So much to catch up on, I’m just not sure where to start. I suppose I could start with the obvious: I lost one of my best friends in the whole world back in May. My buddy, Sienna.
She was the first dog I ever had as an adult. Really, my first dog. And she really was the most perfect first dog to have. Words cannot even express how much I loved that girl. In fact, I gathered a whole bunch of photos for her final RIP blog entry — yet never was able to gather my wits to write it. There is too much to say and too few words.
She was my buddy. She changed our lives in ways I never imagined. And she will be greatly, greatly missed.
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After losing the girl, we needed a distraction. The distraction took the form of the vacation of a lifetime: a giant road trip to Wyoming all with the excuse of adopting a puppy out West. The quick back story: I’m obsessed with the Keeshond breed of dog (obvoiusly!) and when I knew Sienna was sick, I started looking around for breeders or rescues. There were no dogs — at least young ones — to be had in our region and I ended up finding a little pup in the little town of Lander. The trip planning then begun.
Honestly, I need an entire blog entry documenting that trip. We drove out to Yellowstone (via the Big Horn Mountains which included camping in the snow). We spent 3 amazing days in Yellowstone. We spent another 3 amazing days in the Grand Tetons. We completed amazing hikes. We saw amazing wildlife (including two black bears PLAYING in OUR CAMPSITE!). We then drove to Lander, picked up a puppy on a farm where there were sheep and rabbits and a turkey (and two ADORABLE Keeshond brothers who we had to leave behind). We stopped at Devils Tower. We detoured to Rushmore. And then we came home WITH A PUPPY!
It was an amazing 9 days of driving and sight-seeing and camping. And then we got to finish it with this cute-as-a-button puppy. Please meet her:
Her name is Penny. She’s now 18 weeks old. And we love her.
Our other girl, Dora, is doing okay. She was stand-offish at the beginning. But she’s opening up now and I think she and Penny will be great friends soon. They already play like crazy.
We are also in the midst of puppy training (housetraining is SO FUN!). We have puppy kindergarten for a few more weeks. And aside from the fact that Penny is a little anti-social in class (she growls at the other dogs), she’s adjusting well. She’s great with people. And she’s a complete doll.
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News on the other fronts:
James started a job last month! (not sure if I shared that here, but it’s a HUGE relief)
I re-started Weight Watchers in June and started re-attending meetings. Sparkpeople just wasn’t cutting it for me. So, when a second income started coming back into the house, I forked out the cash for WW. And, surprise, surprise: going back to meetings has helped. I’m down 4 lbs. now. It’s slow. But it’s working. And it still kills me how much harder it is to take off than it is to put on.
I’m not really training for any big races or triathlons this year. It started with lack of funding, but it’s been nice to actually take a season off officially. I did do a triathlon two weeks ago that I didn’t even train for. I didn’t set any records, but I finished, I didn’t walk on the run and I was pleased with a 18-minute 1/2-mile swim considering I haven’t swam in months. Better yet: I earned hardware! I placed 2nd in the Athena division. Granted, there were only three of us, but it was groovy to get an award.
I am doing one big ride: Dairyland Dare. It’s in August and it’s a 150k (100 mile) cycling ride that includes over 10,000 feet of climbing in Southern Wisconsin. It’s kind of crazy, but it will be super fun. I did a 100k earlier in May that had us climb over 7,000 feet. It was one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done, but it felt like quite an accomplishment to complete.
I’m also finishing out my year with Bolder Options. My mentee and I have been having a great time. We’ve completed 3 5k races and it’s been amazing to watch her progress.
Not sure how much else there is to catch up on: my little sister graduated High School. My cat is still a bitch. I still love my job but struggle with finding balance between it and my personal life. One of these days, my husband and I really need to replace the concrete steps in front of our house. Exciting, exciting stuff.
I think I can officially claim catch up here. I do have oodles of vacation and puppy photos and videos to share, but they still need to be uploaded and organized. I’ll share links when they are ready. Until then, chow!
So, I just got back from another mountain biking ride. My mentor in this crazy sport, Annie, suggested I make the jump up to a slightly harder set of trails than Salem, the EASY (as she says) beginner trail in the cities. I’ve ridden now at Salem maybe four or five times and I still don’t know that I consider it easy. But I have finally gotten the hang of it and there aren’t any logs or rock piles to climb — just a set of two trees that look so close like you won’t fit that you take a gulp of faith and balls to just ride on through. But that’s pretty much it in terms of obstacles. Still, it’s single track and twisty with some tight turns and some loose and rocky downhills. And even though I find that I’m getting the hang of it there, I do have to re-teach myself how to MTB ride each and every time we go there. Wednesday was actually a tough go on my first lap because I hadn’t been on my mountain bike in about two weeks and I felt like I’d forgotten everything. But, sure enough, 20 minutes into it, it came back and I was able to navigate the turns easier and not go so slowly on the downhills.
