MapMyRun

Okay, so today I had a date with Mi to run 10K on the treadmills at school, which I will admit is TORTUROUS. I usually prefer running on my treadmill because I have ALL the info right in front of me about distance, time, and SPEED even, which I obviously don't get outside 'cause my little legs here are not equipped with their own speedometer....though that could be cool.... ANYWAY, yeah. I can run forever, relatively speaking, on Optimus Prime while watching a movie or whatever, but at school, staring at nothing....gaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh

Anyway, not being overly motivated at all today and thinking about running for over an hour staring at the same nothing in front of me wasn't all that appealing I suggested we go outside, which I usually do NOT prefer due to the LACK of the access to the aforementioned data. (That 'sentence' goes on forEVER! Did I lose ya'? muahahaha!) BUT Mi was adamant we get a full 10K in - she is the drill sergeant - soooo we checked out one of Steph's favourite sites: mapmyrun.com

That site prescribed a pretty good run!! NOW as I map it again to try to get it so I can blog it (yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing - the best I came up with is the URL to the route - Steph, HELP!) mapmyrun.com claims it's 'only' 8.89km instead of the purported 10 (which explains the TIME, eh, Mi??) BUT holy COW there's this KILLER hill..... Oy. OY!!

Sooo...we ran outside, added the world's craziest hill for the very END of the run (we started going downhill - school's on top of a mini-mountain for pity's sake) aaaaaand I ran for 55 minutes and change. Yeah, that hill slowed me down a bit. A LOT.

My throat's feeling a wee bit scratchy tonight as I write this, though.... I don't want to get sick AGAIN, but we'll see. Anyway, good day. Need to do yogilates tomorrow and work out the thingie in my left leg which LEFT last week and has now re-shown-up buuuuuut other than that, felt pretty good! Well, other than the whole feeling of death on the way up that hill...

Did I mention how much I love running outside up the world's biggest, longest, most horrid hill??

OH yeah - here's the MAP

I love moleskin

Before I get into today's actual post I just have to acknowledge and THANK everyone for the concern over my poor poor feet and the ginormous blisters I've developed! I had Steph look it up in a book, my mother-in-law find and forward how-to-treat-and-prevent websites (this one, and this one) - ALL of which information I will admit I found helpful. APPARENTLY you get blisters if your shoes are too tight - who knew?! I figured if I was getting blisters it meant my shoes weren't tied tight ENOUGH because there'd be extra room to slide around....yeah, that means after getting the first set of blisters LAST week I've been tying my laces like vice-grips.

"...here's your sign...."

*sigh*

ALSO - I thought if I maybe taped 'em up I'd be able to run some more this week instead of sitting on my tookus (read: butt) waiting for them to get better BUT when I was out erranding with Little Miss yesterday I FORGOT to go to the drugstore! I know, I know. I'm all about winning prizes for schmarts this week. BUT my darling dearest Mr. Man stopped off on his way home from work, talked to the pharmacist, and I've now been introduced to the BEST thing EVER - moleskin!

OH how I love moleskin!! It's just this sticky-soft thing you stick to you - I put it right over my (popped) blisters (it DOES suggest on the packaging you not adhere it directly over top of blisters JUST so you know), put on my socks, and laced my shoes like a NORMAL person instead of akin to a clamp - NO PAIN! I didn't even FEEL my blisters! BOOM BAM baby! Oh, it was great. I mean, as great as running 5K on a treadmill in the school gym can be.... ;) hahaha

I don't know how fast I went, though, 'cause part way through my hand slipped and I hit the 'STOP' button which...yeah. Helps with my whole being SMRT this week. hahaha OH well.

OH, and my leg's been bugging me lately, so I did yogilates last night - how long has THAT been, eh? I do still love it and look forward to making more time for it...later. hahaha After finals, maybe.

I forget if I wanted to write about anything else today - great, eh? GEEZE!! I think the moleskin being amazing was the main thing...and thanks for the concern and help!! :)

Speaking of concern and help - aren't mommies WONDERFUL?? I love mine. :) *sigh*

I DID it.

I finally ran a full 10 kilometers today.

I gave myself a set of the most wicked blisters I've ever SEEN - I have to find out what I'm not doing right with my poor feet - am I not tying my shoes right? Bad socks? Not enough sock? TOO much sock?

