Working it out!

I'm so proud of myself. I worked out 5 days last week (6 if you count giving the house a good scrub down)! I'm dreading when I have to work those 3+ twelve hour days. On those days I won't have time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep!

I've been running semi-regularly, and have actually switched over to running on the treadmill. It's just so much easier than driving to the park where I run and then driving to the gym for the weight-lifting class that I like to do now. I can tell you if I were doing that, most days I'd be taking a detour home! Another nice thing about the treadmill is that you can keep track of your mileage and speed. I honestly have no idea how fast I run on pavement, and mileage is just an estimate for me. I'm thinking I need an app for my iPhone that tells me how far I've run. Anyone know of any good ones?

 Back in the day when I was running regularly and doing a long run every week, I was able to run a mile (on a treadmill mind you) at a 7:30 pace. So last week I decided to see if I could still do what is my fast mile. Fail. I only made it 3/4 of a mile, but that might have been because I ran 3 miles prior. When I tried it again, I did a warm up mile first. I was able to do it, and was so happy with myself! I really don't think I could do that on pavement.

I have Mondays off so I'm just sitting around now, wanting to go to my weightlifting class. But I promised Jon that I would go to a Seder dinner with him tonight on post. So I was planning on going for a hike at my favorite state park here (since we never made it during the weekend because Jon had a ton of homework to do), but I didn't do that either. Instead, I had to take Dakota to the vet because I was seriously worried about a skin issue that seemingly flared up. I'm thinking that when we got him shaved they accidentally nicked one of his little nipples and he's been picking at it. The vet was nice enough to squeeze us in since I can't take time out from clinical during the week.

So this is what we have to do for him. We got orders for an antibiotic ointment that is to be applied twice daily and this T-shirt for 5 days. He's such a good sport, and doesn't even fight me when I was putting the T-shirt on. Go SU! :P

Yoga DVD's among other things

Well, I broke the news to my boss yesterday that I would be leaving my job late May. He took it very well and I'm relieved to finally have the news out in the open!

My sleep schedule is going through some changes. Jon has gone back to work and is back to waking up at 4 a.m. This means that I'm going to bed around 10 and probably just getting up at the same time he does. For some reason while he's on this sleep schedule I don't sleep very well, and wake up multiple times a night. I also can't go back to sleep after that alarm goes off. Anybody else have to change their sleep schedule due to their spouse's?

Side note: I hate that Jon's back at work. No more lunch meet ups and no husband waiting for me when I get home from work. I miss him already! When did I get so dependent on him? I've never been like this! Seeing him in evenings isn't enough for me....I'd be very happy having him with me 24/7. Is this unheard of? I'm blaming it on the last 15-month deployment and years of separation before we got married. We have a lot of catching up to do!

This morning I got up around 4:30 and popped in my yoga DVD after brushing my teeth and changing out of Jon's old PT shirt I use for PJs. I've decided to try out some DVDs on Netflix before committing to buying them so I wouldn't regret my purchase later. I have Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss at home right now. I really don't like it, but it's nice to do some yoga....it's been a while. Plus, the setting is in Sedona and the backdrop of red rocks is so beautiful!

I did this workout on Monday as well and yesterday I was SORE! My upper back, shoulders, and obliques. I was really surprised to feel this because as I did the workout it felt effortless. It really didn't feel like I was doing anything at all. I decided to give it another try this morning, and I've come to the conclusion that this DVD is going back out today and I'm going to try another. I didn't like the poses too much and it didn't seem to incorporate that many in that 40-minute session. I took a suggestion from Somebody's Princess and put Cardio Burn: Yoga next on my queue. I'm also looking forward to trying out The Biggest Loser: Weight Loss Yoga, but there's a long wait on that one.

I've finally accepted the fact that I can't run, or do my cardio kickboxing. I miss it though! I'm really looking forward to my PT session on Monday. I have high hopes they will be able to help me out with my ITBS so I can get back to doing what I love! However, I appreciate that this injury has opened up my stubborn mind to other forms of exercise. Yoga being one of them, and bike riding being the other more recent one. Jon had been obsessively shopping of the perfect road bike and finally found a Trek one he was happy with. Of course, he didn't want to go solo on his excursions so he got me one too! I just hope I can accompany him soon!

On another note, I need to find some time to catch up on blog reading. I miss one weekend and I'm just overwhelmed with all the catch up reading I have! I have to read them all at once, for some reason. Must be that all or nothing mentality I have. When I feel like this, I just don't even attempt it. That's why I haven't been commenting lately, but I'll get to them eventually! Happy Wednesday everybody!

