Sunday, July 22, 2012

And the results are?


On Sunday evening I was oh so full of myself. I was so going to work out on Monday afternoon and I was starting my healthy eating on Monday too.  I should have really started on Sunday but that would have meant putting down the bottle of beer and humongous sandwich I’d just made so Monday it was.

Monday morning I bounced out of bed and made my egg white and cheese omelet (with a Weight Watchers point value of a mere 3 points). Oh I am so on this! By 2:00 o’clock, my allotted time for working out, the rain was pouring down and it was too wet to go to the gym, it did not rain all day just for about an hour but that was enough time for me to blow off the whole idea of going to the gym. See that’s what happens when you stop training it’s so, so hard to get back to it.  Well at least I did stick to something that resembles a diet. Ok I’ll try again tomorrow!

6:00am Tuesday morning. The alarm goes off and it’s not raining. Will I be able to find any excuses not to go today? No, I think there’s no reason why I can’t get up and start my ½ marathon training, my leg feels good so I’m good to go.  I start to get dressed but I soon realize the leg is not completely better because I need Smug Git to put on my left sock and tie my running shoelace but I’m up and ready so off I go. I set up my iPod, get my water, press go on the “Couch to 5K”.  Ok - I don’t know if any of you have used the couch to 5k app? if not - it’s really good, if you have used it you will know that you have to have that particular app running before you put the music on (well at least I do, I think)anyway it starts with a 5 minute warm up but my 5 minutes was about 20 minutes so obviously I screwed that up. After fixing the app I set off again. At least I was now warm (truth be told I was bloody roasting) but onwards and upwards! The app starts working properly and I start to run and as soon as I do I feel my leg start to hurt but it’s not too bad just a wee niggle, then it’s time to walk so it’s ok. After the walking time the bleep comes on and I know it’s time to run again and once again my leg hurts, but if you know me I just keep running. By the end of the first half I know I can’t run any more as my leg hurts too bad and I have to walk all the way home - about a mile.  I’m not a happy camper!

Ok here is a question for you all. When you’re training - or like me limping home - do you get the commentator in your head talking about how well your doing or even better, when you walk or run past someone else who’s exercising does he get all excited about you overtaking one of the race leaders? This morning’s commentator was all “it’s a tough day here for Izzi. Looks like that left leg is playing her up again. She’ll have to get that sorted if she is going to have any chance of winning the ½ marathon”  ha ha did you like the winning bit? (No? I guess it’s just me then). Now I know I can’t run I think it may be back to cycling a little and using the weights at the gym until after the leg gets sorted.

Right fast forward about a week and I have an appointment to have my MRI with contrast. So the nurse calls me in some fantastic calming medicine because I’m a tad claustrophobic about the machine. I take the diazepam (woo-hoo!) I now realize why people can become addicted to prescription drugs. This little drug is the bomb - I’m as happy as a pig in the proverbial…and calm! This is going to be a breeze… Well until I have to have the big giant needle for the contrast dye now I’m not so happy. Anyway I get the MRI done and now I just have to wait for the results. Five days later the results are in.  So what do you think it is? Well I’ll tell you what it’s not - Nothing is torn. Nothing is trapped. The Vajayjay is not broke (what a relief). It’s wait for it….bloody beginning arthritis. I know! Y’all will remember that that was the first thing I was told four months ago with the first x-ray and do you know what course of action the doctor has told me to follow? Yes you know it. A weight loss plan! Well no shit Sherlock! I could have told him that and saved myself about $500. Seriously and he’s a hip specialist. I think I’m going to become a specialist in something - Probably in weight gain because I’m seriously losing the weight loss plot.  But since it’s only (beginning) arthritis I guess I can start my training in earnest. Oh WTF I was so hoping for a much worse diagnosis now I’ve really no excuses. I know I can do it it’s just starting I’m having the most trouble with, especially in this Texas heat and the fact that I’ve spent the last week using the MRI as my excuse for lying on the sofa watching TV.

