Connemara

My latest goal is fast approaching and I have seen a lot of changes this past month. My appetite is through the roof and happily even though I eat frequently, I seem to be losing even more fat. My body seems more compact and dense and I have no trouble getting it up and running. I also made a major change to my appearance and got a new hairstyle. I’ve always had my hair long and usually one length. I got tired of that and now it’s shorter in the front than it has ever been. I like it. I almost feel like a new person.

I read an article in my local paper today that outlines some research done by a dietitian regarding the effects of sugar on the dilation of blood vessels and arteries. To make a long story short, his findings indicate that a person who exercises can handle a soda and a candy bar and their body won’t be affected as much as if they didn’t exercise. This is good news for those of us who exercise and try to eat right but "sneak" a treat now and then. It won’t cause you irreparable damage. it still doesn’t mean you can gorge on unhealthy food. But it’s nice to know I can have a small piece of chocolate without worrying what it will do to me.

Today my workout was playing softball for about 5 hours. One of my friends’ girlfriend got beaned in the face by a fastball last week, so she asked if I would like to play for her in the finals here in town. It was a great opportunity to get exercise and socializing so I agreed. I had a great time, despite the fact it was over 100 degrees out. Our team almost won the playoffs but we came up against a really great team and they beat us fair and square. It was all for fun anyway so no big deal right? Well, it seems that some of the people in this town are cleverly disguised as responsible adults. When exposed to competition and the opportunity to really excel and be a great example for each other and their children, they blow it big time. I have never heard so much whining, complaining, backtalking and mudslinging since high school. Granted, some of them are barely out of their teens. But come on, people, it’s only a GAME!!! It’s not like we were playing for money out there (a good thing, or people would be getting bloody lol). I was even questioned, down to the way I "tapped" the ball with my bat. I never raised a stink about how the balls I tried to hit were WAY over my head and too far out; nor did I confront the guy who outright asked me WHY I was subbing for someone when I’m not "officially" on the team. There was so much rule breaking and last minute rule changing it was really starting to frustrate me. Not to mention people can’t stop cussing each other out IN FRONT OF THEIR KIDS. Jeez. I’m done.

This has nothing at all to do with fitness but I need to vent. I’m just a little irritated so bear with me here.

I answered a phone call at dinner time only because the caller ID said it was from Dell USA. My laptop being from that company, I decided maybe they had something important to say, like a recall or to ask how my computer is doing. Well, I got an offer for an extended warranty on my laptop. $159 for one additional year of parts, labor and technical support. $209 for two years. $70 off if I pay for this NOW. I wanted to research this and make sure my money is not going to go to waste; I’m still within the 30 days money back guarantee timeframe and I have the standard 1 year warranty right now. I politely informed the sales agent that I appreciated the offer and I would be contacting Dell later to purchase said extended warranty as I don’t have room in my budget this month for that expense. Does that sound like a reasonable response to you?

Well, Ms. Pushy Push didn’t think so. She told me "well ma’am this offer is only good for right now and the price WILL go up on the warranty coverage." Once again, I said patiently, loud and clear, "thank you, but right now I am not able to buy an extended warranty. I will contact you when I can afford it."  Her next words? "Ma’am the price will go up seventy dollars, there isn’t any way you can pay for this now?"

Now, I appreciated her trying to help me save some money. I really did. But I had said the equivalent of "No, Thank you" TWICE. My patience ran out. "No", I said in the firm and even tone that I use with my nine year old daughter. "I have other things that I must pay for right now" (like $3 a gallon milk for the kids and gasoline to get me to and from work; not to mention I am setting aside savings for school, vacation and paying off a credit card). She thanked me for taking the call and hung up. Was I too hard on her? Or did I not get my message through? I have read that in some cases, extended warranties are just a waste of money and time. If it’s gonna break, you’ll find out immediately. I mean, Dell has a great reputation for its products. And until now, awesome customer service. I’m not angry, don’t get me wrong. But I think she overstepped her bounds just a tad with me. Thanks for listening. 

Except for the bodyfat goal, I’m pretty sure of what I want to see in a couple of months. I still can’t get an accurate picture of the bodyfat; I measure at about 20 everywhere but on my stomach, so that little bit of loose skin is throwing it all off. I’m not bulking up which is a good thing; I see more toning going on which is what I am aiming for. So I’ll keep it up with the high reps and low weight to a point. I’m really happy to see the inches lost off my thighs and hips; those are hard areas to lose off for me. Last and least, the scale is saying 133. I’m a bit skeptical but I’ll go with that for now. The progress pics are looking pretty good to me also. See how things are in two months.   

