Wendy’s BodyBlog

Hopefully this link will work…There are some good pics in here… Ahh, fond memories…of  sleep deprivation, chatty Kathy’s, good running times, and (my favorite) PIZZA!

I got on the scale today and realized that I’ve lost 4 pounds over the last two weeks, which is a LOT faster than I wanted to lose weight, so I will have to scale back my cardio workouts. If I were doing a NPC show, I would want to lose more weight, but the girls who do Figure America don’t have as hard of a look. Plus, I have been SUPER hungry, so much to the point that hunger is a distraction for me. All the time, even after eating, I am hungry. So, today I ended up taking a client (a kid) out for ice cream because it was a big day for her (more on that later), and decided to have ice cream with her. Cold Stone. And it was yummy, and I didn’t feel guilty about it. Ok, maybe a little bit, but it was either today with her or Sunday after Mexican with my bf, so I chose today. And what can I say–I am NOT hungry anymore! As I shouldn’t be with all the fat in Cold Stone.

So, back to the kid. Her situation has had me feeling rather distraught. I learned this week that she has been put up for adoption, something I knew would eventually happen, but it really took me off guard. I took her today to get the adoption photos done, and on the way there, I asked her how she felt about being put up for adoption, and, to my surprise, she said she was happy. Ok, I wasn’t expecting that. And throughout the day, I kept telling her that it was such a big day for her, and because of that, I took her to ice cream. Then we went to the dollar store to look for materials for a project we are working on, and she sees a picture frame with the word "mother" on it, and she notes that it is pretty, so I say to her that one day when she gets adopted, she can maybe give it to her adopted mom.

SO, I think that she has handled the adoption issue very well UNTIL I am about five minutes from her house, and she says to me, so I’m up for adoption now? And I tell her yes and ask her if she knows what that means, and she does (she’s eight). And I tell her that her parents can’t care for her (one of whom is deceased), and that is why she is being put up for adoption, and she asks, so [deceased parent] won’t be my parent anymore? I say that her mom will always be her mom, and her dad will always be her dad, but they are unable to care for her.
I don’t know if it just clicked with her or what, but it became very apparent to me that NO ONE TOLD HER!!! Not her social worker or her foster parents, and that just made me SO mad. I asked her how she felt, and she said surprised, but insisted that she was otherwise fine, even though I told her I was worried about her and wanted to talk more.  And of course she doesn’t want to talk about it because adults have done nothing  but f*** up her life! I cried when she left… I felt so bad for her but also felt so angry. I had such a feeling of failure–that our system has failed her by not telling her about the one decision that will change her future.  And to make it even more f***ed up, she has family but no one has stepped up to adopt her. It just makes me sick and sad.  I am going to call her tomorrow to see how she is holding up and I’m also going to have a few words with the foster parents… words like, WTF?! Actually, no, I will be much more diplomatic…

I am getting nervous and excited about the comp, now that it seems more real. I am officially cutting and am sticking to my diet (although already, I am a hungry girl). If I feel like cheating, I just remind myself that before long, I will be getting up in a teeny-weeny itsy-bitsy bikini with HIGH sides (as GeminiJedi pointed out to me). Super high sides don’t look good unless there is NO fat around the tummy area. Plus, I am doing cardio 6 days a week (don’t you wish, Pixi!). It really feels like I am working toward something that is coming up very, very quickly! if my weight comes in between 115-120, then I will be happy.

Dieting for the first show  is crazy, I’ve decided, as I don’t know how my body will respond. Will I lose too much weight too fast? Will I hit a plateau and be doing 2-3 hours of cardio per day a week out from my comp??? Will I look healthy and somewhat muscular or just like a little girl who looks like she really needs a good meal–a meal of pizza and cheeseburgers and Cold Stone ice cream???

Other than these neurotic thoughts, the preparation is going well. Spending 6 days a week at the gym is a lot. I LOVE being outside, but seeing as how it is super hot here and the valley is filled with smoke, then that is not really an option right now for cardio.  I did manage to get one cardio workout outside BEFORE the valley filled with smoke. It was super fun (and yes, I am one of those perverse people who think cardio is FUN, esp if done outdoors). So I started with a 5 minute jog, then did 2 sets (a superset) of 10 pushups, 10 squat jumps, and 10 lunge jumps. Jog for 5 minutes, then do the plyometrics again. I did that for about 45 minutes, and actually ended up adding in jumping jacks because I didn’t feel like it was challenging me enough (it’s crazy how doing 6 days of cardio can get you in really good shape really fast!). I think that will be my new high intensity workout, once the smoke clears out, and I’ll change up the plyometrics every now and then just to keep it fresh and so my body doesn’t adjust.

