Sue’s Theory Of Evolution

First of all, I need to apologize for having been so absent…  There’s really no excuse; once again, I’ve been putting myself last.  I know I need to try to be here, as my sense of well-being takes a serious hit when I don’t write…

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s very important for goals to evolve as we learn what we need to do in order to succeed in weight loss, health, or any other task we set for ourselves.

To that end, I am setting myself some new goals.  The first one is to always feel as good as I do right now.  I came home from my weekly Intro to Yoga class feeling energized, positive, and relaxed, more so than I’ve felt in a very long time…  AND THIS IS THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW!!!

Last week, this feeling lasted about 24 hours (one too many idiot drivers harshed my buzz bigtime) – I want to see how long I can carry it this week.  I also want to start practicing more frequently – going to shoot for at least one extra session this week, either at home or while I’m away this weekend (going offroading!)…  This could be very good for me.

My second goal is to write more often – I’m going to try to write here at least three times a week.  I’m putting it on my calendar, as an appointment with myself.  Maybe the days I don’t get up early for a run, I can get up a LITTLE early to write.  OK, let’s say every other day.

Anyway, we’ll see what happens after I get these changes going…

In The Pink

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be a part of one of the most powerful events in the fight against breast cancer – the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure in San Francisco, California.

I did not walk 60 miles.

I participated as part of the crew that provides support for those who walk.  Together with seven others, I provided snacks, hydration, and an opportunity for a brief rest for over 1500 walkers as part of the Pit Stop 2 crew, aka “The Double Dee Diner”.

Sure, I may not have walked, but, over the four days of participation (crew work starts a day in advance of the event), I took over 50,000 steps, I hauled 40-pound bags of ice, cases of water, bananas, oranges, and other healthy snacks.  I helped erect and tear down a Western Shelter (eight-sided canopy with a cover that weighs about 50 pounds and a frame that requires four people to carry) nine times, and helped load and unload them and other equipment including signs and beverage coolers from our truck.  I slept in one of a sea of pink tents on Treasure Island (partway through the span of the Bay Bridge).  I got up at 5 or earlier and was in bed before 10 each night.  I showered in a truck.  I streaked my hair pink.

I wore funny costumes.

Unfortunately, I also ate the same food as the walkers – there are not many options for eating elsewhere on Treasure Island, and the menus were designed to fuel endurance walkers.  Which, of course, means I put back on some of those pounds I’ve been working so hard to get rid of…

Once again, I’ve got my work cut out for me…

Bad For The Body, Good For The Soul…

Every so often, I need to let go…

Yesterday was one of those days…  I went to a geocaching event for a friend’s birthday.  It was a potluck BBQ, with some truly awesome food contributions (I made these…).

There was a totally amazing array of food at this event.  I am proud to say that I made mostly healthy choices…  Hubs and I shared a top sirloin steak, and (of course!) some of my beans…  Someone had brought salad fixin’s, so we also partook of those.  Later in the day, someone brought a bunch of marinated chicken and tritip for everyone; I enjoyed a small piece of tritip and a bit of chicken – it was awesome!  I splurged on some tempura shrimp and a piece of birthday cake…  and I don’t feel bad about it one bit, as I think it’s necessary to indulge our taste buds every so often.

Now, granted, those deep-fried tasty shrimp and yummy yellow cake with strawberries and whipped cream frosting were NOT within my normal eating plan…  But they were WAY good for my state of mine…  I find that, every so often, I need to drop out and just not be concerned with the calorie  count and assorted associated calculations involved…

However, I also made an effort to offset that unbalanced eating – I took a walk around a lake that has been engineered for a 2-mile total distance.  Of course, I didn’t walk as quickly as I might – I had to stop for geocache hunting! – but it was a good workout that raised a sweat, so I’m happy….

In the end, it was great to spend a day with good friends, good food, sunshine, without a care… It helped me to be vey ready to get back on track, successfully, today.

Wakeup Call

Today was a bit rough.  I had my annual physical.

I have a good relationship with my doc (she’s awesome!), so, of course, I told her of the things that have been going on with me…

I’m (not so) pleased to announce that I am the (not so) lucky winner of a colonoscopy and a sleep study to test for apnea!  Fun times… 

I was really surprised to see that my pulse came in at 68 bpm, which I think would indicate that my resting heart rate is fairly low…  And my blood pressure is happily normal.

I also had blood work done – TSH, vitamin D, and a metabolic panel.  The lab my doc uses (in the same building) is very quick with the results, so I had some answers today.

