Swimming and circuit training
Today I swam an entire hour - which is really much more mental than physical. I did 6 10-minute intervals, like this:
1 - Just swim - 9 laps
2 - Kickboard only, plus two laps of swim to "clear" myself - total 7 laps
3 - Paddles with regular kick, plus two laps of swim - total 9 laps
4 - Pull buoy only, plus two laps of swim - total 8 laps
5 - Fins with kickboard - total 8 laps
6 - Just swim - 9 laps
Total time: 60 minutes. Total distance: 1.5 miles (approx)
I swam in the morning, and returned to the club to take a circuit training class at noon with my old trainer, Billy. That took the place of a weights workout. It was really fun. Also, a cool thing happened in class: some woman was staring at me, and eventually asked my name. I told her, and she asked if I did 20/20. I said yes, and she asked me whether I'd spoken at one of those brown-bags informational meetings they have last January. I don't remember whether it was January or what, but I did, so I said yes - and she said I inspired her to start the program! She remembered that I had done it with kids and a full-time job. So I felt really good that I actually did inspire someone.
So here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Coffee with cream and a biscotti (poor planning), 170 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream, 255 cals
Snack: Yogurt, 110 cals
Lunch: Citrus salmon salad, 290 cals
Total so far: 825 cals
Exercise:
Swim 60 minutes, 400 calories
Circuit training, 350 calories
Total: 750 calories burned
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Swimming and circuit training
Today I swam an entire hour - which is really much more mental than physical. I did 6 10-minute intervals, like this:
1 - Just swim - 9 laps
2 - Kickboard only, plus two laps of swim to "clear" myself - total 7 laps
3 - Paddles with regular kick, plus two laps of swim - total 9 laps
4 - Pull buoy only, plus two laps of swim - total 8 laps
5 - Fins with kickboard - total 8 laps
6 - Just swim - 9 laps
Total time: 60 minutes. Total distance: 1.5 miles (approx)
I swam in the morning, and returned to the club to take a circuit training class at noon with my old trainer, Billy. That took the place of a weights workout. It was really fun. Also, a cool thing happened in class: some woman was staring at me, and eventually asked my name. I told her, and she asked if I did 20/20. I said yes, and she asked me whether I'd spoken at one of those brown-bags informational meetings they have last January. I don't remember whether it was January or what, but I did, so I said yes - and she said I inspired her to start the program! She remembered that I had done it with kids and a full-time job. So I felt really good that I actually did inspire someone.
So here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Coffee with cream and a biscotti (poor planning), 170 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream, 255 cals
Snack: Yogurt, 110 cals
Lunch: Citrus salmon salad, 290 cals
Total so far: 825 cals
Snack: Luna bar, 180 cals
Total so far: 1105 cals
Dinner: Roasted filet of basa, spinach: 250 cals
Dessert: Small banana cream pie Dairy Queen blizzard, 460 cals
TOTAL TODAY: 1815 calories
Exercise:
Swim 60 minutes, 400 calories
Circuit training, 350 calories
Total: 750 calories burned
Today I swam an entire hour - which is really much more mental than physical. I did 6 10-minute intervals, like this:
1 - Just swim - 9 laps
2 - Kickboard only, plus two laps of swim to "clear" myself - total 7 laps
3 - Paddles with regular kick, plus two laps of swim - total 9 laps
4 - Pull buoy only, plus two laps of swim - total 8 laps
5 - Fins with kickboard - total 8 laps
6 - Just swim - 9 laps
Total time: 60 minutes. Total distance: 1.5 miles (approx)
I swam in the morning, and returned to the club to take a circuit training class at noon with my old trainer, Billy. That took the place of a weights workout. It was really fun. Also, a cool thing happened in class: some woman was staring at me, and eventually asked my name. I told her, and she asked if I did 20/20. I said yes, and she asked me whether I'd spoken at one of those brown-bags informational meetings they have last January. I don't remember whether it was January or what, but I did, so I said yes - and she said I inspired her to start the program! She remembered that I had done it with kids and a full-time job. So I felt really good that I actually did inspire someone.
So here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Coffee with cream and a biscotti (poor planning), 170 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream, 255 cals
Snack: Yogurt, 110 cals
Lunch: Citrus salmon salad, 290 cals
Total so far: 825 cals
Snack: Luna bar, 180 cals
Total so far: 1105 cals
Dinner: Roasted filet of basa, spinach: 250 cals
Dessert: Small banana cream pie Dairy Queen blizzard, 460 cals
TOTAL TODAY: 1815 calories
Exercise:
Swim 60 minutes, 400 calories
Circuit training, 350 calories
Total: 750 calories burned
Monday, February 27, 2006
Off Topic: Jimmy Choo Sandals
My two-year-old daughter just pointed to a picture in People magazine and said, "I wish I could have these shoes." Jimmy Choos, worn by Sandra Bullock. Oh my goodness. Considering that her mom wears New Balance fake sneakers or sensible (but cute) black flats every day, where could she possibly get this???
My two-year-old daughter just pointed to a picture in People magazine and said, "I wish I could have these shoes." Jimmy Choos, worn by Sandra Bullock. Oh my goodness. Considering that her mom wears New Balance fake sneakers or sensible (but cute) black flats every day, where could she possibly get this???
Weight = up, body fat = down
That was the result today from my 20/20 Lifestyles post-program evaluation. The weight being up wasn't a surprise, the body fat being down was something I hoped for, but wasn't sure of. Thank goodness. The weight they have me as is 140. That's tolerable.
Today is day one of my first recovery week, and I don't feel the least bit bad about not working out. I'm tired and I want to relax. So that's really good. Tomorrow I do go back to exercise, but lighter than usual all week.
However, to "celebrate" my weight being up but body fat being down, I ate a delicious donut. :-) Mmm...chocolate covered old-fashioned from Chuck's Donuts. Yum yum yum. Worth every one of the darn 450 calories I'm guessing they cost.
Food:
Breakfast: Donut, coffee with cream, ham and cheese: 600 cals
Lunch: Salad with chicken: 300 cals
Dinner: Chicken breast, green beans, sweet and sour white beans: 400 calories
Total so far: 1300 calories
Exercise: None! And I'm tired, so my body is glad!
That was the result today from my 20/20 Lifestyles post-program evaluation. The weight being up wasn't a surprise, the body fat being down was something I hoped for, but wasn't sure of. Thank goodness. The weight they have me as is 140. That's tolerable.
Today is day one of my first recovery week, and I don't feel the least bit bad about not working out. I'm tired and I want to relax. So that's really good. Tomorrow I do go back to exercise, but lighter than usual all week.
However, to "celebrate" my weight being up but body fat being down, I ate a delicious donut. :-) Mmm...chocolate covered old-fashioned from Chuck's Donuts. Yum yum yum. Worth every one of the darn 450 calories I'm guessing they cost.
Food:
Breakfast: Donut, coffee with cream, ham and cheese: 600 cals
Lunch: Salad with chicken: 300 cals
Dinner: Chicken breast, green beans, sweet and sour white beans: 400 calories
Total so far: 1300 calories
Exercise: None! And I'm tired, so my body is glad!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Chilly Hilly!
Today was my first official event of 2006! Of course, it wasn't actually a race, but instead an organized bike ride - 33 miles of rolling hills (and a couple of good climbs) around Bainbridge Island. It was supposed to rain all day - amazingly (an answered prayer!), the rain held off until the moment we were storing the bikes back in the van to go home.
I slept really poorly last night, despite going to bed early, not eating or drinking caffeine before bed, etc - it was just like any night before a race, which was weird, because this wasn't a race. We were planning on taking the first ferry over to the island, but if we missed it, there were lots of other ferries we could take. Plus, I knew I was a stronger rider than some in my group, so I didn't have to worry about falling behind. So I'm not sure why I was nervous.
The ride was really fun, though it was hard to ride with John, mostly because his blood sugar kept dropping too low all day. We didn't have enough food and drink to keep him where he needed to be! So there were some scary moments - like when I realized he was low as we climbed a hill together, then he refused to pull over at the top. I had to chase him at 33-35 miles per hour down this long grade, all the while sure he was just going to fall off his bike and die. Nice.
For me, I wasn't psyched that my average pace was around 12 miles per hour (which means with the ride before and after the official start and finish, I rode something like 38 miles, for 3 hours 15 minutes or so). But we were with a group, John was kind of slow, and it was important to me to be with him and enjoy the day together. He's got to get his blood sugar under control and get his pace up, though, to really enjoy the rides we have planned during the rest of this year!
So here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese, coffee with cream: 360 cals
Snack: Bite of scone, bite of some kind of bread: 50 calories
On the bike: Luna bar, 180 calories
On the bike more: Banana bread, 1/2 banana, brownie: 350 calories
Dinner: Bread, salad, spaghetti with cheese and sauce, chicken breast, spumoni: 1200 calories (?)
Beer! 224 calories (amazingly enough, calorieking.com has Fat Tire right in their database)
TOTAL: 2364 calories
Exercise:
Bike Chilly Hilly, 1900 calories burned
Calorie deficit: 1136 yay! That is, if I don't eat any more tonight
Today was my first official event of 2006! Of course, it wasn't actually a race, but instead an organized bike ride - 33 miles of rolling hills (and a couple of good climbs) around Bainbridge Island. It was supposed to rain all day - amazingly (an answered prayer!), the rain held off until the moment we were storing the bikes back in the van to go home.
I slept really poorly last night, despite going to bed early, not eating or drinking caffeine before bed, etc - it was just like any night before a race, which was weird, because this wasn't a race. We were planning on taking the first ferry over to the island, but if we missed it, there were lots of other ferries we could take. Plus, I knew I was a stronger rider than some in my group, so I didn't have to worry about falling behind. So I'm not sure why I was nervous.
The ride was really fun, though it was hard to ride with John, mostly because his blood sugar kept dropping too low all day. We didn't have enough food and drink to keep him where he needed to be! So there were some scary moments - like when I realized he was low as we climbed a hill together, then he refused to pull over at the top. I had to chase him at 33-35 miles per hour down this long grade, all the while sure he was just going to fall off his bike and die. Nice.
For me, I wasn't psyched that my average pace was around 12 miles per hour (which means with the ride before and after the official start and finish, I rode something like 38 miles, for 3 hours 15 minutes or so). But we were with a group, John was kind of slow, and it was important to me to be with him and enjoy the day together. He's got to get his blood sugar under control and get his pace up, though, to really enjoy the rides we have planned during the rest of this year!
