Three Things Thursday

1.) I have another date with Ronnie tonight. Monday he said he was still 'taking it easy' on me, since my muscles were just getting back into lifting. He said today would be harder. Thanks to Monday's workout, I couldn't walk up or down stairs without a noticeable limp until this morning. I'm a little scared.

2.) Yesterday I got back into the pool for the first time since moving. The pool in my gym is underwhelming, to say the least, and doesn't provide kickboards or pull bouys. I was aiming for 2000 yards, but quickly realized that while my lungs have slowly adjusted to running at high altitude, my lungs for swimming have not. I felt as though I might actually be having a heart attack, with chest pains and burning lungs. I stuck it out for only 1400 yards, including 6 or 7 50 sprints. In 30 minutes, I only burned 250 calories and was a bit disappointed with this workout. As much as I love swimming, it just doesn't work my body the way almost every other workout can.

3.) My ipod shuffle is indestructible. As of yesterday, it has officially been dropped from a speeding bike, run over by a car, and dropped into the pool. I have underwater headphones and somehow the cover managed to unclip yesterday with my first push off of the wall. Luckily I noticed, popped up out of the water and caught the shuffle, but it definitely was submerged. I held my breath and plugged it back in - it kept right on going!

Wordless Wednesday

This is how I feel today.

Adventures in weight training

Whenever I read Katie's blog about crazy want-to-vomit work outs, I must admit, I have never wanted to feel that way. I don't have the drive to workout like she does, although I freely admit that I get the same post-workout high that she thrives on.

Yesterday was just a typical terrible, horrible, very bad, no good kind of day. No one thing in particular, just cranky and, if I'm being honest, pretty darn hungover (darn it, I'm not 21 anymore!!). It was the perfect day to go home from work, put on sweatpants, and nom on some deliciously bad food.

But alas, I had a date with Ronnie. Since my session wasn't until 6, I went early and hopped on the elliptical for a bit. And filled with a day full of rage and aggression, I kicked that elliptical's butt! By the time 6pm rolled around, I was amped up and ready to destroy some weights. We started out with some killer lunges and didn't look back. I could barely walk after finishing them and had to stretch my hamstrings before everything else we did. It felt great!

Again, a lot of what he had me do wasn't just a simple free weight exercise. For example, for some shoulder/bicep work, he had be do the arm exercises while standing on one foot on a foam/bouncy pad - talk about a full body workout! While using a crazy movable arm machine that would have intimidated the heck out of me, he had me do the exercises while standing on the Bosu ball (which is quickly becoming my nemesis). My legs were quivering all over the place so much that I barely noticed the arm workout I was getting. For the first time, I really thought I might both puke and pass out all at once.

So far, Ronnie gets an A and I'm so glad I decided to try out having a trainer. And my bad mood was banished by the time I had left the gym - an excellent end to Monday!

Pats

This weekend I finally checked out Pats, the local Eagles bar in LoDo. I must say, it was pretty awesome. Not only do they import Amaroso rolls and tastykakes, but they turn nearly every TV to the eagles game and don't try to pander to other fans. One TV was playing the Phillies game while another was tuned to the Skins game so we could delight in their loss.

After each touchdown, they play the eagles fight song, after we've all finished high fiving and celebrating. But probably the best part was during each commercial break, a DJ would come on and play awesome songs (some originating from Philly, like Will Smith and Boyz to Men) until the game came back. It was pretty awesome.

My two fellow eagles fans were from Upper Dublin and West Chester and by the end of the game, I was swelling with Philly pride. After getting so much constant flack over my Philly roots, it was awesome to be surrounded by so many jovial Philly lovers, yelling at bad calls and praising DJack.

Rudi and Ronnie

Ronnie is my new trainer. He's about 2 inches shorter than me and tucks his shirt into his gym shorts. He goes into semi long and involved stories about what muscles we're working and why we are working them, in addition to demonstrating the correct form. He's very nice and I've even forgiven the fact that he's originally from New Jersey.

