Waiting for the end, to be able to start again

Not doing so well with this blogging thing this time around, but I will make an effort to get back on it. The gym has been going well and I can feel my strength coming back, albeit verrrrry slowly. It would likely help if I actually ATE something, however my appetite seems to have taken a hiatus. I was at the gym last week and was wearing something I haven't worn in a while, as I walked past a mirror I was shocked at my reflection. I knew I had lost weight, I mean none of my pants fit and a dress I bought at the end of the summer literally hangs off of me like a potato sack, but I guess I never really realized just how much I lost until I saw myself. I wish I could say that my weight loss is a result of hard work, but I can't. Constant stress has my heart racing 24/7 and my complete lack of appetite are more likely the cause. I am afraid that once things settle down in my life, the weight will start creeping back on. In fact, I know it will. I suppose the best plan of attack is to play defense and clean things up now. Ok, well after the holidays maybe, that in itself brings a lot of stress to the best of people.

At the beginning of this year, I felt that this was going to be a year of change. Well, turns out I was right, unfortunately the change was not what I expected. In fact so much has changed in my life one could say it is the beginning of a new life. 2009 has been a year of crap and turmoil and I am anxious for it to be over. I have been lucky in that I still have my health and those I love still have theirs. My life is only as good as I make it to be, so my plan for 2010 is to start focusing on me, doing things that make me happy and making my life the best it can be. I believe that nothing but good can come from this. It is so easy to float through life and let others influence your happiness, but ultimately true happiness comes from within. Pretty deep thoughts for this early in the morning!

With that in mind, I am looking forward to the new year and have high hopes for what it will bring. I do not believe in New Years Resolutions, I prefer to set goals and I plan on spending these last few weeks of this year deciding which goals I should work towards and how I plan on achieving them. For one, I want to start running again. It has always been a dream of mine to be able to run a marathon, not sure I will be able to reach this goal this year, but maybe I could aim for a half marathon. I also want to get back into drawing and painting. I have done a little in the last few months, but I would like to do more. And damnit! I want to be able to bench at least 100lbs! So close, yet so far still...

Picking Myself Up and Dusting Off

It has been a fairly long hiatus from blogging, I even contemplated scrapping the whole thing. However, I enjoy it so, we will give it a go once again. Life has done a total somersault and has landed me on my head, it has taken a while but I am slowly getting back on my feet. Not, of course, without a few trips and stumbles along the way. Training has been sporadic for the past few months, between moving, illness and life in general I have been slow to get back on track. However, it seems like I am getting there once again. Diet.... well, suffice it to say it needs work. On the bright side, I have lost about 15lbs, sadly I think a lot of that is muscle. I have been slow to bring my weights back up, jumped in too quickly and crippled myself for nearly a week! Lesson learned.

My focus for now is to clean up my diet and eat more protein, become more consistent with my training and work on getting more cardio done. I also need to focus on using my foam roller on my legs and stretching more as I am starting to have issues with my knees once again. Hmmm, I think it may be time to visit my massage therapist once again!

She's ALIVE!

Yes, I am alive! Things have been pretty crazy busy lately and I have so much to say. A few weeks ago, the company I work for announced that they are splitting into two separate companies. We were all told that this was an opportunity for growth, a good thing, and we were all guaranteed to keep our jobs. The only change would be that some departments that currently serve both units, will have to be split. So, in the end the only change to our jobs would be; which company we work for and where our desks were located. Because I work in Accounts Payable, I am in one of the departments that will be greatly affected by this split. Our team will be divided into two groups; one group per company. We were told that we would know which company we would be working for within a weeks time. A week passed and then we were told that we would not know until the end of June. I suppose I should also add that this split is to be effect July 2nd. Talk about giving us notice! At this time we were informed that there was a possibility that some positions may be cut. That didn't really sit all too well with me. But so be it, nothing I can do. In the meantime, there was a lot of work to do to get ready for the split, so overtime had been approved. I have been working as much overtime as I can get in and banking all the hours. Once July comes around and if I still have a job, then I will end up with extra days off. If I find myself unemployed, then I will be paid out the banked overtime which would help pay cover some bills. I was also just informed this week that the holidays that I had booked for the beginning of July have been cancelled. I expected it. The timing on my holidays is not exactly ideal considering the split is to happen on July 2nd. In any event, I have been spending more time at work and less time in the gym.

