Yup, you got it! That's my new 5K record on the treadmill at 1% incline, LOL! And on an empty stomach! Not as good as Melissa's mind-boggling 24:32 and first place finish, but still impressive to me. If I ever run a 5K at 24:32, I will personally volunteer to get tested for performance enhancing drugs! LOL.
By the way, congratulations again Melissa! I'm very impressed. You're my idol!!! =)
Anyways, back to my own 5K, LOL. I felt good afterwards and felt that I could have gone faster. But, I'm forcing myself to improve slowly to not risk injury. Actually, I KNOW I could have gone faster today but I had to slow down to a fast walk at around 23 minutes because my iPOD died on me. It was fully charged when I left for work this morning, but my iPOD has been acting up lately. Once I got it restarted, I was off running again. I think I need to do something about my iPOD. Either get the battery replaced or just get the iPOD Nano that I had my eye on. That way, I can play around with the new Nike shoes feature. ;-)
One thing that I NEED to do is to go back to running outside to see if I could still do it. It's sad to say that our secretary is putting me to shame. She's doing the Couch-to-5K training program and she's up to running 4 minutes straight now, but the other day she went out for her run at 10 pm, when the humidity was slightly lower!!! Talk about being motivated! I may be able to run straight through, but when it comes to running outside in the humidity she beats me hands down. I NEED TO GO OUTSIDE!!! I know I have to do this, but what my brain tells me needs to be translated into action.
I did get new running shoes last week. There's a specialty running shoes store that just opened down the street from my work so I was out and back to work within 30 minutes. It would have been sooner, but I got stuck inside the store because it was pouring out. Anyways, I got the New Balance 767. I ended up trying out at least 6 different pairs before I decided to get this one. Maybe I can try it out for a run this week, hopefully outside! LOL.
Fitness overall has been going well. I worked out 6 days straight last week. The only glitch was Saturday. I wanted to run then do UBWO, but I only got UBWO done because I was too LAZY!!! The UBWO was even a close call. I procrastinated until the last minute and just got done barely until I had to run out to meet my mom at the mall. Does anybody have this problem? On track during the weekdays, then weekends seem to be a struggle.
I guess you could say I still got some cardio done last Saturday with the shopping marathon with my mom, LOL! She wanted me to go with her and help her look for an outfit for my brother's wedding. She is the mother of the groom, after all. We must have gone EVERYWHERE! She fell in love with this beautiful dress from Neiman Marcus, but it costs $850 with a bolero that costs $155! Not to mention that she needs to get it altered because she's a shorty like me. Holy crap! Granted, she's the mother of the groom, but I don't know if I can justify spending that much money for something you will only wear once! She didn't buy it when we were there, but she went back yesterday, so I don't know if she got it. There were other dresses that she liked, but the Neiman Marcus one was the one she really loved. If she bought this dress, she'll be wearing something that costs more than the bride's gown itself!
I noticed that some these high-end formal dresses run on the small side. My mom usually wear a size 6 (although she was able to fit into a size 2 for INC brand clothes from Macy's) but she was fitting into size 10's yestereday. I got bored at one point and tried on this one beautiful formal dress and I'm happy to say that I can still squeeze into a size 2! Actually, that might not be a good thing. I think it's because I have no boobs! LMAO!
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Thank you all for your kind comments last week! Situations like that always hit hard, but it makes you appreciate life more and reminds you to live life to the fullest. I wish we could attend the funeral to pay our last respect, but he went back to his home country last year to spend his last years there. We did pay our respect to his family here before they left.
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Okay, enough already. I have to get back to work!
I'm still psyched about my 29:24. And it makes me think...could a (((GASP))) sub-29 minutes 5K be around the corner? Stay tuned!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
29:49
Another 5K improvement, which I set yesterday!
I know, I need to come up with new titles for my posts, but I can't think of anything right now. It's either my new 5K times or "Duh". LOL.
Speaking of 5K, our secretary asked me if I wanted to run a 5K with her around September/October. I told her that I would. She's training right now, but she's still doing run/walk intervals. She wants more time to train so she can run the whole thing. I'm kind of nervous about it. In theory, I can do it, but I don't know how it would turn out when I'm actually there. Plus, I'm uncertain on how my knees and shins would hold up. But I guess I won't find out until I actually do it. So my strategy is to keep running, but not to overdo it, improve SLOWLY, and pray! LOL. We still haven't figured out what 5K race we want to do, but there's plenty going on locally. She's really cool about it because she told me right off the bat that we do not have to run together. But by committing to run at a 5K event will help us both be accountable to a goal. I'm cool with that!
Anyways, workouts are going great! Last week, I managed to work out Saturday & Sunday. Saturday, I went to the gym by my parents and did 40 minutes MISS on the eliptical and LBWO. There were only 3 people, counting me, when I got to the gym which was nice. Sunday, I walked on my mom's rinky-dinky dreadmill for 40 minutes on an incline. So 4 days of workouts last week! Not too bad, considering I slacked off in the beginning.
Yesterday, I did the 5K/HIIT run on the treadmill & ab bootcamp. Today, I did 40 minutes MISS on the eliptical and UBWO. So off to a good start this week.
Eating hasn't been that great, but on the dot for the most part (~90%). Sunday was definitely a free day since I went to a b-day party. Tons of barbeque, and for some reason they ended up with 5 cakes! There were 2 people celebrating their b-days, but still!!!! There were also a lot of people there but 5 cakes is still too much! And you should have seen the size of some of these cakes! I limited my eating to fruits, grilled lean meats, some rice, and a piece of yummy strawberry cake. So a free day, but not an all out bingeing.
Oh, and I went to another musical this weekend! Actually, I went with my mom because my dad had some reunion with his college frat brothers going on and they already bought tickets. The musical was Disney's "AIDA" and was performed by the local summer stage group. It's basically the best of the best around the area among young artists (high school to 25 years old). My mom's goddaughter was in it. Well, I thought she only had a small part but it turned out that she had the lead, so she was Aida! The whole production was really well done, almost professional-like. And my mom's goddaughter was UNBELIEVABLE! I knew she could sing, but DAMN! And the most amazing part, she's only going to be a high school junior this coming fall! Pretty amazing for one so young! It was so cool, people were actually lined up to get her autograph! I found out that last year the summer stage group did "Les Miserables" and she played Eponine. Wish I could have seen that!
Well, that's about it for now. If I'm not too tired, I think I'm going to make some homemade protein bars tonight.
Later!
I know, I need to come up with new titles for my posts, but I can't think of anything right now. It's either my new 5K times or "Duh". LOL.
Speaking of 5K, our secretary asked me if I wanted to run a 5K with her around September/October. I told her that I would. She's training right now, but she's still doing run/walk intervals. She wants more time to train so she can run the whole thing. I'm kind of nervous about it. In theory, I can do it, but I don't know how it would turn out when I'm actually there. Plus, I'm uncertain on how my knees and shins would hold up. But I guess I won't find out until I actually do it. So my strategy is to keep running, but not to overdo it, improve SLOWLY, and pray! LOL. We still haven't figured out what 5K race we want to do, but there's plenty going on locally. She's really cool about it because she told me right off the bat that we do not have to run together. But by committing to run at a 5K event will help us both be accountable to a goal. I'm cool with that!
Anyways, workouts are going great! Last week, I managed to work out Saturday & Sunday. Saturday, I went to the gym by my parents and did 40 minutes MISS on the eliptical and LBWO. There were only 3 people, counting me, when I got to the gym which was nice. Sunday, I walked on my mom's rinky-dinky dreadmill for 40 minutes on an incline. So 4 days of workouts last week! Not too bad, considering I slacked off in the beginning.
Yesterday, I did the 5K/HIIT run on the treadmill & ab bootcamp. Today, I did 40 minutes MISS on the eliptical and UBWO. So off to a good start this week.
Eating hasn't been that great, but on the dot for the most part (~90%). Sunday was definitely a free day since I went to a b-day party. Tons of barbeque, and for some reason they ended up with 5 cakes! There were 2 people celebrating their b-days, but still!!!! There were also a lot of people there but 5 cakes is still too much! And you should have seen the size of some of these cakes! I limited my eating to fruits, grilled lean meats, some rice, and a piece of yummy strawberry cake. So a free day, but not an all out bingeing.