Knee woes

There still hasn't been much progress on the whole ITBS situation. It's become bad enough that I called the doc, telling him my situation and how it's pretty much unchanged. Result? I'm going to spring for PT sessions now. 

Jon and I went for a nice 3 mile walk around Reid Park last night. Let me tell you, it was really hard watching all those people run by, while knowing full well it would be a long while until I could do that again. What made it even harder was that I wore my running shoes for this walking session. They only have about 6 miles on them now, so they were nice and springy! Jon tells me, "Why are you walking so fast?" It was just so hard to hold back with such nice, new shoes! 

A little over half way through, my knee started protesting. I couldn't believe it! I didn't know plain ol' walking would aggravate it! So we slowed it down as Jon got a phone call, and finished at a more leisurely pace. By the time I got back to the car, I was limping. 

I had also done my kickboxing class last Saturday, and the result was the same. Had I done it for half an hour instead of the full hour, I think I would have been OK. One whole hour was too much for it! However after that and after my walk last night, I iced it for a good while and was almost symptom free the next days. The fact that I got sore just from walking, though, was the last straw. So tomorrow I will be picking up the prescription the doc wrote me and scheduling my first PT session. I really want to nip this problem in the bud.

In the meantime, I've decided to try out some yoga DVDs. I have some in my Netflix queue...I don't want to go out and buy one only to find out later that I hate it! Anybody have any suggestions for good yoga DVDs? I'm also going to start lap swimming. As soon as Jon goes back to work (because it's hard to stay away when I know he's at home all alone), I'll try to hit the pool in the mornings before work. Jon was also surprised me today by buying me some 10-lb hand weights so I can keep up with light strength training if I don't make it to the gym.

Slowly, but surely, I'm adapting to my situation. I've finally leveled off with my weight gain, topping off at a 5-lb gain. I'm not happy about it, but it could be worse! I'm determined, anyhow, to lose all that. Hopefully swimming and yoga will be enough to accomplish this. My body really likes to hold onto its fat stores!

Friday morning blahs

I just put on a pair of jeans and they're getting a bit snug....and they aren't straight out of the dyer, Loqui! At this time last year these jeans were barely hanging onto my hips and I constantly had to pull them up! This no exercise thing is really getting to me!

So do you like it as much as I do?

Nine more posts until I pick a winner for my giveaway! Don't forget to leave me a comment on the original post to be entered! I noticed I have a couple new followers. Would you like to be entered as well?

Like I promised I'm going to share with you all some pictures of my new haircut. Overall, I'm really happy with it! Lately I've been going to this place and coming back less than enthused about the resulting haircuts, but I've been trying somebody new each and every time. I think I finally found my stylist! Here is a before picture to compare. So without further ado, here is my new haircut

Don't mind my weird facial expression :P When I got home, Jon didn't even really notice a difference from before the cut. I added some side-swept bangs, which I think is noticeable, but people at work didn't say anything today either! For the rest of my hair I just got an all-over trim and my usual texturizing. Love it! Sammy seems to like it too!

In other news I resigned myself to the elliptical, realizing I was limited in my exercise options (no kickboxing either). Unfortunately, even that irritates the injured IT band so I stopped after only a couple minutes. All I could do was lift weights and do 2 (!!) pull-ups. Looks like Sammy will be getting more walks now!

I did it!

I did a pull up all by myself! I hadn't even tried because I'm so self-conscious when people are around, but somebody was using the assisted pull-up machine. The whole point of me getting there early was so I could do some pull-ups before my cardio kickboxing class, so I ventured outside where it was nice, warm, and breezy. I was able to do one (and a half) pull-ups. I can also do one dip. Yay!

Body image issues

I think I've already touched on my body image issues in one of those "about me" posts. It was in fourth grade that I actually became conscious of my body, and in my opinion that's too young, although this happens a lot earlier to children today (not even getting into that).

That being said, I've been feeling humongous lately. I haven't been getting the exercise my body needs and since Jon came home, any semblance of a healthy diet has gone out the window. I've been eating out more because I actually have someone to eat with! While Jon was gone, I wouldn't go out to eat very often because I refuse to eat alone. That left me with having to deal on those nights when I couldn't cook because I came home late from the gym or was too busy baking. Those nights I ate a bowl of cereal or threw some cheese into a couple rolled up corn tortillas. A guy cannot eat like this, so we sometimes resort to outside sources. Last night it was Pizza Hut's dinner buffet. And no, I didn't even go to the gym last night. Neither of us felt like cooking.

