the rear of the pack (36 minute+ category).

Once we got started, I got into a bit of a zone. I ran better than I ever have. I had no issues with my pacing, I wasn't panting. I wasn't concerned about the other runners. I ran more than I walked. I did get tired out on the last kilometre, but once I saw the finish line, I picked up the speed.

My overall goal was just to finish and I did. I was on such a high afterwards.
How'd I do?
Time: 41:48
Chip time: 41:26
Pace: 8:22
Category Pace (Women 30 - 39): 72/81
Gender Place: 236/263
I didn't come in last! Not a fast run, but not bad for a chick who was limping everywhere this time two years ago.
I thought about it later, and this was the first time that I voluntarily participated in a sporting event in my entire life!
Bring on the next race!!

Vegas!

The husband and I were in Vegas from the 12th - 20th. Bit long for a Vegas trip perhaps, but he was playing in a dodgeball tournament for 2 days.
We drank too much, ate too much, got too much sun.
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We walked from the Mirage to Mandalay Bay and back (if you've been to Vegas - you know that's pretty far! And in 41 degree heat! My camera melted!).

Went to the Grand Canyon, saw Cirque de Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio.

Worked out once (boo), won $200 on slots (yay!), came back 4 pounds heavier (boo) and had a great time (yay!!)

Bad Blogger...

So what have I been up to?

• Went to Vegas!
• Ran my first 5K!
• Up 4 pounds (boo)
• Living relatively pain free!

More on all of these things later. I'm on my lunch break at the moment so not much time to blog.

Week-End Recap

Started Sunday morning with a great 5.5km run. At least 5.5k according to my nike+ which I think is off a bit. The 5K race I did the other week came out to 5.2 according to the Nano.
My speed has improved since my race and the first 3K were a breeze. The last two and a bit, bit harder and I have to walk more. Need to work on that. The weather though was perfect – bit cool, sunny.
Only other thing I did on Sunday was pop up to the mall to pick up a new under armour t-shirt and try on some longer bottoms. I’ve built up a summer running wardrobe, but my little shorts and sleeveless shirts won’t cut it once it starts getting cooler.


I tried on the Run Fast Crop at Lululemon and quite like them, but I can’t justify spending Lululemon prices right now.

Saturday, the husband and I went to the CNE to walk around.

We avoided the chocolate covered bacon and the deep fried butter. I did come home with a slice of Irish Cream Fudge though (yummy).

More Holiday

Yesterday was Canada Day and I was very lucky to also get today off work. Yay!
I convinced Hubby to come shopping with me. I got an unexpected bonus at work and while I'm going to save most of it, I wanted to buy a bit of a treat.

Astro crops from Lululemon. I tried on a bunch of pants, but I really like the length on these. They're shorter than my other lulu crops and have a tiny pocket.
This evening, I went to my condo's fitness class. Only 4 people tonight, but that was alright. I burned off the veggie burger I had for lunch.

Insights

I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I've counted points on and off for years. I'm a lifetime member at Weight Watchers, but I'm currently 20 pounds over my goal weight.
I recently gave up on the whole counting points thing and started counting calories instead. I use Live Strong's Daily Plate to track my food.
On Live Strong, you enter your weight and whether you want to maintain your weight, lose 1 pound a week, etc along with your activity level. Live Strong gave me a calorie goal of 2088 calories.
As someone who has dieted on and off for years and was eating 22 points (about 1300 calories), this seems absolutely ridiculous. 2000 calories??? I set my own goal of 1250, figuring that my BMR is between 1500-1600 calories.
Yes, I lost some weight. But 1250 calories when I work out every day? Bit insane.
I recently started listening to Fat 2 Fit Radio podcast and they advocate eating the amount of calories necessary to maintain your goal weight.  For me, it would be between 1740 - 2500 calories, depending on activity level.
After listening to back to back episodes for the past two weeks, I'm comfortable now to increase my daily calories. I'm aiming for 1750 daily, adding in 200-300 more on days that I work out.
We'll see how this goes.

