Personal Trainer Watching

Personal Trainer watching is similar to bird watching, but, in my opinion, a bit more entertaining. Like birds, personal trainers tend to flock in small groups of 3 or 4 in the corner of the gym. There they chit-chat and lift weights and just generally look cool.

Then comes a client and one breaks away. She commences to inflict pain upon another human being, walking casually along as the woman is doing walking lunges across the gym while holding a bar over her head. Back and forth, then to a machine, and then back to lunges. And all the while she is charging about $60.00 and hour. That is my kind of job!

Now, I have to admit, that client handled everything fine, is obviously used to working with a personal trainer, and didn't seem in too much pain. About 45 minutes later the same trainer was putting another lady through the same paces, and she was having a tough time: red in the face and struggling to hold up the bar. The P.T's grin was just that much bigger!

In between clients, the trainer returns to her corner with the rest of the flock. Most are there every morning, not only is it their job, but it is there identity. Most are women, some are young, others are thirty something with kids, they are all in great shape. I wished my arms looked so good!

Now, I wasn't just sitting around watching the flock of P.T's, but I was on the balcony doing my 9 mile long run. The balcony overlooks the weight floor, so Personal Trainer watching is a great thing to do for over an hour and a half.

The next morning as I left spin, I saw a lady in her early sixties on a row machine with her trainer. You could tell that lifting weights was a recent endeavor in her life. The personal trainer said "just one more" as she leaned over and helped with the last rep. The client was grinning ear to ear with her new accomplishment! It must be those small moments that make being a personal trainer rewarding.

October Update!

What a month! I totally blew it, didn't track my food intake regularly and my weight was about the same at the end of the month as at the beginning (up and down, kind of like a see-saw). But I did do very well on my running schedule, didn't miss a work out! I also rode my bike all the way to Troy and back on the trail. The mysterious "THEY" have been working on completing the trail for the last few years, and recently finished. It was a beautiful ride, the last 2 miles were all down hill through a beautiful wooded area just turning with Fall colors. Of course, that meant I had to go uphill heading home, but it was a gentle grade. Overall it was about a 24 mile trip and I was out for about 2 hours. I have really wanted to make that ride this year, so I was happy to have a wonderful fall day to enjoy it in.

My long run is now up to 9 miles, and I am over half way through my training program. My half marathon is 4 weeks from this weekend. I really feel that I am will be ready. This next month I am going to concentrate on my diet. I know that a better diet is crucial to improving my running, since it is the fuel my body is running off of (so to speak ;-).

On a side note, three of my kids decided to be Star Wars figures for Halloween: Darth Maul, Yoda and Princess Leia. I decided to help out and it was quite a day! I am nowhere near being a seamstress, but today I pulled out the sewing machine to make hoods, belts and Yoda ears. Then spent a couple of hours on make-up and hair. They turned out quite cool, if I may say so myself! My oldest daughter (a senior), who hasn't been trick or treating for about 6 years, had a friend come visit and also went out. They were their own kind of Super Hero's. Being the oldest, she felt that she had outgrown Halloween when she was 12, so it was good to see her go out be a kid. A cousin was also visiting and he dressed as Goliath. He is quite tall, and wore really small armor. Clever idea!

Well, I will give weekly updates through the next month as I approach the Half Marathon. Let y'all know how it's going!

Ciao for Now!
Michelle

I can't believe it's the LAST day of SEPTEMBER!

What can I say? I just haven't taken the time (again) to blog, though it has crossed my mind more than once.

September has been a good month. I completed the Palouse Sprint Triathlon. I completed both the run and the bike faster than last year. The bike by just under 2 minutes and the run by just over 3 minutes. So that was exciting! I thought I had some pictures, but they are on the other computer, so I will add then later.

