Mid-week checkup

This week is going much better than last week. I've been a good WW'er and have been tracking my food. I'm also making more of an effort to plan meals ahead and follow the healthy guidelines as best I can. I even got my act together enough to make a crock pot roast this morning.

I'm also recovering well from the half-marathon. Fortunately, I only had minor aches and pains afterwards and each day since has been better and better. Today, though, I'm really really hungry and I wonder if it's also part of the recovery process. I ate a truckload of food (66 points worth, scary I know) on the day of the half-marathon and have been really watching my intake since then. Maybe I need to ease up a bit and eat more regardless of the amount I ate on Sunday?

Anyways, eating more today is definitely in order. I'm going to nip out for a Subway sandwich soon because the gnawing pit in my stomach won't let me concentrate. It apparently didn't notice the nice big bowl of beef, bean, and veggie soup I fed it an hour ago!

Medals for the heart, medals for the soul

I did something extra special yesterday. I achieved a goal I set for myself in May. I trained for it all summer. And yesterday was the day it all came together. When I crossed the finish line at the half-marathon and felt the medal placed around my neck, it was all I could do not to burst into tears. It was pouring rain, and my body was numb with cold, but I could feel the warmth of the medal hanging around my neck. My medal.

I was never athletic. I was always the kid who was picked last for teams. And I never had medals or trophies to adorn my wall or make my parents proud. But now, now I have a medal. And it's my medal. I fought for it and I won it. And I am so very proud of it.

When I came home from the event, and placed my medal beside my other two participation medals from other events this past summer, my heart swelled with pride. My soul swelled with pride. Though I am no longer the last, nor even the first, I am still a winner. And I have the medals to prove it.

Sewing my way to fitness

Today was supposed to be a training day for the half-marathon. An endurance walk of 8k. However, we were unexpectedly accompanied by a five-year-old that a friend had brought along. Before we began the walk, I spent some time looking between the printout of our route and the five-year old. I'd look at the map, look at the five-year-old, and look at the map again.

Call me a softy, but I just didn't have it in me to make the five-year-old walk 8 kilometres. I mean, if she was training to do a half-marathon, I woulda brought out the old whip. But alas, she was more interested in being a kid. So I modified our route to take us straight to a playground. Much fun was had by all. Even when I accidentally ate a medium-sized ice-cream cone. Heehee, oops!

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about the unsung health benefits of sewing. When I came home from the unsuccessful training walk, I went straight to making a basket liner for aforementioned-friend's wedding next week. I didn't even get out of my walking clothes, so, as a consequence, I happened to be wearing my pedometer.

Now, my sewing setup is less than ideal. In fact, it sucks. My serger is on the dining room table, my ironing board is in the kitchen, and my sewing machine is in the bedroom. When I'm working on a project that requires all three, you can bet I do a lot of moving between them. Until this afternoon, I didn't realize just how much moving I did. After finishing the liner, I checked my pedometer and was surprised to find that a couple hours of sewing had racked up over 4,000 steps!

So there you have it, ladies and gents. You can't make a five-year old walk an 8k, but you CAN burn calories while sewing. I bet Bowflex wouldn't want this to get out.

Cucumbers and deerage

There's something to be said for walking. The fresh air, the exercise, the strange things you see along the way. For example, this sign that was posted alongside the trail. We're not sure what it's advertising, aside from the fact that they happen to have well-endowed cucumbers. There was no trailside stand from which we could buy them or any other indication of where said "cukes" were.

There was, however, a profusion of deer growing all over the property. There was at least five of these guys in various stages of munching. Perhaps they ate the cucumbers? The one pictured here was curled up in the grass, cute as could be until she decided we were annoying enough that she'd rather show us her backside.

Our training walks are getting longer now and we're holding up well. When we have good walks like tonight's, it's easy to keep going. We've been going a month now which is hard to believe. I haven't missed a training session either and I'm feeling really good about that. Two more months and it's go time!

Training at lunch

I went for another training walk on my lunchtime. This time I decided to be smart and bring my workout clothes – pants, shirt and shoes. I felt all smart until I went to change and realized I completely forgot socks! Whoops!

I just about didn't go out because of that, but went anyways. Fortunately, MEC is near to my work so I swung by there during the first leg of my walk and picked up a pair of my favourite technical socks.* The clerk was awesome – she unwrapped my socks, snipped the little plastic restraint and let me use one of their benches to put them on.

Aside from the hiccup at the beginning, the walk went very well and I'm excited about doing it again on my lunchtime. It's a great way to get some fresh air and exercise mid-day.

* Technical socks are awesome. They're made with wicking fabric so your sweat will wick away and your feet will be drier. Walking/running technical socks also have cushy bottoms so they help reduce impact. If you like to walk or run, do yourself a favour and try a pair!

Half-marathon: training update, froggies and a recipe

The first week training for the half-marathon is going very well. We went out on Tuesday night for our first group walk and guess what we saw? I scooped this lil guy off the road so he wouldn't get hit. He was so docile that I started to think maybe he was injured. That is until he jumped straight up and out of my hands! Scared the dickens out of me but it did remind me of how awesome walking is. Since I've started walking, I've seen many wild animals and it's always a special experience. This froggie ranks right up there with the owl my husband and I saw when we first started walking.

Aside from that walk, I did some cross-training on Monday at Curves and went for another training walk today on my lunch hour. That worked out so well that I think I'm going to bring my runners to work. This weekend will be an endurance walk and I'm looking forward to it.

And, as the weather around these parts has been dreary and altogether autumny, I thought I'd share a recipe my leader gave to us.

WW Steamed Apple with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar

• 1 apple
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. light margarine
• Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Core apple, leaving bottom intact. Fill with brown sugar, margarine, cinnamon and nutmeg. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until soft. 2.5 to 3 points depending on the margarine used; be sure to recalculate using your own tracker in case I made a mistake!

I made it tonight and it was pretty good. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to eat it without spilling the liquid that accumulated inside. I may tweak the recipe next time. It seemed a bit too sweet to me and like it could do with real margarine (or butter) and a wee sprinkling of chopped walnuts. But all in all, a good experiment that bears repeating!

Half-marathon: training begins

Today is the day I begin training for the upcoming half-marathon in October. With consistent training, I know I can do this! 10k is moderately easy for me now. What's another 11k on top of that?

I'll be using Prevention's Walking Calendar as my training guide. This handy dandy app will lay out a day-by-day walking guide for you depending on what you've chosen as your goal - weight loss, half-marathon, or (gulp!) full-marathon. In order to be ready for my half-marathon in October, my start date is today!

I'm about to head out for my first training walk and am excited to start. Wish me luck and the willpower to keep training!

Half-marathon

Oh, did I mention? I signed up to do a half-marathon walk in October. I'll repeat that again because I'm having a hard time believing it. A. Half. Marathon. 21 kilometres. Of walking. All at once. And I signed up for it.

I still haven't gotten over wanting to hurl in the corner.

Strangely, the rest of my walking buddies have signed up, too. Misery loves company! We'll be training over the summer with other walking events and just getting out there. I'll post more about it once I get my training plan solidified.