So here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese, coffee with cream: 360 cals
Snack: Bite of scone, bite of some kind of bread: 50 calories
On the bike: Luna bar, 180 calories
On the bike more: Banana bread, 1/2 banana, brownie: 350 calories
Dinner: Bread, salad, spaghetti with cheese and sauce, chicken breast, spumoni: 1200 calories (?)
Beer! 224 calories (amazingly enough, calorieking.com has Fat Tire right in their database)
TOTAL: 2364 calories
Exercise:
Bike Chilly Hilly, 1900 calories burned
Calorie deficit: 1136 yay! That is, if I don't eat any more tonight
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Ah, the trail
There's a 10-mile trail not too far from my house - it's a loop and it's mile-marked, and it's mostly gravel or dirt so it's softer on your feet than pavement. It's been a while since I ran it, but this morning Danielle and I headed out for a brisk 10-mile run. It's amazing how 10 miles sounds so little to me now!
We did it in 1 hour, 40 minutes, which was perfect: 10-minute miles is great, considering we haven't been running that long in a while. The trail is fairly hilly (though only one hill is very steep - but that's right at the end, or the beginning going down if you pick that direction. We picked to go up the hill - gotta do it the hard way if you're gonna do it at all!). I would have been happy with a 2-hour time, but we were talking the entire time and totally running comfortable. My heart rate was good most of the time - on the uphills it definitely climbed higher than I would have liked, but I think that's the effect of being at the end of a long training week. My heart rate was probably elevated when I woke up this morning; tomorrow I'm going to try to remember to check.
I've eaten a lot today, definitely been hungry. Here's how it breaks down:
Food:
Breakfast: Coffee with cream and reduced-fat coffee cake: 380 cals
Lunch #1 (post-workout): Lasagna, 410 cals (yeah, so it was only 10:30 a.m. It had the right carb to protein ratio)
Lunch #2: (hungry later): Chili and chicken nuggets (don't ask) from Wendy's: 440 cals
Snack: Nuts, a cookie, a short marble mocha macchiato: 400 cals
Total so far: 1630 - ugh, this is awful since I haven't even had dinner yet!
Dinner: Chicken tacos - I don't know, 700 calories?
Total: 2330 calories
Exercise:
Run 10 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes: 900 calories
This puts me at a very slight deficit for the day. Blah.
There's a 10-mile trail not too far from my house - it's a loop and it's mile-marked, and it's mostly gravel or dirt so it's softer on your feet than pavement. It's been a while since I ran it, but this morning Danielle and I headed out for a brisk 10-mile run. It's amazing how 10 miles sounds so little to me now!
We did it in 1 hour, 40 minutes, which was perfect: 10-minute miles is great, considering we haven't been running that long in a while. The trail is fairly hilly (though only one hill is very steep - but that's right at the end, or the beginning going down if you pick that direction. We picked to go up the hill - gotta do it the hard way if you're gonna do it at all!). I would have been happy with a 2-hour time, but we were talking the entire time and totally running comfortable. My heart rate was good most of the time - on the uphills it definitely climbed higher than I would have liked, but I think that's the effect of being at the end of a long training week. My heart rate was probably elevated when I woke up this morning; tomorrow I'm going to try to remember to check.
I've eaten a lot today, definitely been hungry. Here's how it breaks down:
Food:
Breakfast: Coffee with cream and reduced-fat coffee cake: 380 cals
Lunch #1 (post-workout): Lasagna, 410 cals (yeah, so it was only 10:30 a.m. It had the right carb to protein ratio)
Lunch #2: (hungry later): Chili and chicken nuggets (don't ask) from Wendy's: 440 cals
Snack: Nuts, a cookie, a short marble mocha macchiato: 400 cals
Total so far: 1630 - ugh, this is awful since I haven't even had dinner yet!
Dinner: Chicken tacos - I don't know, 700 calories?
Total: 2330 calories
Exercise:
Run 10 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes: 900 calories
This puts me at a very slight deficit for the day. Blah.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Freaky Friday
This morning I woke up to a husband with extremely low blood sugar: he was not conscious (couldn't wake him). My son had popped into bed with us, so I made him go get John's blood test kit and a soda while I moved furniture in case John had a seizure. (Gabriel is such a good boy in a time of crisis...I can't believe how calm he is, and how helpful!)
John's blood sugar was 35 and I couldn't get him to respond, and by now he was twitching and had opened his eyes, but he was just staring. I got the glucagon shot ready and injected it in his arm - it's a fairly large needle and as I'm not trained at all in giving injections, I'm sure it hurt. He didn't move. Sweat continued to pour down his face.
I waited about five minutes - he still wasn't responsive. So as soon as I called 911, he sat up in bed and started talking (the glucagon had kicked in). I told 911 to cancel the aid car and got John something to eat.
So all that is a very long way to say I was late to the gym - I had to cut my swim short. Then, on the way, the roads were INSANE. Completely iced over, even on the highway. So that was interesting.
Oh, but I figured out how to put playlists in my mp3 player! Until now I was listening to the songs in alphabetical order by title - kind of dumb. I made a 33 minute running mix and it was really effective: today I did the first 16 minutes with two minutes at marathon goal pace, 30 seconds hard (not quite a sprint). Then I moved up every 3 minutes: from 6.6 to 6.8 to 7.0 to 7.3 - then the last three minutes I did 7.5, 7.7, 8.0. Fun fun fun.
So, here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and 1/2 cup coffee with cream (couldn't drink my coffee with the icy roads - needed two hands on the wheel!) - 95 calories
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 380 calories
Lunch: Chicken breast, broccoli, Hershey's Nugget: 300 cals
Snack: Coffee with cream, chocolate-covered graham cracker: 170 cals
Total so far: 945 cals
Dinner: Peanuts (snack...) 300 cals, roast pork tenderloin, 200 cals, bread with olive oil, 250 cals, green beans, 40 cals - 790 cals
Total: 1735 calories
Exercise:
Swim 15 minutes
Indoor cycling 60 minutes
Run 30 minutes
Calories burned: 950
This morning I woke up to a husband with extremely low blood sugar: he was not conscious (couldn't wake him). My son had popped into bed with us, so I made him go get John's blood test kit and a soda while I moved furniture in case John had a seizure. (Gabriel is such a good boy in a time of crisis...I can't believe how calm he is, and how helpful!)
John's blood sugar was 35 and I couldn't get him to respond, and by now he was twitching and had opened his eyes, but he was just staring. I got the glucagon shot ready and injected it in his arm - it's a fairly large needle and as I'm not trained at all in giving injections, I'm sure it hurt. He didn't move. Sweat continued to pour down his face.
I waited about five minutes - he still wasn't responsive. So as soon as I called 911, he sat up in bed and started talking (the glucagon had kicked in). I told 911 to cancel the aid car and got John something to eat.
So all that is a very long way to say I was late to the gym - I had to cut my swim short. Then, on the way, the roads were INSANE. Completely iced over, even on the highway. So that was interesting.
Oh, but I figured out how to put playlists in my mp3 player! Until now I was listening to the songs in alphabetical order by title - kind of dumb. I made a 33 minute running mix and it was really effective: today I did the first 16 minutes with two minutes at marathon goal pace, 30 seconds hard (not quite a sprint). Then I moved up every 3 minutes: from 6.6 to 6.8 to 7.0 to 7.3 - then the last three minutes I did 7.5, 7.7, 8.0. Fun fun fun.
So, here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and 1/2 cup coffee with cream (couldn't drink my coffee with the icy roads - needed two hands on the wheel!) - 95 calories
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 380 calories
Lunch: Chicken breast, broccoli, Hershey's Nugget: 300 cals
Snack: Coffee with cream, chocolate-covered graham cracker: 170 cals
Total so far: 945 cals
Dinner: Peanuts (snack...) 300 cals, roast pork tenderloin, 200 cals, bread with olive oil, 250 cals, green beans, 40 cals - 790 cals
Total: 1735 calories
Exercise:
Swim 15 minutes
Indoor cycling 60 minutes
Run 30 minutes
Calories burned: 950
Too busy to blog!
Yesterday was a little insane at work, so I didn't have time to write. So here's what happened:
I ate reasonably during the day, even through dinner, but totally binged on a cookie, chocolate chips, and brownie bites. I ended up throwing away more than 3/4 of the chocolate chips - right down the garbage disposal, which is better than in my mouth.
So my calories were likely around 2300; I did do the math to get there, but I don't feel like typing it. That said, I burned 750 in exercise, so overall, that's about even for the day. But I felt awful in the evening - how stupid am I?
Yesterday was a little insane at work, so I didn't have time to write. So here's what happened:
I ate reasonably during the day, even through dinner, but totally binged on a cookie, chocolate chips, and brownie bites. I ended up throwing away more than 3/4 of the chocolate chips - right down the garbage disposal, which is better than in my mouth.
So my calories were likely around 2300; I did do the math to get there, but I don't feel like typing it. That said, I burned 750 in exercise, so overall, that's about even for the day. But I felt awful in the evening - how stupid am I?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Workout Key
I'll probably delete this post later, but for now, it's the easiest way to get this info from my house to work.
Swim Workouts
E1: Recovery, HR in zone 1 (100-120)
E2: Extensive endurance intervals - intervals of 6-12 minutes, or long and steady in zone 2
E3: Intensive endurance intervals - Intervals of 3-5 minutes, zone 3
F1: Open water
F2: Paddles
F3: Drag sets
S1: Drill sets (Arms, kickboard, etc)
S2: Fin sets
S3: Speed, zones 5b and 5c
M1: Long cruise intervals - zone 4 to 5 a, 6 min or more per interval
M2: Short cruise intervals - zone 4 to 5a, 3 to 5 min per interval
M3: Threshold - swim 12-20 minutes in zones 4 to 5a without stopping
Bike Workouts:
E1: Recovery, zone 1
E2: Extensive endurance - zones 1 and 2 on rolling course or zone 2 for 20 to 90 min
E3: Intensive endurance - rolling course, zones 2 and 3
F1: Moderate hills - 6% grade, 2-5 min to climb
F2: Long hills - up to 8% grade, 6 or more min to climb
F3: Hill repeats, intensity up to zone 5b, cadence of at least 60, steep hill (6-8% grade, 30-60 seconds to climb)
S1: Spin-ups - increase cadence
S2: Isolated leg
S3: Jumps
M1: Tempo - zone 3 for extended time, no recovery
M2: Cruise intervals - 6 to 12 minutes of work building to zone 4 to 5a
M3: Hill cruise intervals - long low grade in aero position or vary between normal and higher gear (lower cadence) every 30 seconds to build strength
M4: Crisscross threshold - 20-40 minutes in zone 4 to 5a low cadence, then back off, then repeat
M5: Threshold - 20-40 min in zones 4-5a, cadence low
Run Workouts:
E1: Recovery, zone 1
E2: Extensive endurance, zones 1 and 2, rolling course
E3: Intensive endurance, rolling course with small hills that take you into zone 3
F1: Moderate hills - hills of 6% that take 2-5 min to run up
F2: Long hills - grades up to 8%, no higher than zone 5a
F3: Hill repeats - 6-8% grade, 30-60 seconds to run up
S1: Strides - 20 seconds in zone 5c four to eight times
S2: Pickups - 20 second accelerations to faster than 5K race pace
M1: Tempo - zone 3, no recovery
M2: Cruise intervals - 3-5 intervals of 6-12 minutes - build to zones 4 and 5a, recovery in zone 1 or 2
M3: Hill cruise intervals - same as M2, only on long, low grade
M4: Crosscross threshold - 15-30 minutes in zone 4 to 5a, then back off, then up again
M5: Threshold: 15-20 minutes in zones 4 to 5a or at pace 30 seconds/mile slower than 10k race pace
I'll probably delete this post later, but for now, it's the easiest way to get this info from my house to work.
