PhitDiva

Slow progress

2010-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say I've been able to start running again since my hip injury. My hip still gets a little sore from time to time, especially after running, but the pain while running is negligible.

The real challenge now is to figure out how best to train for my race on 11/26 given the time I have left and the need to avoid further injury.

I've run three times over the past couple of weeks, my first workouts since I went on running hiatus. I don't feel like my fitness level has dropped drastically, but I've been trying to take it a little easy.

The first two workouts, I took numerous breaks to walk. Today, I ran 3 miles without stopping, and my hip felt fine. It's a bit sore now. I've been careful to stretch thoroughly after warming up and when cooling down.

I am fairly pleased with my splits from today's workout. My total time for the 3 miles was 33 minutes and 50 seconds, well under my 12 minute pace. My average pace was 11:16. Not bad, considering I took it pretty slow for the first mile. I ran the first half of the workout (1.5 miles) in 17:48, which averages out to a pace of 11:40. I was quite a bit faster on the second half (and it felt great!). I ran the 2nd 1,5 miles in 16:02, an average pace of 10:39-- which is pretty close to my target training pace for easy distance.

Vroom! Vroom!

2010-10-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I feel the need, the need for speed!

(Didn't really like this movie... but LOVED Tom Cruise!)

With fear and trembling, I took the plunge and signed up for my "first" race. I will run the 8K Ridgewood Turkey Trot, which will be held on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25, 2010).

The Turkey above is the official race logo. I sure wish that turkey didn't look so exhausted! I definitely feel some trepidation (terror?) about this race. I really kind of wanted to do a 5K as my first race this time around-- only 3.1 miles. Now I'll be racing my longest distance ever, 5 miles. Yikes! That's a looong way to try to maintain a faster than comfortable pace.

I must be crazy. I signed up in the competitive division, rather than the recreational one. But as far as I can tell, the main difference is that only the runners in the competitive division will be officially timed. I'd rather have someone else do the timing-- I'll have my hands full just running. Oh, yeah, also, competitive division runners will get a long-sleeved technical fabric race shirt, rather than a cotton one. I'm kind of excited about that-- I need more tech shirts for training!

I've got about 8 weeks to train between now and then. I keep telling myself that's plenty of time. (Self, are you listening?) I'm going to use a 5K/10K training plan, and am hoping to move up from the "bronze" training plan I've been using to "silver." I can't let this distance intimidate me. By the time race day comes, I'll have at least one 14-mile training run under my belt (if all goes as planned, knock wood!) That ought to boost my confidence, just knowing I CAN go almost triple the distance.

The big reason I chose this particular race is that I am familiar with much of the course. It starts in the Ridgewood Shopping Center at Wade Ave. and Ridge Rd. in Raleigh, proceeds down Ridge Rd. past Glen Eden, makes a few turns, and loops back onto Ridge Rd., finishing at the start.

I should have ample opportunity between now and the race to train on the course several times. I can even take the car and use the odometer to see where each mile point is. (I have no idea if there will be markers during the race.) The other day, DS and I drove part of the course, as far as Glen Eden. I noted that heading in that direction, the course is pretty much a gentle decline. Which means that heading back towards the finish, the last 2 miles or so will be uphill! This is a USATF certified course, and the race promo indicated that for the competitive division runners, the course would include "some challenging hills." Oh good. I was really hoping for EVEN MORE challenges!

One thing I like about this race is that it benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. My beloved aunt, Ellie, has MS. She's been doing really well since her diagnosis, so we've been lucky. This one's for you, Ellie!

I've had to shift my thinking considerably, because up to now, I've really been focused on a distance of 3.1 miles and my dream of finishing in the mid-20's. I have no idea what a respectable finish time is for an 8K! So I checked last year's results to see the finishes for females in my age group. 27 0f the 54 women ran at 10 minutes per mile or faster. Here are the results for the top 3 finishers in my age group:

Finish ................Pace per mile
00:37:56 ........ .7.63
00:39:35.......... 7.96
00:40:11........... 8.09

Yikes! Looks like a decent finish is 40 minutes or under. To be competitive, I'd need to run a SUB 8-minute mile. Not sure I'll be ready to do that, especially considering I have to do it for 5 whole miles. But we'll see. All I can do is run my best on that day.

I'll be in good company. The woman who came in last in my age group finished in 1 hour and 19 minutes, at a pace of just under 16 minutes per mile. My hat is off to her!! She didn't let herself be intimidated by younger and faster runners. She's my inspiration-- if she can do it, then so can I!

I was reading recently that when training to race, you should run pace workouts 6 seconds per mile faster than your target racing pace. So, if I wanted to finish in, say, 38 minutes, I'd need to race at 7.6 minutes per mile, which is 7 minutes and 36 seconds. That means my target for pace workouts would be 7 minutes and 30 seconds per mile!

I also read another article that said a good way to train is to break the race distance down into 3-5 segments, and run each of those segments at race pace, with recovery between each. Well, 5 miles would seem to break down nicely into 5 1 mile segments, running each at 7 minutes and 36 seconds. FIVE mile repeats at race pace? ERG!! I'm still waiting to see if I'll be able to run 800 meters at race pace, LOL!

(My idol, JJK)

The Ridgewood Turkey trot is a very popular race. Last year there were over 2000 runners in the competitive division. I'm really nervous about racing in such a large pack. I've never run a race this big or this long. I really hesitated about choosing this event. But the fact that I could train on the actual course seemed to me to be a significant advantage, because I'll be familiar with the course and will know what to expect. And I believe runners will be lined up at the start according to pace per mile. That is somewhat reassuring-- at least I won't have to worry about getting trampled from behind by some 6-minute miler!

Several of last year's participants complained that their official times were much slower than their actual times. I hope this has been corrected for this year. I'm quite envious of the complainers, as they used their fancy GPS sports watches to track their finishes. Oh, how I would love to have one of those. Not only can you download your race course to it, so you know the route and where you are on it, but it also serves as a heart rate monitor (with the additional chest band, of course). Best of all, it tracks your pace per mile while you're running. It would be wonderful to see my splits and KNOW I'm hitting my pace on race day!

I've read so much conflicting information about proper racing strategy. This one says, run negative splits, so the second half of your race is faster than the first. That one says, negative splits are passe; go out FASTER than your target pace and try to hold it. Another says, to improve your time, take walk breaks... or was that only for marathon racing? ACK!!! I'M SO CONFUSED!

I guess I'll figure it out. The point of doing the race is really not the finish time. The point is to have a goal, so there's a reason for all this running-- and to challenge myself to do my best on race day.

Tomorrow starts a new training week, with a new training plan. My hip feels back to normal, for which I am deeply grateful. OK, I'm ready to unleash my inner JJK. BRING IT ON!

The I word

2010-09-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

My week in running has not been quite so good as I had hoped. After my disastrous splat against The Wall two Sundays ago, I've been taking it a bit easy. This past Sat. I did my long run. I felt really good-- made it up The Hill twice with no problems. My time goal was 84 minutes, which I surpassed. My distance goal was 7.5 miles, which I made, finishing in 1 hr. 25 min. and 35 sec. My pace averaged out to 11.4 minutes per mile, about 1 minute per mile slower than my goal pace of 10.25 minutes for my "easy" long runs. I'm pleased because I stayed aerobic the entire time. Making progress!

BUT. Somewhere around 4 miles, I became aware of A New Pain. Something I haven't noticed before. My right hip was hurting. I probably should have stopped, right then, but I wanted to get to the water fountain at mile 5. I took a short break of a minute or two at the water fountain, which was, thank heaven, working for once. I sucked down as much water as I could. Then I went back to finish my run. When I got to the finish, I realized my hip had stopped hurting-- I hadn't even thought about if for that last 2.5 miles.

When I got home, I noticed my hip was sore. I've had some chronic soreness in that hip for ages, but it was a lot more painful than it has been. Oh, no. Don't even say it-- not the dreaded I word! Not now! I(njuries) are not allowed!

I took Motrin through the day. I checked my running book. It could be an ITB injury, which commonly causes pain in the knee but can cause pain in the hip. ITB stands for Iliotibial band syndrome, which is more common in women runners than in men. It is caused by inflammation of the Iliotibial band, a muscle that runs down the outside of the thigh to the outside of the knee.

The inflammation can be the result of overpronation, possibly caused by worn shoes; excessive downhill running; running on a cambered surface (where the middle of the road is higher than the sides), or overtraining. Climbing stairs is supposed to make it worse. (Unavoidable in my apartment, which is on 3 levels.) Recommended treatment is RICE-- rest, ice, compression, and elevation, along with a non-steroidal anti-inflammitory and stretching of the ITB, hamstrings, and quads.

I did this. I stretched throughout the day. I applied ice and compression by using an ace bandage to hold a bag of frozen peas on the sore spot. This reminded me of the scene from The Cutting Edge, where DB Sweeney is so sore from repeatedly falling on the ice that he's sitting at the dinner table with a large ice pack strapped to each hip!

(I loved this movie. I had the hugest crush on DB Sweeney. I'm definitely giving up my age now!)

On Sunday, the pain was pretty much gone. I took the next two days off from running just to be sure. Tuesday came, and I thought I should rest another day before doing my pace workout. I had planned to do it yesterday, but ended up running out of time. I did take Zelda for a short walk (2 miles). My hip has been more painful since then.

So, not sure if I will run anymore this week. I am not convinced it really IS an ITB injury. I've been thinking it could be a bit of arthritis, but the pain really does seem to be more muscular than in the joint. I'm really hoping to start my new training plan on Sat., but will have to see how I'm feeling. If it is still painful then, I will need to see a sports medicine doc ASAP.

Crash and Burn: The Wall

2010-09-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

My running week did not get off to a very good start. I was just about to head out Saturday morning for my long run when DS's dad called. This was to convey the information, at 9:20 a.m., that he was unable to take DS to his 10 a.m. SAT prep class. On the other side of town. Oh yes, and he would not be able to pick DS up either.

I have to admit, I was annoyed. I knew by the time I had dropped DS off at his class and driven to the greenway, it would be getting TOO HOT to run. I had planned to leave the house by 9, but with one thing and another, didn't. I suppose that was really a good thing, because otherwise DS would have missed his class, since I usually don't carry my phone while running. (Too heavy.)

I'd planned to run 7 miles and just couldn't face the thought of doing so on the treadmill. So, I knew I would have to postpone my run until Sunday. As it turned out, I spent all day doing errands, not even pausing to eat until after I arrived home with DS around 4. Nor pausing to drink anything, either. This turned out to have been a bad mistake.

On Sunday, I started out my long run feeling really good. I ran the first 2 miles in about 21 minutes, and at the three-mile mark, my time was 32:50. Wow, was I stoked! That is a good 5 minutes faster than my best 5K time, and it was just an "easy" training run! However, I got slower and slower as time went on and the route got hillier.

At about 4.75 miles I encountered The Hill. This is a shortish, but extremely steep hill. I managed to maintain my pace up the hill, but you know, that stuff catches up to you when you're done. Once I hit the flat on the other side, I was so completely out of breath I had to stop and walk for a while. This only slowed me down a little, because at 5 miles, my time was 55:11.

After this followed one of the most unpleasant running experiences I have ever had. I just could not seem to get my breath back, even by running reeaallly slowly. By the time I reached mile 6, I think I hit the dreaded "Wall." I have NEVER had this happen to me before. I felt dizzy and completely out of gas. I stopped and walked the next quarter mile very slowly.

Since I knew I only had a mile to go, I started running again-- slowly. But within a couple of minutes I encountered a small hill and was out of breath again. I was really determined to run that last mile. My body did not cooperate, however. At .75 miles, I just could not go any further. My time goal for the day was to reach 78 minutes, and at that point I had about a minute to go (not counting my walking time). I managed to keep going for that one last minute, and believe me, I was checking my watch about every 3 seconds! So, I didn't quite hit my distance goal of 7 miles, but got close: 6.75 miles.

I was so addled when I stopped that I kept on walking AWAY from the car instead of heading back towards the car, and my gatorade. It was a bit more than a mile to walk to get to the car, and it seemed like an eternity. By this time, it had started to get hot, so I grabbed my gatorade and went and sat in the shade to drink it. I felt a bit better after downing a pint of gatorade mixed with protein powder, but not much. I still felt so depleted I stopped on the way home and bought more gatorade-- and drank the entire quart in the car.

Well, I really learned my lesson. I am sure I was dehydrated before I even started my run, and it only got worse. I will be sure to hydrate well and take in adequate carbs the day before a hard workout. I also need to be more conscientious about carrying fluids with me on runs longer than an hour. I was so tired after my run that I had to lie down and take a nap, even though I immediately had a protein shake when I got home.

I did not run on Monday at all since I planned to do a pace workout on Tuesday, but when Tuesday came, I was feeling tired, so I skipped it. I didn't do it today either, mostly because I am out of protein powder and didn't have time to get more. (Food is kind of nauseating after a tough workout but I do fine with the protein shakes.)

