Avoiding those Demons of Autumn

[swe]

Good job on the constant logging. 

 

 

Snow already seems crazy. But I look forward to the winter season actually.

 

Keep up the great work you're really making sure to get everything done

[Meant2Move]

Good job on the constant logging. 

 

 

Snow already seems crazy. But I look forward to the winter season actually.

 

Keep up the great work you're really making sure to get everything done

 

Thanks!  I look forward to winter too - I just have to adjust to the reality of it. I adore snow sports, especially telemark skiing and snowshoe running. Telemark is what motivates my lunge workouts - I love a good free heel downhill run!

[Meant2Move]

134.6 and stinkin' cold this morning!  Nice weekend forecast so am hoping to get outside and play one of the days before we get to work replacing the roof on a shed. 

 

Anyway, headed to the gym without any particular plan in mind. 

 

Started off walking fast on the treadmill, but after 2 minutes felt like running so kicked up into gear. On the TM if my hands are starting to bump the front panel I know it is time to speed up. That just kept happening until I was up to 7.7 mph (a little under an 8 minute mile).  Was feeling great until the heat buildup smacked me - sheesh! Stupid not to have looked for a machine with a fan nearby.  Anyway, made myself finish off a 5k - went to 3.2 miles so a tad more than 5k. Was happy to hit that at 27 minutes - not bad (for me) considering I walked the first 2 minutes.

 

Did a couple sets of pushups in between some foam rolling.

 

Deducting a point for yesterday when I unthinkingly finished off the last 3 Dove chocolate bites in my desk drawer and a point for Wednesday when I had a taco salad - wheat tortilla. I ate some of it although most went in the trash. Should have ordered the tostada (corn tortilla) but didn't.

 

Counting as 2 contacts a tricky conversation with hubby this morning - he gets so frustrated with administrative and bureaucratic junk but I stayed calm and helped him sort out his problem and explained some techie stuff. 5 so far for the week.

 

Going into the weekend:

G1 points = 3

G2 points = -2 on food, +4 cardio = 2

G3 points = 4 for basics, +1 OHP, +1 OHP PR, + 1 squats = 7

 

12 going into the weekend

[Meant2Move]

The weekend was good!

 

Saturday 10-12-13  134.6 lbs Yard Workout with T
- Speed rope sets of 200 x 3, then started working on double unders 10, 12, 12 - got a ways to go on this skill, best was that my achilles managed a lot of jumping without getting too grumpy
- Pullups on the rings 4, 3, 2
- OHP 5x55, 3x65, 2x70
- Front Squats 5x65, 5x85, 5x90, 4x95 was new max, then..., 4x105!!!
- T2B 5,4,5,4,4,4,2,3
- Monkey Bar laps 2 (hands got tired and sore from other stuff)
- Slackline - this was the best! Haven't tried to turn around on the line all summer and after just a few attempts, I actually managed a 180 turn and kept walking!!!  Got 3 in all.
- Cartwheels and speedbag

 

Sunday 133.2 AZ Trail Loop run, 5.6 miles, 54.48 minutes. Cals 584, avg HR 159, max HR 169  Nasty strong winds for the last 2-3 miles made this really hard. Achilles was a little stiff to start from the Saturday jump rope, but eased off pretty quickly. Was more tired the rest of the day than I would like - this distance should be very noticable.

 

Finishing up scoring for last week, had 12 going into the weekend

G1 add another point for total of 4

G2 was at 2, deduct 2 for a cookie - wheat and sweet - on Friday when I got groceries, rest of the weekend was good foodwise. Add a point for the long run on Sunday so G2 is 1 (probably should not have combined these 2 items, score would be the same, but assessment would be cleaner if separate).

G3 was at 7 and had a great workout on Saturday so adding points for OHP, squats, new max on squats, T2B record, slackline turnarounds for a total of 12!

 

Week total of 17! SCORE!!!!!

