Exercise comes where you least expect it

After my meltdown on Sunday, I called the nice people at Garmin yesterday, and all is well once again. Feel rather silly, but it turns out that Forerunner 405's can "time out" when they have been over-charged (one would think they could have mentioned this on the website). Combined with all my attempts to reset it on the weekend, and all my baby needed was to be plugged back in to charge from scratch. Worked like a charm today, although I did not get in my full 6k run. I had a breakfast of egg, ham, cheese, lettuce & tomato on an english muffin, with some baked hash browns (our deli at work doesn't have a deep fryer, so everything has to be baked or roasted - unintentionally healthy!) which sat like a lump in my gut when I was trying to run. I made it the first km, fought the urge to hurl, and walked the remainder of the way. Didn't help (but it did...my butt anyway!) that it also snowed this morning, so the icy patches on the pathways now have a nice layer of snow on them. Worked on my balance, and maintained a good walking race pace.

Got back to work, and after a lunch of Meditterrean chicken soup (orzo, chicken, tomatoes, peppers and celery in a light broth) and yogurt with peaches and blueberries, was ready to spend the rest of the afternoon playing with my various spreadsheets. However, a generator on our roof had different plans in mind, as we finally got the evacuation order after 20 minutes of sirens and "there is an emergency in the building" being blared over the loudspeakers! Down 7 flights of stairs to the street below to wait it out - After about 20 minutes watching cute fire-boys do their thing, we got the all clear to re-enter the building. However, the elevators hadn't been turned back on yet (concerns about the generator, maybe?), so nice hike UP 7 flights of stairs! I figure that was my punishment for not doing the full 6k loop at lunch! I promise...2k and 4 hills tomorrow...really...just don't make me listen to the fire alarms again!!!

Fading fast, so must get to my chores for the night, so I can go to bed in peace.

Sunday Afternoon

It's amazing how one thing can completely ruin your day! I was scheduled for a 19km run today, knowing H. had to work (and still doesn't want to run 19km with me!), so I figured I'd be running alone later. We did meet up at 9, went for coffee, and then went to the farmer's market to stock up on more fresh veggies and fruit, and where I picked up a lamb leg for a greek stew I had in mind for supper. Dropped H. off, came home, got the lamb in the slow cooker with garlic, shallots, a myriad of greek spices and evoo, changed and grabbed my Garmin, ready to hit the pathways. Hmmm...this is odd...my Garmin appears to be stuck. It says 100% charged, and that it's still 8:05 am...this can't be good. Pop onto the Garmin website for guidance, and the closest thing I could find was a way to reset said device. Okay...that's easy, I'm good at following directions...done. Except now I have a TOTALLY DEAD AND USELESS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT ON MY HANDS!!! Sigh...PO'd to the extreme, I dig out my receipt (said dead device is only 4 months old) and walked down to the shop where I got it. Which sadly brings to light yet another question...where have all the smart and helpful people gone?!?! Dude at the Running Room looks at my Garmin and says "oh, it shouldn't be doing this"...yeah, d-uh!, and then proceeds to tell me that there's nothing he can do and I'll have to deal with Garmin directly. Who's "Customer Service" lines, by the way, are only open Monday to Friday...I mean really, what idiot would be using a running training device on the weekends while they run, and could therefore experience a problem or two?!?! To further rub salt in my already open wound, dude admits he knows nothing about Garmins but the guy that is a real expert...well, he's not in right now but he was in earlier. Helpful...thank you...not quite sure what to do that piece of information...

Walked back the far loop, to hit up the grocery store for some milk and yogurt, and came home to pout. I know I could have still gone for a run, but now I didn't want to...I'm totally ticked that I am, at present, holding onto a $300 piece of crap, and that I'll most likely be training without it for the next 2-3 months, as I will probably have to mail said p.o.c. back to Kansas for repairs!! Have I mentioned that I am mad?!?

Up ever so slightly this week, but that's fine...last Thursday's dinner at the Keg cost me 55 points (and it was worth every single one of them), so I'm not complaining about a .2 gain over last weeks number. At least I know my routes and distances for the weekday runs, and I've mapped out a rough route for the 23km I'm scheduled for next week. Which I will do on Saturday, as Sunday I've volunteered to be a course marshall for the Hypothermic Half.

Lamb is done, and now to cook some Orzo and whip up a salad...I may look pasty-pale and Irish on the outside, but I am Mediterranean through and through!

Hope everyone had a great day.

It's Thursday!

Last day of training, and it went pretty good. A little cooler today, but that's okay, since I look like I swam the river regardless of whether it's +10 or -10! I was a touch slower (legs very tired) but still managed to crank out all 8 in just over an hour. Good thing I've got a really understanding boss - she knows I get my work done, and doesn't seem to mind if I take extra time at lunch with my runs. I think she also realizes that I rarely call in sick (catch the odd cold, but that's about it, knock on wood!) and that the running probably helps that.

Went to Weight Watchers and for noodles on my own tonight. H. had to work, and B. had surgery last week, so it was an order of noodles to go please. I have a very happy tummy right now! Did go up slightly this week, but found out that its pretty much even because the math last week was wrong...either way, it was a half pound gain which I can easily take. Last Thursdays dinner at the Keg was a whopping 55 points, so half a pound - no big deal!

Got an Epicure party order to unpack and deliver, then it's off to bed for me.

Till tomorrow.

