Three Weeks

I've come to prefer strength training on Sundays because the gym is a lot less crowded.  I can move around more freely and more equipment and space is available. Today I did:

• Brisk walk to the gym - 15 minutes.

1. One legged squats - 12 reps each leg
2. Fly press and back on stability ball (12 lbs)- 12 reps each
3. Stability ball bridge with bend - 15 reps (I'm actually starting to find these easier!  I felt really good whereas not too long ago these would kill me!)
4. Row Push up (12 lbs) - 12 reps (THESE KILL!!  I can't do push ups either way let a lone with extra to do in between each one but I'm going to stick to these and I hope to improve!)
5. Jump Switch Lunges - 20 reps
6. Bicep Curl with Overhead (12 lbs) - 15 reps

I repeated all this 3 times with 2-3 minute rest in between.

Afterwards, I did 3 sets of bench dips (12 reps each) and experimented a little with the cable machine. 

Before the gym I had half a whole wheat hamburger bun with 15g peanut butter and about 1/3 of a banana and a tiny drizzle of honey.

bun: calories 70, carbs 11.5g, fibre 1.5g, protein 2.5g, fat 1g

peanut butter: calories 88, carbs 2g, fibre 1.2g, protein 3.6g, fat 7.5g

banana: calories 33, carbs 8g, fibre 1g, protein -, fat -

TOTAL: calories 191, carbs 21.5g, protein 4.7g, fat 8.5g

Right after my workout (before heading home), I had a protein shake (mixed with water).

protein shake: calories 129, carbs 9g, fibre 1g, protein 20g, fat 1.2g

When I got back from the gym, I had breakfast which was a mix of 1 weetabix biscuit, approx. 1/2 cup goats milk greek yogurt, 5g walnuts, cinnamon, 2 tsp honey, 2 handfuls blueberries and the rest of my banana.

weetabix: calories 63, carbs 22g, fibre 3.8g, protein 4.3g, fat -

greek yogurt: calories 130, carbs 5g, fibre -, protein 11g, fat 8g

walnuts: calories 33, carbs -, fibre -, protein 1g, fat 3g

blueberries: calories 50, carbs 10g, fibre 2g, protein -, fat -

honey: calories 42, carbs 10g, fibre -, protein -, fat -

banana: calories 70, carbs 16g, fibre 2g, protein -, fat -

TOTAL: calories 388, carbs 63g, fibre 7.8g, protein 16.3g, fat 11g

WOW!  The carbs really added up, especially with the honey!  Gonna watch out for that.

About 3 or so hours later I got a bit hungry so I had a snack of 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 string cheese and 3 whole wheat crackers spread with a tiny bit of leftover of tzatziki (sp?)

bell pepper: calories 54, carbs 11g, fibre 2g, protein 2g, fat -

string cheese: calories 60, carbs 1g, fibre -, protein 8, fat 4g

crackers: calories 60, carbs 9g, fibre 2.5g, protein 2g, fat -

TOTAL: calories 174, carbs 20g, fibre 4.5, protein 12g, fat 4g

It's so tedious to count and calculate everything! I don't know if I'll be able to calculate it for everything that goes into my mouth but I'll try now and then because it's a real eye opener!  Either way, I'll continue to photograph and keep track of my workouts on here.  Gotta start to think about dinner.  Starting to get hungry!

Hmmm...

Still haven't gone out running since...Thursday?  Wow, I don't even remember when the last time was!!  That's terrible!  I wish it was out of laziness but no, MY LEG IS STILL BAD!!  I went out with my mom yesterday and it feels like it's gotten worst!  I'm forced to a sort of limp and it's so sad. :(  I've researched running injuries and most tell me that injuries associated with calf muscles can just be treated with rest, ice, stretching and you know, the same old.  Well, I've done all that but it seems to have gotten worst.  I've been off it for four days and I feel kind of icky and out of shape for not having worked out.  Well, on Saturday I did a pretty intense upper body strength workout but that's not really the same as a good cardio workout where you can feel your heart pumping like mad and sweat just dripping from you! Haha, sounds nasty but those are usually the moments when you feel you're best!  I'm finally off to work tomorrow and I'm going to try walking a bit more and if it still hurts, then I guess I'll have to resort to going to the gym and using the elliptical.  Ugh, I hate having to do that on just gorgeous, sunny days.  Weather forecast calls for nothing but sun and heat for the next week.  Morning runs are amazing on days like that.  But I guess I won't be getting much of that!  Well, I'm about to hit the hay.  Need to be up nice and early tomorrow!

