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May 5, 2000

Happy Friday -- it's officially a rest day, though I know Astrophe is doing her Saturday walk today, so she has room for biking in her schedule tomorrow. You go!!

I got my training shirt in the mail yesterday, and wore it on my training walk. It's really neat! I felt so empowered just wearing it -- it says "Yes! I am going to do a marathon! I AM NIFTY!"

Ok, maybe I'm a dork. But I felt very proud to wear that shirt. Now I just have to live up to it. We're almost in Week 3. The longest I've ever kept an exercise regimen (since high school) was five weeks -- let's see if I can break that record in a big way!
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 9:57 AM

My shirt shrunk! :( Washed it in cold, but dried it too hot. Ooops!

Trying to decide if I want to go walk NOW and bike to the gym, (5 miles over there on bad roads because of construction) or LATER when Paul gets back with my car?

Decisions!!!
posted by Astrophe 10:07 AM

There...that oughta take care of that annoying space... now I have to find a bra and get to gym when I secretly don't want to go. Sigh. :(
posted by Astrophe 8:19 PM

Training Day 8

  • Focus:Go Long
  • Duration: Ideally, 50 min. In real life 20!
  • Where: Gym on the elliptical cross trainer
  • Average speed: 4.0 MPH
  • Calories:200 something?
  • Rating: 3-4

Let me tell you about a bad evening.

First, I didn't feel like going to gym. Can't find my lock for the locker room, hunt like crazy, wasting time, it finally turns up. I'm late. Head out the door anyway.

Second, Paul accidentally smashed my headphones so I had to stop at Wal-mart to get new ones because without my music, there is NO WAY this workout was going to be redeemed. They no longer carry my favs, the check-out lines were evil, it was loud, people yelling, etc. Stood in line and preservered. In the parking lot a freak goes speeding by almost running down some people. What's he thinking!?

Third, just as the gym comes into view from a stop light, I realize I forgot to get batteries for my Walkman because the Wal-mart had been so evil I just wanted to GET OUT! Veer into a neighboring supermarket to get batteries. Repeat evil lines, only this time the shoppers have carts full of food instead of clearance rack lawn chairs.

Fourth, make it to gym, go to the locker room, realize I left the tape I wanted in the car. Start to go to the car, look t the gym clock. It's set 10 minutes faster than my car clock, which is already 10 minutes ahead. Why are they setting the gym clock a whole 20 minutes ahead? Ridiculous! There goes half my workout time! Decide the tape isn't worth it, stomp to the cardio room, jump on an elliptical cross trainer getting crankier listening to this terrible gym music. All this fuss and I still end up listening to crud. Phooey!

Punch my way through a good twenty minutes at 4 mph. Physically it was an effort, but I was so keyed up and cranky I didn't even notice. I was too busy thinking evil things in my head.

Now that I am home and it's all over, it wasn't so bad. Just a series of long irritable tiny things that ticked me off. Am I a stubborn woman or what?! (wild maniacal laughter)


posted by Astrophe 10:15 PM

May 4, 2000

Ok, made Fusilli with Lentil and Arugula Sauce a la April's Vegetarian Times. so when I come home from gym tonight wanting to eat the house, there is something there waiting for me!
posted by Astrophe 3:27 PM

Training Day 7

  • Focus: Intervals for 60 minutes
  • Where: Gym on the elliptical cross trainer/treadmill
  • 1st set: 2.84 miles
  • Average speed: 5.68 mph
  • 2nd set: 1.71 miles
  • Average speed: 3.42
  • Calories: 400 something?
  • Rating: 5

Five minutes into it I found my groove. Twenty minutes into it I got that little rush where you perk up. I was cruising; the world was well. I do a great clip on the cross trainer. No problem with intervals, zipping right along and then BAM! Thirty minutes into it, I got this terrible side cramp while I slowed down it was still making me nuts! I quit the cross trainer and baby walked on the treadmill till it went away. It took about 12 minutes for it to leave. It hurt really bad! Ugh! I was so tempted to just pack it in but I kept plodding, however slow until the darn cramp went away.

I think I didn't wait long enough after my snack before I hit the gym or something.

