9 posts tagged “exercise”

It's been a crazy winter.  Lots going on, and I found myself lost in deep thought more than I care to remember.  Trust me, there have been good things, but also things for me to reflect on.

Enough about that.  It's Spring!!  Trees are blooming, the tulips and daffodils are coming out, and except for the frigid (40-something) weather today, Spring has been glorious.

Today was my first ever 5K!  I finished, I didn't die (or even hurt too terribly bad), and I wasn't last place.  ;)  My time was 49:46.4 doing a walk/jog combo.  I was hoping for under 45 minutes, but I'll take under 50.  Next time I'm going to work on beating my time, and eventually I want to jog an entire 5K.  Heck, maybe I'll do the half-marathon one day.  Time will tell...

Update on TV stuffs: I've started watching Life, and absolutely love it.  LOVE it.  Still watching Lost, as I figure I need to stick it out at this point.  I've pretty much given up on Heroes.  Gossip Girl is crazy fun as always.  I'm curious to see how Biggest Loser turns out.  And I've also been watching Dollhouse.  I didn't like it much at first, but it's finally starting to come together better.  I'll stick it out until Fox cancels it (which given how Fox treats Joss Whedon shows on Friday nights, it won't be long...).  Oh, and 24 has been amazingly awesome again this season.

I've got some more travel coming up.  Visiting my brother and some friends next weekend, then conferencing and visiting family in Nashville the next week.  I love spending Easter with my sister, as it means coloring eggs and watching her hunt them. 

Sadly, I won't get to go to the upcoming MLA conference in Honolulu.  But I've got a SoCal/Vegas vacation planned for June, so I will get some beach time before too long.  :) 

But it's a good ouch!  Today I did workout one of week four of the Couch-to-5K program.  It's a lot of jogging.  It took me 26.5 minutes to do the workout, then I walked for awhile, for a total of 45 minutes.  Plus a 20-minute workout first thing this morning, so 65 minutes today.  Whew. 

Then again, I did 105 minutes total yesterday.  So this was kind of an off day.  :)

I've lost 30 pounds since Sept. 4 (as of November 20).  My next band adjustment/weigh-in is on December 11.  Hooray!!!

Today was one of the worst college football days I've had in a long time.  Sigh.  I need to just focus on the fact that yay, I got to go to the game, but still...the game was a let down.

So happy stuff...  I can feel muscles in my arms and legs.  Seriously.  It's amazing and awesome and makes me want to exercise even more!  And today I jogged for 6 minutes straight.  Woo hoo!  As I was telling a few friends today, I sometimes feel like I've been body-snatched or something.  It's strange feeling so energized about exercise, but I love it!

I'm heading to the Nashville area on Thursday to babysit my little sister and her puppy.  Here is a picture of Sandy, now about a year and a half:

SandyDog

Isn't she beautiful?

I just walked into my kitchen to turn off the light, and could smell the bananas on the counter.  Yep, they're really ripe, so I'll be baking banana bread tomorrow.  I think I'll bake a couple of mini loaves and freeze them for Christmas presents.  Then buy more bananas to make a couple more mini loaves.  I haven't decide what other baking/candy-making I'll do if any.  I should figure that out before buying more bananas, huh? 

For those looking for more post-op updates...I had my first band adjustment on Thursday, and can really tell a difference.  I've lost 26.8 pounds so far since September 4, and my surgeon is pleased with the progress.  My next adjustment is on November 20.

Good night!

I'd really like to stay up to see a presidential candidate get to 270 electoral votes.  However, I'm afraid I'll miss that big moment, as I need to go to bed soon.

See, there's the wellness program at work tomorrow.  Three sessions are being offered, and the only one I'll be able to attend is at 7:15a.  So I'm going to that (it includes 15 minutes of a core workout), and will have 30 minutes to do some cardio before getting freshened up & dressed for work.  A few months ago this would have been unthinkable to me.  Now I really want this wellness series to succeed, and I'm getting some exercise in early, even though I already have walking plans for tomorrow night.  What a change.

Speaking of changes, tonight I was able to jog for 5 minutes straight on the treadmill without dying.  :)  I'm 99% sure I'll be doing a 5K (walk/jog combo) in March.  Yay!  At least a couple of my friends are considering doing it, too, so that should be a lot of fun.

I got my hair chopped yesterday.  Here are a couple of pics I took with my trusty work webcam:

...because I can't seem to get a coherent post together in my head.  ;)

* It's sourdough time!!!  I mixed up some starter last night using the Joy of Cooking recipe that I've been using for years & years.  Hopefully, this will be the same starter that I use when making loaves for Christmas presents.  In the past I haven't made it far enough in advance.  Good bread, but not v. sourdough-tangy.

* I've been really into housekeeping lately.  I know I've always strived to keep things tidy, but this is a new level of tidiness for me.  I love it!

* I've also been really into exercising lately, which is great.  I don't look forward to it every day (yet!) and often have to bribe myself into going.  But it's a start, right?

Because Een asked...

I just set my goal for week one of the challenge at 200 minutes total for 7 days.  That's a little less than 30 minutes per day, which I think is a good place to start, especially acknowledging that I won't do a formal workout every day (most days, but not all).

I'd like to at least double that number by the end of the summer, doing at least 150 minutes of cardio alone per week. 

It's doable if I stick with it.  Unfortunately, sticking with exercise is what usually trips me up.

I'll post an update each week to keep me accountable.

I've joined the WOMAN Challenge!  Anyone else taking part in this?

I have yet to set my weekly goals.  I've got some ambitious goals for the summer in terms of exercise, and think this will be a great way to get started.  Yay!

Yes, it's been a little while since I've posted anything.  It's been crazy busy at work (I'm on my lunch break now...finally) and by the time I get home I don't want to do much on the computer.  I've started my big huge research project that I hope to produce a couple of papers from later this year.

I had a lovely Easter, and am now starting to get myself geared up for going to Philadelphia next month.  I'm going to the national MLA annual meeting, and have been going to this conference since 2002.  Have I mentioned that it's going to be in Hawaii in 2009?  And that my boss has already said I can go?  :)

In part because of the Hawaii thing, I've been kicking up my exercise routine.  In that, I've started an exercise routine again.  I've been walking around the apartment complex (great hills!) and on the treadmill in the "gym" for residents.  It's really the saddest "gym" I've ever seen, but things pretty much work.

Ugh.  Don't you hate it when part of your lunch drips on your shirt?

• I have lost 4 pounds since last Monday.
• I walked a mile today after work with one of my best friends.  We're going to start doing this 2-3 days a week.  :)
• I have to be in Atlanta at 10:00a on Saturday instead of 7:00a.
• I get to sleep in for the next two mornings.
  
• I'm about to fall asleep on my freshly-washed Alice sheets.

Nighty night!