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By kilax, January 26, 2009 10:34 pm

“When you swim, you’re gonna get water up your nose. When you ski, you’re gonna fall down. When you fence, you’re gonna get stabbed.”

That’s one of the first things our fencing instructor told us tonight. He was being humorous, explaining the different pieces of clothing you wear to protect your body (I remembered the chest protection, Kyra!).

Are you intimidated? Or at least laughing?

The first night of class was a lot of fun. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, since I have a nasty cold, but moving about seemed to lift my spirits.

We covered equipment, basic footwork and a few positions (if that’s what they’re called?). I can tell this is going to be another sport that adds definition to my already rock hard quads. There is a lot of lunging, and footwork that involves balancing your body weight on slightly bent knees (so much for focusing on different muscle groups on my “cross-training” night).

I am looking forward to when I actually get to fence with Steven. We are already prancing around the house with wooden spoons, practicing our moves (okay, I had a wooden spoon – he was holding Data). I have a feeling this is going to take a lot of practice, since I am a naturally uncoordinated, and this requires a lot of… coordination! But I think it will be a fun diversion from our normal day.

Comments (26)

By kilax, January 9, 2009 9:19 am

Is it harder for you to eat healthy or get exercise?

Last week a friend told us he had lost 40 pounds since the last time we saw him. We asked if he changed his diet and started exercising, and he kind of laughed, saying he was just eating healthier, not exercising.

Of course, that got me thinking…

Whenever I start on one (ha) of my healthy lifestyle quests, I always start by eating healthier. For me, that is easier. I can’t even begin to think about exercise until my body feels a bit healthier/lighter.

Even now, if I eat something crappy during the day, I feel awful when I am exercising at night. That’s kind of where I am right now, getting my diet back on track so I can start exercising 5+ days a week again.

Comments (23)

By kilax, December 15, 2008 5:38 am

Last week I went to a coworker A’s* desk for some training. When I got there, she was in the middle of a conversation with coworker B. I think they were complaining about their family and the holidays. I felt kind of weird interrupting their personal conversation, so when they were done talking, I asked coworker B where she is from, kind of trying to break the awkwardness.

“Champaign,” she answered.

“Oh,” I said, “I’ve never been there! How far away is it? There is a half marathon there in April and I was thinking about training for it.”

“It’s only two and a half hours away! This is the inaugural race – I was thinking about training for it too – how far away do you live?”

That’s when I broke it to her that I live in the boondocks and we wouldn’t be able to train together. But we did go on to discuss the gym in the building, and talk about our exercise routines for a bit.

I tried to keep the conversation short though. The day before, I had told coworker A about a 5K, and she said “You’re a runner? I couldn’t even jog a minute!”

I tried to encourage her and said, “That is how I started off!” but I stopped and left it at that. In my experience, people don’t want to talk to you about running or exercise, or whatever fitness thing you are into, unless they are into it as well (this generalization does not apply to all of you wonderful readers though – you’ve given me tons of support, no matter what your routine is – and I thank you!). That is why I cut the other conversation short as well. I don’t want to get on people’s nerves, talking about exercise.

I hate that I feel like that though. I want to talk about what interests me, and I want other people to care. Is that too much to ask for? I feel like it is, when it comes to exercise and running. There are only a few people I feel really listen to me (and again, I am not talking about the blogosphere). It just hurts… to be so passionate about something, but mention it and get… nothing.

I consciously try to listen and ask questions when other people are talking about their interests. I really enjoy learning about what other people are interested in. Maybe some people just don’t.

Please tell me – do you hate it when people talk about exercise? Do you feel like they are bragging? Do you get bored? Does it make you feel guilty? What is it? What is too much?

Steven and I often talk about how no one (again, in the REAL world) seems to care much about our running. I don’t expect people to remember when we are running or be enthused, I just want people to act like they care when we talk about it. Or maybe ask, “How did the race go?” “How is your training going?” “Do you run in this cold weather?”

Maybe I am too selfish.

*Sorry for the confusing… titles. I just wanted to keep them straight. It isn’t really important who the conversation was with, just that they were coworkers.

Comments (18)

By kilax, November 25, 2008 5:24 am

Last week I only ran ONE DAY. Not because I was lazy, or not in the mood, but because all of my nights were occupied with painting our bedroom, being sick, or having a migraine (wonderful week, right? And yeah, I still owe you some photos of the new paint).