Tomorrow I'm just going to do an easy run of 3 miles, and call it a week. I'm sure the extra rest this week will benefit me, and on Saturday, I'll be ready to hit the trail for my long run again.

This time, I'm absolutely confirming DS's transportation arrangements on Friday so I can get out and run early if I have to take him to class again. And making sure to eat and drink well on Friday, too!

Running Journal for week of 9/11

2010-09-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

I made it through week 2 of my 5K training plan.

Week 2 Summary
Total mileage: 18.7 miles

9/11: Long run. 6.5 miles on the greenway. 72 minutes.
9/12: Easy recovery run. 2 miles on the treadmill. 24 minutes.
9/13: Rest day.
9/14: Pace workout, 3 miles. 1 mile easy; 4 X 400 at 8 min. pace, and finished with 1 mile easy.
9/15: Easy recovery run. 3.1 miles on the greenway. 36 min., 44 sec.
9/16: Hills. 4.1 miles on the greenway. I don't have the time, since Zelda came to an abrupt stop at about mile 3, which pulled on the leash in just the right way to press the "stop" button on my chronometer watch.
9/17: Rest day.

Today I ran 4.1 miles on the greenway with Zelda. I really haven't been running many hills and around here, any race courses are likely to be hilly. So, I need to start practicing on hills. I picked a route that would have a couple of long hills, getting on the Greenway at Maynard and running across Dynasty Drive to pick up the part of the trail I usually run on.

I started off easy, and the first mile was a breeze. I had not been on this part of the greenway in several months, and I noticed that the first mile was mostly downhill. Easy! However, knowing that what goes down must come up, I was kind of worried about how I would handle the climb at the end of the run, when I was fatigued.

After the first mile came the first long hill. Wow, it was REALLY hard! it seemed endless. Thankfully, there was a nice downhill on the other side that gave me a chance to get my breath back. After hitting my chosen turnaround spot, I noticed that I was on a kind of gradual climb, up to Dynasty Drive, where there is a short, steep hill.

At that point, I was facing that nice downhill, which was now an uphill, long hill #2. I was out of breath, so I decided to cheat a bit and recover for a while before tackling the long hill. I ran slowly in place until I had caught my breath. It's a good thing I did, because hill #2 was long AND steep. In fact, by the time I got to the top, I felt slightly nauseated from the hard climb. This disappeared immediately once I started the downhill on the other side.

Then, time to face my fears-- that one mile climb between Dynasty and Maynard. I was really not sure I'd be able to finish. But surprisingly, the gradual climb was very do-able. It didn't get steep until just before the end, and I was able to stay aerobic until then.

I was so pleased I was able to run my whole route! Zelda, not so pleased. She was pretty sluggish that last mile, and must have been tired. I haven't been as conscientious as I should be about taking her for a good walk on the days I run without her, so I think she has lost a little conditioning. Never fear-- perseverance will fix that, and the weather should start getting cooler soon. That will help.

Pace Workouts

2010-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Pace workouts, or, as we used to call them, intervals. Fun, fun, right?? Well, maybe not so much. However, if you wish to improve speed and endurance, the pace workout is your most important, and highest-quality workout, of the week. Pace workouts challenge your body to work better at your anaerobic threshold, as well as training it to switch to burning fat for energy as glycogen stores in the muscles become depleted. So, while they may not be big fun, pace workouts are key to improving performance.

When I first started exercising years ago, breathlessness was the thing I feared the most and tried to avoid at all costs. Over the years, I've become a lot more comfortable working in oxygen debt. Certainly I can run anaerobically for at least a couple of miles. I've realized that beyond a certain point it really doesn't get any worse, even though you're scared it might.

My expanded capacity to tolerate being above my aerobic threshold is largely due to Cathe Friedrich's DVD workouts. Thanks, Cathe!! Cathe Friedrich's (Cathe.com) workouts will definitely put you over the top, aerobically speaking, and you'll get used to working while breathing pretty hard.

Not only is Cathe a fabulous instructor with fun and innovative workouts, she has a great sense of humor, too. On one of her step workouts there is a long section where you do seemingly endless 360-around-the-board repeats. Just as you are certain you are about to gasp your last, Cathe says, " I can hear you breathin' at home there!" Quite. It always makes me giggle.

Heh, heh. Pace workouts definitely fall into that "hurts so good" category. I always feel such a sense of achievement (not to mention relief!) when I finish a good, hard pace workout.

Just how do you run a pace workout? You can either do them on a track or a treadmill. Give me the treadmill any day! On the track, I am never sure of hitting my target pace. Also, being able to see how much farther I have to go is daunting. On the treadmill, if I want to run a 400 at 8 min. pace, all I have to do is convert that into miles per hour (60/8=7.5 mph) and then figure out how long I have to run to make 400 meters (8/4=2 min.). Set the treadmill to 7.5 mph, and you have no choice but to hit your target pace. That is, unless you'd prefer to go flying backward through the wall! Then, I just focus and try not to look at the timer until I absolutely cannot stand it. Hopefully there will not be much time left to go at that point.

How do you know what pace to run? That depends on your current fitness level and goals. If you are training for a race, your pace workout speed should be the same as what you intend to race at. But of course, this speed is something you must to be able to maintain for all the intervals. I might want to race at 6 min/mile, but there is no way I could maintain that pace for very long at my current fitness level. Check out this handy pace chart at the Runner's World site.

How far should you run? A pace workout should not exceed 10% of your total weekly mileage. If you are running 15 miles per week, then your pace workout (the intervals) should be 1.5 miles. So, if you run 4 400's with a 200 recovery between each, that's perfect. 4 400's = 1 mile, plus 4 200's for recovery= 800 meters or .5 miles, totaling 1.5 miles.

Where can you find examples of pace workouts? I'm following the 5K training plans in Claire Kowalchik's book, The Complete Book of Running for Women. You can also find Pace Workouts and Charts at the Runner's World website, as well as 5K training plans.

I'm easing into pace workouts. Today I ran 4 400's at 8 min. pace. It was hard but do-able. A few weeks ago I could barely finish a 200 at 8 min. pace-- so I am really happy! You should always warm-up with some easy running and finish easy too. I did a mile at 12 min. pace to warm up. Then I ran my intervals. I was supposed to recover by running slowly for 200 meters between each, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. Instead, I walked until my heart rate dropped just below my aerobic zone before starting each 400. I finished up with another mile at 12 min. pace.

Uh oh. Next week I have to run at least 1 800 and maybe even a 1200. I'm not sure I can run those distances at my chosen pace. However, I remember that when I had to jump from running 3 minutes at a time to running 5 minutes at a time, I didn't think I could do that either, but I did. So I'll wait and see. I may surprise myself.

Recovery. That's always important, especially after a hard workout. You want to replace your depleted glycogen stores as quickly as possible, because the body will soak up those carbs best within the first 30 minutes following your workout. Sports nutritionists recommend consuming a "meal" that contains a ratio of 4 parts carbs to 1 part protein immediately after finishing your workout. Liquids are most easily assimilated by the body, so a shake, smoothie or drink is ideal. Silk Chocolate soy milk has the magic 4 carbs:1 protein ratio. Today, I had Gatorade (16 g of carbs) with 1 T of protein powder mixed in (4 g protein).

About an hour after that first recovery meal, you should consume a heavier meal with more protein. Protein intake enhances muscle recovery. Today, that was my usual "breakfast shake." I make it with 1 c. chocolate almond milk, a scoop of protein powder (20 g. protein), a banana, and some ice. If it's going to be a while before my next meal, I'll add a T of peanut butter too.

Dude!! I get to have a "milkshake" and call it sports nutrition? I'm totally in!

Monday, Monday!

2010-09-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

Did you know that it is actually on your rest days that you get stronger and make fitness gains?

Last night, I was sleeping peacefully:

Until, at precisely 4:17 a.m., my eyes snapped open and I was awake. Wide awake.

Ugh, don't you hate that?? Of course, I never got back to sleep before my scheduled wakeup time of 6 a.m.

Not good, since I didn't get to sleep until midnight, and am fighting off a cold.
I have to do battle with my car today, too; twice in the last week it's been sluggish in starting. This means a trek to ye olde car repair shoppe where I will sit, bored, for a few hours. Is this Monday-ish or what?

I have a suspicion that one of my neighbors probably made a loud noise that woke me, since I heard subsequent loud thuds and crashes. No idea which apt. they were coming from, though.

I had planned to take Zelda out for a nice walk this morning since today is a rest day from running for me (thank goodness). However, my eyes are burning, my neck is aching, and I am wandering around in a haze of sleep deprivation. If I actually attempted to do anything requiring physical exertion, this would probably be the result:

I think it's sleepy time. Great way to waste half the day! I will have to call ye olde car repair shoppe later. Which probably means the whole thing will have to wait until tomorrow (meanwhile, I'll pray that the car will start if I need to use it again today). Thank the Lord (seriously), it started up without a problem when I had to take DS to school at 6:20 a.m.

Yesterday I did 2 miles on the treadmill at 12 min. pace. I felt pretty tired the first mile but then I perked up. Now, I think I'm going to take that nap. I am exhausted from head to toe. Got to rest up for my pace workout tomorrow. Nighty-night.

6 Mile

2010-09-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today's run was my longest so far. I ran about 6.5 miles in 72 minutes on the greenway. My goal today was to run either 6 miles or 72 minutes, whichever came last.

Man, was I TIRED at the end. I seriously felt ready to drop dead. I started out easy, and from checking the quarter-mile markers, was running about a 12-min. pace for the first 1/2 mile or so. At some point, I guess I picked it up some. I passed the 5 mile mark at about 53 minutes-- I can't totally recall, I just remember groaning inwardly and thinking, OMG, I still have 20 minutes to go! I was definitely running pretty close to a 10 min. mile at the end.

This is good. According to the pace chart in my handy dandy The Complete Book of Running for Women (by Claire Kowalchik), if I want to finish a 5K in about 25 min., I should be running my easy long runs at a 10:14 pace. I also should be doing pace workouts at 8:08 pace. Looks like I am inching my way towards that 10:14 pace!

I am really just so pleased and thrilled with my progress. 10 years ago, I started running and ran pretty seriously (if slowly) for about a year and a half. My running career ended abruptly with a case of Achilles tendinitis I could not get rid of. Back then, running even a 10 minute mile was just a dream. I ran a very consistent 12-min mile. I should add I was near my all-time highest weight ever back then. I'm a good 35 lbs. lighter now. But I love it-- I'm 10 years older and in BETTER shape than ever!

Oh, I am so excited. To think a 25 minute 5K might be within my grasp is amazing! I used to finish at about 37 min., so just finishing in under 30 would be incredible for me.

I think I owe my improvement to Zelda. When I got her back in March, I made a commitment to walk her for at least 45 min. every day. And I did. Before long, we were walking 5 miles every single day. That really improved my stamina and conditioned my legs-- leading me to HOPE that running again might be possible.

Wow, not only is it possible, but I am BETTER than ever! In May, I started my come-back. I made it through the initial 10 week program to build up to running 30 minutes without a single injury. I WAS sidelined for a couple of weeks with bronchitis, but I came right back with no loss of fitness. Oh, I am so excited. I actually can't wait for my pace workout on Tuesday to see if I can run 400s at 8 min. pace.

My distances on the greenway are frustratingly hard to figure out. My route is kind of funny, because I don't start at either terminus. The trail from the parking lot to the greenway provides entry right by marker 8. So I run from marker 8 down to the "end", then turn around and run past 8 to the "head" of the trail and then back to marker 8. However, there are only quarter mile markers for 1.75 miles of the trail. Between marker 8 (1.75 miles) and the "head" of the trail, there are no markers, so I have to guesstimate.

It took me a while to realize that from marker 8 to the "end" of the trail, there are only 7 markers, the first one at the end being marker 2, which, instead of being .5 miles from the end of the trail, is actually only .25 miles from the end. Logically, you would think that if you start running at marker 8 and run to the end, it would be 2 miles. But no. It's 1.75 miles.

The Town website says the length of the greenway is 2.5 miles, so on the other end, the distance from marker 8 to the head of the trail must be .75 miles. (1.75+ .75 = 2.5) It seems a lot longer! I guess this is because there is a HUGE, steep and winding hill just before you get to the trail head. That hill is what is just killing me-- I get anaerobic there and pretty much stay that way! Fortunately, by that time I'm somewhere around mile 4, so not too much further to go.

Running Journal for Week of 9/4

2010-09-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

My running has been going really well! I am so thrilled. I've started doing an easy 8-week training plan for running a 5K. My training times are pretty slow, but I have noticed it's getting easier to run that slow pace.
I'm starting to see some other results too. I can at last get my size 4 denim mini skirt up over my hips and fasten and zip it. I'm not saying I can walk in it or heavens, sit down-- but at least I can put it on now! Woo-hoo!

Zelda, wishing she could go for a run.

Zelda says, Time for run NOW? The door is THIS way!

You can see Zelda had "bald thigh syndrome," which is common in racing greyhounds. This photo was taken not long after we brought her home. Her hair has grown in pretty well now.