He kicked my butt. We only really lifted for about 20 minutes, after he was done weighing me, measuring the circumference of every appendage, and calculating the my percentage of chub bub (which was a humbling experience, btw). But man alive, am I sore. After doing chest and arm machines, we moved on to free weights, where I demonstrated for him my extreme balance and grace on the bosu ball (which is essentially a pilates ball cut in half, so its on a flat surface). After I wobbled around a bit, he assured me that he wouldn't let me fall over, adding in that he caught a 300 lb woman mid-fall just last week. Awesome.

So Ronnie and I will have bi-weekly dates for the next month or so. After a few sessions, he'll come at me with that damn tape measure and body fat pincher again so we can document my progress, and preferably by then I'll have numbers that don't make me want to cry!

Droid Does...

....cost a lot of money. But I'm very happy with my new phone! After more trips to Verizon than I would care to remember, I finally have a new cell phone. Since I wasn't up for renewal, I had to go through the most convoluted process to procure a new phone at a reasonable rate. I now technically have two cell phone lines (anyone need a cell with a denver number??) and am the keeper of my very own family plan. By the end of the week, Allison will also be on my family plan, adding $10 to the total cost, but she'll pay me the usual amount she pays each month. Its a little ridiculous, but it was the only way that wasn't excessively expensive.

So what phone did I get? I went for broke and purchased my very own Droid 2, the Verizon equivalent to the iPhone. I love it! I'm still getting used to it, but so far, so good! This is quite possibly the first time in my life I have ever gotten something even remotely cutting-edge!

I don't wanna....

...be an adult anymore. Today is one of those quintessential mornings where you just want to pull the covers back over your head and ignore the world and all responsibilities.

I brought this on myself, of course. Saturday night I managed to leave my cellphone in the cab on my ride home from a rowdy night out. I have a bad history with losing or breaking cell phones, and I'm not optimistic that the cab company will have it in their lost and found bin. This is my first time losing a cell phone while living alone, however, and I never realized how difficult life was pre-cell! At least when I lost previous cell phones, I could easily borrow a roommate's. I had to send pathetic emails to friends to try to A) track down said cell and B) try to call cab companies.

annnnd a swing and miss for the denver cab companies. They said it might turn up later in the week, but for now I'm just going to replace it and then if I get it back, I'll have it as a spare (when I inevitably lose my next phone).

And I'm off to Verizon...

Three Things Thursday

1.) Today is my first meeting with my trainer for my "fit assessment" which in my head I keep calling a fat assessment, which is really the same thing. I'm looking forward to him kicking my butt!

2.) I accomplished both of my goals while on work travel: No french fries and I worked out. I even resisted getting dessert to bring back to my hotel room the first night (my traveling guilty pleasure). I even managed to lose weight while traveling.

3.) My lungs are FINALLY adjusting to the altitude. I had a great 4.35 mile run (with a touch of walking) this past Sunday before football. It felt really good to not be so sluggish and in pain.

Saturday Success

I finally got in a weekend workout. I've never been very good at working out on the weekends, especially if I don't do it first thing. Even when I had Katie texting my butt out of bed on Sunday mornings to run before football, it was only 50/50. Usually one or the other (ok, it was mostly me) would whine and groan about going and half the time would bail. One bitter cold January our heat had broken and I had stayed at a friends house and was both hungover and unwilling to go back to my 40 degree house and put on nearly frozen running clothes.

So after going to the mall and the local farmer's market this morning, I was not optimistic about working out. I actually had a glass of wine and took a nap on the couch before finally getting my act together and hauling down to the treadmill in my building.

Since I am run/walking my 3.1 mile loop tomorrow morning and my legs are tired and sore from lifting (a rarity in my life), I decided to just put on a movie on TBS and walk. 47 minutes for around 430 calories - not too shabby! I even brought down my reading and did some homework.

I'm anxiously awaiting my first training session upon my return from Padre Island. In addition to exercising while on travel, I'm vowing to avoid eating french fries (another one of my vices). Keep me honest, people!

Reality Check

I've made no secret of the fact that I have been floundering in my gym going and healthy eating since moving to Denver (ok, and when I lived in Arlington, too). I am well aware that I am heavier than I would like to be (my tight pants let me know, too, in case I haven't been paying enough attention).

