Secret chili powers

Hmmm...well I was going to get up for a brisk walk this morning and J awas going to get up and go with me, just to spend a bit of time together (he is on nights again). BUT, it was raining and blustery this morning, so I slept. I suppose I could have gotten on the machine in the basement, but I didn't...and the sleep did me some good. I don't feel better...but I don't feel worse, so tonight is more of drinking tea and relaxing. I am loaded to the gills with vitamin C and Advil cold & Sinus and I made a big slow cooker pot of chili last night so when I get home I'll have the meals for the next few days are all looked after. Yum.
I find chili works better than chicken soup for me when I feel ill. Maybe beans have special antiviral powers? Who knows...

sick=boring

I slept in again this morning to try and get better...feel about the same.
I really feel bad from not exercising. I think I'm getting up for a walk tomorrow morning even if I can't run...I miss the sunrise and the feeling great afterwards. I've got all these experiments booked at work so I'm in at work regardless of how I feel, so I feel like I'm cheating...My brain keeps saying "oy! if I'm coming in to work why can't I be running too?"

Being sick is silly.
There are so many more exciting things I could be doing :)

Sickly

Well my head is stuffed to the brim with coldy badness, so I didn't get a run in on the weekend and likely won't today either. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and try and go out int he morning. I'm just scared of getting half way through my run and running out of steam Km from home...I'm trying hard to sleep and drink lots of tea to get better instead.
We shall see how it all goes down.
Have a good day all!

Moogy

I woke up too early this morning...meh.
Not enough time to work out, but too much time for much else...blah.
I still haven't gotten properly sick. i just have a bit of a froggy throat and am slightly stuffed up...but nothing to get excited about. I wish I'd either get sick or get better..
Ah. Don't listen to me. I'm moogy. My husband is on nights and I miss him.
Perhaps I'll go into work early and get some things done...

Week 3 day 2

Well this morning it warmed up a lot and most of the snow was gone. It was only -1, so I kitted up, put on the balaclava to protect my squeaky lungs and went out for a run. The second day of the 3 days of training is always the easiest, so I had a nice relaxing run along the river...2 minutes walk + 6 minutes run 5 times. I even ran a few minutes more at the end, as it just felt like the thing to do at the time. Over the last few days literally thousands of robins and sparrows have returned from wherever they go all winter and it's surreal seeing clouds of them flying about. Our cats are wigging out as there were 8 fat robins in our front tree this morning and more in the yard...at least it kept them amused and away from me so I could stretch out at the end.
The paths down by the river are dry and clear so I took my return leg of the run back through there and it was lovely...the sun was coming up on the river with little sparkly chunks of ice floating down it and dozens of geese and ducks back from the south...no doubt wondering (like I am) where spring is gone off to.

Spring is coming. I hope I hope I hope.
Good day all :)

sleeping in + movie night = happy me

I slept in today.
FANTASTIC...:)
Tomorrow may or may not be indoors again. We'll see what the Blizzard King has to say about it all.
I get to go out for supper and a movie with an old friend tonight...it'll be nice. I'll try and be healthy and not get movie popcorn. Popcorn is my weakness I'm afraid...I'll try and be good. :)

But...where'd all the green stuff go?

It's bloody freezing out: -15 C with 15 cm of snow and blowing wind...very annoying. I'd just raked up the yard for spring and it's all under snow again :)
So I did today's training as best I could in the elliptical in the basement this morning. 2 minutes "walk/slowish" + 7 minutes "run/fast as I can" five times plus 5 more minutes of given it at the end. I didn't have time to stretch though. I really have to make myself get up 10 minutes earlier...it's getting harder and harder to fit in the extra training time and still stretch. It feels so good to stretch...but it feels so good to hit snooze too! :)
I need to do more ab work too...my belly is not as flat as it once was. Oh sure yo ucan still see my abs, but I'm a bit jiggly. This will not do. No sir...I must get back to regular ab work. They're not horrid - I was dancing in a bellygrabbing top on the weekend so it's not that bafd... just am determined that I will not have me developing a muffin top at this stage of the game...forwards. Last summer I had crazily defined abs...and I'd like them to be firm. But, not sideways :)

Whew. This morning was hard stuff but good for me. I'll keep up with this training and I figure the snow has to melt by the actual race...in June...knock on wood. Frozen wood...I am developing a sore throat...hopefully I'm not coming down with the plague. That would get in the way a bit methinks.

Oh well. At least I got to have some toast for breakfast before stepping out into the blizzarding wasteland....this has been the longest coming proper spring in years.
I need some tulips stat!

slip sliding away...