Swim Workouts
E1: Recovery, HR in zone 1 (100-120)
E2: Extensive endurance intervals - intervals of 6-12 minutes, or long and steady in zone 2
E3: Intensive endurance intervals - Intervals of 3-5 minutes, zone 3
F1: Open water
F2: Paddles
F3: Drag sets
S1: Drill sets (Arms, kickboard, etc)
S2: Fin sets
S3: Speed, zones 5b and 5c
M1: Long cruise intervals - zone 4 to 5 a, 6 min or more per interval
M2: Short cruise intervals - zone 4 to 5a, 3 to 5 min per interval
M3: Threshold - swim 12-20 minutes in zones 4 to 5a without stopping
Bike Workouts:
E1: Recovery, zone 1
E2: Extensive endurance - zones 1 and 2 on rolling course or zone 2 for 20 to 90 min
E3: Intensive endurance - rolling course, zones 2 and 3
F1: Moderate hills - 6% grade, 2-5 min to climb
F2: Long hills - up to 8% grade, 6 or more min to climb
F3: Hill repeats, intensity up to zone 5b, cadence of at least 60, steep hill (6-8% grade, 30-60 seconds to climb)
S1: Spin-ups - increase cadence
S2: Isolated leg
S3: Jumps
M1: Tempo - zone 3 for extended time, no recovery
M2: Cruise intervals - 6 to 12 minutes of work building to zone 4 to 5a
M3: Hill cruise intervals - long low grade in aero position or vary between normal and higher gear (lower cadence) every 30 seconds to build strength
M4: Crisscross threshold - 20-40 minutes in zone 4 to 5a low cadence, then back off, then repeat
M5: Threshold - 20-40 min in zones 4-5a, cadence low
Run Workouts:
E1: Recovery, zone 1
E2: Extensive endurance, zones 1 and 2, rolling course
E3: Intensive endurance, rolling course with small hills that take you into zone 3
F1: Moderate hills - hills of 6% that take 2-5 min to run up
F2: Long hills - grades up to 8%, no higher than zone 5a
F3: Hill repeats - 6-8% grade, 30-60 seconds to run up
S1: Strides - 20 seconds in zone 5c four to eight times
S2: Pickups - 20 second accelerations to faster than 5K race pace
M1: Tempo - zone 3, no recovery
M2: Cruise intervals - 3-5 intervals of 6-12 minutes - build to zones 4 and 5a, recovery in zone 1 or 2
M3: Hill cruise intervals - same as M2, only on long, low grade
M4: Crosscross threshold - 15-30 minutes in zone 4 to 5a, then back off, then up again
M5: Threshold: 15-20 minutes in zones 4 to 5a or at pace 30 seconds/mile slower than 10k race pace
Going long
In elapsed time, today's workout was actually shorter than yesterday's - but in feel, it was longer. 3o minutes of running (3.25 miles), then an hour of indoor cycling, then I ran back to the treadmill for another 30 minutes of running. So I was solidly in my aerobic zone for 120 minutes. And I feel good!
I tried an experiment with a Luna bar: instead of my banana in the morning, I had half a Luna bar, then ate the other half in the first few minutes of cycling. It was okay - my stomach sort of felt yucky during my first run, but not enough to slow me down. I think given a little more time between eating and running, a Luna bar would be acceptable fuel.
I'm definitely feeling muscle tiredness. It's weird - in cycling, my heart rate can be completely reasonable (in the mid-140s) but my legs ache. I guess I need to build muscle endurance in cycling, versus just plain heart rate endurance?
Anyway, here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: 1/2 Luna bar, coffee with cream: 120 cals
During workout: 1/2 Luna bar: 90 cals
Breakfast: Bagel with low-fat cream cheese and ham, coffee with cream: 470 cals
Total so far: 680 calories
Lunch: Sandwich (only one piece of bread), turkey, cheese: 350 cals
Snack: Diced peaches, low-fat cheese, small banana and a little bit of peanut butter: 215 cals
Total so far: 1245
Dinner: Chicken breast, broccoli, nuts: 400 cals
Bad bad bad: Cookies and cream in my decaf coffee: 400 cals
Total today: 2045 calories, darn. It could have been a good day if cookies hadn't found their way into my life.
Exercise:
Run 30 minutes, 3.25 miles
Indoor cycling, 60 minutes
Run 30 minutes, 3.25 miles
Total calories burned: 1100
In elapsed time, today's workout was actually shorter than yesterday's - but in feel, it was longer. 3o minutes of running (3.25 miles), then an hour of indoor cycling, then I ran back to the treadmill for another 30 minutes of running. So I was solidly in my aerobic zone for 120 minutes. And I feel good!
I tried an experiment with a Luna bar: instead of my banana in the morning, I had half a Luna bar, then ate the other half in the first few minutes of cycling. It was okay - my stomach sort of felt yucky during my first run, but not enough to slow me down. I think given a little more time between eating and running, a Luna bar would be acceptable fuel.
I'm definitely feeling muscle tiredness. It's weird - in cycling, my heart rate can be completely reasonable (in the mid-140s) but my legs ache. I guess I need to build muscle endurance in cycling, versus just plain heart rate endurance?
Anyway, here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: 1/2 Luna bar, coffee with cream: 120 cals
During workout: 1/2 Luna bar: 90 cals
Breakfast: Bagel with low-fat cream cheese and ham, coffee with cream: 470 cals
Total so far: 680 calories
Lunch: Sandwich (only one piece of bread), turkey, cheese: 350 cals
Snack: Diced peaches, low-fat cheese, small banana and a little bit of peanut butter: 215 cals
Total so far: 1245
Dinner: Chicken breast, broccoli, nuts: 400 cals
Bad bad bad: Cookies and cream in my decaf coffee: 400 cals
Total today: 2045 calories, darn. It could have been a good day if cookies hadn't found their way into my life.
Exercise:
Run 30 minutes, 3.25 miles
Indoor cycling, 60 minutes
Run 30 minutes, 3.25 miles
Total calories burned: 1100
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
29% done for the week!
Oh my goodness, I shouldn't think of it this way. But I do think this week is such a test for me, so I can't help it. I'm two days in and 29% done. Actually, that's not so bad.
Today I tried having a GU during my workout to see whether it would make a difference...frankly, I didn't notice. I still felt hungry when I was done, and I didn't feel that I had any more or less energy for the long workout than usual. I might try half a Luna bar tomorrow - I will do 2 hours of cardio then.
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee, 110 cals
During workout: 1 GU (Chocolate Outrage, yum!): 100 cals
Breakfast: Banana bread (gotta do it, once per week), ham and cheese, coffee: 545 cals
Total so far: 755 calories
Lunch: Yogurt, granola, 4 oz turkey: 550 cals
Total so far: 1305 cals (seems like a lot for 1 p.m.)
Dinner: Asian beef stirfry (20/20 approved), peanuts: 500 cals
Total: 1805
Exercise:
Run 1 hour 10 minutes
Lift weights (and abdominal work...enough that tomorrow it will likely hurt to laugh)
Swim 30 minutes
Calories burned: 1000
Weight beginning of day: 140.6 blah
Oh my goodness, I shouldn't think of it this way. But I do think this week is such a test for me, so I can't help it. I'm two days in and 29% done. Actually, that's not so bad.
Today I tried having a GU during my workout to see whether it would make a difference...frankly, I didn't notice. I still felt hungry when I was done, and I didn't feel that I had any more or less energy for the long workout than usual. I might try half a Luna bar tomorrow - I will do 2 hours of cardio then.
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee, 110 cals
During workout: 1 GU (Chocolate Outrage, yum!): 100 cals
Breakfast: Banana bread (gotta do it, once per week), ham and cheese, coffee: 545 cals
Total so far: 755 calories
Lunch: Yogurt, granola, 4 oz turkey: 550 cals
Total so far: 1305 cals (seems like a lot for 1 p.m.)
Dinner: Asian beef stirfry (20/20 approved), peanuts: 500 cals
Total: 1805
Exercise:
Run 1 hour 10 minutes
Lift weights (and abdominal work...enough that tomorrow it will likely hurt to laugh)
Swim 30 minutes
Calories burned: 1000
Weight beginning of day: 140.6 blah
Monday, February 20, 2006
Week three begins: What is 13.5 hours like, anyway?
The third week of every month during base building is the longest: I have 13.5 hours scheduled to do this week. My husband asked me yesterday why 1 hour per day isn't enough, and someone commented on this blog yesterday that they can't imagine working out this much and balancing the kids, the job, and the exercise. So here's how I do it, and here's why.
How:
I wake up at 4:25 a.m. My clothes were laid out the night before (today was my bathing suit under bike shorts and a sweatshirt) and my gym back was fully packed last night with the clothing I'm now wearing at work. I get dressed, brush teeth and hair and am in my car by 4:35 a.m.
I get my first cup of coffee (an americano) from the Starbucks drive-thru on the way to the Pro Club. I get to the club right at 5 when they open.
Today I swam for half an hour, took a quick rinse-off shower, then changed into my cycling clothes for indoor cycling. When I finished, I took a quick shower - brushed my hair but didn't blow-dry it - got dressed, and went to work. Got to work at 7:45 a.m. (No makeup, nothing fancy - I'm just not that kind of girl. I brush my hair constantly though when it's wet so that it dries straighter.) I could have been here earlier, but I chit-chatted in the locker room.
