Come Walk with Me

Come and walk with me

What we'll see and where we'll go is something only fate can know.
The path may be steep and the obstacles plenty.
But I'd rather walk with you than one of the many.

Let's climb a cliff of amazing height, close our eyes and leap into the night. 
Like a star traveling the midnight sky.
We'll soar, we'll sail, we'll fly.
My hand in yours, we'll let destiny pick the course.

(unfinished)

Quad Journeys

An update to the April 12th, May 15th, & June 13th entries:

This week marks my 36th week of nutritional changes, 27th week of fitness training, and 19th week of bike specific training.

As many of you know, Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer was postponed until August 10/11th due to heavy flooding in Calgary - water in the streets, mudslides, and washed out roads made a ride on June 22/23rd impossible. That gives us more biking to talk about! :) Lucky you! Stay tuned for pics from the trip in just over 4 weeks.

Now, let's look at the update:

36 weeks into my nutritional journey and I find myself revisiting my caloric intake needs as I'm far more active than I was at the start of this journey. I've also built up a fair amount of lean muscle mass (No, I don't look like Arnold) which requires more energy to maintain. I've gone from struggling to reach a 1200 calorie a day goal (meaning I often fell short of 1200 as I just wasn't hungry enough to keep eating at the end of the day) to having a major mental breakdown and needing to increase up to 1300 and then 1500 to now requiring close to 2000 calories a day to keep my body happy.

At the same time, I started my fitness training (27 weeks ago) with 2 - 60 minute TRX classes per week and found myself needing to add a 60 minute Butt & Gutt class as well as a 60 minute personal weight training session as I gained strength and stamina. Believe me, your body tells you when it needs more. Now starting my third session of fitness training, I have 2 - 60 minute TRX classes, 2 - 60 minute weight training sessions, and 1-2 days of endurance biking on my schedule each week.

You might be wondering how I did with my goals from a month ago. I can tell you that I do a pushup with every Burpie (And I still hate Burpies!), I do all of the suspended exercises in TRX and can even do side planks with a crunch (1 or 2, I didn't say I am a super star yet), I can do more reps and at a harder/steeper angle - pushing myself harder, and I can say that my mindset has changed from "can I do that?" to "I CAN do that!". Frequent reminders still needed (habits take practice) that "YES I CAN!!!" is healthier than "can I?" but I'm learning. :D

And the biking. To be honest, I had hoped to be done by now so that I could move on to to hiking and camping in the Rockies but all is not lost. More biking for me, more biking stories for you. Its a win-win! Stay tuned.

Journeys 3

An update to the April 12th and May 15th entries:

This week marks my 32nd week of nutritional changes, 23rd week of fitness training, and 15th week of bike specific training.

I have less than 2 weeks remaining to prepare for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - a 200 KM (125 Mile) 2-day ride from Calgary, Alberta to Okotoks and back.

32 weeks ago I started a journey to change my nutritional lifestyle. For those wondering what "nutritional lifestyle" means, it means changing your eating habits for good, forever, for always. Sure you can have food now and again that isn't good for you but, for the most part, you don't because you learn to care about what you are eating and the health and well being of your body. I gave up processed sugar (straight sugar, added sugar, fake sugar) months ago and have found that my body doesn't like when I consume anything with added sugar these days. It tends to revolt and let me know how very unhappy it is with any sugary choice I make. I never want to get used to eating sugar again!

23 weeks ago I started a journey to change my health and fitness. I joined a couple of classes at a local gym and have been working hard to overcome my own mental blocks. I've been setting micro goals for myself during my TRX and Butt & Gutt Classes so that I can continue to improve and challenge myself. Sure, it would be easy to sit back just do what the instructor says or continue at the same level week after week but where is the benefit to that? My challenges to myself for this 12 week session:
1. Do Burpies with a pushup - every time. I want to be able to do pushups. I don't know why I am obsessed with pushups but I am so this is a way to improve my ability.
2. Do all of the suspended exercises in TRX - this is harder than it sounds because when I started TRX 23 weeks ago, I had a lower back injury. The first session I spent stretching and strengthening my back, often modifying the suspended exercises so that I could get through them. This session, I am attempting them all; suspended planks, suspended side planks (my current nemesis), suspended crunches, suspended mountain climbers, suspended... you get the picture. While I can't always complete the full 30-45 seconds of each exercise, they each get my full effort and I can see improvement.
3. Do more reps, more quickly of each exercise.
4. Take a harder angle or modification for each exercise; ie - push myself harder.
It's paying off in improved strength, flexibility, and fitness.  

