Sidelined by the Ick

Not long after I wrote my last post, I started feeling sick, and I'm just now starting to feel good again. I hate being sick!

I think this started out as a small bout of tonsillitis. I'm not sure, since I didn't go to the doctor, but I am prone to tonsillitis because of small craters that I have in my tonsils (I call them tonsil pockets) - spit and small particles of food get stuck in the pockets, and if they don't get rinsed out, they grow bad things. I try to gargle regularly to keep this down, but it still happens.

Anyway, the throat started feeling better, and then I had to go outside to go to lunch last Thursday, and it was wet and cold and just miserable. And then after lunch I had to stand outside having a meeting about signage for a new concession stand. And while I was out there, I felt my chest tightening up, and it was all downhill since then. Friday I started out okay, but got worse and worse as the day went on. Saturday I was okay to start, but felt crappy at the end of the day. Sunday I spent completely in my PJs, and mostly in bed. I slept 14 hours Sunday night! And then yesterday I still felt like crap, so I stayed home and spent the day taking Dayquil (thanks to Jim for getting it for me) and inhaling as much steam as I could while taking a hot shower.

Today I finally feel better, yay! I'm still getting rid of some congestion, but my chest doesn't feel all tight with it anymore, and I no longer have that "sick" feeling. Thank goodness!

Of course, with all this illness over the last week, my exercising has been completely sidelined. I haven't worked out since the 3rd! I just didn't think it was a good idea to go workout when I felt so bad that just walking across the house could tire me out. :) But I'll be going back tomorrow.

I'm glad to be going back, too. My wedding is less than a year away now! It was a year from last Friday, so I'm counting down now. I have 361 days, and that's plenty of time to lose what I want to lose, but only if I do the work! And the work resumes tomorrow. :)

The State Fair Killed Me

I've been working out for three weeks at this point. Apparently, though, when you're as overweight as I am, three weeks isn't enough to make you able to walk around the New York State Fair for 3 1/2 or 4 hours without drastic consequences.

So yeah, Jim and I went to the State Fair on Sunday. We got there early (before the crowds). We walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. And sat and watched a draft horse competition (how they get six horses to work in unison on something so difficult is beyond me). And walked some more. And more. And more walking yet. We also ate inappropriate things, including one thing you can only find at a state fair - deep fried Twix bars, anyone? (My verdict - I would have rather skipped the batter and deep frying, and just eaten the Twix bar in its normal form, and I won't be repeating the experience.) But mostly we walked.

We left the fair and went to the mall for even more walking, but we were only there 45 minutes or so, I'd guess. Then we went to his parents' house and sat, and then we went home. By the time we got home, we were both wiped OUT. I actually took pillows and laid down on one of the futons and just didn't move again. When Jim got up, I asked him to bring me a blanket (it was chilly that day). He did. And then I finally did move, but only to the bedroom to watch a show on the DVR while laying in bed. I was crashed out.

I woke up yesterday feeling okay - sore, but not too bad. And then I moved the lawn. I have just over an acre, and on my riding mower it takes about an hour and a half to mow. When I got off after I finished the lawn, I was hobbling. My legs were SO SORE! Advil helped, but when they wore off, the pain came right back.

So yeah, apparently three weeks of working out does not prepare you for walking your legs off at the state fair, at least not if you're as overweight as I am. :) Lesson learned. Next year, though, that fair will be my bitch.

Also, I had that bone tired feeling after working out on Friday night, and I have it again right now (after walking halfway across campus and back once, and then all the way across and back at lunchtime). I'm wondering if my iron is low - I always have to have my blood tested twice when I donate blood, because my iron levels are low. I've only been turned away from donating for it once, but really, I should be on an iron supplement, I think. And iron gives you energy, right? Maybe I should talk to my doctor about that, hmm. In the meantime, I think I need to find iron rich foods that I can choke down without too much gagging. Any suggestions? (And yes, I do take a multi-vitamin, but apparently it doesn't give me enough iron. I should look at the vitamin aisle at Walmart - can you buy iron supplements? I bet you can. Maybe I'll get some next time I'm at the store.)

Enjoying Working Out? Me?

I haven't written in a while, but that's not out of any fear of relating bad news - I've actually been doing really well!

I'm on my third week of going to the gym three times a week, and it's going really well! I actually don't mind going, and the hour that I'm there seems to go by really quickly. I've been using the elliptical more than the treadmill - I like it a lot better. This week I added 10 minutes to the time I spend on it, so I'm up to 30 minutes at 120-130 strides per minute (I think it's per minute - it must be!), although the last couple of times I've done it, I've actually climbed up to about 134 strides. I work up a really good sweat while I'm on the machine. Yesterday by the time I was done I just wanted to go into the locker room and splash cold water on my face. I didn't, though, I just went over and did my weights.

The weights are starting to get a little easier, too. My arms were extremely weak going into this program, but they're slowly getting stronger. I could start doing two sets of 15 reps soon for most of them - all but the triceps. The strength in my triceps when I started must have been non-existent, because those are still HARD! I do 15 reps, and for the rest of the arm weights, I can do that without pausing, but on the triceps I'm resting and wishing for it to end by the time I'm on number eight. So hard! But they're slowly catching up to the rest of my arms, I guess.

The gym hours are changing starting next week, so going on Tuesdays and Thursdays won't be an option for me (they're closing at 3, and I don't get out of work until 4). I think I'm just about ready to add cardio to those two days, so since I can't do it there, I'll be having to do it at home. That's okay, though, because I have a few options there. I have our treadmill, which I hate but will do if I have to, I have Jim's exercise bike, and I finally bought the DVD of Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred. I haven't worked out to it yet, but it's there for me. Maybe I'll try it out next Tuesday. If I do, I'll let you know how it is.