So, today we headed to Theo Wirth. According to Annie, Theo is still EASY. But right away, I knew I had my work cut out for me. There was a giant log in the middle of the trail right at the start (which was ironic because I’d spent about 5 minutes in the parking lot prior to that trying to build up the courage to ride up a curb with my bike — which Annie showed me works perfectly fine — and yet I couldn’t bring myself do it). So, yeah, I walked my bike over that giant log. As well as the rock garden at the end of the first section of the trail.
There were a number of obstacles and, lucky for me, they were spaced out enough that I was able to just go my own speed navigating the tight and twisty single track. There weren’t a lot of climbs. The downhills weren’t that bad. But since this was my first time on the trail, I was cautious and super-slow on my first lap that I had to apologize to everyone that got stuck behind me (please note: MTB riders are super nice and friendly and always ask me, “how’s it going?”.
Of the obstacles I did encounter, I managed to go up a few of the small log piles. Small victory! I drew the line that the two giant log piles. I balked at almost every boulder crossing (although, I did try one of them — cowardly — and crashed because I didn’t have the speed I needed). I also had one spectacular crash that didn’t actually involve obstacles. No, I was just increasing my speed and didn’t make a corner clean which caused my right shoulder to hit a tree that sent me crashing over on my left side — into a tree. That one hurt and I’ll have some battle wounds to show for it.
My tribe kept waiting for me occasionally to catch up, ask me how I was doing (it was Annie, James and another Birchwood teammate Talib) — then they’d further while I made my own, slow way. When I finally finished the first lap, my tribe was waiting. It took me 35 minutes, it felt like 35 hours. But after some rest, I was ready to give the trail a go again.
My second time around was smoother. I made it down a few drops that I’d balked and walked the last time. I still didn’t go over any rock gardens. This was the lap where I had my spectacular crash and, since it was towards the end of the loop, I sheepishly appeared at the finish to my tribe a little shaky, worried and lacking some confidence. But after some rest, chatter and inner-cheerleading, I decided to give the trail a third lap since all the other peeps were any way.
My last lap was the best. In fact, I actually went OVER the giant log at the beginning of the trail (super scary, I regretted it the minute I started going over it and I landed hard but stayed on my bike and proceeded to be very proud that I made it out alive). I never did risk any of the rock obstacles, but I did go over every log pile except for the two giant ones and I even made it down one of the steep drops (although not THE super-steep 3 ft. drop — that’ll take some time).
When I finished lap 3, my tribe said my speed had improved. And I had a bit more confidence. It was certainly a few steps in the right direction. Still, this sport gets me really, REALLY out of my comfort zone. Which I know is good for me, but it is a mental struggle. It is very counter-intuitive with how my brain works — weirdly, which is why I do like it. It forces me to believe that I am capable of things that I may not always think I am. And that is cool.
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In other news, I’ve been following Spark People for two months now. I had a rough go at the beginning. In fact, I gained weight. But then I realized I wasn’t tracking calories burned correctly — meaning, I wasn’t plugging in the correct amount that I typically burn for a week into the plan. (Apparently, I exercise a lot — more than the average person. Who knew? ;) Once I got that right, I actually got a much more realistic caloric range to eat within and I wasn’t so hungry that I wanted to stab everyone who crossed my path with my empty fork. I was still getting hungry, just not HUNGRY. And then, a few more days later, I actually started getting comfortable with the range. Still, I have to pay a lot of attention to what I eat. It’s easy for me to mindlessly add calories through sports drinks, granola bars and choices in the cafeteria that might seem smart until looking up the nutrition.
When I weighed in last week, I was down a pound.
I’m not claiming any success yet. This week, I didn’t track calories very well. Out of seven days, I tracked maybe four. I just get so busy at work that logging my food gets impossible (stupid, I know, I need to change that). I also haven’t made it to the gym in over a week (since I’ve been workout out outdoors) so I haven’t been able to weigh in. I’m that weird person who doesn’t own a scale. And without the accountability of the scale, I fear I may easily get off track.
