An Update on Me - Workin' Out

I realized that I really haven't been posting what's been going on in my life lately. I thought I'd fill you in.

I've been really bad about working out. Since a few weeks before my Grandma's funeral (her DOD was 1/29/09) until last week, I think I worked out less than 5 times. Bad Mandi. In that time we had the funeral in Chicago, flew to Puerto Rico and went on a cruise to the Caribbean, and I've fully submersed myself in my new role at the bank (more about that shortly). About 2 weeks ago, however, I decided to do a Body Combat aerobics class at the Y. I was 30 seconds into the dance-punch weirdness when I realized that it was Thursday. DRPH! THURSDAYS are when I could be at my real Kung Fu class learning real Kung Fu from one of the best in the world. (Really.) I could've kicked myself. Literally. Then and there I vowed that the next Thursday I would go to Kung Fu. I'm SO glad I did. I had a great work out and felt like I had never left (it had been over a year.) That moment in the Y's Studio B started a snowball effect of great reinforcements to get back into it. Getting back to Kung Fu to start, then my friend Susan sent out an open invitation to join her in a Memorial Day 5K, and of course, reading about Alix's amazing journey. Reading Alix's account of her weight loss has really hit home. You see, she and I are the same size. Well, I should say we were the same size. She's now a beautiful size 12. (You Go Girl!) She's lost 40 pounds and looks great. I'm ready to be a loser too!
So... I've been back to Kung Fu 3 times and yesterday we printed out a 13 week triathlon training program. Last night we went to the gym to run and swim, but due to the lightening storm the pool was closed. (it's an indoor pool - go fig.) So we ran and did then a resistance training program Barry found. We ended up spending 2 hours at the gym. It was a great "date" and I really enjoyed the working and spending time with my husband. Memorial Day is 6 weeks away and I'm confident that I will be able to run my 2nd official 5K that day.
Tomorrow we will do a spin class for our "bike" day and then do the same weight training. Woohoo!

OK, my work out update ended up being must longer than i anticipated. I'll try and write about more "Updates About Me" tomorrow. :)

Butternut Squash and Macaroni Goodness

I'm renaming it.

This is what I made for dinner tonight:

Butternut Squash and Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped sage
¾ pound dried elbow macaroni
½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9- x 13-inch casserole dish; set aside. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add squash, coconut milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in sage and simmer 1 minute more. (This part can be made ahead, up to 1 day in advance.)
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender but still firm, about 8 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer squash mixture to bowl with macaroni. Add walnuts, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer to prepared dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until just golden brown and hot throughout, about 30 minutes.

It needs more salt than you think, but it is delicious! AND it's only 430 calories for a hearty serving (it serves 8). Did you notice it was *gasp!* vegan? Go me and my healthy eating (just ignore the burger stain on my sweater from lunch).

Also, lately I've been on a fruit kick. All my snacks have been fruit related recently(yes, chocolate counts). I'm assuming that this, paired with my new active lifestyle allowed me to take my size 16 pants and put them away. They have gotten to the point where i just look frumpy in them. Last week I had to shop for some new pants. I was getting sick of washing the 3-4 pair I own and thought I'd "splurge" with a $12.74 clearance pair of slacks from Belk. I grabbed a few 14's, knowing that I had to have gotten a little slimmer, but not really noticing it in my current wardrobe. I tried them on and they were too big. Wha-what! Oh yeah! I bought me a size 12!! It felt so good. (Que: "How good was it?") It was soo good, I rewarded myself with a nice top to go with them! WOOT!

Night Rider

If you're already a consistent member of a gym, new years sucks. The gym we go to (Brooks YMCA) is an awesome gym in the heart of the Southside, which is a hub of large companies that employ probably 1/2 the people in 3 counties. Needless to say, it's a busy area anyway. Everyone has the same crazy idea that they'll burn more calories in January. You should not have to wait in line to workout. This brings me to last Wednesday. A fresh batch of gym members clogging my idea of a pleasant workout gave Barry the idea that it would be best to just go biking outside instead. After about 30-45 minutes of debating where we should go cycling during rush hour, coupled with my hot desire NOT to workout, Barry dragged me out of the house and we decided just to go to the Rail Trail. Well, debating is not the best word. It was more like arguing, griping, and a lot of bitching on my part -I was not being a team player. But off we went anyway.

By the time we got out there it was completely dark. There were 3 cars in the parking lot, including ours, and 2 were on their way out. We got set up and turned our lights on and off we went for a 10 mile ride.