15 weeks ago I started my cycling journey. When I had last updated my journeys a month ago, I was still of the mindset that maybe I couldn't ride 2 big days in a row. Looking back, I realize that I set my goal low: 3 hours Sat, 5 hours Sun. I was afraid that I couldn't do 2 big days and I was giving myself an out - a way to give in. Fortunately I didn't take that out and I ended up riding 4.5 hours each day for a total of 90 miles (150 km). Now, I don't even consider riding less than 70 km (40 miles) on a weekend day. I've logged some pretty big hills (massive hill & rolling hill - of death) along the way and am now only 9 days from the biggest ride of my life (so far). I can't wait to take on this next challenge. I know I can do it. Stay tuned for pix and posts from the ride! Calgary & Okotoks, here I come!

Never be Prosaic

It doesn't matter where you start or where you end. What is important is the journey and the adventures that you have along the way. <3

I Almost Died Yesterday

I've never had a "life flashing before my eyes" experience before yesterday and I hope to never have one again. My immediate thoughts following the experience were:

"And just nearly killed on the highway in Vancouver... Thank goodness for excellent driver reflexes by our driver as the car on the right was 1/2 an inch from my door... Nothing like getting the heart going as your life flashes before your eyes. Puts life a whole lot more into perspective..."

In those few seconds (perhaps even milliseconds) I saw my life with a new clarity. I felt changed. The things that are important came to the forefront while those less important have begun to fall away:

1. Love like there is no tomorrow and let it be known that you love: 

I love you. Nothing will ever change that.

2. Live: explore, imagine, dream, and do.

3. Let go of what you cannot control or change. 

I know it won't always be easy, often taking daily (multiple times a day) reminders to embrace what is important and to let go of what is not but I am happier and on the way to the rest of my life, alive. 

Journeys Too

An update to the April 12th entry.

This week marks my 28th week of nutritional changes, 19th week of fitness training, and 11th week of bike specific training.

I have 5 weeks remaining to train for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - a 200 KM (125 Mile) ride. Here is the update:

28 weeks ago I embarked on a journey to change my nutritional lifestyle. No more bags of chips, no more "junk foods", no more empty calories.

What are empty calories you ask? In my book, they are food that have nothing in them but calories from sugar/carbs, fat and not much else. No nutrients, vitamins, minerals - nothing that is actually naturally occurring in the ingredients of the "food". This includes enriched foods. If you can't get the nutrients from the ingredients, what on earth is being added to make up for that?

When I shop, I typically stick to fresh produce, dairy, meats (mostly fish and turkey/chicken), nuts & seeds, and a limited number of canned items - think tuna, pickles (love them in tuna!), canned fruits for smoothies, and alternative grains & pastas. By shopping this way and planning my meals each week, I've been able to drastically change what I am putting in my body. I KNOW what I am putting into my body. I know how many calories it has, I know what is in it for nutrients, I know how it was made because it was fresh and I cooked it myself. Best of all, I like what I am eating because I cook it the way I like it. I find this helps to eliminate cravings because, many times, when you are craving something you are looking for a certain flavor/taste from your food. And most of the time, you aren't getting it.

So where am I going with this? This nutritional journey has taken me on quite the ride. Over the past 28 weeks, I have changed my nutritional lifestyle (and activity lifestyle) enough to lose 58.5 pounds. This is huge for me. I've struggled with weight on and off for over 15 years. Don't get me wrong, this is not easy. It is a lot of work, sweat, and tears - but more on that another day. This journey is far from over. I've got a long way to go but I'm well on my way. And that brings us to:

19 weeks ago I began my fitness journey:

The biggest challenge to any fitness program is your own mind. When I started my fitness training in January, there was a night that I didn't have a car (the wheel had fallen off of The Dingo) or a ride home from the gym. I  packed up my gym clothes in a duffel bag and brought them to work with me. I figured I would get dropped off at the gym and then walk the 1-2 miles home after the workout. I thought about it all day long. I'd only been attending classes for 1 week. I was convinced that I couldn't walk a mile (or 2) home after class. I was sure that I would never make it that far. And so I skipped class that night and got dropped off at home instead. How had I come to think this way? I had been athletic most of my life. I ran track, played soccer, hiked, kayaked, biked, walked everywhere - but I hadn't done any of these things in years. My mind told me that I couldn't, I listened to my mind tell me that I couldn't, and so, I couldn't.

