Tag Archive | working out

Misadventures

May31

Karma bitchLately, my life has been one laughable moment after another. Nothing bad, per se except that I have unintentionally made people laugh at stupid stuff I’ve done or have had happened to me.

It all kind of started a few of weeks ago when I was at the gym running one night. I know some people are “surprised” I was at the gym, but I kind of “live” there so whatever. Anyway, this particular night, I wore some grey pants to run in. That was a mistake because about 2/3 of the way through my run, I looked down to see that I was sweating so much that it appeared that I had peed my pants. Had I been wearing black pants to run in, this would not have been a problem.

ANYWAY, when you are at the gym as often as I am, you will start to see the same people around the same time. Lately, I’ve noticed this rather attractive guy there. And he sometimes makes me “Edith googly-eyed” if I see him and he smiles and says hello. (I’M HUMAN OK!) This particular night, when I got to the gym, I didn’t see him so all was well in my world because there was no thinking, do I look unbelievably awful right now?

Continue reading →

A Fatty Tale

May29

20130528-193921.jpgI work out. A lot. I go through spurts of doing nothing and then get crazy and try to do too much to make up for my lack of nothing. Lately however, I have been on a streak where I have done something every day. I haven’t stopped doing something since the day after Turkey Day 2011. You would think that after doing all of that working out, I’d be as thin as a toothpick.

You’d be wrong. In fact, I am by all intents, purposes and definitions obese. Well, maybe not obese but definitely overweight. Why? Because at times I have eaten like complete crap and while you can exercise to your heart’s content and even so much that you pass out (I’ve kind of had that happen) unless you clean up your diet, you will be overweight. It doesn’t help when you end up using food for comfort when all other things in life are going as badly as possible. And it also doesn’t help when for so many cultures, food is a way to show affection for people. If you go somewhere and don’t eat, then it is viewed as an insult. Sometimes not eating is just because you aren’t hungry and can’t stomach another bite, but you will eat anyway so as not to offend others.  Continue reading →

Adjusting

Feb9

I start training in earnest on Monday. I am planning on running about nine races this year and the first really big ones are in May – the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon and the Soldier Field 10-miler. I have a race before those and I’ve already done a couple this year so far. However, I’m really excited about those races. Both races will allow me to run at some amazing football fields. Additionally, I get to express my inner sports meatball and wear Packers attire for both races. At Lambeau it will be feel right. At Soldier Field, it will just annoy Bears fans and I’m all about poking them.

running shoesAnyway, last week I got my training schedule and it caused a mini panic for me. HOW was I going to fit in all the working out I do along with the added running that would need to happen so I can smash my previous best half marathon time. I knew I was going to need help, so I emailed my trainer with the schedule. She was thrilled to see there were planned rest days because right now, I’ve been working out for over 430 days without taking a true rest day. I just have easier days where I will just do yoga, but I always have to be doing something.

The group I am training with has two different programs for the half marathon training. One that involves taking one rest day a week and another that has a total of maybe five rest days through the entire process. Since the Green Bay Half will be my ninth half marathon, I figured I should probably do the advanced program. But then I had this fear of will that make sense if I choose to run / walk it? Why can’t I just run the entire time? Then I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe I could run this race in under 2:05 because that would mean I could do something else later in the year. Seriously, why not? Continue reading →

Exercise is My Strength and Weakness

Dec28

I work out a lot. Well, not so much a lot but it seems that way when you engage in the activity daily. If you have read any previous entries, you know I was and still am on a streak of consecutive days after my gym had a 30-day challenge last year. If you are wondering, they did it again this year and of course I completed it. I had to as the Chicago Marathon has gone up in price and the month of saved dues will go a long way toward paying for a spot in the 2013 edition of the marathon.

One “drawback” of my constant working out is that every once in a while, I fail to listen to what my body needs and instead focus on what my head wants. Last night, I had one of those experiences where I really should have done what I needed instead of just going with the flow and what my head was thinking. To back track a bit, my gym lately has been giving out guest passes to us members to get us to bring in friends to maybe join us. Even more interesting, my gym called me up one day earlier this month to give me two one-week passes to bring my friends to work out with me. All because the membership crew heard I had been at the gym nearly every day. Additional background: I have a cold. Nothing to really stop me from doing anything, but enough to make me need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. This cold is the result of sitting across from a woman at work who is disgusting in that she REFUSES to cover her mouth when sneezing / coughing. Continue reading →

100 Days and Counting

Mar3

The last day I didn’t work out? November 24, 2011. That happened to be Thanksgiving. The only reason I didn’t workout that day was because I had traveled to my hometown for the holiday. Thought, it is entirely possible I did something that day once I returned home from traveling. In an earlier post, I talked about how my gym had a 30-day challenge to combat the weight gain the Average American experiences between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I breezed through those 30 days no problem. And I haven’t stopped. Yet.

February 29, 2012 was day 100 for me of working out. Nike even had a running challenge that day, which I did as part of my workout that day. At this point, I just can’t seem to stop. Every time another milestone, such as 90 days approached, then I would add more days. I even thought, I should stop after 100, but I didn’t. I worked out the next couple of days. Continue reading →

Fifty!

Jan13

I did it. I worked out for fifty straight days. Day 50 was actually a weight day and some yoga as well. I am slowly getting used to the fact that it *is ok* to have “easier” days of working out. When I was first doing the 30-day challenge at my gym to get a month of dues paid for, I was in a go-go-go mode. To not work up a serious sweat felt wrong.

But I knew my body needed the occasional break. After the thirty days and subsequent 50-day challenge from Julie, my spin instructor I started to add more days of weights to my workouts. And also the yoga. Sure, I will take the occasional hot yoga class which can be pretty intense. But I am also starting to really appreciate the easier days of just lifting weights.

This experiment has been good for me. It has made me feel guilty if I don’t move. As a side bonus, my clothes are starting to be looser as well. Always a bonus. The best part of the looser clothes is that I haven’t really done anything too drastic to make that happen. I think my body has just decided now is an ok time to do that.

In any event, I am now on a mission to see just how many days I can work out before I feel that enough is enough and I need a break both physically and mentally. I have a had a nice by-product of this experiment in that I am addicted to working out. It’s a wonderful feeling to have this kind of addiction. I’ll be sure to let you know when my streak of working out ends and what caused it. Knock on wood I haven’t gotten sick.

30 Down, 20 to go & Who Knows How Many After

Dec27

The average American gains 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t be average! Take CAC’s 30-Day challenge and win!

That was the subject of numerous emails I got in the month of November from my gym. The challenge described? Workout for 20-24 days between November 25th through December 24th and get five free guest passes to use at any Chicago Athletic Club gym. Workout 25-29 days and get a $50 credit to use toward gym services in addition to the five guest passes. Workout all 30 days between November 25 and December 24? One month free gym membership in addition to the $50 credit and five guest passes.

I had been attending the gym fairly regularly for spin classes on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings. I’d also been going for mostly weekly personal training sessions and to get moving on other days. 30 days straight of working out? No problem so I decided to do the challenge. Besides, a month’s free membership? I was all over that. Continue reading →