As soon as I felt the wind in my face I felt better. I don't know what it was about being out there at night, but I was in my own world. If it extended past my headlight, it didn't exist. Just me, my bike, 10 feet of pavement, and the wind in my face.

I'm glad the Resoluters spoiled my mood. It gave me an experience than i ever would've had at the gym.

48 Minutes and Counting

Until we close and get to have a drink!!!

Luckily not many people do their banking on Christmas Eve, because I was finally able to catch up on everything. I have been working 10 hour days all week, and worked 11 last friday. I'm exausted!

Ever since we did our mock tri, I haven't been as enthusiastic about working out, and that's not good. I guess now that i know i can do it, I don't feel i have to be as diligent? It's horrible, I know. (Angelle, you can stop shaking your head now.) On Thursday I went to the Jag's game, so I count the climbing up and down the ramps of the stadium to get my beer working out. Saturday we ran and swam, and Sunday I was a lazy biotch and didn't even get out of my jammies. Yesterday we ran and swam and I had a really good run. I'm actually starting to like it. Now while doing it, but immediately after. I mean, I actually thing of running fondly, it's quite a strange feeling for me.

Our internet is acting up at home again... we tried to install a wireless router - that was a mistake. now we have nuthin'.

Ok, this is now labeled the most boring post. Ever.

Laziness?

I hope not. But I haven't worked out since our mock-tri. Sunday is understandable - I need a day to rest. Monday we talked each other out of it because Barry was going to swim early this morning at a 7:30am class. I said that i would run before i went over to mom and dad's for our Tuesday dinner.

Well, I got out of work an hour and a half late (more to come on that) so I went straight to Mom's. "i'll go after dinner". Yea, right, that didn't happen. So here i am, day 3 of no workout. I'll definitely get back on the wagon tomorrow. It's bike and swim day.

Triathlon Already??!

Once we finally left the accident scene on Saturday we went to an off-road trail called Durbin Creek Peninsula Trail. It was a great trail and ended up being about 3.2 miles, which was perfect. After the run Barry had the bone-head idea of completing all the components of the triathlon. At first I was against it- we're only week 8 into our training and I don't want to overdue it - but he was adamant. SOOO... we got home, put the bikes on the rack and went to the Rail Trail. We biked the 13 miles (20k) of the sprint. It was hard for me - my quads were not in the mood to bike after running 5K+, but I said "QUADS! You're not the boss of me!" and pushed through. From there we went home, put the bikes up, and went to the pool for our 500yard swim. Surprisingly, my swim was actually completed with no problems. In fact, i probably could've gone more. :)

You're probably thinking, "How nice of you to be able to live so close to all these great amenities."
No. I live in Jacksonville, where everything is "20 minutes away". So from Home to Run to Home to Bike to Home to Swim, we put about 71 miles on the car just driving back and forth. :P BUT it was all worth it. Without our lengthy transitions, i did it in less than 2 hours. :) I'm happy. :) (Even though we did it backwards)

Here are my times:
RUN: 40 minutes (3.2 miles)
BIKE: 1hr 1min (13 miles)
SWIM: 10 min (500 yards)

Confession

I haven't been using my Livstrong Daily Plate. Not in like 2 or more weeks. I kinda feel bad, but at the same time, i wasn't very good at balancing my diet anyway, even when I recorded. Hm. I wonder if that's why i'm working out 5 days and only loosing a 1/2 a pound or so a week.

My First 5K!

EVER.

The first time i decide to run 3+ miles in a row in my entire life and I do it with an official timing chip attached to my shoe and everything. :)

Sunday night, after doing my best to recover from Saturday night, Barry and I fufilled our agreement to sign up for the Festival of Lights 5K with Jenn and Dave. When I woke up Sunday morning I was a wee bit nervous about it, but I rested all day, drank water and ate pasta, so i was feeling like myself by the evening.

It was great! I say this now that its over - this is what labor might feel like. During the race I remember hating it, but as soon as it was over i don't remember why. I wasn't overly winded and I recovered quite quickly. :) I had a great breathing rythym. And no matter what, I have created a Personal Record! :) Here were our official times:

Name / Total Place / Age group place / Time / Pace

Mandi / 848 / 171 out of 237 / 38.55 / 12.31 / 39.34
Jenn / 826 / 112 out of132 / 38.26 / 12.22 / 39.06
Dave /153 /17 out of 106 / 23.45 / 7.39 / 24.25
Barry / 604 / 60 out of 86 / 34.18/11.02 / 34.58

Side note: Does anyone know how to do a table on blogspot? hm.