Oh, and I went to another musical this weekend! Actually, I went with my mom because my dad had some reunion with his college frat brothers going on and they already bought tickets. The musical was Disney's "AIDA" and was performed by the local summer stage group. It's basically the best of the best around the area among young artists (high school to 25 years old). My mom's goddaughter was in it. Well, I thought she only had a small part but it turned out that she had the lead, so she was Aida! The whole production was really well done, almost professional-like. And my mom's goddaughter was UNBELIEVABLE! I knew she could sing, but DAMN! And the most amazing part, she's only going to be a high school junior this coming fall! Pretty amazing for one so young! It was so cool, people were actually lined up to get her autograph! I found out that last year the summer stage group did "Les Miserables" and she played Eponine. Wish I could have seen that!
Well, that's about it for now. If I'm not too tired, I think I'm going to make some homemade protein bars tonight.
Later!
Friday, July 21, 2006
30:25
30:25 - That's my 5K time for today. I ran it on the treadmill at 1% incline. For the Tracker 5K challenge, I started out at 33:25, so I'm kind of happy that the new time is a 3 minutes improvement. Thank God I reached the 5K milestone when I did because I was wearing the wrong socks and I could feel the early stage of a blister developing!
I feel like I reverted with my running. I was on a roll a couple of months ago, averaging 5 miles running outside. Then, I don't know what happened! I'm struggling just to run on the treadmill! Anyways, I'm going to look at this in a positive light. It just means there's more room for progress. On a good note - shins and knees feel fine!
This week has just been one roadblock after another for getting my workout done. First, it was mom's illness, then Lion King (good thing though), then just tiredness. And work on top of everything else!
Then today, I almost didn't get my workout done. I came into work early with the intent of going to the gym first thing in the morning. Well, when I got to the office there were already 2 people in and they were talking right outside my office. Of all things, they were talking about how some people take too much personal time off, take extra long lunch breaks, etc. Well, do you think I was going to walk out there, lugging my huge gym bag, and go to the gym? I don't think so! Anyways, I was able to "sneak out" after lunch to do HIIT/5K run on the treadmill, UBWO, and abs. Finally! This week is not turning into a complete disaster after all!
I know, most of it's my fault and I'm just making excuses. I hate it when I do that! I need to focus, toughen up, and just do it!
Have a great weekend everyone!
I feel like I reverted with my running. I was on a roll a couple of months ago, averaging 5 miles running outside. Then, I don't know what happened! I'm struggling just to run on the treadmill! Anyways, I'm going to look at this in a positive light. It just means there's more room for progress. On a good note - shins and knees feel fine!
This week has just been one roadblock after another for getting my workout done. First, it was mom's illness, then Lion King (good thing though), then just tiredness. And work on top of everything else!
Then today, I almost didn't get my workout done. I came into work early with the intent of going to the gym first thing in the morning. Well, when I got to the office there were already 2 people in and they were talking right outside my office. Of all things, they were talking about how some people take too much personal time off, take extra long lunch breaks, etc. Well, do you think I was going to walk out there, lugging my huge gym bag, and go to the gym? I don't think so! Anyways, I was able to "sneak out" after lunch to do HIIT/5K run on the treadmill, UBWO, and abs. Finally! This week is not turning into a complete disaster after all!
I know, most of it's my fault and I'm just making excuses. I hate it when I do that! I need to focus, toughen up, and just do it!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Hakuna Matata...
It means no worries for the rest of your day
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata
As I mentioned in my last post, I saw The Lion King last Tuesday night! What an awesome musical! Other than the death scene where Mufasa died, it's totally kid friendly. So if you have a chance to see it, go! I'm lucky that the tour group is in Philly right now. I wanted to see it in New York but I heard it's been sold out for months. Plus, Philly is just much more convenient for me.
Unfortunately, my problem-free philosophy is extending to my diet and exercise program in a bad way. Last week, I was right on with all my workouts. This week, I only worked out last Tuesday (40 minutes MISS on the eliptical & abs). Talk about a contrast! Whenever I stay at my parents house for the weekend, my routine totally goes out of whack! I need the time to focus and plan, which is hard to do when I'm there. Plus for me, I need to start the week on a good note, otherwise it's like a domino effect for the rest of the week and I just totally sabotage myself! I need to get it together!
One good news, my mom is doing better. She's still sick, but a lot better than Monday. The ER was retarded though. They diagnosed her to have bronchitis, but they only gave her a note excusing her from work for one day. Anybody who's had bronchitits knows it takes at least a week to get over it! Since she already went beyond the date on the excuse note, she went back to work today, only to go back home around lunch time. I'm praying she wise up and take it easy for now, otherwise it could develop into pneumonia!
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Not to get political or anything, but I'm rivited by what's happening in the Middle-East right now. Well, that and this whole Christie Brinkley infidelity deal ;). Anyways, I haven't tuned into the news this much since the 2004 Presidential Election! I know, I need a life!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Busy Weekend
Hello all! I've been so busy I haven't had time to post in the last few days. Where do I start? Thursday night, I went out for dinner & went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. For those of you who haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do. Plus, there's Johnny Depp. Need I say more? The movie ended with a cliff hanger so I guess Pirates 3 is in the works.
Friday night, I ended up going to my parents house, which was unplanned. I just finished writing a comment on Jess's blog and feeling bummed that I will be missing the Bon Jovi concert when my friend emailed me and said that there are still tickets available and if I was still interested in going. Hell ya! The only thing is that he asked if he can meet me at my parents house since it's like 15 minutes away from the sports complex and he will be in the area the following day. So I quickly packed up and left work early, got home, packed a few clothes, and drove to my parents house in the rush hour/shore traffic. Tt turned out that my parents were going to a party that night for one of our friends so I went. That was great fun. There were some karaoke singing, but I just watched. I don't sing in public and everybody that sang were actually pretty good! Oh, and at the party, I got hit on...by a bunch of mothers! Apparently, they have single sons about my age ;-).
Saturday morning, I went to the gym at around 8:30 am. I ran on the tready for the Tracker 5K challenge. About 25 minutes into my running, my mom stopped by and asked if I can wait until 10:30 because she wanted to take the toning & ab classes. Who am I, a fitness nut, to refuse? So I was at the gym for 2 hours! I also did my UBWO and some leg exercises on the Smith Machine so it all worked out. Unfortunately, it was too hot in there! I don't know if the AC was broken, or the owner was just being cheap and they set the AC too low. All I know is that it was stiffling and the ceiling fans were not even turned on!
Saturday night, off I went to the Bon Jovi concert. We stopped by the diner first for some dinner before heading over to the Phillies stadium. The ticket said the show starts at 6:00, but we pulled into the parking lot at around 6:04 and Nickelback didn't come on until 6:30. Our seats were actually pretty good! We were on the 300 level, but it was the first row and towards the side so we were closer to the stage than if you were directly in front of the stage. Not as good as Jess's seats, but good enough. Nickelback was great! I like their songs, but didn't care much for the cursing in between the songs. Bon Jovi was UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!!!! It was by far the best concert I've ever been to! By the end of the concert, my hands were sore from all the clapping and my voice was horse from all the singing/shouting. Before the concert, my friend was telling me that him and his friend gets annoyed when people sing in concerts since they paid to hear the artist sing and not the audience. Well, I told him right there and then too bad! I will definitely be singing my heart out, and I did! Definitely a night to remember. Before Bon Jovi came on, I bought a "Have A Nice Day" t-shirt for $45!!!! The most expensive t-shirt I ever bought! All the t-shirts being sold there were that price. I was initially apprehensive, but now I'll wear that t-shirt proud! The only thing is I knew way ahead of time about the concert. I could have met up with Jess! Did anybody read her blog? Wow! I'm so jealous of her! She got to touch Jon!
The great night turned out wierd. We were waiting in the parking lot for the traffic to ease up when this wierd guy, who was clearly high on something, asked us to speak to his friend on the cell phone because the friend wanted to know the wierd guy's location and didnt believe him. Apparently, the wierd guy was doing balloons in the parking lot & whoever he was with left & ran off when the cops came by. So the wierd dude was stranded. He kept leaning onto our car and wouldn't leave until his friends came by, which fortunately they did. Once the guy left, we quickly left the parking lot. The drive home wasn't too bad. My parents live 15 minutes away and my friend didn't live that far away either, so we got home in no time.
