Fingers Crossed

The weather is beginning to turn. It is supposed to go up to 25 degrees by Friday, I have dusted off my bike, and helmet and am hoping to get out for a ride this weekend. Today has been a great day, feeling back to my old self and even my knee is feeling better today. Woo hoo.

Inspiration

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true." Richard Bach

Just found this quote on a random blog..... love it, and it is so true.

Having a bit of a blah Monday, I think I need a bit of a shake up in my life, not sure what needs shaking (except maybe my head). I am feeling a bit restless at the moment, but haven't really had much time to give any serious thought to what changes need to be made...... hmmmmm hopefully, this feeling will pass soon.

My next fitness challenge is.......

So this morning started out as a regular training session at the gym. We were boxing and working on punching combinations like we always do on Fridays...... and that's when it happened.....

My trainer said "you know what your next fitness challenge should be once you finish your triathlon" My first thought was I had two goals the 5k and the try a try and I never really though past those, so he said " we should put you in a ring for a boxing match" ***insert the sound of a needle scrathing across a record here***** whoaaaaaa, whoaaaaaa, whoaaaaa, wait a second, was I hearing him correctly???

So I stopped to ponder whether or not I was up for this challenge for a quick second (what was running through my mind was my favorite phrase "I can't" and then "your 43 fricken years old" way to old to box) and then a huge grin spread across my face and I thought "fuck yeah" I am up for this challenge!

So it is something on the back burner at the moment, just a new goal, simmering in my head. Just one more thing that I never imagined doing, that is now slowly taking form in my head as something that not only I think I might be able to do, but something I look forward to training hard for and possibly doing pretty well at, as well as a 43 year old with a wicked left hook can do anyway :)

Cryptic Message

Just want to say, if you know me in real life, and just happened to find my blog and have been reading it, don't worry, I know that you are reading, and I don't mind. Don't worry, I'll still show you how to set up your own blog ;)

Small Victories lead to self improvement.

"We improve ourselves by victories over ourself. There must be contests, and you must win." Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794)

I came across this quote on the weekend and it spoke to me. It is very simplistic yet so very true. Everyone has there own battles that they fight on a daily basis, whether it's an addiction you are tyring to quit or perhaps something as simple as making sure you are not late for work, we all fight these battles all the time.

If I relate this to my own journey, I can see that the daily grappling with myself to go to the gym, or to wear that fitted top instead of the baggy one, or to refrain from eating that piece of cake, while minor in nature, each one is a contest. With every contest that I win, I improve myself just a tiny bit, which in turn gives me the strengh to contest more of my faults the next day, and that strength makes it that much easier to be victorious.

Falling into despair, gaining weight and having low self esteem, are things that snowball out of control, and sometimes seem like they will never be corrected, but with each small victory, we cannot help but be propelled closer and closer, no matter how slowly, to the person we want to become.

Mini Challenge - "STOP- step away from the scale"

This week I am going to refrain from weighing myself. Honestly I step on the scale first thing every morning and perhaps even plan out my day based on what the scale says. So I am challenging myself to stay away from the scale until I have a weigh in at the gym later this week.

I am having a lazy day today, my back is feeling fantastic and pain free today, but my knee is still bothering me. I bought some gluten free bread this morning and this afternoon will be making chicken in tomato sauce for my meals for the week, as well as cutting up some veggies and fruit (kiwi and strawberries) to have for snacks.

Here is hoping for a good week, and I hope to say buh bye to the 240's once and for all.

Bummed back, bummed knee and bummed out!

"Pain is weakness leaving the body"

This has been a difficult week to say the least. My back was aggrevated all week with a disc problem(you know when it feels like your hip on one side is up under your arm pit when you walk!) add to that the ongoing problems with my knee and I have to say this has been a very long week.