Maybe if I DON'T figure it out I'll just wear my feet down and build up some B-E-A-YOOOtiful calluses so I can run the full distance without limping at the end....

Anyway, I did 10. Took....I think Mi said 1:05:29. WHICH isn't BAD seeing how when I first STARTED running it took me 38 minutes to run 5 sooooo.... I'll take it.

I'm going to have to work to get that time under 1:00, though, eventually - I don't think I can handle running for over an hour all that regularly - it feels like FOREVER!! I've officially decided marathoners are sick-freak masochists... ;)

It's about time

I just booked my first ever 5K race, April 11th.

PHEW - just signing UP is nerve-racking!!

Triglyceride Oxidation

I learned something kinda' cool yesterday in exercise physiology that I thought you lovely folks might find interesting. We've been learning about/reviewing the adaptations the body experiences as a result of different types of training, i.e. strength training (any resistance exercises: weight-training, pilates, calisthenics - the stuff that you do to make you stronger - super-dee-duper important, by the way - we should ALL be doing it) and endurance training (basically aerobic exercise: running, jogging, swimming, cycling - the long drawn-out exercise that makes you want to shoot yourself half-way through). Specifically yesterday we talked about endurance training and I found the most interesting thing about it is that with training your body adapts such that it grows better and more dependent on oxidation of triglycerides to fuel endurance exercise.

Did you catch that?? ;)

BASICALLY the more cardio training you do over time the more your body is going to burn FAT to fuel your cardio session as opposed to carbohydrate. A marathon runner's body uses more fat stores to fuel a run than a (previously) sedentary, fat person.

CRAZY, no?? SO...make sure you have some endurance training in your regime if you're trying to lose some of the jiggle! hahaha

It's been a busy week - it's Friday already. I'm not as far along with my homework as I had hoped, but I'm not behind...yet. I got one assignment handed in yesterday and got started on the next; unfortunately my poor brain is screaming for a break and isn't churning out this 10 page paper on obesity (I may have some more interesting things to write about soon!) very quickly.

BUT, Little Miss is away at daycare today for a field-trip to the Sugar Bush to learn all about Maple Syrup production, so I find myself with a few extra hours than budgeted for - hopefully (once I get the heck off blogger!) I'll get a good amount of work done.

This week, Mi and I tackled a 10K run on the treadmills at school. UNFORTUNATELY I'm a bit of an IDIOT and appear to have not taken the time to really properly tie my shoes so by about 5K my feet were getting really uncomfortable. By 8K I couldn't run properly anymore due to the enormous blisters I'd managed to give myself so had to stop. It was really disappointing not to finish the 10, especially for such a silly reason!! But I did run 8, and then walked the last 2 - walking didn't rub on the feet in the same way, thank goodness!!

That's all of note, really, I think. We played an AWESOME game of soccer last night, which was a blast - kudos to all who came out and played.

OH yeah, and I weighed myself on the WiiFit, finally, this morning:
WEIGHT: 165.3lbs
BMI: 26.57

JUST as a reminder - when we started this thing I was at:
WEIGHT: 179.5lbs
BMI: 28.84
SO it's been slow going, but it's been going. 165.3 is the lowest I've hit so far, so new milestone for me! Hooray!!

Okay, time to write this paper! Wish me luck! :D

The Food Fight

I think people think I'm kidding when I say that I'm a food addict. I don't know if 'addict' is really the right word, but I'm SERIOUS!! Food is so much more than just fuel to me, but I'm not even aware of it when it's sliding down my gullet.

I told Mom the other day that I think I'm addicted to food, and instead of laughing and saying 'aren't we all!' which has been the usual/typical response (not a bad thing, people - I appreciate the comments and feedback!!) she looked at me, thoughtfully, and asked 'what makes you say that?' She took me SERIOUSLY! THEN I explained why I think I have a 'problem' and she AGREED, more or less. You should ask her - I can pack away ridiculously enormous amounts of food. I eat and eat and eat and eat - when dinner's over and everyone's still loitering but FINISHED eating I go back 2, 3, 10 more times. I eat three-meals'-worth in one sitting and then eat half a litre of ice cream. I get 'hungry' right before bed and satiate it with a burger or an ice cream sundae, or a Mr. Noodle with an egg... When I bake cookies I eat half the dough before I bake it and then, sparing three or four cookies for Mr. Man and Little Miss to share, I eat the whole batch in a day or two.