Sunday was pretty quiet. We went to church, had lunch at McDonald's (I had the salad!), went food shopping, then had a bbq for dinner.
Monday morning at like 2 am, my dad woke me up to tell me that he's taking my mom to the hospital. She's been coughing for the last couple of days, which she said is not because she's sick but because of the heat. Anyways, by Sunday night she was having a hard time breathing. So off they went to the ER. They didn't get to her in like forever since the ER was packed and there was another patient there that ended up dying. Anyways, they finally checked my mom and concluded that she has bronchitis, and thankfully not pneumonia. They prescribed her some antibiotics and sent her home. She's resting now at home.
So now I'm back to work. Tonight I'm going to see The Lion King at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
The End.
Friday night, I ended up going to my parents house, which was unplanned. I just finished writing a comment on Jess's blog and feeling bummed that I will be missing the Bon Jovi concert when my friend emailed me and said that there are still tickets available and if I was still interested in going. Hell ya! The only thing is that he asked if he can meet me at my parents house since it's like 15 minutes away from the sports complex and he will be in the area the following day. So I quickly packed up and left work early, got home, packed a few clothes, and drove to my parents house in the rush hour/shore traffic. Tt turned out that my parents were going to a party that night for one of our friends so I went. That was great fun. There were some karaoke singing, but I just watched. I don't sing in public and everybody that sang were actually pretty good! Oh, and at the party, I got hit on...by a bunch of mothers! Apparently, they have single sons about my age ;-).
Saturday morning, I went to the gym at around 8:30 am. I ran on the tready for the Tracker 5K challenge. About 25 minutes into my running, my mom stopped by and asked if I can wait until 10:30 because she wanted to take the toning & ab classes. Who am I, a fitness nut, to refuse? So I was at the gym for 2 hours! I also did my UBWO and some leg exercises on the Smith Machine so it all worked out. Unfortunately, it was too hot in there! I don't know if the AC was broken, or the owner was just being cheap and they set the AC too low. All I know is that it was stiffling and the ceiling fans were not even turned on!
Saturday night, off I went to the Bon Jovi concert. We stopped by the diner first for some dinner before heading over to the Phillies stadium. The ticket said the show starts at 6:00, but we pulled into the parking lot at around 6:04 and Nickelback didn't come on until 6:30. Our seats were actually pretty good! We were on the 300 level, but it was the first row and towards the side so we were closer to the stage than if you were directly in front of the stage. Not as good as Jess's seats, but good enough. Nickelback was great! I like their songs, but didn't care much for the cursing in between the songs. Bon Jovi was UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!!!! It was by far the best concert I've ever been to! By the end of the concert, my hands were sore from all the clapping and my voice was horse from all the singing/shouting. Before the concert, my friend was telling me that him and his friend gets annoyed when people sing in concerts since they paid to hear the artist sing and not the audience. Well, I told him right there and then too bad! I will definitely be singing my heart out, and I did! Definitely a night to remember. Before Bon Jovi came on, I bought a "Have A Nice Day" t-shirt for $45!!!! The most expensive t-shirt I ever bought! All the t-shirts being sold there were that price. I was initially apprehensive, but now I'll wear that t-shirt proud! The only thing is I knew way ahead of time about the concert. I could have met up with Jess! Did anybody read her blog? Wow! I'm so jealous of her! She got to touch Jon!
The great night turned out wierd. We were waiting in the parking lot for the traffic to ease up when this wierd guy, who was clearly high on something, asked us to speak to his friend on the cell phone because the friend wanted to know the wierd guy's location and didnt believe him. Apparently, the wierd guy was doing balloons in the parking lot & whoever he was with left & ran off when the cops came by. So the wierd dude was stranded. He kept leaning onto our car and wouldn't leave until his friends came by, which fortunately they did. Once the guy left, we quickly left the parking lot. The drive home wasn't too bad. My parents live 15 minutes away and my friend didn't live that far away either, so we got home in no time.
Sunday was pretty quiet. We went to church, had lunch at McDonald's (I had the salad!), went food shopping, then had a bbq for dinner.
Monday morning at like 2 am, my dad woke me up to tell me that he's taking my mom to the hospital. She's been coughing for the last couple of days, which she said is not because she's sick but because of the heat. Anyways, by Sunday night she was having a hard time breathing. So off they went to the ER. They didn't get to her in like forever since the ER was packed and there was another patient there that ended up dying. Anyways, they finally checked my mom and concluded that she has bronchitis, and thankfully not pneumonia. They prescribed her some antibiotics and sent her home. She's resting now at home.
So now I'm back to work. Tonight I'm going to see The Lion King at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
The End.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
On a roll!
Miracles of miracles! I actually made it to the 6:15 am spinning class! Boy, did it kick my butt! I haven't done spinning in a while and I felt it! And I haven't gotten up this early to go to the gym in like FOREVER! I have to admit though, I think it was harder getting out of bad and heading to the gym that early than actually doing the workout. So for today, cardio HIIT & abs - BIG FAT CHECK!!! Yay me!!!
Well, the super early wake-up is finally getting to me. So I'm off to bed! Sweet dreams!
Well, the super early wake-up is finally getting to me. So I'm off to bed! Sweet dreams!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Gym Jerk
Well, I'm still kicking butt with my workouts! This morning, I was able to wake up early enough to go to the gym and do cardio & UBWO. Cardio was a 30 minutes MISS on the eliptical. I wanted to do 40 minutes at least, but I didn't wake up that early enough and I still had to do UBWO. Unfortunately, I was only able to do back, chest, biceps, and some triceps this morning. This is where the gym jerk comes in.
I was in the middle of doing UBWO. Since I was short in time, I did my lifting mostly with the machines. I did back, chest, bi, and only 2 sets of tris because got fed up and left. Throughout my UBWO, this short Asian dude was jumping from one weight equipment to another. Before I go on, I first want to get it out of the way that I'm not being racist when I refer to this dude. I'm a short and Asian myself, only female. Anyways, this guy was jumping from one equipment to another. Nothing wrong with that, but he basically took ownership of multiple equipment at the same time. For example, we have one cable machine with 2 stations. He left his towel there to save it for himself. At the same time, he had heavy plates on the platform of the assisted pull-up machine so it's weighted down. But while he had these equipment saved for himself, he would either be doing some exercises with dumbells on one of the benches or working out in the ab machine. What annoyed me was that I was looking forward to using the cable machine for my tris. I know, I know. I could have done other things. But I was getting really really annoyed just watching this dude! And it's not like the gym was empty, there were other people working out there! He was either being really inconsiderate or just plain dumb! In retrospect I think this was building up over time because even before today this guy has been getting on my nerves! There were multiple times where we would be working out next to each other on the benches and he would lift using heavy dumbells (too heavy in my opinion because his form sucks!) and he would just slam the dumbells on the floor! Many times it would startle me and I sometimes got worried in case he hit me by accident. Sorry, I just had to vent. I'm not PMSing or anything, and I don't even know the guy! But for some reason, he just got on my nerves BIG TIME today! Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Who knows!
Anyhoo, I was still able to complete my UBWO by doing tris & shoulders at home after work. All was not lost!
Work is another story. I am so stressed out! I'm doing the job of 2 people (currently covering for someone else who's on maternity leave) and everything is due at the same time. To top it all off, I somehow end up piloting this one system that we're implementing. It just happens the target completion date for one of my project falls right as this new system is being launched. Needless to say, my project is going to to be the guinea pig. OH JOY! Talk about pressure! It's kind of ironic since I have the least seniority in my group, hence the least experience, yet I'm the first to use this sytem. I can't really say I blame anyone as this was not done by design. It just happen to be my "luck" that I'm working on the project I'm in. In spite of the stress, I still love my job. I just have to get through these obstacles and I should be home free until the next hump.
As for the shin splints, thanks for the advice on the shoes! When I have time, I'll just have to swallow the expense and head over to the specialty running store for new shoes.
