Weekends Rule!

What a weekend we had. Fortunately activity filled weekends are one thing that hasn't changed lately. In years past the weekend was an excuse to sleep late (and I mean late!), lounge all day and do nothing. Occasionally I'd clean house or go shopping but really I could only handle one activity per weekend. Really, just one. Now weekends are more about how much I can squeeze in!

On Saturday we decided to go for a mountain bike ride before hitting the pool. I remembered an easy nearby ride that had been suggested to us by the bike shop where I purchased my bike. We still hadn't checked it out so I found it in my Mountain Biking Marin book and away we went. The route, Rush Creek, is 4.2 miles in total and winds around marshes and through some shady areas. Here I am about a mile in riding past a beautiful tree.


The weather was perfect as you can see. We got to the turn around point and noticed this sign pointing off to another trail.


Bikes OK is practically an invitation. Plus we were barely warmed up so we decided to check it out. My fitness confidence has increased so much! When I first started mountain biking this spring there is no way I would have jaunted off to mystery trail. I would have been afraid it was going to be too hard (which, at that time, chances were good it would have been!). Anyway, now I just carry on knowing that if it gets that bad I can turn around. But this trail was fine. Little hills here and there and just enough rocks and roots in the path to make navigating it fun. The trail was just beautiful.


We ended up riding a little under 9 miles altogether! I was feeling pretty good because I had planned on this easy little cruise but got in a little workout instead. From there we threw the bikes on the car and headed to the pool. The pool was fun because Miguel was with me. I swam for about 20 minutes and then we sat in the sun relaxing and drying off. We had our camera with us so Miguel snapped a few pictures of me in the pool. I like this one because it makes my arm look muscle-ly and strong.


And this one is just fun!


And finally, and I can't believe I'm posting a picture of me in a bathing suit like this but...


Notice my extremely large arm? It's just huge! I've always had big arms. My arm fat hangs on for dear life. I'd probably have to be underweight before it'd let go. Ah well, with age comes acceptance. And despite their still being disproportionately larger than the rest of me I'm sure they are smaller than they were. Oh, and I know they're disproportionately large because more often than not a top (with non-elastic arm holes) will fit my body but the arm holes will be too small. Does that make sense? Aannyway...

After the pool we dashed home to clean up for the bike race, the Carrera de San Rafael. Some friends were meeting us down there and we planned to have dinner during the kids race. The bike race was fun! I'd never been to anything like that before. They gave us free little cow bells to ring and we cheered and hollered for all the racers. I had fun trying to capture the energy and excitement on my camera.

Men's Elite:


Women's Pro (or Elite?):


Men's Pro:



That's the little cow bell they were giving out. I told Miguel to be sure to hang on to that as he'd need it at my Sprint this weekend! The last race was 90 minutes! When we heard that we were sure we wouldn't stay until the end but we got caught up in the fun of it all and hung in there. Finally, the winners...


So on Sunday I went to One Hawaii. Shockingly it was a hot day (the part of SF that Stern Grove is in is usually foggy and cold) and I roasted in the sun! Unfortunately the Hawaiian food vendors I was hoping for weren't there but our group brought lots of good picnic food and I certainly didn't go hungry. The bands were a lot of fun and I had a good time. Of course I have to post a couple of pictures. First is Kaukahi and second is a Hula Girl.



Pretty, ya?

Well, another action packed weekend comes to a close. I won't tell you about my eating and weight. As you may have noticed I've been sort of mum on those issues of late. Don't worry, I've been weighing myself. I wish I could say my eating has been good but it's been mediocre. Not an all out gorge-fest but not great either. I've got a little intervention planned for myself. More to come on all this.

Are you watching the Olympics? Aren't they fun? FYI - The Women's Triathlon Event is on Sunday evening (the 17th) and the Men's is the following night, the 18th. That should be a lot of fun to watch!

Fool Me Once...

What happens when one falls off the fitness/health wagon? Well, it usually involves a slippage in exercise and a slide into a vat of chocolate...or french fries, or both. Chocolate french fries?

During this time of slipping and sliding I usually continue to weigh myself. Having gone down this path myself a few times I've noticed something very evil happens. I don't gain weight, at least not for a few weeks. I think there are several reasons for this.

#1: For the first couple of weeks of said fall I might actually still be exercising now and again. I read somewhere that it only takes half the work to maintain fitness gains as it took to obtain them in the first place. So, if you're only doing 1/4th of what you used to do you're still maintaining something.

#2: Most of my meals are probably still relatively healthy. These first two reflect that I don't fall off the wagon in one heavy thud, right? I slowly lose my grip, slowly slide down to the edge, and my good habits slowly fall by the wayside.