But nothing quite hit home like a picture from this weekend, which, with a great feeling of humility and accountability, I am going to post:

Holy toledo, raging stomach. It was a big reality check to see how dumpy and frumpy I looked in an outfit I actually previously thought I looked ok in. Sure, I'm being caught unaware by this picture, but that means that this is HOW I REALLY LOOK. And that's a hard pill to swallow.

Thankfully, before I even saw this picture, I was already getting myself back on track. After two weeks of being really good with getting in my workouts and reducing the amount of beer and pizza in my life, Labor Day weekend arrived and I was off track until yesterday. But I finally got myself back into the gym and cooked up a healthy meal for myself before logging into facebook and frantically untagging this picture.

At my gym, each member gets a free 'fitness assessment' which is essentially a free personal training session, so yesterday I had just happened to sign up for mine and was toying with the idea of getting a personal trainer (they have an 8 session package deal for a really good price right now). So I'm taking the extra income I have now (thank you Denver for your low cost of living, and whichever neighbor I'm stealing internet from!) and reinvesting it in future Rudi. A healthier Rudi that doesn't require a seven step process to fit into freshly washed jeans.

I've started to run out of things to blog about each morning (this weekend's events only consist of a Rockies game, homework, and Sunday Funday), so I might switch to writing about how my fitness goals are coming along. Next week I'm traveling to Padre Island National Seashore for a public meeting and my lone goal is to sneak in a morning run on the beach!

ok. So, the stats to go along with that picture:
Weight: 148.2
Body Fat %: 1000 (approximate)
Pant size: 8/10 (I'm in an 8 today, but its not pretty)
Avg Mile pace: 10:30 (5.5 mph)

Determined to make these numbers drop!

Three Things Thursday

1.) Last night I locked myself out of my apartment. I've been worried about doing that since I moved in. Unlike my townhouse, my apartment door automatically locks behind me, so if I leave my keys, I'm SOL. I was just running across the street to return a borrowed vacuum (thanks Kyle!) and realized I had forgotten them. With the super having already gone home for the day, I had to suck it up and call my landlord (who is a decent landlord, but I'm not entirely fond of him). Thankfully he was only about ten minutes away and already in his car, so I only had to wait in the lobby for a little while. Very soon I'm making a copy of my key and either giving it to Kyle to hold onto or hiding it somewhere in my apartment complex.

2.) Tonight I'm headed to a half-price bottle wine night with my boss and her group of friends down in Parker. Excited to try out a new place! Will run on the treadmill after work (get to leave at 3 since I got in at 6!) in order to combat the calories.

3.) While Lauren and Katie are in town, Lauren will be getting her very first tattoo!! I'm stoked! A coworker recommended a place she went to about 40 minutes away, located in the foothills. Afterward, we'll head out a little bit further to the town of Evergreen for some shopping and a delicious lunch before making our way out in LoDo Saturday night.

Back at it

Yesterday I finally had my first day of getting into a workable routine. It felt good. Since moving to Denver, I've had a hard time balancing beer, running, and filling my evenings. I left work around 4:45 and sped over to the nearby gym. Since I have workout ADD, I hopped on the elliptical for 15 minutes, then ran a mile (at 5.4 mph) and then hopped on the similar-to-the-elliptical-but-the-ramp-changes-angles machine for another 15. (Anyone know what this is called???)

It was a great 45 minute workout and burned me a total 480 calories! Woo!! That's 3 'good' beers worth of calories!

I was out of the gym by 5:45, home, showered, and ready to go by 6:45 so I headed off for trivia night. It was at a bar I haven't been to yet - the Tavern Uptown located just up the street at 17th and Pearl. Apparently this is akin to Dupont Circle - the gayborhood. While our team didn't dominate like we had the previous week, we were in the top five. The questions were a bit more challenging, but I really hope trivia becomes a weekly event.

Since miller lite and bud light were on special, I reverted back to my old ways and had five light beers for the evening. Given my strong workout and small meals, I was still on track for the day! It was very satisfying that I have finally found a way to keep to my workouts while still sneaking in some beers.