Weight:255.6
Exercise for today: Probably weights and dreadmill after the boys are in bed.
Disposition: Much better.....
Yesterday caught me by surprise. Without going into too many details...
* I did a 40 minutes walk around the mall. At 9 degrees outside, I didn't want to risk the same numb-butt feeling I had riding my bike pre-blizzard last weekend. It's less evil than the dreadmill, warmer than the bike trail, and only slightly better than trying to run on a snow-covered track. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. I discovered that my mood was much better throughout the day as well. I used Map my Route and think i marked it to be at least a little more than half a mile per lap. Someone I thought told me it was 2/3 of a mile per lap but I'll take my measurement so I have to do more to gethte distance I want.... Yay me!
* I took some steps in a direction. I'm trying to balance mistakes we made in the past, the kids needs right now, the reality of our finances, my personal needs, abilities and future and still make the best decisions for the family. Breathe.......
*I talked to one of my favorite people...He's far away and I miss him terribly. We NEVER seem to have enough time and I'm a leftover part of a life he's moved beyond but I'm REALLY happy for the direction his life is moving in. I'm praying for his new family as he, and they, live in New Zealand (you know- where they had that strong earthquake) and just as I am thinking about what I can do for the people in Haiti with a group called Starfysh, I'm praying for and thinking about how they will also be re-building, again, in his part of the world.
* I was reminded that my daughter is incredible! Sometimes aggravating and at the same time she seems so much more focused on the life ahead of her. She has come so far from this time last year when a mistake she made caved her world in. Now she is working, a straight A student, and she has a significant person in her life. She really has a plan in place and I'm feeling less and less like I'm holding her hand. There are times when I still need to guide her and a little cheerleading here and there, but she is so grown up.
* I got an amazing message from someone I hardly know, but she knows me. She is watching and learning and even called ME inspiring. It's an awesome responsibility but it feels like it's a simbiotic relationship. Now that I know I'm being held accountable even more than those little squares on my 100 Day Challenge, it makes me proud and even more motivated.
* I also got in touch with someone that I thought I had left behind in that murky place I was working. She responded! Sometimes, that's all I need. That invisible feeling I've had for the past 3 weeks melted a little more when I have days like that.
The cold sunny day we had yesterday ended with some really great positives after all.
Today I went to a meeting for American Red Cross Instructors. It was interesting and a little grey. Like I know I went but why? I haven't taught in a while and all of the changes coming down the pipeline are mostly administrative. Another decision to ponder.
The rest of this sunny, 21 degree day is going to be spent pondering and creating, looking, and hanging out. Then exercising and getting ready for another day to ponder, walk, create, look,....you get the picture.
Enjoy the sunlight!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Incommunicado
Weight: No idea...the scale just got bateris Sunday. Will weigh myself tomorrow
27 minutes swim + 3 minutes walking
I did my 30 tonight. The 27 minutes come in as I discovered a goal to keep track of. The Bear Lake Triathlon is June 27th. I volunteered few years ago for this race and I have wanted to get this one done ever since. I already am registered for the Tri nearest and dearest to my heart, the West Michigan Tri in Fremont. That one is in August so i have wat too much time to procrastinate. Bear Lake is closer and a little more scary if I don't train for it. So I'm trying to keep motivated.
There is so much to say and so little energy to sat it. Bear Lake is in the back of my head, my heart is lying on the floor in pieces and my future is as the bottom of one of those Magic 8 Balls says,"Ask again later, not clear now."
Good night.
27 minutes swim + 3 minutes walking
I did my 30 tonight. The 27 minutes come in as I discovered a goal to keep track of. The Bear Lake Triathlon is June 27th. I volunteered few years ago for this race and I have wanted to get this one done ever since. I already am registered for the Tri nearest and dearest to my heart, the West Michigan Tri in Fremont. That one is in August so i have wat too much time to procrastinate. Bear Lake is closer and a little more scary if I don't train for it. So I'm trying to keep motivated.
There is so much to say and so little energy to sat it. Bear Lake is in the back of my head, my heart is lying on the floor in pieces and my future is as the bottom of one of those Magic 8 Balls says,"Ask again later, not clear now."
Good night.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
30 minutes and pool math.
Weight: 256...on my way down again....Yay!
Days 3/100
About this time last year I hurt myself running and this year the same injury seems to be visiting my other foot/hip...oh joy.
Good thing it was a night the school has open swim!