As I mentioned I have not been to the gym much lately, nor have I been training for my 10km run as much as I should be either. I did manage to get a great deal on a used treadmill which arrived this past Tuesday. However, I have yet to try the thing out. I really need to get my act together on this, but with all the overtime I have been working I have been so tired by the time I get home, the thought of going for a run is not as appealing. Speaking of the race, I have almost met my target of raising $500! I am expecting a few more pledges so I am positive I will make it. In case anyone needs a refresher of what this race is for, it is to raise money for cancers below the waist. This is something that I feel fairly strongly about since Wes's mom and her boyfriend have both been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Both have been treated, and so far his mom has been cleared. Unfortunately, we recently found out her boyfriend has not been so lucky. So if anyone would like to donate to a great cause, you can sponsor me here! http://ed09.uncoverthecure.org/goto/Danielle.Chabot

Switching gears here, 'summer' is on its way and that means gardening! I use the term 'summer' loosely as the weather has not been exactly stellar. This is only my second year planting a vegetable garden so I am still learning. I had always heard that you should have everything planted by May long weekend; so this is what I did. Two days later this is what I woke up to....

I covered all my plants with coffee cans in an attempt to prevent them from freezing. However the forecast for the following days was near freezing, so I left them covered. Once the temperatures turned around I removed the cans and was happy to see everything had made it. The plants were a little wilted as they needed watering, so I watered them. Within the following two days, they went downhill. Turns out keeping them covered from the frost and snow was one thing, however plants also need light! My tomatoes ended up looking like dead sticks, the basil was toast and my lettuce looked pretty pathetic. I refused to pull the plants without at least TRYING to get them to come back. The basil is gone, the lettuce has recovered and I see new growth on the tomatoes. Hopefully, they will actually produce something! If all goes well, I should have a nice crop of tomatoes, lettuce, swiss chard, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, peas, dill, thyme and cilantro. As long as I can keep Mister Diamond from using my garden as his personal litter box, all should go well!

Well, my little darling Taylor has been hounding me to use the computer, so I will sign off for now and I promise not to wait so long for my next post!

MIA

I have been MIA for a bit, not much to say aside from posting my workouts, which can get a little boring. I trained yesterday and it sucked. I felt weak and shaky and just wasn't into it. So, I think I need to take a bit of a break. I may try to go sometime this weekend, but if that doesn't happen I will hold off until next week. In the meantime, I am going to try to get more running in. I did manage to borrow a treadmill, so that will help especially on the nights that Wes works and I cannot get out of the house to go for a run. I used to run in the mornings and I loved it, but I just cannot seem to drag my butt out of bed any earlier then I already do.

Oh, it is the middle of May and it snowed last night. I just love living here.

Head in the Sand

Not much to say. Sometimes it is easier to keep your head in the sand...

Workout for Wednesday

Hip mobility and glute activation

RDL 115/125/135/145/165lbs x 5 (Definitely a personal record here)
Leg Press 270 lbs x 10 x 3
Split Squat 75 lbs x 12 x 2 - need to up my weight next time
Standing Cable Crunches 70/80/80lbs x 10


Cardio has been a complete joke this week, so has the diet end too. I am looking at buying a treadmill because I cannot seem to get the time to get out and run. If I don't pull up my socks I am going to fall flat on my face at the 4 km mark.

Ketchup

Or I suppose I could say, Catch Up. I have missed posting a couple workouts, so here they are...

Workout of Tuesday, April 28

Hip Mobility and Glute Activation Stuff

Full Squat 115/125/135/145/155lbs x 5 (I think this is a personal record for me)

Barbell High Step Ups 65 lbs x 8 x 3

Leg Press 270lbs x 10 x 2

Med Ball Crunch 15 x 3

Workout for Sunday, May 3

Bent over Flyes 10lbs x 12 x 3

Lying 1-Arm DB Protractions 20 lbs x 20 x 2

Pull down 75 lbs x 12 x 2

Scap Push Up 20 x 2

Military Press 45/55/60/65/70 lbs x 5

I think I used up all my energy on my presses, because everything else sucked.

