Typical Day

This isn’t even the worst I’ve ever seen…

This is just an example of what it’s like living in and around our Nation’s Capital.  I’ve actually changed work locations (still with the same company), so I’m not commuting to the Navy Yard anymore. Thank goodness.  On a good day, it took me an hour and 15 minutes.  Plus another 15-30 to find parking… On a bad day? 2 hours. 

Now I’m in Alexandria, VA.  My commute still takes me up I95, but on a good day it takes 45 minutes.  Coming home it usually takes me about an hour. 

A recent study found that a long commute is bad for your heart health.  While I’m glad my commute has gotten shorter, this study is another reason for me to continue my weekly exercise after the half marathon is over.  Even though I HATE working out, it’s important to do something active to combat the long days of sitting in my car and at my desk.  It’s been especially difficult to exercise during the winter because it gets dark so early.  Running in the dark has become a normal thing, but this hasn’t made me less paranoid.  I run with a reflective vest, my cell phone in hand, and no music whatsoever.  It would be nice if I could work from home and do my workouts in the middle of the day.

The type of job that I have makes it pretty much impossible to telecommute.  It’s possible, but I’m really needed in the office.  I’m kind of curious what others who live in the area (and those who don’t) deal with on a daily basis and how they deal with it.

So tell me, do you have a long commute?  Do you ever work from home?  What do you do for exercise each week?  Do you run in the dark? Do you work out during the day? How do you fit in your weekly exercise?

Please share your tips and tricks!!!

~SG

We Joined a Gym!

Not kidding. We seriously walked into a gym and signed up for a membership.  80 bucks a month for 2 people is like stealing here in Northern VA.  It’s cheaper than my TANNING membership for cripes sake…

We decided to do a 6 month membership so as not to be too overzealous and thus run out of steam too early.  We are taking a very meager approach to get our gym-going off on the right foot.  We signed up Tuesday, and we haven’t been yet!  

Don’t worry, I plan on going…. Tomorrow.  It’s not my fault I got invited to a waterfront happy hour tonight. And last night it was raining.

OK that wasn’t a valid excuse.   I’m doing Zumba tomorrow I swear!!

3 Week Challenge

There is a quote often said amongst professional cheerleaders, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  While it's a horrible quote, it IS somewhat true.  Although I really despise eating lettuce for dinner and celery sticks for dessert.  Kidding!! I know my health food posts bore you, so I'll make it short and sweet.

Yesterday, with the encouragement of my nutritionist friend, I started on a 3 week challenge.  The challenge is to work out 5 days per week while also eating healthy meals.  If I can work out for 15 days of the next 21, I get a new Coach purse.  (Granted, it'll be coming from the outlet cause we aren't made of money).  But I'm working on rewarding myself with things OTHER than food.  So Coach purse it is!

Well, one day down. And it was cake.  We practice twice a week, so there's 2 days of intense cardio right there. Plus this week we have two performances. That means I just need to find one day to go running after work!  Next week will be a definite challenge.  We are off all week. 

Wish me luck!

~SG

PS: and if you are mad at me for being healthy, don’t worry. I ate Chipotle AND Outback on Sunday.  Hey, nobody’s perfect!

Nutrition/Exercise Blog (Sorry)

While I don't want to bore you with details of my new healthy eating plan (it is SO much more fun to read about eating chocolate cake, no?) I do want to QUICKLY write about how I'm doing and what I'm doing.

A) This goes way back to like a month after the wedding when I realized wedding stress wasn't automatically deleting calories anymore.  (Srsly. I lost 10 pounds before the wedding, doing absolutely NOTHING. It was amazing.)

B) Now that I'm back to dancing, I want to be able to perform (outside in 100 degree weather) without gasping for air and also not embarrass myself in a tiny little spandex skirt.

So here I am.  I have no clue what day/week I'm on, maybe a little over a month, and I've lost about 5-7 pounds.  And I just kicked it up a notch.

One of my coaches is a nutritionist (WINNING).  She took my body fat measurement with this awesome ultrasound-like machine.  I came in right about where I thought I would.  Which is good, because it wasn't terrible.  But it wasn't awesomesauce either. (mmmmm sauce.)

Something I'm definitely struggling with is eating ENOUGH. I know that sounds crazy because when I'm not watching what I eat, I eat plenty.  But when it comes to salads, carrot sticks, bananas, etc. I have this idea in my head that I'm not allowed to eat a lot.  Which then leaves me hungry. For pizza.

So I'm working really hard on chugging water and making healthier choices.  Which means PLANNING AHEAD.  I should've taken a picture of the kitchen counter the other night after I finished putting celery sticks, carrot sticks, apple slices and blueberries into mini plastic baggies to take to work.

OK and for those of you who are like "Really? Give me a break."  I'm also being careful NOT to restrict myself from eating things like the brownies my sister baked for us as a thank you for coming to her bridal shower. 

The other half of nutrition is obviously exercise.  While I'm getting an AWESOME workout twice a week at dance practice, that leaves 5 other nights where I need to figure out what to do.  So I'm focusing on getting back into running.