I also won an online Triathlon training program at the drawing after the Triathlon. The training program is for one month, but part of the program is to set you up with a one year training schedule based upon your goals for the year. So that is cool, since it is something I would not normally splurge on by myself (it costs around $250.00 per month!). I will wait until after the half-marathon, and possibly until early next year before I use the certificate. It is good until next April, so I have a little time.

My weight also dropped to 219 lbs this month for a total of 25 lbs lost. It is coming off slowly but surely. If I would only avoid those bad foods it would come off faster! I think I am an addictive/habitual eater, so some days are good and some are bad. Weight Watchers really helps me control my food intake, but there have been a few weeks when I have eaten more than points allow for weight loss. Overall, it is really good for accountability and self-awareness.

I used the Runner's World Smartcoach to set up my training program for the Half Marathon. From the time I set it up to the race, it was 11 weeks. I am now on week 3, and overall the program seems pretty good. I do plan on making a few changes: increase my easy run pace (even I don't run that slow!), and increase my Saturday long run distances quicker. I think it is because I only have 11 weeks, but the longest run before the race is 10 miles, and I would prefer it to be 12 miles. So I will change that a bit over the weeks to reflect the increase, that will give me more confidence going into race day.

Something that I am excited about that I just realized last night, is that I am looking forward to my runs, and wishing I was running on my down days! Last night when I went to bed, I was genuinely wishing that I was running today and that was quite a revelation for me! But I decided to stick with my program. Instead I went on a bike ride down the path towards Troy. I left it until late in the day (I prefer a.m workouts) but I am really glad that I went, it was a a really good ride. It was also the first time that I went down the hill that I crashed on last month. I was a bit nervous and took the corner slowly. Though I hate being controlled by my fear, so I hope to be able to approach it a bit faster some day in the not too distance future.

I have friend who is getting ready to start the Couch to 5k training program, so that is nice to see, to be a positive influence in someone's life. I told her that there is a 5k at the end of January that we should plan on doing together. I know that, personally from experience, that if I do not have something to look forward to in the future, it is easy to let my running dissipate into nothing! Though with my new running excitement, maybe I am over that type of thing - but that cannot be left to chance!

Well, that is it for now. I will blog more regularly and let you know how my training is going.

Ciao!
Michelle

Running Goal Decided

I didn't realize it had been 10 days since my last post, I guess I have been a slacker! We got home a week ago and I came down with a summer cold. I did my run on Monday and Wednesday, was sick on Thursday and Friday so I did my last run of the week on Saturday. They all went really well, though I discovered that the track is still closed so I am running the roads. I have the Nike iPod, which is really nice because it tracks how far I run, which is really handy since I was running .25 and .50 mile increments with walking breaks.

My weight on Sunday was 228, down 2.6 pounds. So that is exciting, breaking out of the 230's! This week has been really good. I am in Week 5 in the Couch to 5k running program. This is the first week in which each of the 3 days is different. On Monday, I ran three .5 mile segments separated by walking. On Wednesday I ran two 3/4 mile segments with a walk in between, and tomorrow I run 2 miles straight. I think I am up for it!

I also went cycling on Tuesday and Thursday, 9 miles in 45 mins., so a 12 mph pace. I can tell that I am already in better shape, not just because of running further, but because the hills on my bike are not so daunting!

I feel really good about this week!

I also looked through the possible half-marathons, and have decided upon the Seattle Marathon on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 30th. I just didn't feel like I could be ready any earlier. I am really excited about completing this goal!

I feel good about finishing my current 5k program, running steady for a couple of weeks and then starting a half-marathon training program. I still have to settle on which one, but I have found a few 10 and 12 week programs, which works out well. I will be done with the 5k program on August 15th, can get comfortable running that distance for a few weeks and then start the half-marathon training program in the beginning of September.

KEEP RUNNING STRONG!

MJ

Week (or Weak?) Two!