After the cramp dissolved, I picked it up the pace a bit for the rest of the time and finished the hour. Physically it wasn't so bad apart from the cramp, Mentally though, that last half hour was a drag. I kept making bargains with myself... c'mon Cat, if you quit, at least make a mile.... no come on, you can do an even 1.5 miles, oh come on, don't be a baby, there's only 8 more minutes and the hour is up.... how can you quit at 42 minutes? At least make it 45!... oh please, don't skank out over 15 minutes longer... What would Adrith say? C'mon! Go! Go! Go! 3 more minutes, go!

I was so GLAD when the hour was up I felt like dancing. Yay!


posted by Astrophe 10:07 PM

training walk number 7
Guest Walking Buddy: K
Minutes: 54
Mileage: ~2.0
Total mileage: 13.6

It went pretty well -- instead of walking on the roads today we walked in the woods. So there was a lot of hard work built in to the path we took -- which is the easiest way for me to get intervals at this point! Built right in to the walk.

But now I am tired and need sleep -- more tomorrow!
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 10:40 PM

May 3, 2000

As today is a rest day in the training schedule, I am working on getting together a WW-friendly food plan that maxes out my proteins while staying in the Points ranges.

So I'll leave you with this thought for the day:
"All you need is a plan, a road map, and the courage to press on to your destination." -Earl Nightingale
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 9:18 AM

Luna Bar Tropical Crisp? Whoa! Major sweet! I like the coconut and the fruity bits, but that glaze -- whew! Major sweet! Major sweet! My mouth feels like puckering up! Too bad they don't make a version of it without the glaze.

Also working on my own food plans. I refigured the numbers. Whoops. I thought I had to shoot for 70 g protein. Guess what? I was wrong. I'm supposed to be having 18% protein, 60% carbs, 22% fat. In grams for a 2000 calorie diet it comes to 90 g protein, 300 g carbs, 49 g fat.

Yargh!

To make it doable I have to have about 22g protein at each of my four meals a day. Today I make out ok with bean stew, barley lentil soup, tofu-veggie stir fry and assorted snacks like the luna bar but tomorrow?! The day after? I have to cull the protein heavy vegan recipes out of my cookbooks. There is only so many beans I can eat, and only so many analogs that are vegan. This is definitely going to be a challenge!
posted by Astrophe 1:09 PM

New graphics, thanks to Astrophe. I for one think they look really snazzy.

I have figured out my daily Point requirements: 10 Points protein, 6 Points milk products, 10 Points complex carbs, 3 Points fruits and vegetables (keeping in mind that most veggies are 0-Point), and 4 Points fats.

Of course, once I hit 224 lbs, I get to fine-tune a little bit, taking one Point out of fats and one Point out of complex carbs. Once I hit 199, though I have to reorganize completely, because not only do my daily Points drop again but the Point ranges for the food groups also change! Aagh!

I've got a ways to go before I get that far, though.
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 1:43 PM

Pleasure walk around the neighborhood. 0.78 miles at a speed of 2.6 mph. Ok, so this pedometer isn't whacked. It's me then! Must walk faster!

Got my first budget sheet from NF. Two donors turned in their cards super quick. Yay! Let's hope the other people I've sent cards to show up on the next report!
posted by Astrophe 7:21 PM

May 2, 2000

Back from the dietitian. Gave me lots to think about and I really enjoyed the personalized attention. I have a follow up in 3 weeks and I'm to take a fresh set of food logs and a copy of the marathon schedule so she can help me plan my eating needs to stay fueled for that.
posted by Astrophe 1:07 PM

These weeks are really going to be the most challenging for me. The headache continues today, just as fierce as yesterday.

These are the kinds of days where I really want to go home, curl up under the quilt with the green eyemask and a cat or two, and just not be aware of too much. Instead, I have to go on a 30-minute training walk, make sure I'm fed and so forth, and spend the evening working on graphics and HTML.
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 2:51 PM

training walk number six
Guest walking buddy: K
Minutes: 31
Mileage: 1.5
Total mileage: 11.6

I made it today! The headache is actually gone now -- I don't know if it was stress, hormonal, or caffeine withdrawal, but it's gone. Whoohoo!
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 6:02 PM

Training Day 6

  • Focus: Constant Speed
  • Where: Mall, pedometer
  • Time: 30 minutes
  • Distance: 1.41 miles
  • Speed: 2.8 mph
  • Rating: 2-3
  • Calories: 253 calories

If I get one more 2.8 I'm going to worry that my pedometer isn't calibrated right. I thought I was walking faster? It was a pretty easy walk though -- nothing evil about it, no pain, no cramps, the only thing I had to worry about was dodging shoppers. It's nice to know that the mall near my house will make for good walking in bad weather if I don't feel like trucking to the gym. No weights -- I'm sore all over. I'll do that tomorrow.


posted by Astrophe 8:38 PM

May 1, 2000

Went biking yesterday after the gym thing. Paul wasn't ready to go because he was still working on the cage so while he did that I did a weight training workout with free weights. I kind of liked that it worked out my muscles a little different than doing the circuit at the gym, so I might keep the home free weight workout as the weekend weight workout.