Now for those not in the know, I prefer Triathlon to Marathoning. I would love to complete a full marathon, but right now I don't think having two little boys and being a single mom most of the time allows me that luxury. I really enjoyed the half marathon I did last Fall. But I still condier the little Tri I did two years ago my biggest accomplishment. Before I left my job, I registered for the Tri and the half marathon again. Once you put money down on a race, that's the first step MHGR Marathon Guru Don Kern says.
For my money, the second step are these babysteps. The next step has been taking a little more effort than I thought it would, but I'm doing them. My favorite authors-Coach Jenny Hadfield and john "The Penguin"Bingham started this group on Facebook called 100 Days Challenge. It's awesome. There is even a little chart to fill in the days in a row you do 30 minutes of intentional activity per day.
My boys found that chart one morning and asked me if he could colr it al in for me. I told him no but that he could color in square number one. Now it's become not only a chart for me, but a way for my boys to unknowingly keep me honest! I want them to have a square to color in for me! Thus, 3/100. I've also noticed that I'm losing a pound a day right now. If I do 30 miutes a day and they add up to a pound a day I might be to my target weight around day number 80!
Tonight's activity was swimming. It's cheap, but crowded. The pool was sooooo warm it was like swimming in the bathtub. I know the temperature wasn't conducive to triathlon open water, but the fact that I got there late so there was no lap lane for swimming in made it feel like a starting line for one. The starting line of a Tri looks like that scene from Pirahna where all the little fish are flipping and flapping and water is flying everywhere. That's what it was like trying to find open water to swim in for 30 minutes tonight! But I did manage to get my minutes in. Not pretty. Not fast. But I got it done.
Now to the math....
25 yards = 1 length
50 yards = 1 lap
300 yards = West Michigan Tri Swim leg
So the story problem goes:
How many laps do I need to do to make sure I can swim at least 300?
I figure 6 but that seemes really easy....
Here's a little trickier one
Figure out how many laps I have to do to equal 750 METERS...
Get back to me on that one...I have to go jump up and down to get the water out of my ears...
So tomorrow is mall walking. Have agreat day everyone. Hopefully I wil have news on he employment front soon too. Say a prayer for me.
Days 3/100
About this time last year I hurt myself running and this year the same injury seems to be visiting my other foot/hip...oh joy.
Good thing it was a night the school has open swim!
Now for those not in the know, I prefer Triathlon to Marathoning. I would love to complete a full marathon, but right now I don't think having two little boys and being a single mom most of the time allows me that luxury. I really enjoyed the half marathon I did last Fall. But I still condier the little Tri I did two years ago my biggest accomplishment. Before I left my job, I registered for the Tri and the half marathon again. Once you put money down on a race, that's the first step MHGR Marathon Guru Don Kern says.
For my money, the second step are these babysteps. The next step has been taking a little more effort than I thought it would, but I'm doing them. My favorite authors-Coach Jenny Hadfield and john "The Penguin"Bingham started this group on Facebook called 100 Days Challenge. It's awesome. There is even a little chart to fill in the days in a row you do 30 minutes of intentional activity per day.
My boys found that chart one morning and asked me if he could colr it al in for me. I told him no but that he could color in square number one. Now it's become not only a chart for me, but a way for my boys to unknowingly keep me honest! I want them to have a square to color in for me! Thus, 3/100. I've also noticed that I'm losing a pound a day right now. If I do 30 miutes a day and they add up to a pound a day I might be to my target weight around day number 80!
Tonight's activity was swimming. It's cheap, but crowded. The pool was sooooo warm it was like swimming in the bathtub. I know the temperature wasn't conducive to triathlon open water, but the fact that I got there late so there was no lap lane for swimming in made it feel like a starting line for one. The starting line of a Tri looks like that scene from Pirahna where all the little fish are flipping and flapping and water is flying everywhere. That's what it was like trying to find open water to swim in for 30 minutes tonight! But I did manage to get my minutes in. Not pretty. Not fast. But I got it done.
Now to the math....
25 yards = 1 length
50 yards = 1 lap
300 yards = West Michigan Tri Swim leg
So the story problem goes:
How many laps do I need to do to make sure I can swim at least 300?
I figure 6 but that seemes really easy....
Here's a little trickier one
Figure out how many laps I have to do to equal 750 METERS...
Get back to me on that one...I have to go jump up and down to get the water out of my ears...
So tomorrow is mall walking. Have agreat day everyone. Hopefully I wil have news on he employment front soon too. Say a prayer for me.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Babysteps to Balance or Oxygen Induced Musings: What?