It doesn't make matters any better that I can't even run. I think that is probably the only reason I'm upset about it right now; the injury couldn't have come at a worse time because when I'm feeling bad about my body I like to strap the running shoes on and pound out my frustrations. Even when I'm injury free it's really hard for me to stay motivated enough to go out for a run here because I need pretty scenery while my mind wanders. The city of Tucson (and most cities in Arizona) aren't very pretty cities. I don't know who decided that miles and miles of strip malls and mini-highways for streets were a good idea. Back in Seattle, I'd be happy running in the city because no matter where I lived, there was always a good place to run! I was so against driving to my running destination and that is just what I have to do here. On top of that, I think I just need trees and greenery.

Running is so easy because all you need is a good pair of shoes and you're good to go. There's no equipment needed, you don't really need to drive anywhere, and it's free! Don't even get me started on cardio machines! I've done it all (thanks to previous injuries): stationary bike, stair master, treadmill, elliptical trainer, rowing machine, you name it. I have one word for you: B.O.R.I.N.G!! I'd be happy doing something else, but I just checked the schedule for group classes at the AFB and there really isn't much to pick from. The only class in the morning I can go to is Spinning at 7, which is a little late for me and to be honest, I have zero interest in spinning. Then the next class isn't until 11! Evening classes are sparse too! Do a lot of these AF wives not have jobs that the majority of the classes are during the work day? I wonder the gym on post is any better. Probably not, and it is 75 miles away so it's not even an option. I might need to cave for another gym membership.

OK, so the result of all this is the general unhappiness I feel towards my body. I do not like what I see in the mirror. Well, I've come to accept and love my muscular legs, when at one time I hated how big they were. I've got the arm wave down to a minimum--my triceps are actually stronger than my biceps now and they are my favorite part of my body I like to develop. My butt is the second. My genes have decided that I'm not supposed to have an ass. What little I do have is a result of hard work. It's the whole middle part of my body that I hate. I've been battling the back fat and the fat around the midsection for a long while now. I'm just genetically predisposed to gain weight in those areas! Let me just list what I hate about my body:

Back fat--I can seriously grab a handful at each side

Stomach fat--another two handfuls

Fat right above the hips--you guessed it....two more handfuls for ya

I just measured myself yesterday (tape measurers don't lie!) Looking at the actual numbers, it doesn't look that bad, but looking at my reflection, I really don't like! Thankfully, I don't gain weight in my hips. They're 37 inches right now (Latina hips!) My waist is 29.5 inches, but I've never had a small waist. I think I wouldn't be able to get smaller than 28, maybe 27 inches. Jean sizes don't lie either. Speaking of sizes, I really wish they would universalize them! If I buy a pair of junior's pants, depending on the brand, I'm anywhere between a 7 and 11. No joke, if the brand says I'm a size 11 I don't buy them! Women's sizes, I'm between a 6 and 8. The sizes themselves don't sound too bad either, but I'm 5'4" and remember I do have issues with my body! I fully admit that right from the beginning.

Bottom line, I just want to get leaner and I don't know how to do that right now. There's just nothing like burning lungs and rhythmic pounding of pavement to help me feel better about myself, and that's just not happening right now. All I need to be happier, I think, is a good workout!

Time to work off those tamales and holiday sweets!

I have to say, I'm hurtin' right now. A month and a half of nearly no exercise took it's toll on me yesterday and today! I went for a run yesterday, finishing my usual 2.8 miles. No, wait. I couldn't finish it because my left knee started bugging me. I felt the pain on my lateral knee about 3/4 of the way through. I stopped and walked for a bit and stretched it out a little, but to no avail. I had to finish the loop walking, which is just torture to me. My lungs had a lot more left, but my leg couldn't take it anymore. I think it might be my IT band, which I injured 2 years ago. At least I think it was my IT band. I never saw any sort of doctor and self-diagnosed. I did have that pain walking downhill and down the stairs, though. I don't know what to do! I don't want to quit running, but my body is really against me here! Is there any way I can continue running and eventually accomplish my goal of running a marathon? I saw an orthopedist who did nothing for me, so what's next? A podiatrist? There has to be some way!

Anyways, after my run and a good stretch, of course, I went home and did a whole bunch of side leg lifts, sit-ups, crunches, tricep dips, and a few push ups. My arms are so weak now--I use to be able to do triangle push-ups! All that and I was walking around with sore hips/but today.

