Stumbling Out of the Starting Blocks

I was supposed to go for a run tonight.

Actually, I was supposed to go for a run Monday night but then 106 - I should probably figure out a less confusing nickname for him, something using letters instead of numbers - heard about a board game night in town so plans got shifted around. In case you didn't get the memo: board game night > running.

Back to today, I was supposed to go for a run. I was also supposed to be over this stupid cold.

I took the stairs just one flight at work today and when I found myself only halfway up, stooped over from coughing, and hoping my lungs weren't suddenly going to dislodge themselves and tumble down to the bottom of stairwell, I cancelled my evening running plans.

No point starting the training plan with a call to the paramedics.

I still made a point to get out for a walk for a good 45 minutes. While it wasn't running, it was something.

I also haven't coughed in the last two hours so hopefully tomorrow (or Thursday at the latest) will see me back out on the running paths.

In the mean time, The Wire isn't going to watch itself!

Getting Antsy

I've hit that point with my back where I'm pretty much back to normal but every once and a while, I move a certain way and the spot twinges a little. Nothing serious, nothing last, but just enough to remind me that I recently injured it enough to require the heating pad. It's that annoying part of injury recovery: I feel like I should be able to do everything I did before the injury, but I'm terrified I'm going to aggravate it like I did last Sunday.

What's a girl to do?

Well, if you're me, you debate about making a low impact workout plan for this week and then decide 'to heck with it; I'll plan next week because I've got coffee dates with friends from Switzerland this week!' So, instead, you take the longest route possible from Fernwood to Cook St Village and back again. Granted, I broke the walk up with a two hour coffee stop, but that's not the point!

I've been really good about making sure I get out for a walk every day even when my back is sore. I can only think of five days since I hurt it where I didn't get at least 20 minutes in so I'm pretty happy with myself about that. It would have been so easy just to say 'injured, sitting on the couch, thanks' but I didn't. (I may have treated myself to some 'injured, need chocolate, thanks' on one or two occasions, but that's also not the point!)

While I'm still not really to jump back into high impact exercise at the moment, I'm definitely ready to ramp up the intensity of some low to medium impact exercises.

But next week, when I don't have coffee plans with friends from Switzerland.

Holding Steady

Other than two days when I decided not to walk (once due to my back being sore again, once due to driving up island to visit family), I rocked last week's goal. Sadly, my back is still a bit of an issue. While I'm still noticing improvement, my injury is in an annoying location that I tweak anytime I sit down or bend over. Full recovery is going to take longer than I originally hoped.

Boo-urns.

It does, however, make writing this week's goals very simple: walk 20 minutes every day... again. I'm going to up the ante a wee bit and add two easy sessions of yoga. I'm hoping it will help with the back issues.

The downside is that I'm lacking in blogging mojo because you can only talk about not being able to do things for so long before you feel it's better to just shut up. Curse you, back pain! CURSE YOU!

Goal: Heal Quicker!

Last week I set two simple goals: don't skip dance class, and go for a long walk. I went to dance class... and then failed to do anything else for the rest of the week. Even my at-home goals suffered because it's hard to crochet when you're lying on your back or clean out your fridge when you can't bend over.

I have a very quiet weekend, what with the laying on a heating pad and all. While my mobility has vastly improved, bending over is still pretty much a no-go area at the moment (so is sitting up without back support). I tried a bit of a walk on Sunday to meet up with my mom and by the end of the 20 minutes, I knew that I had reached my limit for physical activity for the day. Boo-urns! I had thought I was getting better but that was a wake up call.

I had to revamp my list of fitness goals for this week as one of the goals was weight training. It's really hard to work around back pain. I can't just work upper body because of a knee problem or lower body because of a shoulder issue. Also, not being able to walk for extended periods of time... also difficult to work around.

Sigh. So much for my 'off to a good start' gumption.

Still, the pain won't last forever and I can still do small things so I'm committing to walking for 20 minutes every day. It's not much but it's something and I'll adjust as the back improves. It's just something to make sure I don't spend the whole week sitting on the couch!

If my back feels better sooner rather than later, I'll throw 2 yoga sessions onto that list but I don't want to push myself too quickly.