My Running Journal for this week:

Total mileage: about 15.5 miles. This is where I had hoped to be to start my 5-K race training.

Woo-hoo!! Made it through all 5 training sessions.

Sat. 9/4: Long run. 5 miles on the treadmill. 1 hr.
This was a great run-- I had originally planned to do just 3 miles, but I felt so good I decided to go ahead and start my training week with a long run, like I always used to do. Long slow distance-- it felt great, though I was getting tired the last mile. Ran inside due to heat.

Sun 9/5: Easy recovery run. 2 miles on the greenway. 24 min, 22 sec. Tired.
I ran with Zelda and we encountered several other people with dogs, so I was fighting her half the time. In fact, she got snarled up under my feet at one point and it's a miracle neither of us went down. I guess that's why I was slightly off my 12 min. pace! There were so many people near the front half of the trail I decided to just keep going, rather than turn around after one mile. That meant Zelda and I had to walk back about 1.75 miles to get to the car. It was hot, and we were both tired. Not the best run.

Zelda, after our run today:

So tired! Exhaustified!

I love the little foot splayed out here and her "snaggle tooth" look.

Mon. 9/6: Planned rest day. Didn't do squat. Had planned to walk Zelda with DS on the greenway, but time got away from me.

Tues 9/7: Pace workout. 3 miles on the treadmill. 1 mile easy; 4X400 at 9 min./mile; recover for 200 between each; 1/2 mile easy.
My first pace workout! The 400s at 9 min pace felt great-- I didn't go anaerobic until the last 20 seconds or so. I should probably go out faster next time. Maybe I'll try it at 8:30/mile. Not sure I can last for a whole 400 at 8 min. pace! It was so funny, I ran my first mile at 12 min. pace and it felt fast! But after my intervals at 9 min., that last half-mile at 12 min. pace felt like I was just crawling! It's all relative, I guess.

Wed 9/8: Easy Recovery Run. 2 miles on the greenway. 24 min, 12 sec.
I ran with Zelda, so we had a little bit of dog drama, which may have slowed me down. She's a good girl mostly, but sometimes wants to challenge the dogs we run into on the path. I felt like I was going SO slow today. I was tired from not getting quite enough sleep the last 2 nights. The greenway has lots of gentle inclines, which I really felt today, but was able to stay aerobic the whole time despite the "hills." A couple of them actually are a bit steep. I realized that I didn't feel like I was dying the whole time, only almost dying, LOL! I felt a bit better when I saw a young, skinny runner going just as slow as I was. OK, she hadn't even broken a sweat and I was dripping, but she probably has 30 years and about 40 lbs. on me! Getting older is not for the faint of heart!

I was listening to my Glee CD on the way to the greenway and No Air (Chris Brown) was playing. The lyrics seemed a bit too appropriate while I was running:

Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air.
Can't live,
Can't breathe with no air.
That's how I feel when I know you ain't there.
There's no air,
No air.

Thurs 9/9: 3-mile Run. I think I ran about 3.5 miles on the greenway. 37 min. 36 sec. Felt pretty good.
This was supposed to be an easy 2-miler but I really hate to run less than 30 minutes-- it makes me feel like I am going backward in my training. I say I think I ran 3.5 miles because I had to stop because a work crew was cutting down tree branches less than a quarter mile from the end of the trail, my usual turn-around spot. I ran in place for several minutes waiting for them to clear the path, and finally gave up and turned around. Since I didn't know how much distance I'd lost, I ran all the way back to my starting point (marker 8) instead of stopping at marker 6 as planned. From my starting point at marker 8 to my turn-around at the end of the trail is 1.75 miles, so a total distance of 3.5 miles if I ran the whole thing.

I felt pretty good, even though it was not quite as cool as I'd hoped because I got a late start. Zelda was with me and she was pretty sluggish the last half-mile or so. I definitely ran negative splits on this one! The first half was pretty slow, I started out nice and easy. I was so irritated at having to stop that I started picking up the pace on the way back, especially the last mile. I really opened it up the last quarter and ran that in pretty close to 2 minutes, just a bit over (I didn't get a really good look at my watch at the last quarter mile marker but I know my time was somewhere around 35:20. I could have gone out faster but Zelda was not having any! By then she was trailing me by the entire length of the leash.

She got quite irritated with me during my cool-down walk because I passed the turn-off to the parking lot twice without heading to the car. "NO, Mommy, the car is THIS way!" Zelda indicated her displeasure by becoming The Dog Who Barely Moves. Meanwhile, I was thinking, "Zelda, Mommy's heart is going to jump out of her chest if we don't keep walking!" Once I get beyond 6 miles on my long runs, I will have to leave her at home on those days. Though as the weather gets cooler, her stamina may improve some. I was definitely anaerobic that last mile but it really felt good to run faster even so!

Friday 9/10: Rest day.
Hope to take Zelda for a nice walk. Eventually I'll do some cross-training on these rest days.

Rejoicing As A Strong [Wo]man To Run A Race

2010-08-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

I hope St. Paul doesn't mind my slight paraphrase. Given what appears to be his general view on women, he might, though. But I'm not here to quibble over Bible verses!

It's been a long time since my last entry, and a lot has happened in the meantime, some of it good, some of it sad. But I am thrilled to report I have made fantastic progress towards my fitness goals this year, and have remained relatively uninjured.

I am just so excited because I have finally realized my dream of returning to running. 9 (yikes!) years ago at this time I was training for the Chicago Marathon, when I was sidelined by a pernicious case of Achilles tendinitis in both legs. Every time I tried to start training again, I would just re-injure them, until I finally gave up on the idea of running.

But I have missed it so-- that wonderful place you get to about a mile and a half into a good run when your body is like a well-oiled machine and everything is working together in perfect harmony-- heart, lungs, legs, arms, breath. Your body just goes on autopilot while your mind is free to float and think about anything. You feel like you could just keep going forever. For me, it's very soothing and meditative and trance-like. Everything feels comfortable, so I'm not thinking, O God, how much further? How much longer? When can I stop? My body just does what it needs to do, and my mind is free, free free!

I've missed being out in the fresh air, where everything is so quiet except for bird song... watching the sun rise... or watching it set... enjoying the beauty of all the trees and plants and birds ... feeling the wind on my face or at my back ... or the cooling rain on me.

And I AM BACK!!! I guess it's been about a month now that I've been able to run 30 minutes continuously. Not fast, mind you-- but I can run!! I've had absolutely no Achilles or soleus pain, for which I am very grateful. Aside from the inevitable DOMS when I first started, my main challenge has been aerobic. When faster runner pass me, I tell myself: Someday I will run fast too!

I have my wonderful greyhound, Zelda, to thank for my success. She's been my faithful companion since the beginning. When I got Zelda in March, I made a commitment to walk her for at least 45 minutes every day. By the middle of April, we were walking 5 miles a day. My lower body strength and endurance improved dramatically, even though I had been doing step, hi-low, and kickbox all along. (And no, I did not lose much, if any weight, drat it!)

At the end of April, I decided to try Budd Coates' (Runner's World) First Steps program, which gradually builds you up from running two minutes at a time to running for 30 minutes over a ten week period. To my surprise, I did great. It took a few times to get Zelda trained not to run cross-wise in front of me or try to chase dogs and people or take potty breaks during running intervals, but she got the hang of it pretty fast. Now, greyhounds are sprinters, not distance runners. If she is going flat out, she can run 45 mph for a minute or so. So Zelda and I are complete opposites as to our natural abilities. I was built for endurance, not speed. But I figured if we both built up slowly, we'd do fine. And we did! Zelda just LOVES running days.

It took me longer than 10 weeks (more like 3 months!) to get through the program. This was largely due to the fact that right at the end of week 2, I got bronchitis and couldn't run for a while. But the Big Day finally came about the middle of July, when I ditched my last Week 9 workout and just went for the gold, running 30 minutes straight.

OK, I have to admit, I was bad... I did not follow the program completely as specified. Most weeks I could only squeeze in 3 training sessions, rather than the 4 I should have been doing. So my goal for the next month is to run 4 times per week consistently. (My ultimate goal is to get back to 5 runs per week).

It's really hard sometimes to squeeze in a run because of the heat, but that should be getting better soon. If you don't get out by 8 a.m. or earlier, forget it. It's just too hot. I do have the option of running on the treadmill in the fitness center here at the apts., but I HATE the treadmill. Soooooooo boring. Now, you can't beat the treadmill for a pace workout, as your choice is either to hit your target pace or fly through the wall backwards! But for regular runs, no.

Zelda isn't allowed in the fitness center, of course, so if I run inside I know I'll have to take her out for her walk in the evening when it gets cooler. It gets cool enough to walk but not run. Greyhounds are really susceptible to heat stroke, which can kill them in minutes, so I have to be very careful about when/whether I can take her outside for exercise. I have seen doggie treadmills and would love to get one, but they cost around $500, and I don't know where I would put it!

I really am rejoicing as a strong woman to run a race, because I plan to do some 5 Ks this Fall. I am not where I hoped to be with my mileage base by this time, so I am not sure I'll be ready for the October race I wanted to run. My 5K training plan takes about 6 weeks and is based on running 15 miles per week, consistently. It builds from there to about 25, I think. At this point, I am probably somewhere around 10-11 miles per week. So it's crucial to get that fourth run in every week.

As I mentioned before, I am NOT a fast runner. In fact, it's a bit demoralizing when I'm giving it my all and look down to see that Zelda, is just walking real fast. She hasn't even broken a trot! My goal for racing really isn't to compete against the other runners (as if!), but against myself. I'd be ecstatic to finish a 5K in under 30 minutes, that would be a PR for me. Sigh. A GOOD finish for a 5K is under 20 minutes, but I'm not sure I'll ever see that day!

I must say, I am SO pleased with my progress. When I was running 9 years ago, my regular training pace was 12 minutes per mile. Speed walkers would lap me during races.... how humiliating is that? But I am THRILLED to say that this time, I am well under that, generally somewhere between 10 and 11 minutes per mile, and I am hoping to improve that as my mileage base builds and also as I lose weight. (I'd like to lose at least 20 lbs.) I am hopeful that a 9 minute mile may be within my reach! I used to aim for a 10 min. mile for pace workouts, and now I am almost there for my plain old training runs!

Here are the stats for my last 2 runs:

Sat. Aug 7
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 31 min., 44 sec
Pace: 10.5 min per mile

Sun. Aug. 15
Distance: 3.5 miles (my "long" run for the week, LSD: long slow distance)
Time: 40 min., 30 sec.
Pace: 11.5 min. per mile

Wow, I was slower by a whole minute per mile today! I had a business trip the first part of the week so did not get in any training at all. Of course, the point of today's run was just to increase distance, so it was supposed to be slower. But it's pretty evident from my time that I've slacked off on training.

Today's run was really tough, especially the last half mile or so, when I was in oxygen debt the whole time. Thank God for Cathe-- I am used to working in oxygen debt for some part of every one of her workouts! Not fun, but I know I can do it. I'm not using my HRM yet, but I know I was up around 185 or so. That's my peak rate. I know that seems really, really fast, but that is normal for me when I am working hard. Normal but not fun. Good grief, if I went by those dumb training charts where your max heart rate is based on age, I would never get anywhere with my training. Today's run is my longest to date.

For now, every run is somewhat tough, but I just have to focus on getting through this phase so my fitness level will improve. It will get easier as I get fitter, more consistent, and build my mileage base. So far my only training strategy is just to not stop, LOL!

Workouts, Week 1

2009-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back to working out again. My Bell's Palsy is pretty much resolved, I'm probably 99% back. I think there is still a small amount of assymetry in my face, probably not noticeable to anyone except me. I think my left eyebrow is still slightly lower than the right. But as far as my smile, it's back!! And I've recovered enough to be able to work out again. In the early stages of recovery, it's very important not to exercise, as this can put strain on the facial muscles, especially strength training. Which is what my sluggish (or, perhaps more accurately, very effective!) metabolism needs. It's very good at storing fat. So building lean muscle mass is very important for revving up the metabolism, since, as you all know, muscled burns 3X as many calories at rest as other kinds of tissue.

It's been a phenomenal first week. Here are the workouts I've been able to do:

Friday: Cathe Friedrich's Low-Intensity Step (from the 4 Day Split series), about 40 minutes. Very intense advanced level workout, I had to take frequent breaks to catch my breath and drink water
Saturday: Donna Richardson's Motown-themed party, Donna-mite (Hi-Low); 50 minutes; beginner/intermediate level;
Weights: upper body, abs and stretch from Cathe Friedrich's Step, Jump & Pump (Body Blast Series)
Sunday: 30 min. walk;
Weights: lower body (dead lifts, dead rows and barbell lunges), abs, and stretch from Cathe Friedrich's Step, Jump & Pump
Monday: Cathe Friedrich's Step Blast, combos 1 & 3 only (41 minutes) + stretch; advanced workout (again, many breaks)
Tuesday: Donna-mite (skipping 1 combo, about 40 min.);
Weights: Upper body, abs and stretch from SJP
Wednesday: 40 minutes of Christi Taylor's Still Jumpin' (Hi-Low);
Weights: Lower body (barbell squats, deadlifts, deadrows, barbell lunges), abs and stretch from SJP.
Thursday: 30 min. walk (while wrestling with 100 lb. dog)

During yesterday's lower body workout, I noticed significant strength gains already. I only had to take 1 break during the barbell lunge sequence, always one of the toughest exercises for me. Of course, I only had a measly 15 lbs. on the bar, but you gotta start somewhere!

