I was at the gym when some girl asked me that. It kind of caught me off guard too. Well, I wish I had some big secret to share but I don't. It's a bit of genes but mainly it's 'calories in vs calories out'. Everyone in my family is fairly slender, both immediate and extended. A high metabolism must run in the family.
That doesn't mean if you don't have a high metabolism or your family isn't generally slender, you're screwed. The biggest thing is the number of calories you eat vs the number of calories you burn. I'm sure you watch what you eat and you go to the gym everyday and sweat like crazy while running on the treadmill for an hour and a half, but if you can't lose those last 10 lbs, or you don't see a difference in your weight, then I'm also sure your watching yourself eat that quick slice of pizza after class/work or that Big Mac from McDonalds with large fries and a diet coke that you only eat once or twice a month. You up-ed your intensity/duration/weights today at the gym, so you can treat yourself to a pasta dish with a creamy sauce you need to replenish the carbs right? do you really NEED to?? You ate a healthy salad and an apple for lunch so you're allowed to have some chips or cookies after dinner. You'll be going to the gym tomorrow anyways...
Do you see where I'm going with this? Those little exceptions that you make for yourself add up!! Once or twice a week is enough to keep those last few pounds from melting off.
I'm not saying stop eating, I'm not saying workout longer and I'm not saying, forget about the gym cause you're gonna eat that 99 cent pizza anyways. I'm saying refrain from 'treating' yourself with bad foods and eat healthier while keeping that work-out intensity up.
Don't succumb to the McDonalds drive through because you're hungry and it's on the way home from work. Keep a bag of nuts and dried fruit in your car to chomp on until you can get home and make yourself a proper meal.
OR!! stop complaining and whining about your fat thighs, flabby arms and big stomach come bikini time or summer time for you guys and just enjoy every last bite of your Double Quarter Pounder with bacon and cheese.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Ooh na na, what's my weight....
I don't know what this info really says about what's going on with my weight, but out of curiosity, I measure and weigh monthly to see if my INTENSE training is doing anything.
Feb 8th
119lbs
Waist 27.5"
Hips 35.25"
Upper leg 21.25"
Above knee 16"
Calf 14"
Left Bicept (unflexed) 10"
Jan 3rd
118lbs
Waist 26.75"
Hips 35"
Upper leg 21"
Above knee 16"
Calf 14"
Left Bicept (unflexed) 9.75"
So it looks like I've gained a pound, but really that could be due to hydration, food ingestion, time of day, or maybe I'm just a pound of muscle heavier. Gained .75 inches in the waist? what the heck? I hope that extra pound is food then!! 0.25" in the hips....could that be from a bigger butt?? My weight training has mostly been concentrating on increasing strength in the hamstrings, quads and glutes, so the 0.25" gain in upper leg and hips makes sense. Stronger arms!! .25"!! yeah for swimming!
So I've gained some mass here and there, but it's only the first month in! I've still got 6 more to go! And really, numbers are just numbers! It's how I feel that's the most important thing. I feel stronger, and I can see that my body looks more fit!
Overall though I do feel tired all the time!
I was discussing Ironman with a fellow swimmer and she was saying how her and her husband were going to do a half Ironman distance at the end of the summer. She wanted to do a full Ironman distance, but wanted to see how the half went first. Her decision to do a full would have nothing to do with the race itself, but the time spent training for a half and then relating that to the time needed to train for a full.
Hm, well that's funny! Usually people say the factor holding them back from doing Ironman is the distance of the race, not the time needed in order to train for the race. That is, unless you speak with someone who's already trained and raced a full Ironman distance. Smart!
Training for IMC while taking 2 classes and working part-time....what was I thinking!!!???
8 more weeks and 1 class will be done while the 2nd class depends on me because its self-paced. Put school on hold again? scrape by on depleting finances?? In 8 weeks time, I'll know what to do because I'll either have no more money, or my class schedule will "work" and allow me to work, train and study. I know which way Im leaning though.
Only missed one swim workout last week due to a swollen eye. I didnt know how my goggles would fare over a swollen eye lid so I decided to just skip the swim instead. 11.5 hours worth of training later and I'm already into the next week. Those Monday Rest days just don't seem long enough!