It's disgusting.

So when I said before that I'm a food addict and I'm going to try to work on that, I was being dead serious, and not flip at all. I know it's hard to imagine me without the flip side ;) BUT there it is.

SINCE declaring my new I'm-in-control-of-the-food-it-is-not-in-control-of-me plan last week I've run into a few hiccups, but generally I've done fantastically.

I published the plan on Wednesday, which was followed by a busy busy Thursday and I literally didn't have a chance to eat dinner 'till much after the usual time, and so I ate much later than 7:00. WHICH is really fine, 'cause it wasn't an additional meal. Then FRIDAY was just a WEIRD day, absolutely insane, which resulted in the beginning of dinner-eating around 8:30, I think it was. Anyway, we were at my parents and we ate in shifts (yeah, WEIRD day) and when the last shift was eating (Mom) I went to visit, and popped some food in my mouth. WHICH is against the plan/rules. I didn't realize what I'd done until the second handful was heading to my mouth, but then I remembered and put it down. SO, not TOO bad.

Then I didn't eat any sugar/dessert type things on Saturday, freeing me to bump the freebie day to Sunday and my mother-in-law's birthday, where I had only ONE helping of cake and ice cream, though I desperately wanted a second...and probably a third.

So that's that for now. Mi and I did a spin class last week, I played soccer - it wasn't the most active week I've ever had but it'll do. Homework etc. is really coming down hard on us right now, but I'm trying to stay on top of things all around so that I can get everything done without killing myself. Today between classes I'm (writing this post) doing homework and then going for a much-needed run later, so there you go.

That is all, for now, but I thought you should know how the food thing's been going. Insane, but it's going. ;) Thanks for the support and well-wishes! :D

The Sun is Shining

Little Miss and I went outside this morning and ran around our little smidgen of a backyard - her pants are covered in mud, if you need proof....

It's a GORGEOUS day, and I'm well rested. Today is a better day.

Here, FINALLY are some pictures to prove we were in Ottawa, and moving ;)
My hot vacation-date and I.

Our darling-dearest Ferret-Mama, hostess extraordinaire!

Mr. Man & Little Miss in front of Parliament - we went for typically tourist photos. :)



See? SKATING on the canal - TOO much fun!! I mean, other than the freezing part, doesn't it look like a blast??
Little Miss wasn't overly active, come to think of it....


So I figure it's probalby not that big of a deal NOW because I'm posting them so late, but there it is. I promised, I did it. One thing off the never-ending to-do list.

TODAY I figured I'd better attack this food problem I've decided I have. I just EAT and EAT - it's like I'm compelled to eat by some evil food forces. I don't even know. I just HAVE to eat something. Everything.

I need to do some searching and see if food addiction is a real thing or if I'm just making it up. I mean, I don't eat, I don't think, like some of the morbidly obese people who make it to 'Oprah,' but really, maybe I DO and the difference is the fact that I actually MOVE a bit. A lot.

SO I'm going to try to adhere to a couple of things I used to do back in high school when I was on the wrestling team (surprise!) to make weight for a big competition: I stopped eating 'sugar' except on Saturdays, and stopped eating after 6:30.

I'm a little...hmmmmmm...about this 'cause really the MOST IMPORTANT thing for fat-loss is to make sure calories in are less than calories used - it doesn't MATTER what you eat or when you eat it (even though we go on and on and on and on and ON about what to eat, when to eat, what not to eat - just eat less than you use and you'll lose fat!! PROMISE!) BUT here's why I'm going to try it:

I EAT 'sugar' food in huge huge huge amounts when I eat it. I can eat half a tub of ice cream in a sitting, plus toppings, I pop chocolate chips in my mouth when I walk by them in the kitchen over and over each day - 'sugar' food, i.e. dessert is like, a treat for most people, but I use it as a meal. Even AFTER a meal I'll eat that much. It's gross, actually, the amount I can pack away. SO if I cut it out, except on Saturday 'cause I'm HUMAN and legitimately want it occasionally, I won't eat near as many calories.

CONSIDERATIONS: When you DO this kinda' think and only eat i.e. sugar one day a week you CAN overindulge and your body will hang on to the sugars like no one's business = more fat. I found previously when I did it for an extended period of time, though, that if I tried to eat more than just a 'treat' amount of sugar on Saturday it made me sick to my stomach = less likely to over-eat dessert! HOORAY!