[Meant2Move]

135.2  Sadly, today was a bust exercise-wise - start of a week long road trip and had to get out of town early so no time for anything. Hoped to get out and walk this evening but that didn't work out either - grrrr. I'll enjoy a desert run come morning. Worse, I am starting in the hole foodwise with 3 dings for the day. On the other hand, had lots of positive personal contacts, including helping a woman I've known for many years reconsider the path she has been on health-wise.

[Meant2Move]

What's not to love about a run that starts by hopping a fence to get to the desert beyond? Ran out on rough CA desert road next to the train tracks. After a bit decided I was really hoping all the Dean Koontz desert dwelling creepozoids were still asleep. Since once out in the desert one "can't get there from here", I had to jump over a train to get back to the hotel side of the tracks. Great run!

[SunSeeker]

Hi Meant2Move.  Sounds like you are seriously rocking your challenge.  What's going on with your Achilles?  Mine used to get extremely tight after a long hike with lots of steep uphill, but yoga has helped with that a lot.

 

Enjoy CA! 

[swe]

Sounds like you're doing good. And like have awesome places of nature to run and hike in over there! 

[Angie_Phoenix]

I like that you have a goal around personal connections. Not enough people prioritize working on those consciously. (and as an aside I'm a hiker too )

[Meant2Move]

Hey Melyssa, nice to hear from you. The Achilles is an old, longstanding problem. I have rounds of therapy on it, it gets better, it gets worse... It has been pretty good for a couple of months and I would like to keep it that way so I am being really cautious about adding speed rope back into my routines. That is really intensive work for the AT.

Thanks for stopping by Swe and Angie. Yep, if I don't focus on reaching out to people it is just too easy for me to just communicate electronically and not actually talk with anyone.

Really good run this morning, 25 minutes. Did a little body weight work in my hotel room, but was limited by trying to be kind to the room below mine. 3 sets of push-ups, 3 sets of triceps dips, squats and lunges (static lunges, not nearly as good as my usual blowout sets).

[SunSeeker]

Are you going to be doing the AT (Appalachian Trail or Arizona Trail)?  Take care of those Achilles.

 

Good for you for getting in a good workout while on the road.  How long are you going to be out in CA?

[Meant2Move]

Are you going to be doing the AT (Appalachian Trail or Arizona Trail)?  Take care of those Achilles.

 

Good for you for getting in a good workout while on the road.  How long are you going to be out in CA?

 

Ah the dangers of e-communications! When I referred to AT in my previous post, I meant that speedrope/jump rope is really intensive work on the Achilles Tendons, so I have to ease back into such efforts slowly.  I did parts of the Appalachian trail when I lived in the south - lovely of course, but honestly, I don't know that I would be all that interested in it. I love the ruggedness of western trails too much. I'd Pacific Crest in a heartbeat and many months, but not the Appalachian.  As it happens, a section of the Arizona trail is within a mile of my home, so I play on it regularly. I would be pretty interested in doing all of it and all of the Utah trail (I think it is called the Great Western Trail) as well. But I digress....

 

So actually I am mostly not in CA, that was an overnight stop over, but I'm hanging close to the CA/AZ border.  I work with AZ school districts and this week I've been visiting with my "west side" (of AZ) sites to help with some required state and federal reporting. I left Flagstaff, headed west to Kingman (old Route 66), then south to Topock/Golden Shores - you would love that, it is a wildlife estuary on the Colorado River. Spent some time in Bullhead City/Mohave Valley (slept in Needles CA and had the excellent desert run), then further south to Quartzsite/Ehrenberg.  If you and your hubby get seriously into RV'ing Melyssa and take on the wandering "Winter Visitor" (aka Snowbirds) lifestyle, it will surely bring you to AZ at some point, and one of the most incredible (in an odd way) sites is when Quartzsite is in full swing in January/February.  This little town in the desert (the school has about 150 kids K-8) explodes with over 100,000 people who come to camp in the desert, attend swap meets and rock/gem shows, and generally hang out and enjoy free camping and AZ sunshine.  