Feb 8th
119lbs
Waist 27.5"
Hips 35.25"
Upper leg 21.25"
Above knee 16"
Calf 14"
Left Bicept (unflexed) 10"
Jan 3rd
118lbs
Waist 26.75"
Hips 35"
Upper leg 21"
Above knee 16"
Calf 14"
Left Bicept (unflexed) 9.75"
So it looks like I've gained a pound, but really that could be due to hydration, food ingestion, time of day, or maybe I'm just a pound of muscle heavier. Gained .75 inches in the waist? what the heck? I hope that extra pound is food then!! 0.25" in the hips....could that be from a bigger butt?? My weight training has mostly been concentrating on increasing strength in the hamstrings, quads and glutes, so the 0.25" gain in upper leg and hips makes sense. Stronger arms!! .25"!! yeah for swimming!
So I've gained some mass here and there, but it's only the first month in! I've still got 6 more to go! And really, numbers are just numbers! It's how I feel that's the most important thing. I feel stronger, and I can see that my body looks more fit!
Overall though I do feel tired all the time!
I was discussing Ironman with a fellow swimmer and she was saying how her and her husband were going to do a half Ironman distance at the end of the summer. She wanted to do a full Ironman distance, but wanted to see how the half went first. Her decision to do a full would have nothing to do with the race itself, but the time spent training for a half and then relating that to the time needed to train for a full.
Hm, well that's funny! Usually people say the factor holding them back from doing Ironman is the distance of the race, not the time needed in order to train for the race. That is, unless you speak with someone who's already trained and raced a full Ironman distance. Smart!
Training for IMC while taking 2 classes and working part-time....what was I thinking!!!???
8 more weeks and 1 class will be done while the 2nd class depends on me because its self-paced. Put school on hold again? scrape by on depleting finances?? In 8 weeks time, I'll know what to do because I'll either have no more money, or my class schedule will "work" and allow me to work, train and study. I know which way Im leaning though.
Only missed one swim workout last week due to a swollen eye. I didnt know how my goggles would fare over a swollen eye lid so I decided to just skip the swim instead. 11.5 hours worth of training later and I'm already into the next week. Those Monday Rest days just don't seem long enough!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
"You do what??"
So what IS a triathlon? what's Ironman?? you mean the movie??
A lot of people don't know what triathlons are. They've heard of marathons....but a tri....athlon??
My passion, explained.
A triathlon is a race composed of 3 disciplines. It begins with a swim that can be done in a pool, lake or ocean, followed by a bike course that can be flat, hilly, both, a big loop, out and back or two loops, etc and lastly a run which can also be flat, hilly, both, one big loop, an out and back or consecutive loops. No rest inbetween. It's just one after another, after another. There are transition areas where you keep your bike and running gear so once you come out of the swim, you run to your bike, which is stacked on a rack, slip into your cycling gear and off you go. Coming back into the transition area and off the bike, you re-rack your bike and slip into your running gear and you're off for the last leg of the race. Simple!
Not all triathlons are the same though. They differ in their distances. There is a Sprint distance which consists of a 700m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. When I first heard these distances (plus the other ones I'm about to explain) I still didnt know how far they actually were. 700m? Should I get 700 meter sticks from Temp and lay them out? 20k bike? That's from where to where? 5km run....did I do that in gym for highschool? Is that like the campus run?
For your knowledge and mine....
The Sprint distance. That's like swimming from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Kamloops (Where the Bank of Montreal is), riding from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to the outdoor running track at SFU Burnaby Mtn Campus and then back again, and running from the Hastings side, Playland entrance to Willingdon street and then back. 1.5 hours and you're done!
Then there's the Olympic distance which consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike and a 10km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Victoria Drive, riding from Hastings and Naniamo to the Vancouver Airport and then back, and running....well, you've done the Vancouver 10K Sun Run!! If you haven't, you're not a TRUE Vancouverite! (j/k) It's like running from Hastings and Naniamo to Sushi Town in Burnaby and then back. You could be done in 3 hours!
Next up is the Half Iron distance which consists of a 2.0km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Skeena (the top of the block where that big McDonalds is), you're riding from the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge to Whistler (no back this time!) and running from Hastings and Naniamo to the Richmond side of the Knight Street bridge and then back again. This took me somewhere in the 6.5 hour range.
Lastly, there's the Ironman distance. 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2 km run. easy! You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Willingdon, riding from the Ironworker's memorial bridge to Whistler and back again, and running along the Trans Canada Highway (hwy #1) from the Hastings street exit, to the first exit going into Surrey (exit 48?) and then back again.
Wow, when I put it into those tangible reference points....it IS far!!!
