Trainers!

So, I made plans with my dear friend Mary to do a trainer ride early this morning.  And even though I hurt my back again somehow last night, I didn't want to cancel on her, so I sucked it up and rode.  She did two full hours of some intense intervals; I just rode pretty casually for an hour.  But at least I did something!  And even though my back still hurt, it felt really good to be back on my bike.  I've missed him. :-)

Masquerading

Well, I was lazy today and didn't work out, and then I hurt my back again while out running errands. :-(  I've got a trainer date early in the a.m., so hopefully I'll be able to ride...  We shall see.

Eating primally is still going well, although I had a realization today: the best dishes are the new things I'm trying, not the recipes that masquerade as foods I used to enjoy.  The stuffed cabbage with turnips instead of rice just wasn't the same, though the fried cauliflower "rice" was a decent substitution.  Still, the halibut with butter sauce was just amazing, and I'm excited to try lamb meatballs and a chicken with artichoke hearts dish later this week.

Other new things I've tried since going primal include using a food processor and a mandoline.  Loving both!  Sure, they take a little time to clean, but they save much more in chopping time!

PRIMAL!

Well, I honestly can't remember what happened or what I did the rest of that week, or the rest of December for that matter!  But I'm sure it looked very little like the schedule Derek and I had made up.  I'll blame the holidays.

Then New Year's came, which is always a great time to start fresh and make big plans.  But then I got sick again, and then Derek got sick...  So, yeah.  It's been a slow start.

BUT...  Last week, we started this new diet/lifestyle thing called the Primal Blueprint (PB).  It's basically low-carb: no grains or sugar or really any processed foods.  And all your fruits and veggies should be local (whenever possible) and organic, your eggs local and free-range, and your meats grass-fed and whatnot.  I don't necessarily buy into all of the reasons WHY our bodies work the way they do (i.e. evolution), but I do believe THAT they work a certain way, and that eating like this makes sense and is good for us.  The PB also talks about how to exercise and sleep and everything, which all makes sense, too, though those changes are actually a lot harder for me to implement...  Oh, well.  We're doing this 21-day transformation thing, so hopefully that'll get easier as we continue.

So far, the food's good, I haven't been hungry, and I feel REALLY good about the way we're eating.  Especially after watching Food, Inc., the documentary about the food industry in the U.S.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  But just know that you'll be disgusted, and expect to make some major changes in the way you shop and eat.  Jus' sayin'.

Oh, and the really cool part is that I lost 7.5 pounds in the first week.  A lot more to go, but that's a stellar start!  I'll take it!

Anyway, I finally made it back to the gym today for a spin class.  Felt great!  I also inquired about personal training while I was there, because I'd love to learn some more functional integrated exercises that are especially beneficial for triathletes, but PT is EXPENSIVE!  I doubt we'll be able to find room in the budget for THAT, so I guess I'll just have to research some exercises online or something...  We shall see.

Day 2 - Woo-hoo!

After waking up so early yesterday, getting an hour-and-a-half of cardio in, and then working for 11 hours, I was, understandably, exhausted.  So I did a little work in the kitchen, but then went to bed before 9:00.  I read till 9:30, but that was it.  After all, I had to get up early again this morning!

Got up at 5:00 a.m. again, and made it to the gym a little after 6:00.  I lifted upper body first, then ran on the treadmill.  I did a 3/1 run/walk at 5.6/3.6 mph pace, 3.28 miles in 40 minutes (with a cool-down).  Felt as good as running ever does!  Mostly, though, I was just proud of myself for actually going, even when Derek decided to stay in bed (which he probably needed, but still).

Unfortunately, BOTH my feet hurt now.  I'm sure sitting at my desk for another 11 hours today didn't help, but seriously.  I'm sick of this plantar fasciitis already!  I know I realized before that treadmill running hurt a lot more than running outside, so I'll give it one more go on Saturday.  But if it still hurts like this after running outside, I think I'm going to have to quit running till I lose some weight.  I'll just focus on cycling and swimming and strength training, and of course eating right.  (Which has also been going well so far this week, by the way.)  Will keep you posted!

Relaxing now with a cheesy Lifetime Movie Network Christmas movie, but then to bed for another early wake-up call!  Spinning again tomorrow.

Fresh Start!

And...  My priorities went out the window after Wednesday of last week.  Didn't even work out on Saturday!

But Derek and I made up an ambitious and detailed workout schedule yesterday, so I started this week with renewed motivation and dedication.  Got up at 5:00 a.m. for my 5:45 spinning class.  And THEN I went down to the pool for a little swim.  Just did a mile since I had to get home for work, but it felt great!  Good to be back at it, and with a PLAN!

Priorities

So, even though I didn't go to spin this morning, I made it a priority to do it tonight after work.  Even though I should have been cleaning tonight for company coming tomorrow.  So now I'll have to try to do that while I'm working tomorrow...

Anyway, I did spin, and it was good.  And then I lifted upper body, which was only o.k.  The gym was so crowded at that time that I could find a bench and half the free weights were missing from the racks (I HATE it when people take them off somewhere, by the way!).  I still got it all done, but it was yet another reminder of why I should really do this in the morning...

Confirmation

Well...  Up WAY too late last night, so I didn't get up for the gym this morning.  Derek and I agreed to meet there for a swim after his exam (and I was going to go earlier, too, to lift and swim before he got there), but of course that didn't happen.  So, yeah.  But this is good actually!  Because it's just confirmation that I NEED to work out in the morning, but stuff ALWAYS comes up to make it more challenging or even impossible to get it done at night.

But even though I KNOW this already, I still haven't been able to do anything about it...  And I blame sleep!  Seriously, I would get more and better workouts in AND eat better if I weren't up so late and so tired all the time!  Now, how do I fix it...?