Free Pass Equals Less Ass

As so often happens after travel, I got horribly, horribly sick upon returning home. Oh recycled plane air, how I hate you! Pity me, people. I went on an awesome trip, came home and got sick ;)

I gave myself a bit of a free pass while I was in Ireland. While I didn't go crazy and eat an Ulster Fry for every breakfast, I did have one twice. (Black pudding, white pudding, fried everything? Hells ya!) I might not have had a pint every night of the week, but I did let the two best bartenders in the country serve me multiple pints on multiple nights.

Why do I say this? Because somewhere in my three weeks of enjoying traditional Irish food and debating exactly which bar serves the best Guinness, I actually lost weight. Obviously, I need to travel more often! I'm putting it down to the incredible amount of walking that I did during my time there.

I may have also gotten inspired while I was in Ireland and looked up half- and full marathons in various locations around the island. Of course, the inspiration may have been more about looking for another excuse to visit parts of Ireland in which I don't have family. Say, the beautiful County Donegal, for example.

I'm feeling better so getting back into the swing of regular workouts is goal number one for the upcoming week. In the meantime, the first few days of travel are recapped here and here.

Fitting in the Family Time

Once I finally came back from the I'm not 20 and can't drink like that anymore ledge, I had a good week. Conflicting work schedules have left me running on my own but it hasn't slowed me down. I think that's always my biggest fear when I'm responsible to myself... Myself can be pretty f*&#ing lazy.

I was hoping to work in some swimming this week but after being called into the office pretty much all week, I haven't been able to get out to the lake. It's a catch-22: work = money to play but not the time to play.

*sigh*

I think we can all agree that sometimes being a grown up sucks. Still, there's a few more weeks of outdoor swimming weather left. I know I'll make it out there for a relaxing dip!

I've been trying to incorporate more yoga into my routine mostly to help with flexibility. While I wasn't working, it was easy to wake up at 7:30, do a 30 minute session, and still have my day started by 9:00am. When I have to leave the house at 7:20 to get to the office on time, it's a bit more difficult. As a result, I've only had one session this week. I've only been doing it for three weeks but the lack of it on my third week is already making me a sad panda.

Y U No Yoga? And Y U Mix Memes?

In amongst all the working and running and yoga-ing (totally going to call that a word), I've been enjoying my summer. My stepdad's family is visiting from New York. They're originally from Northern Ireland so we enjoyed a wonderful evening of talking about the GAA, Armagh vs. Tyrone, and how we're all distantly related to each other (short story: my uncle's wife's mother is their father's cousin. Did you follow that?)

Apparently Armagh/Monaghan family trees look something like this.

This weekend, I'm heading up to Nanaimo for more family socializing. I debated bringing my running gear for all of five minutes before deciding against it. My stepmom lives in a very hilly area so my runs always turn into walks. I'll just plan on a longer walk, followed by a cuppa and a round of rummy.

My stepmom and I take our rummy games very, very seriously. There's a good chance at least one of our games will end in blood and gloating.

How dare you go out while I have two aces in my hand!

All in all, the summer has shaped up to be pretty awesome.

A Weekend of Walking

Thanks to a niggling cough on Friday, my run once again turned into a walk. It worked out for the best in the end, however, as I was able to come home, change and head right back out again. I had a fairly epic walk, got caught in a freakishly quick sun shower, and was still home in time to watch Vancouver's first round draft pick. And by 'watch', I mean 'have my twitter set to the live #NHLdraft feed'.

Saturday morning, I headed off to Thetis Lake with a friend to do the Upper/Lower Thetis Trail. Despite a few menacing clouds, our time at Thetis was gorgeously sunny and warm. I'd have pictures of the hike except my camera is still on holidays without me (although it is currently on the ferry so I'll have it back soon!) so I guess I'll just have to go out and do it again.

Saturday evening was a Matoto social at Vista 18 followed by our June board meeting. I often forget about Vista18 when it comes to nights out because I find it a wee bit on the pricey side for food but to just sit and chat with some friends before getting down to business, it was perfect. I was even a very good girl and kept my promise to my mom that I wasn't going to drink any beer after the fairly healthy week I had.

However, the word 'mojito' may have crossed my lips.