Still, Spark People has been a good correction of my habits. I’ve seen how my breakfasts grew in portions and calories over time. I’ve seen how, at lunch, I’d make some not-so-smart choices. I’d also feast on chips & salsa upon arriving home from work inhaling 300+ calories before dinner without even realizing it. I’m also drinking less during the week. So, I’m optimistic. There have been some good habit changes.
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In other news, I got a promotion at work. It happened a few weeks ago. Same role. Same title. But it’s up another grade level and there’s a nice bump in pay (and given our circumstances — that REALLY helps right now). Most importantly, though, it is awesome to be recognized for all my sweat, blood and tears. I adore my job and I work hard at my job. It feels really, really good for that to be noticed and supported by my organization. It’s the opposite of my last job and I’m so lucky I landed where I did. Have I mentioned I love my job?
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Finally, my volunteer gig with Bolder Options is still going really well. My mentee is a rockstar. She broke a personal record a few weeks ago on our 5k run course by almost 6 minutes — and then she broke it again, last night, by 90 seconds more. It’s pretty amazing to watch — especially considering how much she hated running when we started. And TOMORROW, we have the Get in Gear 5k and the big question is: can we break the 38:53 time we hit last night?
Time will tell. I’m pretty confident she can do it. However, there is a forecast for thunderstorms & rain tomorrow. The weather might make it difficult and the course (from what I remember) is hillier than our training route. So we have our work cut out for us. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ve got something to prove. The stars better align so we can do it.
Okay. First off, one of these days I should just share with ya’ll all the half-entered entries in my WordPress dashboard. It might not look like it from your perspective, but I do attempt to blog much more frequently than displayed on the published page. Unfortunately, I usually get interrupted mid post or move on to something else more urgent. Most often, I do not return to WordPress until the started entry is no longer relevant or makes sense.
Yet, I also have a hard time deleting all those unfinished thoughts and ramblings. So, they sit there. Fragments of ideas. Feelings that unfinished and only semi-important.
Which means the real question is: will this entry make it?
If you’re reading this, than I guess that means it did.
As for me and my life status, there are a few new elements to report on. We’ve had an employment shift in our household. My husband is looking for a new opportunity. We are a single-income family now and it’s hard and stressful. And while I know we’ll figure out it, it still doesn’t make it much easier in the short-term. I miss shopping. I miss eating out. I get nervous about the future.
All that said, I know we are lucky. This is just a temporary situation. We have our health. We have great friends, awesome pets, lovely family. Then there is me and how lucky I am for the role that I have professionally and how much I love what I do. Right now is a small black cloud. I’m just ready for it to move along, that’s all.
Because of this transition, we’ve made some considerable changes. We’ve really cut back on our budget. We’ve finally gotten rid of our land line. I’ve dropped a bunch of digital subscriptions including Audible and Weight Watchers. I’m even very close to taking our Netflix subscription down to one DVD.
Most of the cuts, as I’ve mentioned, are fairly painless — mostly minor nuisances. But the Weight Watcher’s one came at an odd time because I’d actually, just a week prior to the job transition thing, planned on re-upping and attending meetings because I’d finally, FINALLY decided to get serious again about dropping some poundage and focusing on training more seriously again.
So, in the absence of the spare cash to fund WW as a resource, I began a search of applications to track calories in vs. calories out since my TrainingPeaks.com subscription was less than helpful (and, ironically, re-upped for a year the very week prior to having to slash our budget — IRONY!). I wanted something for my iPhone. I wanted something that had a robust food database so I wouldn’t have to enter loads of custom foods. I wanted something that was free.
I downloaded a few options. Some were fine. Some were lame. Then I’d remembered a site I’d heard some people talk about: Spark People. Specifically, I was familiar with them because they compete in the digital recipe space (something I live and breath at work). But I also know my sister-in-law has had great success using their site and losing weight. I also know a coworker uses the Spark People iPhone app.
So, I went to the site. I signed up. And I was a little surprised with what I found. I was expecting a Web site that was basically a calorie tracker with some article features. FitDay is my frame of reference, a site I used years ago prior to my engagement with WW. But what I found was a much deeper, much more holistic experience. SparkPeople is a complete program because it surrounds food tracking with support and education much in the same way Weight Watchers does — albeit digitally.
The thing that surprised me the most about Spark People is the program’s phased approach and award system. It is a combination of program phases (including a two-week introduction phase) and a point system that rewards users for exploring the site, reading up on the program and tracking some early wins with more easily achievable goals (such as getting 8 hours of sleep and drinking 8 glasses of water per day). These quick goals are called Fast Break and I think it’s really smart of the program to apply goals like these to the program. When you have tough days where you feel like you’ve failed because you haven’t hit your nutrition or fitness goals, these fast track goals are a nod to “at least I can do this” and/or “at least this day isn’t a complete failure — I can at least get 8 hours of sleep.” I think that’s pretty powerful.