#3: The metabolism remains high for a while. It's not like I lose all that good, hard-earned muscle overnight. I continue to burn through the calories at a higher rate even though my exercise might not be regular anymore.

#4: The reverse of the old muscle weighs more than fat line. As you lose muscle and gain fat your weight stays the same. Evil. Your clothes might be getting snug but the final arbiter, The Scale, tells you all is well. And since we've conditioned ourselves that The Scale Knows All, we fool ourselves into listening to it again. Like I've said many times before, the scale only tells part of the story.

What does this all mean? It means we get taken for a ride. I tell myself, "Wow, I've finally figured this out. I can eat like a regular person, exercise just a little and maintain my weight." I really fall for the lie, and hard. So hard that I carry on with my merry ways, happily eating french fries and pizza, sitting on my ass watching Jeopardy after work, all the while thinking I've finally mastered weight maintenance. And then...


The weight gain starts. And when it does it's usually too late. I've fallen off the wagon entirely and it's gone on down the road without me. I can't even see it anymore. And the weight gain is gradual, it's a 1/2 pound here, a pound there. I start adjusting my acceptable weight standards. This really helps with the denial, "160 is still pretty good,"... "165 isn't bad,"... "170? I guess I can live with that." Right around here is where I might stop weighing myself altogether. Bigger denial. This isn't happening, I am not gaining weight.

Does any of this sound familiar? I realized the other day how well I know this path. I realized I could write it out in steps I know it so well. And it's that trick at the beginning that really helps to let us live the denial, believe the lie we've always wanted to be true.

I am writing about this because I am facing some challenges in maintaining my healthy eating and exercising routine, but I don't think I am falling off the wagon. It's possible this is the biggest case of denial ever. So big that I'm actually blogging about it but saying it doesn't apply to me. But I don't think so. I think the difference is that I am writing about it, thinking about it, weighing myself, watching. I am not telling myself, "By George I think I've got it! I can eat pizza, sit on my couch and not gain weight!". I am facing some unique challenges right now. More to come, I promise.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this wagon falling business.

Moving on...What's on tap for this weekend? Oh wait! Before I forget. I signed up for a sprint tri. It's the same one I did back in late June, Tri for Fun. They do it three times a summer and this is the final one. It's next weekend, August 16th. I am really excited. I decided I needed something to boost morale around here. And what better way to do it than cross a finish line?

So, this weekend...Well, Miguel's out playing golf. Actually, he just called to ask if I want to join him post-golf at IHOP for breakfast. I passed :) So, when he gets home we're heading to the pool for some swimming. I really enjoy swimming. Swimming is the sport most people give as the reason they won't do a tri. I just don't get that, so I guess I'm lucky. I find swimming so easy and relaxing. I think it's the fact that my weight is supported.

After the pool we're going to watch the Carrera de San Rafael, a big bike race in downtown San Rafael. I'm excited to see the roadies flying by! And there's supposed to be a big expo nearby. Right up my bike path! Tomorrow (Sunday) I'm going into SF for One Hawaii, a Hawaiian music concert in the park. The weather should be great and I can't wait to sample some of my favorite Hawaiian foods that I am sure will be for sale. Aloha everyone!

Many Rivers to Cross

Wow, has it really been a week since my last post? Bad blogger! I want to thank people who reached out to me to ask where the heck I was. The internet can be a vast space of emptiness but when you make connections with people it can be so much more. Thank you for caring about little ol' me :)

As far as my absence...There is an explanation but I can't really go into details yet. I can say there's been something going on in my life that has really derailed things of late. I'm hoping the dust will settle in the next several weeks and then I can tell you more. I've been trying to get in workouts here and there when I can but they've generally been sparse. Sometimes life is about treading water.

Speaking of water, I have some fun news! Back in April I told you about a rafting trip Miguel and I had planned. Well it was this past weekend! We got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and drove to Camp Haswell in Yolo County, about 2 hours northeast, to join up with Whitewater Adventures. We put all our gear in a bus and were shuttled to the rafting spot. People were already drinking and getting kind of loud and it was only 10am. I worried I'd be miserable all weekend with rowdy drunk people.

We got to our rafting spot and had a little safety lesson, "Most of you won't fall out of your boats today but if you do...". We got our boat, which was sort of like a kayak raft, shaped like a kayak but filled with air like a raft, very comfortable, and off we went in the water. In these situations I still find myself thinking, "I never would have done this before." I know I say this a lot but being so overweight really got in the way of my living life. Sometimes I feel sad at all I've missed out on, all the time I wasted on the couch. Then I turn it around and just be grateful I'm moving now.

So off we went on the river. About 50% of the time the water was calm and just carried us along while we chatted and enjoyed the scenery. The other half the time we contended with rushing white waters, but never anything too hard core. Here's what the 2-man boats looked like.


And Miguel and I enjoying a calm part of the river.