Not bad, but then I went to my cardio kickboxing class on the Air Force base. I could barely move after class! The instructor is intense! When we all are getting sloppy with our punches and kicks, she's jumping around and dancing around to the music. She has endless energy! But I need a class like that, because I'm horrible at pushing myself until I can't go anymore. There's this sequence that she does and when she starts it, everyone in class acknowledges it with a groan. On each side, we do side knee lifts while bringing arms down toward the opposite side. Doesn't sound too hard, right? But she has us do 16 facing one corner of the room, rotate, do 16 more facing the next corner and then continue for the rest of the corners. Oh we're not done there! We then go 8 per corner, then 4 per corner, 4 per corner two more times, and then she has us hold it until she makes us stop and switch legs. Then we do that all over again for the other leg. My poor hips and butt! Here's a video of the move I just described. Just ignore the cheesy music and it's the move shown at 2:56.

It's a pretty good video of basic cardio kickboxing moves, but she's so slow compared to my crazy instructor! After the cardio part of the workout, we do arm strengthening and abs. Endless, I tell you! So yeah, I could barely move after all that! I did manage to squeeze in a few pull-ups and dips, though. I'm up to lifting about 80 lbs of my weight. Hopefully one of these days, they'll be unassisted!

I'm skipping out on the running until my knee feels better. I'll be skipping out on the Wednesday night runs for a month, though, because I just signed up for my final cake decorating class! You ready to see more cake decorating action? It just might be all you see of my baking because I don't want junk food hanging out in my house! But then, I can't really go that long without baking. ;)

Operation Kick My Own Ass commences!

It's been a month since I worked out regularly. I was lucky if I made it to the gym once in a week! On top of that, I started to eat out a lot because I was so sick of cooking and eating the same thing for a week. I've also been craving Chinese food, which, sad to admit, isn't the same when cooked at home. I've been weighing myself pretty regularly for a long time now. Like I told Sara, I weigh myself at least 3 times a day, but do that mainly to gauge my hydration. You really do have to drink a lot more water here in the desert! So yeah, my weight fluctuates, sometimes as much as 3 pounds in one day. I have to admit, I do love weighing myself in the morning after going to the bathroom because I feel happy seeing that smaller number on the scale. And why can't I look that skinny throughout the day, rather than when I first wake up?

On Monday I forced myself to run. It was just the usual loop around Reid Park (about 3 miles), but I surprised myself by running it fast. I was so proud of myself because I've run maybe twice in this past month. Maybe once a week of high intensity cardio kickboxing was enough to keep my fitness! So far:

• Monday: ran 3 miles, lifted weights for an hour (arms and legs)
• Tuesday: cardio kickboxing class--45 minutes of t-shirt soaking kicking, jumping, and punching, followed by 15 minutes of endless crunches and more lunges (ouch! I'm still hurting from my lunges and squats on Monday night! Let's see if I can walk tomorrow!)

Hopefully I can run on Wednesday! Not only will I be waddling tomorrow, I have to see if my IT band is OK with it. I'm hoping it's not too achy. I'm so sick of all these pains from running. If only a doctor would try to help me figure out what I can do to make it better. I've had poor experiences with numerous doctors that just aren't interested in getting down to the bottom of your symptoms. It's so frustrating! I will not quit running! I'll just look for a doctor that will actually help me! Running a marathon has been high on my goal list for 4 years now and I'm going to accomplish it!

Well I really should get to bed. I have to take the car in at 7:30 tomorrow morning for an inspection. We just bought a used car and want to make sure it's all sound. One good thing that came out of this deployment: we were able to save up a good amount of money, so were able to pay cash for this car! OK, off to bed. I have to deal with disappointed McCain supporters tomorrow!

 

Lacking motivation

I've skipped out on any type of exercise this whole week now. And I'm supposed to be preparing for the Tucson Half Marathon (don't think I've ever mentioned on here that I was planning on doing that). I just checked the route and lucky me, it's all downhill for the most part! The distance isn't that big a deal to me because I've run that far in the past. Problem is, I haven't done it in two years. I can't run further than 6 miles here so I really don't know what the deal is. Four miles used to be my base, no matter how long it had been since I last run and now 3 is a struggle for me. It's so frustrating! I'm still convinced it's the difference in elevation here because I went for a run in San Diego last April and it was cake, regardless of the hills and my stubbornness to keep a fast pace. I'm going to run my ass off when visiting my parents for Christmas, just to redeem myself.

Excuses for skipping out on working out:

• Monday: supposed to run 3 miles and lift weight at the DM gym. Excuse: I was feeling nauseous all afternoon due to (I think) going back on the Pill (aside: one month to R&R!!)
  
• Tuesday: Cardio kickboxing class at DM (major sweat fest). Excuse: the debates are on and I did miss the first one, so I really want to watch this one. And at the last minute, I took the car to the dealership to fix something that's been bugging me for a while. They didn't fix it because they had to order the part and the debate was a major bore.
• Wednesday: again, run 3 miles and lift weights. Excuse: I'm still really full from my huge lunch at the Arizona Inn (boss being gone, we sometimes take longer lunches). Also, I really do hate lifting weights at DM. There's maybe one female in the whole weight room so I feel like all eyes are on me when I walk in. I'm super self-conscious and feel like I don't belong there!

