Really?? It's only Tuesday???

Day 3 of Bootcamp and all I have to say is OW!!! Was a little concerned that I was going to be the only one there today (H. had to work nights), and trainer looked a little too excited at the prospect of whipping one of us into shape! Uh-oh...but some others showed up and we had a nice little group of five. I won't bore you all with the gory details, but suffice to say it was "cardio day". I shall remember from this point out that on "cardio day", DO NOT RUN THE CRESCENT HEIGHTS STAIRS AT LUNCH (for those not from Calgary, it's a staircase up the side of a rather steep hill, 167 steps bottom to top, although I don't know off hand the distance or climb, but this is what I found when I googled it: "Note: If you climb the Crescent Heights stairs 130 times you will have climbed the same level as the elevation of Everest!")...apparently I am a bit of a masochist! I did not do 130 laps (and to me, a lap is up AND down) but I did manage to push out 3, which is great, since I haven't climbed them since before Christmas, save for one time with the Saturday morning coffee ladies. But the Underwear Affair 10k is in just over a week, and I did want to beat my 10k BP. Of course, right now, I'll be happy if I can walk upright tomorrow!!!

While if feels much longer, it's also only been two days that I've been getting up early enough to get to work by 7. I do have to say I kind of like the leaving at 3:30 part but still not so fond of the waking up part. I was, by all accounts, a cat in a past life, and trust me, we felines like our sleep! But it's all part of forming a habit, good or bad. I have not missed flossing a single night since I decided to jump on the whole "flossing is good for you" train, and it's been 134 days and counting - only takes 21 to form said habit.

Gave blood tonight, after Bootcamp. Must say, I shocked a few of the nurses with how quickly I filled the pint. I've always been a fast bleed, but tonight was super quick due to the extra fluids drank during the day and the fact that my heart rate was slightly elevated from "cardio day". And I'm sure they were all watching for me to drop like a stone when I stood up, but sorry kids...no emergency for you tonight.

Eating some pasta to round out the bowl of soup and PB cookie (that's why I donate...really, really, really good Cookies by George) that I ate at the clinic. Then I think it's contacts out, jammies on and prepare for an early night.

Sunday evening deep thoughts

Here I sit, ready to return to the normalcy of work, after this week off. My lunch and breakfast are ready and waiting in the fridge, my running gear for the week is packed and ready to take in, and I just have to make my bed and turn in. After all, tomorrow starts my new shift, so I have to get up much earlier than normal. And good thing someone mentioned the hot water, or lack thereof, to me, so that I could get a plumber in tonight to look at it. Something fishy is going on, almost like someone tampered with it, but plumber dude showed me what to look for and some quick fixes I could do, in case of a next time. At least I'll have hot water to shower in tomorrow.

Must have felt the effects of the wine with C. & T. on Friday night yesterday. Granted, I got home at 2 am, into bed around3 and finally asleep well after 4, and with only a couple of hours sleep, met up with the girls for coffee at 9. Dropped H. off and came home and promptly went to bed for a nap. Tossed and turned a bit, but finally caught some z's and slept till 2. Got up, had something to eat (only a latte so far) and then somehow fell asleep on the couch again, for a few more hours. Then got up, made and ate dinner and still managed to fall asleep for an hour!! Went to bed at 11:30 and if it weren't for the heartburn at 4, probably would have slept through till 9 this morning, when I finally got out of bed!! Crazy!! Guess I'm getting old.

Today was a tad more productive...got up and managed to do 5 loads of laundry (I live in a 3 floor walk up, on the top floor and the laundry is in the basement...yay, bonus exercise points!!!), ran a load of dishes (this all before said water heater mishap) and made a nice dinner of roasted veggies tossed with an Asian dressing, brown & wild rice and teriyaki chicken. Saved some of the chicken and veggies and tossed them with more dressing and some rice noodles, celery and green onion yo round it out. That's lunch for tomorrow.

That's it for me...back to routine (that means running!) which will be a good thing.

2nd last day of stay-cation

And what have I done? Not a lot really, but that's what a vacation is for, right? Take today, for example...I had dinner and wine at a friend's house last night. Someone who I've seen out, but for whatever reasons, haven't been over to their house. In fact, it's been so long, last night was the first time I've met their 3rd child, and she's close to 2 years old!! Anyway, dinner was lovely, the children running around acting like children reminded me why I prefer cats, and then it was time to settle down and have grown-up chats. I got home at 2 am!!! I don't stay out till 2 anymore, darn it! And I was meeting the girls for coffee at 9. No problem, right? Wrong!!! By the time I flossed (120 days and counting, without missing a day!) and brushed and got settled, it was after 3...up at 3:30 to piddle, then I tossed and turned, hot and cold, more tossing and turning, cats waking up and then it's 8...wow...so this is what 2 hours of sleep feels like...

Got home from coffee - it was awesome to see C. & E. (it's been since mid-April, and we used to meet every Saturday morning) and we got in a nice 3k walk as well (really feeling quads from bootcamp on Thursday) as our usual visit. Then dropped H. off and I came home and crawled right back into bed with the cats. Got back up at 2! Much better...

