Happy Thanksgiving: Did You Survive?

I think I did the best I could. So, yes, I think I survived. On the big day, I restrained on portion sizes. I had foods that weren't on my approved foods list, but I limited them. And I had to have a piece of pie. But I savored every bite.

To balance it out, I exercised A LOT. I got up and did my normal Thursday routine of going swimming, only this time I had Lori and Sienan in tow and we went a bit later. I broke a distance record and swam 1300 yards by following a workout that Trish had created for me before she left for her Thanksgiving trip. After getting dinner going, Lori and I took Zoe for a walk around Goat Hill Trail, which is adjacent our house and is quite a hilly challenge. Lastly, after dinner, Lori, Sienan, Zoe and I went for a short walk around the block; not to be dismissed, because it also is very hilly. Wagons and skateboards are not recommended. :o) We had fun jogging around, chasing Zoe and her chasing us, as well as playing catch with the football.

The next day, I had leftovers, but I ate less of the non-approved foods than before. I exercised some more by rowing and working weights. Yesterday, I swam yet again. I then spent the day putting up Christmas lights. Up and down the ladder, back and forth to get the thing you always need when you get the farthest away from where that thing is. One thing I am quite proud of is that I took off the shelf Christmas lights and cut and rewired them to customize a fit to our house. Also, I was up high in those gables attaching lights and combating my slowing increasing fear of heights. I'll have to take a picture of the house.

So, at the end of the week, it may be simply a no gain week; if I am lucky, I may lose a pound. I'll keep plugging away with the exercise. I am heading off for my ride around Lake Natoma after I finish this. I'll keep plugging away with diet. Yesterday was a good day. I knew I needed to move on past Thanksgiving because the bad food was affecting my energy level and noticeably in the pool. So yesterday it was back to the usual. Protein rich, low fat breakfasts, salad for lunch and a balanced and low starch dinner. So, I'll just keep plugging away and move beyond the challenges and temptations of Thanksgiving and onto leaner, healthier days.

Still Love Swimming

Man! I still do. I really didn't want to go today. I didnt get enough sleep last night. And I am a little out of my groove because I didn't work out yesterday because of other obligations. It was cold. Wa, wa, wa. I've just gotta get up and do it. And so I did. But once I got there I had a good time. I really don't think I would have as much of a good time or make as much progress without the direction and motivation I am getting from Trish at El Dorado Hills Sports Club. Kudos to Trish. Today, I completed 1200 yards, which is a personal best for me so far in distance. We practiced a drill called Distance Per Stroke for the first time. This is a drill where you are breathing every 3rd stroke for a lap, then every 4th, every 5th and finally every 6th stroke. It was challenging and interesting to see how I did. Then we did a pyramid of increasing intervals that peaked and then decreased. In the end, I was tired, but I felt great. Trish wrote out a workout for me for Thursday (yes I will be at the pool on Thanksgiving morning) and an additional one to try out if I want on an off day. I just think I might. Have a lovely day! :o)

Got my Bike Back!

Hey! I got my bike back from the shop with a new stem and boy am I happy. I have been getting so used to the gym bikes, but they just aren't the same as a real bike. So, what to do but take it out for a spin? Lori and I went for a 13.25 mile ride around Lake Natoma on the American River Parkway bike trail system. Man! I can't believe that I haven't done that yet, it was so beautiful. The ride was challenging, because I moved my saddle up to the height it should be at and that means I am working my legs differently and I haven't been on my bike for a while. It was great.

Another thing that was new was that I tried aerobic rowing on Friday. I allowed yesterday off to see how it impacted my body, which I think was right where I need it and I'll get to that in a bit. Aerobic rowing on an "ergo" is something I haven't really done before and it definitely takes some getting used to. Form is everything in rowing, and you have to be careful about that because you don't want to hurt your back. Talk to a trainer or rowing expert to find out more before you try it if you don't know what you should be doing. Rowing is great for the whole body as well as the heart for cardio. So, for me, rowing is hitting me right where I need it. I had a good workout Friday night at 30 minutes of rowing. I felt it yesterday in my hamstrings, glutes and abs. This is an exercise I think I will work on cultivating. It's low impact and works my extra fatty areas that need more work.