As for the Japanese Beetles, it's still there. I was going to apply the chemical after work, but we had some thunderstorms. It looks like it's more widespread than I thought because it actually made our local news! The advice they gave is to not use the bags as it attracts more of these critters. Basically, you have to pick them individually and drop them in a bucket full of soap water. Uh, I think I'm going to stick with chemicals. I'm getting grossed out just thinking about touching these flying creepy crawlies, even with gloves. Yuck!
That's all for today, folks! Thanks for reading!
I was in the middle of doing UBWO. Since I was short in time, I did my lifting mostly with the machines. I did back, chest, bi, and only 2 sets of tris because got fed up and left. Throughout my UBWO, this short Asian dude was jumping from one weight equipment to another. Before I go on, I first want to get it out of the way that I'm not being racist when I refer to this dude. I'm a short and Asian myself, only female. Anyways, this guy was jumping from one equipment to another. Nothing wrong with that, but he basically took ownership of multiple equipment at the same time. For example, we have one cable machine with 2 stations. He left his towel there to save it for himself. At the same time, he had heavy plates on the platform of the assisted pull-up machine so it's weighted down. But while he had these equipment saved for himself, he would either be doing some exercises with dumbells on one of the benches or working out in the ab machine. What annoyed me was that I was looking forward to using the cable machine for my tris. I know, I know. I could have done other things. But I was getting really really annoyed just watching this dude! And it's not like the gym was empty, there were other people working out there! He was either being really inconsiderate or just plain dumb! In retrospect I think this was building up over time because even before today this guy has been getting on my nerves! There were multiple times where we would be working out next to each other on the benches and he would lift using heavy dumbells (too heavy in my opinion because his form sucks!) and he would just slam the dumbells on the floor! Many times it would startle me and I sometimes got worried in case he hit me by accident. Sorry, I just had to vent. I'm not PMSing or anything, and I don't even know the guy! But for some reason, he just got on my nerves BIG TIME today! Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Who knows!
Anyhoo, I was still able to complete my UBWO by doing tris & shoulders at home after work. All was not lost!
Work is another story. I am so stressed out! I'm doing the job of 2 people (currently covering for someone else who's on maternity leave) and everything is due at the same time. To top it all off, I somehow end up piloting this one system that we're implementing. It just happens the target completion date for one of my project falls right as this new system is being launched. Needless to say, my project is going to to be the guinea pig. OH JOY! Talk about pressure! It's kind of ironic since I have the least seniority in my group, hence the least experience, yet I'm the first to use this sytem. I can't really say I blame anyone as this was not done by design. It just happen to be my "luck" that I'm working on the project I'm in. In spite of the stress, I still love my job. I just have to get through these obstacles and I should be home free until the next hump.
As for the shin splints, thanks for the advice on the shoes! When I have time, I'll just have to swallow the expense and head over to the specialty running store for new shoes.
As for the Japanese Beetles, it's still there. I was going to apply the chemical after work, but we had some thunderstorms. It looks like it's more widespread than I thought because it actually made our local news! The advice they gave is to not use the bags as it attracts more of these critters. Basically, you have to pick them individually and drop them in a bucket full of soap water. Uh, I think I'm going to stick with chemicals. I'm getting grossed out just thinking about touching these flying creepy crawlies, even with gloves. Yuck!
That's all for today, folks! Thanks for reading!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Post 104!!!
Geez! I just realized I passed the 100th post for this blog! Didn't realize I had this much to say!
This weekend was pretty quiet. Did a lot of work around the house. Did not get any gardening done though. I bought some more chemicals for my Japanese Beetle infestation, but didn't get to apply it. It was so funny at the hardware store, they actually had a sign by the front doors saying that they are out of the Japanese Beetle traps! I guess I'm not the only one having this problem!
I also went shopping again this weekend. Yes, I admit I am a shopaholic, LOL! I think it's genetic and I'm putting the blame on my mom because she is worse than me! Actually, I am still replenishing my wardrobe. Last weekend, I did a bit of cleaning and I actually collected 4 garbage bag full of clothes for disposal! Some of the clothes are just old or out-of-style, but most are just way too big on me. Part of the reason is because there was also a period of time when I was bigger that I hated shopping because I just hated the way I looked in clothes. I remember trying on clothes, looking in the mirror and almost in tears because I didn't like what I saw. Now that I'm in a better shape, I guess you could say I'm making up for lost time. For example, I just realized that I need more summer clothes. Again, when I was bigger, I wore clothes that covered me up even during the summer seasons. I wouldn't even wear sleeveless shirts and shorts because they accentuated how big my arms & thighs were. Now I am having so much fun playing dress-up that it feels almost therapeutic! As long as it's not breaking the bank, it's all good!
Anyhoo, today is also the start of the 4th week of being back into a fitness routine. I'm elated to say that I'm still going strong! This weekend was tough workout-wise though, but I got 'em done! I ended up working out on Sunday, which was supposed to be a rest day, because I kept putting off my scheduled workouts. No break for the procrastinator! Today started out great! Did my treadmill run HIIT and abs first thing in the morning and got it out of the way!
The only downside is that I need to take a break from running because of these darn shin splints! About 2 weekends ago, I did a fast walk on the treadmill which strained my shins somehow. At the speed I was going, I should have been running already, but I forced myself (for some unknown reason!) to speed walk. So since then, I can feel some soreness in my shins at the start of my runs, but it goes away after several minutes. It's not so bad, but I know I have to give it a rest or it will get worse. So this week, I have to do my cardio on either the bike or the eliptical. Hopefully, I will be able to run pain-free by Saturday.
One good thing that happened today is I got complemented at work! I went to a meeting and a friend of mine who was also there for the meeting asked me if I've lost weight again. We were office mates last year when I first started BFL so she is familiar with my new lifestyle. Anyways, I said "Not that I know of", which is true since I haven't weighed myself in like forever! She then added that I look good! I graciously thanked her for her kind comment. ;-)
This weekend was pretty quiet. Did a lot of work around the house. Did not get any gardening done though. I bought some more chemicals for my Japanese Beetle infestation, but didn't get to apply it. It was so funny at the hardware store, they actually had a sign by the front doors saying that they are out of the Japanese Beetle traps! I guess I'm not the only one having this problem!
I also went shopping again this weekend. Yes, I admit I am a shopaholic, LOL! I think it's genetic and I'm putting the blame on my mom because she is worse than me! Actually, I am still replenishing my wardrobe. Last weekend, I did a bit of cleaning and I actually collected 4 garbage bag full of clothes for disposal! Some of the clothes are just old or out-of-style, but most are just way too big on me. Part of the reason is because there was also a period of time when I was bigger that I hated shopping because I just hated the way I looked in clothes. I remember trying on clothes, looking in the mirror and almost in tears because I didn't like what I saw. Now that I'm in a better shape, I guess you could say I'm making up for lost time. For example, I just realized that I need more summer clothes. Again, when I was bigger, I wore clothes that covered me up even during the summer seasons. I wouldn't even wear sleeveless shirts and shorts because they accentuated how big my arms & thighs were. Now I am having so much fun playing dress-up that it feels almost therapeutic! As long as it's not breaking the bank, it's all good!
Anyhoo, today is also the start of the 4th week of being back into a fitness routine. I'm elated to say that I'm still going strong! This weekend was tough workout-wise though, but I got 'em done! I ended up working out on Sunday, which was supposed to be a rest day, because I kept putting off my scheduled workouts. No break for the procrastinator! Today started out great! Did my treadmill run HIIT and abs first thing in the morning and got it out of the way!
The only downside is that I need to take a break from running because of these darn shin splints! About 2 weekends ago, I did a fast walk on the treadmill which strained my shins somehow. At the speed I was going, I should have been running already, but I forced myself (for some unknown reason!) to speed walk. So since then, I can feel some soreness in my shins at the start of my runs, but it goes away after several minutes. It's not so bad, but I know I have to give it a rest or it will get worse. So this week, I have to do my cardio on either the bike or the eliptical. Hopefully, I will be able to run pain-free by Saturday.