Even today I have very little soreness. I attribute this to my high protein intake as well as my acupunture treatments, which have helped my whole body. I think the acupuncture has greatly strengthened my immune system and my body's ability to heal itself.

As some of you may have read on DomesticMuse, I am following a "clean eating" routine currently, eating no dairy, sugar, or processed foods, just whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. I don't know if I've lost any weight, since I don't own a scale and don't believe in weighing myself, but I certainly do feel better. My energy levels are much better and more stable through the day. I will move to a somewhat less stringent plan, that allows more complex carbs, tomorrow, but still requires clean eating.

I do hope to drop all the excess weight I've gained in the past year. I am ready to get back in my size 2 jeans!

Most of all, I'm ready to feel better!

My Bell's Palsy Journey, Week 1

2009-07-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy 6 days ago. The left half of my face is paralyzed. I cannot smile.

I wanted to share my experience with Bell's Palsy so far, to offer some encouragement to others who may be newly diagnosed as well.

How did it start? Well, really, it started when I was getting ready to travel to a conference in Chicago and didn't have time to get refills for some of my regular allergy medications. I have suffered from chronic allergy-related sinus and ear infections for over 20 years, and letting my medications run low is always a bad idea. I was out of Mucinex, which I'm supposed to take daily so my sinuses and ears drain properly, and while I was on my trip, I ran out of my FloNase, a prescription steriod nasal spray that keeps my sinuses from getting inflamed. The FloNase is probably one of the most important things I take for preventing sinus infections.

Well, you know how it is-- I was at a big, busy conference, running around for 14 hours a day, not getting enough rest and being exposed to sick people. By the time I returned home on Monday July 13, I was starting to feel sick. I had a sinus headache that would not quit, even after I got my FloNase refilled. Stuipidly, I didn't bother to get any more Mucinex, since it's really expensive and $ are kind of tight right now.

I was exhausted, all week probably, in retrospect, running a low-grade fever (I never thought to check). On Wed. the 15th, I felt the old familiar tingle of a cold sore coming on-- wunderbar!!

Due to insurance issues, I have been out of Valtrex for over a year, so I did what my pharmacist suggests and washed my face in the shower in very hot water with a strong soap in the lip area. Then I started using some Zovirax ointment I had lying around, and hoped for the best.

On Thursday, my left eye started driving me crazy-- weeping constantly and feeling irritated and scratchy. No cold sore, though, so I was feeling like I might have beaten that one.

Day Zero, Friday July 17th
I woke up with my left sinus feeling completely on fire-- the unmistakable sign, for me, of a bacterial sinus infection. I get them several times a year, and unlike most people, I seldom have a fever or cough, and sometimes not even much congestion, since I religiously take Zyrtec daily. My left eye was watery AND mattery, and when I checked the conjunctiva, it was red and mucus-y. Oh good, now I have pink-eye too! I started using some old sulfa eye drops we had lying around, which helped. That afternoon, I called DC at work to tell him I'd need the car to go to Urgent Care as soon as he got home. (Forget EVER getting a same-day appointment with my PCP.) DC says, no, I'll drive you-- I don't want you going there by yourself. (Hah!! If only he knew what I'd be going through the NEXT day!)

While I was waiting, I ate some yogurt and granola and was irritated because I seemed to be "losing" more than usual out of the corner of my mouth, and needed my napkin, but as my whole head was on fire, didn't think much about it. Here I was just starting to have some weakness in my lips, but I didn't realize what was happening.

I arrived at Urgent Care around 6 p.m. I was seen by a very nice Nurse Practitioner who took one look at me and immediately diagnosed bacterial conjunctivitis and sinusitis. She gave me a prescription for Vigamox antibiotic eyedrops for the pink eye, and suggested I try a Z-pack for the sinus infection, since it's only a 5 day dose. She warned me that some infections don't respond to the Z-pack and to call back if it didn't work. I've never tried the Z-pack before, but usually have good luck with antibiotics clearing up my infections, so I was willing to give it a go. I had been planning to ask for some Valtrex to make sure the cold sore didn't come on, but totally forgot.

We got to the pharmacy around 7:30 and dropped off the prescriptions, and headed off to eat at an Indian restaurant nearby. I had been craving Indian food and really enjoyed my meal. I decided to order a mango lassi, along with my meal, which I almost never do, even though I love them. Well, this one came in a stemmed glass with a straw.

Here is where I noticed the first real warning sign. I found I was having a some trouble drinking the thick liquid with the straw-- my lips didn't seem to want to close around it very well. I didn't mention it to DC, thinking it was weird, but blaming myself for taking old eye drops that I was probably having a reaction to. Or maybe just my cold sore getting worse. He was sitting across from me and didn't notice anything unusual. I did wonder fleetingly if I should get MORE medical attention now, but since Urgent Care was now closed, my options would be the ER and a $300 copay, so I decided to wait to see how things were the next day.

We picked up my prescriptions, and went home. While we were relaxing on the sofa, Huckleberry, our dog, decided this was the perfect time to jump up and start barking. It was so loud, I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a gong! It was kind of ring-y, too-- which I thought was weird, but blamed it all on the sinus infection. Although I had no way of knowing this at the time, INCREASED hearing/sensitivity to loud noises is a common symptom of Bell's Palsy.

Saturday July 18, Day 1

We knew this was going to be a hectic, hectic day-- DC had to work, and I had signed up for an all-day beading class on the other side of Raleigh. So instead of sleeping in like on a normal Saturday, we had to get up and get ready to go. While I was brushing my teeth I became very irritated that the water kept dribbling out of my mouth while I was trying to rinse. Then, I was dribbling water out of the paper cup while trying to take my morning pills. Weakness was progressing rapidly.

I definitely thought something weird was going on by now, and mentioned it to DC. My smile seemed "off" too-- we both noticed that. I said, well, I'm pretty sure I'm not having a stroke, since I have no headache, or weakness anywhere else and my blood pressure was fine yesterday. I actually said, it's either an allergic reaction to those old eyedrops, or maybe it's Bell's Palsy. I had heard of BP before, but didn't really know anything about it, except that it usually did something to people's faces.

We stopped at a Starbucks drive-thru on the way to DC's office for some quick food. I dropped him off and then while waiting at a red light, tried to take a drink of my Chai Latte, and spilled it everywhere, though, luckily, not on my clothes (for once). I tried to eat my breakfast sandwich, and food was falling out of my mouth. I figured I would be heading back to Urgent Care again after my beading class, which I had been eagerly looking forward to for WEEKS, and hoped my lips wouldn't swell up too much in the meantime.

I enjoyed part one of the beading class, and had no trouble making the project, using fine motor skills of both hands, though my blurry left eye was a hindrance at times. When we broke for lunch, I browsed around the store, and then caught sight of myself in a mirror. And realized, only HALF my face was smiling, the right side, and the left side was looking all droopy, like a stroke victim's.

I had dropped DC off at 10 a.m., and my face had looked relatively normal. It was now about 12:20, and I had lost half my smile. BP progresses very rapidly.

I immediately called Urgent Care to ask if this could be related to my sinus/eye infection and tell them what was going on. The nurse asked me if I could close my left eye, and it was then I realized that not only could I not close my eye, I couldn't move any part of the left side of my face! They said to come in. I asked, can this wait until 3 when my class is over? The nurse says, if you are having a stroke, then no, but if it's Bell's Palsy you could wait three weeks. And THIS is the first piece of mis-information I got about BP! The quicker you start treating it, the better the outcome, so NO, it could NOT wait 3 weeks!

Anger, denial, bargaining, grief, and acceptance rapidly transpired in about 2 minutes-- I was going to have to skip the last half of my bead class, the part I REALLY NEEDED!! Somewhat, but not too worried I was having a stroke, I drove off to Urgent Care, calling DC to update him on the way.

At Urgent Care, they send in a dr. to see me right away. Turns out, she's just returned from the Persian Gulf, where she was a military doc. The first thing she asks me is, can I raise my eyebrows? Well, the right one, yes-- the left one, no. She says, that's good-- you aren't having a stroke. If you were, you wouldn't be able to raise either one. You probably have Bell's Palsy.

Now, wouldn't that eyebrow thing have been a good thing for the person on the phone to have asked me?? Then I wouldn't have had to drive across town wondering if I was having a stroke.

She asks me several times if I have blisters anywhere or have been in contact with anyone with shingles. Well, as it happens, two of my friends have had shingles this year, but I wasn't around either of them when they were sick. Luckily for me, this doc is practically an expert in shingles, saying she saw them in the Gulf all the time. So she knows how to treat herpes viruses! She tells me she's sure it's Bell's Palsy, it's temporary, and I'll probably get better in 2-3 weeks. She says I have a really good prognosis, because outcomes are best if treatment is started within the first 3 days, and this is within the first 24 hours. **Actually, the research says 7 days after onset is the outer limit for drug therapy to make any difference, but of course, the sooner, the better.

She leaves to write some prescriptions for me, and then comes back to ask, do I want her to prescribe an antiviral (Valtrex) along with the Prednisone she's going to put me on. She says the research isn't really clear about the benefit of adding the antiviral. In the end, Thank God, she does put me on a very powerful course of Valtrex. Meanwhile, the poor nurse practitioner who had seen me just the night before comes in to look at me-- and says, "Wow! You sure didn't look like this last night!" I reassured her that the paralysis had not started until after I left Urgent Care. **It is very important to take BOTH the steroids for the inflammation AND the Valtrex to fight the virus, since it is very likely that our old friend Herpes Simplex I is the cause of the BP.

The doctor tells me I need to take preservative-free eye drops every hour while awake, and wear an eyepatch while sleeping. She hands me a printout of a web article on BP, urges me to see my PCP as soon as possible for a base-line evaluation, and she hopes I get better soon.

And that is pretty much all I had to go on from there!

Some Bell's Palsy Info

2009-07-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I posted here, and since the latest development in my chaotic life is also affecting my fitness quest, I thought I would use this space to write about my experience with Bell's Palsy. I am writing to raise awareness about this rare condition, so that if you see any warning signs you can take quick action, as well as to offer hope and encouragement to others who are suffering from Bell's.

First of all, if you have just been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, you are not alone! Here are 2 great forums where you can gather useful information and communicate with a whole wonderful network of kind, supportive people who are going through, or have been through, the same thing.

The Bell's Palsy Network

The Bell's Palsy Information Site

I recommend that you join the forums and thoroughly read the posts at the Bell's Palsy Network Site first, as the Bell's Palsy Information site covers topics like facial exercises, which you should NOT ATTEMPT to do until recovery has progressed fairy well.

One other quick note: don't get discouraged by posts from "long-timers." Instead, realize that these folks have lots of wonderful information to share, and also, they are in the minority of BP cases, and even they are continuing to improve.

What the Heck is Bell's Palsy? (I got all this info below from the Bell's Palsy Information site.)

Bell's Palsy is a rare condition that affects .02% of the world's population, which is 1 in 5000 people, including 40,000 Americans annually. It is caused by trauma (inflammation and swelling) to the 7th cranial nerve, blocking signals from the brain, which results in facial paralysis on the affected side of the face. It is not permanent, although there is no "cure."

How Do You Get It?
The most common triggers for this kind of trauma are considered to be bacterial and viral infections, as well as autoimmune disorders. The most frequent cause (possibly accounting for 60-70% of cases) is believed to be a Herpes Simplex 1 (HSVI, the cold sore virus) viral outbreak. HSVI is extremely common-- most people have been exposed to it, often in childhood. If you are a cold sore sufferer, you know that after the initial outbreak, HSVI does not go away, but lurks within the nerve tissue, waiting to re-emerge as a result of a weakened immune system due to other illness or stress. I didn't know this, but you can be having a HSVI outbreak and be unaware of it, as blisters only form 15% of the time. Some of the other viruses that can lead to BP include cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, rubella and mumps. Bacterial triggers include Lyme Disease and Otitis Media (the common ear infection). Also, diabetics are more than 4 times likelier to get BP than the rest of the population.

There is also a related disease that causes facial paralysis called Ramsey-Hunt Syndrome, which has been shown conclusively to be caused by a strain of the Herpes virus, varicella zoster virus (VZV). This is the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles as well. There are some very distinct symptoms from Bell's Palsy, and it is important to let your health care provider know right away about the presence of any blisters, as well as vertigo or unusual ear pain or hearing loss, so that the correct diagnosis can be made right away.