Arthritis Walk and Lazy Sunday

I'm not doing too well with this whole blogging thing.
So let's review my week, shall we?
Last Sunday, hubby and I participated in the Walk to Fight Arthritis. As someone who has arthritis, I was pretty gung-ho to do this and so this is how we spent the morning of our 1 year anniversary!
It was kind of odd. Odd in that I really encounter other people with arthritis in my day-to-day life. But at the arthritis walk, I saw people who are clearly not doing as well as I am. Younger kids walking with canes, women in their 30's and 40's with crutches. I'm damn lucky to be doing as well as I am.
They had a table set up where you could fill in a "I'm walking for..." sticker. I crossed out the 'for' and wrote in "So I can keep walking". It was a pretty emotional day for me - surrounded by people who are struggling with similar conditions, and here I am, plowing through a 5K walk in 45 minutes. We got in before some of the people doing the 1K.
This Sunday, started my day lazing on the couch with some coffee. Work out didn't happen until 10ish - 20 minute Zumba DVD (love Zumba), 20 minute ab workout, 15 minute booty booster and 20 minutes of yoga (all on Booty Camp Ultimate Home Edition DVD ). Food has been on track today. Bought some plants (basil, cilantro and Gerber daisies - my favourite!) and re-potted them. Going to make some healthy hamburgers for dinner tonight and chill out.

Down

I lost 2 pounds this past week! Yay!
What I'm doing:
- eating between 1500 - 2100 calories daily
- lots of clean, whole foods. Little bit of treats thrown in now and then (Starbucks, banana Popsicles)
excercise, excercise, excercise. I got in 5 workouts last week with 2 rest days. I've usually done 6 or 7 work outs. Maybe rest days are good.
- Weighing myself every day. This might be obsessive, but I'm finding that it desensitizes the scale . I hated when I was weight once a week, and I'd think I worked really hard and then the scale haven't budged and then I'd wait another week to weigh again. This way, I'm watching all week and tweaking things as needed.
On an unrelated note - DH painted our entry way the other day.

It's rather bright, but we both really like it.

Back on Track

Or trying to be at least.
I  was so on track in April. I was eating clean, working out 5 days a week.
Than I went on vacation.
One week at an all-inclusive in Jamaica and I up 5 pounds. Buffets, drink, lounging on the beach. We did try to be active - we climbed Dunn's River Falls and I participated in some crazy resort activities. Got in one proper workout but the gym was so hot, it was difficult.

It was fabulous though. Love Jamaica.
So one week of vacation turned into 3 weeks of half assed calorie counting. I haven't gained anything, but I haven't lost anything either.
June is a very quiet month at work (not working any strange hours) so I'm going to track everything I eat and work out at least 5 times a week (maybe more if I can work it in). Hubby and I are headed to Las Vegas in August which is about ten weeks away so I'm setting a goal to lose 10 pounds by than.
Bring it on.

C25K

Slept sooo well last night. To the point that I didn't want to get up this morning.
I find that on days that I work out, I sleep better which is good motivation to work out most days.
Yesterday morning, I did the dreaded Week 5 workout 3 of the Couch to 5K program - warm up walk for 5 minutes, run 20 minutes, cool down walk for 5 minutes.
I started up with the C25K program early in April. I've never been a runner. Even back in elementary school - I hated tag cause I hated running. Now running a race seems like the ultimate marker of being fit.
Every time I complete another run, it feels like an accomplishment. Fall of 2008, I could barely walk. My knees were stiff, my feet were in pain. I was doing physiotherapy at the time and my work outs than were try to do the stationary bike for 15 minutes. So when I think of how far I've come, I'm really happy.
So yesterday I managed to run for 20 minutes in one go, no stopping. It wasn't a fast run - I had the treadmill set for 4.8 with no incline. But I still did it.

Why Fit RA Chick?

I'm 30 years old and have struggled with my weight for my entire life. After being a slightly chubby teenager, I gained a bunch of weight in my early 20's until I hit my heaviest point at 198 pounds. I joined Weight Watchers in 2005, started exercising and lost 60 pounds in 10 months.
I kept the weight off for about a year and a half than 20 pounds slowly crept back on. Than in 2008, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis which just completely complicated matters. I was in constant pain. Walking was difficult. I'd get out of bed in the morning and my joints would be stiff for 2 hours. Needles to say - exercise wasn't happening. I gained another 15 more pounds.
So now - my RA is pretty much under control thanks to a crazy combination of medications. I'm back into exercising, lost 10 of the 35 extra pounds and gradually increasing my fitness level. Figured a blog would help keep me on track.
Being a fit chick with Rheumatoid Arthritis is my ultimate goal.