First, I have a vitamin D deficiency that will be treated using daily supplements and 10-minute doses of sunshine on a daily basis.

My TSH levels have dropped, and are now well within the normal range, which is a good thing, right?

Now for the scary part….  My blood sugar levels (at least this morning) were above the normal range, even after fasting since yesterday evening.  Yup, you guessed it – I’m now considered prediabetic.  Not a word that is going to give me the warm fuzzies…

Anyway, I have yet another incentive pushing me toward my goal!  Any advice here is invited and welcome…

Assessing The Damages…

I think I’ll always hate having birthdays…  They remind me of how much of my life I wasted abusing my body and my brain cells, and acting like a spoiled child.  I can’t help but think about what I could have been if I’d used the brain cells instead of trying to fry them.

Couple the fact that I had one of those horrid birthdays a week and a half ago with the fact that I suffer from clinical depression (along with some other contributing factors), and you get a cocktail that pretty much threw me over its head and right off the wagon of trying to become healthy in my eating and activities.  In fact, I landed in one of the deepest black holes I’ve been stuck in for quite some time.

I didn’t work out; I didn’t eat right.  Too much fried food (probably my biggest downfall); too much garbage; not NEARLY enough sweat.  Now it’s time to assess the damages in preparation to get back on track.

1. I should be nearly at my #30daychip; instead, I’m starting over at Day 1 tomorrow.
2. I should be entering Week 3 of the #5kin100days program; instead, I’ll be starting over on Monday with session 1.1.
3. I’m way behind on my tracking for the August #GoTheDist…  I’ll try to get back on track, and backtrack the things I’ve had to celebrate – even though my mind wasn’t thinking of celebrating at the time, I can probably find something to celebrate after the fact, right?
4. I totally lost my way with tracking my food and activity, and with my blog.  I’ve let myself and my handful of readers down.
5. I completely reversed the progress I had made – I’m back up six pounds, and gained back the inch of girth I’d lost.

Worst of all, I knew that these things were happening, and I let myself dwell on them, which sent me spiraling down ever further…  I’m hoping that, now that I’ve gotten them out of my system and out into cyberspace, I can stop the vicious cycle, and get back to where I need to be.

Oh, Garmin, Wherefore Art Thou, And Another Click On The Age-ometer

So yesterday morning, I finally fought myself out of bed, got into my workout clothes, dropped the treadmill, and went to grab my Forerunner to time my intervals for my #5kin100days run.  I have the footpod, so I can actually track mileage while on the treadmill, too.

Anyway, I went to the spot where (I thought) I last left it, and it wasn’t there…  I had just pushed new workouts to it, or so I thought….  When I looked at the agent on my computer again, it was not connecting.  I spent the next half-hour looking for the damn thing before deciding to watch the timer on the treadmill.  I was resigned to the fact that I would not see the Garmin for months (yes, my house is in a state of constant transition as we move things around to work on remodeling the next bit).

After I finished the workout, I was making breakfast and putting my lunch together when I heard the distinctive beep that signals a wireless Garmin data transfer.  Still, I couldn’t find it…  I finished my breakfast and went up to shower and get ready for work.  I mentioned to my wonderful hubby that I was missing my toy; he said he would look some more after work.

When I came downstairs, it was sitting on the table – he had found my tracker in mere moments!  Somehow ended up under the sofa!

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I didn’t let it get in the way of my workout – a month ago, I would have called it a reasonable excuse for skipping it.  I’ve come a long way this summer!

On another note, my personal age-ometer clicked over another digit today.  I’ve got exactly one year left to meet my goal.

For some reason, my depression really kicks in at this time…  It’s very tough to keep focused on the things that are important to me.  This past year has been particularly rough, with family- and job-related stresses that are emotionally painful.  I did give myself a bit of leeway today, but still managed to stick fairly closely to plan – enough so that I’m still calling it a success.

Tomorrow’s another day….

Who Are You, And What Did You Do With Sue?

That’s what my husband said to me tonight, when I told him I was actually looking forward to getting up early to do my #5kin100days workout tomorrow.

Why would he say this?  Well, I am a notoriously late sleeper – I can easily sleep until noon or one, if I don’t have something planned…  If there was an opening for a professional sleeper, I’d be a shoe-in!

Well, guess what – I’m just as amazed as he is!  I actually can’t wait to get up in the morning, and hit the ‘mill!