Off to Marriage

Coming to you from BFE Border Town Texas, aka Del Rio. Who knew that the Ramada here would be fully wirelessly connected? Niiiiice. This is our last bit of civilization for two weeks, because goodness knows that there isn't any where we're going.

Lots of pictures coming to you in two weeks.

Amber out.

Another Weird Thing About Me

Another weird thing about me is that I have a tendency to enjoy learning the words to very fast songs (or portions of songs - and I use the term "song" loosely here) and the ability to repeat them back at speed.

My top 4 favorite high-speed songs:
1. One Week by Barenaked Ladies
2. Yeah by Usher
3. End of the World by REM
4. Party Song by Blink 182

Even when I'm exhausted.

Digging My Shadow

I forgot to mention this morning that before I cut my run short, I was totally digging my shadow as I ran. Normally I have been wearing t-shirts as I run, so my shadow is rather bulky. But the heat made me decide that noone really sees me at 5am anyways, so maybe I could wear something a little smaller/tighter. And let me tell you, my shadow was hot!! I may not be able to say that about my image in the mirror yet, but go Shadow!!

Impromptu Brick

Last night's swim went well. 30 laps in 30 min. Knocked 4 seconds off my best single lap time (to approx. 32 sec.). I'm starting to really think that this pool is 25 yards, based on the swim team stuff posted on the bulletin board. Either way, I was able to string together more laps without stopping. I was trying to focus on form, because last time Preston noticed that I was lifting my head to look at the wall instead of looking down at the lane line. You know what? He was right. And I am waaaay faster with my head down. I could *feel* the difference. Even though I struggled not to break concentration and revert to a bad habit.

For this morning? A three mile run was on schedule. I went out fully intending to make that happen. What stopped me? That's right! At about mile 1 the Pooper Express rolled into town. I had to haul ass (literally) to make it home in time. The result? 1.6 miles in 17ish minutes. And one pound lost. After that fiasco, I only had 10 minutes left in my workout time allotment, so I decided to bike it out on the stationary: 2.5 miles in 10 minutes.

And I have only one more thing to say: this morning I put on a pair of size 8 slacks and they were literally *too big* to wear to work. Hells yeah!!!

Wedding Frantic Exercise Blarg

I feel like I don't have much new to say today.

Still running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready to get the hell outta Dodge (aka H-town) on Saturday.

Work seems a respite among the hubub at home. But it also seems a waste of time.

Biked 10 miles last night on the stationary in 45 min. Not too pleased with the 13.33 mph, but right now, I'm taking calorie burn where I can get it and running (well, more like limping with my hobbled ass).

Tae Bo this morning. Swim on tap for tonight. Run for tomorrow morning. Bike tomorrow evening. Lather, rinse, repeat as often as humanly possible.

Scale was one pound heavier than yesterday. P.O.S. And no, I didn't eat 3000 extra calories yesterday. Seriously.

Weekend Warrior

Busy weekend.

I crapped out on the strength training on Friday. Just never got around to it. Was looking forward to it. Still looking forward to it, darnit. Did manage to get a marriage license, though. Mr. and Mrs. G. Holy shitballs.

Saturday I went to the beach in Galveston. First time this summer. Yay!! I played a pretty sweet game of frisbee for my daily exercise, then built a wet-sand-castle for strength training. I didn't know, of course, at the time that it was strength training. As I was bending over into our very deep hole for the wet sand, one of the girls said that this was great toning for the butt. But if anywhere, I was feeling it in my hamstrings (as usual). OMG, not Sunday or today. Oh no. That was definitely for the butt. Yesiree, my butt *hurts*. Big. Time. I seriously am making grumpy noises every time I sit down. And then every time I shift positions. Seriously.

Then on Sunday we proceeded to *frantically* start getting our stuff ready for leaving next weekend. Cleaning, buying stuff, collecting stuff, making lists. Joy. Oh, and on the buying stuff. We really need to stop. For sure.

That is all.