It has been a rather hectic week. Our main vehicle blew a piston, so it needed a new engine. Considering that our second vehicle is a motorcycle and we are a family of 6, we really need a functioning car! But the cost for a new engine in a suburban, and the value of a suburban in today's market, does not compute! Thank goodness for Craig's list. It only took 2 days to sell and we were able to get a lot more than the $200 scrap value that the car dealership was willing to pay. We were also able to get a good deal on a truck with a full size cab, so we can fit the whole family (more than any car we could get, and we really do not want a mini van :-\. So we had to get all that settled, and what is a crisis at one moment, is history a week later.

I weighed myself last Sunday, and was excited to have lost 5 lbs.! My weight was 233.4. But here I am, almost at the end of a second week, and will be lucky to see any loss on the scale at all. I made the mistake of baking cookies this week (twice), and all of the kids are at Grandma's house, so there was no one here to eat them! I did take quite a few to a friend, but my weakness is in the dough! Let's be honest, I simply ate too much.

Exercise wise, I have completed Week 2 in the Couch Potato to 5K Running plan, which was run for 90 seconds, walk for 2 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. This works out to 6 reps, plus a warm up. I felt really good, still feel like I could do more, but I am sticking with the plan. I also got my bike fixed yesterday, but have not been out on a bike ride yet. With my bike out of commission for the week, I was overall less active than last week because I failed to substitute any other type of activity for my planned bike rides.

So, in a nutshell: My running was really good this week, other exercise was not good. Eating was so - so, except for my cookie fiasco. We will see tomorrow how it all weighs in!

Getting Started

To struggle, to succeed, to fail and to struggle again. Such is much in life. We all have our own weaknesses to deal with, and mine for the last 15 years has been my weight. As with most, as a teenager I could eat most anything. I was active enough that I never gained weight. Weight gain really started with my first child when I was 23, but did not become a real issue until child number two! I was about 40 lbs. overweight. By child number four, I was 30 and weighed just over 200 lbs.

That was 10 years ago. I have gone up and down since then but have never dropped under that elusive 200 mark. I have been active off and on over the last five years. I have done a few sprint triathlons, a few 5k runs, and two summers ago I did an Olympic distance triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). At the time I weighed about 215 lbs. I was a Slow, Fat Triathlete, but I did it!

There are two things that I really enjoy about triathlons and running. One is that you are competing against no one but yourself. The other is the words of encouragement that is given and received from other participants. I have especially noticed this during triathlons. While I putt along, some super athlete passes me, telling me "Good Job!" and "Keep it Up!". There is no judgment, only encouragement.

Last February I pulled a muscle that stopped all exercise. I never really got back on track (so to speak :-). During the summer I did the Couch Potato to 5k training plan and in September I did a Sprint Triathlon. It was a real struggle, I was not really prepared, but I completed it.

During that time, our business was really struggling. My reaction to stress is eating, and my weight went up to an all time high by December, 244 lbs! Our business sold at that time, but it is hard to get back doing the things that we know we should do. During this past spring I put in token efforts here and there, and at the beginning of this week, I weighed 238.4 lbs.

I have a new plan of action, that includes much of what I have done in the past (eating healthy foods and exercising), but I have also decided to record what I eat and to keep a blog. It seemed easier than a journal (something I have often thought about) and it feels like there is more accountability. After all, someone just might read it!

This week I started the Couch Potato to 5k running plan again. I get up early, walk to the track to warm up, do Week 1 of the program and then walk home to cool down. Week 1 is a 20 minute workout, 3 days a week. It is a 60 second run, then walk for 90 seconds. This is repeated for 20 minutes, or eight repetitions. I do this on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then bike on Tuesday and Thursday. On Saturday I will do a weight workout.

So far the week is going great! I am eating really well, have run twice this week and biked on Tuesday. This morning I went for a 30 min. walk because of a flat tire (not 'pump up' flat, but a 'needs patching' flat). I know that I am already down a couple of pounds, so the week is going really well!

Well, I am sure that there is a lot more that I can say, but will save it for later posts. So for now, That's All Folks!