You might be wondering 'how do you eat?? What happens if you need to go pee?' There are lot's of "fake food" alternatives that are in easy, single use packages like powerade gels or protien bars that provide you with carbs and engery. Most races also have water stations that give out water and some electrolyte drink usually powerade or gatorade. And I just pee in the pool. Hahaha, no I've never done that before! I pee before the race and I usually don't have to go again. For longer distances like the half and full Ironman, there are porter pottys that are set up along the route. I have to admit though, I have pee'd in my wetsuit before Ironman, but you can't help it! You wake up early and drink water to make sure you're hydrated and then you get your wetsuit on and wait and wait......and by the time you're on the beach, its too late to go back to the porter pottys...and the water is RIGHT there....no one knows you're doing it, but everyone else is doing it too!
Hmm, what else do people usually ask me about triathlons? How did I get into Triathlons? That answer will have to wait for another blog.
Do you have a question? Leave me a question in the comment box! Don't worry, you can be anonymous!
Anyone can do a triathlon! Start with a sprint distance! You don't need a fancy bike or a complicated training program. 6-8 weeks of training and you'd be ready for your first sprint triathlon! Finishing a triathlon is way better then finishing a run race anyways!!
A lot of people don't know what triathlons are. They've heard of marathons....but a tri....athlon??
My passion, explained.
A triathlon is a race composed of 3 disciplines. It begins with a swim that can be done in a pool, lake or ocean, followed by a bike course that can be flat, hilly, both, a big loop, out and back or two loops, etc and lastly a run which can also be flat, hilly, both, one big loop, an out and back or consecutive loops. No rest inbetween. It's just one after another, after another. There are transition areas where you keep your bike and running gear so once you come out of the swim, you run to your bike, which is stacked on a rack, slip into your cycling gear and off you go. Coming back into the transition area and off the bike, you re-rack your bike and slip into your running gear and you're off for the last leg of the race. Simple!
Not all triathlons are the same though. They differ in their distances. There is a Sprint distance which consists of a 700m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. When I first heard these distances (plus the other ones I'm about to explain) I still didnt know how far they actually were. 700m? Should I get 700 meter sticks from Temp and lay them out? 20k bike? That's from where to where? 5km run....did I do that in gym for highschool? Is that like the campus run?
For your knowledge and mine....
The Sprint distance. That's like swimming from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Kamloops (Where the Bank of Montreal is), riding from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to the outdoor running track at SFU Burnaby Mtn Campus and then back again, and running from the Hastings side, Playland entrance to Willingdon street and then back. 1.5 hours and you're done!
Then there's the Olympic distance which consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike and a 10km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Victoria Drive, riding from Hastings and Naniamo to the Vancouver Airport and then back, and running....well, you've done the Vancouver 10K Sun Run!! If you haven't, you're not a TRUE Vancouverite! (j/k) It's like running from Hastings and Naniamo to Sushi Town in Burnaby and then back. You could be done in 3 hours!
Next up is the Half Iron distance which consists of a 2.0km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Skeena (the top of the block where that big McDonalds is), you're riding from the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge to Whistler (no back this time!) and running from Hastings and Naniamo to the Richmond side of the Knight Street bridge and then back again. This took me somewhere in the 6.5 hour range.
Lastly, there's the Ironman distance. 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2 km run. easy! You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Willingdon, riding from the Ironworker's memorial bridge to Whistler and back again, and running along the Trans Canada Highway (hwy #1) from the Hastings street exit, to the first exit going into Surrey (exit 48?) and then back again.
Wow, when I put it into those tangible reference points....it IS far!!!
You might be wondering 'how do you eat?? What happens if you need to go pee?' There are lot's of "fake food" alternatives that are in easy, single use packages like powerade gels or protien bars that provide you with carbs and engery. Most races also have water stations that give out water and some electrolyte drink usually powerade or gatorade. And I just pee in the pool. Hahaha, no I've never done that before! I pee before the race and I usually don't have to go again. For longer distances like the half and full Ironman, there are porter pottys that are set up along the route. I have to admit though, I have pee'd in my wetsuit before Ironman, but you can't help it! You wake up early and drink water to make sure you're hydrated and then you get your wetsuit on and wait and wait......and by the time you're on the beach, its too late to go back to the porter pottys...and the water is RIGHT there....no one knows you're doing it, but everyone else is doing it too!
