Gazelles On Crack Rotating Header Image

December, 2008:

The Last Day

I can’t say I’ll be sad to see 2008 go. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year.

There was some good:

  • New job
  • Paid off my car
  • Ran 1/2 marathon

There was some bad:

  • Architect laid off
  • Hurt my knee, did not run marathon

But overall, I think that I’ll just look forward to the exciting things that 2009 has in store for me. I have some goals for the next year. 

  1. Run (at least one) marathon 
  2. Run 1,000 miles
  3. Think seriously about actually doing a sprint tri-athlon
  4. Master that intuitive eating thing 
  5. Drop some more (10) pounds before getting into the longer distances in my marathon training
  6. Gain no weight DURING the marathon training
  7. Continue my excellent workout schedule
  8. Continue to exercise at least 26 days/month
  9. Keep up with my knee strength & stretching
  10. Drink 64 oz+ of water each day

Since I do 5 small monthly goals, I will continue with those -these are all health & fitness goals. I have others, too, of course, but don’t necessarily feel like sharing them at this time. I probably will in the future, though. I can’t keep secrets from you guys!

Tomorrow, I’ll have my January 5 goals & an account of how I did with December. I will also do an overview of how my $200/month grocery budget worked in the first month. Oooooh…..exciting!

I am planning on running 4-5 miles tomorrow, and then 3-4 on Friday. Sunday the Ambitious One will be back & I think we’re meeting at 10 AM for our Sunday run. 

I made it to the gym again this morning for 30 minutes on the stationary bike & 30 minutes of strength training. 

Happy New Year’s!

Tales from the Locker room

Internets – I lied AGAIN! I did not work out at all yesterday. By the time I got home I was still sore, fairly grouchy, and feeling like I needed a beer more than a sweatfest.

And so, I had beer (just the one, though).

But this morning, I got up bright & early & headed off to the gym. I ran 4.5 miles (a total of 12 this week, for those keeping score). I feel fantastic. Not working out yesterday apparently was what my body needed – no hamstring or foot pain, no knee pain, no pain at all, in fact.

BUT – to make up to you, I will tell you a gross  weird creepy funny story.

Last Friday, I went to the gym after work before meeting the architect out for drinks. I ended up going a total of 4.5 miles then, too – although I walked some of them.

However, when I finished running, I went back to the lockerroom to commence being sad that I hadn’t brought a towel (no shower) or make-up (no pretty Amys) and would have to meet the architect all bedraggled & kinda sweaty looking.

*Background information* I belong to 24-Hour Fitness, which has a number of clubs in the Portland area. I have a preference for 1 of the clubs – and go to that one 90% of the time. However, when going to the gym AFTER work, I go to gym of 2nd preference, because it is on my bus route home, and having to transfer buses might make me lose my motivation. 2nd preference gym smells kinda funky, and the employees aren’t as nice. And the people who work out there tend to be weirder. *End background information*

So, I went into the (fairly large) locker room. There are many benches in this locker room. And there are 2 people besides me. They are sitting on the bench right in front of my locker. One is fully clothed. The other is wearing a towel. They are obviously having a serious conversation.

I assume that if I open my locker & start changing, they will switch to a different bench. They don’t. So now I’m naked & sweaty and they are 2 feet away. And I feel that it would now be awkward to take my naked self & my gym bag to a different area of the locker room, especially since all my stuff is already RIGHT HERE IN THIS LOCKER. *ahem*

So – I am uncomfortable with their proximity. So I eavesdrop (naturally). And they are talking about menopause.

Towel Lady says: “I think I’m running out of time – I got my period late, so I’ll like start menopause any minute now.”

Woman 2: “It’s true – the girls who started young will keep going until they’re 50.”

I thought it would make me feel less awkward if I interjected myself into their conversation. So I said: “Wow, I hope not. That would totally suck.”

Towel Lady: “ha ha ha”

Amy: “ha ha ha”

Woman 2: “Do you want to have babies?”

Amy: “no.”

Woman 2: “I like having babies.” She pulled up her shirt. “I’m on my 11th pregnancy right now.”

Towel Lady: “ha ha ha”

Amy: *crickets*

Fertile Myrtle: “I can help you have babies.”

Amy: smiles & walks to the sinks to wash her face.

When I came back, the women were clearing up their picnic (Oh, did I forget to mention that they were having a cheese & cracker PICNIC on the benches where naked people sometimes sit? Maybe I forgot to mention it because that is DISGUSTING) and Towel Lady was taking off her towel to go shower.

Fertile Myrtle apparently thought we’d bonded, so she told me an amusing story about the time her neighbor called Child Protective Services because Myrtle’s daughter was yelling.  

Amy: “ha ha ha”

I’ve never before walked out in the middle of a conversation before – even with crazy homeless people in Santa Monica – but I had to get away before her proximity impregnated me. Also, I needed a beer.

The moral of this story – do not talk to people who are crazy enough to eat cheese & crackers (with no plates! Only napkins!) off of a bench that naked people sit on.

The End.

I lied to you

Internets – I have a confession. I did not go to the gym this morning. I meant to. I went to bed early last night. I set my alarm. I woke up when it went off. I thought about going to the gym this morning.

But I didn’t.

