Busy Sunday

Last night I got a Facebook comment from a friend asking for help painting her new awesome apartment.  I really HATE painting, it's probably one of my least favorite things to do; however, I hate not being able to help a friend more.  I made it to Edwardsville QT for coffee, hot chocolate, and muffins by noon.  

• Most of the rooms were already taped off.  *BONUS 1!*  
• She had a roller extender. *BONUS 2!*  
• The walls were already primed. *BONUS 3!* 
• She had this little gadget to do straight lines. *BONUS 4!*  
• And most important, awesome company! *ULTIMATE BONUS!*

I've now been inspired to paint my new apartment when I find it.  Probably not as much as we painted today, I'm thinking just accent walls; however, that's more than my white walls I currently have.  I think my past experiences in painting were negatively impacted by not having the proper tools.

Weight: it's just a number.

"I'm too fat." "I can't wear a size 2." "I can't wear this out fit because it makes my butt look big."

Sound familiar?  Most recent days, I've felt the same way except it's more about not feeling good.  Some days, I feel I'm not getting anything accomplished.  On the weekends, I'm exhausted from the week and I don't get my "house work" done.  In order to achieve any goal, the goal has to be defined, a plan designed, a call-of-action taken.


Ready...Set...Go!
I'm ready to put Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body to the test.  I am now prepared for tracking my success in the form of an OrbiTape for tracking my body measurements, an OMRON blood pressure machine, and the OMRON HBF-516 body composition monitor and scale.

CURRENT STATS:

Weight: 125.2
BMI: 22.2
Body fat: 31.5%
Skeletal Muscle Percentage: 28.7%
RM kcal: 1252
Body Age: 28
Viceral Fat: 4 (normal is <= 9)
Blood Pressure: 99/55  67 pulse/min


GOALS

• Decrease body fat percentage from 31.5% to 10% in 1 year
• Decrease inches in core
• Perform an unassisted pull up
• Perform a handstand push-up
• Increase my squats to 150% of my body weight
• Improve flexibility
• Increase overall strength

PLAN (Four Hour Body)

• Supplements.  I've ordered the PAGG stack mentioned in 4HB.
• T-Handle and other workouts.  Initially, I purchased black iron steel; however, this pipe type will eventually rust.  Galvanized steel has been coated with zinc to prevent rust development.
• Slow-Carb Diet.
• ICE methods.  I made my own ice pack for my neck, and I'm certain the ice water immediately upon waking will not be challenging.  The cold showers I think will be a huge challenge that I'm willing to attempt to overcome

CHALLENGES:

Getting enough of the right things to eat.

Cold showers.

Limiting the workouts to 4 hours a month.

Consistently taking the supplements.

Saying goodbye to carbs for 6 days.

Apartment Wish List

The following is a list of features I would like my new apartment to have:

• BIG Kitchen!
• Washer and Dryer in the apartment
• Quiet furnace/AC
• Minimal neighbor noise
• Open space
• Natural lighting
• Either new carpet or hardwood floors
• Closed stairwells

New Beginnings

Today was my last day at my very first "big girl" job.  I really enjoyed the time I spent at my employer, who gave me the opportunity to expand my skill set.  I'm moving on to my second professional job in a week.  I have that excited/nervous feeling that anyone gets when starting a new job.  I'm really eager to start working and getting into a solid routine.  After 3+ years a the same company, I'm ready for a much needed reset.

While I will miss my KLakers, I am looking forward to working with a whole new crew of people.  The environment seems to be very laid back and stress-free, which will be a nice change of pace.

Running for a reason

It's my last day of vacation today and eager to get outside, I decided to go on an anger run.  My frustration levels lately are high with being stressed out over work, personal life, etc.  All week I have been couped up in the apartment and I just wanted to spend some time alone.  So I hit the road and my first mile I felt great.  The wind was gentle and cool, the sun was just a little warm.  As I got to my half way point I noticed that my shins were super sore, and just aching.  I took a short break, did a little stretching, and allowed my heart rate to lower as it was hitting the high 170's low 180's.  I kept having this burning sensation over my shins and I finally got about 80% of the way through and decided to walk the rest to avoid injury.  Here are my stats:

Mile 1: 8:54

Mile 2: 10:52

Mile 0.27 : 11:15

According to RunKeeper, this was my second fastest mile since 4.18.2010.  My cardio seems to be improving as I have been focusing on running or biking indoors.

A sad goodbye

It's been a difficult week this week. I've been working late hours because my project is due Monday. I was denied vacation time with my boyfriend because of this deadline, so I've been running around crazy to get everything done as I'm going on a huge family vacation next weekend (again without my boyfriend).

Today was especially difficult because I had to take my boyfriend to the airport to go to San Francisco, on a vacation that he initially was very eager for me to go on with him. I couldn't help but cry while saying our goodbyes. It was our first kiss since our new beginning, which was completely bittersweet. I felt a surge of energy, everything from anticipation, to happiness, to sadness, to nervousness, to Technicolor rainbows and butterflies! I hope that his flight goes well, and I really hope he has a successful vacation. All on the same note, I really hope to get the same surge when he gets back, and it's what I long for.

This weekend has now become a weekend soon to be full of public drunken-ness, camping and floating with co-workers. Hopefully it will keep the beau off my mind.

Tonight will be our first night apart, I wonder how I'll sleep. :-/ I wonder how he's going to sleep. I hope well! Till Monday my lover, till Monday.

Training

I'm training for a half-marathon on April 11,2010. I wanted to start training a while ago; however, I pulled a muscle in my foot which put me to a limping status for two weeks. So I'm trying to get back into gear. Tonight I ran 4.76 miles in 57:33. Slow, I know. That does include taking time to wait for traffic. I'm at about 12 minutes per mile. At that pace, I'll finish the half-marathon in 2.6 hours. Ideally I'd like to finish the half between a 10 and 11 minute per mile pace. That's the goal, lets see if I can do it.