Well, that's it. Hopefully I won't come up with another excuse tomorrow and that I make it to my cardio kickboxing class! I also really need to start doing my weekly long runs, when I'm not accustomed to doing any exercise on the weekends. I just need to find somewhere to run! 

It's off to bed for me. I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled my car appointment at 7:30 a.m.!

Another running story

I absolutely hate wind. I'll start off by saying that. How is it that on Tuesday it was 103 and sunny when today at the same time it was 67 degrees and cloudy? This is crazy weather I tell you! Spring in Tucson is full of windy days. It's not so bad when you are safe inside, protected from all that flying dust and debris, but once you step outside, hold onto your hat! And say goodbye to that good hair day you were having.

Here as just some of the reasons I despise wind so much:

1. Hair in mouth and eyes. And nobody wants hair that looks that wind-blown.
2. Dust and other fun stuff in your eyes (mine, in particular, are magnets for such things even on calm spring days).
3. I can't wear my pretty girly skirts or dresses, lest I want my chonies on display for everyone to see!
4. Running against it! With gusts up to 50 mph, you might as well strap a parachute behind me.
5. When I was still driving the Corolla and commuting to and from Sierra Vista, these hurricane force winds would almost push me into another car in the lane next to me or hold me back as I battled my way up the steepest hills at 85 mph.

So the main reason I hated the wind today was #4. No matter which direction I ran, it seemed like I was running against the wind. Well, except when I was running east, which means the wind was probably coming from the north- and southwest. I convinced myself to still go for said run even after gazing out at the windy conditions all day. And all because I couldn't just "waste" a perfectly good sub-90 degree day, considering these will be few and far between in a couple weeks. So I'm 0 for 2 for good runs this week. At least I was able to finish this time and run faster. Better luck next week.

Oh and those of you in the PNW...can you please stop sending us your crap our way? All those storms and low pressure systems, while producing the welcome drop in temperature when they collide with our high pressure ones, are the reason for these crazy wind storms here. Thanks, I'd appreciate it!

The Arizona summer approaches

It hit 103 today. I have not been looking forward to us breaking the 100 degree mark, but here we are. I suppose it's not that bad because it's "dry" heat--I'd be dying if it were this hot in Seattle (especially since AC is nonexistent in the apartments there!) Even at 10 pm it's still 90 degrees out. And I was stubborn enough to run after work. Exercise is something I've been keeping up with and doing for myself since Jon has been gone and I really hate missing out on it. I started running again in February and have missed only a few days up till now. I wasn't about to let a barely 100-plus degree day hold me back. How much hotter would 103 feel when I've been running in 95 degree conditions? After all, shouldn't I be acclimating here?

The run was awful. I decided to take it easy, but even this normally easy pace was hard today. I was dragging even though I stopped at every drinking fountain along the David Bell Path at Reid Park. I didn't even finish the 2.98 miles. I had to walk the last 0.3 miles of it because I was getting too dizzy to continue. Normally, my heart rate will decrease to normal within several minutes of stretching, but long after I was done with my 10 minute stretching regimen, I could still feel my pulse quickly pounding throughout my body. Ugh. I lay on the rare patch of grass for a few minutes, letting the breeze blow over me and evaporate some body heat away. Sunscreen was dripping its way down my face, arms, and legs, leaving white trails coursing across my body. I hate running in the summer. It results in bad tan lines, dizziness, and headaches for me. My left shoulder and arm are already significantly darker than the rest of my body!

Running never seems to get easier here. What happened to my endurance? Back in Seattle, 4 miles was my base.....no matter how long it had been since I last went out to pound the pavement. More and more, I think it has to do with the elevation here (2,584 feet above sea level) and the super dry air here (about 15% humidity lately). My run in San Diego last month convinced me of this. Wonderful moisture in the air and sea level conditions led to the best run I had since I left Seattle. My poor skin is so used to the dry air here, I swear I could feel every little water molecule--I felt like I was dripping wet! But I ran fast....even up the hills. I felt like I could go forever.

Maybe next time I run, I should eat better beforehand. I realized later that last night's dinner and today's lunch didn't help me out in any way: wheat thins, grape tomatoes, and white chocolate hazlenut mousse last night and a salad and cherries today.

Yay! Thirty percent chance of rain on Friday and 79 degree high--ahhhh!!!