Cardio Hangover

Isn't exercise supposed to fill you with endless amounts of energy? I think I'm missing that part of the equation. After my big day at the gym yesterday, I went home to shower (boy, was it desperately needed and I enjoyed it immensely) and then headed back out to the grocery store for a quick trip but I was dragging like you wouldn't believe.

As I was on the bike yesterday, for what seemed like an eternity, I was reading my SELF magazine and saw some recipes that I wanted to try - is it bad that my mind turns to food even when I'm exercising? Anyway, the recipes of interest were a healthy macaroni salad and roast beef and artichoke lettuce wraps. I had the lettuce wraps yesterday for lunch. Note to self - don't go cheap on the roast beef. I don't eat a lot of roast beef, mostly because I'm really picky about excess fatty parts. It was actually delicious, but I think I might go with tuna as the protein next time. Other ingredients: lettuce (duh), roast beef, artichokes, chickpeas, zucchini, lemon juice, a little shredded Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. It was a light and refreshing change of pace. I'll make the macaroni salad today. I've never hard boiled an egg before so that will be new.

The rest of my day yesterday was pretty lazy and pathetic. I blame it on the excess cardio, but honestly I still would have probably been tired and lazy. So what does one do after a successful day at the gym and a really healthy lunch? You screw it all up by having a really unhealthy dinner. I was craving Mexican food from a little place called Carolina's (best tortillas ever). It was certainly yummy, but boy did I feel like doo-doo afterward. I really hope that I remember that feeling for a while and will use it as motivation not to do it again in the near future.

I went to bed last night at 9:00, which isn't too unusual for me but still a little embarrassing to admit. I woke up this morning at 6:30 and decided it was time to make up for those sinfully delicious machaca burritos and tortillas from last night. I hit the "dreadmill" for 35 minutes and then followed it up with some upper body weights and ab work. I hadn't done any strength training in a while so it was good to squeeze some of that in. I was tempted to go to McDonald's and get an Egg McMuffin and a Chai Latte at Starbucks later, but I came to my senses and went home instead. I made a healthy egg, spinach and feta wrap and had a big glass of water. Yay! I'm not completely brain dead when it comes to food.

Now for posting today's cardio, but before I do I need to make the smallest of retractions. I called my mother my "sworn enemy". Apparently that's a little too harsh for her (sissy!). Instead, I will consider her my "Rival Numero Uno". Hopefully, that's a little more palatable. If not, tough! It will build character.

Ignore the calories and distance - that's not the point. It's just the fact that I was up off of my you-know-what for 30+ minutes.

Have a good week!

Bringin' It!

Things in the Raz family are getting ugly. My brother is disappointed that Mom and I aren't exchanging more barbs than we are in our cardio challenge. My mother all too happily heeds my brother's advice and wastes no time in telling me how WAY far ahead she is in our challenge. Really? I thought this was going to be an honorable challenge and that we would conduct ourselves with the utmost respect and sportsmanship. Apparently, I am all alone in my naive little cardio camp of 1. If mud is going to be slung, then I better start bringin' it and I mean that physically and verbally.

After a conversation with my dearest mother (aka "sworn enemy until August 1"), I got the slightest indication of exactly how "WAY" far behind I am in cardio minutes/bonus points. I have to say that her lead is sizable but not insurmountable. I may not be able to make a comeback all in one day, but gosh darn it I gave it a try. I should probably be embarrassed that I'm super competitive with my mother but I'm not.

My day at the gym was a long one, but well worth it if you ask me. There was no bleeding and my feet didn't go numb even once. Proof of my quality time with both the elliptical AND bike are as follows:

If my lower limbs are still functioning tomorrow, then I'll be at the gym again trying to log my minutes. I have to kick some 60 year-old butt, you know!

Lazy Weekend

My lazy weekend continues. I've watched entirely too much of the John & Kate Plus 8 marathon this weekend. I have absolutely no idea why. I'm not married, I don't have kids, I previously had no interest in them. I blame it on the sensational media coverage of them recently. It's like watching a train wreck. Don't get me wrong - the kids are very cute but it's chaos non-stop. I can't even take care of myself on most days. I think I need Kate to enforce my healthy eating. I wonder if she could make room for me at the table.



I digress. I successfully completed my cardio both yesterday and today. Yesterday was 30 minutes on the elliptical and today was 35 minutes on the bike.