Even today, 19 weeks later, I am still amazed at what I CAN do. I can do pushups, I can do TRX suspended mountain climbers & crunches. I can do squats and lunges for days (okay, exaggeration there), I can jog (and I hate jogging), I can bike for 4.5 hours, I can hike very steep hilly terrain and even RUN up the hills. I can do so much and yet my mind is still stuck on "Um, are you sure you can do that? I'm not sure you can...". My next challenge to myself (mini goal) is to stop listening to my mind and to tell myself I CAN DO IT!

11 Weeks ago began my bike journey:

As you just heard in the above paragraph (just seeing if you are paying attention), I bike for 4.5 hours at a time. I'd always biked as a kid. I went to bike camp where we biked for the whole day, every day, for a week. It was great! This is great! Also pertaining to the above paragraph, I am still amazed that I can do what I can do. This weekend's goal is 2 days of riding, both long rides. 3+ hours on Saturday, 5 hours on Sunday. Will I make it? Yes, I will! I'm telling my mind now that it is going to happen! Mind, get your butt in gear because we are taking a ride! Oh! And my fundraising is THIS close to the $2,500 that I need to ride in June! THIS CLOSE! So feel free to donate to sponsor my ride! I can't do it without you! In fact, I couldn't have gotten this far without everyone who has cheered me on in my journeys.

See you all in another month... (that is for the next update, the next blog post will most likely be tomorrow so come back then!)

Journeys

This week marks my 23rd week of nutritional changes, 14th week of fitness training, and 6th week of bike specific training.

I have 10 weeks remaining to train until the day of the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - a 200 KM (125 Mile) ride. I can't believe how quickly time has gone and how many changes have happened since November, 2012. Here is a "recap":

23 weeks ago, I embarked on a journey of nutritional changes:

November 4th, 5th & 6th, 2012 - with the help of my mom, sister Cindy, and E, we packed a 17' U-Haul with my pared down belongings & my dog, Ghiry, (sad that it still took a 17' truck) and I departed for Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You didn't realize I was a Yankee in Alberta did ya? Yuppers, that is me! What was to be a 5 day drive from Lee, NH, USA to my new home turned into 7 with a forced 2 night stay in Weyburn, SK, Canada due to Winter Storm Brutus.

Over the past several years I'd suffered an injury to my lower back and had gotten into some very bad eating habits. I was determined that this new move was going to be the start of a new me as well. I packed only healthy foods for my trip northwest and thus began my nutritional journey. What did I bring? Whole wheat bread, Granny Smith apples, bananas, organic natural (no sugar added) peanut butter, granola bars, and water. I picked up some fresh cheese in Wisconsin (couldn't pass it up!) at the Mousehouse Cheesehaus and enjoyed eggs and fruit for breakfast at the hotels that I stayed in. After 7 days of cleaner eating, it was easier to keep it up after arriving in Canada. The past 23 weeks haven't always been easy and I've had to spend a lot of time learning how to eat healthy, what my body needs, how little is too little, what doesn't work for me, etc. This is an ongoing process. For those interested, I'll include a link in the future to what I do eat in a day, during training and not.
Pictures of the trip from NH to AB

14 weeks ago, I began my journey to re-incorporate fitness into my daily life:

I signed up for classes at a local gym that runs a 12 week schedule. It was just by chance that I found them and that this turned out to be the right fit for me. Over my life I've been everything from a couch potato to a gym rat. I find that the programs that work best for me are group classes with a high-energy instructor and a challenging format. I found this at The Boxing Club in Spruce Grove, AB. My instructors: Sheila, Ashley, & Svetlana are as high-energy as they come with a mix of positive encouragement and constructive correction. The classes are hard work. You will hurt, you will struggle, and it won't get easier. You'll do more reps over time but you will work just as hard week 12 as you did week 1. It has been amazing.

6 Weeks ago, I began my bike journey:

I signed up for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer and began bike training. This is where the blog started, where the serious biking started, & where the next adventure begins. You can page back through the blog to see what has happened since March 4, 2013, how far I have come & how far I still have to go. Saturday and Sunday are my major riding days. Currently I am up to 2 hours on a weekend day with a plan to push it up 1/2 an hour each weekend. This weekend will be 2.5 hours per session on the bike.

Where will this journey go from here? Stay tuned...