Well I didn't get to run on the weekend, what with 20 cm of snow and then freezing rain on top of it (sigh). The weather all weekend was freakish blizzards and the like...so no outdoor styuff for me...well other than shovelling the walk.
I did go out dancing saturday night and shook my posterier at the speed of light for hours...so I'm counting that as a workout. I was wickedly stiff yesterday, so I know I really pushed it...it was a lot of fun though.
I hope the paths are less icy and not so cold tomorrow so I can keep up with my running progem. I start 7 minute running stretches this week...whew.
Gotta run!

Week 2 day 2

Well, this morning it was walk 2 minutes and run 6.5 minutes 5 times. And so, I sucked it up and did it...and it wasn't too hard. I've started taking a water bottle with me and tucking it in the front pouch of my bunny hug and sipping from it on the walking bits seems to cut down on the side stitches I was having last week. It was a tough run, but I did it...it's nice to see a lot of people out running int he mornings now. Safety in numbers and all that sort of thing.
I also resisted the pie thing yesterday, although I did give in to the rice cake chips I had in the pantry later in the evening. I believe that I need to quit having snacky stuff in the house. I have very little will power when I'm hungry and they're staring at me...:). And I can't leave a bag partly eaten. Don't know why.
Rice cakes are much better than pie though I suppose...

exnay on the pieaye

Just finished up a project here at work and I'm starving...it'll probably be an hour before I'm home and with some decent food, so I'm trying to drink water and not think about food too much....which of course *has* me thinking about food.
Especially pie.
Fresh lemon custard pie.
Yup...I currently have the deep desire to head home from work to make a homemade lemon pie.
Then...I want to eat it.
I think I'll make some lemonade instead.
Damn...whay can't you drink a pie?
A calorie free pie?
I'd be a millionaire for sure...

Whenever I work late I get so hungry I have to watch myself when I get home so I don't devour things I really don't need. My full message seems to kick in about 15 minutes after I finish eating and I eat fast...so perhaps xnay on the pyeaye.

But, perhaps just a bit of mango gelato. I grabbed some a while back for anti-pie defense...yummy and way better. (it's only 90 calories for 1/2 a cup...).
Yes.
Gelato.
Gelaaaaaaaaaaaaaatooooooooooo.....

Week 2 day 1

I really wasn't sure if I'd survive today. Yesterday I did 30 minutes on the crosstrainer as they hadn't posted my weeks training for the 10K yet...and oh boy...this morning was indeed a challenge. I haven't done any upper body work since I hurt my shoulder and got a full hour MLT therapy done on my back and shoulder on the weekend so it feels much better, but I don't want to push it. I figured a bit of cardio couldn't hurt.

But this morning...the assignment was:
Run 6.5 and walk 2 5 times with 5 minutes run at the end. It was really tough...but I did it. I honestly don't think I could have gone much further though. My legs were starting to protest and would have gone into twinges soon if I didn't stop, but I did it all and stretched out thoroughly.
And then I had some toast with tahini and honey on it for breakfast...which is fast becoming a favourite thing with me. Yum.
Well off to the lab...much to do, and my parents are in town. We're going out for mexican food after work. I'm looking forward to it...I certainly earned the right to a nacho or two :)

Week 1 day 3

Well...it was all foggy and misty this morning - 0 degrees with about 99% humidity. It was *very* neat weather to run in...you couldn't see across the river or anything...it was like being in a small foggy bubble...only you could hear seagulls. I don't know where the sudden influx of seagulls came from but they're collecting by the river and *really* loud and annoying. You can hear them in our bedroom with the windows closed. I hope they move along soon...

Today was a challenge: walk 2 minutes and run 6.5 minutes 4 times. I did it, but it was quite hard for the last rep. I keep getting threatenings of a side stitch...I've not had this happen before and altho I can ward off them by taking deeper breaths, it's not as relaxing when you have to concentrate on your breathing all the time...perhaps I"m not drinking enough water? I used to sip water while I ran - it's just been too cold to carry a water bottle without freezing my hands yet. Maybe I can drink a bunch of water the night and morning of running and see if it helps. I'm not sure.
All I know is I feel great! The few new stretches I've worked in for my knees and butt have helped a lot - considering how much I've been doing this week I'm not stiff. I love stretching out after...it takes 15 minutes, but man - it's so relaxing and feels so good after pushing yourself. I've been trying to run on the grass and not concrete which feels so much nicer to do...perhaps I'll focus on posture and my movement while I run and get good habits ingrained in me right at the start of things. I want to do my best t try and get to the 10K goal for June. If I need to back off a bit after that so be it...I'm in this for fun, not a crazy need to go further and further. I just don't think I'd ever have the desire to do a full Iron Man or anything like that. I don't know if my poor body could take it, and that much training just doesn't seem like much fun at all to me. I'll stick to foggy mornings myself thanks :)

