Today at the gym this girl asked me "How do you do it? where do you get the enrgy to exercise for few hours a day, 7 days a week?"
This really made me think about how do I really do it? First thing is that I really enjoy exercising. I look forward to my next class or next workout of the day. I don't look at exercise as a chore, nor as a pain. I think about it as a daily routine, like eating or sleeping. When exercise becomes a habit then you don't even think about it anymore and you just do it. just like anything else that we do during the day. My day usually starts with getting the kid ready and out of the door for school. I teach spin (cycling) 4 days a week so as soon as my kids are out, I am out also. After my spin class, 2 times a week I teach a strenght training class. The days that I don't teach that class, I either go home after spin and rest or go to yoga, or do free weights at the gym. I run about 5 times a week which is about 35 to 40k a week. My usual run is an 8K which is a loop around the subdivision that I live in. One day a week I run longer and faster with a group of friends that I train with. So in general I exercise 2 or 3 times a day (which means I have to shower 2 or 3 times a day also). If I am getting ready for a triathlon, I also have to fit swimming in my schedule which is usually 3 times a week.
Getting to this shape and fitness level took me years and didn't come easy or over night. I truly believe that anyone can do it. If you put your mind into it you can run that 10k or bike that 100k. My motto in exercising is to listen to my body. If I am tired or sore from a day of working hard, I take it easy the next day and push hard the day after. I take few months off out of a year off which is usually during the summer when I go back home to US to be with my friends and family. During this time I still workout, but don't push as hard, neither as long. I also work around my injuries since it is inevitable and you can't avoid it when you cross train. For example, If my knee hurts I ice it or don't run as hard for a while, but unless it is necessary I don't stop completely.
You have to realize that fitness and exercising is my job now. I work at the gym so I have the privilege of being there all the time and workout whenever I like. But I also had a 8 to 5 job for years like most people. Those days I used to go to the gym during the lunch. 4 days of the week I exercised during lunch hour and one day I went out to lunch with co-workers. I have 2 kids and when they were younger it was hard to leave them at home and go to the gym in the evening, so I bought a treadmill and did it at night after I put them in bed. I bought free weights and exercise videos so I could do it at home. It is hard to manage exercising with kids, but it is doable.
So this is how I do it. With a big smile on my face and enjoy every minute of it :o)
Gosh, it has been a long while! I couldn't even remember my user name and pass word to log in to Extra Pound. Well, I am back now to report that my training and race season has officially started. From now till the end of May there are one or two events almost on every weekend. These are what I like to do within the next few months:
I am definitely trying another half marathon this year since the last one was a disaster. I will hopefully will be doing 2 triathlons, one at the end of March and the other one in mid May which is an International Tri. I will be doing few runs during this time just to get a feel for my level and my time. Mean while I have started training hard since the beginning of February, with running more miles and riding my bike few times a week. Have I been swimming yet??????? NO. I will start that this week. Can you tell swim is my weakest link.
Anyhow, just to report, today was my first race. I ran a 15K this morning. My time was pretty good, considering that I hadn't done a long run since November. I finished at 1hr:29min:10sec.
No, I don't look anything like Madonna yet, but the last few weeks, except when I was traveling around the globe for my brother's wedding, I have been lifting weights for about 3 times a week and yes I can feel the difference. I definitely feel stronger and more definitions’ in my arms, but still few more years to look like Madonna's arms
Mean while the last few days I have been going through a nutritional cleansing diet that was recommended by few friends. I have been struggling with GI problems for the last 8, 9 years and after going through series of tests and taking lots of pills, I finally found a way to keep it under control only by watching what I eat. I had to quit caffeine and certain foods in that matter. A friend of mine who was suffering from same kind of problem did this certain cleansing diet and noticed how great she felt right away. Anyhow, to make the story short, I am on the diet now. I don't want to talk about the diet, but I like to talk about what the process of this diet has done to me. Discipline is what this diet brought to my life! What I have realized is that all these years I have never been on a diet just because I am not good with disciplines (when it come to food only. I have no issue when it comes to exercising). Don’t take me wrong. I eat healthy, actually very healthy, but I have no discipline with the time and the amount I eat. I can be great one day and the next day, especially if it’s a weekend, I can eat whatever I see. Worst is when I travel. I just lose track. I eat even when I am not hungry just because the food is there….. The breakfast buffets are my nightmares. I can eat and eat and don’t ever fill full. “I never go on diets because I don’t not believe in them”, was my excuse for the last 20 something years of my life. I could never stick to one so there was no reason to bother. This one on the other hand was because of a health reason, so I made a commitment to it and I can see the result already. To make the story short, with the help of this low calorie diet, and the nutritional products (vitamins, shakes and etc.), I feel really good about myself now. Not just because I have dropped few pounds that I might gain back after the diet, but because of eliminating the extra food that I was eating without being hungry. I now see that the healthy habit of eating a little of something every 3 hours was turned into a big snack every 3 hours for me. Mean while I noticed that the bad taste that I usually had in my mouth is gone. The pain that I used to get in the bottom of my stomach when I was hungry is not there anymore. The acid reflux (what I had struggled with for years) is gone also.