I ran into a friend who has been deployed and just got back to work. He was amazed at my "transformation". The conversation nearly went downhill from there after he asked what I weighed. He can’t believe I am 134; he kept saying that’s not right and his wife weighs far less and is "fatter" than I. Well, I was trying not to be rude so I said well maybe I’m just more stout than her and have more muscle. He said it looks like I am at 104; yea that’s flattering but highly inaccurate. Unless the scales are all totally wacked and we are all being taken for a ride by the gym, but I have tested out many a measuring device and they all have the same thing to show me. I told him I really don’t go by weight anymore as it is, because that just defeats the purpose and would scare me off of weightlifting as I get heavy with muscle. I think I have gained at least 5-10 pounds of muscle over the past year; but I have shaved off 10-15 pounds of fat as well. Yea I would be at 125 if I wasn’t hitting the dumbbells on a regular basis; but I would rather go through life strong and healthy. I don’t care what the scale says! So I hope I made an impression on him and helped turn the nasty tide of "ideal weight" that society has swamped women with. Ignore the shackles of gravity, my friends, because the funny thing is we’d all weigh less than 100 pounds on the moon, no matter what size jeans we wear!  

I am planning on updating my goals by next week…I have an idea of where I want my body to be and I want it there by 11 October. I need to go get my bodyfat properly measured and I want to see where my limits are on the weightlifting. Although my goal isn’t to bulk up but rather get more stamina in my legs and arms. I think my abs could use a bit more toning, as well as the usual derriere goal of no jiggling lol. I also need a visual so I might put up some more progress pics but they are only for comparison; do not assume that I am the kind of woman who plays the IM game just because I’m wearing a bikini. I will ignore requests to "see more".  I have 60 days; let’s see how much I can improve by then.  

I’m not happy with my performance last week. I’m at a higher level of fitness than I have ever been in my life, but I feel that I can do much better. I don’t think I’m doing enough. I feel I should push myself hard at least twice a week. I really want to start doing more on the weekends now too. I think starting tomorrow I will try to get at least an hour of moderately intense exercise a weekend. The kids can participate too…I’m proud of my oldest; she wanted to go to the gym with me! Maybe we will do that. If I set a good example for her now I won’t have to worry about her getting a negative body image in her teens. Anyway, back to me. Yea, I want to push this beyond what I’ve been doing. I also don’t like the amount of fat I still have around my lower half. It doesn’t look too bad when I’m standing up and moving around, but I can "pinch an inch" still. Ick. I’m happy with how much of that I have lost so far though; my uniform that I bought six months ago is too big now! I’ve been able to stay away from crap food and not eat my weight in spaghetti lol. So that part is going well. Here’s to success.

Running 3.1 miles in 70 degrees is way different than running 3.1 miles in 98 degrees. At least that’s what my body told me, angrily, after about 2.6. But then the race organizers decided they would put part of the route on the hottest, driest and most airless section of the base. Yea, I’m whining. I realize I’m not acclimated to the weather. Blame it on me only going out there once a week at most. I think I did pretty good though; since I was on a team I didn’t do all of the parts of the triathlon like I thought I was. That probably was a good thing. We had an overall time of 54:39 after the swim, bike and run. We kicked tail on the bike part, anyway. I think I ran in less than 30 minutes; which for me is actually pretty good. Part of me wants to be faster, now, with more endurance. I guess I will be out there again next week, hot weather and all.

My gym is hosting a mini triathlon on Wednesday and I got my arm twisted into participating….well now I am excited and I want to see how I do. It’s nothing compared to what others might do all the time - a 5k run (3 miles) 10 laps in the pool and 5 mile bike. I’m sure I’ll be able to finish it though I won’t be breaking any speed records. Especially in swimming; I can swim but not fast and not for 10 laps! The easiest thing might be the biking; although I don’t own a fancy racing bike. My old fashioned one speed cruiser with the basket and handlebar streamers (just kidding) will have to do. Again, not really going to try and break any speed records; just have fun and see if I can finish. I can’t beat myself up too bad anyway; I still have to get up and go to work the next day. I have never done anything like this before; it will be a true measure of how well I have conditioned my body and whether or not I’m in good shape. I’ll let y’all know how it went next weekend.