Chin Up BW x 5 x 4 (Was supposed to do 5 sets, but couldn't get the last set out)

Seated Cable Row 90 lbs x 8 x 3

Incline DB Press 2o lbs x 12 x 2

Shoulder Roll 10 x 3

I finally made it outside to run. My friend came over on Saturday and we went for a run after dinner. Bad idea. We did about 30 minutes and I am going to guess around 2km. My Nike+iPod sensor said 3.36km, but I have not calibrated it to my stride yet. I could have gone further, but I was getting such bad acid reflux every time we would start running, I had to stop. I knew running after eating was not the best idea. Anyway, aside from the reflux, the run went pretty good. My friend and I run well together, since we both have short legs, but dang do my calves hurt. I have been stretching and massaging them for the past two days. I even found myself massaging them in my sleep. My massage therapist has started massaging my calves and let me tell you, that hurts like nothing else! I thought getting your glutes worked on was bad, but I think this just about takes the cake, for me at least. I have never really had my calves massaged, and I never really liked it, but I can see that I am going to have to get past that because they are pretty tight and tender.

Overall, I had a great weekend. On Friday, a friend and I went for dinner then to see a play. We had both seen the playbill for this play last fall and commented that we would really like to see it. So for her birthday in February, I bought us tickets. It was a great play. Afterwards, we met up with a bunch of our friends at a bar for a few drinks. The weather this weekend was great too. We were able to spent most of the weekend in the yard. Yesterday, I did yard work from 9:00AM to 3:30 PM, Wes stayed out longer. The yard looks really good and I got a bit of color too.

Bus Surfing

Bus Surfing is a new workout I have devised. It is pretty simple, and all you knee is a city transit bus and a pair of shoes. Level 1 starts with you wearing a sturdy sneaker type shoes that provides a lot of support. You walk onto the bus and find a horizontal railing, that is about waist high. Do not use the rail on the top, that will come is more advanced levels. With both hands, get a firm grip of the railing and take half a step away from the railing. You do not want to lean on it. Once you have a good hold, prepare for the bus to start to move. You generally want to get into this position as quickly as possible, as there are some bus drivers who prefer the "Stop-and-Go" method, and will pull away from the curb before the doors have even closed. Once the bus is in motion you will hold your torso tight and strong and shift your weight from one foot to the other as the motion of the bus takes you. I generally find a wider stance to be more effective. Your arms should be strong and you will hold yourself upright. The goal of this level is to successfully complete the bus route with minimal movement. Once you have achieved this, you are ready to move on to Level 2.

Level 2 is the same as Level 1 except you will hold on to a pole this time, again with 2 hands. In Level 3 you will learn how to complete a bus route one handed! There are times where you will be unable to use both hands; whether it is because the bus is so crowded you can only steal enough of a railing for one hand, or maybe you are holding a coffee in the other hand. I highly recommend you learn this on both a railing and a pole, because sometimes you do not have a choice. In Level 4 we kick it up a notch and change our shoes to heals. Smaller heals at first, but then you can work your way up to stilettos if you wish. Depending on how strong your core and legs are, you can start with using the 2-hand grip, but if you feel strong enough, you can move directly to the 1-hand grip. Heals are tricky and you may spend a lot of time on this level, but I suggest you master it, before moving on to level 5. In Level 5 we move down towards the middle of the bus, where the only place to hold on to it the bar along the top. The bars usually have soft rubber loops that hang down every couple feet along the bar. Their purpose is to accommodate the shorter passengers who cannot reach the top bar. In Level 5 we will use our sturdy shoes again, and we will raise both our arms to the side and firmly grasp a bar with each hand. You will definitely notice you are using you upper body muscles a lot more. For Level 6, we do the same as Level 5 except we switch our shoes to heels again. In Level 7, we move back into our sturdy shoes and you will firmly hold the top bar with ONE hand. When you are comfortable, try this with heels. Level 8, you will hold onto the rubber loops, one in each hand to either side of you. If you feel ready to start off with heels, go ahead. But don't worry if you need to try this a couple time with your sturdy shoes.

Once you have mastered your balance with the loops, you can move on to Level 9. In Level 9, you will only hold on to ONE loop. Start off with sturdy shoes, and take your time working up to heels. There is the potential for injury here, to either yourself, or other passengers on the bus. Level 10 in the final level, and only Elite Bus Surfers has mastered this level. In Level 10, you will complete the route with NO hands. You cannot hold onto anything. If you can complete Level 10 in 6" Stilettos, you will have obtained Elite status.

So good luck to you all and Happy Surfing!