In reality we are the product of our habits. Before this diet I was hungry at certain times, even though I had eaten a full meal few hours prior. So by habit I would eat a piece of fruit or another healthy snack. After the last few days I am just going by what my body tells me, so I snack only when I am really hungry and instead of a whole apple and a banana I just pick one piece of fruit and stop eating it when satisfied. This means that I don’t look at the clock anymore. My body is my clock now.
Was it hard? Yes, the first two days were difficult. I was hungry almost all the time; I kept myself occupied in order not to think about food. I have been through 6 days out of the 9 days process so still too early to say that I have done it :o), but so far I am really happy with the results. Last word; eating too much is only a habit. Change your habit. Eat only as much as your body needs and you feel a lot better.
Gosh. I haven't been here forever. My last post was 5 months ago in May!
Well, I am back :o) This summer was a great break for me; not doing any race and for that matter no training. The best part was that I although I wasn't exercising all the time, I didn't gain any weight :o) Except the occasional runs and few spin classes, I spent most of the time traveling and visiting friends and family back home in New Mexico.
What is the purpose of coming back to Extra pound after 5 months? I am here to make a new goal. OK, it all started with me watching one of Madonnas' videos on line. Can you believe she is 50???? Anyhow, this September 30th, i am turning 45. I have realized that although i am fit and strong, but I like to see some changes in my body. I like to have defined arms and nice strong abs. Who doesn't? Really? So my goal is to do my best to make visible changes in some of those body parts by September 30th. It's doable. Isn't it?
My triathlon was last Saturday. Although I had trained for the Olympic distance, but I ended up doing the Sprint distance which is a shorter one. The reason for that was I didn't feel ready for the 1.5k of swim in the bay. I could do that in the pool, but when it comes to open water swim, I am still a little chicken Swim is always the first event. The water was nice and warm with no strong current. The swim was a 750m into the bay and then a u turn back to the shore. Right after that you run to the transition area where you change to your bike shoes and prepare for your ride. I was pretty slow in the transition since I had to get all the sand off of my feet (call me spoiled, but I can't do it with sand on my feet). Mean while few of the girls that I had passed during the swim caught up with me while I was taking my sweet time with sock and shoes. During my bike i was able to catch few of them. Right after you dismount from your bike, you need to change shoes and start your run. That is the hardest part of the triathlon since your legs don't want to change their rhythm from cycling to running. It usually take few good minutes to find your pace. My run was pretty easy and I felt really strong. A power gel and a bottle of Gaterade always help also. I finished red cheeks but with a big smile on my face. The last thing I expected was a medal, but I sure got one. I placed 5th in the overall female group. That was a great surprise since I was competing against really young, fit and strong girls. I am still waiting for the result to get posted on line so I can see my time compare to theirs. I will post the result and some pictures soon.
I have only less than 2 weeks to the big day. I have been training really well. The last few months i have been working hard and steady to build up endurance and speed. I am a little behind with my swim , but pretty good with my run and ride right now. Yesterday I had to do all 3 sports in one day. My day started at 6:30 with an hour and half of bike ride, then after a nice helthy lunch and a little rest I ran for 10k with a group of friends. Right after the run, I swam for 40 laps of 25 meter (1k). You can check my training log here http://www.mapmyrun.com/user_profile?username=trigal1
The great thing about triathlon is not the day of the event, it is the training process of it. During the training period you live like a triathlete which means you eat like a triathlete, you think, sleep and feel like a triathlete. This always gives me such a good feel of control. It is not always easy to workout few hours a day. Although I enjoy it, but all these training require a lot of discipline and scheduling. But at night, after a long day of working hard, I just remind myself how good it feels to be healthy. I just wanted to write this and encourage everyone of you who read this blog to give yourself a push. Get out of your comfort zones and make a difference in your life. It is not all about the weight, it is about feeling good about yourself. You are what you want to be so never stop challenging yourself.