One good thing that happened today is I got complemented at work! I went to a meeting and a friend of mine who was also there for the meeting asked me if I've lost weight again. We were office mates last year when I first started BFL so she is familiar with my new lifestyle. Anyways, I said "Not that I know of", which is true since I haven't weighed myself in like forever! She then added that I look good! I graciously thanked her for her kind comment. ;-)
Friday, July 07, 2006
Time for an update
Hey all! Hope everybody had a great 4th of July! Mine went really well. Ate a lot though, but not too bad. I indulged a little bit without going on an all out binge.
Unfortunately, the holidays did not bode too well for everybody. 4 of my co-worker's family was involved in a really serious accident on Tuesday. They were driving through the turnpike when an extremely severe thunderstorm went through. They hit a patch of water, hydroplaned, hit something and rolled over twice. Let's just say they were lucky to be alive, although they suffered some broken bones, concussion, chipped bones, compressed vertebrae, etc. I'm praying that they get through this.
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My workouts are going really well, although it's getting harder & harder to fit in my extra cardio. I'm just being lazy, especially in the morning. Hit a few bumps also. Last Tuesday morning (the 4th), I went out for a run in the park. I was doing really well, passing all the runners & walkers in the trail, when after running just over 1.5 miles, boom, cramps! I really hate TOM! Needless to say, I had to cut my run short. Luckily, I did my HIIT & UBWO the day before, just in case I couldn't get a workout done on the 4th of July.
Another bump was yesterday, which was supposed to be moderate cardio & LBWO. Did my LBWO after lunch, but couldn't get the cardio in during the morning because of laziness. I think it worked out okay in the end because my legs are still really sore from yesterday's LBWO and if I did the cardio, I probably wouldn't be able to get anything done today.
Today, again I didn't wake up early enough. I was planning on taking the spinning class at the gym during lunch time but found out that it was cancelled when I got to the gym. I ended up doing a step class instead, which does not exactly fit into my planned HIIT for today. I still got a good workout (moderate intensity), and I was happy overall since it was an advanced step class and I was still able to keep up with it after not doing it for months. Anyways, I decided to just switch HIIT tomorrow on the treadmill & also UBWO. Problem solved! It pays to have a backup plan. ;-)
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I just wanted to say, I'm so proud of my mom! Don't know if anybody recall me writing about it, but my mom suffered from multiple medical issues - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoperosis, & trigeminal neuralgia. Last year, she had a bad reaction to a trigeminal neuralgia medication, which is essentially an anticonvulsant drug, that she ended up in the ICU for a week. The one good thing that came out of it was that she lost a lot of weight. Once she got better, she started eating healthier and has recently gotten into working out. When she got sick, her doctor took her out of all her medications and he was supposed to slowly re-introduce them . Well, on her last physical, all her stats came back NORMAL! Blood pressure & cholesterol are normal on the low side. Good cholesterol level is high. Bone density is normal. She's still taking cholesterol & blood pressure medications, as well as for her TG (can't get rid of that, unfortunately), but the cholesterol & blood pressure medications are at the lowest dosage. Before, she was taking them at the highest doses possible. Even before the ICU episode, she must have made at least 4 trips to the ER for a high blood pressure flare ups. Also, since her bone density is back to normal, her doctor didn't put back the osteoperosis drug. Yay for mom!!!
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Nothing much going on this weekend. Probably just hanging out around the house & catching up on chores. One thing I need to do is get some yard work done. Because of all the rain we've been having, I really haven't had the opportunity to do any gardening. I have weeds that are growing like trees! Also, my beautiful rose bush by the deck is getting choked up on Japanese Beetles. Anybody has any suggestions on how to get rid of these little critters? It's driving me NUTS!!! I've been spraying them with chemicals but they keep coming back! I don't want to do the bags since I heard that's a big no no. One thing I can think of is putting a bat house, but I don't think that would go well with my townhouse association. LOL.
That's about it! Hope everybody have a great weekend!
Unfortunately, the holidays did not bode too well for everybody. 4 of my co-worker's family was involved in a really serious accident on Tuesday. They were driving through the turnpike when an extremely severe thunderstorm went through. They hit a patch of water, hydroplaned, hit something and rolled over twice. Let's just say they were lucky to be alive, although they suffered some broken bones, concussion, chipped bones, compressed vertebrae, etc. I'm praying that they get through this.
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My workouts are going really well, although it's getting harder & harder to fit in my extra cardio. I'm just being lazy, especially in the morning. Hit a few bumps also. Last Tuesday morning (the 4th), I went out for a run in the park. I was doing really well, passing all the runners & walkers in the trail, when after running just over 1.5 miles, boom, cramps! I really hate TOM! Needless to say, I had to cut my run short. Luckily, I did my HIIT & UBWO the day before, just in case I couldn't get a workout done on the 4th of July.
Another bump was yesterday, which was supposed to be moderate cardio & LBWO. Did my LBWO after lunch, but couldn't get the cardio in during the morning because of laziness. I think it worked out okay in the end because my legs are still really sore from yesterday's LBWO and if I did the cardio, I probably wouldn't be able to get anything done today.
Today, again I didn't wake up early enough. I was planning on taking the spinning class at the gym during lunch time but found out that it was cancelled when I got to the gym. I ended up doing a step class instead, which does not exactly fit into my planned HIIT for today. I still got a good workout (moderate intensity), and I was happy overall since it was an advanced step class and I was still able to keep up with it after not doing it for months. Anyways, I decided to just switch HIIT tomorrow on the treadmill & also UBWO. Problem solved! It pays to have a backup plan. ;-)
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I just wanted to say, I'm so proud of my mom! Don't know if anybody recall me writing about it, but my mom suffered from multiple medical issues - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoperosis, & trigeminal neuralgia. Last year, she had a bad reaction to a trigeminal neuralgia medication, which is essentially an anticonvulsant drug, that she ended up in the ICU for a week. The one good thing that came out of it was that she lost a lot of weight. Once she got better, she started eating healthier and has recently gotten into working out. When she got sick, her doctor took her out of all her medications and he was supposed to slowly re-introduce them . Well, on her last physical, all her stats came back NORMAL! Blood pressure & cholesterol are normal on the low side. Good cholesterol level is high. Bone density is normal. She's still taking cholesterol & blood pressure medications, as well as for her TG (can't get rid of that, unfortunately), but the cholesterol & blood pressure medications are at the lowest dosage. Before, she was taking them at the highest doses possible. Even before the ICU episode, she must have made at least 4 trips to the ER for a high blood pressure flare ups. Also, since her bone density is back to normal, her doctor didn't put back the osteoperosis drug. Yay for mom!!!
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Nothing much going on this weekend. Probably just hanging out around the house & catching up on chores. One thing I need to do is get some yard work done. Because of all the rain we've been having, I really haven't had the opportunity to do any gardening. I have weeds that are growing like trees! Also, my beautiful rose bush by the deck is getting choked up on Japanese Beetles. Anybody has any suggestions on how to get rid of these little critters? It's driving me NUTS!!! I've been spraying them with chemicals but they keep coming back! I don't want to do the bags since I heard that's a big no no. One thing I can think of is putting a bat house, but I don't think that would go well with my townhouse association. LOL.
That's about it! Hope everybody have a great weekend!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Long Weekend!
Yay! Long weekend, here I come! I worked from home today, and I'm off Monday & Tuesday! Yahoo!!!
Okay, today's workout was cardio HIIT. I didn't work out until between M1 and M2 because my legs were still sore from yesterday's LBWO. Thought I'd give my legs some time to warm up and move around. For cardio, I ran on the treadmill for 35+ minutes (with 20 minutes HIIT). My level 10 was a 7.9 mph this time, and I can barely stay on the treadmill! My little legs were pumping! Cardio was then followed by abs.
Eating has been okay, but I've been craving snacks all day! I have to be honest, I had minor weak moments, but not an all out binge. I have to get a handle on this, which has to start with that jar of peanuts in my pantry!
Hope everyone have a great holiday weekend! Choose your free day wisely and enjoy! Stay safe!
Okay, today's workout was cardio HIIT. I didn't work out until between M1 and M2 because my legs were still sore from yesterday's LBWO. Thought I'd give my legs some time to warm up and move around. For cardio, I ran on the treadmill for 35+ minutes (with 20 minutes HIIT). My level 10 was a 7.9 mph this time, and I can barely stay on the treadmill! My little legs were pumping! Cardio was then followed by abs.