My goals were to not stop running the whole time and to finish in under 42 minutes - and i did both!! WOOT!

Saturday Training - Updated with Pictures

My funk of not wanting to workout seeped into the weekend. Saturday's task was to bike for 53 minutes. I really enjoy biking, but for some reason we just didn't want to get off the couch. And then when I saw that Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story was on public TV - I didn't realize there was more after Avonlea**! So i decided that, to compromise, i would go to the gym to bike and watch it. Unfortunately, they didn't get the same public channel there and i missed out anyway. :( (I watched Lethal Weapon 4 instead). I did about 12 miles in the 53 minutes. :) My lazy husband stayed in bed! I'll definitely beat him if he keeps this up! :)

**Sidebar: Did you know there's another Anne movie coming out next year? Just found out! Click here for the synopsis: http://www.anneofgreengables.com/anneClassicmovies/anne4/index.php

Saturday night was my company's Christmas party. As a gift to my husband, i let him stay home! In fact, he dropped me off and picked me up so I could drink - woohoo! Well, i took full advantage and drank myself under the table. WAY too much vodka in WAY too short of time. But i had a blast and i was smokin' hot, i might add. (Pictures will be added tonight!) My boss said i looked like a model - I'll remember that one for a while. :)

Our CEO, Gil, and me


Me and our CLO


Me, Denise, Faye, & Meghan in front of the Tree


The end of the night. :) Erin, Vanessa, Janice, and Me

At the end of the night, I got a good ab workout - if you know what i mean. I slept on the bathroom floor and eventually ended up on the couch at my sister's. Barry started drinking when we got there, about midnight, and apparently ended up running around my sister's neighborhood with cape at 3 o'clock in the morning. :) I was unfortunately unconscious during this or i would have pictures.

UGH.

Ok, I'm at that point. I had a great vacation during which i didn't exercise once and i just don't feel like getting back into the swing of things. We went to the gym yesterday and i felt as though i struggled through the biking and swimming. Today is to swim for 26 minutes and i just don't want to go. Barry won't be there and I just soooo want to decorate the house and finish the laundry. Can you believe i'd rather do laundry than drive to the gym? Geez...

I'm so glad i have ya'll to account for me. "I don't feel like it" is just not a good enough excuse anymore. Thanks guys!

PS Monday the 8th is when my internet will be working - yay!! Sometime shortly after that i will upload all my pictures that have been waiting so patiently to be published on the World Wide Web for all to see. :)

Night of a Thousand Lessons

Maybe not a thousand, but it feels like it. We had to bike just 29 minutes today. Easy, right? Well, we waited for my friend Jen to come with us, and by that time it was dark. No biggie - that's why we bought lights.

Let the lessons begin:

• If you have the opportunity to bike during the day, take it.


• Before biking at night, make sure your front light is fully charged.


• Follow the "Rules of the Road"; they are there for a reason. (i.e. Don't bike on the sidewalk just because you're afraid of the road.)


• If you are prone to accidents, you will always fall on your bike right in front of the 2 scary black guys selling firewood.


• Scary Black Guys selling firewood will ask if you are OK, then rightfully laugh as you fumble getting back up. Scary Black Guys are not usually as scary as they seem.


• If you see a pot hole in the side walk (that you shouldn't bike on), you will forget to unclip and fall.


• Know your route before taking it. Know where the bike lanes are. Know the well lit roads just in case your front light goes out.


• If you are on an unfamiliar, dark road, your average speed will rise by 2-3 mile per hour.


• Sunday evenings, after dark, are not the best time to pop your Share-the-Road-Cherry.


• Cycling on the road after dark is scarier than falling out of a perfectly good airplane and your main shoot not deploying.


• Wear contacts or get laser surgery before biking on a road shared with cars. Turning your head behind you to check for clearance is moot when its all a big blur.


• Talking yourself through a situation will help get you through it.


• As soon as one bruise heals, 3 more will surface.

*sigh*

Training Update

I can't believe it's been a week since i've blogged about my training! The week was pretty typical. I haven't skipped any days. Thursday was my long swim day. It was supposed to be a 24 minute swim, but Friend Dave used to be a competitive swimmer and had a whole workout planned for me. I ended up doing about 1200 yards in about 40 minutes. I did some laps with the paddles and some with flippers. Lemme tell ya, using the flippers was AWESOME. we did sprints, and i swam twice as fast, if not faster, than Dave with the flippers on than he did without (i would do 25 yards when he did 50). And the next day, for the first time since we've started this training, I was sore. It felt good to know i had a hard workout.