After 6:30 (I may switch this to 7 - let me give it a week, but my school schedule is a bit wacked-out) I eat bad things, and too many of them. I don't need to eat anything after 6:30 if I've had 3+2 meals during the day. It takes a bit of discipline for me for a while to get my belly to recognize it's NOT hungry late at night and I DON'T need uber-buttery popcorn, ice cream, taco-bell.... I don't need it, so why do I EAT it??

I'm going to stop.

I don't think this is too much - I just have to curb my sweet tooth for a few days, and live with the late-night munchies by, gee, going to sleep??

SO - hold me to it. Let's see if I can't get another few inches off this sexy bod of mine and hit Gap 8, eh?? EH?!

I love my life - I love my life - I love my life...

Theoretically I would love to be posting every day, or nearly every day. I do manage to run/exercise more often than I've been posting, but I almost feel as if, for now, I've conquered that and posting is pointless or almost like BRAGGING. So lately I've really only been focusing on accomplishments and whatever. Which I guess may be more braggy than not but...whoops. hahaha

AND I find I'm just EXHAUSTED all the time - I'm really not on board for this whole daylight savings thing - I'm sleep-deprived, have to get my own body to adjust to the time AND get an 18-month-old to adjust AND when her bedtime comes around it's going to be as bright as bright can BE in her room -really really conducive to schleepies, as they are known around our house. (Oh come on, we're allowed ONE 'baby-talk' word!!)

But even without DST I'm tired. I'm just TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRED. I have too much to do and not enough steam so when it gets down to the things I enjoy doing, like this blog, I'm often done for the day and have nothing left to give to the world. Or my husband.

Anyway, not meant as a pity-party, today, I'm just oh-so BLAH about the whole thing. Weekends are SO busy I almost look forward to 8am class on Mondays to get back into a normal, slightly-less-hectic schedule. I mean, who DOES that?!?!

And, of course, I'm sick again. AGAIN. I sound like a man. Which would be fine and dandy if I were a man or even if my regular voice were mannish BUT to the best that I can tell when listening to myself I do NOT usually sound like this. It's like the sound is just stuck at a filter that's not letting anything through except raspy-mannish-ness. I guess it could be a good time to go for work at a 900 number....

Anyway, so that's what's going on. I'm working on it. At least in theory. If I can get my poor achy little head wrapped around it I hope to make the blog more interesting than just huzzah-I'm-amazing-and-can-run-forever and to do it more OFTEN, but for now, you get the more slightly-broken version of me.

Okay, so now you know.

OH yeah, and I think I've decided I'm addicted to food, so we're going to work on that. A LOT.

Holy Accomplishment, Batman!

Okay, sooooo forEVER now I've thought to myself I'd love to be able to run 5 miles. 5 miles. Someone told me once that if I run 5 miles three times a week I'd be able to eat whatever the heck I want and weight would just FALL off of me.

Knowing what I do NOW as opposed to THEN that could be a ridiculous claim BUT I've still always held on to the 5 miles thing in the back of my brain.

.....FIVE MILES.....

That's friggin 8 kilometers. The most I've ever run is 6. How the heck am I going to run 8?!?!

Well......I JUST DID IT!!

Ode to the scratchy throat

I found the camera, so I will post pictures of the Ottawa trip to PROVE that I was there. :) AND moving.

I have nothing interesting to say today, but it's been a couple days and I am honestly trying to be more diligent about the blog because I enjoy it so. BUT, as seems usual, I'm sick. So today, I did nothing.

Except madly finish a huge assignment for my exercise physiology class that I meant to polish off over the weekend BUT got hit with one of the busiest weekends EVER (sometimes I seriously wish I was just a STUDENT and not a student, mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt........I envy my classmates this. But only sometimes. I wouldn't trade Little Miss and Mr. Man for the world).

SATURDAY before I was completely derailed by this, whatever the new sickness is, I did get a run in on Optimus Prime. It was pretty good. I got tuckered out before my usual finish distance, so took a teeny walking break, and finished 5K doing intervals (they were good, HARD intervals, I PROMISE, Mi!! Mr. Man can vouch for me!)

Okay. Now I'm going to go take a bath and try to sweat this crap out of me so I can feel human ASAP.