The other really interesting thing about the program is the points system. You gain points and badges as your explore the site, achieve different levels and interact with users. And while I don’t have a ton of time to sit and post on message boards and blogs, I have to admit to feeling motivated to read a little more to increase my points level. And even though I sometimes consider myself a nutrition and fitness pro who knows it all, re-learning information about portion control and proper nutrition is good to reground myself as to why and how I can do this. Again.
I completed my entrance Fast Break phase at the end of last week. I spent my first week being pretty faithful to the program. The second week didn’t bode so well since we went on vacation to visit relatives in Texas. But, returning on Monday, I’ve returned to the program and am ready to settle in.
We’ll see how it goes. In addition to tracking food via SparkPeople, I also have a training schedule to follow. I have less than two months until my first race of the season. And I really, really, really want to be able to race that event faster and smaller than I did last year.
Last week was a close to back to Weight Watchers as I’ve been for a while. I also casually looked for a weekly meeting that would fit into my schedule, but I ended up not prioritizing anything. I had a lot going on during the week nights and Saturdays are hard for me to do anything but focus on a workout and chores. I also had a movie date with my mentee @ the library.
So, yeah, getting back to a meeting just hasn’t been prioritized. It’s hard this week, too. I have activities every night and work is pretty insane right now as everyone is getting back into a groove after the holidays. But I’m not giving up yet.
I did manage one little milestone. I went every school night without a cocktail or glass of wine last week. That’s been a bad habit I’ve developed: treating myself to a martini or small glass of wine after a particularly hard day or as something comfortable while I work an evening on the laptop. I’ve been trying to replace that with tea. And while it’s not the same, it’s a good small goal to have and achieve. This week, so far so good, too. In fact, I have my Good Earth tea at my side right now.
In other news, I did sign up for a cross country ski training group this winter. This will be my third year with skate skis and I’ve yet to get any formal training aside from a 3 hour lesson one day two years ago. All other instruction has been from generous friends on my ski team. Signing up for Ride & Glide this year is my attempt to craft a bit of skill and learn technique. And while I’d already attended a few of their dryland training sessions pre-snow, tonight was my first evening with them with actual skis on.
I’m in the beginner group and it’s very basic. But it’s good for me. We concentrated on open field technique, V2 and then headed off to a small hill with a sharp corner at the end. That latter exercise is my nemesis and I really need to practice learning how to corner without slowing myself down so much that I lose all momentum. It’s a hard skill for me. I hate falling and every cell in my body wants to do whatever I can to prevent a fall – which means practically stopping pre-corner instead of trusting myself to maneuver with the speed. I’ll never get it if I don’t loosen up and practice without putting the breaks on. Tonight was a good first step. I also made a few friends — so that should help the “wanting to come back” factor.
I did learn one other valuable thing. I need better gloves. The gear I wear when I’m skiing outside might be great while I’m moving, but at a class where you’re also standing around a lot listening and watching technique requires more warmth. My fingers were in pain by the end of the night. My right ring finger is still feeling a little numb. Yikes.
Gah. What a boring entry. But it’s something. Still also trying to get back in the blogging groove. I guess, if anything, this entry is a good reflection of where I am right now: struggling to get back on the WW wagon, working on my xc ski technique and continuing to focus on the ever-so-popular work/life balance thing.
Okay. I need to hit the sack now. I have a painful 10 x 400 interval running workout scheduled for the morning. Ouch.
I’m not ashamed to steal this meme from EJShea. After such a long hiatus from blogging, I’ve been honestly struggling with how to come back and write again. What do I talk about? How do I start after all this time away?
But since blogging is something I want to get back in the habit of doing, I figured filling in the blanks would be an easy way to start back. Baby steps.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Visited a national park (can you believe that? WTF?); Completed my first XC ski race; Mentored an at-risk youth; Took a Hot Yoga class.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t really set resolutions as a rule of thumb. That said, I did sign back up with WW in January in hopes that I would finally get my weight that’s been steadily creeping up to go back down. But the year of eTools didn’t do much for me. I didn’t stuck to the program consistently. The formula without meetings just hasn’t been effective. I’ve also had a hard time concentrating on weight loss while juggling an insane work schedule. I love my job. I let it take over too much. And it made weight loss less of a priority for me in 2009.