Anyway, so yeah - I'm actually enjoying the gym thing. Who knew? Change is possible after 40! :)

The Treadmill Makes Me Walk Drunk

I worked out after work yesterday, then went home and relaxed for the rest of the night. I was in bed with the light off by 10:15, and asleep shortly after. And yet 6:00 this morning felt SO EARLY. Seriously, this bone tiredness after working out needs to go away! :)

I did feel that good feeling when I was done again, though. It's just so satisfying! I hadn't worked out since last Wednesday for various reasons - on Friday I was at work until 5:00 putting together my new desk, which got me all hot and sweaty, and I needed to get home to take care of the dogs once I was finally done - they'd been alone since 7:10 that morning. Monday the gym was closed because the trainer was off. Tuesday I felt like crap and stayed home from work, and basically laid around the house all day (I wasn't really too sick - my period was gearing up, and I was headachy and dizzy for most of the day - the dizziness is what kept me home, really).

But I went last night. I did 27 minutes on the treadmill (a 2 minute warm-up to get used to the treadmill, a 20 minute walk at the faster speed and higher incline, and a five minute cool down), then I did the weights. I think I'm just about ready to start doing two sets of weights, instead of just one - well, for all except my triceps. My triceps are WEAK! :) And I'm going to go tonight to do the treadmill, and then again tomorrow to do both the treadmill and weights.

Oh, and anyone else who uses a treadmill - do you ever get that feeling when you get off that it's like you're still on it? You know, like when you're on a boat for a while and you get off, and your body kind of expects the rolling movement of the ship even when you're on solid ground? Well, I get that feeling BIG TIME when I get off the treadmill. It seriously takes me a few minutes to be able to walk a straight line again. What the heck is that all about? I swear my water bottle actually contains water, not vodka or something! :P

Day Two Done!

For the first two days after I worked out Monday night, my calves were ANGRY. Tight, sore, making me hobble when I first got up from bed or after sitting for a few minutes. Ouch! :) I'm also feeling very tired after my work outs (and even this morning, after working out last night, I didn't want to get up for work because it felt like I needed to sleep longer). But I know that will all go away with time, as my body adjusts.

Last night's work out when very well, though! I decided to try the treadmill, to see if I liked it any better than the one I have at home. Well, when I first got on, I didn't think I would. I didn't like the feeling of having to go so fast so that it wouldn't dump me on the floor behind it. But once I got used to it, it was okay, and I definitely worked much harder than I did Monday night on the elliptical. My heart rate went up to the maximum he said we should shoot for - going between 150 and 155.

I did my whole 20 minutes on it, plus a five minute cool down, and then the trainer took me through the weight routine again. A few more times, and I'll have that routine down, I think. Oh, and I think I'm going to ask if I can do a two minute warm-up in addition to the cool down. I think it would be nice to be able to get used to the treadmill before it starts trying to dump me off the back. :)

I asked my boss today when she got back from vacation if I could keep my summer hours of 7:30 - 4:00 going all year, so that I can start working out at 4:00 instead of 4:30 (we usually switch to 8-4:30 when students are here). As it is, I'm getting there at about 4:05 and not leaving until 5:10 - I don't want that to turn into 5:40 (or 6:00 when my cardio time goes up). Luckily, she said yes, yay! It's nice to have that half an hour extra at home in the evening. Plus when winter gets here (all too soon), maybe I'll be able to get home when I can still see through the snow.

Oh,and he showed me some stretches for my calves, so they're not hurting as much today. :)

Here's a question I thought of when I got done working out yesterday, though. I felt GREAT when I left. Why can I never remember that feeling when I think about exercising and don't want to?

Gym!

I have completed my first night of working out! Woo!

I left work at 4:00 and went over there, and then changed into my workout clothes and went into the gym. I knew some of what to expect, based on the sheet he gave me on Friday, but it was nice to go through it for the first time and really start getting the routine in my head.

First he took my blood pressure and resting heart rate. My heart rate was 88, and my blood pressure was 128 over 86, I think. Then he gave me this thing to put on that monitors heart rate, and we went over to the elliptical machine. He showed me that the monitor I was wearing syncs up with the machine, so my heart rate was displayed on it (cool). He said we wanted my heart rate to get between 132 and 153 (I think). I got into the 140s and stayed there, so I guess that was good.

I did my 20 minutes, at a fairly light resistance, but then it's my first day. I was dripping sweat when I was done, though, so it definitely was a workout.

Then I had a five minute cool down on the elliptical, which brought my heart rate down to about 120, and then we went to the weight machines. He showed me how to set the weights (I need to wear my contacts while I workout, though - I don't like wearing my glasses when I'm getting all sweaty, and things are just slightly blurry without them), and then I did a lot of arm work - my arms are sore this morning. And I did some reverse crunches, and some leg things on the floor, and then he showed me how to stretch out the muscles I had worked, he took my heart rate and blood pressure (heart rate just over 100, blood pressure the same as when I started). And I was done!

So, yay! Now I know exactly what to expect. He'll make things harder on me as my body gets more used to it, and I'll have to increase the length of time I spend on cardio work and increase the number of repetitions I do on weight work, but I can get through this, no problem.

I have just under 13 months until I get married - I'll be in such good shape by then! I'm so glad I'm doing this program. :)

One Minute To Go

One minute until I clock out and go to the gym! Woo! I'm excited. And nervous. And happy. Mostly excited and happy.

I'll write more tomorrow about how it went!