Hectic Wednesday

It's Wednesday and that means I only have the morning to myself, since the boys are all home from noon onwards. It sometimes feels like a huge sacrifice to devote nearly all that time to getting to the gym, doing my workout, getting home, showering (and shaving!!), and then just having enough time to get a warm lunch on the table. But then again, sometimes it feels like the best thing I could be doing with my time. Because when I get back and have that weary feeling in my legs and arms, I feel like I have accomplished a lot already and anything else is a bonus!

Today was the last day of the first half of the Matt Roberts Beach Body program I've been doing. Everything went well, I like to push my limits on the last day I do a program workout, so I increased my speed on the treadmill and ended up doing 4.1 km in 26 min. I also increased the weights on the resistance exercises, even though that meant I could not complete all the reps for a few of them. I was just dripping sweat and out of breath the whole time, even on the weights.

I took a look at the book this afternoon to see what I will be doing the next four weeks - before I hit the beach in San Diego! Umm...it looks pretty tough, especially the Wednesday workout. The intervals are increased in time, the resistance exercises are increased in reps, and there are new ones added in. The book says the Wednesday workout should take 70 minutes, start to finish, but I know I normally take a bit longer than it says in the book - so that means my Wednesday mornings are going to be even tighter. I may just have to swap days and put one of the shorter workouts (only 55 minutes!) on Wednesday.

Aside from that, I feel excited to change things up. I already wrote my gym days in my agenda, so I don't accidentally schedule something and have to poop out or reschedule. So far, everything fits...even on Wednesdays!

Doh!

So...I am at the gym this morning, going about my Monday workout (short bursts of cardio interspersed with resistance exercises) and I sit down on a bench, in front of this big mirror, to do triceps extensions. And I suddenly realize that I only shaved one armpit!!! One is smooth, one is looking kinda, well ... furry!

My pre-menopausal brain fuzz was literally visible in the gym mirror. Help!

Indian Summer

We have been having the most beautiful Indian Summer these past few days, and even though it is very chilly in the morning, by mid afternoon it warms up to a very pleasant temp and the bright sunshine is so pretty filtered through the changing colors on the trees.

I felt like it had been a long time since I had done my neighborhood route, which includes a lot of hills, which we don't get at the lake. So that's what we did this morning, enjoying the fall flowers, pumpkins, horses in their paddock, the fields, the fall colors...it was a pretty run.

Hope everyone has a peaceful and happy Sunday!

Confession

I did not run yesterday. I was talking to my dad Tuesday evening and telling him about how my osteopath "fixed" my hip, and he said I might want to give the readjusted muscle some time to heal or rest or cool down before subjecting it to the one thing that I know for sure makes it hurt. Since Dad is an expert on chronic pain, having dealt with it himself for many years (he was finally forced to give up golf because of it), his words of wisdom made sense to me. So yesterday I walked Felix to school, I biked to the store and back, I baked muffins and made soup, but I did not run. And my hip still feels really good. No pain. Bliss.

Here is some food for thought from a fascinating book I have been reading, from a chapter devoted to the importance of muscle for women:

A woman's need of muscle is practical...by owning muscle you can keep the bone you have from departing, for muscle yanks on bone, and the mechanical action goads the bone to turn over, to be replenished, rather than to stagnate and gradually dissolve...Even a bit of fat can be accommodated on a sturdy frame. The dangers of body fat are exaggerated. Fat ipso facto is not a bad thing. The problem for most overweight people is that the extra fat makes movement harder and more unpleasant, and so they tend not to exercise, and muscles must be moved to remain engaged. But if a chubby woman remains active, she may prove surprisingly strong. Overweight people not only have more fat than the slender, they often have comparatively more muscle. When you gain weight because you're overeating, you put on
three quarters of that weight as fat but one quarter as muscle. Fat people are so cowed into self-loathing that they don't realize the potential they carry. If they choose to exercise their submerged muscle on a regular basis, they'll be able to beat the sprat out of any thin ones who call them pigs.*

More power to the "surprisingly strong active chubby woman" (me)!

* Angier, Natalie. Woman: An intimate geography (1999), p. 293. Thanks to Cassandra for suggesting this read!

Taking Care

Yesterday was my cardio-resistance interval workout, and as usual, my right hip started aching after I finished the workout and was still aching when I got up today. I have had this hip pain for a long time, remember back in May when my doctor told me I probably had bursitis? I have just been living with this chronic pain ever since the first half marathon training program, sometimes taking anti-inflammatories, but mostly just hobbling around after runs or workouts.

One of the consequences of this has been that I cut way back on the distances I run, since the longer the run the more annoying the pain afterwards, or so it seems.

Today I had my bi-annual visit to my osteopath. I have been seeing her for several years now, ever since she was able to radically improve severe problems I had with my neck and shoulders. I go twice a year for a "tune up"! So today I was telling her about the supposed bursitis and she set to work on my hips, lower spine and tailbone. She must have done something to get the kinks out because since I left her office, I have been pain free! Boy, I wish I would have mentioned it to her sooner. In any case, I am very grateful and curious if there will be a difference after my next workout, tomorrow, which includes a 26 minute interval run.

Carpe Diem

As we were leaving to run this morning, I grabbed my phone and saw there was a message from a very dear friend of mine, someone I've known for 20 years. The message said her brother died suddenly yesterday at the age of 45, from a heart attack. I am so sad for her and all her family, especially her brother's wife and little daughter. My heart goes out to them - please keep them in your prayers today.

I couldn't stop thinking of them as we ran around the lake...it is a beautiful day today, the sun was shining and the air felt good on my arms...I was thinking how fortunate I was to be there, breathing and moving. How we must not take anything for granted, and how we so often do. My friend's loss reminds me how fragile life is and that we must make the most of every day.

Zumba

Well, I didn't make the mistake this time of doing heavy lower body weights right before this class! I got in to the gym at 9 and did a circuit of upper body weights before Zumba started at 9:30. As always the class was quite full (but not as full as the classes in the evening, from what I hear). I always worry about bumping into someone! What a workout! The room is pretty cold, but by the first song I am sweating like crazy, and by the end, I feel like I have worked really hard. I also felt today like I am finally starting to get the hang of the steps.

I have to say, the feeling I have after the class reminds me of how I felt when I was taking Tai-chi: you are so focused on remembering the routine or following the steps, that you don't have time to think about anything else (like, what am I going to make for dinner, what do I have to pick up at the store, what time do I have to take the kids to piano, what are we doing this weekend, etc, etc, etc). To me it is like a kind of active meditation, and my mind feels like it took a little vacation for an hour!