Middle of the week...

I love Chinooks!! Sorry everyone else in Canada, but it was a glorious +9 when I started my run at lunch, and I think it hit as high as +13 by the end! I came to a realization today that not all things written are truth though - with the aid of my Garmin, I discovered that the 8km route noted on the maps issued by the Y and the Running Room is off. They both say the loop is Eau Claire to Crowchild, cross the river, run back to Prince's Island, cross again and finish at Eau Claire for 8km. What it really is is 7.56 km...I hate being short. So today I ran the loop, adding a further bridge on the far east end of the island, but that only got me to 7.92 - dang it!! I am a tad OCD about these things, so tomorrow I will just run out the end...meaning once I get to my normal spot, I'll just have to run out that 440 meters till the Garmin says 8. I hate being off...however, adding the 300+ meters today only added about a minute onto my time, and I actually passed people...who were running! That hasn't happened in a long time.

Dinner was fast and simple tonight, as I was heading over to help H. decorate her new place (don't let me in your home with a drill - it wasn't pretty!), so I cooked up some chicken shitake tortillini (fresh made at the farmer's market), and made a sauce of light cream cheese melted with some 1% milk, and the new Garlic potato topper from Epicure. It was quite perfect. Did just realize as I was typing this that I should up the veggie intake, so I'll munch on some carrots while I get ready for bed.

Till tomorrow, remember...left, right, repeat.

Just another day...

After not moving from my desk all day yesterday (day 1 of month end...ask an accountant - they'll explain it), I came home and sludged out on the couch. Ate the rest of the baked beans from Sunday - added another tin of diced tomatoes for more veggies, and to round out the meal.

Today went better - packed oatmeal for breakfast (1/2 c oatmeal, 1 c 1% milk, 1/8 c craisons, 1 tbsp almond slices), which powered me through a great 6k run. Not my fastest, but not my slowest, and I even managed one of the six under 7 minutes. It was nice out, as a Chinook blew in, and it's supposed to be even nicer tomorrow. Bring on the 8k!

Got home, and decided after a quick snack of rye crisps and some Imperial cheese spread that I needed to get the hallways of my building clean (I am also Schneider of my building - One Day at a Time reference), so I went out and vacuumed the three hallways, all the stairs (3.5 flights x 2) and the laundry room. Then I washed all the stairs and the two entry ways. Hauled some garbage, and then decided that now I was hungry. Trouble is it's past 9! So decided on a frittata - made with 2 Omega-3 eggs and 2 egg whites, some green pepper, onion and black beans, Epicure Selections Taco seasoning (nothing fake in it!) and topped it with some shredded cheese. A minute or two in the toaster oven, and ate half of it with some salsa and low fat sour cream. Just enough to get me through the night, and now I have lunch ready for tomorrow. It's 10:47 and I am going to bed!

Till tomorrow then...

Month in Review

I am blatantly stealing this from my friend, H-woman, as I like the recap idea.

January in review:
Start Weight: 221.6
End Weight: 214.4
total lost: 7.2 (best start to a year I've had in a long time - now the key is to not get lazy and "find" it all in February!)

Exercise: I've focused on the running/walking with the Marathon approaching in May, but here's the total klicks:
21 out of 31 days walking or running
108.5 km running
34.8 km walking (which does not include my daily commute to/from work)

I want to incorporate some toning/weights/pilates type stuff, so that is my goal for February. To inspire myself, it's time to take some measurements.
bust: 43"
waist: 41.5"
hips: 44.25"
right thigh: 28"
right calf: 16.25"
right upper arm: 13.25"

Yikes...I'm a rectangle!

Sunday Run

Even though I would have loved staying in bed today, and enjoy a true lazy Sunday, the training beckoned...so after crawling out a little later than normal, and puttering around eating breakfast (whole grain toast, PB, mashed banana, yogurt, oatmeal, a peach and some low fat latte), I finally made it to the path system at 11. The goal today - 16km, in better time/shape than last week. Day started cool (-10) but had no wind, and by the time I passed the CBC building on Memorial Dr, it was already up to -2. Paths were clean and dry, except for the odd patch of ice from yesterday's melt, which was good. My left foot did cause some initial grief but after the 1st km, it fell into line - could be that dang 'traveling tendonitis (sp??)' my doctor keeps referring to. Anyway, managed to crank out all 16, sticking to a fairly consistent 10:1 schedule (missed the beep of the watch a couple of times but got back into the run right away). Amazing how the weather changes everyone's mood as well, as everyone out there today was friendly and smiling and waving and saying good morning... Finished the full loop (Eau Claire to the tip of Shouldice Park and back) in 2:20, which is 11 minutes faster than last week. Yay! And I feel much better this week as well.

Even though I look like I had been dragged through a wringer, I decided to do the Farmer's market and grocery store visits right after the run, as my couch beckons me even as I type this! So I now have a fridge full of fresh veggies, a very lean pork leg burbling away in a home-made BBQ sauce in the crockpot, fixings for baked beans as a side for dinner, and even a treat for me - fresh home-made pita with artichoke spinach dip. I also had some left over pasta from last night, so just added some kalamata olives, feta and dressing, and now it's a Greek pasta salad for my late lunch.

Happy Sunday, everyone...hope everyone's week went well, and we're all looking forward to the ground hog's appearance tomorrow...but I forget...do we want him to see his shadow?!