Week 1 day 2 of the 10 K adventure

Whew.
Day two of the running program for the 10K fun run - 5 minutes run + 2 minutes walk 6 times. I was nervous, as I haven't done any running of that length since last year, but the cardio I did all winter must have counted for something, because this morning I pulled that all off nicely. I made it to the gallery, about 200m short of where I used to stop and turn around doing the same thing last year, so I know my pace is a bit slower than then, but I'm glad to know I can still do it and survive. I fought off the old side stitch again too. I tried a few more knee stretches and hope they'll help out, as I tend to get stiff hamstrings and ITB so I want to prevent any injuries for over use this year...good stretching always helps.

I';m excited, as I booked a full hour massage on saturday to fix all the stiffness in my back and soreness in my shoulders form the great box caper at work. I'll be done it all today and it'll be nice to have a full pro deep massage done to work the kinks out. I can't wait...

Add to that a 2 minute sprinkle that gave me a rainbow at the end as the sun came up over the river...and well, can't argue with that as a great way to start the day. :)

Out of the fog

I've been lazy the last week. Well, I should redifine that...I've been exhausted the past week. All the moving and sorting at work and I get home tired and stiff, wanting only to eat comfort foods, watch some Battlestar Galactica (had to catch up on the last season before it started up on friday - yup. I'm a geek) and go to bead early. My arm still aches off and on too, which is odd.
This weekend, after the Galactica episode (woot) I made a point of catching up on all the housecrap I've ignored. The thing about sorting thru stuff and tossing it all day is when you ge thome the last thing you want to do is tidy. So I puttered about in spurts, cleaning up the house a bit, doing some laundry and generally recovering our home to a livable state. I also made chicken veggie lasagna which was, if I may toot my own horn, brilliant. We did go on a protest walk on saturday to support funding for a local community centre (over 2000 people showed up :) ) but that was all my exercise really...pretty lame.
It is glaringly obvious how much exercise boosts my metabolism when I halt it. Sure I worked hard, but no real cardio last week, and I need it to feel human...I was starting to live in a bit of a fog. Not a lot of energy and just wanting to eat and nap. I honestly had no energy and had to be convinced to go out dancing saturday night...very unusual.
And so, this morning I resolved to have no more of that. I went to bed early to get up for a run. It wasn't perfect, but I didn't want to push too hard today - I wanted to enjoy it, after a week off. So I ran 4 minutes and walked 2 minutes 6 times and stretched out before hitting the shower and having some miniwheats before work. I even payed careful attention to my breathing so that even though the side stitches from before threatened to come, I managed to ward them off with deep rhythmic breathing.
Know what? I feel SO much better. It's like I was sick or something. I'm alert and awake and ready for the last of the freaking boxes here at work today. And it's getting better, as now that I'm starting my run training for my fun run in June I have a goal. I must run at least 3 times a week and hope to get up to the 10K pace by then so I can run my first ever 10K....here we go!

Snack global defense grid

Whew!
I thought I'd be done the work move by now but I'm still at it...granted I'm going slowly, favouring my shoulder and not doing any more heavy lifting. I want to be done so I can get back to regular workouts (and back to my lab work!).
After my Tostitos experience I went out when doing the month's grocery shopping last night and got some multigrain low fat bread, sugar free jam, some healthy cereal, soy milk and fruit and put them in the lunch room at work - now I'm set for if miss breakfast before work or need a healthy snack - I'm stocked up!
It's nice to know I can munch on healthy stuff and avoid the vending machine when I get a fit of the nibbles.
I'm excited as the training for the fun run starts next week. I want to try and run the 10K this year, instead of the 5K I did last year, so we'll see how it goes. The weather hasn't been cooperating for going outside much as of late - winter's having it's last hurrah...but I"m hopeful I can get at my morning runs next week. By the end of the month I"ll be able to ride my bike to work again - *THAT* will be great. Last summer they were fixing the pedestrian path I take over the river to work so I couldn't bike...I miss it. It's a very nice way to start the day...doesn't hurt the butt either!
Well...must be off to the box mine. Have a good day all :)