Oh, and I did lose some weight last week. Just half-a-pound to go before wedding goal weight. I'd like to do that this week, though, so I can stand on the scale and know I did it before I leave. I can so totally do this. I'll just do two-fers for the rest of the week. Tae bo this morning? Done. Bike for this evening.

Now that is really all.

What Could You Do With An Archaeology Degree?

Be a librarian.

Or manage a Denny's.

What's on Tap

I've been a little negligent lately about recording all the details of various workouts in my blog because I've been doing 2-fers all week:
Monday: Tae Bo/Bike
Tuesday: Tae Bo/Swim
Wednesday: Tae Bo/Bike
Thurday: Tae Bo/Swim
Friday: Run/Strength train

So, to catch up: both of my bikes this week pleased me. I rode the stationary and got 7.5 mi in 30 min. and 8.5 mi. in 40 min. respectively.

The swim last night went well. I could already see some improvement. I tried to spend less time on the wall, and use the breast stroke for recovery in between bouts of freestyle. I lost count of my sets, unfortunately, so I tacked an extra set on to make sure I got at least 24 laps. But I really think I got 28 laps in the 30ish minutes. Go me. I may have spoken too soon about the great people staying out of the lap lane, however.

This morning I ran just under 3 miles in 30 minutes. Again, go me for getting up this morning and hitting the road before 6am to minimize the crippling heat/humidity effects. Strength training on tap for some time this afternoon (gotta get my $20/month worth). Yoga/off day tomorrow. I'm thinking about trying to talk Preston into taking me to the beach tomorrow. If he doesn't get overtime. Then running again on Sunday, possibly also with swimming?

But for now, once I finish my breakfast (Kashi Vanilla Oatmeal), it is back to bed! Onward!

That's Not Long

"When are you getting married?" July 7. "That's not long!"

This conversation has happened hundreds of times over the last week or two at work.

"Are you planning on changing your name? Then you'll be Mrs. G, huh?"

Insert mild freak-out here.

"Is Preston nervous?"

He seems to be ok. I on the other hand?

It isn't the committment aspect of marriage that scares me. We were pretty formally committed when we bought our house together (almost exactly one year ago - wow), at least in my mind. I think it just must be the change represented by "legitimacy". By that I mean that I think I am bothered by this appearance of moving into "adulthood". I feel like a total fraud. I am a kid playing house. A kid playing librarian. A kid playing dress-up. A teenager just trying to have a good time. An adult who traded her Mustang for an SUV with a job and a house and a *gulp* husband? That can't possibly be me!!

That's me. The very-soon-to-be Mrs. G.

Holy shitballs.

Rated R

I'm not shocked at the rating, based on the content of my blog. What does shock me was the reasoning they provided:

"This rating was based on the following words gun (3x), gay (2x), and ass (1x)."

Have I really said gun 3 times?? When?? I'm gonna have to Ctrl+f this crap.

Gay only twice? I thought surely I said it more during the "Gay Gyno Short" series.

Ass only once? Interesting.

Also interesting that the shit entry (34x) didn't show as a blip on the rating radar.

And I haven't said the f-word yet? Huh.

Now Interrupting Our Regularly Scheduled Run...

It was raining this morning. I didn't run. I can run in the rain. I will run in the rain. On weekends. But not during the week.

Since I got up early to run, though, I decided to do a long tae bo from the amped series that I haven't tried yet. My arms surely feel it. The amped series is great for the arms, where as all of the other tae bos are better for legs. I'm liking it because I can mix it all up and feel like I'm getting a total body workout across two days.

But the real news? The pool at the Gym. Wow. I'm so totally impressed with the pool environment itself that I'll just skip the part where I swam one lap and huffed and puffed at the wall for a few minutes to rave about the pool. The designated lap lane was open when we arrived at 6:15ish, and Preston and I were the only people using it for the 30 minutes we were there. There were a number of kids and families at the pool, but they totally stayed out of the lap lane. I couldn't believe it!! It's like I was transported into a world where people are totally polite and raising their kids to have manners!! Very impressed. I even heard one lady say (while I tried to get my HR down below 200), "No, let's not go over there right now, they're swimming laps." Awesome!!!