What are the Warning Signs?
One of the typical first warning signs is ear pain, in or behind the ear, but not everyone experiences that or even notices it. The first real concrete signs are often numbness, tingling or weakness around the lips and/or a dry eye. If you are experiencing any weakness in the lip area, get to a health care provider immediately. The sooner you get started on medication, the less damage will occur to your 7th cranial nerve, and the better your chances for a complete recovery.

How Long Does It Last?
Here are the stats: 50% of people with BP will recover completely in 3 months or less; another 35% will recover in 12 months or less; and another 15% don't recover completely. So the length of time you may spend with BP varies considerably, as well as the rate at which you will start to see improvement. Much of this depends on how severe the trauma was to the 7th cranial nerve. An average recovery takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The nerve regenerates at a rate of approximately 1-2 millimeters per day, and can continue to regenerate for at least 18 months, sometimes much longer.

Could I Get It Again?
The rate of recurrence is thought to be 5-9%, so you are unlikely to have a recurrence.

What is the Treatment?
Right now, the best treatment is a combination of anti-inflammatories and an antiviral. Typically, the drugs prescribed are Prednisone (a steroidal anti-inflammatory) and Valtrex, an anti-viral that is effective against HSVI. Since HSVI is a common cause of BP, make sure your dr. prescribes the Valtrex. Mine actually gave me a choice-- saying research wasn't clear about the benefit of the Valtrex! Thank God I ended up getting both drugs. Other than that, patience, time, and rest are important in getting better, especially in the first two weeks. Another critically important factor is to keep a positive attitude about your recovery, and also to avoid as much stress as possible, so your face can heal.

Eye Care
Proper eye care is vitally important as well. Because the affected eye cannot close or blink, it becomes dry and easily irritated, and very susceptible to corneal abrasions and other conditions that can cause permanent eye damage. My dr. prescribed preservative-free drops to be used every hour while awake, to keep the eye moist. Preservatives can be very irritating to your eyes, since you'll be using them so frequently, so be sure to get a drop that actually says "preservative-free" on the box. The brand I am using right now is Thera Tears Liquid Gel. Gels are generally better than drops at the outset. For sleeping, most people find that an ointment provides better lubrication through the night. I am using Lacri-Lube ointment at bedtime. And since the eye does not close, you must use some kind of protection for sleeping, such as a pirate patch, to avoid abrasions and lacerations to the cornea. The best tips for eye care are here. Of course, your ophthalmologist will be helpful as well. Take care of your eyes-- they are the two most precious jewels you will ever have!

Update on DS

2009-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

We finally had DS's follow-up dr. appointment to the MRI he had last Sat. for his back. We still don't know exactly how he hurt it (and he continues to be furious with me for pressing him about it). Dr. Lin showed us the MRI and it appears DS has a very small bulge on the left side of the disk at L5 (S1). It's not currently impinging on any nerves, there is plenty of space on either side for the nerves. So we're back to PT at least once a week. Dr. Lin says the PT should help to strengthen DS's back muscles and also can shove the disk back in place. I feel sad that at 15 DS already is having to deal with back problems. But I am very, very thankful it's nothing worse!

I feel there are could be a lot of contributing factors to his injury, not the the least of which is the 1500 lb. back pack DS drags to and from school daily. The school district in its vast and infinite wisdom has decreed the rolling backpacks illegal.

The real challenge is achieving consistency in having him practice the PT exercises whether he's at his dad's house or at my house. His dad and I share custody of him 50-50, which creates many, many issues, not the least of which are the logistical ones of his homework or half of his concert attire being at the other parent's home which we only realize 15 munutes before it's time to head off to school (35 miles away) for his concert. Or me suddenly getting a call 2 hrs before the dr. appt. telling me the dr. office needs the MRI films, which I have. But it's not my day to have the car.... and there's no time for DS's dad to swing by and get them prior to the appt. So I have to call DC and ask if we can quickly do the car switcheroo.

The way our arrangement works is that DS spends a week with one parent and then a week with the other, with the switch occurring Fridays after school. There is also a complicated holiday schedule that carves up each parent's time with him, I'm not even going to go into that.

If you are thinking about a 50-50 custody arrangement for your child/children, PLEASE RE-THINK IT!! Even my cousin, who is a divorce lawyer, says he would never, ever do this to his kids if he had the chance to do it over again. Are you doing it for the kids, or for you? Because, ultimately, they are the ones who will suffer by always visiting and never living anywhere: 2 rooms, 2 sets of clothes, 2 different households with different rules and ways of doing things ALL THE TIME. How would you feel if you lived in a different place every week?

This arrangement was NOT my idea and from my point of view it totally sucks. A child should have ONE home and VISIT the other parent. This is back-and-forthing is just stupid and only the Good Lord knows what lasting psychological damage DS will suffer in years to come. The worst part is that as much as we try to stay on top of things, NO ONE had the complete handle on what's going on with DS. I have a feeling he gets away with a lot.

As an example, yesterday being Friday and the day for DS to go to his dad's for the week, I was counting on having a stretch of uninterrupted time Friday afternoon to do some important writing I've been wanting to finish for work. I sat down after lunch at about 2 to write as planned. The next thing I know, my door blows open around 3:00 and there is DS, with his friend, Noah, cheerfully announcing they have showed up for band practice, specfically to work on the drum parts. Further, DS's dad is tutoring and will not be back to pick up the boys until 7:30 or so.

All of this is fine, except that, 1) I can't write during drum practice and 2)this is the first I've heard about it. And it is date night, and DC and I had made plans for dinner and a movie-- not to say we couldn't ALL go, but, this wasn't what I had planned, and certainly not what DC had in mind. I called DS's dad to find out for sure when/if he is picking up the boys and if I'm supposed to feed them dinner. DS's dad says he'll be tutoring UNTIL 7:30, so that means he won't be by to pick up the boys until at least 8. No, I should not feed them dinner, he's taking them out after he picks them up. Then he says, "DS told me he asked you about this yesterday, and you said it was fine if he and Noah had band practice at your house today." No, not true. DS said he might "drop by to pick up some stuff," but he did NOT ask if they could have band practice at my house.

The first his dad heard about the plan is when DS showed up after school in his classroom (with Noah in tow) saying he was supposed to go to my house for band practice. So, BOTH his dad and I were completely clueless about this apparently spur of the moment plan. Obviously, DS, as a conniving teenager is playing both ends against the middle. Which makes me wonder, even though he is a good and sweet boy, what ELSE is falling throught the cracks. Of course we'll talk to him about this, but..... And of course, I didn't get the writing done yesterday, so guess what I'll be doing this weekend? Resting and relaxing with DC? No, of course not, I have to get this writing done so my boss won't be furious with me.

I admit that after 4 years the custody issue is pretty much the one thing I remain angry about, because I just don't feel it is in DS's best interest. I don't care WHO he lives with most of the time, whether me or his dad, but this passing him back and forth like a ping pong ball is the worst idea ever. (The person I am really still furious at is the "was-band's" lawyer. I know this is awful but I feel the world would be SUCH a better place if she was somewhere she could do no further harm to families and children in Wake County, like say, under the wheels of a city bus. Awful, but true.)

DS doesn't seem to mind it, or at least, out of loyalty to both parents refuses to express a preference for living in one place or the other. It's my job as his mother to try to make this work, but let me tell you, it is NOT easy. And poor DC has to live with my "was-band" as a permanent fixture in HIS life, and he's just an innocent bystander. I'm lucky he is so supportive.

It is certainly true that the "was-band" as DS's dad is a member of the family, plain and simple, and always will be. I'm glad he's so involved in our son's life, as my son adores and needs his dad. I just don't think "involved" can only mean "lives with me 50% of the time."

Let's be realistic here: DS attends the high school where his dad teaches. They ride to and from school together every single day. When school lets out at 2:15 p.m., DS hangs with his dad after school every day. If it's his week to be at my house, I drop him off at his dad's house around 6 a.m. for the drive to school and his dad drops him off at my house around dinner time, or earlier if he's got a commitment.

They naturally see each other EVERY DAY. I've always said it makes sense for DS to spend the afterschool hours with his dad since I'm working (until last year, outside of my home, now at home). His dad is a school teacher and on the same schedule as DS, so why not?? Ditto the summer. Why should DS sit bored at my house when his dad is not working and they could be out having fun together every day? He can still come home to my house at the end of my work day.

I've also said it makes no sense at all for DS to sit by himself at his dad's house for hours if his dad is busy (as he frequently is) tutoring or at meetings until 9/10 at night, and he should drop DS off at my house, even if it's not "my week." I'll be glad to feed him dinner and hang out with him. I hate for DS to have to eat dinner by himself and be by himself all evening just because it's his week to be at his dad's.

OTOH, when it's my week to have DS, he and his dad still spend a significant amount of time together every weekday. When it's his dad's week, I don't see him at all, except for the court-mandated Wednesday evening dinner. I just really don't feel that the current arrangement gives his dad all that much extra time besides what he would naturally have with DS anyway.

In the meantime, DS's antinflammatory doesn't get picked up at the pharmacy because each parent thinks the other has done it. DS does not want to take the medicine so he doesn't bother to clue us in, just saying he "forgot" the medicine at the other parent's house. We're both so busy we forget to ask the other one about it for several days.... You can only imagine how embarrassing it is trying to explain this to Dr. Lin. Also, DS does his PT exercises at one house but not the other....

I know we as his parents should have better communication, but seriously, is this not a prime example of "set up to fail" syndrome, given the fact that I have 2 jobs, DS's dad has 3 jobs, and DC has 3 jobs as well, not to mention all the stuff DS has going on? 50-50 custody is the WORST IDEA EVER.

But again, I am thankful DS's back injury is not worse, and finally seems to be improving.

I am just broken!!!

2009-04-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a long, forced break from my phitness routine. First I injured my left calf in some weird way a few weeks ago and was taking it easy. THEN I hurt my back while I was moving. It's the oddest thing, but it almost seems like my son and I are passing the same back injury around! He did something to his back last month in gym class that has caused back pain that radiates down into his left leg. The dr. thought it was a pinched nerve, but despite 4 weeks of PT it hasn't improved, so this past weekend we took him for an MRI. Haven't heard from the dr. yet; I'm on pins and needles waiting for the results.

I have 2 herniated disks in my back (at L3 and L5) which gave me an excruciating case of sciatica. I didnt realize it was my back that was hurt and the pain in my leg was so bad I finally told my dr. if we couldn't find a way to make it better I'd rather she remove the leg than for me to have to live with the pain. Eventually an MRI revealed the problem and I had lumbar surgery 3 years ago. I'm now a huge fan of the surgery because my pain relief was instant! It totally cured my sciatica.

Until the move. First, something strange has happened to my left knee... it was getting better, but it felt odd, like it had a too-tight rubber band around it, mostly in the back. My work travel schedule the past couple of weeks has prevented me from getting to the dr. and it didn't seem like an emergency.

Then, Friday night while giving the apt. its final scrubby-scrub, something terrible happened. I was sore, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until about 1 a.m., when the excruciating pain started in my left leg--- exactly like my sciatica. I had a pretty much sleepless night, and finally took a Skelaxin in the wee sma's, which made the cramping stop. I pretty much spent all day Sat. sleeping. With visions of more surgery dancing in my head. I've been limping, but the pain is better.

It is now Tuesday. It feels much better, there is no leg pain except some hamstring stiffness, which is to be expected after spending hrs. on hands and knees scrubbing floors. Plus the knee weirdness. I'm guessing my knee is just a bad case of housemaid's knee, as it seems to be improving on its onw.

Hooray, finally, today, my gait is no longer affected by my ailments. Do you all know the rule about that? If you have pain that is affecting your gait, you must not exercise the affected limb. Usually this affects runners, but apparently it also affects the overweight, inactive, hardly moving set like me as well!

Tomorrow I am going to start back with just WALKING daily. Good Lord, I feel like I will be 105 before I get back to where I was, at this rate. But let's be realistic--- this is the heaviest I have been in 5 years, so this is not going to be instantaneous. Frustrating!!!!!

I just bought a new blender, so I'll be able to get back to protein shakes and my 6 meals per day routine, which I hope helps-- and in addition to the walking, I plan to start upper body strength training and core work in the next few days also.

I will post a review of my new blender soon, probably on DomesticMuse!

Thanks all for your good thoughts and support. We hope to get some definitive news on DS's back soon.

Light-Speed Update

2009-04-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

I have been resting my leg since Sat., and I think it's completely healed. No pain at all upon walking or climbing stairs. Oh well, I just got a nice long break! I'm HOPING to get in a w/o this afternoon, but I have a client call and then today is the day we get the key to our new house and can start moving things over!!

Thanks for all the good thoughts y'all have been sending my way!

W/O of the Day

2009-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

I decided, with some dread, to try Kick, Punch and Crunch, a fairly tough Kickbox workout. The workout includes a warm-up, simple combinations, brief stretch, kickbox conditioning drills, and kicking and punching combinations. I decided to try doing everything except the kicking and punching combinations at the end.