I will work until 4:45 - I'll get lunch, but work right through it catching up on mail, etc. I'm in meetings all day, but I usually have my laptop open so I can get a bit done if parts of the meeting aren't relevant to me.
At 4:45 I'll leave to get my kids - I'll pick them up by 5:15. I'll make dinner, and tonight we'll pick up the house, because the cleaning person comes tomorrow. The kids will be in bed by 8:30 - we'll have played together and usually I'll have helped my son with his homework.
From 8:30 until 10 I'll watch TV with my husband, get back online if I need to for work, and fold and put away laundry (almost every day I have laundry to do...with all my workout clothes plus three other people in the house, it's a lot). I will also make my son's lunch so when my husband gets up in the morning, it's easier on him (he just has to dress and feed the kids). And again, I'll lay out my workout clothes and pack my work clothes so my morning is easy and I don't disturb my husband by rummaging around the bedroom for something to wear.
I'll fall right asleep as soon as the light is out, then I'll wake up and do it all over again (with a slightly different workout, of course).
Why:
-- The time I exercise is time for me: time to think, time to work out personal and professional problems, time to pray;
-- It's also time not to think - meaning, time just to count laps or minutes or cadence - to clear my brain of all the noisy thoughts;
-- I love the high feeling I get when I leave the gym. After a good workout - and when they're focused like they are now, they're nearly always good - the endorphins are amazing;
-- I'm amazed at what I can do. I want to push myself further and see just what the limits are. I don't want to guess - I want to know;
-- I have more energy when I work out for two hours than when I don't. I really do. (That said, some workouts - especially out in the cold - don't give me more energy, like on Saturday when I was so sleepy in the evening after the big bike ride.);
-- It's just for joy. I love it. I'm not doing anything that isn't pleasant. Even when I swim, which I say I don't like as much, when I get into the rhythm, I do feel like I could go forever. When I lift weights, I like thinking about how much stronger I'm getting, how good my arms look, and all the things I can do with a strong body. And running and biking - well, any runner or cyclist knows these sports remind you of being a kid again, and the pure fun in just GOING.
So, all that said, I need to get back to work. Here's today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee, 110 cals
Breakfast: Coffee, 1/2 bagel, ham, cheese: 285 cals
Snack: Granola, 300 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and broccoli, 275 cals
Snack: 2Mini-Luna bars (those little samples): 120 cals
Total so far: 1090 cals
Dinner: Two chicken tacos, beans, a little bit of rice: 500 calories
Total so far: 1590 cals
Must confess: Felt hungry late, ate 1/2 serving lasagna and peanuts, and, um, a Reese's peanut butter heart thing. This is another 500 calories...for a total of:
2090 calories consumed. Ugh.
Exercise:
Swim 30 min
Indoor cycling 1 hour
Calories burned: 700
Weight this morning: 140.8 (thank goodness, despite yesterday's binge)
The third week of every month during base building is the longest: I have 13.5 hours scheduled to do this week. My husband asked me yesterday why 1 hour per day isn't enough, and someone commented on this blog yesterday that they can't imagine working out this much and balancing the kids, the job, and the exercise. So here's how I do it, and here's why.
How:
I wake up at 4:25 a.m. My clothes were laid out the night before (today was my bathing suit under bike shorts and a sweatshirt) and my gym back was fully packed last night with the clothing I'm now wearing at work. I get dressed, brush teeth and hair and am in my car by 4:35 a.m.
I get my first cup of coffee (an americano) from the Starbucks drive-thru on the way to the Pro Club. I get to the club right at 5 when they open.
Today I swam for half an hour, took a quick rinse-off shower, then changed into my cycling clothes for indoor cycling. When I finished, I took a quick shower - brushed my hair but didn't blow-dry it - got dressed, and went to work. Got to work at 7:45 a.m. (No makeup, nothing fancy - I'm just not that kind of girl. I brush my hair constantly though when it's wet so that it dries straighter.) I could have been here earlier, but I chit-chatted in the locker room.
I will work until 4:45 - I'll get lunch, but work right through it catching up on mail, etc. I'm in meetings all day, but I usually have my laptop open so I can get a bit done if parts of the meeting aren't relevant to me.
At 4:45 I'll leave to get my kids - I'll pick them up by 5:15. I'll make dinner, and tonight we'll pick up the house, because the cleaning person comes tomorrow. The kids will be in bed by 8:30 - we'll have played together and usually I'll have helped my son with his homework.
From 8:30 until 10 I'll watch TV with my husband, get back online if I need to for work, and fold and put away laundry (almost every day I have laundry to do...with all my workout clothes plus three other people in the house, it's a lot). I will also make my son's lunch so when my husband gets up in the morning, it's easier on him (he just has to dress and feed the kids). And again, I'll lay out my workout clothes and pack my work clothes so my morning is easy and I don't disturb my husband by rummaging around the bedroom for something to wear.
I'll fall right asleep as soon as the light is out, then I'll wake up and do it all over again (with a slightly different workout, of course).
Why:
-- The time I exercise is time for me: time to think, time to work out personal and professional problems, time to pray;
-- It's also time not to think - meaning, time just to count laps or minutes or cadence - to clear my brain of all the noisy thoughts;
-- I love the high feeling I get when I leave the gym. After a good workout - and when they're focused like they are now, they're nearly always good - the endorphins are amazing;
-- I'm amazed at what I can do. I want to push myself further and see just what the limits are. I don't want to guess - I want to know;
-- I have more energy when I work out for two hours than when I don't. I really do. (That said, some workouts - especially out in the cold - don't give me more energy, like on Saturday when I was so sleepy in the evening after the big bike ride.);
-- It's just for joy. I love it. I'm not doing anything that isn't pleasant. Even when I swim, which I say I don't like as much, when I get into the rhythm, I do feel like I could go forever. When I lift weights, I like thinking about how much stronger I'm getting, how good my arms look, and all the things I can do with a strong body. And running and biking - well, any runner or cyclist knows these sports remind you of being a kid again, and the pure fun in just GOING.
So, all that said, I need to get back to work. Here's today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee, 110 cals
Breakfast: Coffee, 1/2 bagel, ham, cheese: 285 cals
Snack: Granola, 300 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and broccoli, 275 cals
Snack: 2Mini-Luna bars (those little samples): 120 cals
Total so far: 1090 cals
Dinner: Two chicken tacos, beans, a little bit of rice: 500 calories
Total so far: 1590 cals
Must confess: Felt hungry late, ate 1/2 serving lasagna and peanuts, and, um, a Reese's peanut butter heart thing. This is another 500 calories...for a total of:
2090 calories consumed. Ugh.
Exercise:
Swim 30 min
Indoor cycling 1 hour
Calories burned: 700
Weight this morning: 140.8 (thank goodness, despite yesterday's binge)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Sooo hungry!
Today I woke up happy - not exactly sore, I just felt fatigue in my muscles and slight pain - not even pain, but just a feeling - in my right knee. Danielle and I ran for a little more than an hour. It was fun, but the end of the run - up the 10% grade hill - was really really hard. Not because I was tired, but because it was so darn cold that my chest hurt - it hurt to breathe. But it was at the end, so I immediately got recovery.
In general, I'm really hungry today. I pretty much want to eat everything - and I actually feel like I need to (low blood sugar?). On the other hand, I don't feel like I did enough to deserve it...
Okay, can't meal track the rest of the day, mostly because we had a Daytona 500 party in my house and other people brought the food and I basically snacked all day. I'm positive I ate way too much. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
Today's data:
Breakfast: 1/2 bagel with low-fat cream cheese, banana with peanut butter, coffee with cream: 360 cals
After breakfast: Two tiny mini-muffins, fake creamer in coffee: 160 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and lasagna: 550 cals
Total so far: 1070 calories, I better watch the rest of the day...which will be hard, since we're having a party here.
Total for the day: who knows, too high to count. :-(
Exercise: Run 1 hour, 500 calories
Today I woke up happy - not exactly sore, I just felt fatigue in my muscles and slight pain - not even pain, but just a feeling - in my right knee. Danielle and I ran for a little more than an hour. It was fun, but the end of the run - up the 10% grade hill - was really really hard. Not because I was tired, but because it was so darn cold that my chest hurt - it hurt to breathe. But it was at the end, so I immediately got recovery.
In general, I'm really hungry today. I pretty much want to eat everything - and I actually feel like I need to (low blood sugar?). On the other hand, I don't feel like I did enough to deserve it...
Okay, can't meal track the rest of the day, mostly because we had a Daytona 500 party in my house and other people brought the food and I basically snacked all day. I'm positive I ate way too much. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
Today's data:
Breakfast: 1/2 bagel with low-fat cream cheese, banana with peanut butter, coffee with cream: 360 cals
After breakfast: Two tiny mini-muffins, fake creamer in coffee: 160 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and lasagna: 550 cals
Total so far: 1070 calories, I better watch the rest of the day...which will be hard, since we're having a party here.
Total for the day: who knows, too high to count. :-(
Exercise: Run 1 hour, 500 calories
Saturday, February 18, 2006
If I never post again, it's because I froze to death
I'm about to go ride my bike somewhere between 40-50 miles - from my house to Seattle, but the very longest way possible, I think (also the safest). It's 21 degrees outside - unbelievably cold for Seattle. But it's clear and the sun is up and hey, if I work hard enough, I'll create my own heat, right? RIGHT???
I'm going on the strength of half a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and of course coffee with cream. Let's see what happens! Wish I could put coffee in a thermos instead of water in the cage on my bike...
Okay, I survived.
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2 bagel with peanut butter, banana, coffee with cream: 310 cals
On the road: 1 chocolate-covered graham cracker, 1 banana: 210 cals
Lunch: Chicken gyro: 500 cals
"Snacks" (grazing on samples at the Bike Expo): Pieces of Clif Bar, etc, Hershey's Kiss: 100 cals
Dinner: 2 slices pizza, some chocolate and a bite of a cupcake, a nonfat marble mocha macchiato: 970 cals
TOTAL: 1930
Exercise:
Bike 3 hours (4 hours elapsed time, 3 actual moving the pedals): 1600 calories
Calorie deficit: 1930 Yay!
I'm about to go ride my bike somewhere between 40-50 miles - from my house to Seattle, but the very longest way possible, I think (also the safest). It's 21 degrees outside - unbelievably cold for Seattle. But it's clear and the sun is up and hey, if I work hard enough, I'll create my own heat, right? RIGHT???
I'm going on the strength of half a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and of course coffee with cream. Let's see what happens! Wish I could put coffee in a thermos instead of water in the cage on my bike...
Okay, I survived.