I am pestering my bf to go up to Tahoe or Donner this weekend (I mean, for heaven’s sakes, it’s only an hour away). Just to get out of this oppressive heat. Over the weekend, it is supposed to reach 96 here, which are usually August temps! Also, a good piece of news is that I got my first choice internship for next school year, which is at a facility that holds people with severe mentally illnesses who have been charged with felony or gross misdemeanor crimes. Basically, we get the folks (or try to get them) competent to stand trial. I am really excited about it, but now really feel the need to keep up the Brazilian jujitsu (there is a no-hostage policy there, although no one’ been held hostage in recent years). Not sure how that will fit in with everything else, though. Will have to pinch that in as well as some yoga every week (have I mentioned how tight my muscles have felt recently?).

Oh, and one last bit. Thanks all to who replied to my last blog about being sore. I doubled the amount of protein powder that I take in after my workout to increase my glutamine intake. It seems to help. I’ve been a little sore but not super sore like I have been. Plus, I haven’t been going AS hard as I possibly can at the gym. Today, for instance, I knew I could have added another plate, but just decided to stay where I was. I’ve found that staying at a lower weight actually helps me to better establish the mind-body connection while lifting. It’s still challenging, but I’m not kicking my own a**.

Ok, so question for the more experienced lifters out there. Is it normal to be sore EVERY DAY??? I have only been seriously lifting for about three months now. I am on a 5 day split with legs two days per week. I receive my workouts from Cathy Savage, so while the exercises stay the same for the month, the sets/reps do not stay the same from week to week. And at the start of each month, I receive a different workout schedule.

Whatever part I worked on the day before is always sore the next day. ALWAYS. Is that normal? Yes, I do push myself hard, but not so hard that I can’t finish my sets. And yes, it’s good to know that I am challenging myself, but on the other hand, I am wondering if it’s normal or healthy–ok, I am really wondering if it is contributing to my feeling exhausted much of the time. And I am eating quite a bit of protein, my diet is 40/40/20, and right after my workout, I have chocolate milk with protein powder.
Any thoughts???

This is the suit that I decided to go with. I kept going back and forth between buying a more expensive suit (around $400) or a less expensive one. I decided to go with a less expensive one. This is from VandellaCostumes.com, and will cost around $180, which I think is reasonable for my first show. I think I will choose a dark purple velvet, though, as my color, and I will have it made so it crosses in the back. If you click on the picture, a bigger image will pop up. Now I just have to take measurements and order it!

Oh! I forgot to mention. The next day, Sunday, I woke up and was SUPER thirsty. I looked in the mirror, and my muscles looked amazing! I was RIPPED!  The one perk of being dehydrated!

So Pixi won’t call me a blog tease anymore , I am finally ready to write about the race. As you know, the Odyssey started Friday and finished Saturday, but yesterday was a wash–I was so tired. All I did was sleep and run to the bathroom all day! Yup, my stomach was funky, most likely from the physical exertion and the lack of sleep.

Our team name was Kiss n’ Channel 2. There were actually two teams that combined to make one, thanks to runners who dropped out at the last second for some reason. We represented the Angel Kiss Foundation, which provides financial assistance to local families with kids who have cancer, and Channel 2, which is a local news station. So, yes, our team had celebrities! The Channel Two people were in one van, and we plebes were in another. Each runner in the Channel Two van runs a leg, then each runner in our van runs one leg, until each person has run three legs each. The race starts in downtown Reno, goes up to Truckee, CA, over by Squaw Valley, up to South Lake Tahoe, down a pass back into the Carson valley, back up to Virginia City, and down to south Reno and finally ends in downtown Reno.
Our team started at 11:15 AM on Friday. There were 99 teams total (our team was #99, we registered a little late!), but the start times were in waves with the intention of all teams finishing somewhat together. The Channel 2 part of our team started first, so we did not start running until around 2:30 PM or so, I think. I was the third person in our van to go. Our team’s first leg went from just outside Truckee, CA to South Lake Tahoe. That’s a long ways!!! My own first leg went from Truckee, CA, to just short of Squaw Valley. It was around 4 miles. I ran that around 30 minutes, which is a LOT faster than I had expected. One of the guys on our team was super fast. He easily ran sub-7 minute miles, which is no easy feat in general, but especially considering the elevation and the hilly course.
After all 6 runners in our van ran their legs, we stopped in South Lake for pizza (yes, I indulged!) and beer (none for me). We then slept in the van in the parking lot for about 45 minutes. Then it was time for our team to get up and get ready again. We started our second legs at 12:30 AM, and my second leg was around 2:00 in the morning.  I ran close to 4 miles downhill, as part of the descent from Tahoe to the valley below. It was killer on my legs, and my shins are still sore. My time good there, too (thanks to the downhills!).