I could really see a difference in my level comfort cardio-wise. It was much easier today. Most of the workout is fairly low impact, and I was so pleased that I got through almost all of the conditioning drills. With frequent breaks, but I did it! I skipped the last 2 drills.

This is because something weird happened to my left leg. It felt like a cramp in my calf, so I stopped and stretched, then sat down for a water break. It felt better, almost gone, so I moved on to the next drill. It got worse partway through the drill, and I stopped immediately. Now the calf is quite sore, I'm limping, and the hamstring is a little sore also. Drat it all, an injury. Well, I'm not going to let this discourage me.

I will rest my leg, take anti-inflammatories, and concentrate on strength training for a while. If my leg still seems painful on Monday, I will definitely try to get a referral to the Sports Medicine Clinic. Continuing to work the leg is just going to prolong recovery. I haven't had an injury like this since I was running, so this is irritating, but it does not feel serious. A few days rest may be all I need. I am glad the injury happened near the end of the workout at least! :)

More Than Skin Deep

2009-03-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to talk about one of my most favoritest things on earth, beauty products! I love beauty products! The more lotions and potions, the better! And skin care is so important.

I do what I can to take care of my skin. I religiously apply sunscreen every day. I joke that I'm like a vampire, as I try to avoid the sun as much as possible. When we were on vacation at Disney World with our wonderful friends Marie and Dan, did I wear a ridiculous looking straw hat every time we set foot outside? Which became more ridiculous looking as the week wore on, since I had to keep folding it up and cramming it into my bag so as not to lose it in places like the Tower of Terror? Yes I did, and Marie has the photos to prove it. But did I care how stupid I looked? Not really. I'd rather look stupid in my $5 Walmart straw hat than to look like an old hag after vacation is over.

Being the oldest one in the party at age 46, I'm kind of sensitive about "aging gracefully." It was a shock when I realized that Marie, at age 30, could totally be my daughter! In the best tradition of Bristol Palin, you know.

I have been using Origins skin care products for more than 6 years now. I've had terrific results with them. Before I started using the various products, my face was always red, blotchy, and irritated looking. Whenever I went to the clinic, where interns and residents have a go at you, they would invariably say, "Do you always have that rash on your face?" Sigh. It's not a rash. It's my natural coloring. Every winter, my lips used to crack in one or both corners, despited slathering them with every lip balm known to mankind. And even one known to cows: Bag Balm.

Once I started using the Origins skin care products regularly, all that redness and irritation disappeared. I started out using just their toner, Comforting Solution, and one of their moisturizers for senstive skin. Comforting Solution was a miracle product for me. It completely got rid of all the redness on my face. Unfortunately, Origins no longer sells this wonderful potion, although there is something really great to replace it.

Before long, I had added more products to my routine. Checks and Balances, an excellent gentle cleanser for combination skin. A Perfect World White Tea Skin Guardian. This is an antioxidant product that protects the skin from irritants in the environment. One of my favorite products ever! And some of the Plantidote products, such as the Mega-Mushroom Serum and Plantidote moisturizer for sensitive skin. Of course, as time has gone on, my skin care needs have changed. My skin is dryer and more sensitive than it used to be.

When I was at the Origins store last fall, we were joking about how many products we use. But as one of the store people said, "Wondering if you still need to use a product? Just stop using it for a week and then you'll know."

I had ample opportunity to test this theory in the ensuing months. My travel schedule, unexpected bills, illness and several other things prevented me from getting to the the store to re-stock for several months. When finally I had used up pretty much everything, I decided it was indeed worth it to continue using the products. My skin was irritated, looked awful, and worst of all, the cracks in the corners of my lips came back. I was still using cleanser, toner moisturizer, and exfoliating 2-3 times a week during this period, but several things had dropped out of my routine.

Last week I pulled out ye old credit card and made my way to the Origins store. In consultation with the fabulous Caitlyn, the store manager, these are the products I am now using:

Clean Energy: a gentle non-comedogenic cleansing oil morning and evening. It does not strip skin of its natural moisture but is a very effective cleanser. DS started using it once a day, as his acne srub was too harsh on his skin to use all the time. It gets his skin cleaner than the acne scrub, and paradoxically, makes it less oily. He could tell the difference the first time he used it.
Plantidote Skin Treatment lotion: the replacement for Comforting Solution. It's a toner, but it adds moisture to my skin. Morning and evening.
Youthtopia skin-firming serum (new to me): two drops morning and evening, after cleansing and toning. I have only been using this product for a week, and I can already see a noticeable difference. The "fine lines and wrinkles" on my forehead are definitely much less visible. And my skin feels so much more hydrated.
Youthtopia skin-firming eye cream (new to me): this is an awesome product. I was using the Plantidote eye serum (before I ran out), but this does everything that product did for me and more. It moisturizes, firms the skin to reduce the signs of aging, and fades dark circles. It is so much more moisturizing than the Plantidote serum, it's amazing. I love it, and will definitely continue to use it. Morning and evening.
Have A Nice Day SPF 15 moisturizing cream: I had been using the lotion version of HAND, as the store was out of the cream last time I went to restock. The cream is much, much better for me. I had been having to use another moisturizer as well with the lotion, but the cream is perfect for me. You can only use this cream once a day, (morning, obviously).
Nightamins moisturizing cream: my nightime moisturizer. It is great stuff, gentle, ultra-hydrating but not pore-clogging, plus it smells great (orange and vanilla). DC loves the way it smells.

I also highly recommend Modern Friction, their stellar ex-foliating scrub. It's the best exfoliating product I have ever used. According to some survey, women who had tried both it and microderabrasion procedures felt Modern Friction worked as well or better than the procedure. It is quite effective, so I only use it once a week.

The rest of the time I use Benefit's yummy Honey, Snap Out Of It exfoliating scrub, made with oatmeal and honey. It smells just like a big old oatmeal cookie, and does a great job. I exfoliate about every other day, using the Modern Friction just once a week.

I adore Benefit, but aside from Honey, Snap Out Of It and their makeup remover, Gee, That Was Quick, I don't use any Benefit skin care products. My skin is so sensitive I don't trust it to anything but my tried and true Origins products. For goodness sake, my skin is so sensitive I'm allergic to shea butter! WHO is allergic to that, it's wonderful stuff?

But I am a total Benefit makeup junkie, no, make that whore :D! I have practically every product they make, excluding their entire line of eye, lip, and cheek color (I only have SOME of those, LOL!) I plan to do a number of separate posts about the Benefit products I have tried.

Well, I can't believe how much better my skin looks and feels within just a few days of using my new products.
Do these products from Origins work? Yes.
Are they expensive? Well, kind of. The Andrew Weil Plantidote products are horrendously expensive, but the ones I've tried have all been great. The others vary as to the degree of sticker shock you wil experience. It's important to remember that most of the products give you several months' supply.

Are these products better than drugstore products? Absolutely yes. I used Neutrogena products for years, and Origins just blows those things out of the water. There's no contest. My skin FEELS and LOOKS much, much better when I use the Origins products. Of course, your mileage may vary.

If you are new to skin care-- and I've been there, for years I never used anything except the Dove soap I had in the shower, here is what I recommend using:

1. A non-comedogenic liquid cleanser that is suitable for your skin type, whether oily, dry, or combination. (Non-comedogenic means it won't clog pores). Why liquid? Because there are some kinds of facial soil that are not soluble with bar soap. Bar soap can't get your face completely clean.
2. An alcohol-free toner. Toner is important because it not only removes all traces of cleanser from your face and tightens up the pores after cleansing, it also quickly restores your skin back to its natural Ph. If you don't use a toner, it takes your skin 6 hrs. to return to its natural Ph level.
3. A non-comedogenic moisturizer that is suitable for your skin type. Even if your skin is "oily" moisturizer can help soothe it so it produces less oil.
4. Use a gentle exfoliating scrub 2-3 times per week. This sloughs off dead skin cells and keeps your skin glowing.
5 Most important, NEVER leave the house without sunscreen on your face (unless it's nighttime of course!). There is NOTHING that will age your skin faster than sun exposure. You can get moisturizers that have sunscreen in them, or if you wear makeup, you can purchase foundation that also includes sunscreen. Be sure to choose one that is PABA free.

Finally, if you can possibly afford it, visit a professional aesthetician every other month for a facial, which will "deep-clean" your skin. It is also extremely relaxing and a great way to pamper yourself. Since I was trying to save $$ for Xmas, I have quit getting my facials, pedis and manis. (YES-- we had a 100% cash, paid-for Xmas!)

But DS desperately needs a facial, and I would like to get back into my facial routine also. My fantastic aesthetician, Jenny Midgette at Spa Boudoir in Raleigh, charges about $80 for a basic 60-minute facial. If you live in the Triangle area, please visit Jenny! You'll be glad you did! She is the absolute best aesthetician I have ever worked with, and provides superb customer service.

Everyone's skin is different, and there are a zillion great products out there. I love Origins not only because their products make my skin look and feel fabulous, but also because their products are cruelty-free, responsibly produced, and do not contain Parabens, Propylene Glycol, DEA, or PABA. They also have an organic line of skin care products.

What is your skin care routine? What are your "can't live without 'em" products?

Life Happens

2009-03-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Despite the best laid plans, sometimes life gets in the way of working out!

Thursday I was planning to try a kickbox workout, but I had so much to do for work I just couldn't squeeze it in before I had to take DS to his physical therapy session at 5 p.m. As it was, I was finishing up the document I was writing at 11 p.m. that night!

Believe it or not, my skinny, and very fit 15 yo threw his back out reaching down to touch his toes (??) in PE class. This is awful, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the scene in The Incredibles where Mr. Incredible is fighting the giant robot and throws his back out. At any rate, we think that's what happened to DS, because his back didn't hurt before PE class (which is called "Healthful Living" or some such rubbish) but did hurt afterwards. Gee thanks, Healthful Living, for making my son LESS healthy.

The concerning thing to me was that the pain, which seems to be worst in the piriformus area (on his posterior), was radiating down his back and into his leg, which to me suggests sciatic nerve involvement. With which, one surgery and several thousand dollars later, I myself am only too familiar. Since the pain did not go away after a few days, I took him to the dr.

You know the drill. Pediatrician is afraid to make a diagnosis, so refers us to an orthopaedist (luckily, the appt. is the following day). The good news is, no neurological impariment, and x-rays show no structural problems with the spine. At this point the orthopaedist thinks it's just a "pinched nerve," so DS is supposed to do PT 2X per week for the next month. And take a 6-day steriod taper, followed by prescription strength anti-inflammatories.

The PT seems to be helping him. I sat in Thurs. and found the proceedings fascinating. Now, I have to tell you, DS thinks certain parts of my workouts are hilarious, and is not above sharing this. Planks, for instance. (Mom, why are you shaking? Your face is red. etc.) Also seeing me on my stability ball amuses him no end. Well, guess what? It's karmic payback time!

Because DS is supposed to do a bunch of exercises on the stability ball every day, which he has realized is not so easy. And he's supposed to do planks as well. DS was having trouble understanding the instructions on how to position himself for the planks, and the therapist was quite amused when I simplified the instruction: no drawbridge, and no banana.

The therapist has found that DS's flexibility needs improvement, he has posture issues, and parts of his core (mostly lower back muscles) need strengthening to keep this from happening again. My son, who is an amazing sprinter and does 100 crunches and 80 pushups daily, cannot even get his leg up to 90 degrees when he's on his back and using the strap to stretch his hamstrings. I guess I should have encouraged him to work on stretching more!

To help DS work on his posture, the therapist taped him up (a la Kerry Welch at the Olympics) so that the tape would give him a gentle tug when he sags. He was very glad to be able to remove the darn tape at bedtime!

So, no workout on Thursday.

Yesterday was a planned rest day, but I was hoping to make up for Thursday. Didn't happen. There was much drama concerning our moving out of the apartment that I had to deal with the apt. people about.

So today will be workout #5 for the week-- I will have reached my goal for week 1 when I complete it.

Yay!! Thanks dear supporters for being there!

Fun with Technology

2009-03-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

What with one thing and another, I had a pretty sucky day yesterday, so by the time I was ready to work out, I was totally frazzled and desperate to do my workout.

I put the DVD in DC's Playstation, which we are using in lieu of a dvd player. I should mention I know nothing about the playstation. In fact, I am so clueless, DC had to program a separate remote control that looks like a DVD remote juuuust for me since I can never get the game controller thing to work. I press play. Nothing happens. I eject the dvd and try again. Not responding to remote. Plus, the screen looks weird. Then I see the little forward "play" arrow at the bottom of the tv screen and I maneuver laboriously down there using my remote for dummies. Ah, success! Thing are whirring, the TV screen is coming to life. But not with Cathe. With the Grand Theft Auto 4 game!

WTH!!!! Have I activated the Wii or the X-Box instead? (There are so many darn things connected to the TV you would not believe it.) Checking both of them, no, they aren't on. Is the Grand Theft Auto Disc in the PS also? I keep hitting eject, and the only thing that comes out is my Cathe DVD. At this point, I figure I need Expert Help.