In honor of the three day holiday weekend, I fired up the grill last night for some hamburgers. I don't know what I did differently, but they were really juicy and YUMMY! I even made Bobby Flay's Green Chile Sauce to put on top and it was wonderful. I forgot (not really, just lazy) to grill/roast the red onion and put it in raw - still delicious. I think I'm going to use some of the leftovers as a dressing for my green been salad today.

Just Barely

Today is the first day of my three-day holiday weekend. I'm afraid that there will be more bad news than good when it comes to my food intake, but at least I made a trip to the gym today. It was all I could do to get my cardio in - 36 minutes on the bike. I should have stayed and done some strength training, but I just didn't have it in me. Perhaps tomorrow...

I'm not sure where this puts me for the week in terms of our cardio challenge, but at least I squeezed in the 60 minutes. I'm sure my competitor has logged more "bonus" points. I need to rent a 5 year-old for a few days and chase them around for more "cardio time". Maybe my brother would ship my niece out to Phoenix for a visit. Nah, probably not.

Recess Here I Come!

Oh Lord what have I done? So I belong to this "Girls Night Out" group that I discovered online here in Phoenix. I occasionally participate in events like happy hours, hiking, indoor rock climbing, etc. Today I got an email about one of the girls trying to start a co-ed kickball team to join a league. I don't know what got into me this morning but I thought it was a totally cool idea and before you know it I'm replying, "Yes, sign me up!"

I should really stop, think and count to ten before making such life altering decisions. Ok, I'm a little dramatic. Who didn't love kickball as a kid? How tough could it be? It's not like it's softball where I have to hit a moving object with a tiny stick. I have issues with that due to my upbrining as a golfer - small stick, but a stationary ball - big difference.

So the games don't take place anywhere near my house, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet more people and get some fun exercise in at the same time. Hmmm. Will my mother allow me to count my kickball time as cardio. I see some negotiations in my future. :)

I tend to regret making decisions like this, but so far I'm still excited. Look out big red ball - you're mine!

An Early Morning

After being very sluggish yesterday, taking a nap and going to bed at 9:00pm, I woke up this morning at 5:30am. Before I had a chance to talk myself into going back to sleep for a bit, I climbed out of bed and got ready to go to the gym.

I doddled a little bit around the house before I went, but I was there at about 6:30ish. I got my cardio in and did some upper body weights. I tried to use one of those benches that lets you do sit ups on an incline. I managed to get on the contraption with my legs strategically placed in between the pads. I did three sit ups. Normally, I'm quite good at sit ups and can do many of them. What I realized with this thingy-ma-bobber is that the incline was to steep for me. Unfortunately, I'm NOT smarter than the bench and I couldn't figure out how to change the incline. Maybe next time. I had done my time and decided to leave to do my other favorite thing in the world - grocery shopping! I find that if I go grocery shopping early in the morning before the crowds, I'm a much less annoyed shopper.

I'm off to run a few errands, but so far it's a good day - exercise, grocery shopping, healthy breakfast, cleaned the shower and have had 3 glasses of water. And it's not even 10:00am yet!

Hot Damn!

I wish I could say that that exlamation was about a huge success that I have experienced, but instead I'm referring to the weather. I live in the desert of Phoenix (aka The Valley of the Sun), so it should come as no surprise to me that it gets hot here. I'm entering into my third summer here, so you'd think that I'd be less of a wuss. I'm afraid not. The temps have officially hit the triple digits and they are here to stay for a long while. The first month or so of the heat seems to knock me out - tired all of the time. I know what would help - drinking more water. Why has that been so difficult for me lately?

Maybe I need an Agua challenge in addition to my Cardio Challenge. I need to challenge myself to drink at least 6 glasses a day - I can't commit to 8 right off the bat.

As for the cardio, my mother probably has the leg up on me this week. I hit the gym last Sunday and then again today. I've met my 60 minute goal for the week, but I'm not happy that I only went two times this week. I'm hoping I can get some rest, drink lots of water and find a little more energy this week.

Oh! I almost forgot to add that I made it to a farmer's market today. I haven't been to one in a long while, so it was fun to check it out. I picked up lots of good veggies and look forward to enjoying them this week. I've learned one very important thing about myself - if I don't go grocery shopping and have my fridge and pantry full of yummy stuff, I will fall off the fast food wagon and treat myself to just about anything I desire. Unfortunately, I don't love grocery shopping so this happens a little too often.

I did 35+ minutes of cardio today on the elliptical. I did my usual 30 minutes and then tried another few minutes doing it backwards. Wow, that felt awkward.