OK, that's all for now. Have a great rest of the weekend. :o)

Building Endurance

I love triathlon training. I'm sure I've said this before, but it is a great way to get and stay healthy. Triathlon training is about consistent workouts that may increase gradually, never suddenly. Slow and steady wins the race. I correlate it to the tortise and the hare fable. This is doing wonders in reprogramming my thinking. I've always been intense personality, figuring it was all or nothing. In the past, if I had a moment or a week of weakness in my diet or lack of motivation in my workout, I just figured I had slipped that far, no point in continuing to try to get healthy. Not true! Triathlon, and other motivational sources are teaching me that slow, steady moderation can and will get the job done. And I am trying to carry over this concept into other areas of my life.

On this note, today I worked on endurance in the pool. Today was not about speed, but about going the distance. And this is something I am eager to work on in preparation for the triathlon. We are starting it out slowly, and Trish knows just how far to push me so that I am challenged but I can likely do what she is asking. It's awesome. Today, I practiced slowly pacing myself so I could go longer distances, and with shorter and shorter rest periods. It was fun. I am looking forward to making more progress in this aspect.

Now for the HOLIDAY TIP: I heard this one on the Motivation to Move podcast. Find some time on Thanksgiving morning to get out of the house and workout, perhaps a little longer than you normally would. Most gyms are open in the morning, or you can go it on your own outside or at home. Additionally, a few days before Thanksgiving, "average" your calories. Even if you are eating sensibly, (please don't consume the average 7000-8000 calories that the average American does on this holiday) chances are you are going to consume more than you normally would. So, what I mean by "averaging your calories" is eat less than you normally would so that you can "average out" those extra calories on Thanksgiving. Getting in a workout together with averaging your calories can help you sail safely past Thanksgiving and stay focused on your health and fitness. Good luck.

Wednesday's Update

Hi everyone,
It’s hump day, as they say. How’s it going out there? I have had some professional struggles as of late that have sort of taken the wind out of my sails a bit. But, I have to get through it and not let it affect my workouts. And I think my workouts are going pretty well.

Swimming is going great. It looks like in my sprint practices yesterday I was able to maintain the 23 second speeds that I was putting out last week. Nope, it wasn’t a fluke; it was all me. And I noticed a cool feeling when I was out there sprinting. I wonder if professional swimmers feel this way… So I know I have been building up my upper body with all the swimming, weights and so on. But yesterday, I felt so strong. With each stroke I took, I felt like when I was pulling my stroke through the water, that I was grasping an imaginary rope and pulling myself along it. I felt “propelled”. Cool.

As I was warming up in the Jacuzzi after my swim workout, I spent some time speaking to a woman who is a swimmer, a physical therapist, a triathlete and was in a car accident injuring her hips and back. (For those who do not know, I was in a motorcycle accident 3 years ago and I fractured my acetabula in my pelvis. My recovery from that was fine, but I would like to get that area back into the best shape it can be.) She was telling me about ways to do my kicking only sets during swimming in such a way to build back your hip muscles that are damaged in that kind of injury. She also mentioned aerobic rowing as being great after that kind of injury and just overall as it works your entire body and is a low impact aerobic exercise. That’s not something I had thought about, but I may consider. Biking is losing it’s excitement for me. Either I am making it too hard or I am just tired of it, because it seems hard and it is getting difficult to keep the momentum going with that. I plan to look into rowing as we have a few of those machines at the Club.

So, another thing she was telling me about was your bike, and getting it “fit” for you. I have heard of this, but hadn’t done it before. I just got on my bike and rode it. But, having your bike fit for you can reduce the chance of injury and make you a much more efficient rider. When I get mine back after getting the handlebar stem replaced, I will definitely look into it. So now it’s time for the holiday tip.

HOLIDAY TIP: When going to a party where you cannot control the menu or cannot be guaranteed there will be enough healthy choices for you, eat something healthy before you go so you will not be hungry there and won’t succumb as easily to temptation. When you are asked if you would like “x, y or z”, politely decline and say you are saving room for dessert. No one will hassle you for that. Now whether or not you actually have dessert is another story. Also, here is a tip on buffets. Fill your plate with healthy foods while at the buffet and walk away. Do not graze or hang out by the buffet! This is an easy way to over consume. Simple but easy strategies. Try them out. Good luck.

I saved the best info for last. As of today, I have lost 27 pounds! That is 10% of my starting weight! YAY for me. It’s been hard, but here I am, truckin’ away. If I can make it through the holidays at my current pace, then I should be able to lose 40 pounds this year. With support and discipline, I can do it! Thank you everyone for your comments and support. If you have any healthy holiday strategies or recipes, please let me know via email or in the blog comments. Stay healthy and talk to you soon.