That said, I did set two goals at the beginning of the year: stick to a 2009 training program and become a mentor for Bolder Options. The 2009 program was successful: I completed two ski races, a handful of runs and triathlons and met my 4:15 marathon goal @ Twin Cities Marathon. Then Bolder Options allowed me to share my passion for fitness with an at-risk youth — something more rewarding than all my races combined.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Oh, yes. So many friends & family members having babies. We were especially excited for the birth of one close couple’s first. She came early and is absolutely lovely.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No. We’ve been very blessed this year.
5. What places did you visit? A number of cabin visits up north in MN; my first trip to the Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale (my first National Park); Nashville for a wedding; San Francisco for a conference
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? More work-life balance. I made some good strides in the back half of this year, but I need more. Working and sleeping immediately upon arriving home is not a healthy pattern every night of the week.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Oct. 4. The date of Twin Cities Marathon. After loads of training and lots of doubt around being able to accomplish my goal, I had a dream race and hit the 4:15 mark. And it was SO FUN. After two less-than-stellar marathon experiences, Twin Cities was a dream and I loved every second of it. Even the pain afterward.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably Twin Cities marathon. That and my killer Web site that I manage for work. We’ve taken her from #14 in the category when I started to #6 in Oct. & Nov. and that has been THRILLING! I should also add here that my mentee’s two 5ks were pretty big accomplishments as well.
9. What was your biggest failure? Working too much and not concentrating on the other important aspects of my life.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major and, for that, I’m blessed. I did have a really nagging Achilles tendon injury that I nursed for the first 3-4 months of the year until the PT finally made me stop running so it would heal. And it did. Imagine that.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Hmm… do I daresay my minivan? But the jury is still out on that. I love the storage and ability to travel with the thing but I do miss driving my Buick.
The jury is also still out on the kitty we brought home two weeks ago. She’s sweet, but still adjusting to life in our home. With dogs.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? James. My spouse. Good lord, I have no idea how I could have made it through the year without his constant support on the home front. He makes our meals. He does the dishes. He lets the dogs out when I work late. Best. Husband. Ever.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I don’t really know how to answer this in a way that is appropriate online in my personal life. Politically, I have been pretty disgusted by the Hyde amendment proponents in the health care debate. The past decade saddens me in terms of how much we’ve retreated around reproductive rights.
14. Where did most of your money go? On food. At least that’s what it feels like when we grocery shop each week. We’ve also been good about saving this year and our only major purchase with the minivan which was needed because the Buick was dying.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Seeing the iPhone app my team developed for Betty on a Apple iPhone commercial in December. Super fun to see your project recognized that way.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier. As much as I might have failed on the work-life balance thing this year, I’m in a much better place than I was in 2008. We’ve done some amazing things at work in terms of structure to support that this year. The changes have been very exciting and rewarding. I’ve also made a stronger effort the maintain balance that will only continue and improve. Even just making sure I leave the office by 5pm 2xs a week is a great place to be.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. I’ve steadily been gaining and didn’t focus on food & diet much this year at all. Oh well. It was a year of different priorities.
c) richer or poorer? Richer. Our savings has grown. Our debts have declined. And mentoring has added a level of richness not calculated in $$.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? More trips with the pups to the dog park. More trips to the farmer’s market with the spouse on weekends, too.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working after hours on the couch.
20. How did you spend Christmas in 2009? With my family in Wisconsin. There was lots of loafing and a movie. Also, lovely laughs with my brother & sister. I heart them.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I think so. Work-wise, we accomplished a lot. And while I might regret working so much, I’m very proud of what myself and my team has accomplished. Add to that crossing the finish line @ Twin Cities marathon, it was a pretty sweet year.
22. What was your favorite TV program? So You Think You Can Dance. While America’s Funniest Home Videos and The Amazing Race are my absolute faves, I discovered SYTYCD this year and it’s made me really appreciate dance as an art. We might even attend some modern dance performances in 2010.
23. What did you do for your birthday in 2009? We were in the UP getting ready for our kayak trip on Isle Royale. Started the day with an authentic Pasty, crashed a ton attempting to mountain bike on difficult trails with a bike that didn’t fit me, got eaten alive by bugs during our water skills training and completed my first wet exit from a kayak in 55 degree water.
24. What was the best book you read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I held out in finishing the series because I didn’t want to be done. But I finally completed it this year and I thought it was everything it should have been.