Eating has been okay, but I've been craving snacks all day! I have to be honest, I had minor weak moments, but not an all out binge. I have to get a handle on this, which has to start with that jar of peanuts in my pantry!
Hope everyone have a great holiday weekend! Choose your free day wisely and enjoy! Stay safe!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Here comes the sun...
First of all, thank you for your thoughts & prayers! The weather has finally taken a turn for the better! We may get some thunderstorms tonight, but not bad. Looks like we can finally breathe easy again. The towns by the Susquehanna, Schuykill, & Delaware Rivers are the ones hardest hit. I think some of them got it worst this morning when the river crested. My prayers goes to those still affected.
Anyhoo, got my workouts done today. Ran/walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes first thing this morning. Most of it was running. My legs just wasn't feeling it this morning so performance was not as good as Tuesday's run. Then this afternoon, I went to the gym and did LBWO. For LBWO, I did BFL (hams, glutes, calves), hip adduction and abduction (3 sets of 12 each - 85 lbs), and walking lunges across 4X across the exercise room (2X with 10 lbs. dumbells & 2X with 12 lbs. dumbells). I then did 2 sets of knee-ups with the captain's chair. That's it for the workouts! I'm very pleased overall.
So as you can see, still going strong. Let's hope it lasts. ;)
I'm watching the Travel Channel right now. It's showing Drew Carey's show where he travels to Germany for the World Cup. I love to travel and I'm itching to go somewhere right now. I'm going to Las Vegas with my family in late September, so I have that to look forward to at least.
Gotta go and eat my last meal for the day! Vanilla whey protein powder in skim milk! Here's a tip for skim milk - get the organic ones! It tastes just like 2%, but with the same calories as the regular skim milk. It's probably healthier since it's organic. It's a little bit more pricey, but it's worth it. So much better than the sour tasting regular skim milk!
Later!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Flood Alert!!!
Just some images from local towns...
The above picture is a picture of a park by near my work.
So here's how my day started:
I woke up super early, raring to go to the gym for spinning class. As I was brushing my teeth, I could faintly hear the sump pump from my basement running an awful lot. I was puzzled since it wasn't raining outside. I then decided to turn on the news and 'lo and behold! Flood watch EVERYWHERE!!! Apparently, just an hour before, we got tons of rain! I must have been in deep sleep because I didn't even notice that it rained that hard. I know for certain that some of the roads become unpassable around here during severe storms because of a creek that's about half a mile away from me. So instead of risking it, I just went back to bed. I really didn't want to run today because I already ran Monday and yesterday.
Anyways, I decided to leave my house a little bit late for work so to give the authorities enough time to do their work. Thankfully, the affected roads were blocked. I drove by the creek and OH MY GOD! The water level was so high! This one bridge that I cross on the way to work was completely submerged. I had to take a detour further up to cross the creek. Once I got to the other side of the creek, I saw houses that were completed flooded. The road that run by it is on higher ground so cars were able to drive by but the sight of the houses right below was just hearbreaking! The traffic was horendous and I was an hour late for work.
The drive on my way back home was horrible too, and I left an hour early hoping to avoid the traffic! There are a lot of back roads, particularly those that run by the creek, that were still flooded since the creek didn't crest until 3-4 pm, so I think everybody stuck to the main roads.
Thankfully, my house stayed dry. I'm far away enough from the creek that it didn't affect me at all. Also, my side of the creek is on very high ground. As a matter of fact, the houses that are right next to the creek on my side were completely spared, except maybe for their backyards. I have to say, I am very fortunate. The most I "suffered", if you even want to call it that, is the inconvenience of being stuck in traffic. I'm still very thankful and pray for those directly affected.
Unfortunately, we're supposed to get more rain this week. However, the weather report seems to indicate that we've already seen the worse. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I've seen enough rain to last me a lifetime! Between Friday to today, we've had 7.80" of rain dumped on us! I can't wait for the weekend! This whole thing is supposed to clear up by then.
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On the fitness front, I was still able to get my cardio HIIT done today. I went to the gym after lunch and did cardio on the eliptical for 30 minutes, followed by ab workout. So that's one good thing that happened today.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Another goal met
Still going strong with the workouts! This morning, I ran on my treadmill for my moderate cardio. One of my goals, in addition running 2 miles in 20 minutes, was to run 5K (3.1 miles) in 30 minutes or less. Today, I DID IT! My exact time was 29:44!!! I'm so excited about it!
I also went to the gym a little bit after lunch and did UBWO and Smith Machine leg exercises. Workouts for the day - CHECK!!!
Eating has been clean! I was so proud of myself today! Someone from work brought in a bunch of white chocolate bars and left them in the kitchen, ready for the picking. I stayed strong and resisted, but man was it tough! What I did was avoid our kitchen altogether and went to the kitchen downstairs for water & coffee. Whew! Disaster averted!
Nothing interesting going on outside of diet & fitness. Just routine stuff. Still getting a lot of rain, but not as bad as yesterday. We actually got a little peek from the sun today! It's still there, after all ;)!!! Right now, I'm catching up on some laundry.
That's it for today! Catch you all later!
I also went to the gym a little bit after lunch and did UBWO and Smith Machine leg exercises. Workouts for the day - CHECK!!!
Eating has been clean! I was so proud of myself today! Someone from work brought in a bunch of white chocolate bars and left them in the kitchen, ready for the picking. I stayed strong and resisted, but man was it tough! What I did was avoid our kitchen altogether and went to the kitchen downstairs for water & coffee. Whew! Disaster averted!
Nothing interesting going on outside of diet & fitness. Just routine stuff. Still getting a lot of rain, but not as bad as yesterday. We actually got a little peek from the sun today! It's still there, after all ;)!!! Right now, I'm catching up on some laundry.
That's it for today! Catch you all later!
Monday, June 26, 2006
No end in sight...
Well, looks like this storm front is going to stay with us until the end of the weak. Driving home was quite an adventure. There were times were I feared my little Honda Civic was going to float away! But, I got home safely, thank God! My normal 20 minutes commute took me 45 minutes. I had to take the long way because there are places on my normal route where it becomes unpassable during torrential rains. I was praying all the way home that the cops around here were doing their jobs today and are actually blocking the unpassable roads. Looks like they were!
But it could be worse. A friend of mine from work, who lives 35 minutes south west from my house, had a horrible weekend. He lost power long enough for his basement to flood because his sump pump couldn't run. The good thing is that there were no water damage and all he has to do is to dry out his carpet. However, his skylight leaked and his gutters clogged up. He certainly wasn't a happy camper. My parents, who lives about an hour south east from me are fine. But there's a Walmart in their county where the cars in the parking lot floated away! That must have been scary!
The first thing I did when I got home was checked around the house. So far sump pump's running, basement seems to be dry, and the skylight in my family room is intact. So far so good!
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Fitness
The meals are going great! Last night, I cooked my meals for the week - EFL Golden Pancakes, EFL Sloppy Joes, Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Peas & Garlic (recipe from Muscles & Fitness Hers), and Roasted Salmon (recipe also from Muscles & Fitness Hers). I ate the Sloppy Joes for lunch and it was so good!
I also got my workout in first thing this morning. 35+ minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes of which were HIIT. I got in 2 miles in under 19 minutes (can't remember exactly what time because the display switches between time elapsed and time/mile and I was running pretty hard at that point) and my level 10 was a 7.8 mph, which is pretty good for me!
Off to a good start this week. I hope it lasts, at least until Friday. After that, who knows! It's the weekend before 4th of July and my parents are coming over and my mom wants to go to the outlet store. I'm also off from work Monday & Tuesday, so anything can happen!
Uuuggghhh!!! It's thundering again! The rain just stopped, but looks like there's more to come!!! I'm so sick of this!
But it could be worse. A friend of mine from work, who lives 35 minutes south west from my house, had a horrible weekend. He lost power long enough for his basement to flood because his sump pump couldn't run. The good thing is that there were no water damage and all he has to do is to dry out his carpet. However, his skylight leaked and his gutters clogged up. He certainly wasn't a happy camper. My parents, who lives about an hour south east from me are fine. But there's a Walmart in their county where the cars in the parking lot floated away! That must have been scary!
The first thing I did when I got home was checked around the house. So far sump pump's running, basement seems to be dry, and the skylight in my family room is intact. So far so good!