Yeah, so about those laps... ass-kickers. I did not expect how incredibly difficult that would be. I've been swimming all my life. I'm quite a decent swimmer. I'm even a bilateral breather. I'm in the best cardiovascular and muscular shape of my life (when trying, at least), so I kind of thought I'd hop in and swim some laps and get a good workout and go home. What actually happened was I hopped in, swam a lap and then panted for a long time while my heart beat out of control, and repeated. A lot. I swam two laps of breast stroke and then two of freestyle and repeated the combo 5 times. To be fair to myself, by about midway through I was breaking only after every two laps, and by the end I was using the breast stroke to "break" and trying to minimize my time on the wall. Still. I followed those twenty laps with 2 more of breast stroke, 1 of arms-only freestyle (ass-kicker), and 1 timed lap of freestyle (:36.98). I spent 30 minutes swimming, and if that timed lap was relatively accurate, that means that I spent approximately half of that time clutching the wall and panting. Nice.

But at least I have a baseline, and at least 2 (but hopefully 3) months more of the pool being open. I'd like to be swimming 30 minutes straight, and 50-60 laps in that time by the time the pool closes. Aiming at at least 3 swims per week.

P.S. I guess the pool is 25 something long. Meters or yards, how can I tell??

Gym Joining

Well, we finally pulled the trigger and joined the local homeowner's "recreational facility". It is actually an incredibly good deal: $20/family/month. They have an outdoor pool (with one always-designated lap lane), 8 tennis courts, and a weight room will all of the machines that I've so dearly missed. According to the guy we spoke with, they are also building a park with a mile track!! (The local high school actually locks their track up!) Yay!!! Although I joined for the pool this summer, I know that the weight room and the mile track will keep us enrolled for a long time to come.

This morning: tae bo. This evening: swimming.

I'm excited!!

Back Anatomy

Last Thursday I starting having a pain in my back. It feels rather like a crick in my neck, but it is much wider-reaching. I suspect that it is my trapezuis muscle on the left side - the pain definitely attaches to my scapula on the bottom and runs all the way up to the base of my head. When I turn my head it hurts in my neck and near my scapla. And when I say hurts I mean *hurts*. Hurts to the extent that I've finally bought my first ever bottle of Aleve. Which is *awesome*, by the way. It didn't hurt during my 5K, probably because running doesn't have to involve much head-turning. It also didn't really bother me at tae bo this morning. But man, sitting at this desk sucks.

Dad's Day 5K Race Report

31:18 at 10:02/mile.

This, very surprisingly went well! Especially since I hadn't run all week, trying to de-grumpify my shins, and I wasn't even sure on race morning if I'd actually be able to run.

Well, I was. For the first bit I ran with Preston, which was new and nice for me. He pulled about 40 feet in front of me at about half a mile, which was fine because by then I knew I was ok to run. Just before the first mile marker the leader passed me going the opposite way on the out-and-back course. I looked at the guy running next to me and said "Dang!!". That guy pulled ahead of me, but I was able to use him as a rabbit for much of the rest of the course.

At one mile, my split was 10:55 gun time (and I found out later that I was 32 seconds off gun time, so 10:23). I was excited, and I thought I could speed up a bit, because I felt great. So I sped up a bit, and at the 1.5 mile turnaround I was 16:01 gun. Shortly after, I passed my parents walking the other way and gave them a big wave, and then I passed Preston who had stayed just ahead of me until he stopped running. I yelled "Let's go, Bic" and he tried to run with me again for a minute before walking it out to the end. At mile 2 I was at 21 and change, and I realized that I just ran a 10 minute mile. Sweeeeeet!!! I still felt great, so I tried to pick it up just a little bit more before the slow dying in the last mile began. The course only had one hill, which you hit twice: within the first half mile, and again between 2.5 and 3. It didn't seem too bad on the way out, but on the way back I had to really talk myself up it. It didn't help that the 3K walkers had caught up with us slower runners and I was having to weave around the course to find a free path. it would have been so easy to have stopped and walked at that point, but I told myself that I was almost there, and kept going. Finally I could see the start and knew that I was almost done, so I picked up the pace again and crossed the line in 31:50, or 31:18 chip time. A PR by almost 2 whole minutes!! And I negative split the course!! On a day I wasn't even sure I was running!!