And now I'm off for another long walk and then dinner (BBQ steak--yummy!) at my mom's. It's been a good weekend, and it really helps that summer is here (and this time, I think it might stay).

Not Following the Plan

When I woke up Saturday morning to a dark cloud hanging over the very park I was supposed to go for a hike in and my hiking partner texting about a stumble the night before which had aggrivated her calf muscle (perhaps a few too many beers during the hockey game, hmm?), all my well thought out weekend exercise plans seemed to fall by the wayside... again.

I still got out on Saturday morning but instead of a challenging up-down, I did a relatively flat urban hike so I could stick close to shops I could duck into if it started to rain. It never did rain. In fact, it turned into a beautiful day for a hike. *sigh*

I also spent Saturday pretending I was a lumberjack. Yeah, you read that right. My dad's property backs onto a forest. Between the encroaching overgrowth and the tree that got tired of standing upright, there's a lot of work to be done around the house. I love the sound of a chainsaw and the smell of fresh sawdust. It reminds me of my childhood (and all the hippies in Victoria just gasped).

Pretending one is a lumberjack works up quite the sweat. I might have to suggest it to various workout groups around town. (And if they happen to clean up my dad's property while getting their workout... BONUS!!) It works up such a sweat that I decided beer was in order. So did my Big Bro. We stole it from Baby Bro's stash. We're good siblings like that.

I headed out for a walk today with a friend and I've picked up a new running buddy. It does mean that I'll be starting the running training over again because she'a beginner but yay for a running buddy. I've been lacking in one since my last one moved on me (although I still love her very much and think she's a fantastic lady even if she does insist on supporting stupid hockey teams like the Flames).

So, in short, I failed to do a single one of the workouts I set out to do but I still had an incredibly active weekend. And now that it's raining, I'm going to reward myself by sitting in a dark theatre :)

Also, GO CANUCKS!!

Focus on the Positives and Recommit

I'm finally back from the dead over the chest/head cold which has been keeping me pretty low key for the last week. It's been a tough two weeks--I was told to stop running, I lost my workout buddy to Vancouver, I was viciously attacked by my own respiratory system--and I have to admit that at one point, I felt like giving up on the getting healthy. Then a few friends were talking about next week's marathon which I will no longer be participating in. That really didn't help the crummy.

As I got over my cold, I also got over my 'oh woe is me' feelings and decided to focus on the positive:

1. Running is temporarily on hold while we sort out what's up with my knees. The doc is very positive that I will be back at it soon and that nothing long term has actually happened to my knees.
2. I'm still allowed to dance and that makes me the happiest when it comes to cardio. I will be plante-tacon-ing and djole-ing once a week for the foreseeable future.
3. Before the attack of the irritated bronchial tubes, I was doing well with the 'at home' workouts. I know what needs tweaking when I start them up again this week.
4. I have a new walking partner.
5. My eating has been very clean throughout my illness and I know I can continue that through the next couple weeks.
6. Beauty and the Beast comes out on DVD on Tuesday!

Okay, so that last one isn't health/fitness related but it's a positive, darn it!

At the start of September I began writing a contract with myself as a guide to keep myself on target with my workouts and eating. Somewhere along the way, it went from being a simple contract with a few guidelines to a fully annotated Encyclopdia AndreaClairicus. The original thought was in the right place and I want to go back to that. I have a rough draft of it done so I plan to do a quick rewrite of it and then it will be up on here for everyone to see... as soon as I'm done watching Beauty and the Beast.

Because Stockholm Syndrome rocks!

The End of Summer is Nigh!

You will forgive me, dear Readers (all two of you), for being a little remiss with my blog updates as of late. While the East Coast slowly roasts itself into the next Sahara, the West Coast is welcoming Fall. When the sun's out and I'm not at my desk, I've been frantically trying to fit in as many enjoyable outdoor activities as I can.

I've been taking it easy when it comes to workouts this week. This is due in part because my running partner is under the weather so she's limited to walks. In one month I lose her to Vancouver. I want to maximize my THR time while I can! I'm also willing to just walk because this weekend I'll be going up to Shawnigan Lake to take part in MoonDance's Denbaya West African Intensive. There is the potential for 14 hours of intense cardio over three days. Granted, some of those classes can also be instrument classes, but the potential is there! To give you an idea of how awesome a cardio workout West African dance is this video is of Wontanara, MoonDance's partner Performance Troupe.