I had my second osteopath session this week and the accupuncture relieved some more inflamation in my knee and back. I am never quite sure if she is actually doing any chiropractic work as she moves her hands gently up and down my spine and back, but I'm not sure if she is adjusting anything.... I always imagined that you would hear bones popping and feel things moving when having chiropractic work done. I have also been doing a lot of stretching with my trainer, which has helped tremendously.

Another thing I am looking at is limiting Gluten in my diet. I did this for most of last week and must say, I feel a lot better. Both the bloated feeling is gone and I feel stronger, so I am going to see if I can do this for another week and see if I see some more changes. I am still incorporating the clean eating method into my diet and also a bit more of the concept of food combining to see if I can shake up my body.

I am hoping to get back into doing some swimming next week. I am unable to run at the moment, so I am hoping by doing non weight bearing exercise my knee will continue to heal.

Fingers crossed that my knee heals soon, the CN tower stair climb is fast approching and while I haven't quite determined if he is joking or not, my trainer seems to think I am going to be climbing the tower not once, but twice, as in climb to the top, elevator down and climb back up to the top - as in 300 floors!!!! while this scares the crap out of me, I love a challenge :)

Found a wetsuit.

I am trying to find out information on doing a triathlon.... I follow a few blogs of triathletes who inspire me and also give me ideas on things to think about. So I do know that I will require a wetsuit when do I my try a tri in June, I am assuming the water on the lake will be very cold. I have been thinking about what I will wear and quite honestly the wet suit part is the most worrysome, just because the womens suits only go up to a size 12 or 14 and that might not fit me by June. So I found a web site with awesome plus size wet suits and well, I feel relieved. It is actually quite nice too. Here is a pic:


Anyway, not much else going on..... still suffering with back and knee issues, which I am working out with osteo visits..... still plugging away at this whole getting healthy thing.... both physically and emotionally.

Absolute Fatigue = Absolute pain!

So yesterday morning my trainer introduced me to a weight cycle called absolute fatigue. I basically lifted weights (targeting different muscles in my arms and shoulders) until I was tired, then was encouraged to lift them 5 more times, wow what a struggle. Once done, rather than enter into a recovery/rest phase, I had to do another exercise which basically drained the last drop of strength from my muscles. The purpose of this exercise is to stimulate muscle growth (I think). Anyway, it felt great yesterday but this morning I am feeling quite sore. I love learning new things and always feel the need to know why I'm doing something.... When I know the why's it makes it easier for me to push to make sure I am do it correctly.

This morning I have an appointment with an osteopath. Now from what I know, they use massage therapy, chiropractic therapy and accupuncture in their treatment. After years of not looking after myself physically it is time to get things moving. I don't think I even realize how uncomfortable I am sometimes, just because I have lived with my back issues for so many years and just tried to compensate for it, which of course caused more long term problems. Anyway, this is the newest addition to my journey. I will write about it more later.

NOTE: I am opening up my Blog(and myself) to my personal trainer. I have not let anybody that I know in real life read my blog yet, but I think some of the stuff I write about will give him a good insight into how *F* up I really am (haha).

Personal trainer(who shall remain nameless) if you are here, welcome!

Reality Check

I was playing around on-line last night and was checking out the Subaru triathlon series website and...... registration is open for the 2010 triathlon series.... This probably should not be a big deal, but to me it signifies that we are getting closer to June 6, which is the day that I will be doing my first ever try a tri. I literally broke out in a sweat.... it is 3 months away. The thing is, I know I am capable of finishing it, it's not that long of a race.... my problem lies in opening myself up to be judged amongst a bunch of lean athletic people(even though I know on some level that I am not nearly important enough to be the star attraction).

I have been asking..... no begging family and friends to make sure they are around to come out and support me, because quite honestly, to have any shot of finishing this race I will need all the support I can get....

Last night I was dreaming I was running the tri, and I was wearing a t-shirt that said "Don't laugh at me - Cheer for me" on the front, and on the back it said "Fat girls have to TRI harder"

LOL, I just keep repeating to myself "I believe, I believe, I believe"