Success, Rewards, Temptation

Wow! Its been a challenging past two days. My host sister and mother from Japan were here visiting and as you know, sometimes when you have company, that just throws the routine out the window. Friday's workout was pushed to the evening because I had to make the trip out to SF. But, I was committed to get to the gym and complete Week 3 training. I had a great sweatfest on the upright bike for my long ride of the week and worked my chest to keep the swimming progress cruising along. Through the past two days, I have (sparingly) eaten things that were made for me that may not normally been on my diet. And they were tasty; thank you. I also indulged slightly with a beer, and a bit of a Pizzookie from BJ's. I did well though. Before, I would have just gotten lots of deep fried things and a few beers and a hefty desert. This time, and here forth, I ate smart, thinking about calories, starches and at the end of the meal, I felt good.

Checking in this morning, I am happy to report I am up to 25 pounds of weight loss. Yay for me! Because I missed my walking/running workout yesterday, I did it today on what is normally my one day in the week that I rest. It was a good time. I am at 28walk/2run on my 30 minute exercise time. I went down to the high school to use the track for a change of pace. I was surprised to find about 60-70 geese hanging out on the field along with about 15 wild turkeys. They were just hanging out, eating grass. The turkeys made a move over to the trees behind the home side and took up position on the limbs and began to argue with the smaller birds. It was a brisk 40 degrees, so that got me moving quick so I could wam up. In the end, I had a 16:41 mile. I want to start tracking my progress with the mile, so here's a start.

It's a Breakthrough Week

I'd like to update what's been going on this week, and then I'll move into exciting news in swimming. Since my last post, I have bumped up my workout just a little bit. I have been working on an 8 month program from Beginner Triathlete.com that starts out a non athlete, and pretty much works you into one after 8 months. In a nutshell, for this month I have been doing cardio on the bike Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in an increasing time each day with varying objectives such as a target heart rate or a specific interval program or resistance. Additionally, on those same days after cardio, I have been weight lifting. It is mixed up so that all muscle groups get worked on one of those days, but not more than once a week. The plan changes and progresses to include more triathlon disciplines and more challenge, but it is all gradual. It was my decision to take on swimming on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get started on what I felt was a weak area for me, and I think it has been going very well. I don't feel overtrained or overtired.

After reading Slow Fat Triathlete, I felt more motivated (I didn't think that was possible). I was considering what I now consider my weakest discipline: running. If I want to get to my goal next summer, I'm gonna need some time to work up to it. I love triathlon for this reason. It is all about slow and steady progress, just keep moving forward. I am not the best at moderation and pacing myself; it's always all or nothing. So I think this training will not only help me with eating and exercise habits for life, but also perhaps in adopting an attitude of moderation. Anyways, I found a program on BeginnerTriathlete.com called Couch to 5K, which is a 7 or 8 month approach to getting from all walking to all running. So I decided on swim days, in the afternoons, I'll also do my Couch to 5K, which is a 30 minute session of walking/running that will gradually become running/walking. The first day went well. It seems like every time I exercise, I look forward to what I can do next.

So, with swimming, I am just having an awesome week. I am so proud of myself. I thought I had really achieved something great on Tuesday, and I did, but today I one-upped myself. To start, my total yardage was up to 1050. I can't believe it. The more I do, the more I can do next time and it just feels amazing. Additionally, today I was doing sprint drills on the 25. I practiced "good wall", by leading off in a strong, streamlined position with good form and taking the first few strokes before your first breath, taking the middle easy, and working out the last few strokes for a strong, stretched finish touching the wall. Building on that, next was a slow beginning and then sprinting out the last 1/2 to 1/3 of the lap. Following that was the opposite, sprinting out and then easing in to the far side for a stretched finish touching the wall.

The last set put it all together: "good wall" and sprinting the whole way down the lap. I put in a :26, :24, :23 and :23. 23 seconds! I couldn't believe it. In the beginning, I was stretching to get :32. Even with paddles (that add resistance but allow you to really propel yourself) I was only getting a :28. And that was like last week. I am so amazed and so proud of myself. I am also so thankful to be working with Trish at the Club. She is a great motivator and teacher and knows when I can do more and pushes for it. Thank you Trish!

As always, please feel free to leave comments on my blog or send me an email. Thank you each and every one who sends me comments and emails. You have no idea how much I appreciate it and how much it motivates me. THANK YOU!