And a not so calm part...


Can you believe that picture? We were having so much fun!! Whitewater Adventures were great, they take care of everything, including packing a lunch and putting it on your raft. You can pack drinks and whatever else you want to bring on your raft too. But whatever you do bring, it will get wet! These pics are sorta crappy because they were all taken with a disposable waterproof camera, and good thing! I got dumped off the boat in the rapids more than once. So much for us not falling out of our boats! It was all a blast though and only a little bit scary for a few seconds there.

When we arrived at our camping spot all our gear was there, we just had to pitch our tent and wait for dinner. Dinner was too much, lots of snacky appetizers (spinach dip and bread, cheese and crackers, guacamole, m&m's, and on and on) followed by grilled steaks, monstrous baked potatoes, corn on the cob...and lots of butter and sour cream. For desert there were Oreo cookies and milk. OMG, I don't even want to think about how many calories I must have consumed. I just hoped I burned enough calories rafting to burn off some of it! After dinner there was a disco dance party, in the middle of nowhere! This is a serious operation. But I was pooped after all the sun and rafting so I hit the hay and tried to sleep.

This is the camping area. Isn't it pretty?


Up and at 'em at 6:15am for a second day of rafting. Breakfast first, lots of danishes and fruit plus scrambled eggs and homestyle potatoes. Ugh, more calories. Back on the rafts for another full day on the river.

Here we are cruising along...


And here I am stopped for lunch. Can you believe that's me? It's going to take a while to get my mental image lined up with my actual image.


We rafted back to our starting point and there was all our camping gear waiting for us. If you can't tell already I highly recommend Whitewater Adventures. We had a blast and didn't have to think about a thing! Oh, except not drowning :)

I fell asleep about 20 minutes into the ride home, I was exhausted! I was hoping to get in some exercise on Monday but it didn't happen. Both Miguel and I were still feeling tired from the weekend. Today, Tuesday, I was feeling tired too. I got home around 4:30pm and started this blog. I realized I should try to get some exercise in before therapy and then had the great idea to walk there! It's about 3 miles away and if I hurried I'd make it on time. It took me 40 minutes to get there. Not bad. I took a slightly more leisurely pace coming home. Miguel is at a Giants game with some friends and I was planning to order Chinese takeout for dinner but after my walk decided to eat something healthier. I made some rice and chicken breast with one of my favorite Cost Plus sauces, Shere Kahn Korma. It's rich and creamy and yet fairly low in calories! And a quick meal to boot. Do I sound like a commercial?

So I was planning to include some ideas I've had recently about falling off the wagon but this post is plenty long. Next time. But just so you know, I've not fallen off of it...I'm hanging on for dear life! It's a wild ride but I know it's worth it...I'm worth it.

And Now It Is Conquered

I would like to report that things have been perfect.

But I can't.

And that's ok because things have been good. I got up on Saturday morning and had some brekkie. I've been eating the Kashi GoLean lately. For nearly 1.5 years I was strictly a Special K Protein Plus girl. But when I went to visit my friend Kelly in Ventura they had the Kashi GoLean. [Note: this is not the GoLean Crunch that people refer to as Crack...I'm too scared to even try that stuff!] The Kashi is bland on it's own but Kelly puts Cinnamon on it so I tried it. Perfect! Here are the stats:

......Special K / Kashi GoLean......

• Serving Size: 29g/39g* (*this is the Calorie Watchers serving for Kashi)
• Calories: 100/110
• Fat: 3g/1g
• Fiber: 5g/8g
• Sugars: 2g/5g
• Protein: 10g/10g

As you can see they're pretty comparable. Special K has less calories, but not by much. Kashi wins on the Fat and Fiber fronts. The Points are the same, 1 Point per serving! Yeah Baby! So I switched to Kashi for now but I know they'll be some Special K in my future when I get tired of the Kashi. It's nice to have options. Throw in a 1/2 c of FF milk (or 3/4 of a cup and call it a cup!) and you've got yourself a 2 Point breakfast. With lots of protein so you're not starving an hour later.

Alright, that was a bit of a tangent. Back to Saturday morning. We cleaned some to let breakfast settle. It was an all out Spring Cleaning type deal. We cleaned the fridge and freezer and sprayed the oven and then went on our bike ride. We rode 11.8 miles in a little under an hour. I didn't get my full 59 minutes in but I was okay with that knowing I had a full day of cleaning ahead of me. We returned to the condo and dug in full force with the dusting, vacuuming, windexing, etc. We did the kitchen, bathroom and both bedrooms. Whew! By the end of the day our happy little condo was clean again. It's times like these I'm glad we don't have a big ol' house to clean!