25. What did you want and get? Accomplishment of loads of goals a work and a 4:15 marathon
26. What did you want and not get? To lose weight. But I didn’t make it a strong enough focus.
27. What was your favorite film of this year? Fresh. It was an incredible film that focused on the hope around sustainable farming as opposed to the bleak picture portrayed by films such as Food, Inc. I was also very surprised by District 9 and how intense an experience it created.
28. Did you make some new friends this year? Yes. Including a sweet couple in Nashville that we want to go back and visit.
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less time working, more time focused on home.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? 2009 was the year of the dress for me. And I found some cute ones.
31. What kept you sane? James. My dogs.
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Barrack Obama. It’s been a lovely year not to cringe every time the President would speak.
33. What political issue stirred you the most? Health care reform and the lack of willingness that so many of my fellow constituents have to invest in a system that provides equitable care.
34. Who did you miss? My grandpa. He died when I was 16 and I still miss him every single day.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. If you’re going to complain, come with a solution. It’s empowering to actually take control and effect change.
Saturday February 21st 2009, 8:43 am
Filed under: weight watchers
Hola. I’m sitting here at my desk digesting my breakfast and gearing up for a long workout at the club and I figured I might as well log in and tell ya’ll what I’m up to. I haven’t forced myself to sit down and write my Vassaloppet race report. But I will say the 35k ski race was way easier than I’d expected. Although, the conditions were super fast which made the experience a lovely 2.5 hour trek instead of the 4 hour slog that I’d expected. Every time I’d come across a sign indicating how much distance was left, I was amazed that I only had 18k left. Or 15k left. Or 10k left. Or only 3k left. It was so unlike any long race I’ve ever done — those long races where each final mile or kilometer stretches out to infinity and you just want it to be over. I guess that’s the upside to being mentally committed to a 4 hour race. That makes 2.5 hours seem like a breeze.
That said, I did finish almost dead last in my division. I was #11 out of #12. Yes, I’m totally a newbie skier and it’s humbling to be so back-of-the-pack again. Of course, I think I can also admit that I didn’t push myself like I do in triathlons or other races. My heart rate was more in the upper 140s / lower 150s with the exception of a few hills. I’m just not that confident to go fast or hard yet. My technical skills are rough and the slightest imbalance throws me down on my ass. I was too scared to fall in the middle of the race to push too hard. I know when I go hard skiing, I start to lose form and the last thing I wanted to do was cause a pile-up at the Mora Vassaloppet.
This was a crowded race in my limited experience. I probably did start too far back in the pack and was stuck behind a lot of slower skiers for the first 10-12k of the race, I found a few ladies to follow and would try and stick with them when they passed other skiers. But it was a challenge and sometimes I’d just have to resolve to stick behind someone until the trail would open up. Passing is not my forte. It’s SOOOO much easier on the bike without all those poles and sticks in the way.
I was the last of our ski team to finish and was it was nice to see my crew at the end. I was pretty psyched that I’d survived and that it’d been so fun. It was such a glorious day to ski. Everyone said it was perfect. I almost don’t want to do another race because it was so great. I can only imagine that those perfect conditions don’t come very often.
In other news, I’ve been crazy busy at work. I know, what’s new? And isn’t EVERYONE crazy busy at work. But I do finding it very hard to separate my personal life from work and I’m not doing a very good job AT ALL on the work / life balance thing. In fact, I have a half-filled out application for Bolder Options that shouldn’t be too hard to complete but I’ve been sitting on it for a month now. I just need to fill in my references. But, truth be told, the time commitment makes me nervous. It’s something I need to do. But it scares me. 2 hours per week is a lot and you’re committed to a kid. If I do this, I have to do it right. I have to make the time.
But work HAS been fun. I so dig what I do. I’m lucky to work where I do. Shit, I’m lucky to have a job in this current economy and then to adore the industry I’m in, well, that’s a special thing. And even better than the regular Web site *stuff* we do, we launched both an iPhone app AND a very cute (I hate this word, but I’m going to use it because that’s what it is) viral video for Valentine’s day. Both super-tiny, scrappy projects. But exciting things in the space and it’s been fun to watch them gain traction.
As for my training, I was doing pretty good since the start of the year. I selected my race schedule pretty early this year and started training pretty regularly on my Training Peaks.com regime. Then the Vassaloppet happened two weekends ago and a fun cabin trip to Ely happened last weekend, so I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit and am looking to get back on starting today with a swim / spin / weights workout at the club. I’m going to do an early half ironman this year (yes, Sascha, I’m going to do Liberty!). I’m then going to sprinkle in some sprints & Olympic distance races throughout the summer with my focus being the Twin Cities Marathon in October. I’ve had two marathons now that I’ve not been that jazzed about my time. I think this will be the year. But I do need to really focus on my running. I also need to focus on my weight.