Those of you who have heard me whining for so long about my unexpected weight gain during the last 2 years will be happy to know that I finally found out why. After my visit with the dietition and her diagnosis of slow metabolism, my friend Diana suggested that I should do hormone test to make sure my hormon levels are normal. She had a good reason to suggest that since I am in my mid 40's now. I finally made the appointmet and got the blood test done last week and I got the results back today. Out of the 5 things that I was tested for, my estrogen level was the only thing off, but it was way off. My estrogen level is 3 where a normal level is betwwen 24 to 114!!!!!!!!! According to the doctor my birthcontrol pill that I had been taking for around 2 years, is the cause of my weight gain :o) What a releife!!!! Now I know that I was not imagining all these. Like any wise person I will stop taking the pills, but not till I am done with my triathlon on May 11th. This could mean that I can join the moms to be list anytime soon :o) Just kidding.
Now, I am having one of those days. You know the kind that you don't feel good about yourself, nothing works right for you and you are ready to burst into tears for no reason, type of day. I have been sitting in front of my computer for the last few hours. I have read every possible interesting news site that you have heard of, already read bunch of blogs and went back and forth from Anarestan to my own training blog. Of course that was not my plan for the day at all. I was going to swim this morning and then have coffee with a dear friend. I cancelled both plans and instead I am sitting here feeling sorry for myself. Problem is when you have a family and tons of obligations; there usually is no time to get depressed. But then there are days like this, that for no good reason you just feel horrible, sad, depressed and extremely fat. Don’t you wish you could erase these days out of the calendar? Thank God I am getting closer to menopause.
I am finally losing some weight :o) which is a great thing especially after I decided that I don't care anymore. Mean while I was busy training and also competing. I did a 10k run on March 7th with time of 57:10 which wasn't that bad considering that I had to stop running for couple of months. Then on March 16th I did a Sprint duathlon (7.5k-30k-5k) which I placed first in my age category. My time overall wasn't that great, but I was glad that I did it. This time both of my kids participated (shorter distance of course) and ended up getting medals also.
I listened to the nutritionist's advice and took a month off (eating more and exercising less). During this month I increased my Calorie intake to 2000-2200 a day and I decreased my cardio to 4 hrs a week only. The good news is that I have not gained any weight. Bad news is, my fitness level has dropped a lot. I have to admit that the first two weeks were the worst. I was truly depressed and my body was in pain, but I am feeling better now. Anyhow, after a month of thinking I have finally decided that I can't live like this. I love working out and that is my way of staying happy. I am going to start training again and I am going to accept my new size and weight. I might not be able to drop the 15 lbs that I had gained, but at least I will enjoy my life again. So, just wanted to let you know that I am back.
Swim is always the first event. The water was nice and warm with no strong current. The swim was a 750m into the bay and then a u turn back to the shore. Right after that you run to the transition area where you change to your bike shoes and prepare for your ride. I was pretty slow in the transition since I had to get all the sand off of my feet (call me spoiled, but I can't do it with sand on my feet). Mean while few of the girls that I had passed during the swim caught up with me while I was taking my sweet time with sock and shoes. During my bike i was able to catch few of them. Right after you dismount from your bike, you need to change shoes and start your run. That is the hardest part of the triathlon since your legs don't want to change their rhythm from cycling to running. It usually take few good minutes to find your pace. My run was pretty easy and I felt really strong. A power gel and a bottle of Gaterade always help also. I finished red cheeks but with a big smile on my face
. The last thing I expected was a medal, but I sure got one.
I placed 5th in the overall female group. That was a great surprise since I was competing against really young, fit and strong girls. I am still waiting for the result to get posted on line so I can see my time compare to theirs. I will post the result and some pictures soon.