Now to decide what to have for supper...I'm thinking Asian, but haven't fully decided...and then maybe what movie to watch. I need to do some laundry as well, and get stuff ready for weekday working out and bootcamp working out. As well, I need to pull and prepare a menu for the week, so I can have everything easy and portable, and lose some pounds this week. I was down 1 on Thursday, so now I need to build on that momentum.

Going to cash in my winning 649 ($10, I think) and then home to tidy up and plan dinner.

So that's where my abs went!

58 crunches in a minute will help you find them, in case you wonder where your abs have gone. I've never had a 6-pack, more like a 2-4 (Canadians will understand this...) but the ab muscles are there...who knew??? In fact, I've discovered a lot of muscles that have been contently hiding under my cozy layer of fat cells - arms, shoulders, back, chest, abs, quads and hips are all telling me off right now!! And the 2nd bootcamp class is in less than 7 hours. Good news...trainer said he was going to "amp things up today"...uh-oh...that does not bode well for me gracefully moving the next few days!! I want to run on Sunday though (Underwear is in 2 weeks), and I may walk to the zoo tomorrow. I have an annual membership, which I really need to use one day. And the walk to & from would be a good one, probably a good 5k each way. Tried to map it on mapmyrun.com but we got into an argument over the route, so I shut it down. I hate it when computers do what I'm doing and not what I want!!!

Time to think about some breakfast and what to do with my day before camp.

Stay-cation half over...

And haven't really done much! Granted, the weather since Monday has...well sucked really! But we didn't get the snow forecast, so I guess it's not all bad.
Starting to feel some of the workout from Bootcamp yesterday. Quads are a tad tight (held my squat for a full minute) and chest/shoulders & back are feeling the 18 - yes, 18 push-ups I managed to do. I have always been very weak in the upper body, so I am proud that I managed to do that many. And must return to running. The Underwear Affair is just 17 days away, and I wanted to hit a PB in the 10k. Felt the run yesterday for the fitness test, but that's mainly because I forgot to use my inhaler right before the run, and the lungs did not enjoy that at all!!
Just sitting around, watching the electrician do what he can to fix my intercom buzzer. Weirdest thing...one day it just died. I can hear people, talk to people and buzz them into the building, but I can't hear the actual buzzer to let me know someone is here. Granted, it's been a peaceful 3 weeks, but since I am the caretaker, it's probably important that people can get a hold of me! Dude's been here since 8:45 and I don't think we're any closer to the solution. He's tried replacing the unit, followed the wiring right through the building, rewired at the source and still no buzzer. I think he's getting very frustrated. At least it made me clean out my linen closet...something I've been meaning to do for months. Cross that off the list!
Had a coffee, but I need something more substantial. Time for some brekkie.

Day 1 and still alive...

That wasn't sooooo bad...although our leader says he'll be kicking things up on Thursday. I've got some body parts starting to notice that I asked them to work a little today, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow! Did not too bad on the fitness test either...not nearly as poorly as I could have (core) and was able to see where I need to concentrate (arms & upper body). So...six weeks and I WILL to see quite a few pounds and inches eliminated. Then I will decide what to do: whether to sign up for another 6 weeks or try something new again. I want to run at least 3 times a week, stairs twice a week and Latin aerobics at least once. Add bootcamp and some weights/toning at home, and there's no reason why I won't reach goal by Melissa's (end of September).

Off to enjoy supper (whole wheat bowties, red pepper, diced chicken tossed in a pesto 'cream' (evaporated milk) sauce, with a salad of sliced tomato, evoo & fresh basil) and then see what I've got on my PVR to entertain me.

Tuesday musings...

Bootcamp in just over an hour. I am excited, but I am also scared! I am looking forward to meeting my goal this year...I have been a faithful WW member for a very long time now, and would really like to go for free!! I have proven I am really good at maintaining my weight...now I need to prove I can lose it just as well. The Bootcamp will be good for shaking things up. It also means I'll be shaking things up at work, as I'll change from 8:30-5 to 7-3:30. It doesn't sound like much, but I am not a morning person. I think mornings should be banned around the globe. There is nothing wrong with starting work at noon and figuring out how to fit in a nap!! But I digress...I am changing my shift so that I can get home (I walk to/from work), change, grab the gear needed for bootcamp and get to the park before 4:30 start time. And who knows?? Maybe I'll enjoy leaving work early...

I need to go back to the Roger's store tomorrow. Bought a memory stick and port so that I can get pictures off my phone and onto my computer, but the port doesn't fit anywhere. Frustrating as I have the cutest gosling picture on there, of the baby I sort of rescued on Saturday. I say sort of, because the other ladies that stop took the baby back up to it's mama, on the top of their building which is about 7 or 8 stories up. I don't know if they called Fish & Wildlife to come and rescue the family though, or if by taking him back, we just sentenced him to death. I need to get ahold of the ladies and ask her to call me with what happened. It's all I can think about now...and I find myself going on baby patrol...checking the alley and parking areas for little baby geese.

Okay...going to get ready for Bootcamp. Wish me luck!