Food:
Breakfast: 1/2 bagel with peanut butter, banana, coffee with cream: 310 cals
On the road: 1 chocolate-covered graham cracker, 1 banana: 210 cals
Lunch: Chicken gyro: 500 cals
"Snacks" (grazing on samples at the Bike Expo): Pieces of Clif Bar, etc, Hershey's Kiss: 100 cals
Dinner: 2 slices pizza, some chocolate and a bite of a cupcake, a nonfat marble mocha macchiato: 970 cals
TOTAL: 1930
Exercise:
Bike 3 hours (4 hours elapsed time, 3 actual moving the pedals): 1600 calories
Calorie deficit: 1930 Yay!
Friday, February 17, 2006
It's my weight loss anniversary!
Exactly two years ago today, I started the 20/20 Lifestyles program at the Pro Sports Club. I was 189 pounds and miserable. I was terrified I wouldn't be able to do the diet, the exercise, and that it would just be a very expensive failure, and I was embarrassed just to be in shorts at the gym. I didn't even have appropriate sneakers or gym clothes (how horrifying it is now to think about wearing cotton t-shirts and shorts!). Here's the picture of me they took on day 1.
Well, obviously that wasn't the case, and I'm so thankful that I took the plunge and had the family, friends, and club support to do it and stick with it. It's made a huge difference in my life - in every aspect. At work, I'm more self-confident. At home, I'm happier and more able to do fun things with the family. And for myself, I'm constantly setting new goals, meeting new challenges, and pushing myself harder - and it's both about literally what I can do and metaphorically what I can do. And today I celebrated by wearing horizontal stripes. :-)
So, here's literally what I did today!
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee - imagine that! 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, coffee with cream, yogurt with granola: 545 cals
Lunch: Salad with turkey: 250 cals
Snack: Grapes and half a Clif bar, 185 cals
Total so far: 1090 calories
Dinner: Chicken breast, mashed potato, green beans: 425 cals
Garbage: Small brownie, big bite of cake: 300 cals
TOTAL: 1815 calories
Exercise:
Swim 30 min
Indoor cycling 1 hour
Run 30 minutes
Total calories burned: 1000
Weight beginning of day: 140.2
Calorie deficit: about 800
Exactly two years ago today, I started the 20/20 Lifestyles program at the Pro Sports Club. I was 189 pounds and miserable. I was terrified I wouldn't be able to do the diet, the exercise, and that it would just be a very expensive failure, and I was embarrassed just to be in shorts at the gym. I didn't even have appropriate sneakers or gym clothes (how horrifying it is now to think about wearing cotton t-shirts and shorts!). Here's the picture of me they took on day 1.
Well, obviously that wasn't the case, and I'm so thankful that I took the plunge and had the family, friends, and club support to do it and stick with it. It's made a huge difference in my life - in every aspect. At work, I'm more self-confident. At home, I'm happier and more able to do fun things with the family. And for myself, I'm constantly setting new goals, meeting new challenges, and pushing myself harder - and it's both about literally what I can do and metaphorically what I can do. And today I celebrated by wearing horizontal stripes. :-)
So, here's literally what I did today!
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee - imagine that! 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, coffee with cream, yogurt with granola: 545 cals
Lunch: Salad with turkey: 250 cals
Snack: Grapes and half a Clif bar, 185 cals
Total so far: 1090 calories
Dinner: Chicken breast, mashed potato, green beans: 425 cals
Garbage: Small brownie, big bite of cake: 300 cals
TOTAL: 1815 calories
Exercise:
Swim 30 min
Indoor cycling 1 hour
Run 30 minutes
Total calories burned: 1000
Weight beginning of day: 140.2
Calorie deficit: about 800
Thursday, February 16, 2006
I can tell it's towards the end of the week
Definitely feeling some muscle soreness today! It was really, really cold this morning, so my running partner preferred to stay indoors. I decided to do my swim first, so I could get it over with and not have to share a lane (not too many people in the pool at 5:15 a.m.!), then I ran 60 minutes - mostly at 6.0, but with 8.6 and above 30-second speed pushes, then I did my weights. I kept it light on the abdominals because, although I wasn't feeling sore before I started, as soon as I did the first curl I felt pretty bad.
By 3 p.m., my left shoulder hurt. I think it was a combination of really focusing on a good, strong, long pull during my swim with doing an exercise with a stretchy band that Danielle showed me - it might have been too much. Ouch. I might need some ibuprofen, even. We'll see. It hurts enough that it sort of radiates down my arm.
I'm in a really foul mood. I'm not sure how to fix it. I'm just totally annoyed about work-related things. And, of course, I would either take it out on the family, or, as I am doing, avoid them. And avoiding them induces guilt. :-) Great cycle!
I'm going to get offline and see if playing with a kid or two will improve my mood. But seriously, I'm feeling annoyed enough that I would think I was about to get my period, but it just ended!
Today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Oooh, I was bad. Banana bread, ham and cheese, coffee with cream: 535 cals
Lunch: Turkey sandwich on wheat (no time...wanted something lower-cal, but needed something easy and portable): 440 cals
Snack: Veggies and some nuts: 100 cals
Dinner: Chili-marinated shrimp, green beans, 1/2 slice bread, 1 small brownie: 450 cals
Total: 1635 calories
Exercise:
Swim 30 minutes
Run 60 minutes
Lift weights 45 minutes
Total calories burned: 960
Weight this morning: 140.4 <-- improving, I think...
Definitely feeling some muscle soreness today! It was really, really cold this morning, so my running partner preferred to stay indoors. I decided to do my swim first, so I could get it over with and not have to share a lane (not too many people in the pool at 5:15 a.m.!), then I ran 60 minutes - mostly at 6.0, but with 8.6 and above 30-second speed pushes, then I did my weights. I kept it light on the abdominals because, although I wasn't feeling sore before I started, as soon as I did the first curl I felt pretty bad.
By 3 p.m., my left shoulder hurt. I think it was a combination of really focusing on a good, strong, long pull during my swim with doing an exercise with a stretchy band that Danielle showed me - it might have been too much. Ouch. I might need some ibuprofen, even. We'll see. It hurts enough that it sort of radiates down my arm.
I'm in a really foul mood. I'm not sure how to fix it. I'm just totally annoyed about work-related things. And, of course, I would either take it out on the family, or, as I am doing, avoid them. And avoiding them induces guilt. :-) Great cycle!
I'm going to get offline and see if playing with a kid or two will improve my mood. But seriously, I'm feeling annoyed enough that I would think I was about to get my period, but it just ended!
Today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Oooh, I was bad. Banana bread, ham and cheese, coffee with cream: 535 cals
Lunch: Turkey sandwich on wheat (no time...wanted something lower-cal, but needed something easy and portable): 440 cals
Snack: Veggies and some nuts: 100 cals
Dinner: Chili-marinated shrimp, green beans, 1/2 slice bread, 1 small brownie: 450 cals
Total: 1635 calories
Exercise:
Swim 30 minutes
Run 60 minutes
Lift weights 45 minutes
Total calories burned: 960
Weight this morning: 140.4 <-- improving, I think...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
A joyful workout
I had a fabulous workout this morning! I felt high. It was so awesome. First I ran just for 10 minutes - 1.25 miles - listening to really up, fast music (mostly three songs: Ready, Steady, Go!, The Distance, and Unwritten.
Then I did indoor cycling, which was okay - music was only so-so. I might have to take Monday's class more often...I prefer the instructor on Wednesday, but the music on Monday. And the music helps keep me going!
Then I ran 20 more minutes, same songs plus others from my usual routine. I pushed the speed up high - up to 9.0 at times, but mostly at 7.0, and I did 4 and a half minutes at 8.0. My heart rate was in the low 180s (I think the max I saw was 183). So a bit much for Base 1 training, but it was so much fun and I felt so great that I just had to do it. Tomorrow's run will be a zone 2 (heart rate 120-140).
Here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, a scone (a Valentine's present from a friend), coffee with cream: 545
Lunch: Salad with turkey, no dressing: 250 cals
Snack: Apple, cheese: 90 calories
Dinner: Basa (a white fish) and broccoli, chocolate: 400 calories
Total so far: 1395 calories
After dinner: Small slice cake from yesterday, 1 cookie: 500 calories (estimate)
TOTAL CONSUMED: 1895 calories, not so bad
Exercise:
Run 30 minutes, 3.65 miles
Indoor cycling, 1 hour
Calories burned: 900
Calorie deficit: About 600
My weight tonight was 142. Not too bad for end of day, especially when too many of my calories were consumed at night.
I had a fabulous workout this morning! I felt high. It was so awesome. First I ran just for 10 minutes - 1.25 miles - listening to really up, fast music (mostly three songs: Ready, Steady, Go!, The Distance, and Unwritten.
Then I did indoor cycling, which was okay - music was only so-so. I might have to take Monday's class more often...I prefer the instructor on Wednesday, but the music on Monday. And the music helps keep me going!
Then I ran 20 more minutes, same songs plus others from my usual routine. I pushed the speed up high - up to 9.0 at times, but mostly at 7.0, and I did 4 and a half minutes at 8.0. My heart rate was in the low 180s (I think the max I saw was 183). So a bit much for Base 1 training, but it was so much fun and I felt so great that I just had to do it. Tomorrow's run will be a zone 2 (heart rate 120-140).
Here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, a scone (a Valentine's present from a friend), coffee with cream: 545
Lunch: Salad with turkey, no dressing: 250 cals
Snack: Apple, cheese: 90 calories
Dinner: Basa (a white fish) and broccoli, chocolate: 400 calories
Total so far: 1395 calories
After dinner: Small slice cake from yesterday, 1 cookie: 500 calories (estimate)
TOTAL CONSUMED: 1895 calories, not so bad
Exercise:
Run 30 minutes, 3.65 miles
Indoor cycling, 1 hour
Calories burned: 900
Calorie deficit: About 600
My weight tonight was 142. Not too bad for end of day, especially when too many of my calories were consumed at night.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Snow!
It was really cold (well, for Seattle) today (well, at 5:15 a.m.) when I went out running. It was pretty much snowing! It wasn't sticking to the ground, but some of the ground was a little slippery. But it was a good run, heart rate zones 2 to 3 with speed pickups in zone 4.
Then I lifted weights and swam half an hour. I should have swum longer, but I didn't bring any food for during exercise, and I really was feeling like I needed it. So half an hour seemed like enough.
I stopped weighing myself daily. I probably will go back to it, but right now I feel really fat (time o' the month) so I just can't do it without getting sad. I'll weigh myself next week or so and see where I am. This morning my jeans felt tight, but I think this pair always does.