If you've ever met me, you'll l know I am NOT an athlete. I have never been an athlete. I'm a dancer....an artist, if you will.  While I wasn't the LAST one picked for the team in high school gym class, I certainly wasn't the first.  And I never ran a mile in under 10 minutes until I was about.....20.

I try though, and I like running races and I even do long races because I like the accomplishment and sometimes you get to wear a tutu.  So Tuesday I decided to try for 2 miles around my in-laws neighborhood (which might as well be a mountainous region).  I freakin did it!!! My pace was probably horrible but I did 2 miles with no walking.  I'm pumped.  Haven't ran that far since.... February of last year.

Sooo there's my nutrition/exercise update for a little while.  It's definitely not easy.  In fact, it sucks.

But you know what else sucks? Being benched.  So let’s hope I get my rear in gear ASAP, eh?!

SG

Gonna be sore tomorrow...

After work today I came home, put on some comfy clothes, and tried to take a nap.  Doc decided this was not going to be allowed, and 30 minutes later went on a barking rampage because of the crazy axe murderer neighbor who was parking her car outside. I got up, threw some clothes in the wash, and was trying to figure out what to do when I realized I was wearing an entire workout outfit minus the sneakers/socks.  SO I decided to man up and go for a run since it was close to 50 degrees outside today. 

I am really proud of myself.  Not because I ran 10 miles (cause I didn't) or because my pace was 9 minutes per mile (cause it wasn't), but because I actually went outside and DID something.  Did my lungs burn? Yes. Did my ears hurt? Yes. Did I walk alot? Yeah, I did.  But I went outside and exercised and actually kind of enjoyed it!  I used to run quite a bit, and I love to run themed races and dress up in outfits with my friends.  I love the thrill of crossing the finish line, which makes you forget about all the pain it took to get you there.  I've just gotten out of the loop.

I really hope that this isn't the only time I'll go running this spring.  I know it is supposed to snow again this week (@#&*!) and that I will probably put it off due to the weather (slolam running through sidewalk snow kind of sucks, although it is distracting so you don't notice your lungs imploding as quickly).  But I also hope that I can motivate myself to get out there and do something-even if it's just walking- because now that I'm not dancing/coaching/working two jobs, I have alot of free time to sit on my butt and do nothing.  So far that's gotten me nowhere except to the realization that all my clothes are fitting pretty tight lately...

So. Feel free to leave some motivation, or info about your favorite 5k.  I'm going to go and pat myself on the back now.

And since I don't have any photos to share in this post (nice try if you think I'm gonna post a sweaty, smelly pic) I'll leave you with a picture of the artwork we had made with my wedding boquet and our wedding invitation.  The flowers were preserved after the wedding, thanks to bridesmaid Kendayl who took care of dropping them off.  The company is All Seasons Floral Preservation and they are just wonderful.  Nothing but good things to say!  It is a blackberry pic so sorry about the quality... Enjoy!

~SG

Freshman 15 (and a bonus rant!)

Of COURSE it’s National Cupcake Day. 

Why wouldn’t it be, on a day when I finally got the balls to weigh myself and was faced with a horrifying number that has been haunting me all day?!

They say you gain weight when you get married.  They also say you gain weight when you quit working out and get your appetite back after not being able to eat for 10 months due to wedding stress…

Sorry to get a little bit personal but hey, it’s MY blog… so go shove a cupcake in your mouth. 

Anyway, I know I’ve been gaining a few pounds since the wedding for several reasons:

1. The cruise. Anybody that has ever been on a cruise knows they practically force feed you 7 meals a day, with dessert. And drinks.

2. It’s SO COLD OUT. Why do I want to walk across the street to the gym? It’s freezing! And the dog doesn’t want to go for a walk either, so we’re out of luck.  Maybe I’ll pop in that Power90 dvd.  Maybe tomorrow…

3. I’m lazy.  I’ll admit it.  I don’t have Red Rockers anymore after work, so I love going straight home and getting some QT in with Doc.  If you know anything about Min Pins, which you probably don’t, they are SUPER snuggly little animals.  Except when they feel threatened…which for him is pretty much all the time… but anyway, he loves to schnuggle me and I would hate to have to put him back in his crate so I could go work out for a while.

I guess it’s officially about time I get back on the bandwagon.  If I ever want to dance again I am going to need to look the part.  Looks like it’s time to sign up for a race.  Ugh. I love to hate running. Srsly. AND I guess I’ll start bringing my lunch to work again (yay! I did it today!) and drinking water and DIET soda…

So when you see me around at holiday functions, please don’t judge me or make any comments like “when’s the baby due?” because FIRST OF ALL (and I am trying to keep it together here) I am EXTREMELY tired of people asking me, talking about, joking around about when we are going to have children.  It was whatever at first, then it got annoying, and now, I’m about to punch the next person who mentions the “P” word to me.  This is MY body, and my husband and I will decide when we want to put a baby in it.  THANKYOUVERYMUCH. 

Moving on… sorry I got a little distracted there…

I think I’ll start by setting a goal. 

Do Power90 some time this week. 

HEY that’s a manageable goal! They say start small!!!  Now I just have to figure out how to use the monster DVD player and the 98364 remote controls…. Sigh.

Yours truly,

Fatty