Yeah. I feel okay with not running this week.

Through increasing the number of blogs I stalk follow on my reader, I stumbled across Tina's 30 Days of Self-Love yesterday. I think it's a fantastic idea which deserves to be shared. I know some many amazing women with so many enviable qualities which they never see in themselves because all they see are their body issues, work issues, marital status issues, etc. Is it too much to ask of ourselves to take 30 days to focus on loving ourselves as we are? I will be talking about it more at a later day when I've had a bit more time to sort out my thoughts and ideas. In the meantime, click the link above (or on the side--coming soon) to find out more information and to join.

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BBQ's, Movies, Drinks. Oh My!

It has been an incredibly busy week and I've been loving every minute of it. There's been a few drinks consumed, lots of stories shared and even a few breaks in the socializing to go for a run or two. The weather has slowly been turning in Victoria so it seems like everyone's trying to fit in as many last minute BBQ's in as they can!

I went for a very long walk on Tuesday night which ended up being almost two hours thanks to all my starting and stopping to take photos of the beautiful sun set.

From Dallas Rd looking South-West to Albert Head.

Wednesday night was out with a few work friends to the Rooftop at the Sticky Wicket where we experienced some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. I've lived in places that have a much different opinion of customer service than we do in North America, so when I say worst understand that I know what bad customer service is. Luckily, the company I was with was fabulous and we had a great night. (Please understand that I normally love the Wicket and they have great service. I put the failings of this waitress squarely on her shoulders.)

Friday night was a run with THR which I was incredibly happy with. I felt great the whole time we were out, we kept a good pace, and we got a lot of gossiping done. It was a great way to end the work week and start the weekend. After a quick shower and dinner, it was girl's night with A&S. We were supposed to watch a movie, but we ended up just chatting and drinking which was okay by me. Although the movie we were going to watch was "The Back-Up Plan" which I mostly wanted to watch for this:

I have a little huge crush on Alex O'Loughlin.

Sigh. Another girl's night, perhaps.

Saturday was a fabulous morning stroll for coffee and a paper before heading to an afternoon BBQ at my friend's house which is on a lake followed by going to see "The Last Starfighter" at the Free-B Film Fest in Beacon Hill Park with my friend and her son. I'm a huge sci-fi fan so you'd think I would have seen this movie before, but I hadn't. I was pleasantly surprised. If you ever happen to be in Victoria on an August weekend, you should definitely check out the Free-B Film Fest. Bring blanks and snacks!

Today I took it easy with a walk with THR this morning, a delightful lunch with my mom, and now I'm doing laundry and writing up a contract with myself for my fitness goals (more on that once I have it completed). It's hard to believe that August is ending in only a few days. There's a rather large list of things I didn't get done this summer that I was hoping to, but I'm very happy with all the activities I did get done. Besides, soon we'll be heading into Fall which is one of my favourite times of year so I can't be sad.

Well, I look at pictures like this and I'm a little sad that summer is ending.

Sun set over Glen Lake.

Is there anything you really wanted to do this summer that you never got around to? Are you busy trying to cram the last moments of fun into August?

It Was Worth It

I was going to write a blog post, but the setting sun just looked so nice that I had to run down to the water to capture it on camera. Then my batteries died and what I thought were replacement batteries were repacement batteries for my TV remote. No beautiful picture of the sunset reflecting on the Olympic Mountains. No orange and pinks giving way to blue and purple with Venus reflecting back at me. No Roy Henry Vickers-esque moon caught showing Raven laughing at me. They're all stuck on my dead camera until tomorrow.

Sigh.

Well, I did yoga when I got up this morning, ate really well all day, and the sunset inspired me to walk for two hours tonight so it was a great day even without the photos.

I'll leave you with one of my other favourite sunset photos instead.

Dhow and Sunset, Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

P.S. When I win the lottery, I'm going to buy a Roy Henry Vickers original.
What artist (or piece of art) would you buy?