Today's data, so far:
Food
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream: 110 cals
Breakfast: Yogurt with granola, ham and cheese, coffee with cream: 545 calories
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with mustard, lettuce, tomato on whole wheat; 1 cup fruit; 1 Hershey's Nugget: 545 calories
Total so far: 1200 calories
Snack: Grapes, 60 cals
Dinner: Shrimp cocktail, 100 cals; lasagna (homemade by me, not as bad as most), 410 cals; bread, 120 cals; salad, 100 cals; 1 glass wine, 80 cals; slice of cake, 400 cals. (This was my Valentine's Dinner - the whole family helped cook. It was really sweet.) 1210 cals total
Total consumed today: 2470 calories
Exercise
Run E2-E3 with S2 (speed pickups), 65 minutes, 500 calories
Lift weights, 45 minutes, 200 calories
Swim E1, E2, S1, S2, 300 calories
Total: 1000 calories burned
So today is a total wash...but given the huge dinner, it could have been worse. And it was a holiday, even if it's a Hallmark holiday.
It was really cold (well, for Seattle) today (well, at 5:15 a.m.) when I went out running. It was pretty much snowing! It wasn't sticking to the ground, but some of the ground was a little slippery. But it was a good run, heart rate zones 2 to 3 with speed pickups in zone 4.
Then I lifted weights and swam half an hour. I should have swum longer, but I didn't bring any food for during exercise, and I really was feeling like I needed it. So half an hour seemed like enough.
I stopped weighing myself daily. I probably will go back to it, but right now I feel really fat (time o' the month) so I just can't do it without getting sad. I'll weigh myself next week or so and see where I am. This morning my jeans felt tight, but I think this pair always does.
Today's data, so far:
Food
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream: 110 cals
Breakfast: Yogurt with granola, ham and cheese, coffee with cream: 545 calories
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with mustard, lettuce, tomato on whole wheat; 1 cup fruit; 1 Hershey's Nugget: 545 calories
Total so far: 1200 calories
Snack: Grapes, 60 cals
Dinner: Shrimp cocktail, 100 cals; lasagna (homemade by me, not as bad as most), 410 cals; bread, 120 cals; salad, 100 cals; 1 glass wine, 80 cals; slice of cake, 400 cals. (This was my Valentine's Dinner - the whole family helped cook. It was really sweet.) 1210 cals total
Total consumed today: 2470 calories
Exercise
Run E2-E3 with S2 (speed pickups), 65 minutes, 500 calories
Lift weights, 45 minutes, 200 calories
Swim E1, E2, S1, S2, 300 calories
Total: 1000 calories burned
So today is a total wash...but given the huge dinner, it could have been worse. And it was a holiday, even if it's a Hallmark holiday.
Monday, February 13, 2006
I love this
Here's a guy who has just started the weight-loss program I did. I'm way into reading about his progress.
Bill's 20/20 Lifestyle Program
Today I talked to about 20 people who are interested in the program - the program people asked me to come talk to help explain the program. I'd say "sell" the program, but seriously I do believe in it so much that I think it sells itself, and my job is just to encourage people who are thinking about starting and confirm that it really is the best present they'll ever give themselves...if the follow the guidelines and make the necessary lifestyle changes.
Here's a guy who has just started the weight-loss program I did. I'm way into reading about his progress.
Bill's 20/20 Lifestyle Program
Today I talked to about 20 people who are interested in the program - the program people asked me to come talk to help explain the program. I'd say "sell" the program, but seriously I do believe in it so much that I think it sells itself, and my job is just to encourage people who are thinking about starting and confirm that it really is the best present they'll ever give themselves...if the follow the guidelines and make the necessary lifestyle changes.
Yesterday...not good. Today, new start! (Maybe)
I don't even want to admit to what I ate yesterday. Oh well. But here it is:
Food:
Breakfast: Sourdough Breakfast Jack from Jack in the Box: 420 cals, coffee with cream, 30 cals, some of Camille's french toast sticks, 150 cals: 600 calories
Snack: Grapes, 60 cals, granola from Costco, yum yum yum, 600 cals: 660 total
Lunch: Chicken breast: 200 cals
Dinner: Dinner at book club - chinese food. Potstickers, fried shrimp things, salad, mango mousse cake: no idea on the calories. But the fact is, the granola really did me in.
Total calories consumed: Somewhere around a million. Okay, not a million, but way too many.
Exercise:
Bike 70 minutes, 500 calories
-----
Monday
Okay, so today I'm going to try to do better. But already I can tell I ate too much for breakfast. I just love granola so much!!!
Today I don't think I'm going to work out. I'm tired and I want to rest. However, that means I need to get my swim in later on in the week - I originally had planned to swim for one hour, so now I'll have to swim probably two more days for half an hour each time.
But that's okay. Rest is important. Plus, I have to clean my house and play with my kids. :-)
So I thought of a new strategy to handle my granola desire. This afternoon, I had pretty much decided to throw it all away. But when I got home, I had an epiphany: I portioned it all out into ziploc baggies, half-cup servings - which is probably 300 calories (it doesn't have nutrition info, so I have to estimate). Now, I won't touch the baggies, because if I eat a little, it will mess up my calories for when I eat the rest of the baggie, and I won't eat a whole baggie because that's not grazing. It's deliberate, and I want to graze so I can pretend I didn't really eat whatever I ate.
I was thinking that I should just stop buying grazing foods - peanuts, raisins, dried cranberries, etc. And if I have to graze, graze on baby carrots or grapes. Unfortunately, these are better as theories than reality.
So, here's what I ate today. Note the dried cranberries. That was a total graze. The bag has been open and around for weeks, I threw the rest away today. I wonder how much food I've thrown away to avoid eating it in the past two years?
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, yogurt, granola, coffee with cream: 545 calories and I AM FULL!
Lunch: 4 oz tuna with 1/2 tbsp mayo, salad: 300 calories
Snack: 1/2 cup grapes, 60 cals
Total so far: 905 calories
Dinner: Chicken marsala (20/20 approved), carrots, cheese and whole-wheat crackers: 500 calories
After-dinner: dried cherries, 120 calories
Total: 1525 calories
No extra calories burned, since no extra exercise (although I did walk about a mile briskly in bad shoes and definitely had an elevated heart rate). But tomorrow will be a big day for exercise - and I bet it will be a good one if I get to bed on time tonight.
I don't even want to admit to what I ate yesterday. Oh well. But here it is:
Food:
Breakfast: Sourdough Breakfast Jack from Jack in the Box: 420 cals, coffee with cream, 30 cals, some of Camille's french toast sticks, 150 cals: 600 calories
Snack: Grapes, 60 cals, granola from Costco, yum yum yum, 600 cals: 660 total
Lunch: Chicken breast: 200 cals
Dinner: Dinner at book club - chinese food. Potstickers, fried shrimp things, salad, mango mousse cake: no idea on the calories. But the fact is, the granola really did me in.
Total calories consumed: Somewhere around a million. Okay, not a million, but way too many.
Exercise:
Bike 70 minutes, 500 calories
-----
Monday
Okay, so today I'm going to try to do better. But already I can tell I ate too much for breakfast. I just love granola so much!!!
Today I don't think I'm going to work out. I'm tired and I want to rest. However, that means I need to get my swim in later on in the week - I originally had planned to swim for one hour, so now I'll have to swim probably two more days for half an hour each time.
But that's okay. Rest is important. Plus, I have to clean my house and play with my kids. :-)
So I thought of a new strategy to handle my granola desire. This afternoon, I had pretty much decided to throw it all away. But when I got home, I had an epiphany: I portioned it all out into ziploc baggies, half-cup servings - which is probably 300 calories (it doesn't have nutrition info, so I have to estimate). Now, I won't touch the baggies, because if I eat a little, it will mess up my calories for when I eat the rest of the baggie, and I won't eat a whole baggie because that's not grazing. It's deliberate, and I want to graze so I can pretend I didn't really eat whatever I ate.
I was thinking that I should just stop buying grazing foods - peanuts, raisins, dried cranberries, etc. And if I have to graze, graze on baby carrots or grapes. Unfortunately, these are better as theories than reality.
So, here's what I ate today. Note the dried cranberries. That was a total graze. The bag has been open and around for weeks, I threw the rest away today. I wonder how much food I've thrown away to avoid eating it in the past two years?
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, yogurt, granola, coffee with cream: 545 calories and I AM FULL!
Lunch: 4 oz tuna with 1/2 tbsp mayo, salad: 300 calories
Snack: 1/2 cup grapes, 60 cals
Total so far: 905 calories
Dinner: Chicken marsala (20/20 approved), carrots, cheese and whole-wheat crackers: 500 calories
After-dinner: dried cherries, 120 calories
Total: 1525 calories
No extra calories burned, since no extra exercise (although I did walk about a mile briskly in bad shoes and definitely had an elevated heart rate). But tomorrow will be a big day for exercise - and I bet it will be a good one if I get to bed on time tonight.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
A day full of exercise - and fun!
Not much time to comment, but it was an absolutely beautiful day and I ran and biked and had a fabulous time. At night, though, I was EXHAUSTED. I completely conked out on my bed, with both kids watching Star Wars and I think jumping up and down, but I was kind of too tired to notice. As long as we're all together, right?
But seriously, we had a great bike ride. We rode 24 miles around a gorgeous lake - decent bike trail/shoulder the entire way - and at a reasonable pace. No significant hills. The best part for me was that John did it with me - I really enjoy biking, but I'm focusing more on it this year so that John can enjoy exercise with me. I'm not sure he did, but I was really glad he was there.
Food:
Pre-workout: 1/2 Luna bar, 90 calories
Breakfast: 2 donuts, yum, and coffee with cream: 730 cals (these donuts were small)
Lunch: 1/2 Luna bar, coffee with cream, chicken breast, vegetable soup: 550 cals
Snack: 1/2 York Peppermint Pattie, cheese and crackers: 250 cals
Total so far: 1620 calories
Dinner: Chicken sausage lasagna, pear, 1 piece candy (small), low-cal popcorn: 500 cals
Snack: Dried cranberries, yum (high cal though): 200 calories
TOTAL calories consumed: 2320
Exercise:
Run 8 miles - 700 calories
Bike with Gabriel - 175 calories
Bike with John and Matthew - 700 calories
Total so far: 1575 calories burned
Run with Barbara: 250 calories
TOTAL: 1825 calories burned, woo!