I get DS, who is irritated since he's in his room trying to compose a song on his guitar. He somehow makes GTA4 go away but nothing happens when he presses play either. He shrugs and tells me, I dunno how this thing works either. Remote needs new batteries, Mom. After several minutes of pawing through the junk drawer, I finally find 2 AA batteries in the plastic ziptop bag next to the TV, where the movers left all the batteries they had taken out of various and sundry electronics. (Last April.) I change the batteries.

Still doesn't work. By this point I am so frustrated I am ready to scream. Now I have no choice but to call in the Big Guns. DC, who is still at work, and working late, in fact, on some really important stuff. I hate to bother him, but am feeling if I do not get to work out I am going to seriously lose it. I call. No answer. I call again. Voice mail. And again. Voice mail. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Well, maybe the PS needs some kind of reboot. But can I figure out how to unplug it, from the nest of spaghetti wires plugged into the power strip? No. I settle for removing 2 USB cables from it, and then sticking them back in. Still won't play the DVD.

Now I'm good and mad. I'm being outsmarted by an electronic device that even small children can operate. Then a dreadful thought occurs to me. Maybe there is something wrong with my beloved Cathe DVD! Maybe it's in some format the PS can't read! This thought is too awful for words. I eject Cathe.

And pop in a random Grey's Anatomy CD that's lying close by. Now the TV is telling me there is a DVD in the player (uh oh, it didn't say this before). I hit play. Grey's Anatomy starts rolling on the TV. Well, maybe now that it's been able to find one dvd, it will recognize mine. Eject Grey's. Put Cathe back in. Nope, nothing happens. Crap!

At the absolute end of my rope, I call DC again. No answer, but, while still on the phone, hallelujah, I do hear the front door opening and DC's cheery greeting. He comes in, sees me in my workout clothes sitting dejectedly on the sofa. "You look good and worked out!" He observes. I bet. But no, because the PS won't play my workout DVD!!!!!

He comes over, tries all the same things with the remote and the options on the TV screen I've already been through. Nothing. Well, he says cheerfully, the best thing to do when this happens is reboot the system. He reaches behind the PS and hits a button. (So THAT's where the on/off/reboot button is!) . After the reboot, he hits play, and of course, IT STILL DOES NOT WORK.

I tell him the bad news: it will play Grey's Anatomy but not Cathe. He ejects the Cathe disc, turns it over, squints at it for a second or two, then uses his shirt to polish the back of the sacred Cathe DVD. Sticks it back in. Presto, PS tells us there is a DVD in its wretched maw. He hits play. It works! Well, he says cheerfully, when this happens, the best thing to do is check for smudges on the DVD.

If this had been a regular DVD player, that is the FIRST thing I would have done, not the last!! But no, Grand Theft Auto 4 has to come out of nowhere and totally confuse me.

Cursing my stupidity, I start my workout. Oh, thank God. Finally, some peace. I had decided to do the Step portion only of Cathe's Step Jump & Pump, which is a circuit-style workout that includes step, high-low, weights, and floor work (abs). I'm about 2 minutes into the warmup, finally starting to relax, and realizing, wow, this is a lot harder than I remembered, when there is DS at my elbow. Yes, moms with small kids, I'm here to tell you it doesn't get any better just because they're older.

"What?" I say, thinking, Hello, can you not see I can barely breathe, let alone talk right now?

"Is dinner ready?"

Oh, come on!! Give me a break here! I am wearing my workout clothes and jumping up and down on a step bench! Does it LOOK like I'm about to serve dinner? It's a good thing I'm too out of breath to say much.

"No."
"When WILL dinner be ready?"

How the he$ should I know!? I don't even know if I will live until the end of this workout, let alone, if I don't drop dead, how long it's going to take me to finish it!

I stop the DVD, and get down off the step so I can glare at him properly. "I don't KNOW when dinner will be ready!"

He gives me his sulky face and an eye roll. "Well, when do you THINK it will be ready?" (in his best "this-is-seriously-inconveniencing-me" voice.)

"Stefan---" I say warningly, giving him The Look and taking a menacing step toward him. Finally grasping the fact that I am a woman totally on the razor-thin edge, he does not say a word, but scurries into his room and shuts the door. He has astutely concluded that the hissy fit Mom is about to pitch totally trumps his teenage sulks.

So yes, dear readers, I finally did, despite all obstacles, get my workout in.

It is the toughest one I've tried yet. Not only did it challenge me aerobically, but my musculo-skeletal system wondered if a bomb had exploded. My legs were really tired after only about 5 minutes. Between the lack of oxygen and the lactic acid buildup in my legs, I had to stop in the middle and at the end of each of the 4 combinations. Oh, this is pitiful. Feeling like I had not quite got in 30 (non-consecutive) minutes of cardio, I decided to do 1 of the high-low segments.

When I started high-low segment 1, I remembered that is has an intensity blast that includes a long series of "the running man." No way, not today! Recalling that High-Low 1 was the toughest, I decided to do High/Low segment 2. Ah, this is nice. Some easy up-and-back step-kicks to "Rebel Rebel," then "We Need A Hero." Abruptly I realized I certainly did need a hero, because, there were 2 rounds of 8 jacks followed by 2 rounds of 8 traveling side kicks BEFORE the intensity blast. Which consists of 16 plyo-jacks (and if that doesn't make you breathless, you're doing something wrong!). And then the whole routine from step-kicking to the Intensity Blast is repeated with the other leg leading. It was actually #2 that was the hardest, not #1!

Well, Cathe completely wiped the floor with me on this whole workout! Rate of perceived exertion: double ghastly! This HAS to get better soon. You may bewondering, if I'm that out of shape (yes, I really am), why start with such advanced workouts? Well, because after so many years of being at the advanced level, I got rid of most of my beginner/intermediate level workouts. The few I have left are on VHS. One of them is Donna-mite, a terrific and fun intermediate workout by Donna Richardson. It's all Motown, so it's just a blast. Serious, big fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available in DVD. However, I think I may invest the $$ to get it reformatted.

Live, or Diet?

2009-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've already told you I don't believe in scales. Don't have one. Don't want one. Don't care what I weigh. I already know: too darn much! It's just a number, anyway, whether we're thinking about our starting point, or our "goal." The reason I say this is that a person can have very little bodyfat but lots of muscle and yet be at a weight the charts say is "too much." Muscle is heavier than fat. Paradoxically, it also takes up less room than fat. This is an issue especially if you do strength training.

It can be very frustrating when you've had a good week, and worked really hard, but the scale says that you've stayed the same or even gained a little weight. What has really happened is you have gained muscle mass, and you've probably shrunk some. So I just don't find the feedback helpful. I remember reading Jane Fonda's book and she said that she was 2 sizes smaller at age 40 than when she was in her 20's but weighed 10 lbs. more (from muscle mass).

I prefer to measure progress by indicators such as, how do I feel? how do my clothes fit? Can I fit into anything in my closet I couldn't wear last month? Is my endurance improving? Can I lift more weight than I did last month on this exercise? Can I do more pushups than I did yesterday? Etc.

So it won't surprise you that I don't believe in diets, either. Diets are temporary; once we've lost the weight, we go off the "diet" and go back to our old eating habits. And as I once heard someone say, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." And in my experience, when the lbs. come back, they bring their friends! :)

I believe in "live-its." A live-it is a journey. A live-it is changes that you make in your activity levels or food choices that you can live with for the rest of your life. They don't even have to be big changes. One of the most important changes I made was to pretty much eliminate drinks with sugar as well as juices from my diet. It's amazing how many calories you can drink without realizing it. A live-it doesn't mean making perfect choices all the time. There's always tomorrow!

I don't believe in "bad foods" either. What do diets do? They are big on "all or nothing" approaches. They often take perfectly good food (carbs, for example), and make them "off-limits." Let's be honest here: is it reasonable to think that you should live the rest of your life never eating carbs? Of course not! We just have to find a way that we can peacefully and comfortably co-exist with the carbs in our diet. Which is going to be different for everybody; and easier said than done.

And the other thing: once a diet tells you, nope, can't have your favorite, Food Z anymore, what happens? All you can think about is how much you wish you could eat Food Z. You think about Food Z morning, noon, and night. You think about how glad you are that you didn't eat Food Z when the pastry cart rolled by, but secretly you WANT SOME Z! Eventually, you give in and eat the Z. Then you feel bad about yourself, and you think, well, I already blew it for today. I might as well go ahead and eat foods P and Q also. Even though you haven't eaten P or Q for weeks and haven't really missed them. You end up feeling bad about yourself and ultimately eating more, even eating stuff you don't even want, than if you had given yourself permission to eat the Z and enjoy it.

Wouldn't it be better to take this approach? I love Food Z, but I know it's calorically dense and eating a lot of it will probably not help me reach my fitness and nutritional goals. I recognize that there is a whole range of choices between always eating Z, and never eating Z. Why don't I cut down on the amount of Food Z I'm eating? I could decide to eat it once a week as a treat, something to look forward to and enjoy. Or, I could tell myself that I can have Food Z any time I want it, but just for today I've decided not to eat it. But if as the day goes on and I have a real craving for Z, and I can't stand it, for heaven's sake, eat some Z and enjoy it!!

It's just food, delicious food, that is a normal, natural part of life that the Creator has given us to enjoy. It's no better or worse than any other food. Eating it today is not going to derail our whole journey. And instead of focusing on how we ate the Z, why not give ourselves kudos for the other 900 great decisions we made today that are helping us reach those goals? Maybe tomorrow we'll make a different choice about Z. Once Z has lost its forbidden fruit status, maybe we'll find that just a bite or two of Z does the trick.

It's inevitable that we'll miss our goal sometimes. It's a natural part of the weightloss journey. And it is a journey. We may not be able to drive from San Francisco to New York in a day, but if we get in the car, and we start moving in the direction of New York, and we keep moving, we'll eventually get there. Sure, we may not take the fastest route, or the easiest route, or the best route, and we may make a few side trips or detours or have a flat tire, but we CAN still get there. Although I think I've been stuck in Memphis eating BBQ for the past year ;)

For me, the real issue is not losing weight. It's getting, and staying, healthier. It's being able to do more of the activities I enjoy. I think of myself as an athlete (yeah, right, but I can dream, can't I?) who needs to eat certain foods for optimum performance. I try to focus on getting the nutrition I need to build muscle and stamina, instead of what I shouldn't eat.

Of course, there may be medical reasons why a person needs to eliminate certain foods from his/her diet. Poatoes, white bread, and rice tend to cause my blood sugar to spike and then fall rapidly, which is not fun, so I try to avoid eating them. And some foods are just trigger foods if I start eating them: chips, for instance. Whether it's corn chips or potato chips, once I get started eating them I just can't stop, so I know it's better for me to just not get started, since I can't eat them in moderation!

But in general, I believe:

If I want to lose weight, I should eat less and move more
If the foods I love cause me to gain weight, I should just eat less of those foods
One of the best things I can do to help myself lose weight is strength training
One of the best things I can do to continue to enjoy the foods I love and maintain a healthy weight is strength training
Everyday is a perfect day for chocolate (even if it's just a taste!)

Rest Day

2009-03-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday. She is 79 years old today. She lives in a retirement home in Durham, about 30 min. from here, but I had meetings this afternoon so I had to call her to wish her a happy instead of visiting. It's a good thing I did! Poor Mom. She told me the entire retirement home is under quarantine because the Norwalk (or whatever they are calling it now) virus is running rampant through the building. Tons of the residents are sick. All the public areas are closed off, including the dining room, so meals are being delivered to their rooms. They aren't supposed to leave their rooms unless absolutely necessary, and the Health Dept. doesn't even want them to leave the building! Mom is just fine, but going absolutely stir-crazy. She's still driving, and misses getting out and about. She thinks the quarantine may be lifted by Friday. So we are postponing her birthday meal until we've moved into our new house.

I really believe in the hard-hard-easy workout schedule, but I didn't feel that today's 30 min. walk with the dog did me much good. TOO easy. Maybe it'll at least keep me from being so stiff tomorrow! Still, it was nice being out in the fresh (if chilly) air and felt good to be moving. Since I'm practically like those people in Wall-E who never move but float through life on their chaise lounges, I think it would be wise to incorporate at least a 30 min. walk into every day, regardless of what else I'm doing. I haven't been this out of shape for years!

I can really feel the effects of yesterday's Christi workout, especially in my arms, LOL, courtesy of Christi's crazy-fun choreography. My deltoids and triceps are pleasantly sore, and my quads are wondering what hit them.

I feel really encouraged, though! This morning at 6 DS and I swung by the Teeter on the way to school to get some lunch provisions. Sigh. I still haven't done my weekly shopping yet. I noticed, while whizzing quickly up and down the aisles, that my legs already feel stronger and more flexible!

Ooooooh, how I love working out. Next week will be even better once I start working with the weights. I usually drop a whole size in about a week when I start strength training.