Hmm, what else do people usually ask me about triathlons? How did I get into Triathlons? That answer will have to wait for another blog.
Do you have a question? Leave me a question in the comment box! Don't worry, you can be anonymous!
Anyone can do a triathlon! Start with a sprint distance! You don't need a fancy bike or a complicated training program. 6-8 weeks of training and you'd be ready for your first sprint triathlon! Finishing a triathlon is way better then finishing a run race anyways!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Me vs. Myself
It's always a mental game. My brain tells me yes, my body tells me no. My brain tells me no, my body tells me yes. My brain tells me no, my body tells me no, but I tell me yes. Although last week was a recovery week, I missed too many workouts 3 + both core workouts but I had to work 5 days this week with most shifts ending at midnight or later and the internal dialogue that would play through my head every morning and every night consisted mainly of reasoning, coaxing, persuading, compromises and finally settling on a decision to carry out the day with or without the scheduled workouts. If I missed a workout on a particular day though, I didn't mentally let it effect my other workouts. It's too easy to beat yourself up over a missed session and let that negativity carry over to the next session.
Ultimately this mental dialogue is practice for race day. My brain tells me I'm too tired as I lay in bed, but I have to tell myself that I do have the energy. My brain tells me I feel sad and this isn't worth it while I grab my gear, but I tell me that I will feel great after and that this is worth it. My body tells me I'm not strong enough as I do my workouts, but I tell my body I will get stronger. My muscles burn telling me I don't have the endurance, but I tell my body to push through the sensations, to withstand them.
Doesn't sound all too appealing does it?
Ironman is a long race and on race day my body will tell me that it is tired, my brain will tell me to stop, my muscles will be on fire but I will tell me that I can go on and that I will go on. "Pain is only a state of mind. There is no pain." Anything can happen to set you back: GI problems, line-ups at porter potties, flat tires, bike accidents, goggles getting kicked off, IT band flare ups, dehydration, hypothermia, dropped water bottles and the list goes on and on. Just like a missed workout, I can't let these set backs hold me back from giving 110% of my effort and finishing the race to the best of my ability.
Your brain can adapt, your body can adapt, but you have to tell you what you can and can not do; what you will and will not do.
We completed our second time trial at Peak Centre for Human Performance http://www.peakcentrevancouver.ca/ This involved riding bits and pieces of IMC's bike course on compu trainers along side fellow athletes. The compu trainer alters and adjusts the resistance mimicking the flats, hills and slopes of the actual course and all the athletes are hooked up to one computer so we can actually race against one another. There's even a big screen in front of us showing where we are on the course. Kind of like that horse racing game at the PNE, where you feed a ball into numbered holes using a pinball machine like contraption and the more difficult a hole you get your ball into, the further along your horse moves, and all the horses move from one end of the screen to the other. Well, anyways, I was racing with both new athletes as well as those from my first go last month and as weird as this may sound I had to force myself NOT to race against anyone else but myself. It's only natural to compete against everyone cause we're all technically racing with one another, but instead of focusing on what place I was in, who was in front, who was behind or if I could catch up to whoever was in front, I focused on pushing hard, maintaining my rpm's (the speed of my pedal stroke) and effort and not giving into the burning in my lower body. I was happy to see that I had finished 30 seconds faster then last month.
I might have missed some workouts here and there this month, but I'm getting faster, stronger and more focused.
Ultimately this mental dialogue is practice for race day. My brain tells me I'm too tired as I lay in bed, but I have to tell myself that I do have the energy. My brain tells me I feel sad and this isn't worth it while I grab my gear, but I tell me that I will feel great after and that this is worth it. My body tells me I'm not strong enough as I do my workouts, but I tell my body I will get stronger. My muscles burn telling me I don't have the endurance, but I tell my body to push through the sensations, to withstand them.
Doesn't sound all too appealing does it?
Ironman is a long race and on race day my body will tell me that it is tired, my brain will tell me to stop, my muscles will be on fire but I will tell me that I can go on and that I will go on. "Pain is only a state of mind. There is no pain." Anything can happen to set you back: GI problems, line-ups at porter potties, flat tires, bike accidents, goggles getting kicked off, IT band flare ups, dehydration, hypothermia, dropped water bottles and the list goes on and on. Just like a missed workout, I can't let these set backs hold me back from giving 110% of my effort and finishing the race to the best of my ability.
Your brain can adapt, your body can adapt, but you have to tell you what you can and can not do; what you will and will not do.