Babysteps to Balance or Oxygen Induced Musings: What?: "Huh? What? What exactly is this blog about? Babysteps? Is it about her kids? Oxygen Induced? Was she drowning? Well..."
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Playlist Evolution
Weight: 257.0
Realized I need more ponytail holders. Guess my hair is getting longer....Told you this would be weird at times...
Got a 31 minute/2 mile run/walk in tonight before my favorite show.
Music is my safe place. It is important to me and has always been there to help me through thick and thin. So it was no surprise that I have always, unless the technology (read as battery power) failed in some way. That's why I have a mantra to pull me through. That is for another blog....
So over the past three weeks I decided to treat myself to some new tunes. I've been downloading songs that are new and some that, according to Sara, are new to me but not to her.
So tonight was the first test of the new playlist. I love to sweat the bad stuff out of my system. I like to lose myself in the music or my own thoughts. Sometimes I listen to the lyrics. Sometimes I just let my mind go. The first mile is never my friend and from mile 1 to mile 2 it usually where I cna poop out. Once I get past that mile 2 it's just one foot in front of the other until I can't go anymore. Tonight on the dreadmill, and yes I call it the DREADmill, I focused on my playlist. New songs, new messeges to hear. I like not hearing the footfalls and the breaths or gasps depending on pace and duration.
So here is my Playlist for my Babysteps and what I was focused on or thinking or what I was doing:
Can't Be Tamed: "This would be a good step aerobic song"
Waka Waka: Love this song! Running tune for sure!
The Time (Dirty Bit):Arm workout!
London Bridge: Naughty!
Big Girls: This one hit me emotionally. I found myself screaming out the chorus and crying.
Waiting for the End: Running...love the instrumentals as well as the lyrics.
Just the Way You Are: Someone special said this very thing to me. Wis hthe rest of the world would figure it out.
We R Who We R: Love this one! Run on!
So that's today's playlist. Not an exciting blog but i got it done.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
See you at the mall. I'll be the one humming as I circle the lil grey haired people.
Realized I need more ponytail holders. Guess my hair is getting longer....Told you this would be weird at times...
Got a 31 minute/2 mile run/walk in tonight before my favorite show.
Music is my safe place. It is important to me and has always been there to help me through thick and thin. So it was no surprise that I have always, unless the technology (read as battery power) failed in some way. That's why I have a mantra to pull me through. That is for another blog....
So over the past three weeks I decided to treat myself to some new tunes. I've been downloading songs that are new and some that, according to Sara, are new to me but not to her.
So tonight was the first test of the new playlist. I love to sweat the bad stuff out of my system. I like to lose myself in the music or my own thoughts. Sometimes I listen to the lyrics. Sometimes I just let my mind go. The first mile is never my friend and from mile 1 to mile 2 it usually where I cna poop out. Once I get past that mile 2 it's just one foot in front of the other until I can't go anymore. Tonight on the dreadmill, and yes I call it the DREADmill, I focused on my playlist. New songs, new messeges to hear. I like not hearing the footfalls and the breaths or gasps depending on pace and duration.
So here is my Playlist for my Babysteps and what I was focused on or thinking or what I was doing:
Can't Be Tamed: "This would be a good step aerobic song"
Waka Waka: Love this song! Running tune for sure!
The Time (Dirty Bit):Arm workout!
London Bridge: Naughty!
Big Girls: This one hit me emotionally. I found myself screaming out the chorus and crying.
Waiting for the End: Running...love the instrumentals as well as the lyrics.
Just the Way You Are: Someone special said this very thing to me. Wis hthe rest of the world would figure it out.
We R Who We R: Love this one! Run on!
So that's today's playlist. Not an exciting blog but i got it done.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
See you at the mall. I'll be the one humming as I circle the lil grey haired people.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
What?
Huh? What?
What exactly is this blog about? Babysteps? Is it about her kids?
Oxygen Induced? Was she drowning?
Well, I was in a toxic relationship. No, not personally. Professionally. I had a dream job but not a dream situation. Over the eight months I was there I gained back the 60 pounds I thought I had left on the local high school track, the road I live on, and various bike trails in the area. I lost it-it found me. I had started running for the health of it. I didn't know I had been running for my life! My work shcedule had pre-empted my life as an adult-onset athlete. My car's gas tank replaced the time I spent filling my spiritual and emotional gas tank. Time spent planning for work interrupted the time I had been spending on working on myself. the politics of my promotion sent me tumbling into a physical and emotional tailspin.