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Fitness
The meals are going great! Last night, I cooked my meals for the week - EFL Golden Pancakes, EFL Sloppy Joes, Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Peas & Garlic (recipe from Muscles & Fitness Hers), and Roasted Salmon (recipe also from Muscles & Fitness Hers). I ate the Sloppy Joes for lunch and it was so good!
I also got my workout in first thing this morning. 35+ minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes of which were HIIT. I got in 2 miles in under 19 minutes (can't remember exactly what time because the display switches between time elapsed and time/mile and I was running pretty hard at that point) and my level 10 was a 7.8 mph, which is pretty good for me!
Off to a good start this week. I hope it lasts, at least until Friday. After that, who knows! It's the weekend before 4th of July and my parents are coming over and my mom wants to go to the outlet store. I'm also off from work Monday & Tuesday, so anything can happen!
Uuuggghhh!!! It's thundering again! The rain just stopped, but looks like there's more to come!!! I'm so sick of this!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Rumble, Rumble
This weekend was a complete wash, literally!!! Just thunderstorm on & off all friggin weekend! Flood warnings everywhere! It calmed down long enough last night for me to go out and get take-out. I guess the entire eastern seaboard, from Florida to New England is suffering from the same storm front.
Okay, this week has been awesome workout-wise. I am happy to say I worked out for 6 straight days, as planned! Yaaahooo!!! It's been a while and it feels great! Here's what I did, starting from Wednesday since I already blogged about Mon. & Tues.:
Wednesday:
AM: 30 minutes cardio on the eliptical (20 minutes of HIIT, 10 minutes moderate) + Abs
The only hitch with this is I didn't do it first thing in the morning, more like right before lunch time. I woke up late and couldn't make it to the gym early enough before work!
Thursday:
AM: 30+ minutes running (moderate steady-state) on the treadmill
PM: LBWO (BFL) + Hips Adductor & Abductor + Leg Exercise on the Smith Machine
My legs still feel sore from this leg workout!!!
Friday:
AM: 30+ minutes running (20 minutes of HIIT) on the treadmill + Abs
Saturday:
AM: 35+ minutes running on the treadmill
PM (LATE): UBWO (BFL)
UBWO not getting done was a close call. I almost didn't do it because it was late by the time I got to it, but I did it!
And on the seventh day, I rested. :)
I can't say that my motivation has fully come back. To tell you the truth, the workouts sometimes feel more like a chore rather than something I enjoy. But I'm slowly getting there. I'm trying not to do too much, hence no running outside for 5 miles yet. I'm trying not to get burned out too soon. I am happy with the running this week. That's 5 days this week of running! The treadmill is helping a lot, especially the knees. It's also helping me with the speed & developing my ability to run on an incline. Maybe when the weather improves, I can start running outside again.
That's it for the week! Now I'm off to food shop. The rain has stopped momentarily. Hope it stays that way for a while. I don't particularly enjoy hauling groceries outside while it's pouring out.
Hope everybody had a great weekend!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Quick
I'm keeping this short coz it's late and I'm tired.
Workout and eating went according to plan today. Ran on the treadmill this morning for 3+ miles. Then tonight, I did UBWO. Eating has been clean.
I'm starting to feel good about the running. I'm slowly building up my mileage again, as well as speed. I'm getting the hang of running on my treadmill in terms of dealing with the boredom. Also, I'm starting to really, really love owning a treadmill. I've started to appreciate how convenient it is having one of your own. The best part is I can run on it with just shorts & sports bra without being self conscious. ;-)
So far so good!
Workout and eating went according to plan today. Ran on the treadmill this morning for 3+ miles. Then tonight, I did UBWO. Eating has been clean.
I'm starting to feel good about the running. I'm slowly building up my mileage again, as well as speed. I'm getting the hang of running on my treadmill in terms of dealing with the boredom. Also, I'm starting to really, really love owning a treadmill. I've started to appreciate how convenient it is having one of your own. The best part is I can run on it with just shorts & sports bra without being self conscious. ;-)
So far so good!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Shopping Frenzy & Cooking
What a busy weekend I had! First of all, my parents are in California visiting friends & relatives so we couldn't celebrate Father's Day this weekend. We'll do it this coming weekend once they're come back. As a result, I had the whole weekend to myself!
Saturday, I went out early for a run, showered, ate breakfast, did some housework, ate lunch, then off I went to the mall for a major shopping spree. I so needed clothes! I bought tons of summer clothes (both casual and for work), 3 pairs of fancy flip flops, 2 sandals from Nordstrom (in addition to the 2 pairs I bought the week before!), and a Maui Jim sporty sunglasses that I can wear for my runs. My bank account is hurting, but I so needed new clothes!
One thing I noticed about the trend with clothing now is the color brown. It seems like everywhere I turn, brown is prevalent. Anybody notice it?
Anyhoo, on Sunday I woke up late. After breakfast, I started cleaning my closet and ended up missing church. Ssshh, don't tell my mom, LOL! The good news is I found more clothes. I found barely worn clothes that I outgrew and that fit again! The best part is that they are still in style! After lunch, I went to Target and bought a new blender, among other things. I got rid of my old blender when I got the Magic Bullet. Unfortunately, when making a large batch of EFL Golden Pancake, The Magic Bullet just doesn't cut it. It leaks at the bottom and gets all messy. Hence, a new blender was needed. It didn't cost that much though, Thank God! I'm still keeping the Magic Bullet, since it's good for shakes.
After Target, I went food shopping, went home, and started cooking for the week. I made the EFL Taco Pasta Salad, Rachel Ray's Chicken Satay Stir-Fry with Orange Scented Jasmine Rice (modified to be more BFL friendly), and of course, the EFL Golden Pancakes. After cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and loading the dishwasher, I just crashed!
I so love having the whole weekend all to myself!
----------------------------------------------------
Off to a good start this week!
Woke up early this morning and made it to the gym. Did 30+ minutes cardio on the treadmill (20 minutes are HIIT) + Ab Bootcamp. The running was great! I didn't beat my record, but I still reached 2 miles in under 19 minutes. I'm getting consistent with this! One thing I need to do is to get new running shoes. I have a pair at home that I bought at a specialty running store. The pair I leave at the gym is something I bought somewhere because it was on sale. I noticed that it causes me to land on my feet hard and it puts too much stress on the shins and knees. Probably next month, when I get paid again ;). In the meantime, I'll just bring my good running shoes to work everytime I run on the treadmill.
Eating has been clean so far. Later, if I don't get distracted I might do some yoga.
I want to say my mojo is back, but I don't want to jinx myself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.
Hope everybody had a great Father's Day weekend!
Saturday, I went out early for a run, showered, ate breakfast, did some housework, ate lunch, then off I went to the mall for a major shopping spree. I so needed clothes! I bought tons of summer clothes (both casual and for work), 3 pairs of fancy flip flops, 2 sandals from Nordstrom (in addition to the 2 pairs I bought the week before!), and a Maui Jim sporty sunglasses that I can wear for my runs. My bank account is hurting, but I so needed new clothes!
One thing I noticed about the trend with clothing now is the color brown. It seems like everywhere I turn, brown is prevalent. Anybody notice it?
Anyhoo, on Sunday I woke up late. After breakfast, I started cleaning my closet and ended up missing church. Ssshh, don't tell my mom, LOL! The good news is I found more clothes. I found barely worn clothes that I outgrew and that fit again! The best part is that they are still in style! After lunch, I went to Target and bought a new blender, among other things. I got rid of my old blender when I got the Magic Bullet. Unfortunately, when making a large batch of EFL Golden Pancake, The Magic Bullet just doesn't cut it. It leaks at the bottom and gets all messy. Hence, a new blender was needed. It didn't cost that much though, Thank God! I'm still keeping the Magic Bullet, since it's good for shakes.
After Target, I went food shopping, went home, and started cooking for the week. I made the EFL Taco Pasta Salad, Rachel Ray's Chicken Satay Stir-Fry with Orange Scented Jasmine Rice (modified to be more BFL friendly), and of course, the EFL Golden Pancakes. After cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and loading the dishwasher, I just crashed!
I so love having the whole weekend all to myself!