On Sunday I was supposed to do a 29 minute run. Notice the supposed to part. It didn't happen. I was also supposed to do weight training. Nope. I sat at home all day and watched movies and relaxed in my clean condo. This is the part where perfect breaks down. I felt appropriately guilty. Would you like to know my main excuse? It was too hot outside. Yep, pretty lame I know.

I went to bed last night determined to get up this morning and get my swim in. I slept too long and didn't do it. Time to call in the reinforcements. I called Miguel midday today and asked him to please train with me this afternoon. He agreed, thank goodness. So after work we saddled up on our bikes and rode to the YMCA pool. He watched me swim for 29 minutes and then we biked home. I got in my training! Yay! Having a supportive partner is sometimes like having a miracle land in your day. I thanked him profusely but he still probably doesn't know how much it meant to me.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is a day off but I'm plotting to hit the gym to at least make up my weight training from Sunday. Since I only do the weight training twice a week now it's really important I get it in.

What a difference a workout can make. I was feeling down, depressed, ineffectual, guilty...all of the above, at work today. After my workout tonight I felt energized, alive, hopeful. Exercise is miraculous that way. It can lift you out of the lows of exhaustion and misery. The problem usually is, when you're in the lows of exhaustion and misery the last thing you want to do is exercise. And yet, it is our salvation. Ain't that a bitch?

Oh! I almost forgot the meaning of my post. On our way home from the pool I faced the big a$$ hill for the second time. Here is what I had to say the first time I faced it.

On the way home Miguel wanted to take this shorter route over this big a$$ hill. Ah! No! Can't do it! Well, after a few minutes I started feeling like I could give it a try. I made it about 1/2 way up before needing a break - but I made it. Pretty amazing. Miguel declared the hill conquered but I will declare it so when I can ride up with no break :) At its worst it is a 12% grade according to Garmin.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I made it! And it wasn't too bad. I was breathing pretty hard by the time I got to the top but now I can declare it conquered :)

I want to thank you all for your support regarding the ice cream incident my food choices. I know most of you know what food demon psychology is like. It sucks. Being reminded to stick with the positive attitude, that in the long run one pint of ice cream mistake won't fell the tower, well, that's what I needed to hear. Thanks.

Where In The World...

I feel like I've sort of dropped off the face of the earth. But, nope, still here.

You might be happy to hear I've pulled myself together and completed my workouts so far this week (er, since Wednesday that is). I went on my 17 minute jog yesterday. Actually I jogged in the direction of my gym for 17 minutes and then walked the rest of the way. I did my weight training and then walked the 2.5 miles home. Honestly, I don't know if I'll do that again. By the time I was done with weight training I wasn't thrilled about walking home. Part of it was I was running late, so maybe if I had no time pressures it'd be better. Point is, Yay Me! While I was jogging I passed an elderly woman (which is now defined in my mind as 70 and above) getting her mail, "It's a little warm to be running uphill my dear". I was on a slight incline, what some people call a false flat, and I agreed with her but kept running.

There's a 58 minute bike ride on the training log today but I'm going to do it tomorrow with Miguel. We're going to go in the morning and then spend the rest of the weekend cleaning house. My condo has been sadly neglected of late. I feel so much better when my home is clean and I need that boost these days. Sunday I plan to do the long run for the week, 29 minutes, followed by weight training. Hmmm...will I jog to the gym and walk home? Hmmm...

Anyway, back to Thursday. After my successful workout I went to my WW meeting. For the first time in my 1.5 years of going to WW I decided to take a pass on weighing in. I did a "no weigh", as the receptionist called it. I just wasn't up for it. From there I joined my co-workers for happy hour. I stayed away from alcohol but shared nachos for an appetizer and had a fried seafood bonanza as an entree. The good: I didn't finish the fried fish or french fries or cole slaw. The bad: I ate a whole pint of Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche Light ice cream later that night. Oh, I would rather not be telling you all about that :) But, alas, I can't hide from reality. The whole container was 20 points! I need a restraining order from that stuff. I wiped out my daily points, 4 APs, plus all my WPAs for the week in the first day of the week. ¡Qué Disastre! Well, this program is made for disasters like this. I will carry on. It's not about the falling down, it's about the getting up. I will rise from the ashes. I think I'm feeling literary or lyrical or something today.

So Monday will be the first day of Month 2 of my Olympic Distance Triathlon Training Plan. For the first time I will have some monthly workout totals to post like other cool people. Sadly, the actual numbers won't be as cool. But...hey, wait, stop that malarky, they will be cool numbers. They are my numbers. Each minute is a minute of my sweat, my heart beating, my body working, my calories burning, and my body getting stronger and leaner. Oh dear. But seriously, I am always harping on people not to compare themselves to others, I need to take heed myself.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!! Oh, and please don't tell anyone about the whole pint of ice cream last night. We can keep that just between us, right?