Ahhh. What a segue. Not that I really want to talk about it, but as long as I’m giving you the update, I might as well paint the whole picture. My weight is up. It’s up higher than it’s been in years. For a while, it wasn’t that big a deal because I was still fitting in my clothing. But now almost all my jeans are tight. It’s kind of bugged me because I’m not doing anything all that different than how I maintained a few years ago. I still workout like mad. I do have my wine and cocktails. I know I haven’t tracked all my food. But to gain like I have in the past year, something in my body has changed. It’s probably age. I know the metabolism slows down. But whatever the excuse, it’s indicative that something does need to change. I need to focus.
I started back with Weight Watchers online back in mid-January. I saw some success the two weeks that I actually tracked everything. But then, again, Vassaloppet and the Ely Cabin weekend distracted me. I feel off the wagon. I didn’t track and I already feel like the 2 lbs. that I lost at the end of January are already back. My body is very unforgiving right now.
So, that’s that. I’m back to counting today. I’m headed to the gym. I’m not all that crazy about where I am weight-wise, but I have some fun races coming up and I feel more focused on training than I was last year. I’m also having a blast at work — which is a good thing when you work as much as I do.
It’s basically the Shiratake noodles, laughing cow cheese, low-fat sour cream & parmesan. I made it mostly because I was desperate. I’ve had these Shiratake noodles in the house forever and haven’t done anything with them. I also didn’t feel like making a big dinner. And I wanted something to eat — immediately. I went onto HungryGirl.com because I know she cooks with these noodles often and I came across the Fettuccine knock-off recipe. It didn’t sound as great to me as it sounded fast and easy.
Rinse fettuccine noodles VERY well. Microwave them for one minute, then drain them and pat dry. Add cheeses and sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Microwave to help melt cheese further, and mix some more. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy. Serves 1.
This Fettucine Hungry Girlfredo has just 80 calories per serving, and is only 1 point on Weight Watchers (if you're counting). This is the guilt-free recipe of the century!
I put it all together. Instead of the non-fat sour cream and fat-free parmesan, I actually used low-fat sour cream and regular parmesan (because that’s all I had). I also used an entire wedge of Laughing Cow (didn’t really want to save half a wedge). My changes probably make the recipe 2 points instead of 1 — but that’s still super low.
And now for an even dirtier secret: on top of the salt & pepper to taste, I also added a sprinkle of Bacos.
Yes, Bacos.
I know that sounds crazy, ghetto and gross. But it actually gave the dish a little bit of a “carbonara” flavor. AND Bacos are completely vegetarian (did you know that?) — so it’s really not that different than Morningstar Farms veggie bacon.
At the end of it, I had a dinner that was about 130 calories, super filling and pretty satisfying because it’s cheesy and noodley, almost like grown-up macaroni & cheese. I was also impressed on how nuking the noodles and then draining and patting them dry actually do make the tofu noodle seem like pasta. All in all, this is a nice recipe to have in my arsenal when I’m low in points, want something comforting and don’t want to spent any time in the kitchen:
Oh, and by the way, I completed my 35k ski race yesterday!! A complete race report will follow.download For the Love of Benji
Sunday January 04th 2009, 5:07 pm
Filed under: weight watchers
Ironically, with as much as a WW follower as I have been in the past and with as many health-related bloggers and sites that I follow, it actually took an online advertisement in my Yahoo! mail to make me aware that Weight Watchers has a new program. (And online advertising works. But I already knew that, right? ;)
At any rate, I came across the ad just a bit ago in my mail and clicked through to the site. I will say that Weight Watchers didn’t go a very good job describing this new program. In fact, the shtick on the page sounded like the regular same old, same old WW-speak with a shiny “2009″ spin. But then I did a little Googling and came across this article.
One, I have to give Peertrainer some credit. It’s hard to cover Weight Watcher info in a way the WW lawyers approve and PT does a good job linking back to the corporate site to encourage those interested to sign up and find more information. But they were also able to fill me in a little more on what this program is about. Here’s an excerpt:
But one of the key criticisms we’ve seen of Weight Watchers overall was this idea that you could do the diet in an unhealthy way.
