Bike, Run, Bike

Man, I was SO tired yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and evening.  It was to be my second day off from exercise for the week and though the swim clinic was exercise I still counted it as a day off.  That's probably why I was so tired.  At least I hope so.  I got a good night's sleep last night and woke up today feeling ready to face the day.

I took the kids to watch Miguel play soccer this morning and then we all headed to a birthday party for one of the players.  There were several bowls of potato chips and unfortunately I acted like a Survivor contestant who'd been living on slugs and crickets for a week.  I peeled myself away from the chips eventually but not before making a serious dent in the chip bowls!  Oh well, what's done is done.  Also, for lunch they served hot dogs.  I had one with all the fixings.  I felt fine about that.  One hot dog on a bun is not a bad choice.

The good thing was I got a lot of exercise today.  Miguel ended up coming home earlier than expected so I had two hours to do my thing.  I rode my bike to the gym (17 minutes) and then quickly changed into my running gear.  I headed out for the 30 minute run and got a taste of what I'll be facing next Saturday.  My legs weren't so thrilled to be running.  And I started getting some stomach cramps early on, though they never developed into anything serious.  My GI system is still not back to normal and it's been over a week.  I hope it's normal by next weekend.  I was a little slower than my last run but did my 30 minutes and was happy.  Back at the gym I did back, biceps and core work.  I skipped the stair climber given that I still had to bike home.  I also skipped the big hill and took the route with the easier hill.  All told I was exercising for two hours straight, which is hopefully enough time to cover the triathlon.  I got home, stretched, hopped in the shower and then geared up for the kids just as they were waking from their nap.

I feel pretty good.  My shoulders and arms are a bit sore from the swimming yesterday and weight training today.  My legs feel good though.  I wrote out my plan for exercise this week but who knows what will actually happen.  I have two evening commitments plus Halloween.  Cherelli pointed out that I should probably do a little something on Friday, just to keep my body primed for movement.  Friday should be a good day to get a little gym time.

Happy Halloween everyone!  My candy plan is to buy some give-out candy tomorrow and then take it to work on Tuesday and unload it.  Marek can keep his but it will be gone by week's end.  I will try to keep in mind what I told myself this time last year.

"Sometimes the justification for giving in to a craving comes down to some version of "I deserve it." If I break that down though, it doesn't make sense. It's a trick, not a treat.

What I deserve is to feel good about my body. What I deserve is the ability to move and be active. What I deserve is to be free from the aches and pains that come with extra weight and lack of muscle strength. What I deserve is to have what I truly want, not what I think I want in this moment."

That's powerful stuff.  I should put that on a tape and play it for myself when I'm faced with chocolate.  A good coincidence is that I shouldn't be facing any big hormonal monthly-cycle cravings this coming week.  Those would push me over the chocolate waterfall!  I might have to go for an all out candy ban for next week, just to prevent any slippery slides.  We'll see.

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by.