Friday night was the shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. I though it'd be good to go run on the beach and watch the launch at the same time. We ended up seeing my sister by Jax Pier and just stayed w/ them while the shuttle went off and ran afterwards. The shuttle was awesome! The run, however, sucked donkey balls because i had to pee the whole time. The only reason i stopped to walk was because i was about to pee my pants and had to compose myself. It sucked. Also, I didn't quite think through running at night on jax beach. It's not the safest place in the world and it's quite dark at night. We probably won't do that again - at night anyway.

Sunday we went back to the Rail Trail. My goal was to go farther in the same amount of time. And that's what we did. We went a mile farther and did 13 miles in 58 minutes. Thirteen miles is the length of the sprint, so now we just need to cut our time down. I really enjoy cycling and I look forward to going for longer rides. :)

Over the weekend I found something... Two tickets to the GUN SHOW! HA! We've been training now for 5 full weeks (this week is the 6th) and I haven't really been paying attention to my muscle changes. I keep watching my belly wishing it would go down (it hasn't - i've only lost 5 pounds). I felt my biceps and was like WOAH! All that swimming is starting to show - no more flabby arms! And my quads are like rocks. They always say "you'll start to see changes in 6 weeks" when you see those infomercials... I guess they're not all blowing smoke. :)

This week is our recovery week. I'm glad - I think i need a break. Last night's workout felt so short, but it was nice to be home in time for Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. :)

A Not-So-Little Thing

With the news of Uncle Howie, and Uncle David just a few months ago - both of heart attacks - and with Barry's Dad's heart issues (he had a quintuple bypass 5 years ago), I am soooo greatful to be doing this triathlon with Barry. His family is just crawling with cholesterol and bad hearts. I hope that with this new sport we can stick with it and keep Barry's heart young. I don't want to be a widow before 65.

Hammerheads & Last Night's Workout

We got to the gym last night shortly after 7:00pm. There's a Triathlon club in Jax call the Hammerheads. They happened to be meeting at our gym, so we decided to go and check it out. There were about 35 people there, and there's about 400 people in the club! Check out the website for all the stuff they do. Membership is pretty cheap ($65/year per couple) and you get discounts and other fun stuff. I think i'll wait a little longer before we decide though.

After the meeting ended, barry and I headed upstairs to the bikes. They've got this cool program called Expresso that simulates different routes. As you go up hill, the pedals get tighter. You can change gears to help you also and the handlebars move so you actually have to travel through the road and beat your pacer. There are other programs where you have to catch dragons and you can ride through space. It's so cool! (We did the "Bent Spoke" route) So we did that and then went to the pool. I decided that for the 18 minutes, i was just going to swim w/o stopping and see how far i go. I was able to swim 10 minutes, back and forth. I need an abacus at the edge of the pool, because i always loose count and i couldn't tell you how far i got. I think it was 300 yards. I took a short break and went again. We probably ended up swimming for closer to 25 minutes, but i was practicing my turns and stuff.

For the competitions sake, i have a new goal: Beat Barry. I never really thought I would be able to because he has always ran faster than me, but if i could beat him in the pool and bike portion, maybe i can actually beat him! That'd be so awesome. :) Last night in the pool, barry kept saying that he has to go all out to keep up with me. YESS! I love having something that im better at than he is. He was making the excuse that his shorts were too baggy and dragging him down. Typical man, making excuses. :)

This Weekend

We're flying to Oklahoma City tonight for the funeral tomorrow morning, then returning Sunday. We won't make it to the pool today, which sucks because it's the first day of training we'll miss. Tomorrow is a long run (22 minutes). I hope i can find time to go running - i did pack a sports bra - hopefully that will help motivate me to hit the pavement tomorrow. Saturday is our off day, and we're back in Jax by 2:00 on sunday, so we'll try and get the bikes out Sunday afternoon.

Inspiration

As we were running on Sunday, there was a guy on a stairmaster w/ a hiking pack and hiking shoes on, just trekin' away. We had a chance to talk to him after our workout as we stretched. He was in his late 60's. Sometime ago, after watching the majority of his family die between the ages of 45-55, he decided that he will not be added to the list. At age 55, he exercised for the first time in his life. 10 or so years later, he has climbed Mt. Denali (McKinley), The Grand Tetons, Kilimanjaro, and most impressive of all: Everest. 3 times. (not sumit, but as high as possible w/o oxygen - still at 21,500 ft). He didn't look much older than 60, but we asumed he was in his late 60s because of all he has completed.

If he can start at age 55, I can start at age 28.