Outer thighs and delts are coming along nicely, but I can tell I have to give my left arm more individual attention. My right is the dominant and it's shaping up faster because it's probably doing most of the lifting!

We decided to bike to the post office but were surprised at how close it was -- so we kept going on to my mom's house to visit them. They drove us back because it got too dark so now we have to go get the bikes out of their garage with the car rack later. Dad measured the distance on with his car and it turned out to be 10 miles. This weekend we are going trail riding with friends, so I might have to rearrange the tail end of the marathon stuff this week so I can have Saturday open for biking.
posted by Astrophe 11:46 AM

April 30, 2000

The headache I didn't wake up with yesterday is tormenting me today. Add that to the lower backache, the tiredness even though I got almost a full night's sleep, and the spot of sliced chicken in gravy I got on my sweater when I fed the terorisuto neko this morning, and I just feel So Ready(tm) to go on a 40-minute walk today.

I think the challenge this morning isn't going to be to hit 2.1 miles again -- the challenge is going to be just completing the walk in whatever distance my hurting body can cover.

THEN I am going to get the supplies to make a marathon binder out of the training manual I received, and the stuff I've put together on my own since; and take it easy for the rest of the day.
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 8:40 AM

Gonna steal Adrith's binder idea. I have to zip to Kinko's still -- may as well get that done! I'm going to see if I can con Paul into going on today's walk with me as a prelude to pleasure biking. I want to bike really bad now that I adjusted my seat to see if I do any better.

Have to get up to at least 4 MPH on foot on road before this marathon. Trying to study walking form and do something about my posture.
posted by Astrophe 11:05 AM

Training Day 5

  • Focus: Go Long
  • Where: Gym, treadmill
  • Time: 40 minutes
  • Distance:2.??
  • Speed: 3.5 mph
  • Rating: 3-4
  • Calories: ??

I didn't quite catch all of the data off the treadmill because my hand accidentally brushed up on the console and deleted it before I saw it all. Oops! It was a brisk walk, pretty manageable, nothing to evil. The only reason I might give it a 4 is because even though it wasn't overly hard work physically, it was taxing my mind considerably trying to remember all these things:

  • push with the ball of your foot
  • step firm, don't screw up your ankle by stepping down crooked
  • get the arm movements done correctly
  • chest up, shoulders back, look ahead
  • breathe, breathe
  • get everything coordinated

I'll be glad once I find that groove where everything works fluidly all together. Right know I feel like I walk with a whole set of rickety components! For a short stint I upped it to 4.0 MPH to see what that feels like and it was really hard not to want to bust out into a jog. Goal this week is to nail a 3.5 MPH pace and then move it up a notch the next week after that.

Wore my Coolmax socks, so things in the shoe department weren't soggy and I usurped the treadmill right by the fan so that helped a lot. I still want to get wicking fitness clothes though. Going sans panties worked out fine -- but I really like to wear underwear! Must shop!


posted by Astrophe 4:30 PM

training walk number five
Guest walking buddies: Joe, K & J
Minutes: 37
Mileage: 1.5
Total mileage: 10.1

We made it to Week Two!! And, I'm up over ten miles!!

I actually did the binder before the walk -- by the time I was actually feeling better the sun was high in the sky, and decided to hold off until later in the day. The binder is looking great -- divided up into fundraising, training, nutrition, and organization information, so when I feel like reading up on a particular item I can go right to that section, but if I feel like reading about physical training as opposed to fundraising training, I can do that too.

I decided that I want a pedometer, for days like today when I just don't feel like walking on a main thoroughfare. (Though I've walked this route many times, and am sure of the distance.) All our local Wal-Marts were right out, so Joe's agreed to pick up a pedometer from the Discovery Channel Store the next time he works at the mall.

My second pledge request form from the web -- thanks, Jann!
posted by Adrith Bicchieri 9:26 PM

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