Not much time to comment, but it was an absolutely beautiful day and I ran and biked and had a fabulous time. At night, though, I was EXHAUSTED. I completely conked out on my bed, with both kids watching Star Wars and I think jumping up and down, but I was kind of too tired to notice. As long as we're all together, right?
But seriously, we had a great bike ride. We rode 24 miles around a gorgeous lake - decent bike trail/shoulder the entire way - and at a reasonable pace. No significant hills. The best part for me was that John did it with me - I really enjoy biking, but I'm focusing more on it this year so that John can enjoy exercise with me. I'm not sure he did, but I was really glad he was there.
Food:
Pre-workout: 1/2 Luna bar, 90 calories
Breakfast: 2 donuts, yum, and coffee with cream: 730 cals (these donuts were small)
Lunch: 1/2 Luna bar, coffee with cream, chicken breast, vegetable soup: 550 cals
Snack: 1/2 York Peppermint Pattie, cheese and crackers: 250 cals
Total so far: 1620 calories
Dinner: Chicken sausage lasagna, pear, 1 piece candy (small), low-cal popcorn: 500 cals
Snack: Dried cranberries, yum (high cal though): 200 calories
TOTAL calories consumed: 2320
Exercise:
Run 8 miles - 700 calories
Bike with Gabriel - 175 calories
Bike with John and Matthew - 700 calories
Total so far: 1575 calories burned
Run with Barbara: 250 calories
TOTAL: 1825 calories burned, woo!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Fun in indoor cycling!
I have to admit, usually I dislike indoor cycling and I watch the clock and divide time to tell myself how much longer (1/4 of the way through, 3/4 to go...etc). But today things were just in sync. Danielle had fun music, the room felt energetic, and one benefit of swimming before I do cycling is that I don't get as hot (but sweat still just pours off of me). So that rocked. It was hard to keep my heart rate low. I sort of felt like I sometimes feel around food: like I'm drunk and I just don't care, so I'll eat whatever I please. Well, I felt high and I'll let my heart rate go wherever I please!
But I brought myself back down by reminding myself that later on in my training, when I have to maintain a higher heart rate, I'm going to long for these days of zone 2/zone 3 training.
Here are today's data.
Food:
Pre-workout: the usual, banana and coffee, 110 cals
Breakfast: 1 pear, english muffin with ham and cheese, coffee with cream, 315 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and broccoli, 310 cals
Treat: Cheesecake parfait, 300 cals
Total so far: 1035 cals - better watch it the rest of the day!
Dinner: Steak (20/20 approved), green beans, steamed red potato, slice bread: 500 cals
Total so far: 1535 cals
Another treat: Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, 325 cals (yes, really: sinless sweet cream! small! but with yummy mix-ins. However, I only ate half but I counted all 325 cals. So it might have been less)
TOTAL CALORIES: 1860
Exercise:
Swim 15 minutes - 100 calories
Bike 1 hour - 500 calories
Total: 600 calories burned
I have to admit, usually I dislike indoor cycling and I watch the clock and divide time to tell myself how much longer (1/4 of the way through, 3/4 to go...etc). But today things were just in sync. Danielle had fun music, the room felt energetic, and one benefit of swimming before I do cycling is that I don't get as hot (but sweat still just pours off of me). So that rocked. It was hard to keep my heart rate low. I sort of felt like I sometimes feel around food: like I'm drunk and I just don't care, so I'll eat whatever I please. Well, I felt high and I'll let my heart rate go wherever I please!
But I brought myself back down by reminding myself that later on in my training, when I have to maintain a higher heart rate, I'm going to long for these days of zone 2/zone 3 training.
Here are today's data.
Food:
Pre-workout: the usual, banana and coffee, 110 cals
Breakfast: 1 pear, english muffin with ham and cheese, coffee with cream, 315 cals
Lunch: Chicken breast and broccoli, 310 cals
Treat: Cheesecake parfait, 300 cals
Total so far: 1035 cals - better watch it the rest of the day!
Dinner: Steak (20/20 approved), green beans, steamed red potato, slice bread: 500 cals
Total so far: 1535 cals
Another treat: Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, 325 cals (yes, really: sinless sweet cream! small! but with yummy mix-ins. However, I only ate half but I counted all 325 cals. So it might have been less)
TOTAL CALORIES: 1860
Exercise:
Swim 15 minutes - 100 calories
Bike 1 hour - 500 calories
Total: 600 calories burned
Thursday, February 09, 2006
I waste too much time
I arrived at the gym at 5:15. I left at 7:55. I only did 2 hours of exercise. That's 40 minutes of...oh wait, that's not so bad. Showering, changing, and talking to my friends. Okay, never mind.
It's just that it feels like I got there at 5 and left at 8 and didn't do three hours of exercise. But obviously that's logical, I just have to deal with it.
My run was good - we did the same route as Tuesday only the other direction. It made the steep hills up and the shallow hills down. There are few streets around here that are well-lit enough to run on at 5 a.m., when it's still very, very dark, so we have to make do with mixing up the few we can run on.
Today's Data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, coffee with cream, pear, 4 oz oatmeal, 305 cals
Lunch: Salmon, low-fat minestrone soup, Hershey's Nugget: 465 cals
Snack: String cheese, 60 cals
Dinner: Chicken breast, corn: 380 cals
Couldn't help it: Chocolate and peanuts: 360 cals
Total: 1680
Exercise:
Run 70 minutes - 500 calories
Lift weights 45 minutes - 200 calories
Weight beginning of day: 142.4 yuck
Weight end of day: 144.4
I arrived at the gym at 5:15. I left at 7:55. I only did 2 hours of exercise. That's 40 minutes of...oh wait, that's not so bad. Showering, changing, and talking to my friends. Okay, never mind.
It's just that it feels like I got there at 5 and left at 8 and didn't do three hours of exercise. But obviously that's logical, I just have to deal with it.
My run was good - we did the same route as Tuesday only the other direction. It made the steep hills up and the shallow hills down. There are few streets around here that are well-lit enough to run on at 5 a.m., when it's still very, very dark, so we have to make do with mixing up the few we can run on.
Today's Data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Ham and cheese, coffee with cream, pear, 4 oz oatmeal, 305 cals
Lunch: Salmon, low-fat minestrone soup, Hershey's Nugget: 465 cals
Snack: String cheese, 60 cals
Dinner: Chicken breast, corn: 380 cals
Couldn't help it: Chocolate and peanuts: 360 cals
Total: 1680
Exercise:
Run 70 minutes - 500 calories
Lift weights 45 minutes - 200 calories
Weight beginning of day: 142.4 yuck
Weight end of day: 144.4
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Love to run, hate to binge on cookies
This morning I was sore from yesterday's workout - mostly in my chest and arms. So I definitely felt it during my swim. And couple that with the fact that when I swim, I might as well not have legs, it was some work this morning in the pool. I spent 15 of my 45 minutes on legs only - with and without fins. My goal is to get to the point where I have a strong kick naturally, instead of letting my legs drag naturally. I don't want to put huge effort into the kick since I'll have a bike and a run right after, but right now they're not doing anything useful and they should be.
I'm also working on a good S pull with my arms. My left arm crosses the midline all the time, it's like it's not even part of my body. But I tell it to move on over to where it should be. Unfortunately, at this point it takes focus, and since my legs do too, swimming is definitely hard.
So my run. I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill after my swim, doing speed pickups (base at 6.0 for two minutes - up to 8.0 for one minute - back to 6.0). I really enjoyed this workout - the one-minute intervals were long enough to make me feel like I was working, but not long enough to suck my strength. In fact, when I finished the 30 minutes, I felt stronger and more powerful than when I started. Gotta love that!
On eating, I've decided that once a week I get to eat banana bread for breakfast. If I don't, I will likely end up eating something worse anyway. I meant to also eat my ham to get the protein, but I forgot - and now, at 3 p.m., I'm paying for that in that I'm hungry.
---
It's later. It's 9 p.m. My tummy hurts. I totally binged on cookies. I probably ate...a dozen? Maybe only 8 or so. They weren't very big - but even at 100 calories each, that's 800!!! And my tummy hurts! Why did I do that? It was totally mindless eating. Yummy, but not deliberate. Ugh. I hope I puke - it will serve me right. I don't even want to weigh myself tonight. But I will...can't improve if I can't tell the truth.
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Banana bread and coffee with cream, 430 cals
Lunch: Chicken taco salad (no rice, no beans, no taco shell), 350 cals
Snack: 1 slice ham, low-fat cheese: 70 cals
Dinner: 20/20 "Designed Dinners" olive tapenade crusted salmon, asparagus: 450 cals
After-dinner binge: Coffee with cream, cookies: Who knows. Hundreds? Thousands?
Total without the binge: 1410 calories
Total with: 2400 calories?
Exercise:
45 minute swim - E1, E2, E3, S1, S2
30 minute run - mostly in zone 3 with speed pickups (S2)
Total calories burned: 800
Weight beginning of day: 141.8 (yuck)
End of day: 144.8 (at least 2 lbs of cookies)
This morning I was sore from yesterday's workout - mostly in my chest and arms. So I definitely felt it during my swim. And couple that with the fact that when I swim, I might as well not have legs, it was some work this morning in the pool. I spent 15 of my 45 minutes on legs only - with and without fins. My goal is to get to the point where I have a strong kick naturally, instead of letting my legs drag naturally. I don't want to put huge effort into the kick since I'll have a bike and a run right after, but right now they're not doing anything useful and they should be.
I'm also working on a good S pull with my arms. My left arm crosses the midline all the time, it's like it's not even part of my body. But I tell it to move on over to where it should be. Unfortunately, at this point it takes focus, and since my legs do too, swimming is definitely hard.
So my run. I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill after my swim, doing speed pickups (base at 6.0 for two minutes - up to 8.0 for one minute - back to 6.0). I really enjoyed this workout - the one-minute intervals were long enough to make me feel like I was working, but not long enough to suck my strength. In fact, when I finished the 30 minutes, I felt stronger and more powerful than when I started. Gotta love that!
On eating, I've decided that once a week I get to eat banana bread for breakfast. If I don't, I will likely end up eating something worse anyway. I meant to also eat my ham to get the protein, but I forgot - and now, at 3 p.m., I'm paying for that in that I'm hungry.
---
It's later. It's 9 p.m. My tummy hurts. I totally binged on cookies. I probably ate...a dozen? Maybe only 8 or so. They weren't very big - but even at 100 calories each, that's 800!!! And my tummy hurts! Why did I do that? It was totally mindless eating. Yummy, but not deliberate. Ugh. I hope I puke - it will serve me right. I don't even want to weigh myself tonight. But I will...can't improve if I can't tell the truth.