But now Weight Watchers has made a real turnaround and introduced a new program they call “Momentum”, and it looks like this program tackles this weakness head on. Specifically, they have introduced the idea of “Filling Foods” that are high in fiber and high in water content. Which means a diet high in plant-based foods which are excellent for long term health. The Momentum Program is also designed to give you some very practical ideas to put these ideas into action. This is a new area of focus. Read more >>Sleeper
They go on to explain that they are focusing more on the psychology of Weight Loss (something that, I have to admit, always seemed to be missing a bit in meetings) and they’ve restructured points to value healthy foods. They’re right — 30 points of nacho cheese rice cakes is NOT the same as 30 points of healthy, nutritious foods. They also mentioned that they’ve released new recipes to rave reviews and the Core foods list is now the “filling foods” list. Kind of a “volumetrics” approach , at least linguistically. But I love having a more literal label attached to the food. It also sounds like there is less focus on some of those highly processed “low point” foods that plague the WW culture (yes, Fiber One bars and Western Bagels, I’m talking to YOU!).
For me, it might just be enough to jump back into the program officially just to see what it’s all about. I was beginning to count points again, anyway. It might be worth the $$ investment to hear the entire new take (and get the recipes and tools).
Of course, you can always Google the program to see what else is available online.
Final note, I thought I’d leave you with the commercial they’re running. Not really that relevant, but I think the Orange Guy is cute.
Although, some free marketing advice to WW: add some damn sharing functionality to the info and the commercial videos on your site. I WANTED to share them, but had to search YouTube, instead. Totally lame.
As for me? I start my 2009 training program tomorrow morning with swimming and weight training. It’s not a new year’s resolution, but I thought the first whole week of the 2009 was as good as any week to start the real program rather than the ad hoc workouts I was doing in Nov & Dec. I am dreading a full club in the morning, though…
Saturday January 12th 2008, 7:50 pm
Filed under: weight watchers
Guess what, kids?
I’m going to ski tomorrow!
Yep, that’s right. I’m going to risk totally jinxing it right now to because I’m just too excited. After putting in 9 days of skiing out of 12 over the holiday, totally starting to really dig the sport and then getting a damn rotator cuff issue, the past week and a half has been rough. TORTURE. Especially as the warmer temperatures last week started melting away our precious snow and all I could do was sit there and watch others (ahem, my HUSBAND) and their ability to enjoy their skis and the remaining snow. Honestly, reading our team boards torture and I’ve been avoiding them for that fact. Not to mention, a coworker who’s also new to the sport has been asking me when I’d “be back.” And my favorite TC biker
‘s invitations to ski with her team have been tough to turn down.
BUT, I think I’m better. I didn’t feel any pain sleeping last night. I successfully swam on Thursday morning. I’m ready to try it again and I’ve been sworn to bring along an ice pack for post-workout recovery.
I’m headed out with my favorite TC biker and her team and it should be a good morning. I’m almost giddy. And I need to wax my skis.
+ + + +
Still obsessed with the House Foods Shiratake Noodle Tofu, we tried the Peach KugelThe Prophecy: Forsaken rip recipe on Hungry Girl for this morning’s breakfast. I only had the spaghetti noodles, so we substituted those as well as a pear for the peach. The consensus in my house was it was a bit weird. It was a texture thing and I wonder if it would have been better with the Fettuccine-style noodles which are wider and might feel more solid. The thin spaghetti noodles were just slightly odd with the sweet. That said, it did taste pretty good and for an 83 calorie breakfast dish (with a serving size of 1/3 of a regular pie plate), you can’t beat that. I had it with multi-grain toast and a couple of clementines. It was a very filling 200-calorie breakfast that was full of protein.
Mad Max 2 movie download for book club. I haven’t read this since high school. I knew I adored the book back then, but I have to admit I’m a bit in awe of how stunning it is to read now. The language is exquisite. Each sentence almost a masterpiece in of itself. And it’s super-interesting through the lens of an adult in comparison to reading it as a teen. I also read Zelda, the biography of Fitzgerald’s wife, last year and it adds an entirely new perspective knowing that Daisy’s character was based on Zelda and most of the book is a culmination of the life experiences of the Fitzgeralds during the first 10-15 years of their marriage. Tragic, beautiful. I can’t wait to finish, yet I just want to savor, savor, savor.
Thursday January 10th 2008, 8:50 pm
Filed under: weight watchers
I’ve spent the past hour entering foods into Training Peaks so I can track caloric content. So not fun, but I’m going to try this as opposed to WW for a bit since that’s where all my training goals & logs live