So...I quit. Not good in this economy but the fainting spell at work made it clear that it wasn't worth it anymore.I quit. In a note. On a desk. That was it. I called my BFF and she asked me what was going on, she hadn't heard me sound so happy in months. I told her I had quit. She was happy, freaked out a little and in awe of sorts. The next two pleople I talked too said the same thing. I myself was so relieved...then it hit.
What the heck am I going to do now? I had poured so much of how I would do it if this were my academy into what I had given away...what was left? It felt like my heart and soul and ME were gone and somewhat forgotten. Quitting had been,evidently, more self-preservation than a matter of pride. I felt like I did after the breakdown of my first marriage. I was divorcing this situation that had drained me.
Economically this wasn't the best time. Physically, I don't think I could have gone on much longer. Thus Babysteps to Balance or Oxygen Induced Musings. I used to have a blog on Myspace with one of these titles. It's long since been abandoned (another casualty in my hectic work pace). So I'm going to start over. Just like after my divocre, it's going to take babysteps to get my feet back under me and adjusting my attitude re-adjusted to looking ahead. so the babysteps being taken are not my dughter's or either one of my sons' but my own. Back to finding how I can balance Mommy time with Shannon time with house time with work time. It will come back, I just have to be patient and take those baby steps.
Ever have really great ideas that seem to come to you in the shower? I get those but what I've found is that I also have them as I hit the Zen zone going round the track and trying to get the lap done before the next song started on my iPod. That's where the "Oxygen-Induced" comes from. I feel better due to endorphins- I get that. But it also seems that the air seems to energize my litte grey cells too.
I'll start out the blog with my morning weight and what my goals for the day are. Hopefuy I'll follow them up wit hsome Eart-shattering epiphanies here and there. So I'm excited. I am welcoming the cleansing effect of exercise and the ideas and clarity of thought as I stride forward looking for some balance. Eventually it will be interesting to look back and see where I was when I started this and where I'm heading next.
Wanna come along?
What exactly is this blog about? Babysteps? Is it about her kids?
Oxygen Induced? Was she drowning?
Well, I was in a toxic relationship. No, not personally. Professionally. I had a dream job but not a dream situation. Over the eight months I was there I gained back the 60 pounds I thought I had left on the local high school track, the road I live on, and various bike trails in the area. I lost it-it found me. I had started running for the health of it. I didn't know I had been running for my life! My work shcedule had pre-empted my life as an adult-onset athlete. My car's gas tank replaced the time I spent filling my spiritual and emotional gas tank. Time spent planning for work interrupted the time I had been spending on working on myself. the politics of my promotion sent me tumbling into a physical and emotional tailspin.
So...I quit. Not good in this economy but the fainting spell at work made it clear that it wasn't worth it anymore.I quit. In a note. On a desk. That was it. I called my BFF and she asked me what was going on, she hadn't heard me sound so happy in months. I told her I had quit. She was happy, freaked out a little and in awe of sorts. The next two pleople I talked too said the same thing. I myself was so relieved...then it hit.
What the heck am I going to do now? I had poured so much of how I would do it if this were my academy into what I had given away...what was left? It felt like my heart and soul and ME were gone and somewhat forgotten. Quitting had been,evidently, more self-preservation than a matter of pride. I felt like I did after the breakdown of my first marriage. I was divorcing this situation that had drained me.
Economically this wasn't the best time. Physically, I don't think I could have gone on much longer. Thus Babysteps to Balance or Oxygen Induced Musings. I used to have a blog on Myspace with one of these titles. It's long since been abandoned (another casualty in my hectic work pace). So I'm going to start over. Just like after my divocre, it's going to take babysteps to get my feet back under me and adjusting my attitude re-adjusted to looking ahead. so the babysteps being taken are not my dughter's or either one of my sons' but my own. Back to finding how I can balance Mommy time with Shannon time with house time with work time. It will come back, I just have to be patient and take those baby steps.
Ever have really great ideas that seem to come to you in the shower? I get those but what I've found is that I also have them as I hit the Zen zone going round the track and trying to get the lap done before the next song started on my iPod. That's where the "Oxygen-Induced" comes from. I feel better due to endorphins- I get that. But it also seems that the air seems to energize my litte grey cells too.
I'll start out the blog with my morning weight and what my goals for the day are. Hopefuy I'll follow them up wit hsome Eart-shattering epiphanies here and there. So I'm excited. I am welcoming the cleansing effect of exercise and the ideas and clarity of thought as I stride forward looking for some balance. Eventually it will be interesting to look back and see where I was when I started this and where I'm heading next.
Wanna come along?
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