Tomorrow is Sunday again and I know it’s a day of rest but the blog is done - just need to post it tomorrow. Now I don’t really like exercising on a Sunday due mostly to the fact that I like to partake in a small adult beverage on a Saturday evening but this weekend Smug Git is back in Scotland so no adult beverages for me I’ll just go to bed about 8:00pm and be good and ready to get up and go run. I think! Wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading (fingers crossed) I’ll see y’all next week fitter and thinner.   Iz

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Run Izzi Run


I know I didn’t blog last week but to be perfectly honest my life is just not that exciting so I thought I’d give you all the 10 minutes it takes to read it back. I hope y’all put it to good use.  I think I thought I’d have tons to write about if I left it a week but as it turns out - NO! I’m still boring and I’m still fat.  However I do have some plans in mind to remedy that. The fat bit not the boring bit.  Well what do you know? Now that I’ve started writing think I have quite a wee bit to write now where to start?

I think I have to start with the Tour De France let’s get one thing straight I don’t watch sports except football and I only watch that because I can have a beer at noon on a Sunday, I especially don’t watch bike riding (seriously is that a sport or just a hobby?) I remember when I was maybe about 21 I came in from work one day and my brother was watching  TV - well I say watching TV but all that was on the screen was fuzzy nothing. So,  as you do, I started to change the channel. Well he flew out of the chair and went mental because apparently he was watching the Tour De France! The riders were at the top of a hill and he was watching through the fog! Seriously! Sorry I’m kind of rambling now but the Tour started this week and Smug Git is a biking fool so we have to watch it every night (beers only at the weekend L) this is not my favorite time of the year, well the first night I sat down and started to watch and the funniest thing happened - I liked it! It was kind of exciting then the next night I watched most of it but was a tad tired (that might have had more to do with the adult beverages) so I went to bed and missed the end the first thing I said to SG in the morning was “Who won yesterday’s stage?” I’m starting to freak myself out here. Oh and wait for it - I have a fantasy team – YizziY - too funny.
 
As most of you know I finished work this week and not just for the summer holidays! I decided way back at Easter that I could no longer keep my sanity if I continued to work there so Tuesday was my last day. I would like to say I had mixed emotions about leaving but I had just one, sheer delight! But the funniest thing that happened was on the last day. The crazy lady that I worked with gave me this huge list of jobs she needed done. No I’m not joking! I just laughed at her when she gave it to me, she had it done on fancy celebration paper and everything (ok what exactly was she smoking when she was writing that list?). So of course being the lovely person I am I did all the jobs. Ha! No I did not. I just left the classroom and when I returned there was no list in sight. She must have took it home with her because I could not find it anywhere, that would have been a great memento but alas no. However I did get a picture of it.

So now I’m looking for gainful employment but SG has other ideas. He tells me my new job is to lose the rest of my baby weight and, so what if my babies are 18 and 16, it’s time to shift those last few pounds (50 to be exact) and to get fit. Which brings me nicely to what my plans are next.

Next year before the MS150 I’m going to run the half marathon! I know can you believe it! Just like the bike I can’t run for toffee. At the moment I can maybe run between the lamp posts for about 1/2 mile at a push so I think this will be as big a challenge or possibly a bigger challenge than the MS150. But I know that you will all be behind me 100% with your words of encouragement (no sponsor money required for this) and maybe one or two of you could come training with me. Oh and any of you out there have some tips on how to run a half marathon I’ll be happy to take any or all advice you’re willing to share.

The other day I got back on the bike for a quick 10 miles. It felt good to be back on but the bad news is I now know it’s the bike that’s making my leg sore since I was in agony all that evening and the next day. So I think I will have to leave the bike until my leg is completely recovered. This week I will go to have my MRI with contrast.  For all you non-medical people like me it’s with some kind of dye to see if that shows anything up so fingers crossed. A quick update on the diet front, there has been no dieting for the past few weeks but that stops today and so far I’m back on my points plan.  The next few weeks will be a real challenge for me since I will be at home most of the day. Well at least the blogs should be interesting with my escapades of how to stay away from the fridge. As always I’ll keep y’all posted.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see y’all next week.  Iz