After my walk with Huck, it was late and we were all hungry and ready for dinner, so we decided to go out. I just threw on a sweater over my exercise bra (the Iron Maiden!!) and squeezed myself into my only pair of wearable jeans. It was so funny, because I usually don't wear street clothes over my exercise bra, but when I looked down while we were at the restaurat, I totally had a uniboob! It's not as evident under my baggy t-shirts that I wear for working out, but in this closer fitting sweater, yep, the unmistakable uniboob. And no one said anything-- they let me go out in public looking like some kind of deformed hoochie-mama!

Guys. They don't get it.

We've got a long way to go on all fronts, but making definite progress! I feel like a wimp starting off so slowly, but I really learned my lesson about overdoing it a few years ago.

Do y'all remember The Firm exercise videos? (Yikes, talk about Stepford!) They were all the rage. I was trying out my very first Firm workout. I was so excited. I even dutifully watched the little infomericial at the beginning of the video about using proper form. The man tried to tell me, oh yes, he told me several times, but I didn't listen.

I attacked that workout with gusto, really went for the Gold! It was only the next day when I could not move a single part of my body without experiencing excruciating pain-- I mean, it HURT just to walk, and getting up from a chair made me want to cry!-- that I remembered the man said, in his cheesy "I am the Narrator" voice, "Never attempt to do all the exercises your first time." No kidding! I had nearly terminal DOMS for over a week. It put me off strength training for years, in fact.

Slow and steady is the way! I'll be doing roundhouse kicks and 360s on my step no sweat soon enough. I can't decide if I want to do step or kickbox tomorrow-- but I'm eager to see if it's feeling any easier cardio-wise.

Still Jumpin'

2009-03-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

By the end of the day I had started to feel the DOMS from yesterday's workout, so I decided to go with a high-low workout today. I have a vintage Christi Taylor workout from her Just For Fun series, called Still Jumpin'. The entire thing is about 65 minutes long, counting the warmup, cooldown, and stretch. There are 2 routines, but I only did the first one, plus the cooldown combination and stretch. It's a lot of fun! I had it in VHS and got it reformatted onto DVD because it's such a great workout with really fun choreography. The soundtrack seems to be all 70's and 80's pop (Then Came You, Rhythm is Gonna Get You, Love Lifted Us Up, Still the One).

As I mentioned, Christi's choreography is pretty innovative with a lot of her own moves (lunge-switch with a twist, down up and away, jogging boxstep, hip-hip, hopscotch, and kick the corner, for example) and fewer "standard" moves like grapevines, chausees, and shuffle-ball changes. My only criticism is that there are just WAY too many hamstring curls in part one, and a fairly tedious section of repeated grapevines where you kind of do chest flies with your arms and cross them at the wrists about 100 times. But it's really mostly a lot of fun, dancy choreography.

I will say I don't care for the way Christi cues. She cues the moves 2 beats in advance, so instead of cueing what you're supposed to be doing NOW, she's telling you what you're gonna do NEXT. Some people prefer that, but I find it confusing, especially when I'm trying to learn new choreography.

Once again, this formerly "Easy Day" workout kicked my out-of-shape posterior. I had to stop between each of the 4 combinations for a 2-minute break water and air break. My HRM says I burned 450 calories, not too shabby for only half a workout. I also had to stop halfway through to stretch my calves and soleus muscles. My rate of perceived exertion: ghastly, though perhaps a bit better than yesterday.

I am sure there will be pain tomorrow! I felt muscles today I had forgotten I had, LOL!
My plan is to take a long walk tomorrow instead of doing a workout, to give the muscles some recovery time. I definitely do not want to get injured right now!

Back on the Phit Wagon, Day 1

2009-03-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

As you may have gathered from a previous post, I work out at home with DVDs. I love the privacy, the fact I can do it whenever it's convenient for me, plus it's like having my own personal trainer with me every day. If you think you can't get a good workout at home, I'm here to tell you, you have not met Cathe Friedrich. Oh, I SO want that woman's abs. Buns too.

I have an aerobic step bench, a fitness ball, resistance bands, a collection of dumbbells and a barbell. I generally do 6 workouts per week. Depending on which rotation I'm doing, I'll do total body strength training 2 or 3 times a week, or I'll do a 4 day split alternating parts of the upper and lower body.

I also have a delightfully torturous DVD that will beat. you. down: Cathe Friedrich's Butts and Guts, which I try also to work in every week, as well as her Legs and Glutes, which is not as tough, but has more floor work. Oh, how I hate floor work. And barbell lunges. And you know what they say: the ones you hate the most are the ones you need the most!

For cardio conditioning, I alternate between aerobic step, high-low aerobics, and kickbox. I used to run about 30 miles per week, and I really miss it. Unfortunately, there's nothing but hillwork here in Central NC, and I quickly blew out both achilles tendons soon after I moved here, abruptly ending my training for the Chicago marathon. I am toying with the idea of maybe getting back into running. I have some really good running shoes designed to minimize stress on the achilles by raising the heel cup. But let me just get back to where I can finish my indoor workouts first, LOL!

Of course, being not only fluffy but also disgustingly out of shape, I'm nowhere near ready to tackle the above. The sheer effort of moving my current bulk will probably effectively double the intensity of any workout right now, LOL! My plan for this week is to concentrate on cardio and getting back into my routine. I figure the DOMS just from moving again will probably be plenty to endure this week. I'm shooting for 5 30-minute cardio workouts and maybe a few extended walks with the dog.

Today I did Lower Intensity Step from Cathe's 4 Day Split series (you can preview by clicking on the link; all Cathe's DVDs include streaming video samples). Not all at once, with many pauses to gasp and drink, but I did get all the way through it, including the intensity blasts. I admit my outer-thigh around the world and jump shot series were not my best efforts, but hey, I was moving! I put in 35 minutes of respectable cardio work. I felt pretty ghastly through most of it, but I know from past experience that cardio conditioning improves amazingly rapidly. In about 3 weeks I'll probably be able to get through most of my cardio workouts without taking any breaks.

Tomorrow I will either do Christi Taylor (high-low) or some kickbox, depending on how sore I am. 4 Day Split also has a bootcamp segement for one of the cardio workouts, which I will not be ready to attempt for several weeks. Drop and give you 20? Would you settle for 1, maybe? My current state of feebleness is discouraging in the extreme, but it can only get better from here! I am determined that this is the year I will SURPASS DS in doing pushups. He does 80 a day. I read about an 80-year-old female athlete that can do 100 a day, it HAS to be possible!

Next week I'll start working strength training back in, which is the foundation of my whole program. I know that muscle burns 3 times more calories at rest than other tissue, that you get the afterburn effect for 36 hrs. after a good strength workout, and that the only way to noodge my stubborn metabolism into overdrive is to increase my muscle mass. Weirdly, most of my excess avoir-dupois seems to have settled around my hips, my upper body hasn't changed as much. I say weirdly because I've always been shaped like an inverted triangle, and I have, until now, had a classic case of "Indian Butt": meaning, I don't have one! Strength training is pretty much the only way to get gut fat to budge, and please, dear God, do something about these saddlebags I've never had before!

I also know I need to start eating for performance, which means 6 small, high-quality meals and snacks throughout the day to keep my metabolism churning. That part is going to be a challenge, especially now that my blender is broken and I can't make protein shakes. However, it is a worthwhile investment in my overall health and well-being, so I should bite the bullet and get a new blender. (Are you listening, self??)

Last year I pre-ordered Cathe's then-in-production magnum opus, the 40 DVD set, STS (Shock Training System). The name alone is enough to strike terror into my heart! Well, it just arrived a few weeks ago. I haven't yet opened it, but this week will start previewing MesoCycle 1. I haven't checked in with the forums since it's been released, but STS is supposed to be the mother of all strength training systems. I can't remember how many mesocycles it includes, but each is designed to improve a specific target, such as overall strength (one of them will increase your current level by 5%), muscle endurance, and power.

It even includes software to help you determine your 1 rep max for each and every exercise, so that you are working to the best of your ability every time, without too little or too much weight. Also, no exercise can be "too advanced" now that I can determine the exact right weight for me. I think the software also helps with nutritional planning. I look forward to trying STS with eagerness as well as apprehension. I have a feeling I'm going to need several new dumbbell sets pretty quickly here.

I'll post about STS as I preview each mesocycle.

PhitDiva debuts

2009-03-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit it: for years, I was a workout junkie, strung out on the endorphins, high on Cathe.Com and VideoFitness. In other words, I had no life (LOL!). Seriously, last year when I worked in Chicago, my life consisted of work, working out, walking to Starbucks for my daily Venti Green Tea Latte, watching Gray's Anatomy, and sleeping. Then true love knocked on my door. (Among other things.)

Now I'm back home in NC, sharing a home with my Darlin' Companion, and doing the 50-50 custody 2-step with my ex. I loved my time in Chicago, but it was really, really, really the pits being without my DS except for one weekend a month. I now have a whole household, including my DS (eo week), my DC, his dog, Huckleberry, and his two cats (Elsa and Sienna). Poof. Instant family. Now I'm cooking at least 5 days a week.

I love to cook. I mean, I really, really love to cook. I had not really cooked for so many years I had forgotten how much I enjoy feeding people. Now I am totally addicted to cooking delicious dish after delicious dish.

Shoot, I'd pretty much dispensed with the entire notion of dinner, except for when DS was with me, and I'd make something for him. DC's bachelor diet pretty much consisted of Mountain Dew, chicken wings and pizza, so when we moved in together I set about to improve his nutrition, but enjoyably. I figured if I cooked it at home, and could get him to eat it, it was bound to be more nutritious than what he'd previously been eating. So that he wouldn't feel "deprived," I tried to cook all his favorites, including homemade desserts. And overall, he eats much better now and is feeling better, too. Unfortunately, all of this cooking has brought back my appetite and I've actually been eating for the first time in years.

Normally, this would not be a big deal, as I generally burn anywhere from 1000-2000 calories a day working out, depending on what I'm doing. Seriously, my young & hot Dr. in Chicago said my good cholesterol was 3 times higher than his and he was envious! However, between this and that, I started missing workouts so they became much less regular. And of course, last year, not being hampered by the possession of a car (YES!! I HATE having to maintain a car), I walked everywhere. Real fast, since I live my life on "Indian time" and am constantly late. I am now as sedentary as a sloth, since I work at home. Whole days go by when I don't even leave the house. (I hate to admit this, but sometimes I don't even bother to get dressed, and spend the whole day in my jammies.)

The coup de grace to my fitness routine came in August, when I broke my foot, and really could not work out for 6+ good weeks. Then of course, things started heating up at work, my travel schedule picked up, and our TV bit the dust, the birthday/holiday season was coming, and I was always going to get back into exercise "tomorrow," "next week," "after this next business trip."

You can guess the result. I, the Library Diva, Fitness Addict, and formerly fat person, have become a currently, well, let's just say, fluffy, person. I can hardly squeeze a toe into my size 2 jeans... my size 4 too-cute-for-words denim miniskirt is but a distant memory... (dang, I was SO looking forward to violating the office dress code with that thing) and even my size 6 "fat" jeans won't come anywhere near fastening. In short, we have a crisis. This Diva will NOT put up with this. I must shrink. Instantly.

I'm at the outer limit of what my wardrobe can contain. I actually popped a button off a skirt while on a client visit and spent half the day praying my zipper would hold and surreptitiously looking for stray safety pins. As I was shrinking, on the journey from my formerly fat self to my recently sassy and cute self, I saved a few favorite outfits, so I have clothes in various sizes. But I'm now down to one pair of extremely tight jeans and 2 or 3 shirts that fit. At least, without making me look like a hoochiemama. And I REFUSE to buy new clothes in jumbo size.

So today, I put on my workout gear, strapped on the old heart rate monitor, and broke out one of my favorite Cathe DVDs, which includes a "low intensity" step routine. I figured I would "ease" back into things.

Ha! Holy cow, that thing totally kicked my big (but still cute and sexy) butt.
I made it through the whole routine, by stopping numerous times to let my heartrate drop and to guzzle water. I'm in my personal anaerobic zone at anything over 175 and can't be happy there for long.

Tomorrow I'm going to do either kickbox or high-low (aerobics). So this blog is really about keeping myself motivated, and maybe finding a few kindred spirits in the fight against flab. And while yes, I certainly do want to lose the fluff, my major goal is to get into the best shape of my life, ever. I have a whole new pack of strength training DVDs that I can't wait to break into. I lost the weight before, and I can do it again.

But it will be a real challenge, because I am a cooking and food diva too. I refuse to eat "diet" food or anything that does not taste good. Life is too short to avoid eating good food. I don't believe in doing penance at the table.

So can this FitnessDiva balance fine cooking with weightloss and everything else she has to do? We shall see. One thing is clear: I'll need to be creative and find my own way, as conventional weightloss wisdom has never worked for me, yet I lost 70 lbs. and kept it off (kept shrinking, in fact) for 5 years. I do not own a scale and don't believe in them; if you do strength training the BMI is a joke, but I'll measure progress by how I feel and the difficulty level of the workouts I can get through. I know I can do this! Yes, we CAN! And we WILL! Life is also too short to go through it without awesomely cute clothes.