New Milestones

This morning was Master Swim class and I had an awesome workout. For the past few times, I have been totalling 800 yards in my hour workout. Today, I got to 850! I had been doing my drills and stroke practices on the 25 yards, which is an out, not back. This means I would swim from one side of the pool to the other and then rest before starting out again. My best time for those so far was 27 seconds.

Today, I decided to try bumping it up to 50 yards, or out and back, before resting. It was a huge challenge for me. I could tell because on the third and on 50 yard set, I was sputtering, not getting enough air and forgetting my stroke count. But I was getting around 1:02 for the 50 yards which is pretty good for me. I was feeling a little beat up, especially after a few times of doing better and better. But the reality of it is, 25 yards had gotten too short for me. I was seeing that 50 yards is quite a challenge, but I needed the challenge. And I think with my coach there to encourage me and push me the right amount, I can do it.

So after sputtering and floundering a bit, on my last set of 50, I decided in my head that I was not going to wimp out on this last set. I dug deep, focused on being very controlled and as fast as possible. I pulled through and in 59 seconds! WOO HOO. I am proud of myself. I know from now on I'll be doing at least 50's and working up from there. I had a great time today really pushing myself even when it looked like I couldn't do it. In the end I have the huge reward of knowing if I really try, I can do it.

Slow Fat Triathlete Plug

OK, I have had lots of surprised, (but supportive responses) to my goal of losing weight and using a triathlon as my vehicle. That's OK. I am very optimistic and motivated to get fit and lose this weight that has been bogging me down for years. I have no doubt that I can do it, but I have been a little concerned about where I'll be at by the time next year rolls around. I have been surfing the web for resources for "beginners", "overweight" triathletes and long term training plans. In that search I came across Jayne Williams and her concept of the Slow Fat Triathlete. She started out pretty much where I did at my peak weight, plus some injuries. She lost a bunch of weight and began competing in triathlons irregardless of her shape or jiggly-ness as she puts it. She wrote a book which I picked up at Borders yesterday (along with a running and cycling magazine). I love her sense of humor, her realistic attitude and helpful hints. She is definitley inspriational in fighting the fight, despite being fat or slow. Check her out at: http://www.slowfattriathlete.com/.

Week 2 Has Flown By!

My apologies for not posting throughout the week. There have been some larger issues in my days like babies being born, Halloween, coordinating landscaping things, having company and looking for a job that have consumed my time that I would normally post. Nevertheless, the workout has not suffered; I have been forging ahead with it.

This week has been a little rough because we had company, which always challenges your ability to stay committed to an eating plan. Additionally, this week was the first week in the beginning of the worst season of the year for those like me, who are trying to get rid of their addiction to foods that are bad for them in order to get fit. We did a good job of keeping the candy bagged up and not opening it until Halloween. I did succumb to 3 snack size candies on the night of Halloween, but I have been clean since. ;o) It just takes so much will power to stay away. I have tried different tactics to keep myself focused. I worked out. I worked on the hill in the backyard. I listened to podcasts. I cleaned. I took another look through all of the emails and comments everyone has sent my way. (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) I ate good helpings of vegetables and lean meats to fill myself up with good food in order to not feel hungry anymore and kill the cravings for the bad stuff. It's been working! Yay! I just have two more months of serious temptation to go...

The workouts went great this week. I have discovered that I am enjoying swimming the most out of the three disciplines at the moment. Currently, I am working swimming Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 6am to 7am, rain or shine. This week, I have gotten up to 800 yards in my workout, with varying exercises and drills. It's great. The rest of the week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) I've been working on the upright bike and with weights. With each day that goes by I am increasing my time, distance or weight with the exercises that I repeat and that is so exciting. At the end of the day's workout, I've been very dilligent about stretching out. This has prevented further muscle soreness problems. We capped off the week this morning by taking Zoe, our little pug, for an hour walk on the hilly trails around our neighborhood. She misses these walks because before we joined the gym, she used to go everyday. I think we miss these walks too because we tried to sleep in and ended up getting up at 7:05am feeling ready for exercise. It is nice to know that my body is establishing a rhythm and routine of waking early and yearning for exercise. I love it.

So, as I mentioned, the emails and comments really help keep me motivated. If you have time in the day, where you have nothing to do, then send me an email or post a comment. If you have strategies for staying lean and healthy during the holidays, let me know. I can sure use them. :o)