 

Anyway, after Quartzsite, I headed south to Yuma where I was yesterday and again today. I'll visit 3 last sites on my way east as I make my way back to Flagstaff today. It will be a long day, over 5 hours driving if I didn't have stops to make, and about 325 miles. Then another hour and 30 miles once I get to town to get home. Will be getting in a good run this morning to maintain sanity and energy before I go!

 

Tomorrow will be another tough day as I sit on the College of Business CIS Advisory Council and will be attending the semi-annual meeting all day. The interesting part is meeting with the college students to talk careers and interview techniques, the rest, well, it is a meeting...

[Meant2Move]

So, this morning as I was laying in my hotel bed, NOT SLEEPING (grrr) I ended up doing some reconciliation for the week. Early, but I won't be online much once I leave the hotel this morning so if not today, it will be Monday and it is good to have an idea of where I am going into the weekend as that can inform my decisions about fitness.

 

G1 - contacts - excellent week and not just because I've been traveling. I had some really good "reach out an touch someone" moments this week both by phone and in person. Max points of 4. (Mom, Tom, Kathy, Cindy, Sherri, Ed, Bob)

 

G2 - not so good - challenges of the road!  Food point deductions: 3 wheat, 2 sweets, wine across 2 days for a whopping -7.  More on my theory on this below. Cardio will be 3 after this morning's run for net of -4 points. Which leaves me sitting at 0 for the week...

 

G3 - strength gains - well, no opportunities for this. I'll give myself a point for yesterday's hotel room workout and will just have to fix this on the weekend with a really good yard workout which based on the forecast, looks very doable. 

 

So, headed into the weekend, I am at -3 for the week. FAIL!  It is part of my life to travel and the food choices that killed me were all optional and didn't need to occur.  I was in an  exchange with a fellow on another forum discussing grains and wheat in particular.  He had eliminated them from his diet, lost over 100 lbs, and resolved some long-standing problems with depression and anxiety.  We were discussing the noticable physical effects on the body (so not internal stuff like leaky gut syndrome) and he had learned that his eyesight changed. I have noticed this as well. I need my reading/computer glasses for a couple of days after a wheat indulgence whereas the rest of the time I don't unless I am doing fairly intensive reading.  Also we both agreed that after having wheat, our impulse control was lower - go to a store and beware because who knows what one might buy!  Anyway, applying that to this week, I brought 2 breakfast burritos with me on the trip for convenience in the hotel and because they are just super yummy. I knew I was taking the 2 dings and hoping for the best. Well, that just leads me down a path - later there was the cookie (sweet and wheat), the gluten free red velvet cake (sweet), and then a bottle of wine across a couple of days. I don't know if once I've fallen off the wagon I just keep rolling, or if a change in brain chemistry lowers my impulse control. Doesn't matter I suppose - I will just get back on the wagon starting today and do the best I can with "road food". I've got cheese and fruit to get to Phoenix, then I'll get some Chipotle (no tortilla!) for a mid-afternoon meal, then home. Hmm, Friday will be tough as well at the meeting - no idea what sort of food awaits me there. By the weekend, it will be smooth sailing as I will be home and in total control!

[Angie_Phoenix]

You should feel really good about G1.

 

and I wouldn't stress too much on the other two. It sounds like you made a plan for going forward and that is all you can do. 

 

I'm on work travel too and got my food at a whole food grocery store vs a restaurant. Would that be something you could do?

[Meant2Move]

Yep. I brought food with me, most of it good. I usually pick hotels with a kitchen when I can, fridge and microwave otherwise. If I'm honest with myself, I made some conscious choices knowing full well that I would likely go even further down a path that is not good for my mental state. Sometimes we give ourselves permission to be "bad".  The main reason I care is that once I go this way, I often find myself being more avoidant for the next week or so and harder to communicate with. I just have to be super aware of that, but some sanity maintenance cardio today and on the weekend will help a lot.  To that end, looks like the sun is up enough that I can get dressed and head out for that run I promised myself!

 

Thanks, Angie!