----------------------------------------------------
Off to a good start this week!
Woke up early this morning and made it to the gym. Did 30+ minutes cardio on the treadmill (20 minutes are HIIT) + Ab Bootcamp. The running was great! I didn't beat my record, but I still reached 2 miles in under 19 minutes. I'm getting consistent with this! One thing I need to do is to get new running shoes. I have a pair at home that I bought at a specialty running store. The pair I leave at the gym is something I bought somewhere because it was on sale. I noticed that it causes me to land on my feet hard and it puts too much stress on the shins and knees. Probably next month, when I get paid again ;). In the meantime, I'll just bring my good running shoes to work everytime I run on the treadmill.
Eating has been clean so far. Later, if I don't get distracted I might do some yoga.
I want to say my mojo is back, but I don't want to jinx myself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.
Hope everybody had a great Father's Day weekend!
Friday, June 16, 2006
2nd Day Straight
2 days straight of working out!!! Yay! Today I did 20 minutes HIIT on the eliptical, UBWO, and abs. I ended up not doing UBWO last night as planned. I was just too tired! Ended up making some homemade protein bars instead as I am out.
Today at work was just full of temptation at work when it came to food. Went out to lunch with a friend, so that wasn't too healthy. Then at work we had brownies that one of secretaries made for this one guy who was leaving the company for Virginia. It was also another secretary's birthday so people brought in carrot cake and Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake. Yummy! Luckily, by the time I got back from lunch the brownies were gone. I ate the last piece of ice cream cake, which was soooo good! The carrot cake didn't look too good so I didn't have any. But I think just the ice cream cake alone had enough calories to last me for the whole day! So when I finally got my act together in terms of workouts, my eating suffers. LOL! Oh well! Such is life!
---------------------------------------------
So I called this heating & cooling company that I usually deal with to schedule my AC annual routine maintenance. Unfortunately, I called close to 5 pm and they close at 4 pm so I got their answering service. Here's how the conversation went...
Lady: Hello! S Heating & Cooling, how can I help you?
Me: Hi! I'd like to schedule a maintenance for my air conditioner.
Lady: I'm sorry. They close at 4 pm so this is the answering service. Would you still like to leave a message?
Me: Yes. I'd just like to schedule the routine maintenance for my air conditioner.
Lady: Wow! I'm surprised you still have air conditioning.
Me: What do you mean?
Lady: Well, you're only one of the few. Probably half the people in this country don't have air conditioning anymore.
Me: Huh? Interesting.
Lady: Can I have your name?
...and so on and so forth....
WTF?!? Did I miss something? Has the world change and I wasn't paying attention? I kept thinking about this whole conversation on the way home, while passing all these houses and taking note of their air conditioning units.
Strange!
Today at work was just full of temptation at work when it came to food. Went out to lunch with a friend, so that wasn't too healthy. Then at work we had brownies that one of secretaries made for this one guy who was leaving the company for Virginia. It was also another secretary's birthday so people brought in carrot cake and Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake. Yummy! Luckily, by the time I got back from lunch the brownies were gone. I ate the last piece of ice cream cake, which was soooo good! The carrot cake didn't look too good so I didn't have any. But I think just the ice cream cake alone had enough calories to last me for the whole day! So when I finally got my act together in terms of workouts, my eating suffers. LOL! Oh well! Such is life!
---------------------------------------------
So I called this heating & cooling company that I usually deal with to schedule my AC annual routine maintenance. Unfortunately, I called close to 5 pm and they close at 4 pm so I got their answering service. Here's how the conversation went...
Lady: Hello! S Heating & Cooling, how can I help you?
Me: Hi! I'd like to schedule a maintenance for my air conditioner.
Lady: I'm sorry. They close at 4 pm so this is the answering service. Would you still like to leave a message?
Me: Yes. I'd just like to schedule the routine maintenance for my air conditioner.
Lady: Wow! I'm surprised you still have air conditioning.
Me: What do you mean?
Lady: Well, you're only one of the few. Probably half the people in this country don't have air conditioning anymore.
Me: Huh? Interesting.
Lady: Can I have your name?
...and so on and so forth....
WTF?!? Did I miss something? Has the world change and I wasn't paying attention? I kept thinking about this whole conversation on the way home, while passing all these houses and taking note of their air conditioning units.
Strange!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Blogging Funk
Hey all! I'm in a blogging funk. Just nothing interesting going on with my life. Also, my motivation has deserted me. The last couple of weeks have been tough. I need to get back to a routine again and get serious.
I worked out today after taking a break from Sunday to yesterday. I was able to run on the treadmill this morning for about 30 minutes (20 minutes are HIIT). And yes, I ran on MY treadmill. A combination of television & iPOD did the trick of getting me distracted. And I was able to do 2 miles in less than 19 minutes so I still got it ;). After work, I ran outside for 2 miles. It wasn't bad when I got home but by the time I went outside, it got really muggy so I had to cut the run short. Tonight, I'm going to try to get an UBWO in.
The good news is that my eating has been clean. I think the lack of exercise has helped curb my appetite.
This weekend for the first time in weeks, I have absolutely NOTHING to do, which is awesome! I can use the time to go shopping and get some much needed clothes that fit, cook my meals for next week, and to plan, plan, plan.
One thing I need to do is to be more consistent with my cardio, and preferably do it first thing in the morning. I need to lose more body fat. I'm fairly lean but have no muscle definition. I want those cut arms! I'm also thinking of going back to the BFL weight lifting style in order to train my body to lift heavier. The supersets were great, but I find that I have to lift lighter in order to get all the reps in. I'm sure I'll go back to supersets again when I get bored with BFL.
That's it for today! Hope everybody's doing great!
I worked out today after taking a break from Sunday to yesterday. I was able to run on the treadmill this morning for about 30 minutes (20 minutes are HIIT). And yes, I ran on MY treadmill. A combination of television & iPOD did the trick of getting me distracted. And I was able to do 2 miles in less than 19 minutes so I still got it ;). After work, I ran outside for 2 miles. It wasn't bad when I got home but by the time I went outside, it got really muggy so I had to cut the run short. Tonight, I'm going to try to get an UBWO in.
The good news is that my eating has been clean. I think the lack of exercise has helped curb my appetite.
This weekend for the first time in weeks, I have absolutely NOTHING to do, which is awesome! I can use the time to go shopping and get some much needed clothes that fit, cook my meals for next week, and to plan, plan, plan.
One thing I need to do is to be more consistent with my cardio, and preferably do it first thing in the morning. I need to lose more body fat. I'm fairly lean but have no muscle definition. I want those cut arms! I'm also thinking of going back to the BFL weight lifting style in order to train my body to lift heavier. The supersets were great, but I find that I have to lift lighter in order to get all the reps in. I'm sure I'll go back to supersets again when I get bored with BFL.
That's it for today! Hope everybody's doing great!
Friday, June 02, 2006
Three Days of Rain
No, I'm not referring to the weather. Although, in this case, it would be very appropriate.
I'm talking about Julia Robert's play in Broadway, which I will be seeing TOMORROW. YAY! I'm so psyched!
So needless to say, no workout yesterday. I'm going to try to make it up today. Fitting 3 days of workout into 1 day is going to be a challenge. I have to do today's cardio HIIT, some modified version of yesterday's planned LBWO, and some modified version of tomorrow's UBWO. Yikes!
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I just saw that I've been tagged. Thanks Melissa! I'll try to do it after I come back from NYC.
I'm talking about Julia Robert's play in Broadway, which I will be seeing TOMORROW. YAY! I'm so psyched!
I'm praying that she'll be in the play and not her understudy. That would totally suck!
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Speaking of rain, did anybody experience some nasty thunderstorms last night? It was so bad around here! It lasted ALL NIGHT LONG! It totally derailed my workout & laundry plans last night. Thankfully, the electricity didn't go out completely. However, the lights flickered on and off all night.
So needless to say, no workout yesterday. I'm going to try to make it up today. Fitting 3 days of workout into 1 day is going to be a challenge. I have to do today's cardio HIIT, some modified version of yesterday's planned LBWO, and some modified version of tomorrow's UBWO. Yikes!
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I just saw that I've been tagged. Thanks Melissa! I'll try to do it after I come back from NYC.
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