On Thursday (the day with the migraine), I decided I HAD to run on Friday. All week I could feel the urge to run in my legs – when I was walking to work in the morning, I would wish I was running. I ran a little bit on the train platform (to get around some slow people) and I didn’t want to stop. But the only way to run on Friday was to do it in the morning, because I was going to be with my family all night.

So on Friday, I got out of my warm bed at 4:00 a.m. to go run in the 20°F weather. Steven made sure to call me a “crazy runner” when I woke him up to tell him not to be startled when I opened the garage door.

I felt like I was crazy, putting on long running tights under my pants, thick cold weather socks, Under Armour under a long-sleeved shirt under a jacket, along with gloves and a hat. But I knew I would warm up.

And I did. I walked a cold 5-minute walk to warm up then started my run, and felt fine after a minute or so. I had my mp3 player on, and the upbeat tunes made me feel energized. It was actually a pretty good run, despite being so gosh darn early and so gosh darn cold. The only bad parts were that my thick socks kept making my shoes untie (duh, I need to double knot them) and that I got cold when I stopped to walk back to the house (I’ll just run home next time).

When I got done with my run and got home, I felt completely energized. I ran up the stairs to take my shower. I thought, “This is a great way to start my day! I feel great!”

Yeah, it’s a great way to start my day… if I could be in bed by 9:00 every night!

So, I’ll try it for a few days this week, and whenever I need to, because of time constraints. But I really can’t do this all the time. I feel too exhausted by the end of the day.

It’s a shame, because I really prefer to exercise in the morning. I have that great, “I exercised this morning!” feeling, and I feel just the right amount of tired when I go to bed at night. And my stomach doesn’t get upset because I am running right after dinner.

But it just doesn’t work with my schedule all the time. And I DO prefer to run with Steven. So I guess I just need to fit it in whenever I can.

Comments (20)

By kilax, November 16, 2008 10:34 pm

We have a super stressful week ahead of us. Besides preparing for my family’s visit next weekend with the typical cleaning and shopping, we also have to ship four Saab winter wheels and tires somewhere (?), put up our Christmas tree, as well as finish PAINTING our bedroom so we can SLEEP in it.

And did I mention the shopping won’t be normal shopping for guests, but shopping for guests and for ingredients for about 10-15 different cookies and sweets?!

And what did I do all weekend that I did not get any of the above mentioned done? I had neighbors over for dinner, ran a 5K, got my oil changed, test drove a car, went to Lowe’s, went to Quantum of Solace, did laundry, painted test samples, went back to Lowe’s and Target, taped, painted, cursed, went to Home Depot, cut up all the vegetables, took the garbage out, cleaned the kitchen…

I feel like the only time I sat down this weekend was at the movie. And I was being anxious and jumpy anyway (slow movie).

I am stressed out. I have so much to do, and what? Two and a half free hours each night to do it? If I skip dinner, and don’t exercise?

I don’t care if I have to stay up late to get all of these things done. I just want to exercise. I am already feeling anxious and stressed out about the fact that I may not have the time to (logistically, I can’t right now – there is no room in the bedroom to pull the treadmill out).

And I’m feeling stressed about stress eating. And stressed about the fact that I’ve been feeling so much more hungry lately. What is THAT about? I thought you got LESS hungry when you weighed less? Am I confusing hunger with something else?

I am trying to mentally prepare for the week and these challenges. I may actually have to make a little schedule to make sure I get all the things done I need to get done.

Monday – Paint
Tuesday – Paint?
Wednesday – Shopping
Thursday – Cleaning / Tree

I’ve just gotta let out all of my stress here. And say that it’s going to be a rough week, but an awesome weekend with my family. And a great Monday off NEXT week. That’s when I’ll get my rest!

Comments (15)

By kilax, October 2, 2008 9:11 pm

Okay, okay, I LOVE that I can just get up and run 2-3 miles on any given weeknight, and feel totally refreshed, and not even that tired afterward.

BUT. All of the jiggling fat on my butt and upper legs is becoming a bit distracting when I am running. I feel like I have a butt… full of pudding. Big, sludgy pudding that moves up and down with every step.

It’s time. It’s time to finally get serious about strength training/toning.

Tomorrow.

(After… I get all of your toning moves advice? Lunges? Right?)