Of course, now I wish I had pushed a little harder on that first mile, because to average 10:02 when I had a 10:30 something first mile means that I negative split the course, and also that I ran at least one mile below 10 minutes. Now I want to run *every* mile less than 10!! In time, grasshopper, in time.

Overall: I like this course better than the Astros 5K because of the smaller hill in a better location and the overall flatness otherwise. I *loved* the volunteers calling out splits at the markers!!! This was *wonderful* for those of us without lap watches. There seemed to be plenty of volunteers and all of the stops were well manned. The water spray feature was really nice, and of course, compared to the Astros 5K, it was great to actually be able to see the finish line. The family photo with Dad was really cool, and I hope it came out well. The negatives: we had to pay to park, the post-race food wasn't the greatest (I really was missing the standard fare of bananas!!), and I had trouble finding the posted results for a while.

Definitely would do this one again. May even make it a Dad's Day tradition.

Hella Busy

Today has been a hella busy day at work. Yay.

But now it has slowed down, so I can blog about random crap. Double yay, and not sarcastic this time.

To the fuzz that did not pull me over this morning when I was going 80 in the fast lane: Thank you. To the guy that was trying to go around everyone by going 85 in the slow lane, thank you for distracting the fuzz from me. Thank you, indeed.

To the old guy in the Dubya04 Avalon who sped up from 70 only when I tried to pass him going 80, then slowed back to 70 when I was shafted, then sped back up to 85 when I tried unsucessfully to pass him again: F^$% You. Seriously. Btw, that damn sticker is 3 years old. And it indicates that you are a moron.

Today is the first week that I'm not going to run at all during the week in several months. I just don't want to risk my shins. So my next run will be the Dad's Day 5K this weekend. Hopefully I don't suck it. My parentals will be there walking it, though, so I could always suck it and walk with them. But I would really really like to run it. *sigh*

I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up pissed off today.

Oh, and that medicine that's supposed to be treating bacterial infections, ummm... is that supposed to make you bleed in uhhhh.... places? Because WTF??? Seriously.

TMI? Ah, then see your way out of my blog.

Weird Things About Me

As I was tooling around the Internet yesterday, I noticed people tagging people to do this: list 6 weird things about themselves. I won't get tagged because I don't have any blogger friends (yet), but I'm in the mood, so here goes:

1. I have to use two towels after my shower. 1 for hair/face and another for body.
2. I shower twice daily, once after morning workout, and once before bed. My hair/face towel from the morning becomes the body towel in the evening which then becomes dirty.
3. I'm OC about trash/dirty.
4. But I used to be an archaeologist. Real dirt doesn't count as dirty for me.
5. When I eat a Snickers, I eat the top part with the peanuts/caramel first, then the nougat.
6. I eat each particular part of a meal seperately, and I don't like the foods to touch. Last night my dinner was 2 items on opposite sides of a plate and two bowls of veggies. I also save my favorite food for last... usually. Sometimes I eat in the order that the foods get cold.

Speaking of Snickers, I had a Snickers Marathon Bar for the first time at the Astros 5K. OMG, where have these been all my life?? They are sooooo good!!!

Tae Bo this morning. Thinking of canceling my run tomorrow as my shins are still pissed and my hamstring is still sore... want to nip this scary almost shin-splinty thing in the bud.

I am a Moron.

Moron. With a capital M. Moron.

Yesterday when we went to Memorial, I forgot my ipod. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of it, but I was already having a shitty day, I was really looking forward to a nice 3-miler at Memorial, and I forgot my ipod.

