Snarf99’s BodyBlog

Tuesday - warmed up on the treadmill and lifted a legs workout. I was sore the rest of the week. I hadn’t been lifting legs all this time because it’s too hard to run afterwards, but since I’m not running much lately, . . . I wanted to feel the burn.
Wed - walked in the morning and walked again in the evening, for about 45 min each time.
Thurs - walked 45 min. in the morning
Friday - walked 45 min. in the morning
Saturday  -  my sister and I had plans to run 7 miles today.  But E was so tired. She had a long week and had to work late Fri nite.  We ended up sleeping in.  Around noon, we went for a 4 mile walk, which was plenty of exercise for today.
I have pretty much given up on running.  I just talked to my friend Anth and he was encouraging me to keep training for the half-marathon.  He suggested that if I’m already out walking 45 minutes, I could run for at least 30 min. of that time.  I will try his suggestion.  But honestly, right now, it would be a big accomplishment if, once I start my new job, I could still walk in the evening or do anything exercise-related at all.

Sunday - went on a beautiful day hike with my sister and my brother’s special friend, and my dog Straigh, of course.
(Made up for all that exercise by first eating lots of thin-crust pizza at our favorite cafe and then going to a friend’s birthday dessert party and eating shortbread and spice cake with pear sauce).
This was my last week at the temp job, and I continued to not exercise.
However, on Saturday, my sister and I successfully ran, yes RAN, a 6 mile distance.  We walked an additional mile (half for warm up and half for cool down) for a total coverage of 7 miles.

It’s been several weeks since the last time I set foot in the gym…

About 2 and a half weeks ago I started working at a temp job.  Working!  I just don’t know how anyone has the energy to work and then work out. Or to get up early enough to work out and then go to work.  And you don’t even want to know what I ate today . . .  I finally broke down and went to the grocery store and got some edible things to put in my refrigerator.  

I still can’t eat chicken, by the way, or beef.  I managed to eat turkey over Thanksgiving, though.

So I’m pretty frustrated with my apparent abandonment of my workout program.  And I feel it physically — it feels yuck.  I know I will make my way back to my program.  I found a permanent job and I am moving to another town, so I will be joining a new gym and setting up a new routine in a few weeks.  I want my new life to include my workout program.

I really liked what MQuang said in one of his comments to me, about making time for himself. He said he gives himself one hour every day to take care of himself before he takes care of everyone else.  That is a really great way to look at it.

This is week two of the temp job.  I do nothing but sit on my a$$ for 8 to 10 hours a day, and eat goldfish.  I come home, have no energy, and do whatever sedentary things there are to do at night and go to bed.  
The most exercise I got since Day 1 of this job is lifting a box of folders every half hour or so.  
On Saturday, my sister and I went for a 5 mile jog, but half way through, we walked because I ate nothing but crap today and hit a sugar low.  
Let’s just say it was all over at Week 9.  Apparently I had 3 workouts that week. If I hadn’t written them down here, I never would have remembered that I did them.  Exercise seems like a long-ago memory.

Sunday night — lifted weights for 30 min.
Monday night — ran for 30 min.
On Saturday, my sister and I ran a Turkey Trot.  It was a 5K and E’s first official race.  I got the really cool T-shirt with the turkey on it, which what I really wanted most of all.  But after wearing it for a while, I decided it was too small, and gave it to E.  She deserves some memorabilia from her first race.

In terms of running, it was a good week, except that I skipped today’s long run.  E is out of town on a retreat, and I couldn’t get myself motivated today.  

Monday - I ran about 4 miles
Wednesday - half-run/ half walk for 4 miles
Thursday -  ran 4 miles with E. Thurs was an awesome run.

In terms of lifting, this was a terrible week.  I did not go to the gym even once.  
I don’t know what’s wrong.  I need to get back to my self-hypnosis CD pronto!
And now there’s an even bigger problem. I’m starting a temp job on Monday.  How does anyone run or go the gym when they work 8 hours a day?

One morning, Gregor Samsa woke up to discover he had become . . . a vegetarian!
A week ago, I saw lamb tips at the store and I got so excited. I brought them home, prepared them, and they were wonderful.  About three days later, maybe four, I ate a little more of what was left over.  After that, I couldn’t stand the sight, smell, or thought of meat or even eggs. My mom said I probably overdid it.  Too much of a good thing.  
The other night I had an egg for the first time.  I still can’t eat chicken or any kind of meat. I’ve been eating . . . cereal, cake, challah, pita, cheese, pizza and the occasional vegetable.  I feel extremely unexcited about food lately, and I’ve been eating in a very disorganized and unprepared way.
Maybe if I embraced my vegetarianism I would find some good recipes.

Week Seven was the worst week for me so far in my 12 week program. It started out with breaking that toenail, which made things painful and then I had some soreness/shooting pain in my elbow and I didn’t want to mess with it. All this helped my motivation wane.  I missed a Sunday workout, made up for it on Monday, then missed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Did some lifting and running on Friday. My eating has been terrible, too. Just as a token example, I ate a few slices of an almond poppy seed cake the other day in place of a meal. Hmmm, nice way to starve my muscles from nutrients!

Okay, so I had a bad week.  But I’ve been reading your blogs and I’m all pumped up for Week Eight.  Week 8 is going to be a good week.

I posted some progress pics.  I know there is progress there, it’s just very subtle.  I’m going to have to tighten up on my diet if I want the next five weeks to bring in more obvious results.

In any case, I’ve decided to post a new pic every month, no matter what I see in the mirror.

I think the process of taking pictures of myself and posting them has really taught me a lot about how I actually look.  I had a different mental conception of myself prior to this exercise.

I’ve noticed soreness in my elbows, shoulders, and knees. Pretty much, every major joint in my body. Does this mean I’m trying to lift too heavy? I think I need to condition my muscles longer before I move to heavier weights. I really don’t want an injury.

Yay for Week Eight!

My sister and I got up late today and started the run around 11am.  We ran maybe four out of the six miles.  We also took a pee break at the half way point.  
I’m glad we got out and did something, but it was pretty lame.  The sun had a bad effect on E. She ended up feeling sick the rest of the day.
Week 7 was my worst week yet for training.  I did not lift on Sunday.  

Monday - lifted and ran
Friday - lifted and ran
Saturday - ran 4 out of 6 miles

I did nothing on Tues, Wed, and Thurs.  My eating habits have taken a nosedive as well.  Ever since I suddenly and inexplicably became a vegetarian, I don’t know what to eat. So I eat bread and chocolate and ice cream and almond poppyseed cake.  
Do you see the problem?  I am having a problem.

I have been so accident prone lately, it’s ridiculous.  
In the last week, I . . .
* got my thumb caught in a hole puncher, causing a blood blister
* burned my finger in the oven while making lasagna
* broke a toenail on my big toe when I dropped down, kung fu style, to look for my cat under the car
* skinned the little toe of the same foot when I tripped on some rocks while chasing my dog in a pair of sandals
* hit my head on the door of the trunk of my car when I went to take the groceries out
* woke up with some shooting pain from my left elbow to my shoulder, that makes me worry that I am lifting incorrectly.

Hey, enough is enough.  I think I’ve been anxious about finding a job, about the election, about planning and preparing my election party. Maybe my sleep schedule has been whacky. But now I want to calm down, get enough sleep, and watch my step.

It’s weird that most of my injuries have been on my left side.  I wonder if that means my right brain has been asleep lately.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been in such a pragmatic state of mind, totally left brained.