Uh oh...

Ahhh! I truly have the intentions to post everyday!

On Tuesday, I went to the gym and worked on my upper body and then did 4 miles on the treadmill. My calf still hurt! :(

Yesterday I did a hill workout. I ran to a local track that's surrounded by a huge hills and they're great for hill training! I chose the biggest hill and went with the intention of only going up 5 times but I ended up doing 10! :D I then went down to the track to do some running drills that my cross country coach taught me. It felt great! BUT...my calf still hurt! :( Once home, I stretched and put ice on it. Didn't work. :(

Because of that, I decided to take today off. I went out and even walking kind of hurts. :( I think I might take tomorrow off too but we'll see. :(

Lazy Monday

After yesterday's pretty tough run, I decided to take today off. I always have a hard time taking days off! I either feel lazy and guilty for taking the day off or I feel that I'm doing the right thing by giving my body a rest. It's easier now that I'm training for my marathon because I understand how crucial proper rest is for such strenuous training but while I was trying to lose weight, I'd always feel bad! But either way, I was due for a rest day. I went out with my mom and walked and shopped around for about 4 hours. We came back with lots of bags (including some groceries!) so I did get some activity in.

The morning was lazy though, I woke up and was craving a bowl of cold cereal. I had Vector cereal. I try not to have it too often because the nutritional info doesn't impress me much (little fibre) but it was the only cold cereal we had so I gave in! A little trick I use to try to control portions with things like this is I fill more than half the bowl with fresh fruit (or veggies, depending on what I'm serving myself). In this case it was strawberries. It's been such a long time since I've had such sweet, juicy strawberries!

Awww, looks like the strawberries were a bit shy.

There they are!! Tomorrow, I'm going to head to the gym for a mostly upper body weight workout followed by a 4 or 5 mile run. We'll see!

Sunday Run

Every Sunday (well, ALMOST every Sunday), I go for free practice runs at a local Running Room. You just pretty much show up and they have different groups (5K, 10K, Marathon, etc.) and you can just go on a run with whichever group you want. I really like it because it's a lot more motivating to run with others and I really like the trails that they go on. Not ones that I would usually go on on my own.

Today we did 16k or about 10 miles. It felt brutal! For the first half or so, I felt good. Fast, confident, happy. But then it I started feeling exhausted and a bit sick too. I ran out of water too. :( So that made it even worst! I've never been happier to finish a run! I got a slight cramp on my left calf that made me kind of hobble back home. It's still there but I hope it clears up soon!

When I got home, I ate a nice big breakfast! A smoothie made with banana, milk, flax, PB, cinnamon, skim milk, and a sprinkle of both wheatberries and oats. I had it alongside two pieces of toast. Usually, this huge breakfast holds me over for HOURS!! But today, I started feeling hungry sooner than usual. Probably because I ate breakfast at almost noon after such a long run!! So I had a small snack.

MY FIRST PICTURE ON MY BLOG!! I know it's kind of lame but I'm just really excited because I finally got the digital camera I always wanted and now I can take pictures!! My photography skills need some work but I think it's pretty good for my first! :P

Anyways, it's a perfectly ripe peach topped with yogurt, granola, wheatberries (I'm addicted), and cinnamon. I 99.9% of the time, I eat fat-free yogurt. But every now and then I miss the rich, TRUE creamy texture of yogurt with fat. This one was Activia and it was 3.3% MF and it's SO GOOD!

I have the next week off before I start my summer job so hopefully I'll be able to get some cooking and baking done! I'm going to hit the hay now because I still feel pretty tired from that run!

Another Start

So starting another blog. Finally got a digital camera so my posts will hopefully be more interesting.

I've made this blog to help me with my training for a marathon that I'm doing in late September and to keep track of things I cook. I LOVE to cook and bake. Whether it's following a recipe or just making something up. I LOVE IT! And probably some rants here and there about other stuff.