So I let Preston talk me into some speedwork.

Not smart. Not smart at all. In fact, totally moronic.

24 hours later: my shins are seriously pissed, my quads are sore, and my right hamstring isn't pleased. From the baseball afterwards, every muscle on my right upper body hurts.

But mostly, I'm scared because of the shins.

Moron. Stupid stupid idiot girl. Moron.

Crappy Running Pics?

Not anymore!!!!

All it took was a new Nikon D-40X and Preston at the helm.

Bad Running Pictures

I didn't mention it at the time, but last week the pictures from the Astros 5K were posted online.

I take *horrible* running pictures. Awful. Ugly.

I mean, I knew I would be beet red in the face. My red hair necessitates that any physical activity results in me looking like my head is literally going to explode. What I didn't know was how *flabby* I was going to look. I'm actually getting pretty happy with my weight, and I guess I thought that my pictures were going to start reflecting that... and I was doing physical activity for goodness sake!! Couldn't my legs have *flexed* their muscles or something?? And in every picture I look like I feel miserable. I do feel rather miserable during my runs, but I did actually close my mouth and try not to look miserable for one photographer. I did manage to close my mouth, but the misery remained.

I bring this up now because it is really hot outside. I've been running in a rather complicated ensemble, at least on the top end of me: supportive bra covered by an exercise tank with a built-in shelf bra covered by a t-shirt. I cover the tank with the T because the bra straps on the bottom layer are way thicker than the tank straps, which is tacky. The problem is that the 4 layers of fabric over my boobs and 2 layers everywhere else is starting to feel a little unreasonable as I begin running in 90 degree heat. I'd like to lose the T. Another option is to find a really good sports bra and keep the T. Both options would result in less layers, but for now, losing the T is the cheaper way to go, and thus preferred. The problem is that now I'm feeling very self-conscious of the way I look when I run.

3.5 miles in 40 minutes this morning, 30 of the minutes running for 2.8 miles sandwiched between walking warmup and cooldown. Still a little slower than I'd like, but way better than last Friday!

My Weight, My Body, My Choice

I am 5'5", female, current weight 136, starting weight 150, wedding goal weight 135, ultimate awesome goal weight 125. With that knowledge, proceed with the story.

I'm sitting in the break room for lunch. Lunch at work is a very calorie controlled thing for me. This has been an integral part of my weight-loss strategy because I have a bit less control at home. Breakfast=300cal, Snack 1=60 cal, Snack 2=100 cal, Lunch=420 cal, Snack 3=100 cal. Anyways, someone offered me some cornbread and butter. I demurred, noting that I still have a pound to lose before my wedding. Prompting someone to ask how much I had lost and how much I had to go. To which my answer was 14 down, 1 to go pre-wedding, 10 more after that.

The response?

"That's too much. You'll be too thin."

First of all, no I won't. Second of all, BMI agrees with me. It even says I can go as low as 115. I have chosen not to. I believe I would look too thin at 115. That is my opinion, and since this my body, that is my choice. Third of all, did I ask for opinions?? NOoooooo.

I know that BMI isn't the be-all, end-all of ideal weights. But in this case, with me, I think it is perfectly reasonable to weigh 125 at my height, and I'm gonna use it to back me up.

Now, I won't do anything unhealthy to get to 125. If I can't get there, fine. No problem. I just want to be healthy and most importantly, fit.

Rant, out!

Perfect Week

The local pool has opened. We haven't joined the club yet, but the price is very reasonable ($15/month/family), so it is only a matter of time and initiative before it happens.

So with the possibility of swimming as a workout looming on the horizon, as I was slipping off to sleep last night I was dreaming about what the perfect week's workout schedule would be. I actually think it would be a two week rotation looking something like (a / between indicates before slash=morning, after slash=evening):

M: Tae Bo/Bike
T: Tae Bo/Swim
W: Run/Bike
R: Yoga/Swim
F: Bike-Run brick
S: Swim and Strength train
S: Run/Yoga
M: Tae Bo/Bike
T: Run/Swim
W: Tae Bo/Bike
R: Run/Swim
F: Bike
S: Run
S: Swim

I can forsee someday Tae Bo being lessened in favor of additional strengthening or stretching. I can also see those F/S/S workouts in the 2nd week going in combo with yoga or strength at my current distances, or turning into long distances/times if I get more serious.