We finished our legs around 4:30 in the morning and drove up to the historic Virginia City (site of the Comstock lode), which is where our final leg would begin. My bf and I somehow were the only two people who really drove the van, and I had driven the van for most of the night, but opted out of driving up to Virginia City, and thank goodness I did because that was the only sound sleep I got that night. Around 6 AM, when most people were still asleep in our van, one woman began talking to this other woman who had just woken up, and I about clocked her one! This woman just talked the entire time in the van, and by 6 in the morning, I had had enough! No, I did not do anything, didn’t even say anything. Instead, my bf and I got out of the van and walked around till a place opened where we could get coffee.
At any rate, my final leg was 7.5 miles long, which is one of the longest legs. I was really apprehensive about doing it because the most I have ran in a while is 7 miles, and that was done at a very leisurely pace. Nevertheless, I still managed to run my final leg in 57 minutes, although every step past mile one really hurt. I did manage to pass several people during my final leg, too. You could tell it was the final leg because most people were slowing to a crawl. The people in our van were counting "roadkill" or the people we passed. In the last half mile of my final leg, I saw two guys ahead of me, and I started really pushing myself to pass them, so much so that in the last few hundred feet, I was at a full sprint (where that came from, I don’t know!), but I STILL couldn’t catch them!

As of Saturday afternoon, our team was in 14th place (there were 99 teams), but that could change, as teams started at different times. We were third in our division (not sure which "division" that is, but we were third nonetheless, ha!). Our entire team averaged 8:30 min/mile over the entire 178 miles, which is really cool considering the elevation and terrain. The bad news is that my bf had parked his car over by a local high school, and his car window was smashed over night. Not only that, but there were at least six other cars that were parked at the school that were also broken into. We did get it fixed today, but it was a crappy end to an otherwise great weekend.

Overall, I was really pleased with my running. I haven’t been running a lot like I used to, and when I do run, I usually do hill sprints or regular sprints (which inevitably helped with my speed during the Odyssey).  However, I do do about four cardio sessions per week, and they are all pretty hard. At least two are fairly long (45 minutes to one hour). And, other than the chatty woman, I had a really great time and being crammed in a van with 5 other people wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

And, though I planned my meals very carefully, I ended up not following my plan. I was up driving or running for over 24 hours, and needed the energy. That being said, the race is two days gone, and I am still indulging myself a bit… I haven’t worked out today or yesterday, but I figured that my body really needs the rest. I have slept more over the past two days than I have been awake! Back to my old workout/dieting ways tomorrow! I am ready to hit the gym again! (although maybe not cardio, as my shins are still super sore from 4 miles of downhill running!).

This is a story from our local paper about brothers who did the Reno Tahoe Odyssey as a two-person team…178 miles!!! That is SO cool! I will blog more about my team’s own experience in the next couple days. I am absolutely exhausted and VERY sore.

So, yes, bright and early! Actually, our team starts at 11 or so, which means that the people in my van will start running around 4 pm. We each do three legs. I think one of our legs will be VERY late (midnight or one or so). Argh! I am actually feeling a little nervous about this whole thing–in a van with 5 other people for 26 hours??? Yikes! I will be well equipped with work, books, iPod, etc–everything I need to tune people out if need be.  I do think it will be a great experience, even if I am absolutely delirious from shear exhaustion from running and not sleeping!

I have also packed my food carefully. I made three banana chocolate protein pancakes, two servings of salmon with rice and broccoli, two servings of chicken. With that, I will  bring beef jerky (loads of salt, but it works when needing a quick fix of protein), some bell peppers, carrots, rice cakes, cans of tuna, and fresh fruit. I think everyone else is going in on food together, but that is not really an option for me. Following the macros will be difficult because I will be up for most of the night and therefore hungry and needing energy (carbs!). I think I am going to try to stick with fruit and carrots for midnight munching. Maybe eat a protein pancake before my midnight leg.

Oh, and as if running three legs in 24 hours isn’t enough, tomorrow is legs day! Yup, I am not going to miss it! It is hammies and tush, so it shouldn’t affect my running too much other than being tired.   Well, I suppose it depends on how sore my tush gets.

I just received my new workouts for the month. Yesterday was back, and with the exception of one arm dumbbell rows, it ALL focuses on lats. The workout STARTS with eccentric pull-ups, which fatigued my lats, then it moves to seated rows with a wide bar, lat pull downs, then dumbbell rows. I can usually do about 35 pounds for a one-arm dumbbell row, but could only manage 20 this go ’round. Holy moly, batman!

Needless to say, I hurt today. I did my speed workout on the treadmill tonight, and it hurt just to move my arms back and forth. Never experienced that before! I should have humongous lats at the end of the month, though! Should help with my symmetry! I like! Also, with this new workout plan, I am lifting 5 days per week, two days for legs. There are no fancy lifting techniques this month like there were last month, but I do think there are generally more exercises per body part. I do like that I will be lifting 5 days instead of 4.

The diet is going alright. I still somehow manage to sneak in dry-roasted peanuts in my diet. They just taste SOOO good! Generally, though, I am doing fairly well, I think. Need to get around to ordering my suit!