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream, 110 cals
Breakfast: Banana bread and coffee with cream, 430 cals
Lunch: Chicken taco salad (no rice, no beans, no taco shell), 350 cals
Snack: 1 slice ham, low-fat cheese: 70 cals
Dinner: 20/20 "Designed Dinners" olive tapenade crusted salmon, asparagus: 450 cals
After-dinner binge: Coffee with cream, cookies: Who knows. Hundreds? Thousands?
Total without the binge: 1410 calories
Total with: 2400 calories?
Exercise:
45 minute swim - E1, E2, E3, S1, S2
30 minute run - mostly in zone 3 with speed pickups (S2)
Total calories burned: 800
Weight beginning of day: 141.8 (yuck)
End of day: 144.8 (at least 2 lbs of cookies)
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
It's hard to keep a low heart rate!
My goal for this morning's run was to keep my heart rate below 140 to remain in zone 2, most of the time. There were a couple of hills on which I allowed myself to enter zone 3 and go up to 160. I was okay for a while, but towards the very end of the run, I found it much harder to keep my heart rate low - and hard to want to. I understand the principle - that keeping it low will help make the chemical processes happening in my body to be more efficient and allow me to go longer - but for someone whose goal has been "go faster and harder to burn more calories quickly" it's a little hard to stomach. But I did it, and Nancy, my running partner, said she felt great, and I did too, so it will probably be quite beneficial.
Data for the day:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream: 110 cals
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 375 cals
Lunch: Yogurt with strawberries and granola; lentil soup: 500 cals
Snack: Apple, string cheese, nuts, Hershey's Nugget: 325 cals (yeah, hungry)
Dinner: Leftover chicken parmagiana (too much, too late), dark chocolate: 640 cals
Total so far: 1950 cals
Exercise:
Run 70 minutes - zones 2-3 (mostly 2)
Lift weights 45 min - upper and lower body, abs
Total calories burned: 800
Beginning of day weight: 142.4 (weird that it's so high. must be about to get my period or something)
End of day weight: 142.4 (double weird. I've never before been the same as the beginning of the day. this morning must have been off)
My goal for this morning's run was to keep my heart rate below 140 to remain in zone 2, most of the time. There were a couple of hills on which I allowed myself to enter zone 3 and go up to 160. I was okay for a while, but towards the very end of the run, I found it much harder to keep my heart rate low - and hard to want to. I understand the principle - that keeping it low will help make the chemical processes happening in my body to be more efficient and allow me to go longer - but for someone whose goal has been "go faster and harder to burn more calories quickly" it's a little hard to stomach. But I did it, and Nancy, my running partner, said she felt great, and I did too, so it will probably be quite beneficial.
Data for the day:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana and coffee with cream: 110 cals
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 375 cals
Lunch: Yogurt with strawberries and granola; lentil soup: 500 cals
Snack: Apple, string cheese, nuts, Hershey's Nugget: 325 cals (yeah, hungry)
Dinner: Leftover chicken parmagiana (too much, too late), dark chocolate: 640 cals
Total so far: 1950 cals
Exercise:
Run 70 minutes - zones 2-3 (mostly 2)
Lift weights 45 min - upper and lower body, abs
Total calories burned: 800
Beginning of day weight: 142.4 (weird that it's so high. must be about to get my period or something)
End of day weight: 142.4 (double weird. I've never before been the same as the beginning of the day. this morning must have been off)
Monday, February 06, 2006
Healthy!
Oh my goodness, I am so happy to be better. I know I didn't blog all weekend - I actually felt better during the weekend, even Friday night, but I didn't exercise and I pretty much ate what I wanted, which didn't include anything healthy, so I didn't feel like copping to it.
But now I'm back on track, and 141.4 pounds this morning. And I have a new plan! I got "The Triathlete's Training Bible" and worked on my plan from now until July.
So today I begin "Base 1" training - the standard plan is just perfect given the timing of my major event. However, I sort of didn't follow the plan today because since I didn't exercise in the last week, my normal Monday - just a swim - didn't make sense. And I'm glad I didn't do it because I did a much longer, harder workout and felt awesome. But, I did keep my heart rate in the appropriate zones, which did mean slowing down at some points both in the swim and on the bike, and I will modify a workout later this week so that I stick to the appropriate number of hours.
Okay, I have a confession now: I ate fairly well all day....and then binged at night when I got home from work, in a way I haven't done in a while. I'm not sure how much I ate, exactly...I know there were crackers, and a brownie, and two little cheesecake bites, and bread, and I made unhealthy food for dinner (chicken parmagiana and spaghetti - although I did only eat a tiny bit of the spaghetti). But I can't adequately meal-track what I ate since I'm not totally sure, plus there could have been more...I suck.
Yeah, so here are the data for the day:
Food:
Pre-workout: Less than 1/3 of a Pria Bar (bad idea, yucky): 50 cals
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and low-fat cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 375 cals
Lunch: Salad with turkey, Hershey's Nugget: 280 cals
Snack: String cheese and yogurt: 170 cals
Total so far: 870 calories
Binge at night...who knows. Most likely, 1200 more?
Exercise:
Swim 30 minutes - E1 (slow to focus on skills), E2 (zones 2-3), S1 (drills), S2 (fins)
Indoor cycling - endurance and speed
Run 1 mile - tempo (6.5 on treadmill)
Total calories burned: 900
Weight beginning of day: 141.4
Weight end of day: 144.4 (yuck)
Oh my goodness, I am so happy to be better. I know I didn't blog all weekend - I actually felt better during the weekend, even Friday night, but I didn't exercise and I pretty much ate what I wanted, which didn't include anything healthy, so I didn't feel like copping to it.
But now I'm back on track, and 141.4 pounds this morning. And I have a new plan! I got "The Triathlete's Training Bible" and worked on my plan from now until July.
So today I begin "Base 1" training - the standard plan is just perfect given the timing of my major event. However, I sort of didn't follow the plan today because since I didn't exercise in the last week, my normal Monday - just a swim - didn't make sense. And I'm glad I didn't do it because I did a much longer, harder workout and felt awesome. But, I did keep my heart rate in the appropriate zones, which did mean slowing down at some points both in the swim and on the bike, and I will modify a workout later this week so that I stick to the appropriate number of hours.
Okay, I have a confession now: I ate fairly well all day....and then binged at night when I got home from work, in a way I haven't done in a while. I'm not sure how much I ate, exactly...I know there were crackers, and a brownie, and two little cheesecake bites, and bread, and I made unhealthy food for dinner (chicken parmagiana and spaghetti - although I did only eat a tiny bit of the spaghetti). But I can't adequately meal-track what I ate since I'm not totally sure, plus there could have been more...I suck.
Yeah, so here are the data for the day:
Food:
Pre-workout: Less than 1/3 of a Pria Bar (bad idea, yucky): 50 cals
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and low-fat cheese, 1 cup fruit, coffee with cream: 375 cals
Lunch: Salad with turkey, Hershey's Nugget: 280 cals
Snack: String cheese and yogurt: 170 cals
Total so far: 870 calories
Binge at night...who knows. Most likely, 1200 more?
Exercise:
Swim 30 minutes - E1 (slow to focus on skills), E2 (zones 2-3), S1 (drills), S2 (fins)
Indoor cycling - endurance and speed
Run 1 mile - tempo (6.5 on treadmill)
Total calories burned: 900
Weight beginning of day: 141.4
Weight end of day: 144.4 (yuck)
Friday, February 03, 2006
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Still sick
Ugh. I had to stay home from work again - bad stomach pain and diarrhea, couldn't stray from the bathroom. It got better in the late afternoon, but started up again in the evening. I should just write off this entire week of training and dieting.
So today, I ate a random assortment of things:
- A pear (60 calories)
- Half of a chicken sandwich (chicken breast and bread) (150 calories)
- Some french fries (John's) (135 calories)
- Two boiled red potatoes (120 calories)
- Two brownies (the kids asked me to make them, and I was feeling good at the time) (400 cals)
- Three Wendy's chicken nuggets (130 cals)
- Some bread (150 cals)
Let's see...that comes out to: 1145 calories
Oh, my heart's been racing all day. And I'm out of breath coming up the stairs. Blah!
Ugh. I had to stay home from work again - bad stomach pain and diarrhea, couldn't stray from the bathroom. It got better in the late afternoon, but started up again in the evening. I should just write off this entire week of training and dieting.
So today, I ate a random assortment of things:
- A pear (60 calories)
- Half of a chicken sandwich (chicken breast and bread) (150 calories)
- Some french fries (John's) (135 calories)
- Two boiled red potatoes (120 calories)
- Two brownies (the kids asked me to make them, and I was feeling good at the time) (400 cals)
- Three Wendy's chicken nuggets (130 cals)
- Some bread (150 cals)
Let's see...that comes out to: 1145 calories
Oh, my heart's been racing all day. And I'm out of breath coming up the stairs. Blah!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
So sleepy!
Stomach flu or whatever takes a lot out of you! When I feel like this, I eat what seems appetizing. So I've had the most bizarre set of food today. It started out okay, but rapidly went downhill.
However, I know if I were to deny myself french fries when I desperately wanted them, I would just eat more later. And a small order is enough to satisfy.
Food:
Breakfast: 1 bagel: 25o calories
Snack: 1 apple and some nuts: 200 calories
Lunch: Chicken noodle soup: 180 calories
Snack: 1 brownie from the cafeteria - no idea how many calories. Going with 250 based on calorieking.com estimates
Dinner: Jack in the box. Chicken fajita pita and small curly fries: 530 calories
Total so far: 1410 calories
Exercise:
None yet; hoping to be able to wake up tomorrow refreshed and do a regular workout
Beginning of day weight: 137.8 (I know, dehydration...but I wish it were true)
Stomach flu or whatever takes a lot out of you! When I feel like this, I eat what seems appetizing. So I've had the most bizarre set of food today. It started out okay, but rapidly went downhill.
However, I know if I were to deny myself french fries when I desperately wanted them, I would just eat more later. And a small order is enough to satisfy.
Food:
Breakfast: 1 bagel: 25o calories
Snack: 1 apple and some nuts: 200 calories
Lunch: Chicken noodle soup: 180 calories
Snack: 1 brownie from the cafeteria - no idea how many calories. Going with 250 based on calorieking.com estimates
Dinner: Jack in the box. Chicken fajita pita and small curly fries: 530 calories
Total so far: 1410 calories
Exercise:
None yet; hoping to be able to wake up tomorrow refreshed and do a regular workout
Beginning of day weight: 137.8 (I know, dehydration...but I wish it were true)
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