[Angie_Phoenix]

I get the conscious choice to be bad sometimes... I go there too

[Meant2Move]

Whew! Tried running a new direction from the hotel and ended up on a sand dune - sheesh, that was some hard running, but fun too. Fooled around for a bit going up and down and sideways, then made my way down to a dirt path along a canal where the sand was only an inch or 2 deep so I could actually get some decent running done.

 

Was chatting with a friend yesterday on FB about speed - encouraging her to go faster (actually told her to beat my PR's) for a few short races before she considers another marathon, so felt obligated to do a little speed work myself. Picked a very perky (180 bpm) song and went for fast feet - could really notice the bushes going by faster.

 

No real idea on distance and too lazy to try and figure it out as it doesn't really matter.  Got in a solid 30 minutes of something I loved!

 

Now, just 400 miles, 3 site visits, and a lot of hours in the car is keeping me from being where I really want to be - home with T and my demon cats.  Get out of my way, I am headed for home!

[SunSeeker]

My husband and I took our honeymoon in Arizona and were based out of Flagstaff while we traveled around to see the sites.  We had a wonderful time and have taken several vacations in Sedona.  I can almost guarantee that if we move to the RV lifestyle that Arizona would be one of the places that we visit a lot.  We lived in San Antonio, TX for quite some time and I do miss the southwest.  The openness, the landscape, the rocks.  I do like hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but have only hiked in the four southern states.  I would like to do parts in Shenandoah NP, New Hampshire and Maine, but not sure about the rest.  The long green tunnel is mile after mile of green trees.  The next trail I have on my agenda is the John Muir Trail and have just started my research.    I don't know much, really, about the Arizona Trail, but I imagine it is fabulous and wish I had something like that in my backyard.  

 

I am glad that my week in Florida for my step daughters wedding is the week between this challenge and the next, because I know there will be A LOT of deviations.  I am always impressed by people that have the self-control and self-discipline to stay focused while on the road.  

 

Hurry home to T and the demon cats and enjoy the wonderful yard workout that is in your near future.  

[Meant2Move]

The little bits I have done on the John Muir trail are amazing, Melyssa.  I am really grateful that we have mountains here (well, volcanos really, but close enough to being mountains to count!) but I love to be in areas with big granite like the Sierra and in the Utah mountains. It feels different somehow. I adore the mountains of Colorado too and would live there if I could just pick a spot without having to worry about making a living.  We lived in the south for 4 years and I felt really claustrophobic a lot of the time - as you say, the green tunnel.. I remember backpacking with friends in Northern GA - we were on a little bit of the AT and Phil kept saying "look at the view" every time the tunnel opened up. I would say "what view, I can't see anything but more trees!" - no rocks visible anywhere! Was glad to get back out west when we left AL, but we enjoyed our time there a lot - helped to know it was temporary.

 

Good yard workout today and the great deadlift experiment.  Some friends have been encouraging me to try it, but I was wary given history of nasty back injury.  Kept the weight low and focused on the movement.  

 

MB lap 1

KB 100 with 15lb bell (friend pointed out similarities in this movement to deadlift, so started with this to get the movement into muscle memory)
OHP 5x55, 4x65, 2x70 these were mixed in with front squats (1 attempt at 75 was a fail)
F Squats 5x65, 5x85, 4x95, 2x115!, 1x95 (this last one was after the deads and my legs/butt said No More!)
Deadlifts 10x45x2 as I got used to the movement 
10x65 - felt better with more weight 
10x65 - still good, getting better at remembering to lift chest as part of the "driving" action. Hips and knees are fairly natural, but on first lift of a set, I don't lift chest properly
10x75 - this weight isn't particularly challenging, still focusing on body actions and coordinating all efforts
10x75 - felt good about first attempt at this lift overall

T2B - mixed in with deadlifts: 5,4,4,4,3
MB lap 1.5 (33 rungs)
Pullups 3 on rings, then rest were on bar after DL/T2B: 2,3,2 (twanked shoulder - hopefully temporary)
Pulse lunges to finish off my legs: 8 per set/8 each leg 