We completed our second time trial at Peak Centre for Human Performance http://www.peakcentrevancouver.ca/ This involved riding bits and pieces of IMC's bike course on compu trainers along side fellow athletes. The compu trainer alters and adjusts the resistance mimicking the flats, hills and slopes of the actual course and all the athletes are hooked up to one computer so we can actually race against one another. There's even a big screen in front of us showing where we are on the course. Kind of like that horse racing game at the PNE, where you feed a ball into numbered holes using a pinball machine like contraption and the more difficult a hole you get your ball into, the further along your horse moves, and all the horses move from one end of the screen to the other. Well, anyways, I was racing with both new athletes as well as those from my first go last month and as weird as this may sound I had to force myself NOT to race against anyone else but myself. It's only natural to compete against everyone cause we're all technically racing with one another, but instead of focusing on what place I was in, who was in front, who was behind or if I could catch up to whoever was in front, I focused on pushing hard, maintaining my rpm's (the speed of my pedal stroke) and effort and not giving into the burning in my lower body. I was happy to see that I had finished 30 seconds faster then last month.
I might have missed some workouts here and there this month, but I'm getting faster, stronger and more focused.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
thank the stars it's a recovery week
Last weekend was INTENSE! I thought I'd ease into Thursday with a yoga class before spin, but that set me up for an exhausting weekend. I started with an early morning swim on Friday which was followed by a strength training session in the gym and then a quick 2 hours at school. After some food and a 40 min run with drills I was off to work from 530-130am. I was happy to not work on Saturday because I spent my afternoon spinning for 2 hours and 40 mins on my trainer in my garage. I wasn't so fortunate on Sunday though because I had to work from 9-530. This meant I was up at 630 am to get my 60min long run in and headed straight to the pool after work to get 2000 metres done. Sleeping in on Monday was glorious.
total hours spent training last week, about 14 (not including yoga).
....too tired to write anything more interesting then this. sorry!
total hours spent training last week, about 14 (not including yoga).
....too tired to write anything more interesting then this. sorry!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Nobody's perfect
Argh, I missed a workout last week!! Totally my fault and totally avoidable, but I thought I could do it! and maybe 2 years ago, I would have been able to. On Saturday, I should have woken up earlier but I chose to sleep in a little instead so by the time I was out the door, I was already an hour behind schedule. Unfortunately, doing my long ride was not the first thing on my 'to-do' list that day but I managed to get semi-caught up and started my ride just 30mins behind schedule. This still left me scrambling to get ready, trying to get to my work's 1 year anniversary dinner on time. Unfortunately, this also meant that I didn't have enough time to properly re-hydrate after riding for 2.20 hours. Free drink tickets and cheap drinks meant many vodka cranberry highballs and a couple glasses of wine...
Well, I woke up the next morning at 6:45 am to get ready to run by 8, but there was no way I was actually getting out of bed. Eventually I did roll out from under my blankets and put my running shoes on to do 50 mins on my own, but after that, I was done for the day. In the state I was in, I just couldn't make the idea of getting into a pool and swimming 1500m appealing.
I cant beat myself up about it too badly. It's only week two of 34! I had a great time dressing up and dancing with my co-workers, plus I still got all my other workouts done for week 2. I completed two drills/technique swims along with two strength training workouts. The short ride, spinning class and long ride got done as well as my two shorter intensity runs and long run. I don't regret going out and having fun, but there won't be any more heavy drinking until after the big race. Fun, yes. Drunk, no.
Week 3 is looking pretty good!
ps, I've edited the comment leaving box so that you can leave a comment w/o having any sort of account.
Well, I woke up the next morning at 6:45 am to get ready to run by 8, but there was no way I was actually getting out of bed. Eventually I did roll out from under my blankets and put my running shoes on to do 50 mins on my own, but after that, I was done for the day. In the state I was in, I just couldn't make the idea of getting into a pool and swimming 1500m appealing.
I cant beat myself up about it too badly. It's only week two of 34! I had a great time dressing up and dancing with my co-workers, plus I still got all my other workouts done for week 2. I completed two drills/technique swims along with two strength training workouts. The short ride, spinning class and long ride got done as well as my two shorter intensity runs and long run. I don't regret going out and having fun, but there won't be any more heavy drinking until after the big race. Fun, yes. Drunk, no.
Week 3 is looking pretty good!
ps, I've edited the comment leaving box so that you can leave a comment w/o having any sort of account.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)