Comments (9)

By kilax, September 24, 2008 12:46 pm

When, if ever, I am going to NOT feel guilty about taking a day off from exercise?

I know. I need to let my body rest. And I know. I should probably do some strength training, and go easy on the cardiovascular.

But I can’t get over the guilt.

Most days, I really crave the exercise. I feel like it completes my day. But every once in awhile, I just want to relax. I don’t want to scarf down my dinner, rush to put on my exercise clothes and race out the door. I want to get home, eat a slow(er) dinner, maybe sit on the couch, play Rock Band, play with Data, actually talk to my husband…

I don’t want to feel guilty for meeting a friend for dinner instead of going home to exercise. I don’t want to feel guilty when we have to run errands on a weeknight, and it’s too late to exercise when we finally get home. I don’t want to stress out about when we are going to get exercise in when we have house guests.

I just want to accept that I did or did not exercise the day before… and get on with my day. And not dwell on it.

With time. Let’s hope, with time.

(Part of me kind of feels like I should apologize for blogging about the same themes… for such an extended period of time in a row. But, I’m not going to, because it makes me feel better to get it out there. I’ll just say – I hope I’m not boring you too much).

Comments (15)

By kilax, August 19, 2008 5:14 am

Pros of exercising INDOORS, on the treadmill:

• Flat, even terrain
• No wind! No resistance!
• Flat screen tv to watch
• Proximity to shower/bathroom
• Ample light
• No one can see you huffing and puffing
• No funny outdoor smells
• NO BUGS IN YOUR BRA

While Steven and I were walking home after running in the park last night, the area under my right breast really started to itch. Sports bras are a bit uncomfortable, so I figured that was all it was, and kept itching at it. I hurried up to the shower to peal it off and found…

… a little black bug with tiny legs.

GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS!

Gross.

You can probably guess that I took a LONG shower and scrubbed extra hard.

In all honesty, I prefer running outside over running on an indoor track, and I prefer running on an indoor track over running on the treadmill. But last night we had to run in the dark. And it’s August! I can’t get home any earlier, so I guess I will be using the treadmill a lot more (than I prefer) during the colder/darker season. I’m lucky we have one at home.

Comments (6)

By kilax, August 17, 2008 8:11 pm

Although Steven and I didn’t do anything productive in the true sense of the word this weekend, we did:

• Purchase tickets for the two of us and my parents to see Robin Williams at the Chicago Theater on September 27. (I HATE TICKETMASTER. I had four seats together, then it wouldn’t recognize my password, so I lost the seats. Now we are not sitting together. Sad face.)
• Exercise! We went jogging on Saturday, and will go jogging again tonight. I’ve gone jogging everyday this week except for Friday!
• See Tropic Thunder. It’s true, Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is brilliant. It was a bit drug out, but still really funny. And although the “retard” bit was a bit offensive, I don’t think it was that bad. I honestly wouldn’t have thought too much of it if I hadn’t heard about all the controversy before hand.
• Locate and purchase a copy of Mario Kart for the wii. Now Steven can be happy. I hope.
• And… meet up with Felicia (and a friend) from Confessions of a geeky blogger! We met for lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery and had an awesome time. Felicia is one of those girls you like right away – 100% friendly, open and lots of fun! And I love her voice! Is it weird to say that? She just comes off as a warm and true-to-themselves person. If that makes sense. I’m so happy I got to meet up with her! I hope her friend wasn’t too bored with us – but I doubt it, she was just as cool as Felicia.

Comments (10)

By kilax, July 24, 2008 9:51 pm

I slipped on my favorite pair of Asics the other night for a walk.

Wow.

I haven’t worn them in such a long time, I forgot how comfortable they feel. Perfect support. Nice snug fit, but airy and breathable.

All day today, I was fantasizing about going running outside when I got home. This is strange because I haven’t truly exercised since May of 2007 (despite resolutions made here)… and probably wouldn’t be able to run more than a minute. Of course, I never found out. I sat on my bum all night.

But I miss the way running makes me feel. I miss feeling like my day isn’t complete until I get a run in.

Maybe, just maybe, I will go on a jog this weekend.

I don’t expect you to humor me, because I have written something very similar before. I guess, just humor me while I continue to write about health, exercise, weight-loss blah blah blah for as long as it… humors me.