Hormone Update

Which would you choose?
1. Remember to take a pill every day. Be sure you take it at night because it makes you vomit if you are awake. Have cramps several days per month. Cycle for 5 full days per month. Act manic-depressive: be laughing one minute and crying the next. Cry at least once per day. Feel dead inside. Don't use a condom when you have sex, but have no sex drive.
OR
2. Don't take a pill every day. Have no cramps. Cycle for ONE DAY and spot for 3. Act like a normal person. Cry only when you are hurt or sad (read: once a month, tops). Have a sex drive. Use condoms.

Where have my own hormones been for the past 8 years?? WTF was I thinking when I got on the pill? Seriously. Never again.

Ran 32 minutes this morning. 3 miles, maybe? Felt a bit slow, but got it done.

Baseball Blues

For once, though, not of the professional variety, thanks to the Astros' off-day yesterday.

No, after talking to Preston last night, I realized that it wasn't Tae Bo that got me all sore, it was the little bit of baseball batting I did at Memorial with him after my run. Apparently 30ish swings with my specially brought (just for me) lighter aluminum bat were just too much for my fitness level. You know, after I ran the 3 miles.

I am still sore today. Muscle groups wanting me to stay in bed include: back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and abs. Lovely. Apparently I need to add a new form of cross-training to my running. Baseball. Who knew?

Once a Drummer...

Always a Drummer?

In high school I was a drummer in the marching band. Bass drum. I freaking loved it.

After a fast or hard-hitting piece, my forearms would be swollen and painful in the good exercise-induced pain way.

Drumming really builds your forearms.

You know, almost everyone has a dominent hand. In drumming, this is a problem because it can cause unequal sounds from one hand to the next.

Mostly guys on the drumline.

I actually had an instructor once tell the guys that they needed to whack off with their non-dominant hand in order to strengthen it.

I am so totally not kidding here.

Anyways, the point is that my Tae Bo this morning killed my forearms. Like drumming.

3 Miles at Memorial

Ran a loop at Memorial today. First time there in a few years. It was nice. Definitely shadier than at home. Also, for some reason, easier on the brain. Maybe because there is more to see than on my neighborhood route due to the ever-changing sea of faces going by. I think that it will be ideal for long runs in the future. Also found out this weekend that my local pool is 11am-9pm every day except Monday. I could get in after work a few times a week, and hopefully by that time all of the rugrats will have had to go home for dinner.

Decided to call it OHRW1D2. Decided that at least in the beginning while I'm building up mileage as long as more than a week doesn't roll by, each 30 minute run counts. At least for now.

I'm incredibly hungry today. Absurdly.

How Texas Am I?

You Are 84% Texas

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. This ain't your first rodeo!

How Texas Are You?

Dog Days of Summer

I had a seriously crappy run this morning. It was the first time I've stopped to walk in the middle of a run since C25K. I just felt awful. I ran 15 minutes, then walked, then ran 5 and walked twice more for a total of 25 minutes of running.

Don't get me wrong. It was still good exercise. It just totally sucked. Totally. Worst run ever. So far. UGH!!

I guess Sunday I need to go butt-freaking-early in the morning. Hate getting up early on weekends.

Think I'll call these runs that suck due to heat Dog Runs. (I know what a real dog run is, but I'm appropriating the phrase. Deal with it.) Because I do think it sucked because of the heat. Whenever I had a headwind or shade I felt like I could keep going, but whenever I got into the beating sun or lost the wind I just wanted to sit down.

So yeah. Try for earlier on Sunday. What a shitty way to start OHR - a hurried Weds and a failed Friday. Bleh.