My hamstrings were sore last night – not sure why. (I’m sure it had nothing to do with the 90 minutes each of elliptical & yoga on Saturday followed by a 7.5 mile run.)  I slept poorly – couldn’t fall asleep. Couldn’t stay asleep. I was restless. Noticeably restless, I’m guessing – once when I woke up, the architect was sleeping on the floor next to the bed. I decided that I could really use an extra 1.5 hours of sleep this morning instead of a workout.

Of course, I’ll definitely hop on the elliptical when I get home & crank out 45 minutes or so.  I might be lazy but there’s still HBBC points to rack up!

In other pieces of exciting news:

  1. I have graduated from knee-hab! Today was my very last day. I kinda wanted to hug my PT – she’s pretty awesome & we got along great – but I didn’t. We shook hands instead. I’m not much of a hugger anyway.
  2. I lost 2.8 lbs in the last week! Woo! That not only makes up for the 1.6 I gained last week, but adds a little something extra (1.2 lbs extra). Perhaps the past three days of a) cookie abstention; b) LOTS of water (80 oz or more each day since Friday); and c) my ramping up of the working out is paying off! Since I started publicly posting my weight at the end of November, I have lost 4.8 lbs! Only 13-19 more to go! (I haven’t quite decided yet – it depends on how I feel once I get to goal #1.) If I can continue my trend of losing approximately 5 lbs a month, I should be in the next weight decade by my birthday (what a great birthday gift to me) and smokin’ by the end of April! I am not planning on increasing my mileage lots until March or so, when I get SUPER SERIOUS about my marathon training. Right now, I’m just trying to build up a good base of 20-25 miles/week with 3 runs each week (my PT says I will never be a ‘run every day’, or even ‘run 2 days in a row’ on a regular basis – at least not if I want to be healthy).

 

In weird, not good news, I think it’s snowing. My work is at a higher elevation than much of Portland (as was my last job), so it snows here more than downtown. Of course it’s also sunny. I think the weather is confused. 

What is this “2-day weekend” of which you speak?

So, I have to go to work tomorrow. It’s the first Monday I’ve worked in a VERY long time. Since, I only worked 1 day last week, and have Thursday AND Friday off this week, it doesn’t seem right to whine, but, I have to go to work tomorrow.

I’d forgotten how much Sundays can suck when you’re already mentally preparing for work the next day. I don’t feel that way on Mondays – but am anticipating having a crapola of a Monday tomorrow! ‘Cause I’m a positive thinker that way.

I am planning on getting up & driving to the gym before work for the next three days. It’s weird, but I have actually missed going to the gym & meeting the Ambitious One before work. That really makes my day! My plan for this week is:

Today: Run 7.5 miles (check! and up to the longest run post knee-hab yet!)
Monday: 30 minutes stationary bike/30 minutes upper body weights (and, if I have time, some abs)
Tuesday: 4 mile run on treadmill at gym.
Wednesday: repeat Monday – 30 minutes bike/30 minutes upper body
Thursday: New Year’s Day 4-5 mile run (as I feel inspired)
Friday: 3-4 mile run (whatever it takes to get me to my first 20 mile week in MONTHS)
Saturday: A repeat of yesterday’s 90 minutes Vinyasa yoga/90 minutes elliptical

And then, next Sunday, the Portland running group will re-convene for the first time in about a month!

And, since I mentioned the running thing – I did go run 7.5 miles today. Which is almost 1.5 miles further than my last run with Ms. A & Mr. Pi (who did not so much run with us, as bound ahead of us – he is speedy)….and I feel good. I had a little – I can’t even call it tenderness – twinge in my knee occasionally after mile 3. I took a GU at mile 5, and carried water (which I only do for more than 6 miles). The streets & sidewalks were clear of snow. (What they weren’t clear of was poo. Just a note for all dog owners – if you are walking your dog in the snow, and it poops, you should pick it up. Although the snow will melt, the poop will not. And then, you have poop-covered sidewalks. Which is gross. ) But, all poop aside, it was a fantastic run. I felt good when I got home, although my hamstrings were tight & I really need to work on my hip flexors – they get tight too quickly.

I am so looking forward to the day, perhaps in a couple of weeks, that I do a 10 mile run. I have not run that distance since May 13, 2008. And I am definitely looking forward to it!

I hope you all had a good Sunday & have a passably-decent Monday.

Workin’ It

I am at work today – the first time in over a week.  About 20 minutes after I got here, the phone rang. It was my boss, wanting to know why I was at work. She’d emailed me Wednesday to ask me to NOT come in today, and instead come in on Monday. I didn’t get that email (because I was on vacation and not checking email, dammit). So here I am. I was the only person here when I arrived this morning – every door on my very long hallway was closed. It was kinda eerie.

BUT, I am getting a lot done, which is nice. In a couple of hours, I will take off & hit the gym (for the first time in about 2 weeks) and do some running. And maybe some weights. And abs. My back has finally recovered from my Christmas Eve shoveling festival.

Next week, I will work Monday-Wednesday & then have an awesome 5-day weekend. Woo!

A question for a google searchers that arrived here – the one searching for “very soft porn.” What is that? Mormons holding hands? Getting to 2nd base? Suede boots? I’m curious.