Weight 136.4

[Meant2Move]

Bad math in post #38, I headed into the weekend with 1 point, not -3, but not good either.  Friday was a challenge as I didn't get to exercise and was faced with "meeting/conference" food - crap in other words.  Behaved myself admirably - no continental breakfast (wheat/sweet) treats, no juice (sweet), and at lunch had big salad with chicken, no pasta, no soft drink. of course I was starving when I went to the grocery store for the weekend, and ended up buying a GF cupcake which was not particularly yummy but I did eat so -1 point.  So, after Friday, I am at 0.

 

For today's workout I am adding 3 points for the lifts: OHP, F squats, Dead lifts,  adding a point for new front squat max, and 2 points for the general stuff T2B, pullups, lunges, KB swings

 

6 points.  If I do pushups tomorrow, I'll end the week with 7, and possibly 8 if I get in some cardio - hmm run or trampoline??? Both would be excellent. 

 

Better get some chores and housekeeping done as I want to head over to the AZ trail this afternoon and watch the lead runners in a 100 mile race come by.  Hmm, should see if my mt bike is ridable and go that way! It is a gorgeous day for a bike ride or maybe I'll just hike over there, it is only a few miles from home. 

[SunSeeker]

The little bits I have done on the John Muir trail are amazing, Melyssa.  I am really grateful that we have mountains here (well, volcanos really, but close enough to being mountains to count!) but I love to be in areas with big granite like the Sierra and in the Utah mountains. It feels different somehow. I adore the mountains of Colorado too and would live there if I could just pick a spot without having to worry about making a living.  We lived in the south for 4 years and I felt really claustrophobic a lot of the time - as you say, the green tunnel.. I remember backpacking with friends in Northern GA - we were on a little bit of the AT and Phil kept saying "look at the view" every time the tunnel opened up. I would say "what view, I can't see anything but more trees!" - no rocks visible anywhere! Was glad to get back out west when we left AL, but we enjoyed our time there a lot - helped to know it was temporary.

I have just started the exploration stages of a trip to John Muir, but I have been amazed by the pictures I've seen.  I have to admit that I'm a bit tired of hiking long miles without some sort of "reward".  Tired of hiking through long, green tunnels.  I am very excited about this new western adventure.  

 

Good luck on the last week of your first Challenge!  You are doing amazing!!

[Meant2Move]

So final tally for last week is 8 since I did a mountain bike ride (yikes - I am sooooo rusty!) Saturday afternoon and jumped on the trampoline Sunday afternoon and didn't eat anything I shouldn't (was home - there wasn't anything!)

 

Wow, is it the last week already?  I am glad I decided to give it a try as it has been helpful in making me think about what works for me and what I need to work on. 

[Meant2Move]

Monday 135.0 - my Achilles tendon was a tad grumpy because I ended up jumping down from the monkey bars on Saturday, so long drop and not so good landing. Anyway, decided on the spin bike this morning because it doesn't cause the tendon any distress and the pedalling motion works it just enough to get some fluids moving.

 

Went for 40 minutes, avg'd 24 mph and kept my cadence near 100 - plain old happy sweaty high heart rate cardio!

 

Also, 2 good reach out and make contacts so far today.

[swe]

Nice to see you're still logging everything perfectly.

 

And as usual you have workouts that seem like a lot of fun. Hope that Achilles tendon heals up quickly for you!

[Meant2Move]

Nice to see you're still logging everything perfectly.

 

And as usual you have workouts that seem like a lot of fun. Hope that Achilles tendon heals up quickly for you!

Thanks, Swe.  Yep, it is a rare day that I don't love my workout - what would be the point?? I look at it as adult playtime!

 

Hope things are good with you too.  Be kind to yourself with those calipers - they can be mean.  I do them a couple times a year but don't obsess much, same with daily weigh-ins. I do it and record it, but know that a difference on any given day is meaningless and only look at trends over a week or more likely over 10 - 14 days.