I think this triathlon is just the beginning.

The Latest - Weekend Training

Since we stuck it out, we were able to have a great day off on saturday. I'm wondering if they do more harm than good because it seems that on my off days i eat pretty badly. (see below post). It was nice to relax on saturday.


Sunday's task was to run 20 minutes. It took me FOREVER to get barry up and ready to go. I was minutes away from going w/o him when he finally got ready. I walked to warm up for 3 minutes and then set a 4.3mph pace. Unfortunately, i got a stitch in my side and had to walk it off for about a minute, but as soon as it was done i got right back to 'running'. My average was less than 4mph. I must improve on that. Happy side note: Anne of Green Gables was on so that time went by so quickly!
The rest of the day was spent lounging. I found PBS on TV and finished the Anne movies. :) It was a great relaxing day.

Yesterday was Run/Swim. I switched our days around a bit so we can have our long bike day on the weekend, that way if we want to do more trails we can. So, w/ the run, I kept at 4.5mph the whole time, even if it was just for 13 minutes. I'm realizing that just when i find my groove in running, i have to stop. :P I guess i have to trust in the training program though. From the run we changed and I got in the pool. I concentrated on technique that Dave taught me on thursday and i felt really good. Barry said that i was making him push harder, and that made me feel good. The time to swim was only 13 minutes, but i think i did more like 15-20. I like seeing the progress and i really enjoy the pool, so it's hard for me to get out. :)

The Tacky Cyclist and the Tale of the 37 Minute Ride

I was a Tacky Cyclist for Halloween. Imagine, if you will, a pastel pink helmet, a bright yellow/blue top, baby blue gloves, black bike shorts, "Wicked Witch" green socks w/ sparkly skull and cross bones, and pearl white cyclist shoes. That's what I wore last night.

Tonight's 'mission' was to bike 40 minutes. We left for OP (Orange Park) at about 7:30, got to the Industrial Loop (big loop, little cars), got the bikes off the rack, helmets and shoes on, and lights flashing when it starts sprinkling. No biggie. Then about 1/2 way through the loop it starts RAINING. I can't see shit because I'm always blinking and it's my first time riding in the dark, not to mention that i feel like I'm coming down w/ something (scratchy throat, etc). So we cut through the loop, get back to the car, get the bikes secured back on the rack, gloves, helmets, and shoes off. We drive 2 minutes to Barry's dad's to pick something up, get back in the car and it stops.

We go back to the loop and discuss for a few minutes whether we should attempt to try again or just take our Saturday off to cycle in the morning. We decide to give it a try. So, cycle-cycle-cycle... 35 minutes go by. And it starts sprinkling again just as I'm passing the car. I say F this. I can handle 5 more minutes. And it starts RAINING. Again. I get around the loop the last time, and cut my ride 3 minutes short. Barry says "I will not be defeated!" and does another 1/2 loop to finish up.

We finally got home and cooked dinner at 10pm.

All-in-all it wasn't so bad. It sucked, but I'm glad we stuck to the schedule and got our ride in last night.

Swimming

Last night I did 800 yards in the pool!! HOLY. Friend Dave used to be a competitive swimmer, so we did drills. 200 warm up, 6 x 25 kicks, 12x 25 arms, etc etc. I was tired, but not too bad. There's something about the water that doesn't make me feel tired unless i'm actually doing the swimming, and then i REALLY notice.

Another positive: I've been going into the hot tub after each swim and I haven't realy felt sore at all! WOOT! I'm so glad we signed up for the Y.

Training... Day 16?

I'm starting to loose count on which day it is...

Yesterday's plan was to run 12 minutes and swim for 16. I finally found my contacts, so i was able to actually keep a decent amount of time in the pool. I swam for about 550-600 yards, but i had to break alot and w/ the breaks i didn't count the time. I was probably in the pool almost 30 minutes. The running was OK. I walked for 3 minutes to warm up and tried to go straight to a 4.5mph jog. Bad idea. I blaim my boobs. Something weird was going on in the heart/chest area - it felt like irregular palpitations, but it could've just been my boobs bouncing on my chest plate. If that's the case, that's pretty funny. :) Either way, it was uncomfortable so i brought it down to 4.1 mph. I could've probably gone 30 minute at the 4.1! In fact, i wanted to because Seinfeld was on and it was pretty funny... BUT time was up and Barry was done and i had to PEEEEEE so i stopped when my time stopped.

Happy Angelle? :)

Now i'm off to the dentist, and then back to the gym! It's a 20 minutes swim day.